Hand Turkey

Had to do Thanksgiving kids lessons this week. Why are they doing Thanksgiving lessons? Anyway, it was difficult trying to explain it to Japanese 5 and 6 year olds, particularly as my knowledge extends only to what I see on tv. So when it came to showing the kids how to make a "hand turkey" I was way out of my my depth. On the plus side, the craft lessons usually mean the kids are quiet and I get through the day without a headache. This week I also finished my course of free Japanese lessons at the International Centre in Kobe. These were with a volunteer teacher and proved much more useful than the ones I've been paying for (all I learn from those are how to say useless things like shapes and geographical names). But despite them, it still feels like I know feck all. Last Tuesday was a public holiday here and I week went to Kyoto with Keiko and a couple of her friends. It was my first time in a car in Japan other than a taxi. The driver, Kaname, had one of those cool GPS navigation thingys on the dashboard which displayed every street and shops at street corners, and even bleeped little messages when we were approaching places of interest...nice. We went to a lesser known temple or hall or something that had its rock gardens and trees lit up at night which looked really nice. Added to that, we got to sit ad drink tea in traditional bowls on by the garden and it was all very authentic. Or it seemed that way to me anyway. I've added a few pics to prove it. It also turns out that the PSP was actually being advertised in Osaka; in the Nankai and Kintetsu train stations..of course they finished up during the week while I was at work..feck that. But today, while strolling down Shinsaibashi-suji in Osaka came across a demo of the new gameboy, complete with models holding models in silly costumes. As below...