07.06-08.11 Gallivanting

Long time no blog, eh? Yeah, I know, this one covers the last three days. I'm sure you've all been dying to know what I've been up to, right? (Please note the sarcasm. I'm really not that conceited.)

Wednesday seems so long ago. Probably because it was dark and gloomy in comparison to the blinding sunshine streaming in through my window. That's right folks-- it rained on Wednesday, which was actually a nice reprieve from the insanely hot weather we've been having. Because I didn't have class in the morning, Bea and I went looking for yukata, which is the summer version of the Japanese kimono. The two of us wanted to buy and wear yukata for some of the upcoming festivals. Also, it's always been a dream of mine to wear traditional Japanese clothing, and where else can I do that without people looking at me strangely except for in Japan? The two of us finally found what we were looking for at Vivre. There was a yukata store inside the building that sold complete sets for around 10,000 yen. That meant it included the yukata, obi, geta (sandals), bag, and accessories. If bought separately, everything would have been double the price! Both Bea and I found ones that we liked so now I am super excited to wear mine to a fesitval soon. Don't worry-- I will take a ton of pictures!

After we finished shopping, we met Yoonkyung and went to Konami, and shortly after that I went to soccer practice. It had been a week since I last went to practice, so of course it had to rain. Only six people showed up so it was difficult to do anything productive, but we managed to have a lot of fun in spite of the poor conditions.

Immediately after soccer I showered and trekked through the rain to go to church. I came in late and soaking wet, but heard most of the message. Between soccer practice and the rain I was extremely tired though so I wasn't able to focus like I should have. Once church was over, Tokunaga san and his Korean wife took Yoonkyung, Hana chan, Seong Hi, and I out for sushi. The restaurant we went to had a conveyer belt so you could see all of the menu options as they passed by. If you saw something you liked, all you had to do was tell the chef and they would have it brought out to the table. I found it interesting that the color of the plates reflected how much the sushi would cost. Together, the six of us ate quite a bit. Even though I don't like sushi all that much, everything we ate was absolutely delicious. Of course, when you have sushi in Japan you should expect the best! Everyone left with full stomachs and grateful hearts. I think Tokunaga san loves to spoil us!

The sushi were huge!

All of our plates

Conveyer belt

>>>

Thursday was another rainy day, but I was happy because this meant it wasn't dreadfull hot. I ended up going to class without Bea because she took the day off. Luckily, class was easy because we talked about katakana, which is one of the Japanese alphabets that is generally used to write loan words (English words used by Japanese) or sound effects (onomatopoeia). After class I ate in my room and then met Yoonkyung so we could go to Tully's for coffee. Yoonkyung treated me-- she even bought me dessert! It was the perfect way to celebrate the rainy day. As usual though, our time was cut short because I had to go to my volleyball class. I had fun though because my team dominated the entire time (hehehe).

In the evening, I met up with Yoonkyung, Bea, and Rina because Rina had invited us all to a Tanabata ceremony at the Bhuddist temple where she volunteers. It took some time to get there by train, but I enjoyed it in spite of the rain and the fact that I had to leave early for an ESS party. Because Yoonkyung and Bea stayed with Rina for the entire ceremony, I rode the train back to Nara by myself. It was the first time I rode the train by myself so I was nervous, but I had no problem finding my way back. I arrived late to the ESS party, but still got to eat my share of food and socialize with my musical buddies. Everyone received hand written letters and a photograph from Kana, the leader of our group. She and Yuji (our other leader) were really surprised when we gave them letters everyone had written for them. : ) It was nice to see them so happy.

Writing our wishes and tying them to the tree branches

ESS party

Once my party ended, I decided to meet up with Yoonkyung and Hana chan so we could talk for a little while. "A little while" ended up being a lot though, because it quickly became 2 AM. By that time I was too tired to walk back to my dorm, so Yoonkyung generously offered me her bed. I took her up on her offer, but ended up waking up late with a killer headache. I felt like I was hung over (but minus the alcohol). As a result, I didn't make it back to my room until 11 AM. After I showered and ate, I felt a lot better. By then, it was time to go to class. Surprisingly, class was really interesting today. We watched a video about a baseball team from Sendai and their response to the earthquake and tsunami disaster. It nearly brought me to tears.

From class I returned to my dorm and decided to use the brownie mix I received from Michelle for my birthday to make some brownies. They really were the most sinfully delicious things I had ever made so I had to share them. I invited Hana chan and Yoonkyung over so they could be the first to taste them. It made me happy when they said they were delicious : ) The three of us hung out in my room until around 7 PM, which is when I met Maki so we could go to dinner.

My brownies <3

The two of us went to a Viatnamese restaurant where Chan works part time. She was working when we got there so we got to see her wearing traditional Viatnamese clothing! Also, the food that I ordered was absolutely amazing. It was a salad, but it had an egg and spicy ground chicken in it. I think it might have been the best salad I have ever had.

Chan serving a customer

Maki and her meal

My salad!

Even though dinner was great, Maki and I decided to get coffee afterwards. She took me to a cafe that was literally hidden in a hole in the wall. The interior was really classy, and so were the drinks. My cafe mocha was a work of art, and so was my cheesecake (which Maki graciously paid for). I really had a great time with Maki, even more so because we were able to communicate without any problems. It was one of the few moments this week that I was really proud of myself. It seems that my speaking skills have improved after all!

Maki's cafe latte

Cheesecake and cafe mocha

Next week Maki and I are planning to do karaoke and take purikura together. : ) Because my time here is short, I want to plan even more fun outings with all of my friends! These past few days have been great and I want to make a new memory each day that I will never forget. <3