I feel like eating chocolate!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
2 months
I've hit the two month mark. That's so crazy. Just a few bits of news for you:
1. I made it into Japanese 4 at Sophia University.
2. I got the Freeman-ASIA Scholarship.
3. I finally have proper bedding for my bed.
4. I'm waiting for my rice cooker to arrive.
5. I'm also waiting for my internet to be installed.
6. School starts on October 1st.
Here's my bedding...I was quite excited.
1. I made it into Japanese 4 at Sophia University.
2. I got the Freeman-ASIA Scholarship.
3. I finally have proper bedding for my bed.
4. I'm waiting for my rice cooker to arrive.
5. I'm also waiting for my internet to be installed.
6. School starts on October 1st.
Here's my bedding...I was quite excited.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
見回そう、３６０度！
So last night was pretty crazy. Tom, Matt, Jae, and I were going to meet up in a bar in Ginza, but it turned out that John's brother was in Tokyo and they were going to splurge at the Tokyo Hilton, so we ended up going to dinner with them. It was at a place called Musashino and it had to be the most expensive dinner I've ever eaten. The sirloin was delicious and the sake was actually good, which is saying a lot since I generally don't like sake.
Afterwards we stopped in a lounge/bar type place downstairs. (It had the whole old man, cigars, and whiskey feel.) I had this toxic looking cocktail called a 'passion fantasy' that was really good. Hahaha. Since the drinks were expensive, while we were drinking them we were like, "I just drank 100 yen, oh there goes another 50 yen." I met a guy named Kohei, who's an underground rapper and is very well connected to that whole scene. (The picture is of John and Kohei, John is trying to look cook, Kohei is doing 'kamehameha!')
At karaoke, you could tell Kohei was a rapper, especially on "見回そう” (Mimawasou) by キングギドラ (King Giddra). Really legit. We spent the rest of the night/morning at karaoke/nomihoudai. I found out that Kelly can really sing. That had to be the most second hand smoke I've ever had in my life, but all in all, it was a lot of fun. (Above: everyone having a lot of fun. ^_^)
Afterwards we stopped in a lounge/bar type place downstairs. (It had the whole old man, cigars, and whiskey feel.) I had this toxic looking cocktail called a 'passion fantasy' that was really good. Hahaha. Since the drinks were expensive, while we were drinking them we were like, "I just drank 100 yen, oh there goes another 50 yen." I met a guy named Kohei, who's an underground rapper and is very well connected to that whole scene. (The picture is of John and Kohei, John is trying to look cook, Kohei is doing 'kamehameha!')
At karaoke, you could tell Kohei was a rapper, especially on "見回そう” (Mimawasou) by キングギドラ (King Giddra). Really legit. We spent the rest of the night/morning at karaoke/nomihoudai. I found out that Kelly can really sing. That had to be the most second hand smoke I've ever had in my life, but all in all, it was a lot of fun. (Above: everyone having a lot of fun. ^_^)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
雷門
Today, I went to Asakusa to visit Kaminari-mon, which is basically this huge gate and lantern with a temple. In between the gate and the temple, there are stores lined all along the path. A lot of it is tourist oriented, but it looks like there's also a lot of good snack foods. There were a lot of people, so it was kinda crazy, but it was nice to actually see a temple in Tokyo. So I did the whole fan yourself with smoke, go in, bow, clap, and throw money. Some people throw that money from really far. o.O The underside of the big lantern was really pretty, but it was hard to get a picture of since I couldn't see where I was shooting and there were so many people trying to take pictures.
After I looked around at the temple, I proceeded to look at the food stands set up. My favorite thing was the little candy stick things. (Posted below) The outside was basically chewy and sticky like botan rice candy and the inside had a really juicy tangerine slice that I made a mess out of. Apparently it's for little kids, but I like it anyway. I also had 大だこ焼, which is just big takoyaki. There were six in the container and I could only eat 4. It was good, but honestly the dough/octopus ratio was not good. Too much dough. Stick to the normal sized ones. When I was walking back, I bought konpeito (basically colorful, cute sugar candy) from one of the shops. I couldn't help it; they're really cute and I have a sweet tooth.
I was kind of bummed that it's cloudy becaue the pictures don't look as nice, but I like that it's a bit cooler. =)
More pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/13561081@N04/
After I looked around at the temple, I proceeded to look at the food stands set up. My favorite thing was the little candy stick things. (Posted below) The outside was basically chewy and sticky like botan rice candy and the inside had a really juicy tangerine slice that I made a mess out of. Apparently it's for little kids, but I like it anyway. I also had 大だこ焼, which is just big takoyaki. There were six in the container and I could only eat 4. It was good, but honestly the dough/octopus ratio was not good. Too much dough. Stick to the normal sized ones. When I was walking back, I bought konpeito (basically colorful, cute sugar candy) from one of the shops. I couldn't help it; they're really cute and I have a sweet tooth.
I was kind of bummed that it's cloudy becaue the pictures don't look as nice, but I like that it's a bit cooler. =)
More pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/13561081@N04/
Saturday, September 22, 2007
COCKROACH!
I found a cockroach in my room!!! I freaked out soooo much. I threw something at it and it crawled, I screamed, and emailed Tom to see if he was willing to kill it, but he was at a club. So I decided to go and find someone in the lounge. Luckily, Seth was awake, complaining about the noise and came to save the day. (Since I seriously couldn't sleep in a room with a bug that big.) I'm so grateful to Seth. (Not the one from JLI, this Seth is the first person I met at Azalea.) He chased it around my room and eventually killed it, put it in a bag, and took it to the trash for me. He's really nice, especially since he had to be up early and it's about 3am in the morning. Seth is my absolute favorite person right now.
That's my interesting story for the day. I also went to Shinjuku to meet Vinodh, Nobuko, Makoto, Keith, and a couple other people to drink and sing karaoke, but the cockroach story definitely wins. I was going to go to sleep, but I have to stay up a little more to calm my nerves. Huuu~
That's my interesting story for the day. I also went to Shinjuku to meet Vinodh, Nobuko, Makoto, Keith, and a couple other people to drink and sing karaoke, but the cockroach story definitely wins. I was going to go to sleep, but I have to stay up a little more to calm my nerves. Huuu~
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
waaaaa!
So it's been a pretty crazy few days just getting used to Heiwadai and not being around everyone in Kameido anymore. After moving in, I unpacked and rested. I was really irritated by one of the people I had to move with, so I was in a bad mood. After e-mailing a few other people, we discovered that a lot of us were unhappy. So on Saturday night, I met up with Vinodh in Kameido. We went to the oden hut that pops up outside of Kameido sometimes. It was pretty yummy, plus the guy working there gave me a discount for being pretty. Hahaha, there's a first. We met up in Anjee's room where Michael was staying since he had a realy bad host family. A little while later Jae called and said he was coming over with So-ky, who also disliked his new dorm. So an hour or so later, viola! mini D class reunion.
Not everything turned out great that night since some people wanted to drink and some people didn't and there were only 2 rooms for 5 extra guests. It was actually not a good way to end terms with everyone since people were going off to Kyoto, but we got it all settled, and I think we're all okay.
Sunday was spent going to the Nerima-ku office to switch my alien registration card and insurance. Then I went to Shinjuku where I proceeded to buy a new shower curtain and gawk at how expensive bedding is. (I have yet to get sheets and a comforter.) Afterwards, I went to Nakanosakaue to see off Kazue, along with a bunch of other people from JLI. So tiring, but fun. =)
Today was the orientation and placement for Sophia University. I feel like I did well enough and that whatever I get will actually reflect my abilities, but I'm scared that I'll get put in a beginner class or something. We'll see. It was a lot of technical stuff, so there isn't that much to write, but I did get my ID card, which looks cool and will allow me to get a commuter pass starting October 1st. I need cheaper transportation. Right now, its ridiculous!!!
In scary news, the word on the street is that someone committed suicide in Bldg. 1 of Weekly Mansion Kameido. (We were in Bldg. 2) I don't really know what's going on with that, but it's pretty creepy. Anyway, I'll still miss it there, it was nice. (This is the view from a bridge in the morning. Ah, I'll miss those mornings!)
Not everything turned out great that night since some people wanted to drink and some people didn't and there were only 2 rooms for 5 extra guests. It was actually not a good way to end terms with everyone since people were going off to Kyoto, but we got it all settled, and I think we're all okay.
Sunday was spent going to the Nerima-ku office to switch my alien registration card and insurance. Then I went to Shinjuku where I proceeded to buy a new shower curtain and gawk at how expensive bedding is. (I have yet to get sheets and a comforter.) Afterwards, I went to Nakanosakaue to see off Kazue, along with a bunch of other people from JLI. So tiring, but fun. =)
Today was the orientation and placement for Sophia University. I feel like I did well enough and that whatever I get will actually reflect my abilities, but I'm scared that I'll get put in a beginner class or something. We'll see. It was a lot of technical stuff, so there isn't that much to write, but I did get my ID card, which looks cool and will allow me to get a commuter pass starting October 1st. I need cheaper transportation. Right now, its ridiculous!!!
In scary news, the word on the street is that someone committed suicide in Bldg. 1 of Weekly Mansion Kameido. (We were in Bldg. 2) I don't really know what's going on with that, but it's pretty creepy. Anyway, I'll still miss it there, it was nice. (This is the view from a bridge in the morning. Ah, I'll miss those mornings!)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
On Tsukiji and Moving In
On the Thursday before I moved out (a continuation of the night out with Class D), Michael, Anjee, and I decided to go to Tsukiji fish market. I almost didn't wake up in time and had to run to the train. I barely made it. After getting to Tsukiji we went to where they were selling all the fish. It was crazy. I've never seen so much seafood in my life. There are people pulling carts of huge fish, people selling hundreds of types of seafood, and people on these motorized things pulling goods all over the place. We saw a little bit of the auction from far away, but we were getting in the way so it was hard to take pictures. It kind of ruined my appetite for fish, so I didn't try the katsugyou (alive) sashimi. It was done pretty quickly, but it was cool to see. I'm glad Anjee got me up so early to go. =) When my family comes to visit, I'm definitely going to try to take my dad there.
On Friday, I checked out of Weekly Mansion Kameido. I had actually stayed up all night with Vinodh since neither of us wanted to go to sleep. I went up to the roof for the first time and took pictures from there of Kameido. Too bad the sunrise didn't turn out too great. Had to say goodbye to everyone, then made my way over to Heiwadai, where Azalea House is. (Below is the view of Kameido from the roof.)
So far, I haven't really been able to move in correctly since I haven't purchased a lot of the things I need. That's the plan for today. I'll take pictures once I'm more settled. Everyone here seems pretty cool. I'm just so far away from everything. Wish me luck! I'm making a flickr page so you guys can see more photos!
On Friday, I checked out of Weekly Mansion Kameido. I had actually stayed up all night with Vinodh since neither of us wanted to go to sleep. I went up to the roof for the first time and took pictures from there of Kameido. Too bad the sunrise didn't turn out too great. Had to say goodbye to everyone, then made my way over to Heiwadai, where Azalea House is. (Below is the view of Kameido from the roof.)
So far, I haven't really been able to move in correctly since I haven't purchased a lot of the things I need. That's the plan for today. I'll take pictures once I'm more settled. Everyone here seems pretty cool. I'm just so far away from everything. Wish me luck! I'm making a flickr page so you guys can see more photos!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
D組は最高！！
Yesterday was the last day of JLI. Jae gave some of us toys from the crane game at the arcade, since he won a whole bunch in the morning because he forgot class started late. Mine is this pink bird with a helmet on...I don't really know what it is. We had our last speeches in class, which went really well. Michael gave the absolute best speech in the history of all Japanese classes I've ever taken. He basically took as many of the grammar points we learned and talked about why our class is so great. (And included all the class jokes we have.) I'd reproduce it, but it's really not funny unless 1) you were in our class, 2) you speak Japanese, 3) you know our textbook. We were all laughing so hard...he had me very, very close to tears. After class, there was a farewell party for everyone in JLI. So-ky and Seth did a manzai (Japanese humor skit). So-ky doing, "そんなの関係ねぇー！" was hilarious. (It's a line from a Japanese comedian.)
After the party, everyone went back to Kameido, including Jae, who's never been there before. We didn't do very well on the final, and Jae burned his test in order to forget, which was fun to watch. We helped Hank move all his boxes to the convenience store to send them to his permanent housing, which looked really funny. There was a long line of foreigners carrying boxes...very interesting. We got our entire class together to go to Ueno to drink and eat with one of our teachers. I tried basashi for the first time at that restaurant. Guess what basashi is? Horse sashimi. Horse! It tasted weird. I don't think I particularly like it, but it wasn't nasty either.
Following that, we went to Karaoke Kan to sing. (Which included Hank singing K and Naotaro Moriyama again. =D) It was pretty funny to watch our teacher sing his heart out. After a couple of hours at karaoke, we parted ways with our sensei and almost decided to stay out and go to Tsukiji, but not enough people were up for it. So we took our train back and said bye to Jae, who's the only one who doesn't live in the same place as us. We spent a few more hours walking around and eating ice cream, which was basically just because none of us wanted to go home and we all wanted to hang out longer. Tomorrow, Hank leaves for Taiwan and after that everyone will start going their separate ways. I initially didn't like that I'd have to be around so many EAP kids at the beginning of the program, but now I think just the way Michael does, D class is the best! I'm really gonna miss these people. But as Venodh says, and Hank translated: 生きるために生きなさい. Live for the sake of living. It's time to move on. JLI is finally over.
D class is the best! D組は最高！
After the party, everyone went back to Kameido, including Jae, who's never been there before. We didn't do very well on the final, and Jae burned his test in order to forget, which was fun to watch. We helped Hank move all his boxes to the convenience store to send them to his permanent housing, which looked really funny. There was a long line of foreigners carrying boxes...very interesting. We got our entire class together to go to Ueno to drink and eat with one of our teachers. I tried basashi for the first time at that restaurant. Guess what basashi is? Horse sashimi. Horse! It tasted weird. I don't think I particularly like it, but it wasn't nasty either.
Following that, we went to Karaoke Kan to sing. (Which included Hank singing K and Naotaro Moriyama again. =D) It was pretty funny to watch our teacher sing his heart out. After a couple of hours at karaoke, we parted ways with our sensei and almost decided to stay out and go to Tsukiji, but not enough people were up for it. So we took our train back and said bye to Jae, who's the only one who doesn't live in the same place as us. We spent a few more hours walking around and eating ice cream, which was basically just because none of us wanted to go home and we all wanted to hang out longer. Tomorrow, Hank leaves for Taiwan and after that everyone will start going their separate ways. I initially didn't like that I'd have to be around so many EAP kids at the beginning of the program, but now I think just the way Michael does, D class is the best! I'm really gonna miss these people. But as Venodh says, and Hank translated: 生きるために生きなさい. Live for the sake of living. It's time to move on. JLI is finally over.
D class is the best! D組は最高！
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
so close!
I had my final today. I think the fill in the blank section with all the small words owned me in the face. （やっぱり、かつて、まるで、かりに、それにしても、とくに...they're like 'actually', 'after all', and 'especially' in English.) Fifteen of those little words. Even the ones I knew I didn't know where to place in the sentences since I could see some of them working in several sentences. Argh. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of JLI. We're going to school late and doing speeches and a kanji quiz. Then we're having a party at a restaurant. I wish I didn't have to do a speech. Taking the final made me feel like I don't need to do anything anymore. So close...yet so far.
I'm finally moving out of the Weekly Mansion. I'll be moving out on the 14th. Woo hoo. The only bummer is that I'm actually moving further away from my school and taiko classes. It will be nice to actually have an area to cook in and things like that though.
I miss having long, important conversations in English. I'm not even having short, meaningless conversations in Japanese. I'm just having fun, which is great, but you know...that isn't everything.
I'm finally moving out of the Weekly Mansion. I'll be moving out on the 14th. Woo hoo. The only bummer is that I'm actually moving further away from my school and taiko classes. It will be nice to actually have an area to cook in and things like that though.
I miss having long, important conversations in English. I'm not even having short, meaningless conversations in Japanese. I'm just having fun, which is great, but you know...that isn't everything.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
My First Practice
Today was my first wadaiko practice at the Miyamoto Studio! After filling out an information sheet and getting our membership card things, we went up to the classroom. There were only about 6 people. I'll be honest, it was scary and intimidating. Tosha sensei goes through everyone individually and critiques. There are a lot of bad habits I have that I need to fix if I want to play properly. I use my wrist too much and not enough of the rest of my arm, my elbow sticks out, I need to lock my wrist then relax it, ect. Hopefully I'm not so slow that he thinks I'm a lost cause. (Everyone else besides me and Tom must have been coming to practices for a long time since they played through a piece at the end.) I don't feel very confident about the way I play now, but I since I have a lot of problems to fix, I think I'll improve a lot as long as I stick with it and try hard. I think it's more frustrating because it's in Japanese. So first I have to understand what he's saying, which sometimes I don't, but I don't want to say, "I don't understand you" because I don't want to make him more angry. (I'm making him sound really scary, and he kind of is, but he's not a mean person, he's just a strict teacher.) Anyway, we'll see how this goes. I should be able to handle once a week for an hour and a half. Even though it's short, it's intense.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
新大久保！
First, I just found out my scholarship status changed for the Freeman-ASIA scholarship! I hope all my paperwork works out and I get it. =D I also decided that I'm going to take classes at the Miyamoto Studio. I start tomorrow! I'm so excited!!!!
Last night, Venod, Gerrick, Hank, and I went over to Jae's apartment for dinner. He made us kalbi, pork, mini hot dogs, and rice. (Way to make me feel like a horrible girl for not being able to actually cook.) And of course we had soju, since that goes with Korean food. Venod and Gerrick went for beer eventually though. We also had a bottle of champagne that Jae wanted to open and drink, which I actually didn't like that much. Anyway, after we ate, we had this crazy idea to go to Shinokubo, get spicy Korean food, then karaoke. After a big talk about how Jae is our senpai because he's at least 3 years everyone's senior we took one of the last trains to Shinokubo. (It was all or nothing. Everyone or no one. So once we got there, there was no going home until morning.)
There's a picture of me and senpai Jae. Hahaha. (I promise we were not drunk, the food was just spicy..and delicious!) Our very international crew (Hank's Taiwanese, Jerich's Filipino, Venod is Indian, Jae's Korean, and I'm Japanese) definitely got looked down on and commented about on the train, but oh well... We walked around the Korean section of the streets and ended up having kimbap, ddukbokgi, and 'army soup' with soju. It was so good. Ahh, I haven't had that kind of soup in a really long time. Venod and Gerrick were falling asleep at the table, which was hilarious, but it was a good time. Around 1:30 we decided to go karaoke. Hank, who is normally very quiet, is a great singer. (He sang 'Only Human' with me, then sang 'Sakura' by Naotaro Moriyama, impressive right?) So we spent our time singing, eating dried squid, and drinking beer until 5am. What a night/day. Jae covered most of the night, which made me feel a little bad, but we already had that whole talk on senpai/kouhai (senior/junior), so I couldn't really bring it up again. We took the first train back and got home around 6am. Here's a picture of my favorite karaoke singer, Hank. I love that kind of stuff. It's just awesome. =)
Last night, Venod, Gerrick, Hank, and I went over to Jae's apartment for dinner. He made us kalbi, pork, mini hot dogs, and rice. (Way to make me feel like a horrible girl for not being able to actually cook.) And of course we had soju, since that goes with Korean food. Venod and Gerrick went for beer eventually though. We also had a bottle of champagne that Jae wanted to open and drink, which I actually didn't like that much. Anyway, after we ate, we had this crazy idea to go to Shinokubo, get spicy Korean food, then karaoke. After a big talk about how Jae is our senpai because he's at least 3 years everyone's senior we took one of the last trains to Shinokubo. (It was all or nothing. Everyone or no one. So once we got there, there was no going home until morning.)
There's a picture of me and senpai Jae. Hahaha. (I promise we were not drunk, the food was just spicy..and delicious!) Our very international crew (Hank's Taiwanese, Jerich's Filipino, Venod is Indian, Jae's Korean, and I'm Japanese) definitely got looked down on and commented about on the train, but oh well... We walked around the Korean section of the streets and ended up having kimbap, ddukbokgi, and 'army soup' with soju. It was so good. Ahh, I haven't had that kind of soup in a really long time. Venod and Gerrick were falling asleep at the table, which was hilarious, but it was a good time. Around 1:30 we decided to go karaoke. Hank, who is normally very quiet, is a great singer. (He sang 'Only Human' with me, then sang 'Sakura' by Naotaro Moriyama, impressive right?) So we spent our time singing, eating dried squid, and drinking beer until 5am. What a night/day. Jae covered most of the night, which made me feel a little bad, but we already had that whole talk on senpai/kouhai (senior/junior), so I couldn't really bring it up again. We took the first train back and got home around 6am. Here's a picture of my favorite karaoke singer, Hank. I love that kind of stuff. It's just awesome. =)
Thursday, September 6, 2007
宮本 Studio: 宮本邦楽教室
I just got back from the Miyamoto Studio. Tom went to meet someone he knew at the store, and we ended up going to the studio to find out about wadaiko (taiko) classes at the Miyamoto Hougaku Kyoushitsu (Miyamoto Traditional Music Classroom) We walked in on a class of two people, but Kiyonari Tosha watched how we hit, then fixed us. (Soooo intimidating. I felt kind of stupid.) It turns out he's really nice, and the way he explains things makes a lot of sense (except since it was in Japanese I don't know how much I actually understood, but I think I got most of it). My hit was realy weak, then he helped me adjust where I stand and how I hit and POOF I was louder, without using any extra energy. I really, really want to take classes there, but they'll run me 10,000 yen per month for 3 practices... But I have to do it. I think I'll regret it if I don't, which of course means that I need to look into finding a job as soon as school starts. I'm all motivated now. I think even just being around such great drums makes me want to play better. I hope I can keep the motivation up.
In other news: TYPHOOOONNNN!!!
In other news: TYPHOOOONNNN!!!
Mobile: Lights
I saw those on my way to Asakusa, they look all geometric and cool. =D
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
小 Party!
Since this weekend, nothing too exciting has been going on. Monday night, Seth threw a 小 party (small party) in his room and cooked everyone pasta for dinner. (We had just finished a 小 test that day, so we dubbed it a 小 party. Hahaha.) It wasn't exactly planned out, but it worked since Busby and I brought bread, Angee brought tomatoes, and Casey brought senbei (rice crackers). It was pretty funny, we fit about 13 people into one room. (Just trust me, that's a lot of people.) The hot plates were set up outside the window and we were passing bread down in a line...it was pretty cramped, but funny how it all worked out. It was kind of a standing party I guess. Here's a picture to give you an idea of how everyone was all crammed in. After about half the people left, only D class was left, so we watched some sumo on the computer and went to the store and bought ice cream. (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cookie!) A few of the guys tried to make beer floats. That seemed disgusting, but it was fun. Whooo~
Yesterday was an academic orientation for all the UC EAP students. Nothing exciting. It was at Sophia, so we did our program specific one there too. Basically I get 6 units for taking a 4 unit class at Sophia...nice! It rained like crazy for about 5 minutes. There's a typhoon on its way, so there are these really short, hard rainfalls. I think I need to buy a more portable umbrella.
I have no significant plans. Time to look up something to do or somewhere to go!
Yesterday was an academic orientation for all the UC EAP students. Nothing exciting. It was at Sophia, so we did our program specific one there too. Basically I get 6 units for taking a 4 unit class at Sophia...nice! It rained like crazy for about 5 minutes. There's a typhoon on its way, so there are these really short, hard rainfalls. I think I need to buy a more portable umbrella.
I have no significant plans. Time to look up something to do or somewhere to go!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
craziness!
On Thursday, I made my first trip to Harajuku. There are so many stores and so many young people. Some of them look quite interesting. There are stores for just about every style there. The lolita/goth style stores kind of freaked me out a bit. There was a Johnny's Jr. Entertainment store that we were going to go see, but you had to get a ticket to wait in line. We got there around 4 and the tickets weren't good until 5:30. I couldn't believe it. From the outside, the store didn't look like anything special, it just had a bunch of goods of singers and talents in the entertainment company. After that, we walked over to Omotesando Hills, which wasn't very far but walking just a few blocks made a huge difference in social/economic class. We all felt grossly underdressed. The mall was filled with stores we could never easily afford...and we weren't allowed to take pictures. Unfortunately, I missed going to the Bape Cafe, but I'll probably make another trip out there to shop, so that'll be on my list of places to visit. (Below: Jameson and the funny Engrish window. We couldn't figure out what they sell.)
On Friday I ran into a bunch of EAP kids going to ICU for fall quarter. They just moved into the Weekly Mansion a few days ago. We went to eat and drink with a couple of them. They showed us to this dart bar that's really close by, but it ended up being sort of expensive. I played darts with Alex, Jason, and Aya. Aya and I had never really played before, so it was probably really amusing for everyone there to watch us, but it was fun. (My team won. =D) It was a nice laid back Friday night thing to do since everyone else had gone out to nomihoudai (all you can drink) or clubbing.
Yesterday was crazy. Just crazy. Half of our class went over to Jae's apartment. (He's also in our class but doesn't live in Weekly Mansion.) It took us a little while to figure out how to get there, but when we did Jae treated us all to Korean food and soju, which was yummy. (The above picture is before everything started.) Angie and Schroder ended up going home early, but Michael, Hank and I decided to stay longer. Michael and Jae got into some really crazy conversations and I learned a lot about everyone. After listening to people's life experiences and attitudes toward life, I actually think it changed some of the way I think. I don't want to duplicate all those life stories here, but it was amazing what these people have gone through...it makes me sort of feel childish and unexperienced on one hand and extremely blessed and grateful on the other. We missed the last train back to Kameido and ended up staying there until 5:00am or so. Then we caught the early train back. I got back around 6:15am. On the way back, we were crossing (the almost completely deserted) street, and we saw the Tokyo Tower. (This is the after picture.) From the middle of the street, it made a really great shot. Japan at 5:00am in the morning is so refreshing. It feels entirely different from when everyone is out and about. I know that staying out that long probably wasn't good for my sleeping schedule or for all the stuff I have to get done by tomorrow, but in some ways I think it was probably for the better.
So after sleeping until around 2 (and consequently ignoring all phone calls and emails during that time) I decided to try to catch Yuhki before he went back to Tochigi. I thought I was just going to sleep through the rest of the day, but I woke up just in time to go to Shinjuku and meet him and his girlfriend (who make a very, very cute couple) for dinner. It was really nice to be able to talk to someone who knew people and things from home. It's been well over a year, so I was happy. =D Now I have to write my 3rd speech, memorize my 2nd one, and study for my kanji quiz and chapter test. Whoo! 6:30am and I'm off to a sumo stall! Man, I'm going to be tired. (Wish me luck...)
On Friday I ran into a bunch of EAP kids going to ICU for fall quarter. They just moved into the Weekly Mansion a few days ago. We went to eat and drink with a couple of them. They showed us to this dart bar that's really close by, but it ended up being sort of expensive. I played darts with Alex, Jason, and Aya. Aya and I had never really played before, so it was probably really amusing for everyone there to watch us, but it was fun. (My team won. =D) It was a nice laid back Friday night thing to do since everyone else had gone out to nomihoudai (all you can drink) or clubbing.
Yesterday was crazy. Just crazy. Half of our class went over to Jae's apartment. (He's also in our class but doesn't live in Weekly Mansion.) It took us a little while to figure out how to get there, but when we did Jae treated us all to Korean food and soju, which was yummy. (The above picture is before everything started.) Angie and Schroder ended up going home early, but Michael, Hank and I decided to stay longer. Michael and Jae got into some really crazy conversations and I learned a lot about everyone. After listening to people's life experiences and attitudes toward life, I actually think it changed some of the way I think. I don't want to duplicate all those life stories here, but it was amazing what these people have gone through...it makes me sort of feel childish and unexperienced on one hand and extremely blessed and grateful on the other. We missed the last train back to Kameido and ended up staying there until 5:00am or so. Then we caught the early train back. I got back around 6:15am. On the way back, we were crossing (the almost completely deserted) street, and we saw the Tokyo Tower. (This is the after picture.) From the middle of the street, it made a really great shot. Japan at 5:00am in the morning is so refreshing. It feels entirely different from when everyone is out and about. I know that staying out that long probably wasn't good for my sleeping schedule or for all the stuff I have to get done by tomorrow, but in some ways I think it was probably for the better.
So after sleeping until around 2 (and consequently ignoring all phone calls and emails during that time) I decided to try to catch Yuhki before he went back to Tochigi. I thought I was just going to sleep through the rest of the day, but I woke up just in time to go to Shinjuku and meet him and his girlfriend (who make a very, very cute couple) for dinner. It was really nice to be able to talk to someone who knew people and things from home. It's been well over a year, so I was happy. =D Now I have to write my 3rd speech, memorize my 2nd one, and study for my kanji quiz and chapter test. Whoo! 6:30am and I'm off to a sumo stall! Man, I'm going to be tired. (Wish me luck...)
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