Barbara, Shopping and Study

I met my Japanese teacher today at KICC.

I was stressing out... I got in the lift with 3 older ladies who were all headed to the same level as me, so I assumed one of them would be my teacher.
I stood looking out the window over Kobe (from the 20th floor; awesome view) while I waited for KICC to open. I then sat and waited for the staff to come and set up the introduction to my teacher etc and re-explain the `rules` etc.

I`m sooooooooo relieved. My tutor`s name is Kazutaka, 一孝, and is a 21 year old university student who is in his 3rd, and 2nd last year, of his Engineering degree. He lives in Nagata, which is a few stations away from Sannomiya.
He`s a really great guy. I was terrified that I`d end up with a 60 year old retiree with nothing better to do with their time.
He lived in Sydney for about 8 months and then travelled up and around to Cairns and then to Melbourne. He has great English, but we spoke 95% Japanese for the 2 hour `lesson`. He also was able to directly translate any new words into English when I needed.
It will be the same thing next Wednesday at 10am (and so on for the next 6 months).

Such a relief.


Barbara came yesterday! (My teacher from last year at TAFE.) She only had a few hours here, and it was cold and wet, so I took her on a tour of some shops. (`Some` because I doubt anyone could explore all the shops in a single day within Sannomiya/Motomachi, let alone within a few hours.)
Was great to catch up and see a familiar face to cement the reality of this country with. This place seems so perfectly surreal sometimes that I`m simply waiting to wake up.
We basically talked and walked constantly, but she also saved me from any big delays with my internet installation when the company rang without any English speaking ability. The lady on the phone asked if I had any Japanese friends nearby and that was my cue to grab Barbara.

So anyway, my internet was going to be installed between 1pm and 5pm on Christmas Day... however, work closes earlier then so I also have to start earlier. This all means that it`s not possible to install the internet then. So, after much bargining and persuading, she`ll try and see if it`s possible to do it during the morning of the 26th, 27th or 28th. It`s the first situation I`ve had in Japan that has been less efficient than back home.

I`m thinking about lunch...