Exciting things to look forward to!

Although I still don't really have anything to do at work other than work on my CIR newsletter article, I have added a few very exciting things to my calendar for the next few weeks! S teaches English once a week to a retired doctor who has season tickets at Yahoo! Dome, which he occasionally gives to S when he is unable to attend. Well last night S texted me and said that there is a game next Wednesday that the doctor can't go to, and would I like to go? Would I ever! Apparently they are excellent seats between third base and home, pretty close to the field. I can't wait to go to my first Japanese baseball game! I'll be sure to take the clappers I got when I registered for my cellphone. Go Softbank Hawks!

I will actually be going to another Hawks game on the 12th a bunch of Fukuoka JETs, but those will probably be nosebleed seats. Fun, nontheless!

Let's see, what else... Oh yes. the weekend at the beach house from the 4th to the 6th of September. That's actually coming up quite soon. I will finally get some proper knitting time in!

The kicker is the pair of inexpensive plane tickets I just purchased to/from Osaka for our 5 day national holiday from September 18-23!!! I met this guy through all the current JETs, who does master's swimming, speaks perfect English, and has his own travel agency. He always helps Fukuoka JETs find the best prices on travel packages, tickets, and such. I contacted him about whether it's possible to get bullet train tickets cheaper than the regular 15,000yen each way (more than $300 round trip), and instead he found me discounted plane tickets. In many cases, flying would not be the most convenient way to travel (and it can be pretty expensive to fly domestically in Japan), because some of the airports in Japan are located somewhat far away from their respective cities. But in the case of Fukuoka and Osaka, both have airports RIGHT in (Fukuoka) or nearby (Osaka) the cities, so it actually works very well. One way will cost 13,000 yen, the other 12,000 for a grand total of 25,000 yen. Fifty bucks or so may not seem like much of a discount, but it will help me get to and from the airport/Sarah's house/Kyoto, which all adds up. I also will have to buy a souvenir box of something delicious and Kyoto-ish for my office mates. And I will have to take souvenirs to my host family from Fukuoka (mentaiko). Needless to say, I'm glad I got the discount. I did some research and I discovered that I can get on Keihan right near Sarah's house and go straight to Tofukuji station in Kyoto (the closest station to my host fam's house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in about 40 minutes. I am SO.EXCITED. I am filled with such joy, just imagining returning to Kyoto!!