Anyway, they got in late on a Sunday because they came from Tokyo and then had to take a train down to where I live in Okayama. We took Finn in the car to greet them and he behaved very well. I always worry that he will either pee on someone or try to "have his way" with their leg, but he was really good and took to them right away. My family are dog people so he didn't have to work too hard.
We stopped quick for some MOS Burger (the Japanese version of McDonalds- expensive but delicious) and then got them home so they could sleep. Before bed my sister treated me to all of the things her and my dad had picked up for us. Lots of cornbread mix and pudding, treats for Finn, and Old Navy Sundresses for me.
The next morning they were up early due to jet lag and we all headed to my elementary school. My dad and sister hadn't been to see my work before and they were as excited as the kids were to see them. I must say that my dad and sis are on the bigger size, both in height and weight, so some of the kids were quite shocked by them. But the day went well. We attended a morning assembly and then got to watch 6th grade graduation rehearsal. This was cute as the kids sang different songs and made speeches. The elementary is really small- only six graduating kids- so we got to hear a lot about each of the 6th graders.
After that they got to come to two lessons. The first was the 6th graders and since we were basically done with the book, we just had a game day that involved a lot of conversation between the kids and my family. The kids are pretty nerdy and sometimes shy, but they were really good about asking my dad and sister things.
The second lesson was with the rowdy 5th graders who are a little rude. Their lesson was on food menus so we did "restaurants" where half of the kids were "serving" and the other half were "ordering." It was pretty chaotic, but went better than I thought.
My dad and sister were invited to lunch, but since Japanese school lunches are "hit or miss," I used jet lag as an excuse to take them back to my house. In all reality, I think they were pretty tired. My sister said they played with Finn a bit and then both napped.
That night Motoaki drove us to Yonago which is in Tottori prefecture to stay at a Ryokan. A Ryokan is the Japanese version of a resort. They have big, traditional Japanese style rooms where all of your meals are served to you. They also have bath houses, but we ended up not making it to those because dinner lasted a long time and we played cards after. Our balcony was right out over the ocean and at night we could see squid boats out on the water. We had a wonderful meal of sashimi (raw fish) with roast beef for Maggie followed by Shabu Shabu, or a boiling pot of water that you add meat and vegetables to. We also got noodles and rice with this.
After dinner we played Phase Ten ( a card game like UNO- I highly recommend it) and watched, I am sad to admit, American Idol. I was quite shocked that the Ryokan had TV. I didn't realize that the one I've been watching is the current one that is on in America- only about 2 weeks behind.
The next morning Motoaki and my sister got up EARLY (5am) to go to the Okayama airport so she could go to Korea (she used to live there). We had a bit of a misunderstanding and I had booked the ryokan thinking she would be going on Wednesday, not Tuesday. My dad and I slept in before waking to breakfast.
Not as good as dinner, but still nice. Motoaki came back and managed to eat before we had to check out.
View from the hotel room.
Rock garden outside of the hotel lobby.
We met up with three friends, Janet, Johnny, and Ellie, in Yonago city and got ready to go to the Tottori Sand Dunes. I am an idiot and thought they were closer to where we had stayed the night, but they were actually about two hours away. Not to mention that the traffic was horrible. We had fun chatting and what not in the car, but we didn't have much time at the dunes. Added to that was a really strong wind. Still, I'm glad I could show my dad and it was better than if we had gone in the middle of the hot, hot, hot Japanese summer.
We then had a quick lunch at a Ton Katsu (fried pork) place and then had to race back so I could make it to a night class. I was a little upset because I had wanted to do a lot more that day (go to the Gei Gei Gei Kitaro museum, eat seafood, spend longer at the dunes, etc) but we just ran out of time...
To be continued...
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