Friday evening Mollee drove me up to Kumamoto City to meet up with Ian. He had been teaching one of his intensive two day English classes to factory workers, and since we didn’t get to spend Valentine’s Day together, we thought that a little break from Yunomae might be nice. 
I always feel like such a country bumpkin going up to the city, but every time I go I’m always overwhelmed. All of the night lights block the stars, the six lanes of traffic feel like too much, the constant bummer-to-bummer traffic irritates me, and the crowds of people no matter where we go make me feel anxious. I enjoy going to the city and getting out of sleepy little Kuma-gun, and it’s nice to have a change of scenery, but….the city always overwhelms me with its flashing neon signs, commuter buses that don’t mind getting three inches from the side of my car, lack of mountains and greenery, and numerous cold concrete structures. I could never, ever live in a big city! There are some upsides to the city, though. I feel like I’d never be bored because there is ALWAYS something going on in the city! Whether it’s a new museum exhibit, foreign food shopping, exploring new sights, or just strolling down the well-lit streets at night there’s ALWAYS something to do in the city!!
We met up with Ian on Friday evening after checking into a hotel and went out to dinner at Las Margaritas, the wonderful Mexican restaurant in the city. The owner of the restaurant is from Mexico, so the food is authentic and DELICIOUS. He’s also a really nice guy who enjoys talking to us. Since it was a meatless Lenten Friday, I had the quesadillas and nachos. DELICIOUS! I miss having Mexican food in my life! 
After dinner we went and strolled down the city sidewalks for a bit before returning to our hotel for the night.
The following morning we went to Starbucks. I don’t care that much about overpriced coffee, but Mollee and Ian both wanted to go. Since I don’t like coffee, that eliminates a LOT OF options for me. I generally get a hot chocolate, but since it’s Lent, I couldn’t do that. I told Ian to just order me a hot tea, but he asked if I wanted a tea latte. Thinking that latte=fancy word for some type of coffee, I wrinkled my nose and said no. However, Mollee explained that “latte” is the Italian word for “milk,” so basically a tea latte is like a tea with milk. I tried it and found my new favorite Starbucks drink. Yum! It might be even better than my normal hot chocolate! Plus, the caffeine from the tea had me WIRED! I was bouncing all over the place. (Why would I ever take drugs whenever I have such a strong response to CAFFIENE???? )
After our morning Starbucks, we headed up to Fukuoka. Mollee originally was going to spend the day in Kumamoto with some friends, but those plans fell through, so she tagged along with us up to the big city. I drove to Fukuoka, which allowed me to realize something. Before coming to Japan, I HATED driving in a big city. Even going through Nashville or Louisville made me anxious. I hate the constant weaving in and out of traffic, the people trying in vain to cut around you, the oh-crap-I-need-to-be-two-lanes-over-NOW feeling, etc. However, after driving in Japan, that city driving anxiety has pretty much disappeared. I don’t mind driving in the city now. Kumamoto is slightly bigger than the Metro Nashville area, and I have no problem driving there. Bummer-to-bummer traffic still annoys me, but who really ENJOYS traffic….? I guess being forced to do something repeatedly really will help you conquer your fears! Honestly, I feel like driving in Japan has improved my overall driving skills. Not only am I better at city driving, but I can drive on tiny little one lane roads meant for one car but somehow two cars can miraculously fit on. Before coming to Japan, I had absolutely no experience driving on curvy, hilly mountain roads, but now I don’t think twice about it. I remember the first time I took the 219 from Kuma-mura to Yatsushiro. I was terrified! Although the 219 is one of the main roads through Kuma-gun, it cuts through the mountains between Kuma-mura and Yatsushiro. The road has been carved into the mountain, so one side of the road is sheer mountain rock while the other side is a drop off into the Kuma River. It’s a beautiful drive, but the road is constantly curving right or left around the mountains, and most of the curves are blind. So…..if you happen to meet a log truck rounding a curve, the driver might not be able to keep his back tires on his side of the line. 
Anyway, the first time was quite the experience for me. I was nervous, anxious, and couldn’t take my eyes off the road as I super-focused on every detail. Now driving on the 219 is nothing. Driving on any mountain road is nothing. It just comes second nature now.
Once we got up to Fukuoka, we went to the Pokémon store. While I don’t give a crap about Pokémon, both Mollee and Ian wanted to go. I went to a bookstore across the way and browsed the aisles until I found the foreign books section. I found the February copy of National Geographic (which was selling for slightly over $10) and read that until they were finished with all things Pokémon. Then we went up to the roof of the 10-story shopping center where there was a nice garden area with a great view of the entire city. We could see all the way to the ocean in front of the city to the mountains on the backside of the city. We could even see airplanes taking off and landing at the airport just a few miles away. Plus….bonus! The first sakura (cherry blossoms) of the season were in the rooftop garden. Hurray! It was a tiny cherry tree but still as beautiful!
Even though I’m not quite finished writing about the weekend, I think I’ll stop here so that I can get some actual work done. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but sometimes I do actually have to work at my fluffy Japanese job.
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