My full weekend, fun, excitement, and relaxation

The weekend naturally started in the evening with me going to the weekly game night again. This time, I brought along five classmates with whom I spent the game night. We played light games since not everyone was ready for strategy games, but that was okay. We had a lot of fun with party games where you had to lie and cheat. Of course, there was a mango smoothie again, which is one of the tastiest smoothies I've ever had. Apparently, the recipe is a mixture of frozen mango pieces, ice, soy milk, and probably a bit of sweetener. Maybe that's the trick.

Anyway, I wanted to show the two guys I get along well with the English pub I often go to, so we ended the evening with a beer there. I walked back home, really happy about my central home here. Most things are easily accessible on foot.

Saturday started well, albeit a bit later than usual because the week was exhausting. I rushed straight to the voluntary Saturday class and gave feedback to the aspiring teachers again. After that, I went to a botanical garden with the two guys from the previous day, but honestly, it was pretty lousy.

The Botanical Garden

I was really looking forward to the visit because I've been to several gardens in Berlin and Hamburg that have always appealed to me. And since it had been officially spring for a week, I thought the plants would already be blooming. The entrance fee was 600 yen for the whole day, which is about €3.50. I was happy that it was so cheap, but when I arrived at the garden, I was quite disappointed. Only the daffodils were blooming and another type of flower; otherwise, every tree and flower was still completely bare. A few trees had visible buds, but overall the visit was really disappointing. At least the sun was shining, and we could enjoy the good weather on a bench. Occasionally, a small colorful train with children passed by. But then we moved on.

We actually wanted to go out to eat, but I said goodbye to the guys after another half hour because I had a date that evening and wanted to get ready. So I went home, admittedly a bit nervous because this would be my first date here. It wasn't a Japanese person, so I would definitely get by with my English, but somehow I was quite excited and wanted to show my best side.

The Date

I waited for my date at the station where I wanted to pick them up. Then I got a message: "Sorry, I'll probably be there in an hour. Is that okay for you?" I looked at my phone and scratched my head. I hadn't experienced anything like this before, but I had made myself fresh and had no other plans for the evening, so I told them it was no problem. I went home for another half hour and charged my phone, which was pretty empty from the whole day. I wondered if the evening would end well, but when I finally met them, everything loosened up. We ate delicious food (I took them to a good restaurant) and drank a lot. The evening was nice, and a few hours later, we decided to go to a bar. We didn't know which bar and just looked on Google Maps for the nearest one that was open. And so we accidentally stepped into one of the coolest bars I've personally seen so far. It was a small bar, just a room with a few low tables and black sofas at the edges. There were 4 Japanese visitors and the Japanese bartender who greeted us behind his illuminated black-and-white bar in a tuxedo. He immediately made small talk with us, and we told him where we came from. My date from Mexico, me from Germany. His eyes lit up. He immediately asked us if we wanted to drink a Corona beer since it comes from Mexico. We nodded and drank the beer. It was almost 1 a.m. when we entered the bar, and we stayed there for a good 2 hours. Meanwhile, the place became emptier, but we kept drinking and talking. We got a snack bowl, as is customary in good bars, and occasionally the bartender came by and talked to us. Since his wife is apparently also Mexican, he offered us tequila shots, which I couldn't refuse in the presence of a Mexican. In the background, a guest turned on the karaoke machine and sang love songs to their companion in Japanese. Not much later, the bartender came by again and offered us shots again. This time something from Germany: Jägermeister. I had to laugh, but again I couldn't refuse. Because now the bartender drank with us. He seemed very happy that two foreigners had come to his bar, and it didn't take long before we asked if we could sing a couple of songs too. And then the last two other guests came to our table. They didn't speak a word of English, were already quite drunk, but incredibly nice. The bartender himself kept translating, and we often laughed just because of the funny moments that arose. The visit to the bar ended with the bartender announcing shortly before three that he would now play the last song. He was an incredible rock fan and wanted to show us his favorite song.

And so it happened that the two foreigners sang "Born to be Wild" with three Japanese people late at night in some basement bar. The bartender turned up the volume accordingly during the chorus. It was really great. The evening ended after the bar visit, and the next day I sobered up modestly on my bed in the apartment and didn't leave the house. I really rested from the previous day and the whole week. But now I'm back and writing a blog post every day again. So long!