Alrighty! So, today I had a difficult time with my sixth graders at my smallest school. Two of them would NOT stop cracking up and I wasn't even saying anything remotely funny so it was rather annoying. Afterward I talked to one of my teachers, who lives in the same area as me, about ramen shops. I had a hungering for ramen, but then again when do I NOT have a hungering for ramen? lol. The ones we talk about are far away, so I decide that I'll swing by the 7-11, pick up a bento and a salad, and if the dinky little ramen shop near me that I've been dying to try out is open I'll just save the bento and salad for tomorrow's dinner.
Well, the shop was open! The shop's called "三十一番", which means "Number 31". The owner was really nice. He asked me where I was from and when I said Hawaii he said he LOVED Hawaii and that he'd been there, like, 24 times. He goes there to cook and to ride his motorcycle. He seems to really love motorcycles because he has a FINE looking bike parked outside! HAHAHA!
I had Sanmahmen, which the owner told me was a type of ramen that is rather rare and can sometimes be found in Chinatown off of Kannai. I'm glad I chose it because it had veggies, pork, tons of noodles and a good broth. It was slightly thick, probably from all the juices. I shouldn't have ordered gyoza to go with it because now I'm filled to burst.
Afterward, on the way home, I picked up Takoyaki from the little vendor on the road home. She remembered me from the first time I bought her Takoyaki, which was at least a month ago! Maybe it's because I'm one of the few foreigners in the area. OR MAYBE IT'S JUST BECAUSE I'M SO GOSH-DARN CUTE! HAHAHAHA! Anywho, we chatted for a bit while she put the dressings on my order. Her name is Michiko. I don't want to forget! She's so sweet. She actually had no fear and asked me in English where I came from and how long I'd been in Japan. TOTALLY AWESOME! She's open every Monday and Friday, though I don't think having Takoyaki every Monday and Friday is such a good idea. LOL.
I saw that the dry cleaning lady next door was downstairs at the counter (she sometimes stays upstairs, probably to keep warm), so I stepped inside to say hi. Whenever I go in there, half an hour to an hour of my life is lost because she totally chats my ear off, and though I don't understand everything I nod and make the appropriate comments at the appropriate times. She talks to me about cooking and her family and places she goes. She almost always gives me snacks when she sees me too, so I went in there with the intention of giving her one of my Takoyaki. Luckily, Michiko gave me two skewers. :3 Well, the dry cleaning lady gave me little new years envelopes, that are SO cute, and that I'm pretty sure are supposed to be filled with money and given to kids. lol. No money in these, but they're darn cute! She filled one with honey covered peanuts. I can't wait to try them!
After school I had to run to catch the bus and while sitting on the bus catching my breath I couldn't help but feel completely happy with myself. Each slowly taken deep breath made me feel so alive. Maybe it's because I was also thinking about my crush, who knows? I just felt wonderful and still do. Even though I'm sitting alone in my cold apartment at my kotatsu, I can't help but smile as I think about how I felt riding that bus, how I felt walking home with the excitement of possibly trying that new ramen shop. I'm so glad to be alive. :D
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
お久しぶり
I know, I know. It's been too long. One of my new year's resolutions should be post on my blog more. Let's sum up what happened. This probably won't be in order:
School was and still is going well. Hopefully it'll stay that way.
I went on a date with a guy who, though Japanese, wanted me to call him Tony. Didn't work out and not heartbroken about it.
I got in a fight with my friend Mariko and didn't know how to resolve it. D:
Spent a month combating a cold before finally going to a doctor and getting some real medicine. Unlike in the States, you can't get good medicine off the shelf like Nyquil. Gawd, I miss Nyquil. D: I followed the advice of one of my teachers (who lives really close to me!) and went to her doctor, who explained all the instructions in a mix of English and Japanese. He is AWESOME.
I fell in love with the Japanese rock back NICO Touches the Walls.
I got back in contact with my friend Eric from UCSB. He'd moved back to Japan and I happened upon him on Skype. Turns out we don't live that far away from each other. haha.
One month later, I take the first step and apologize to Mariko for our fight. She apologizes back and we make up. YAY!
I was invited by two of my schools to the year end party, which happened to be on the same day. I went to one and had drinks with three of the faculty from the other school afterward.
I spent Christmas alone, but made up for it by Skype calling my family Christmas day in the States.
I went on a date with Yuuichi. <3 *blush*
Happy New Year!
I went to Osaka with Breana for 4 days and to Nara for 1 day.
The new single, Diver, by NICO Touches the Walls came out and I BOUGHT IT. OMG AND IT'S FIRST EDITION BECAUSE I BOUGHT IT THE DAY AFTER IT CAME OUT!!! *dances*
That pretty much sums up the past 2 1/2 months. lol. Looking at it now, it looks like I really did a lot. In actuality, I don't feel I did enough. I spent a lot of time at home farting around on the computer because it's gotten so cold outside that I don't want to leave the house. In all honesty, I really should go out more because 1) walking around helps warm me up and 2) they BLAST the heat in stores around here so it's warmer in the stores than it is in my apartment. D: The only down side? If I'm in a store, I kind of feel like I need to buy something while I'm there, or after all that browsing I found something that's kind of spiffy and decide to buy it. Seriously, though? Staying at home made sure I actually cleaned up my apartment before New Years as well as kept me from spending money so I had money to spend in Osaka! :D
Real quick: My date with Yuuichi. We met up at 7pm in Yokohama and walked around a bit, trying to figure out what to eat. We had ramen at a shop that has a branch in Ueno, where he lives. Apparently, the ramen at my branch wasn't as good. hahaha! It might be because you sit in stalls rather than at a real table. Afterward, we played Taiko no Tatsujin, a game where you beat on a Taiko drum along to the rhythm of a song. It's a lot of fun! We thought about going Bowling, but the wait was 1 hour and a half long, so we decided to go to karaoke instead. He really wanted to hear me sing in English. After 1 hour of karaoke we went to McDonald's and drank coffee while chatting. We didn't part ways until 11pm. He's SO nice! <3
Ah, I should probably go through what we did in Osaka. Here goes. New Year's evening I caught a Night Bus with Breana from Shinjuku all the way to Osaka. They make stops periodically every 2 to 3 hours because they don't have bathrooms on the bus. The seats are like an airplane and recline and once you're on the road they turn off the lights in the bus so you can sleep.
After multiple naps on the bus we get to Osaka in the morning before most things are open. I think Clarissa again and again for making me more practical after living with her because Breana, though adventurous, didn't have the balls to just go into this hotel we needed to go to to ask about the 2 day passes we wanted to get for the trains. There was a sign outside the hotel in kanji that Breana said had something to do with being closed, but I saw that there were guests with luggage inside. After coaxing her into the hotel I ask the man behind the counter who energetically tells us the price like it's totally common practice. We bought two for each of us, because the plan was to be in Osaka for two days, take a day trip to Nara, and then wander around Osaka for another two days. We saved SO much getting those passes. I am SO awesome. lulz.
We walked around the area until we were hungry and went to McDonald's for breakfast. There, a British guy who lives in the area overheard us making plans and suggested the area around Tsutenkaku Tower. Breana got a bit creeped out that he was listening in on us, but considering he was sitting right there and everyone needs help when in a new area, I thought it was really nice. I actually chatted him up a bit, since it only seemed polite. Nice guy. He said he was going on a snowboarding trip. Hopefully, he didn't break anything.
That day we did a bunch of things, most notably going to Osaka Castle. It's gorgeous, but I heard later from one of my friends that it really isn't all that great because it's too small. lol. I don't mind. It was really pretty to look at, and the museum tour inside it was free because of the 2 day pass. :D I had fried squid there and it was SO delicious, even though watching the guy tear the squid apart to get all the good bits was kind of gross. haha.
We tried going to Shintennoji Temple, but the things we wanted to do there were already closed. Spoot. Sure was a pretty place though! :D I got my Omikuji (fortune) there. It wasn't Dai-kichi, which is the best fortune you can get, but it wasn't a bad fortune so I was happy. :3
Afterward, we went to a mall and rode this huge red ferris wheel that's built into the mall. I'd actually seen it on a show on KIKU back in Hawaii when I was in high school, so I was totally stoked to actually BE there and RIDE it. I had used up all the space on my memory card (I had a spare, but it was in my luggage at the hotel), so I took shots of it with my phone. The way the lights reflected off the red paint was kind of sinister, and looking down it made it look like looking into the pits of hell. SO cool. hahaha.
Day 2: We went to the Kaiyukan, a big aquarium in Osaka. Their mascot is the whale shark, of which they have two in their big tank, which is apparently the biggest tank in all of Japan (maybe even the world?). It was cool seeing all the animals, but they were SO busy and some people were really rude about getting close to the tank enough to actually see anything, so it made the experience less enjoyable. I imagine going in the middle of the work week is the best thing to do, but we went during Winter break. lol. I bought a turtle doll and a whale shark doll. I couldn't resist. :3
We rode on the Santa Maria, which is this big old-fashioned ship in the bay right beside the Kaiyukan. It was free, which was REALLY awesome because it was, like, 16 dollars. lol. Breana didn't find the ride all that great because apparently the mascots were supposed to come and be our guides, but instead we were told stuff in Japanese and, surprisingly, partly in English. AWESOME. We spent the trip going through different names to give my turtle doll. We finally settled on Dexter, though I keep mistakenly calling him Derrick or Dominick. I can't help it if I like those names! But they're too cool for my turtle doll. His smile is kind of dorky looking, so Dexter fits him better. XD
After that, we watched a juggler in the courtyard outside the aquarium. He was quite good and actually set stuff on fire and juggled it! AWESOME. He encouraged everyone to cheer him on, because that would give him the energy/ability to do his tricks.
Totally random, but OMG IT'S 34 DEGREES HERE RIGHT NOW! D: I heard it won't actually snow until February. Wahh.
After the juggler we went and had Okonomiyaki, which was really good. They actually make it in front of you! I had pork and kim chi flavored okonomiyaki. SO good. But... spoot. Now I'm getting hungry again. hahaha! There was a middle-eastern ice cream shop in the mall where we ate. The ice cream wasn't your ordinary kind of ice cream. It stuck together, almost like chewing gum. I got mango flavored and the server, maybe because I was cute or maybe because he liked my reaction to the little stunts he did with the ice cream while serving it, gave me a scoop of chocolate in the middle of my mango even though I hadn't ordered it. :D
By now it was late, so we went to a really tall building, probably the tallest in Osaka, and looked around the city. It would've been better during the day because the bay area made one side look completely black. I thought I was staring into a void for a bit. Kind of cool, but it would've been nice to see the water.
There was still a bit of time, so we came home and went to Spa World across the street. I gotta' say: I LOVE ONSEN. Seriously, I can't imagine people in America ever being comfortable with soaking in baths 100% naked with other people of their gender, but it's seriously REALLY awesome. It might be that the Japanese don't stare, which makes even slightly overweight me comfortable being in the baths. Breana said that Chinese people stare though. I don't think I could do that. D:
Day 3: We woke up early (or at least tried to) and went to Nara. On the way to Todaiji Temple, we fed deer shika-sembei (deer crackers). They tried to eat my coat and I got bumped in the butt a couple times because they wanted sembei. Oh, and one of them actually stood up against me with his hooves on my chest. CRAZY. I wish Breana had caught a picture of that. It would've made for a great Facebook picture. LOL!
On the way to Todaiji we were offered carriage rides, the ones drawn by a single guy. There's a fee, of course, and I wanted to do it, but Breana said she didn't want to put a guy, especially a hot guy (some of them were really pretty!) through the trouble of dragging our fat butts around in a carriage. At the temple we took lots of pictures of the giant Buddha there. He's so huge you almost hurt your neck looking up at him. I bought omamori, protective charms, for my family (Now all I have to do is, y'know, SEND it to them. lol.) as well as for myself. I got another Omikuji because it was in English. It was alright, but there were some things foretold on it that I wasn't too thrilled about, so I tied it up with all the other fortunes people didn't want in their lives.
While looking for a place to eat we were stopped by a guy advertising an Okonomiyaki place. Breana looked like she either wasn't interested or was intimidated, so I spoke in English in an attempt to deter the man from pursuing us and moving on to another target... BUT HE SPOKE ENGLISH. Not fluently, but he definitely knew enough to tell us it was delicious and how we should try it and I didn't have the heart to say no. We were looking for a place to eat anyway, so why not, right?
Day 4: We went to the Osaka Science Museum, which was really fun because they have all these little things you can do. It's the perfect place to take your kids because they can get so worked up on these little experiments that require them to expend so much energy that I imagine a lot of them need a nap afterward. We went to the planetarium show in the museum. It had two parts: one talking about common stars in the night sky above Osaka and one from an American museum. Breana and I totally perked up when we heard that it was from the States because we figured it'd be in English with Japanese subtitles, but NOOOO. It was dubbed in Japanese and the guy's voice totally put the both of us to sleep. We woke up during the end credits and were sad to find that the original version was narrated by Tom Hanks. Seriously? We totally wanted to hear the Tom Hanks version! >_<
Next, we went to a flower conservatory. It was gorgeous! One of the tour guides told us how this one orchid smells like chocolate, AND IT REALLY DOES! Awesome! We took lots of pictures of flowers and I totally got all kinds of giddy when I found out they had a separate green house for Hibiscuses. AWESOME! They actually had a display of one of the quilts grandma makes upstairs because they feature flower patterns. I was SO excited. I tried to tell Breana about how grandma makes them and how they're SO awesome and she totally wasn't interested. D:
After that, we finally got around to going to Tsutenkaku Tower. In Osaka, they have a god called Billiken, who is "The God of things as they ought to be". His statues aren't very cute, but the small keychain I got of him is REALLY cute, and glows in the dark. hahaha. If you put in a donation and rub his feet, Billiken will help you with what you ask of him. :3
While walking and looking around for a place to eat, we were stopped by two men advertising a katsu shop. I don't mean katsu like chicken-katsu, I mean katsu as in deep fried meat and vegetables on skewers. I pretended I couldn't speak Japanese because Breana, once again, had this look on her face like she wasn't interest or that she was intimidated by these men talking to us, so I figured she didn't want to go to the restaurant. However, once again one of the guys was able to speak a little bit of English and I didn't have the heart to say no, especially since they were having a sale. XD People in Osaka must be strong drinkers because I only had 2 sours and a high ball and I was getting drunk. I was drunk enough to ask the cute waiter if I could take a picture of him and the restaurant. In my befuddled state, I figured he wouldn't care because we were obviously tourists. lol.
Day 5: We went to Tennoji Zoo, which was about a five minute walk from the hotel we were staying at. We took a bunch of pictures of the animals and I bought a small bean-bag doll of a giraffe that's a ball, so it has no neck. lol. While eating, a young boy (he looked to be in 6th grade) with his two little sisters and his grandpa were eating beside us. The boy must've heard Breana and me talking in English because he asked his grandpa in English "Can you do speak English?" The grandpa was hilarious. He said in Japanese "No, but I know that that sentence isn't right." I asked Breana if we should correct him, and after another minute or two of the boy trying to remember how to say it, she corrected him in Japanese. I started talking with the grandpa and the boy a bit after that. The boy called me "Dai-sensei", which is actually kind of close to my name (Diana is spelled "daiana" in Japanese characters). lol. Cute kids. The girls picked on their brother a bit. It's amazing that he didn't get annoyed with them, but really really really adorable to see them interact. I hope my kids are like that.
After the zoo, we walked back toward Tsutenkaku Tower to check out the shops nearby. At the station, we bumped into that same family again. The boy actually remembered me and said "Dai-sensei!" So cute! <3 We were actually headed the same direction, so we rode on the train with the family, chatting a bit as we went. It was really nice. :3 I told the grandpa we were going to an Ukiyo-e (Japanese wood block print) museum and he said that was wonderful. Lots of Japanese are surprised when they hear I studied Ukiyo-e back in college. lol. My teachers like to say I'm more Japanese than most Japanese because I studied so much stuff back in school. HAHAHA.
The museum was small, but they had a print featuring the store of Oiwa and Iemon. Oiwa is the inspiration for the girl from the Ring. I learned about her back in school. Her story is really scary! I didn't want to be alone after I'd finished watching the animated version. HAHAHA. I got really excited being in the museum, but Breana said she's not really the museum type. She also didn't seem to think much of Ukiyo-e. >_< I'd broken my glasses case during the trip (it's been breaking for a while now), so I bought a really pretty red with yellow flower patterned glasses case at the museum. :3
After that, we went looking for the Johnny's store. Johnny's is a company that creates boy band groups. My favorite Johnny's group is Arashi, and knowing about them always gets me kudos with my kids. I bought a few pictures of my favorite member Ninomiya (who portrays the main character in Letters From Iwojima). <3 He's so cute.
By that time it was starting to get late. We got something to eat, picked up our bags and found our bus stop. The both of us bought a magazine called "An An" at the convenience store across the street from the bus stop because it featured gorgeous shots of Tomohisa Yamashita, a Japanese singer and actor. He's so pretty!
The ride back to Tokyo was cramped because we were in the very last row with three other girls, and right in front of the heater. I didn't sleep well at all, especially since the girl next to me put her feet up by where I was supposed to put my feet up. I scooted her feet away because she had THE WHOLE AISLE to spread her legs out in! >_<
But anyway. Now that I'm done writing my novel of a post and it's 5am, I'm going to bed. XD
School was and still is going well. Hopefully it'll stay that way.
I went on a date with a guy who, though Japanese, wanted me to call him Tony. Didn't work out and not heartbroken about it.
I got in a fight with my friend Mariko and didn't know how to resolve it. D:
Spent a month combating a cold before finally going to a doctor and getting some real medicine. Unlike in the States, you can't get good medicine off the shelf like Nyquil. Gawd, I miss Nyquil. D: I followed the advice of one of my teachers (who lives really close to me!) and went to her doctor, who explained all the instructions in a mix of English and Japanese. He is AWESOME.
I fell in love with the Japanese rock back NICO Touches the Walls.
I got back in contact with my friend Eric from UCSB. He'd moved back to Japan and I happened upon him on Skype. Turns out we don't live that far away from each other. haha.
One month later, I take the first step and apologize to Mariko for our fight. She apologizes back and we make up. YAY!
I was invited by two of my schools to the year end party, which happened to be on the same day. I went to one and had drinks with three of the faculty from the other school afterward.
I spent Christmas alone, but made up for it by Skype calling my family Christmas day in the States.
I went on a date with Yuuichi. <3 *blush*
Happy New Year!
I went to Osaka with Breana for 4 days and to Nara for 1 day.
The new single, Diver, by NICO Touches the Walls came out and I BOUGHT IT. OMG AND IT'S FIRST EDITION BECAUSE I BOUGHT IT THE DAY AFTER IT CAME OUT!!! *dances*
That pretty much sums up the past 2 1/2 months. lol. Looking at it now, it looks like I really did a lot. In actuality, I don't feel I did enough. I spent a lot of time at home farting around on the computer because it's gotten so cold outside that I don't want to leave the house. In all honesty, I really should go out more because 1) walking around helps warm me up and 2) they BLAST the heat in stores around here so it's warmer in the stores than it is in my apartment. D: The only down side? If I'm in a store, I kind of feel like I need to buy something while I'm there, or after all that browsing I found something that's kind of spiffy and decide to buy it. Seriously, though? Staying at home made sure I actually cleaned up my apartment before New Years as well as kept me from spending money so I had money to spend in Osaka! :D
Real quick: My date with Yuuichi. We met up at 7pm in Yokohama and walked around a bit, trying to figure out what to eat. We had ramen at a shop that has a branch in Ueno, where he lives. Apparently, the ramen at my branch wasn't as good. hahaha! It might be because you sit in stalls rather than at a real table. Afterward, we played Taiko no Tatsujin, a game where you beat on a Taiko drum along to the rhythm of a song. It's a lot of fun! We thought about going Bowling, but the wait was 1 hour and a half long, so we decided to go to karaoke instead. He really wanted to hear me sing in English. After 1 hour of karaoke we went to McDonald's and drank coffee while chatting. We didn't part ways until 11pm. He's SO nice! <3
Ah, I should probably go through what we did in Osaka. Here goes. New Year's evening I caught a Night Bus with Breana from Shinjuku all the way to Osaka. They make stops periodically every 2 to 3 hours because they don't have bathrooms on the bus. The seats are like an airplane and recline and once you're on the road they turn off the lights in the bus so you can sleep.
After multiple naps on the bus we get to Osaka in the morning before most things are open. I think Clarissa again and again for making me more practical after living with her because Breana, though adventurous, didn't have the balls to just go into this hotel we needed to go to to ask about the 2 day passes we wanted to get for the trains. There was a sign outside the hotel in kanji that Breana said had something to do with being closed, but I saw that there were guests with luggage inside. After coaxing her into the hotel I ask the man behind the counter who energetically tells us the price like it's totally common practice. We bought two for each of us, because the plan was to be in Osaka for two days, take a day trip to Nara, and then wander around Osaka for another two days. We saved SO much getting those passes. I am SO awesome. lulz.
We walked around the area until we were hungry and went to McDonald's for breakfast. There, a British guy who lives in the area overheard us making plans and suggested the area around Tsutenkaku Tower. Breana got a bit creeped out that he was listening in on us, but considering he was sitting right there and everyone needs help when in a new area, I thought it was really nice. I actually chatted him up a bit, since it only seemed polite. Nice guy. He said he was going on a snowboarding trip. Hopefully, he didn't break anything.
That day we did a bunch of things, most notably going to Osaka Castle. It's gorgeous, but I heard later from one of my friends that it really isn't all that great because it's too small. lol. I don't mind. It was really pretty to look at, and the museum tour inside it was free because of the 2 day pass. :D I had fried squid there and it was SO delicious, even though watching the guy tear the squid apart to get all the good bits was kind of gross. haha.
We tried going to Shintennoji Temple, but the things we wanted to do there were already closed. Spoot. Sure was a pretty place though! :D I got my Omikuji (fortune) there. It wasn't Dai-kichi, which is the best fortune you can get, but it wasn't a bad fortune so I was happy. :3
Afterward, we went to a mall and rode this huge red ferris wheel that's built into the mall. I'd actually seen it on a show on KIKU back in Hawaii when I was in high school, so I was totally stoked to actually BE there and RIDE it. I had used up all the space on my memory card (I had a spare, but it was in my luggage at the hotel), so I took shots of it with my phone. The way the lights reflected off the red paint was kind of sinister, and looking down it made it look like looking into the pits of hell. SO cool. hahaha.
Day 2: We went to the Kaiyukan, a big aquarium in Osaka. Their mascot is the whale shark, of which they have two in their big tank, which is apparently the biggest tank in all of Japan (maybe even the world?). It was cool seeing all the animals, but they were SO busy and some people were really rude about getting close to the tank enough to actually see anything, so it made the experience less enjoyable. I imagine going in the middle of the work week is the best thing to do, but we went during Winter break. lol. I bought a turtle doll and a whale shark doll. I couldn't resist. :3
We rode on the Santa Maria, which is this big old-fashioned ship in the bay right beside the Kaiyukan. It was free, which was REALLY awesome because it was, like, 16 dollars. lol. Breana didn't find the ride all that great because apparently the mascots were supposed to come and be our guides, but instead we were told stuff in Japanese and, surprisingly, partly in English. AWESOME. We spent the trip going through different names to give my turtle doll. We finally settled on Dexter, though I keep mistakenly calling him Derrick or Dominick. I can't help it if I like those names! But they're too cool for my turtle doll. His smile is kind of dorky looking, so Dexter fits him better. XD
After that, we watched a juggler in the courtyard outside the aquarium. He was quite good and actually set stuff on fire and juggled it! AWESOME. He encouraged everyone to cheer him on, because that would give him the energy/ability to do his tricks.
Totally random, but OMG IT'S 34 DEGREES HERE RIGHT NOW! D: I heard it won't actually snow until February. Wahh.
After the juggler we went and had Okonomiyaki, which was really good. They actually make it in front of you! I had pork and kim chi flavored okonomiyaki. SO good. But... spoot. Now I'm getting hungry again. hahaha! There was a middle-eastern ice cream shop in the mall where we ate. The ice cream wasn't your ordinary kind of ice cream. It stuck together, almost like chewing gum. I got mango flavored and the server, maybe because I was cute or maybe because he liked my reaction to the little stunts he did with the ice cream while serving it, gave me a scoop of chocolate in the middle of my mango even though I hadn't ordered it. :D
By now it was late, so we went to a really tall building, probably the tallest in Osaka, and looked around the city. It would've been better during the day because the bay area made one side look completely black. I thought I was staring into a void for a bit. Kind of cool, but it would've been nice to see the water.
There was still a bit of time, so we came home and went to Spa World across the street. I gotta' say: I LOVE ONSEN. Seriously, I can't imagine people in America ever being comfortable with soaking in baths 100% naked with other people of their gender, but it's seriously REALLY awesome. It might be that the Japanese don't stare, which makes even slightly overweight me comfortable being in the baths. Breana said that Chinese people stare though. I don't think I could do that. D:
Day 3: We woke up early (or at least tried to) and went to Nara. On the way to Todaiji Temple, we fed deer shika-sembei (deer crackers). They tried to eat my coat and I got bumped in the butt a couple times because they wanted sembei. Oh, and one of them actually stood up against me with his hooves on my chest. CRAZY. I wish Breana had caught a picture of that. It would've made for a great Facebook picture. LOL!
On the way to Todaiji we were offered carriage rides, the ones drawn by a single guy. There's a fee, of course, and I wanted to do it, but Breana said she didn't want to put a guy, especially a hot guy (some of them were really pretty!) through the trouble of dragging our fat butts around in a carriage. At the temple we took lots of pictures of the giant Buddha there. He's so huge you almost hurt your neck looking up at him. I bought omamori, protective charms, for my family (Now all I have to do is, y'know, SEND it to them. lol.) as well as for myself. I got another Omikuji because it was in English. It was alright, but there were some things foretold on it that I wasn't too thrilled about, so I tied it up with all the other fortunes people didn't want in their lives.
While looking for a place to eat we were stopped by a guy advertising an Okonomiyaki place. Breana looked like she either wasn't interested or was intimidated, so I spoke in English in an attempt to deter the man from pursuing us and moving on to another target... BUT HE SPOKE ENGLISH. Not fluently, but he definitely knew enough to tell us it was delicious and how we should try it and I didn't have the heart to say no. We were looking for a place to eat anyway, so why not, right?
Day 4: We went to the Osaka Science Museum, which was really fun because they have all these little things you can do. It's the perfect place to take your kids because they can get so worked up on these little experiments that require them to expend so much energy that I imagine a lot of them need a nap afterward. We went to the planetarium show in the museum. It had two parts: one talking about common stars in the night sky above Osaka and one from an American museum. Breana and I totally perked up when we heard that it was from the States because we figured it'd be in English with Japanese subtitles, but NOOOO. It was dubbed in Japanese and the guy's voice totally put the both of us to sleep. We woke up during the end credits and were sad to find that the original version was narrated by Tom Hanks. Seriously? We totally wanted to hear the Tom Hanks version! >_<
Next, we went to a flower conservatory. It was gorgeous! One of the tour guides told us how this one orchid smells like chocolate, AND IT REALLY DOES! Awesome! We took lots of pictures of flowers and I totally got all kinds of giddy when I found out they had a separate green house for Hibiscuses. AWESOME! They actually had a display of one of the quilts grandma makes upstairs because they feature flower patterns. I was SO excited. I tried to tell Breana about how grandma makes them and how they're SO awesome and she totally wasn't interested. D:
After that, we finally got around to going to Tsutenkaku Tower. In Osaka, they have a god called Billiken, who is "The God of things as they ought to be". His statues aren't very cute, but the small keychain I got of him is REALLY cute, and glows in the dark. hahaha. If you put in a donation and rub his feet, Billiken will help you with what you ask of him. :3
While walking and looking around for a place to eat, we were stopped by two men advertising a katsu shop. I don't mean katsu like chicken-katsu, I mean katsu as in deep fried meat and vegetables on skewers. I pretended I couldn't speak Japanese because Breana, once again, had this look on her face like she wasn't interest or that she was intimidated by these men talking to us, so I figured she didn't want to go to the restaurant. However, once again one of the guys was able to speak a little bit of English and I didn't have the heart to say no, especially since they were having a sale. XD People in Osaka must be strong drinkers because I only had 2 sours and a high ball and I was getting drunk. I was drunk enough to ask the cute waiter if I could take a picture of him and the restaurant. In my befuddled state, I figured he wouldn't care because we were obviously tourists. lol.
Day 5: We went to Tennoji Zoo, which was about a five minute walk from the hotel we were staying at. We took a bunch of pictures of the animals and I bought a small bean-bag doll of a giraffe that's a ball, so it has no neck. lol. While eating, a young boy (he looked to be in 6th grade) with his two little sisters and his grandpa were eating beside us. The boy must've heard Breana and me talking in English because he asked his grandpa in English "Can you do speak English?" The grandpa was hilarious. He said in Japanese "No, but I know that that sentence isn't right." I asked Breana if we should correct him, and after another minute or two of the boy trying to remember how to say it, she corrected him in Japanese. I started talking with the grandpa and the boy a bit after that. The boy called me "Dai-sensei", which is actually kind of close to my name (Diana is spelled "daiana" in Japanese characters). lol. Cute kids. The girls picked on their brother a bit. It's amazing that he didn't get annoyed with them, but really really really adorable to see them interact. I hope my kids are like that.
After the zoo, we walked back toward Tsutenkaku Tower to check out the shops nearby. At the station, we bumped into that same family again. The boy actually remembered me and said "Dai-sensei!" So cute! <3 We were actually headed the same direction, so we rode on the train with the family, chatting a bit as we went. It was really nice. :3 I told the grandpa we were going to an Ukiyo-e (Japanese wood block print) museum and he said that was wonderful. Lots of Japanese are surprised when they hear I studied Ukiyo-e back in college. lol. My teachers like to say I'm more Japanese than most Japanese because I studied so much stuff back in school. HAHAHA.
The museum was small, but they had a print featuring the store of Oiwa and Iemon. Oiwa is the inspiration for the girl from the Ring. I learned about her back in school. Her story is really scary! I didn't want to be alone after I'd finished watching the animated version. HAHAHA. I got really excited being in the museum, but Breana said she's not really the museum type. She also didn't seem to think much of Ukiyo-e. >_< I'd broken my glasses case during the trip (it's been breaking for a while now), so I bought a really pretty red with yellow flower patterned glasses case at the museum. :3
After that, we went looking for the Johnny's store. Johnny's is a company that creates boy band groups. My favorite Johnny's group is Arashi, and knowing about them always gets me kudos with my kids. I bought a few pictures of my favorite member Ninomiya (who portrays the main character in Letters From Iwojima). <3 He's so cute.
By that time it was starting to get late. We got something to eat, picked up our bags and found our bus stop. The both of us bought a magazine called "An An" at the convenience store across the street from the bus stop because it featured gorgeous shots of Tomohisa Yamashita, a Japanese singer and actor. He's so pretty!
The ride back to Tokyo was cramped because we were in the very last row with three other girls, and right in front of the heater. I didn't sleep well at all, especially since the girl next to me put her feet up by where I was supposed to put my feet up. I scooted her feet away because she had THE WHOLE AISLE to spread her legs out in! >_<
But anyway. Now that I'm done writing my novel of a post and it's 5am, I'm going to bed. XD
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Summary of Current Events
OMG It's been forever. I'M SORRY!!!
Well, to briefly summarize what's been going on:
I made sushi for two of my schools (my two larger ones, because apparently I'm a masochist and felt the need to make nearly 70 pieces of sushi both times) and they loved it!
I made a new bunch of friends who hold charity concerts. I've gone to one each week for the past month. Going to another one this weekend.
New bunch of friends invited me to Arakawa River (that's actually kind of redundant, but oh well) in Akabane (which is really far away!) this past Monday (because it was a random holiday) to play games, eat Yakiniku and dance. IT WAS MARVELOUS! My legs are still paying for it today. Mind you, it's already Thursday night. D: I also got a mean farmer tan that I either really need to even out or really need to lose. Ahahaha. I also learned how to dance to a really cute and super optimistic song that's SERIOUSLY stuck in my head now.
I went to the Japanese Scottish Games last weekend and had a blast. There was a really good looking Japanese guy in a kilt. That totally made my day! Not to mention all the awesome piping that went on. I really need to buy new batteries for my camera. At least I bought a cute little teddy that plays "Scotland the Brave"! :D He's super cute and is holding a little bagpipe too. I can't help but press the button and listen to it now. Ahahaha.
I'm becoming a better teacher! I feel AWESOME!
Oh! And I also got Pokemon Black, the new Pokemon game. It's completely in Japanese, but I'm persevering! I told my fifth graders that I'd gotten the game and one of them, who doesn't have the best family situation so I try to pay more attention to him outside of class and always remember his name, said "But isn't it hard for you because it's in Japanese?!". Awww~ he cares!
Another fifth grader in another class said that he has a sticker of the evolved form of the pokemon I chose and that he'd give me the sticker. It's probably so I can put it on my name tag along with other Pokemon stickers kids have given me. :D He's SUPER cute, and he has a brother in first year who is, I'm not exaggerating, a mini me version of him. Like, there's NO WAY to NOT know they're brothers. My goodness.
Well, to briefly summarize what's been going on:
I made sushi for two of my schools (my two larger ones, because apparently I'm a masochist and felt the need to make nearly 70 pieces of sushi both times) and they loved it!
I made a new bunch of friends who hold charity concerts. I've gone to one each week for the past month. Going to another one this weekend.
New bunch of friends invited me to Arakawa River (that's actually kind of redundant, but oh well) in Akabane (which is really far away!) this past Monday (because it was a random holiday) to play games, eat Yakiniku and dance. IT WAS MARVELOUS! My legs are still paying for it today. Mind you, it's already Thursday night. D: I also got a mean farmer tan that I either really need to even out or really need to lose. Ahahaha. I also learned how to dance to a really cute and super optimistic song that's SERIOUSLY stuck in my head now.
I went to the Japanese Scottish Games last weekend and had a blast. There was a really good looking Japanese guy in a kilt. That totally made my day! Not to mention all the awesome piping that went on. I really need to buy new batteries for my camera. At least I bought a cute little teddy that plays "Scotland the Brave"! :D He's super cute and is holding a little bagpipe too. I can't help but press the button and listen to it now. Ahahaha.
I'm becoming a better teacher! I feel AWESOME!
Oh! And I also got Pokemon Black, the new Pokemon game. It's completely in Japanese, but I'm persevering! I told my fifth graders that I'd gotten the game and one of them, who doesn't have the best family situation so I try to pay more attention to him outside of class and always remember his name, said "But isn't it hard for you because it's in Japanese?!". Awww~ he cares!
Another fifth grader in another class said that he has a sticker of the evolved form of the pokemon I chose and that he'd give me the sticker. It's probably so I can put it on my name tag along with other Pokemon stickers kids have given me. :D He's SUPER cute, and he has a brother in first year who is, I'm not exaggerating, a mini me version of him. Like, there's NO WAY to NOT know they're brothers. My goodness.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Rice, rice, baby
I bought a rice cooker! It's lime green and the buttons have English on it even though the cooker only has instructions in Japanese. lol. Time to pull out my dictionary. D:
I know what you're all thinking: How have you been making rice the six months you've been in Japan?! I've heard of at least two of my Chinese friends saying that their family makes rice in a pot, so I thought: Hey, why not? There was a little recipe on how to make rice in a pot in the manga cookbook I bought while I was still in America. I used those instruction in Japan.
But you know what's really awesome about my first time using this rice cooker? I'm going to make sushi for my largest school! And guess what?! That's sushi for 50 PEOPLE!!! *dies* But talk about really working up some brownie points with them, as well as showing how much I appreciate all the help they give me when I'm teaching. The plan is to make sushi for all my schools, but I might do this as a one week, one week sort of deal. I mean, that's a lot of sushi. That's a lot of rice. And that's also a lot of "crap! what am I going to put in it?!".
And just now, a little festival float went right by my house drawn by a bunch of young kids. And another float came up, and they're both stopping right in fronto f my apartment. Damn, I love Japan. XD
ANYWAY. I'm still looking for some good cheap stuff for me to put in my sushi. I've been using http://justbento.com/ and http://www.justhungry.com/ - They're both really helpful. So far, I've got the idea to finely chop carrots, cucumbers and make tamagoyaki (for the first time, I might add). I'm going to the market to get some tupperware, those opaque sheets mommy never liked using because it was more expensive (the name of which eludes me), and maybe some meat to go into the sushi. I'm thinking ham: something that can be cooked and thinly sliced that isn't too expensive.
The playlist for this operation? Doctor Who. I'm going to rewatch/listen to Doctor Who episodes while working on all the sushi. Hopefully I won't die from the heat because my air conditioner hates me.
Wish me luck!
I know what you're all thinking: How have you been making rice the six months you've been in Japan?! I've heard of at least two of my Chinese friends saying that their family makes rice in a pot, so I thought: Hey, why not? There was a little recipe on how to make rice in a pot in the manga cookbook I bought while I was still in America. I used those instruction in Japan.
But you know what's really awesome about my first time using this rice cooker? I'm going to make sushi for my largest school! And guess what?! That's sushi for 50 PEOPLE!!! *dies* But talk about really working up some brownie points with them, as well as showing how much I appreciate all the help they give me when I'm teaching. The plan is to make sushi for all my schools, but I might do this as a one week, one week sort of deal. I mean, that's a lot of sushi. That's a lot of rice. And that's also a lot of "crap! what am I going to put in it?!".
And just now, a little festival float went right by my house drawn by a bunch of young kids. And another float came up, and they're both stopping right in fronto f my apartment. Damn, I love Japan. XD
ANYWAY. I'm still looking for some good cheap stuff for me to put in my sushi. I've been using http://justbento.com/ and http://www.justhungry.com/ - They're both really helpful. So far, I've got the idea to finely chop carrots, cucumbers and make tamagoyaki (for the first time, I might add). I'm going to the market to get some tupperware, those opaque sheets mommy never liked using because it was more expensive (the name of which eludes me), and maybe some meat to go into the sushi. I'm thinking ham: something that can be cooked and thinly sliced that isn't too expensive.
The playlist for this operation? Doctor Who. I'm going to rewatch/listen to Doctor Who episodes while working on all the sushi. Hopefully I won't die from the heat because my air conditioner hates me.
Wish me luck!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Staring Match
Honestly, when will these Japanese ever learn that staring at a foreigner, especially this one, will earn them a stare right back?
So I've dealt with this for quite a while, and it's one of my little pet peeves about living in Japan because I'm paranoid by nature. ANYWAY. So I had to go to the bank today, which meant walking to someplace other than my apartment right after getting off the train. I'm relatively used to this, but I think the people along that road aren't used to seeing foreigners. Well, all of them except the meat vendors who remember me because how many foreigners move to Seya anyway? I bought karaage from them my first day staying in my apartment. Really nice folk. I really should go back there.
I'm walking and getting stared at and trying my darnedest to just listen to my music and ignore it, but at some point this attractive guy smoking a cigarette and wearing a fedora (I've come to realize I have a soft spot for fedoras) eyeballs me as we pass each other on opposite sides of the street. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't get eyeballed much. So here I am, grinning like I'm mad, and walking to the bank.
Fastforward to after I've picked up some sushi for dinner from the local sushi place as well as some toilet paper from my favorite little drug store. I turn the corner to my street and lo and behold, there's this really attractive (stress on the really!) crouching outside the building next to mine smoking a cigarette. What is with the attractive Japanese guys smoking cigarettes?! I HATE cigarettes!
ANYWAY. So this guy turns his head, sees me coming, and STARES. Now, I've actually got my glasses on so I can SEE that he's looking at me. Of course, having lived in Japan for half a year now I've learned to just put my head down and act like I didn't see him. The road is SO interesting, don't you think? Well, temptation is really hard to fight and within a second or two I'm looking up at him again and GEEZ. He's STILL staring at me.
I looked away as I went up the stairs, but between the stairs there's open air and he was still watching me. At the top of the stairs? STILL WATCHING. Now, all these thoughts tear through my head like a tornado, but I somehow managed to keep my face straight and simply stare back. After awkwardly pulling out my keys and nervously glancing back to see if he was still staring (thankfully, he'd stopped), I got inside. I made SUPER sure to say "Tadaima", which essentially means "I'm home!", when I entered the house. To any observant Japanese person, this would show that although I'm a foreigner, I speak Japanese. BWUAHAHAHA.
Sadly, once I closed my door I freaked out thinking "Well, why did he stare at me the whole way up?!" My friend summed it up for me nicely. It's one of three things. He either 1) doesn't like foreigners, 2) found me attractive, or 3) is very curious about foreigners. Now I know what you're all thinking: It could totally be MORE than just one of those three!
Sorry to break it to all you who root for me getting a boyfriend, but I'm pretty sure this is the same hot guy I had a staring match with shortly after I moved into my apartment. If it's the same guy, then he has a wife and a three or four year old daughter. He looks WAAAYYYYYY too young. I'd say he's only in his early twenties. Like, only around my age! GEEZ.
Oh, and not to mention I saw a mother who had three young boys following her (all obviously brothers) and had another one on the way. She looked like it might be twins. Well, that or one of those watermelons we get in America. Not those small Japanese ones here. lol. Oh, and the mother? She looked only to be in her later twenties. I don't think she was in her thirties. O_o
So I've dealt with this for quite a while, and it's one of my little pet peeves about living in Japan because I'm paranoid by nature. ANYWAY. So I had to go to the bank today, which meant walking to someplace other than my apartment right after getting off the train. I'm relatively used to this, but I think the people along that road aren't used to seeing foreigners. Well, all of them except the meat vendors who remember me because how many foreigners move to Seya anyway? I bought karaage from them my first day staying in my apartment. Really nice folk. I really should go back there.
I'm walking and getting stared at and trying my darnedest to just listen to my music and ignore it, but at some point this attractive guy smoking a cigarette and wearing a fedora (I've come to realize I have a soft spot for fedoras) eyeballs me as we pass each other on opposite sides of the street. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't get eyeballed much. So here I am, grinning like I'm mad, and walking to the bank.
Fastforward to after I've picked up some sushi for dinner from the local sushi place as well as some toilet paper from my favorite little drug store. I turn the corner to my street and lo and behold, there's this really attractive (stress on the really!) crouching outside the building next to mine smoking a cigarette. What is with the attractive Japanese guys smoking cigarettes?! I HATE cigarettes!
ANYWAY. So this guy turns his head, sees me coming, and STARES. Now, I've actually got my glasses on so I can SEE that he's looking at me. Of course, having lived in Japan for half a year now I've learned to just put my head down and act like I didn't see him. The road is SO interesting, don't you think? Well, temptation is really hard to fight and within a second or two I'm looking up at him again and GEEZ. He's STILL staring at me.
I looked away as I went up the stairs, but between the stairs there's open air and he was still watching me. At the top of the stairs? STILL WATCHING. Now, all these thoughts tear through my head like a tornado, but I somehow managed to keep my face straight and simply stare back. After awkwardly pulling out my keys and nervously glancing back to see if he was still staring (thankfully, he'd stopped), I got inside. I made SUPER sure to say "Tadaima", which essentially means "I'm home!", when I entered the house. To any observant Japanese person, this would show that although I'm a foreigner, I speak Japanese. BWUAHAHAHA.
Sadly, once I closed my door I freaked out thinking "Well, why did he stare at me the whole way up?!" My friend summed it up for me nicely. It's one of three things. He either 1) doesn't like foreigners, 2) found me attractive, or 3) is very curious about foreigners. Now I know what you're all thinking: It could totally be MORE than just one of those three!
Sorry to break it to all you who root for me getting a boyfriend, but I'm pretty sure this is the same hot guy I had a staring match with shortly after I moved into my apartment. If it's the same guy, then he has a wife and a three or four year old daughter. He looks WAAAYYYYYY too young. I'd say he's only in his early twenties. Like, only around my age! GEEZ.
Oh, and not to mention I saw a mother who had three young boys following her (all obviously brothers) and had another one on the way. She looked like it might be twins. Well, that or one of those watermelons we get in America. Not those small Japanese ones here. lol. Oh, and the mother? She looked only to be in her later twenties. I don't think she was in her thirties. O_o
Friday, August 27, 2010
First Day Back
So I realized today when I got four emails that my friend's Livejournal had updated that I really need to update more. Since I have time and I'm not doing anything pressing, I figured I'd sit down and type something up.
Yesterday was my first day back! Summer vacation was great because I got all nice and rested and got a lot of creative things done, though not so much travel/adventure-wise. I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't like going on adventures unless if someone else is going with me of I have an intense desire to go. That, and if I happen to know about it... This still doesn't make up for the fact that I haven't gone to the Studio Ghibli Museum yet, though I believe the conscientious fear that I will blow my entire paycheck at the gift shop is prevalent.
SO! First day back. It was great, because I got to see my fifth graders at my largest school again and damn were they cute. Anri, this SUPER tall fifth grade girl who is almost my height (hence the emphasis on SUPER!!!) was super cute as always. She's one of those kids that really likes me. Maybe she likes the fact that I'm taller than her even though I'm a girly? That, or maybe it's just my totally charming personality. :3
Atsushi was being rowdy again, which got me a little upset but I let it blow over because hey, it's the first day back having English class. Who ISN'T going to try to be a buttface, right? Yoh had really red eyes, but he participated in class and was really good. What a sweetie. Oh, and there was yet again a boy who repeated in a weird voice. When they say Hello to me really weird when I first start up class, I look and stare quietly for a long second before saying Hello again. Boy does that put them back in line. It's like, honestly? Do you want me to say Konnichiwa and butcher it like any American who hasn't heard the word properly pronounced before? O_o Then again, the kids probably don't care. The adults do. D:
OMG. And Gota, who lived in Laguna Beach for 1st through 2nd grade and speaks a LOT of English (and apparently goes to an American school every Saturday) was super excited when we were playing the weather game! He's so adorable! I mean, he's not as cute as some of the other kids (because I have some child-model cute kids, though I may be biased. haha.), but the fact that Gota is just THAT excited about English really fills up my heart.
Ah, yes. And we were doing weather yesterday. Hahaha.
Well, aside from all the happy thoughts, when I got home and sat down (because boy did I need to), I realized that a muscle in my left foot had been overworked. It's probably from all the walking I did, and in shoes I hadn't worn in a month and a half and was happy not to. I worked on the muscle while watching The Princess and the Frog, which is a really cute movie (though the songs didn't move me as much as older Disney films). I kept off my foot mostly for the rest of the night and now that it's morning (about 11am JST) it feels loads better, though it still hurts a bit. I'm going to keep off it for the rest of today as well. Good thing I don't have to go anywhere. :D
Yesterday was my first day back! Summer vacation was great because I got all nice and rested and got a lot of creative things done, though not so much travel/adventure-wise. I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't like going on adventures unless if someone else is going with me of I have an intense desire to go. That, and if I happen to know about it... This still doesn't make up for the fact that I haven't gone to the Studio Ghibli Museum yet, though I believe the conscientious fear that I will blow my entire paycheck at the gift shop is prevalent.
SO! First day back. It was great, because I got to see my fifth graders at my largest school again and damn were they cute. Anri, this SUPER tall fifth grade girl who is almost my height (hence the emphasis on SUPER!!!) was super cute as always. She's one of those kids that really likes me. Maybe she likes the fact that I'm taller than her even though I'm a girly? That, or maybe it's just my totally charming personality. :3
Atsushi was being rowdy again, which got me a little upset but I let it blow over because hey, it's the first day back having English class. Who ISN'T going to try to be a buttface, right? Yoh had really red eyes, but he participated in class and was really good. What a sweetie. Oh, and there was yet again a boy who repeated in a weird voice. When they say Hello to me really weird when I first start up class, I look and stare quietly for a long second before saying Hello again. Boy does that put them back in line. It's like, honestly? Do you want me to say Konnichiwa and butcher it like any American who hasn't heard the word properly pronounced before? O_o Then again, the kids probably don't care. The adults do. D:
OMG. And Gota, who lived in Laguna Beach for 1st through 2nd grade and speaks a LOT of English (and apparently goes to an American school every Saturday) was super excited when we were playing the weather game! He's so adorable! I mean, he's not as cute as some of the other kids (because I have some child-model cute kids, though I may be biased. haha.), but the fact that Gota is just THAT excited about English really fills up my heart.
Ah, yes. And we were doing weather yesterday. Hahaha.
Well, aside from all the happy thoughts, when I got home and sat down (because boy did I need to), I realized that a muscle in my left foot had been overworked. It's probably from all the walking I did, and in shoes I hadn't worn in a month and a half and was happy not to. I worked on the muscle while watching The Princess and the Frog, which is a really cute movie (though the songs didn't move me as much as older Disney films). I kept off my foot mostly for the rest of the night and now that it's morning (about 11am JST) it feels loads better, though it still hurts a bit. I'm going to keep off it for the rest of today as well. Good thing I don't have to go anywhere. :D
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thunder Dolphin!
Ok. Let me summarize my summer vacation for you: My friend Michelle came to Japan to work with JET! We hung out for one day with one of her friends, Mio, before she shipped off to Fukuoka. I went to my favorite school's summer festival, which was awesome. I wore my Yukata, got lots of compliments on that, and danced the Obon Odori, which also earned me compliments FROM MY PRINCIPAL. That was epic! Oh! And my old roommate Clarissa, one of my best friends ever, came to visit me for a whole week! We porked out on good food, ate lots of desserts, and went to 2 onsen (hot springs) together! We also went shrine hunting (she needed omamori (a good luck charm) for her co-workers and as souvenirs). Suffice to say: Lots of fun, spent a lot of money. I also went to what I later found out was the largest anime/manga convention in Japan, and 500,000 people go to it within the 3 day span it's open. It was at Tokyo Big Site and it was crowded and hot and stuffy. It was worth going to, because I found some really cute keychains and a super cute pair of earrings.
Through Clarissa I met her friend Veronica, who later invited me to Tokyo Dome City, which has an amusement park. Pay 4000 yen and you get an all day wrist pass that lets you onto all the rides. There was one ride called "Thunder Dolphin". I just HAD to laugh when I read that. I mean, c'mon. Thunder Dolphin?
Anyway, we went on all the rides that looked worth while. Thunder Dolphin was one of them. I think we would've ridden it all day if 1) it weren't so hot that we wanted to go on a water ride and 2) if the line weren't so long and there were other rides to experiment. It's one of those roller coasters that, if you've taken physics, makes you really happy to know that centripetal force is going to keep you on those tracks. The first drop is really steep, and when you're in the car you sincerely feel like you're making a beeline for the ground, it's so steep. It's about as steep as the drop on Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but much shorter so the G-force at the bottom doesn't affect you as drastically. All in all, a great roller coaster ride! We went on it twice. It was even better the second time. It's a real shame that it's so short.
We had lunch at a burger joint that had a black guy working on cutting up the burger patties and shaping them. I thought that was really random and really interesting, and also wondering just how much Japanese the guy spoke. I got the Salsa Burger, which was surprisingly delicious. The patties weren't huge, but they were juicy and SO much better than having a McDonald's burger. I really wish a good burger joint. I think that's the main food item I miss while here in Japan, aside from Freebirds Burritos. Hahaha.
Veronica brought her friend Nick with her. He's a short haole boy with hay colored hair and pretty dark blue eyes. He commented that I was very observant, to which I had to ask if he found that weird or disturbing in any way. I think being as observant as I am (and this is mostly for random things that aren't really important) could possibly freak someone out. They don't make the same connections I do, though really it's kind of like looking at a math problem or figuring your way around a map. I don't know, but either way it was refreshing to have him compliment me. :D
We all went our separate ways after the park, but I was really glad I'd gone. It was a really hot day, and normally I would've just stayed inside with the air conditioner going and read books or talked to friends on the internet. It's amazing what going out and being social can do. :D
Two days later, my friend Florence from UCSB came down to Yokohama to hang out before she shipped off to Osaka. She's working for the same company as me! We went around Vivre, this really big mall near Yokohama station, and ate Okonomiyaki for dinner. For dessert, we went to this really awesome tart shop Clarissa and I found while she was here. It's called La Maison (www.la-maison.jp). We were helped by a really cute Japanese guy, and since there was a really long line waiting to get in we ordered our tarts to go (in some seriously cute to-go boxes) and sat at some benches in the basement food court. It's funny. With our powers combined, the both of us can figure out what we're being asked by the clerks at shops and restaurants. hahaha.
Through Clarissa I met her friend Veronica, who later invited me to Tokyo Dome City, which has an amusement park. Pay 4000 yen and you get an all day wrist pass that lets you onto all the rides. There was one ride called "Thunder Dolphin". I just HAD to laugh when I read that. I mean, c'mon. Thunder Dolphin?
Anyway, we went on all the rides that looked worth while. Thunder Dolphin was one of them. I think we would've ridden it all day if 1) it weren't so hot that we wanted to go on a water ride and 2) if the line weren't so long and there were other rides to experiment. It's one of those roller coasters that, if you've taken physics, makes you really happy to know that centripetal force is going to keep you on those tracks. The first drop is really steep, and when you're in the car you sincerely feel like you're making a beeline for the ground, it's so steep. It's about as steep as the drop on Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but much shorter so the G-force at the bottom doesn't affect you as drastically. All in all, a great roller coaster ride! We went on it twice. It was even better the second time. It's a real shame that it's so short.
We had lunch at a burger joint that had a black guy working on cutting up the burger patties and shaping them. I thought that was really random and really interesting, and also wondering just how much Japanese the guy spoke. I got the Salsa Burger, which was surprisingly delicious. The patties weren't huge, but they were juicy and SO much better than having a McDonald's burger. I really wish a good burger joint. I think that's the main food item I miss while here in Japan, aside from Freebirds Burritos. Hahaha.
Veronica brought her friend Nick with her. He's a short haole boy with hay colored hair and pretty dark blue eyes. He commented that I was very observant, to which I had to ask if he found that weird or disturbing in any way. I think being as observant as I am (and this is mostly for random things that aren't really important) could possibly freak someone out. They don't make the same connections I do, though really it's kind of like looking at a math problem or figuring your way around a map. I don't know, but either way it was refreshing to have him compliment me. :D
We all went our separate ways after the park, but I was really glad I'd gone. It was a really hot day, and normally I would've just stayed inside with the air conditioner going and read books or talked to friends on the internet. It's amazing what going out and being social can do. :D
Two days later, my friend Florence from UCSB came down to Yokohama to hang out before she shipped off to Osaka. She's working for the same company as me! We went around Vivre, this really big mall near Yokohama station, and ate Okonomiyaki for dinner. For dessert, we went to this really awesome tart shop Clarissa and I found while she was here. It's called La Maison (www.la-maison.jp). We were helped by a really cute Japanese guy, and since there was a really long line waiting to get in we ordered our tarts to go (in some seriously cute to-go boxes) and sat at some benches in the basement food court. It's funny. With our powers combined, the both of us can figure out what we're being asked by the clerks at shops and restaurants. hahaha.
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