another rehearsal

This past weekend contained another musical rehearsal this time in Joetsu. Niigata is one of the largest prefectures and Joetsu is in the southern area. I live in the north east. Niigata may be big but it's still got nothing on SK. It was about a three hour drive but on the expressway so I was able to pass all the idiots where typically I would be stuck behind them. Decent drive through the mountains...many tunnels. Crashed at Patrick's place and he thoughtfully made burritos for our craving western tongues. His area had much more snow than mine but it was in the melting stages and did not resemble Christmas snow. We had rehearsal in a church the next day and it was strange seeing a fully garbed Franciscan speaking Japanese. Props were forgotten and some are still missing so it was difficult to finish what needed to be done. That night we went to an open mic night at a pub frequented by ALTs. It had a great cozy atmosphere and there were tons of gajin because the Joetsu area shells out. Niigata cut 50 ALT positions this year so there is only a few JET ALTs left in the city. Anyhow, it would be nice if there was a similar pub in our area.

Had karate last night, not as cold as last time but still semi-painful. Punched a kid pretty hard because he started getting rough when his dad was egging him on (don't feel bad he is a green belt which is at least four belts higher than my paltry white). Many new bruises.

9 days until I go home!