Just some random photos

Here are just a few random photos that didn't make sense to make into their own posts.

Kyoto Tower as viewed from great room at Granvia hotel. 

sketch ball natural remedy health and beauty shop. Kev was tickled that they have the these kinds of shops in Kyoto (in the states these are generally just a bunch of B.S.) 

Shiwa sensei teaching us how to talk about our family. This class is hilarious and the teacher is awesome. "Maybe...it's ok..." is Sensei's favorite phrase . Thanks Kyoto City International Foundation! 

Teeny Tiny Coca Cola truck making a delivery to the subway station! 

You know you're American when

You try to get an English to Japanese dictionary in Japan....Like total idiots we attempted to purchase an English to Japanese dictionary once in Japan. Sadly for us, when you ask where the "jisho" (Japanese for dictionary) is in the bookstore they say "hai hai' and walk you to this....

If you haven't figured out the punch line to the joke that is our time in Japan....all of these dictionaries are written in Japanese -either Kanji, Katana or Hiragana, meaning they are useless to us. At the end of the day, it is just plain humorous at this point, and makes us smile. We are also all the more grateful to our friends back home who are coming to Kyoto on business (props to Peregrine Semiconductor) who are willing to bring us things we need (socks, dictionaries written in English...you know, essentials) 

Tip for living in Japan: purchase and bring a dictionary with you...

First Day of Japanese Class

Today was the first day of Japanese (Nihongo) class.  The Kyoto International Community House offers really cheap Japanese I and Japanese II classes - 14 classes for $70.

I've taken a few basic Japanese classes at UCSD in the states, though Meg has not.  Despite the difficulty, she trooped through it like a champ.  I'm pretty sure she felt like Larry-san in this video: