Linden Hall 2nd Annual Winter Concert

I got up when Jouzaki-sempai phoned me at 12pm to remind me that Aikido had changed locations. It's now in Tempaizan Junior High School, which is visible from Cambridge House. I went shopping at Cosmos so I could have something to eat and drink when watching my Sunday film. Firstly, though, we watched an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus (Episode #40: The Golden Age of Ballooning). Oh, so funny. I then watched "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind," another Studio Ghibli film. This one was just as lovely as their others, though I did get slightly lost towards the end. Their films normally have but one protagonist that the film follows throughout, though this one had three seperate peoples that it continually switched between. I just don't think I was ready for it!

In the evening we went to Linden Hall's 2nd Annual Winter Concert. The Chancellor and his merry load of workers were there, and we also had reserved front row seats. I felt a little guilty sitting there blocking the view of hundreds of doting parents, especially since we are taller than most of them. It was a very enjoyable evening. It's fun watching children that you know performing, and I know see something in school productions that I've never noticed before. Not being a parent though, I wasn't devoting my attention to one single child, but could appreciate the performance as a whole. Some of the English pronounciations that some of them came up with were questionable, but it was quite understandable. I think I might buy the DVD, though it's going to cost £30. I think it is worth it as a nice little memento of my time in Japan and at Linden Hall.

After the performance, Izumi the English gardener, took us to a chankonabe restaurant. Chankonabe is a type of nabe eaten by sumo wrestlers as it contains high levels of protein. A deep bowl is placed on a gas stove and filled with chicken stock. The diners then place pieces of chicken, bacon, pork, mushrooms, tofu, onions, etc. into the bowl and cook them. They eat together from the bowl. After the food has been eaten, either rice or noodles are placed into the remaining stock to create a kind of risotto as a second course. It was a good meal and a new experience. I think England might enjoy some "cook it yourself" restaurants. I think Izumi paid most of the bill, telling us that it was only £5 each, instead of the £10 that it probably was more like. She then gave us all a lift back to Cambridge House, which was nice.