Klexon Language Exchange

When we first got to Kyoto we we looked into many different volunteering and language exchange programs in an attempt to improve out Japanese as fast as possible. One of the organizations we discovered is Klexon. They meet almost every Tuesday night downtown for two hours. You have to apply to join and go early the first time for an interview, but they are very welcoming of native English speakers. It's free to attend if you are a foreigner, but the Japanese members pay a fee to cover the cost of renting the space. The first hour is spent in a series of ten minute one on one interviews with other members on a predefined topic, like "where do you like to go shopping?" or "where did you go this week?" The next hour is spent playing a kind of Japanese pictionary and free conversation. The program is very helpful as foreigners speak in Japanese and the natives speak in English and we correct each other. The best part is afterwards we all go out for a beer down the street, so it's a good way to socialize and meet Japanese people and other ex-pats.

This weeks pictionary topic was "draw your ideal life," rather ironic I thought given recent events in my life, but this is what I got:

If you can't tell, it's me writing poetry with a cat in a small cabin in a pine forest near a train station within bike distance so I could get into the city if I wanted to. Sounds nice to me.