03/03/2019
This week was pretty low key. Work has been the same for the past month. We stretch in the morning, program until lunch, play ping pong, program more, and go home. On Saturday, I had another phone date with Alex at 7 am. We watched another Wolverine movie, which told the story of how Wolverine became who he was. Afterwards, I met up with Terry, Rama-san, his wife, and their baby. Their family is from Albania and have lived her for 4 years now. We took a train to Kyoto where were planning on seeing some co-worker's bands play. The bands played at this underground music hall, it felt similar to any bar with life music... kinda like Nashville, but with only one bar on the street. Honestly, there were probably more but we weren't really looking. I think the concert was run by the bands themselves because they gave us free drinks and snacks. I tried two Japanese beers, one was Asahi and the other I couldn't read so I can't tell you what it was. However, I liked the Asashi better, so the other doesn't really matter! We were there to watch two bands. One was comprised of three coworkers at Omron; Higashi-san, Chris-san, and Haze-san. They were pretty similar to Japanese pop music, but in an indie kind of way. At work Chris-san always wears glasses and has his hair out of his face, but on Saturday he was the complete opposite. We almost didn't recognize him! They were pretty good and I enjoyed their set! The main event was my supervisor, Nakajima-san. People at work tried to tell me that he played electric guitar and loved rock and roll. I was a little suspicious because at work he is the most professional person. He is relatively reserved, in his 50s, and walks by sipping on his green tea in a nice sweater. I am convinced there was a different person on stage that I had never met before. You. Would. Not. Believe. It. He is literally insane on stage. His band is Metallica-esque. He had four or five solos and I could not believe what I was hearing. He is so talented, and I was shook. I will have to show you videos when I come home, because no words can do it justice. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and all the band members were very appreciative that we were able to come watch them. Once the concert was over, Rama-san, Terry, and I went to find his wife and daughter. They went shopping instead of to the concert because his daughter is only 8 months old and the loud music could cause permanent damage to her hearing. We found them at H&M and spent 30-40 minutes until she finalized her purchases. We discussed politics in America during that time, and I am quickly realizing that it is not the friendliest topic to talk about.
This morning, I went to church. I got lost again on the way there, which has happened every week so far. I stayed at church for a couple hours for fellowship. There are usually quite a few people who eat lunch and talk for a while after the service. Today, Sue showed me where some cherry blossoms will bloom in a few weeks. She also taught me the difference between cherry blossoms and plum blossoms, along with how to get to church without directions 😊 I think I will get it right next week! This evening Lorentz, Terry, and I went to the Udon shop down the street for dinner. It was Lorentz’s last day, so it was nice to talk to him for a while before he goes back to Germany. He gave me the keys to the intern bike, so I don’t have to walk 4 miles round trip to the post office!
