Pension Association BBQ

About a week ago, a few of the local pension owners got together for lunch. We all enjoyed BBQ chicken, beef, seafood and veggies, as well as alcohol. I quite enjoyed the drinks, except the suntory whisky highball. (Seriously, who mixes whisky and soda?) But I really did enjoy the Korean Liquor the pension association boss shared with me. It was called Makkori and has the consistency of slightly thick sake. It was great and went well with all the BBQ chicken, beef and peppers I ate. At one point, a guy even went to the nearby creek and caught a fish in under 5 minutes! It was literally taken from the creek to the BBQ I'm under 3 minutes and I actually ate some of it! 
It was nice meeting new people who do the same work as me and also nice catching up with some people I hadn't seen in a while. Plus, we could not have had a better location by the creek. I look forward to the next one.

Karuizawa Hotel Association outing

Today Asuka and I joined other pension owners on a tour/curling lesson. We went to a literary museum and a historical museum and then we went curling for the last half of the day.
Asuka was only able to take pictures at the first museum, the historical one called Oiwakake. (I may have spelled that wrong.) Of all the pictures I like the one with the stone sign post. This stone was made in 1675. Pretty young for a country that is over 2000 years old, but really old compared to Canada.

Curling on the other hand, while fun, was kind of lame. We only got half a sheet of ice to play on, so even just sliding forward to throw the rock was difficult. But, at least I didn't fall down.

Also, I apologize for the sideways pictures. I can figure out why they won't straighten properly.

Once a month on a Tuesday we here at Hoshinoko Pension Hotel host a meeting of the International Association of Karuizawa (IAK). This past Tuesday was our turn. While everyone was chatting and having a good time, I, and a few others were watching Japan's soccer team try to qualify for next years world cup. I don't care for soccer ( or football, depending on where you're from ) but it wasn't as bad to watch when other people are there.
But the important thing happened after the game, when Asuka volunteered me to visit a classroom and speak to a group of children about Canadian culture. Now, anyone that knows me, knows that I hate to stand up in public and speak out loud, so this is kind of a nerve racking idea for me. Besides that, my idea of Canadian culture is kraft dinner, beer and hockey. Not sure how to talk about that for an hour and a bit.
Thankfully, the lady organizing the event is going to tell me what she would like me to talk about. Also thankfully, it's not until November.

Japanese fun fact

So I learned something from my wife the other day that made me stop and think a moment. I even had to stifle a laugh for fear of making her upset with me. As it turns out, Japanese people don't have thumbs or toes.
The thumb thing I can understand, as many of us North Americans will say we have 10 fingers, where as I believe I have 8 fingers and two thumbs. ( if thumbs were fingers they would be called fingers and not thumbs. )
But what I don't understand, is how Japanese people refer to their toes. As Asuka explains it to me, the word for toes literally translates to "leg fingers". Seriously, leg fingers. I don't know what else to say except the name conjures up some pretty silly images.
So there you have it. The Japanese have 20 fingers, no thumbs and no toes. Awkward.

Japanese fun fact

So I learned something from my wife the other day that made me stop and think a moment. I even had to stifle a laugh for fear of making her upset with me. As it turns out, Japanese people don't have thumbs or toes.
The thumb thing I can understand, as many of us North Americans will say we have 10 fingers, where as I believe I have 8 fingers and two thumbs. ( if thumbs were fingers they would be called fingers and not thumbs. )
But what I don't understand, is how Japanese people refer to their toes. As Asuka explains it to me, the word for toes literally translates to "leg fingers". Seriously, leg fingers. I don't know what else to say except the name conjures up some pretty silly images.
So there you have it. The Japanese have 20 fingers, no thumbs and no toes. Awkward.