Shannon Sensei: Yokohama and Halloween

On Monday, Halloween, I went to Yokohama with my student and friend Ayako. We went to see Chinese Town, have lunch, and see the sea.

We got to the Chinese area and picked out our lunch, nikuman. They are bread balls with delicious meat filling, like what's inside of egg rolls. We also got desert of similar litte sweet bread balls, more like dough than bread though, with sweet seasame or coconut on them and filling.
We took our lunch a park on the sea side to enjoy it and the view.

That was when we met Mr. Hawk. Mr. Hawk was circling above us. Mr. Hawk began eyeing Ayako's nikuman. We didn't see Mr. Hawk watching us. Suddenly, Mr. Hawk swooped down over Ayako's shoulder, hitting her in the back of the head with his impressive wingspan, and grapping her nikuman. He dropped it, still in the bag, about 5 feet in front of us. Perhaps he wasn't expecting to get all of it, or for it to weigh so much. Ayako and I recovered from our shock, and we decided whether or not she could still eat her lunch. We ripped off the part that touch the ground, and the part that Mr. Hawks talons may have touched. And she continued to eat. We continued to enjoy the view of the harbor, and chatted as Mr. Hawk began circling again. I was watching him, but he is a master predator, and I am not used to being prey so we were unprepared as suddenly he swooped down again! Successfully stealing what was left of Ayako's lunch! Twice he attacked her! As the pidgeons began surrounding us (in a creepy "The Birds" way) to pick up the crumbs Mr. Hawk dropped, we moved to another bench. Ayako watched over my shoulder as I finished my lunch hunched over it and holding it close to my mouth (in a very "squirrel" way). I did offer her some, by the way. We watched as Mr. Hawk began circling over a young mother who was eating noodles and playing with her little boy. Ayako hurried over to warn her about Mr. Hawk. We didn't want him taking out a kids eye or anything.

The next stop on our visit, and we hurried there, was Minato Mirai, another city area with a big shopping area, a skyscrapper, and a ferris wheel.

I found a Wendy's! But we didn't eat there of course, having just eaten. Then we took the long train ride home, to get ready for a Halloween party.

I just couldn't not celebrate Halloween, despite being in Japan. So I invited over Perrine and her boyfriend, Marie, Marion, Ayako, and other students who couldn't make it. We had kind of a potluck dinner (I made tacos. Thanks Sarah and Thy!) wore costumes, and carved apples pretending they were pumpkins. Marie was a ghost; Perrine was a rocker; her boyfriend, Tristan, was a Japanese girl in a Hello Kitty (Kitty-chan) kimono; Ayako was Minnie Mouse; Marion was a chinese girl; and I was an Ipod commercial dancer.