FRUIT!!

Omg we has cereal for breakfast (and salad haha). I'm sooo happy. I was missing it so so much. And Yuko had this really yummy fruit granola with craisins and nuts and seeds in it. And she gave me soy milk to have with it! Ahh I was in Heaven.

And then because I was slow in getting ready this morning (I was tired because Miyabu shouted "Nani" at 5:30ish when Ken was leaving for work and that woke me up lol), I caught the super rapid train! Yayyy!!!

Not only is it faster, less people ride it so I don't get shoved. Don't get me wrong, Japanese people are super polite and I love that, but when it comes to getting on and off the train they will shove you as hard as they can to make sure they get on or off. I've almost fallen over on multiple occasions. Once I even grabbed onto the coat of the girl in front of me haha.

The only bad thing about this morning was that it was sprinkling so I had to wear my rain jacket on top of everything else. Because Japanese people don't wear rain jackets (idk why. Well, actually I saw a lady in a poncho today haha but ponchos are way less cool) they have to use their umbrella on their bike. I mean I've never tried it, but I'm pretty sure that takes some mad skills.

Check out what this chick was wearing at the station:

Gurl, it's too cold for that...

Man I had a good morning. I didn't even have to wait for the subway. It was just chilling there waiting for me when I came down the stairs.

I was talking to some of my friends yesterday about the Japanese programs at their schools and they were telling me how the classes were really intensive (5 days a week for some) and they all covered half a textbook per semester. So that's why everyone is so much better than I am! I thought we were on the same level since we've all studied the same amount of time, but they're all better because of how rigorous their school's Japanese program was. :/

Tech doesn't even have a Japanese major or minor.

Anyway, today was the day I'd been waiting for! The grand opening of the Lawson's on the corner on the way to Nanzan from Yagoto Nisseki Station!!

Yatta!

Such cute cakes:

While I was admiring the cakes, one of the employees came over to try to get me to get a point card. I wanted to ask how much that would cost (ikura desu ka) but I couldn't remember how!!

I kept saying "itsu" instead argh.

Finally I said "nan en?" and he understood what I was trying to say haha.

And he told me it was free! So I got one. I just had to put my address and phone number and bam I got this nifty point card!

And then I got a purezento (present) for getting the card. I got eggs!!

Then I went outside to the fruit stand. All the fruit was on sale for the grand opening. I decided to get 5 oranges (70 yen each) and a bunch of bananas. The banana bunch was 105 yen, which is what Rana paid for one banana at the Lawson on campus the other day!!! So I went in to pay and the guy rang it all up as 503 yen which was about what I was expecting. But then he said he was sorry and needed to recalculate. I was afraid he was going to charge me more, but he ended up lowering it to 387 yen! Totemo yasui!

I was so so so happy!!! I mean my senior year superlative wasn't "most likely to live off fruit" for nothing! I really missed this stuff.

As I walked to school I saw this guy in my Japanese class so I told him about the sale an told him to go an he thought it was awesome and said he would!

Then I went to the locker room to drop off all my food so I wouldn't have to lug it around all day.

So dark. Taylor and Jess caught a Japanese couple making out in here one time haha.

My locker is further into the darkness

Cute board though!

And this poster's hilarious!

Then I had to go to class. We have a woman as our sensei on Tuesdays and Fridays. She was really sweet. An guess what we learned?

Ikura desu ka and prices. Wow. If only is gone to Lawson's later in the day (but the guy told me the fruit would be all gone by 5).

I hate how in Japanese when you say big numbers, the words for million and thousand (man and sen) don't go at the commas like they do in English. It makes the numbers really hard to read.

Like 248,543,943 takes me like a minute plus to say outloud haha.

After Japanese class, I went to project class. This is the class everyone dropped out of because it's apparently a bunch of work and is only one credit. But I decided to do it since I'm in the easy Japanese class so I don't have too much work. And I'm glad I did!

There were only 3 people who enrolled in the 300 project work class and all girls. The woman who teaches 400 level communication is our teacher. After jikoshyoukai we brainstormed about the topic of our first project, which is presenting in Japanese about something we like about Japan. There are too many things I like! But I think I'm going to do matsuri because I can write a bunch about them since there's one every season!

Our second project is the one I'm really excited for! We get to interview Japanese students!! I'm really curious about the Japanese perception if America (after I watched this YouTube video about the American perception of Japan), so I hope I can do mine on that and ask Japanese people questions about what they think of America.

Then it was lunch time! I ate with Minju and Deanna. I like talking to them because they're in the 500 level of Japanese and so they almost always speak in Japanese. So I get good practice. 

I got this pink onigiri from Lawson's (because it was pink). It had weird seeds in it but it was good! And then I had my melon pan from yesterday and some of my fruit. I love my fruit :)

And I got this drink too. It was soooo good!

The brand was Kirin, which is the beer brand that my host dad and my real dad sometimes drink lol. And it means giraffe. :)

After lunch, I saw Esteban (all my other friends were done for the day and had left already) and talked to him a bit and then went to the computer lab because I didn't have class until 3:15. I found the webpage I discovered last semester about the Nagoya International Volleyball League and I might join. I tried to figure out how to get to my Nanzan email but couldn't lol. Too much kanji.

So then I talked to the CJS office about getting minutes on my phone and Matsui san gave me a map to the English speaking SoftBank in Sakae and wrote me a letter in Japanese about what I wanted that I can give them just in case. He's so nice!

So I think I'll go tomorrow maybe if my bonsai is small enough to carry around, because I wanted to explore Sakae and go to Oasis 21 anyway.

Then I went to go sit on the bench outside the CJS office to type this blog entry on my phone when I saw a Japanese student walk by wearing the sweatpants I want that say "Nanzan" on the butt. I jumped up and was like "sumimasen!" and asked him where he bought the pants. He tried speaking English with me. His English wasn't too great but I understood what he was saying. He told me the ones he was wearing were only sold for three days last year during some fighting club's tournament. :(

I've seen them in other colors though, so maybe I can still get a pair!

Inside the CJS building:

(Inside the glass area on the first floor is the CJS office)

Then this guy I know who's studying abroad too came to sit by me so I asked him if he wanted to go into the Japan Plaza (where you're not allowed to speak English or any other language that isn't Japanese) with me because I wanted to go in. He did. They were really nice in there and it wasn't as hard to speak as I thought it would be!

Finally, it was time for class. I dropped Art and Culture II yesterday to make room for Japanese Folklore, which I'd rather take. I'm just waiting to hear back from Tech to see if I'll get credit there for it. But I can't take then both or I'll have too many credits at Nanzan. 

Which is a pity because only 4 people were enrolled in it. Only 7 people showed up today and the professor said he'd been expecting around 15 people to take it.

Although it's mainly a history class and in only really interested in 4 of the lectures (3 of which are at the end of the semester) and the professor was pretty boring, it was fun because he passed around books of art, history books, and a manga for us all to look through. He also showed some VCRs. One was about something Bridget will like:

It was about how Japanese people used to have topknots before they cut them off. But the emperors had huge ones like three feet tall haha!

At the beginning of class he asked if anyone knew anything about the modernization of Japan. I nodded and so he asked me to write down what I knew and wrote a 1, 2, and a 3 and a blank for my name.

So I wrote:

1. Matthew Perry came to Japan and opened its doors to the rest of the world, starting trade with other countries.

2. Many American movies were shown during the time (Walt Disney movies), which led to the rise of anime in Japan.

Basically stuff I learned back in high school when I did a report on Japan and manga/anime in WWII.

And he made me read it to the class and then kept the paper with my name on it. I bet I'd get extra credit if I were staying in the class!

We talked a lot about various world fairs too. Man, I wish world fairs still happened!

Anyway I'm okay with dropping the class because I don't think I can sit for 2 hours and 15 minutes every Friday. I was dark when we got out!

At our break 40 min before the end of class:

(The Nagoya TV tower)

And then right when class let out:

Okay now time for a SUPER embarrassing story. You ready, guys?

So after class let out, I went to building H to the get my food from my locker. But when I got there the building was locked! I was like nooo, my fruit. So I sat there rattling the door, like maybe it would unlock or something when this older dude came by. He told me it was already closed. I told him I left food in my locker, so he suggested I go to the CJS building to see if someone there would have the key.

So I did. The main window was closed, but Matsui san and another lady were still inside. So I asked Matsui to help. I told him I had eggs in there that would go bad! He called someone to ask if they could let me in. While he was on the phone, though, he asked another lady to help me. Then she called someone. 

When she got off the phone, she came over all apologetic and told me that the building was closed because there was a big entrance exam test for high schoolers there tomorrow. I heard Matsui san get off the phone and ask her what happened, so I waited a bit to see if maybe he had heard something different, but when he didn't come out, I just left.

As I walked to the train station I was really, really sad I didn't have my fruit. I was so excited about it this morning and now I wouldn't get it until Monday. And my eggs would be bad and the bananas would be brown and everything would be ruined. So I kind of started crying haha. 

Like I'd been through way harder shit (aka the whole airport fiasco) and hadn't shed a tear and then I suddenly lose my fruit and I'm on the verge of a break down (I didn't completely break down, don't worry. I'm not that insane).

So I was walking down that long ass hill when I hear a guy calling my name. I figured it was one of my friends and I really didn't want to talk to them, but it was Matsui san literally sprinting towards me.

I didn't want him to see I was crying so I faked a cough attack lol (since he knew I was sick). Panting, he told me that it turns out I could go to my locker if he accompanied me! So we walked back together and when we got back to the office he gave me green tea cough drop! Holy crap I felt bad. Although my fake cough attack had resulted in real coughing so I was grateful.

Anyway, the other lady who had called ended up going with me to the locker room. Her name was Kandou san. She was really nice and chatted with me in Japanese on the way over. Then some ladies let us in to H and everyone waited while I got my food.

I said so many arigatou gozaimashitas!

So yeah I walked back to the station happy again. I'm kind of embarrassed I overreacted like that, but it was probably a buildup of all the stress I've been under. It's really hard when you suddenly can't communicate anymore, especially if you're someone who likes talking as much as I do. :/

So I got home at 7:30! Ugh so late, but thankfully only Miyabi and Ken had started eating and just barely. I gave everyone the eggs and Ken said "good job Keito" haha.

Miyabi asked me in English, with the help of Yuko, what I wanted for dinner tomorrow night. I suggested takoyaki because Taylor said I should learn how to make it while I'm here. So that's what we're having!

I also asked everyone the joke some guys told me at school today.

Why don't people in Hawaii need dentists?

(Hint: the answer is in Japanese)

And they though it was hilarious! Yuko asked it to Miyabi in Japanese and Miyabi thought it was funny too! :)

After dinner we watched TV. We saw this awesome performance by these shadow puppet artists. They made really difficult shadow puppets! Then the hosts kissed behind the screen (including 2 guys haha). And then they had this intense jump roper on. It was so cool! He did 14 backflip jump ropes in 30 seconds. And he jump roped with his butt while sitting on the ground haha.

Then we watched some of Tales of Earthsea, which is a Studio Ghibli movie I've been wanting to see. But it was all in Japanese. :/

You know, my friends and I have noticed that a lot of Japanese people have TVs in their cars by the steering wheel! This would never fly in America. The people driving the cars only watch them at red lights. They must be hard to ignore, though!

So many interesting things in Japan!