Happy Birthday to ME

I’ve only ever had to celebrate my birthday outside my home country three times.  All three of those times happened in Japan, and only one of them do I actually remember.  Last week I turned 24.  One of my coworkers told a few students at school that it was my birthday, and by the end of second period it seemed like the whole school knew.  So every time I stepped out into the hall or saw a student I got a “Happy Birthday!” in passing.  A lot of the students wanted to know how old I was, so I turned the situation around and gave them a chance to practice some of their own English: “How old do you think I am?” or “Guess!” were two expressions most students were fairly unfamiliar with, but they all picked up on it sooner or later.  Three different times students started singing happy birthday to me in the hall, and one group actually made it through the whole song.  The rest of the week students continued to wish me congratulations.  Keep in mind there are around 450 students at my school; it almost felt like they were waiting to ambush me with a “Happy Birthday!” by Friday. 

Another birthday surprise was a visit from my Uncle Steve.  He just happened to be in Japan on a business trip and was able to take time to stop by Funehiki for dinner one night.  It was great to get a chance to celebrate with family.  I don’t know when I’ll have another out of town visitor, but I look forward to it.  It’s always nice to see a familiar face.

I also celebrated a bit with the other Wakakusa teachers here.  They made what is probably the coolest birthday card ever for me:

Place meat here ^^, and enjoy.

Friday night they surprised me with a trip to Koriyama to have dinner at a yaki-niku restaurant called V-Brian.  We didn’t go there just because the place was obviously named after me; the food was amazing too.  The waiters placed a few mini charcoal grills on the table and then brought plate after plate of delicious raw meat.  Yaki-niku is pretty easy: grab whatever meat you want, put it on the grill until it reaches your desired doneness, and enjoy.  And it was all you can eat.  I think I ate enough meat for a month.  V-Brian – definitely not vegetarian friendly. 

I’m still getting used to life over here, but the adjustment is going well.  This place doesn’t quite feel like home yet (I don’t know if it ever will, really), but I’m getting used to the notion that I’ll be here for a while.  And if things keep going the way they’ve been going, I don’t think I’ve got much to worry about.