Day 8 - A Walk in the Park

Yuzu wearing my hat

I woke up at 10 today to ensure that I could go to the gym before Nichole, Andy, and Yuzu were hoping to go to ~~Queens~~ Kings park. I ate quickly, but then got side tracked trying to write down yesterday’s events and talking with Christine and Yuzu while they ate. I taught her the hierarchy of value words (pretty good - good - very good - excellent) and we talked a little about our respective school systems. Yuzu asked me for maple syrup for her pancake and I suggested that they cut me, as Canadians have maple syrup in their veins. I’m not sure she understood at first because she appeared mildly disturbed. On my screen right now, there is an article on the other half, opposite where I am currently writing this. It's an advertisement for an article entitled “Japan’s Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn” which is… a thing, apparently. I asked Yuzu about it, after our discussion yesterday on the topic of Japanese’s Porno reputation. She said she didn’t know anything about the nations reputation for pornography, and I went further to tell her that it was known for having some of the weirdest. This didn’t seem to bother her particularly, but appeared to be news.

Overlooking Swan "River"

She had worked as a pet shop clerk in Japan and had worked a couple weeks straight without a day off. The business was doing quite well, but she didn’t particularly like it. They only sell rabbits. Just rabbits. She even said that she didn’t go home some nights, sleeping in these manga cafes that have computers, mats to sleep on, comic books, and an assortment of other things. Andy, Christine, and I asked about the capsule hotels, which are more expensive than I thought they’d be; she said she thought they were about $20 a night. Depending on my Chinese visa, I may try to make a trip over to Japan and check it out later this year.

That Big-Ass Tree

After returning from the gym, we waited around for the girls and headed.. back to the gym. Well, not the gym itself, but that cheap sushi place across the street from it. The plan was to head to Kings Park, which is kind of like a bigger central park for Perth. It’s a half hour walk there through the city, over a bridge that spans 10 lanes of highway, and up a massive hill into fancyland. Seriously, massive hill with all these really nice, modern looking buildings/houses. Just before the park is this MASSIVE tree, but not quite redwood sized or anything. Still, huge for being in the middle of a city.

Taking a break (duck face)

The park itself is overlooking a bay of sorts which I didn’t figure out the name of (Turns out it’s “Swan River"… seems like a misnomer to me). The trees were strange and the grass was different. Kind of feels like being on a similar, but foreign planet. Today it was Yuzu, Nichole, Andy, and a new addition, Japanese Tomo. She and Yuzu would help translate what was being said, and it gave Yuzu a break from having to constantly learn new words in english. We saw some nice sights, took a break on a green and showed off some skills (yoga, acrobatics, etc). After crossing “the glass bridge,” we were a little lost. Imagine wandering down a long pathway with no signs, brush growing in sand on both sides, with these strangely big anthills with entry holes ~3/4 cm in diameter (luckily no insects). Thank god thing for google maps as a compass and general guide. We found this “DNA tower” which was originally made of stone somewhere else, but was recreated here in steel.

Rotary Club Well

We wandered a little more, but the sun was going down and we were getting tired and hungry. Back into town, we collected the ingredients to make an ice-cream pizza (a la Diary Queen). I figured I should deliver on that, seeing as Yuzu, Nichole, and Tomo were leaving the next day.

At the hostel, we cooked and forgot about the deal we had planned to get; $5 for a burger and a pint at the local pub. $5! A pint alone is at least $6.50! The Italians went ahead and we said we’d catch up, but didn’t end up leaving until after they had already returned. We ate the pizza, and went to the bar anyway to see if the deal was still on. It wasn’t, but there was a backpacker special for a Cuba Libre. The live music was great and the bar wasn't super busy just yet. After finishing our drinks, we headed back to the hostel to meet up with the French and Italians before they went to a club “The Game.” They had been stamped earlier in the day, which enabled them to walk right in, and we still had to grab our IDs. Nichole changed her mind about going once we got back, and Yuzu didn’t seem too keen, either. Probably for the best as we still had to clean up the kitchen.

DNA Tower

Andy, Yuzu, Nichole and I listened to Irish John recount his situation. He’s in a tough position, having not been doing his coursework (student visa), and not paying his fees, which means he has to pay an additional $100 every WEEK he is late. He says he hardly has $5 to his name, and doesn’t even have a room. He detailed his plan for the money being wired from Ireland. We listened to that while Yuzu sat, bored, because she couldn’t understand what was happening. Occasionally, I’d make faces at her to entertain her, but that can only go so far. About 1am, I decided I had enough of the sob story and turned in for the night.

Bonus Pics: