Toyoko Inn Soka Eki Nishiguchi

... it would be. ANA has got to be the best airline in the world! The list of amenities is long, starting with the fact that there was no ticket to print out (and maybe forget) since they had everything on computer; and continuing with the fact that they allowed 2 carry on bags and 2 checked bags PER PERSON for free! FREE!! And, of course, the food was amazing and I'm old enough to remember when they served meals like that on American planes. Also, we each had our own ...

... tourists, and the protests seem to be focused on domestic issues, not targeting foreigners. Obviously I'm a little nervous about arrinving in Bangkok tonight, but I'll check out the security situation when I arrive at the airport before I head to the hostel I booked. I promise to be as safe as possible. Take care! Sara

... all eight animals. Point out an animal and say the name, have the student repeat the name to you. Go over all of the flashcards until the student feels comfortable. Introduce the question "whats this?". As you point to a flash card, ask "whats this?" and then have the student say the name. Point at all of the flash cards to see if he remembers. Engage: (15 minutes) After the student feels comfortable gather the flashcards up ...

... view and location. We walked around and crashed early. Sleep was limited given time change and excitement of the trip. 8/2...Woke up at 4am (noon in our bodies) and went down to the fish market to watch the tuna (frozen and fresh) wholesale auction...lots of tasty tuna went for big Yen. Active spot from 5-7am, we highly recommend a visit if you are in town. Back to hotel for an amazing ...

... darting down the narrow laneways at a hundred miles an hour, delivering giant tuna or crates of fish of every variety under the sun. The alleyways were lined with little stalls where fishermen or fish traders were preparing delicately carved tuna or slicing up giant tuna or gutting fish or sorting through piles of squid... an endless array of activities with everyone working feverishly... it really was buzzing. We left the markets around 11am ...

... tasted like chalk. The whole meal cost 400 yen (around $3). Well, I was in charge and my first feat, the subway, proved to be a little more difficult than expected (but totally not my fault). We must have been on some kind of express line, because they missed our stop. It made me look like an idiot (and I'm sure Phil was reveling). We finally (after four changes) arrived at Yoyogi-koen park. The park wasn't great, but we were able to see a cool ...

... around his shop and about the only thing we could find that interested us was another wooden sculpture. The subject this time was a reclining female nude. Our guide claimed his grandfather had made it and it was his favorite. The shop also had those wooden penis you see in every tourist shop in Kuta so we were not fooled by that. But Irina did like the carving, which we purchased for $100 US, and got the heck out of there. We traveled to the sea and our ...

Following our adventures at the karaoke bar on Wednesday night, we came back to school on Thursday for some more orientation regarding permanent hosing, cell phones, and getting to know Japan. The cell phone thing is quite a debachcle and after much confusion we are entered into a lottery to see if we can get a very cheap phone or not. If not we will have other options to pursue next week. A real estate agent came in with a list of apartments and we quickly arranged to ...

... our first meal in Japan. Turns out that some of the better food is from little fast food places dotted all over the city. This isn't like American fast food, so don't worry. After dinner we check out hotel for the next two nights. Phil speaks pretty good Japanese and is fortunate to subscribe to a hotel deal website (much like Travelocity, but for hotels in Japan). He got us a deal on a five star hotel in the middle of town that usually costs ...

... wow, that was a bit of a tangent to take you guys on. Forgive me. We decided to take a stroll in Hibiya Park, which is very close to the Imperial Palace. It's an interesting place, the trees and gardens are maintained better than the fountains and statues which is unusual, normally they are both well kept. The park had quite a few homeless people too which was a bit of a shame but they have to hang out somewhere and at least it's nice scenary for them I suppose. We ...