But when I woke up from it, I had a bunch of messages from my friends to cheer me up!
Esteban said he was going to swim with me today (he'd been thinking of playing badminton instead) and Minju said she'd seen that the Sen to Chihiro world we were going to go to after the Ghibli museum, closed at 4:30 so she decided she'd get the 2pm ticket too and we'd go there before the museum. Yayyy!!!
I just hope she can find someone to buy the 12pm ticket off of her.
Last night I ended up finding an awesome hostel!! It has free breakfast (the only hostel with free breakfast in Tokyo) and free luggage storage and is really close to all the major stations in Tokyo. It was also really cheap! The only problem is I have to share a room with 9 other girls! Ah well. Maybe they'll be nice. And I think the hostel has parties sometimes too, so I'll be able to make friends! :)
Also, I learned a new word at breakfast! Hachimitsu, which is honey! I asked what Yuko and Miya were pouring on their toast because they'd never used it before and they showed me the honey. It was less viscous than it is in America (so it was more runny and Miyabi kept spilling it off of her toast). That's why I didn't recognize it was honey.
And I was like "oh, hachi means bee!" Haha that makes sense.
I had anko on my toast today, because I wanted to try something other than jam and it was really good! But not as sweet. And I like sweet breakfasts!
For some reason I got ready super fast today (when I left, yuko was like, "whoa, hayai!") and ended up catching the 7:37 train to school today. Whaaaat?!? I haven't done that since the first day of orientation! Hahaha.
So I went to school and derped around online and looked up fun stuff to do in Tokyo.
Class seemed so short today. Suddenly it was 10:50 and it was owari, whoo!
Today is Wednesday, which in Japanese, is Suiyoubi. The kanji for "sui" is the kanji for water, and the word "swimming" in Japanese is "suiei" so Esteban declared the day we go swimming to be Suiyoubi! It works out because we have such short classes.
When I got out, I waited around a bit because I wasn't sure if 400 had gotten let out yet, but when I didn't see anyone from 400 coming downstairs, I headed to the pool. I saw Esteban had gotten out of class early and already signed in. So I signed in and they were all like "hajimete janai, ne?"
(It's not your first time, right?)
And I was like uhh actually it is. So after I removed my shoes and put these rubber croc things on, this cute old lady led me upstairs to the locker room. She only spoke Japanese, by I managed to talk with her. She asked where I was from and I told her Texas and that Texas was really hot and at my house I have a pool I swim in and she thought that was awesome!
When we first walked in, we had to take our rubber shoes off. Fortunately the wooden board things we walked on weren't wet yet because I was wearing socks. Then she told me to go up more stairs to get to the showers and toilets and go straight from there to get to the pool! So after I changed, I walked up to the pool. I saw a Japanese girl who said "konnichiwa" to me. Esteban's always taking about the Japanese friends he makes at the pool who talk to him in the locker room, so I want to make some too! But there was only one other girl in there.
The pool was beautiful! Next time I'll take pictures. It was on the second story so you saw the rooftops of the neighboring buildings out the window. The walls were all windows so it was nice and bright, unlike either of the pools at Tech.
And it had a spiral staircase up to a balcony where there were benches to watch people swimming, but the staircase was blocked off. So I guess it's only open during meets.
And then there was the Japanese swim team. Holy crap! It was mostly guys and they were all lined up along the side of the pool stretching. If anyone knows this anime called Free! that came out last summer (I've never seen it, but I've see pictures of it everywhere and it's basically five guys who are shirtless all the time because they're on the swim team and they're hot)... Yeah, imagine all those posters of Free!...
Actually, here I'll post a picture of one of them:
Yeah, it was that times ten. I was like ooooooohhhh my gosh. Damn they were fine.
Esteban kept teasing me about how there was all that eye candy and I was totally enjoying it haha. He told me they have a meet coming up so we might go watch it! Yeaaahhh!!
So anyway, Esteban and his friend Matt were in the first two lanes, which are the only two open while the Japanese team is practicing. But just as I hopped in Esteban's lane, they finished practicing, so I got my own lane.
After I warmed up, I decided to try a 500 to see if I could really still do it. And I did! I made it all 20 laps without stopping and it didn't take me quite as long as I thought it would. I kind of wish I had timed myself though. Oh well.
Then I noticed the 60 second clocks like we have in America, so I decided to see if my sprints were still as fast as they used to be. I wanted to do a 50 in 31 seconds like I did in high school, but I could only do it in 36. :( I decided it was probably because I didn't dive in, so I got up on the starting block and waited for the top of the clock, but when it came Esteban shouted something to me from the other end of the pool and I missed it. I should have just dove in anyway, but I wanted to wait for the next top. While I was waiting, the pool attendant lady came over and apologized, telling me I wasn't allowed to dive off the blocks.
That's what Esteban had been trying to tell me. Because it was only 4 ft deep and they didn't trust us to only do surface dives.
That's so gay. Like, why are there even starting blocks in the first place, then? So I have no idea what my real time for a 50 sprint is. But I just swam more stuff like 100s and 200s until Esteban said Matt was leaving, but he was going to meet Rafa for lunch, did I want to come?
After the Japanese team had left, only guys came in to swim, so I went in to an empty locker room. Maybe if I come regularly I'll be able to meet more Japanese students!
Man, the swim felt amazing though! It was nice to get back in there after so long. I'm happy I still fit into the suit I wore when I was fourteen (I was legitimately worried I wouldn't). And swimming with my nice pink swimmer's goggles was so, so great!
Afterwards I had that tired, but happy after a swim workout feeling.
(Selfieeee)
And I felt like I could eat anything and everything haha. So while we were waiting in line, I saw this Japanese guy eating this huge dish of meat on top of rice that looked really good, so I asked him what it was and he told me pork ginger. So I got that! It was only 360 yen, but I got the smaller version because I wasn't sure I'd like it.
It ended up being really, really good! I've definitely had it with at home before (like my Japan home, not America). Rafa got this humungo chicken meal for 500 yen, so he was good, but Esteban and I were still hungry after we'd eaten, so Esteban got a hot dog and I got the small rice bowl. I looooove rice!
There was this creepy guy, holding two cute breads, looking in the windows today. I'd seen him another day too when I was walking past outside and just figured he was making faces at someone inside, but today he just stood there looking in for forever. It was really scary. The Japanese girls sitting right under him didn't seem phased at all!
After we finished eating, the guys were still hungry haha, so we went to Lawson's. Esteban got a pack of dark chocolate (called black chocolate here) and gave us some. It was good! It tasted sweeter than American dark chocolate.
Also, look at these prices!!
We walked to the lockers afterwards and I dumped my stuff then parted ways with the guys. They were going home to take naps, but I was going to the bank.
Ugh so when I got there, I discovered my money still hadn't come in. I got the girl who was good at English, so I asked her to call and find out what the hold up was. She called the head bank and they said these things usually take a month!! So the earliest I'll get my money is Friday, but more likely it'll be next Thursday. Arghhh, I'm running out of money!
I'm so happy I have the traveler's checks, or I'd be up shit creek without a paddle. So I cashed another one of those today, but this is really stressing me out!
(Cute tree I saw on the way to the bank)
On the way back from the bank, I saw a cop car out in front of the 100 yen Lawson's. Then I saw two police officers talking to these three Indian guys and checking their ID and stuff. Ooohhh I wanna know what was going on!
(The back of the guy says "POLICE")
When I got back to campus, I got on the computer to send some emails and then went home.
On the way to the train station, I stopped at Lawson's to TURN IN MY COMPLETED STICKER SHEET!!!!
I bought a thing of bread today and stole the other 5 stickers off other breads because very few had stickers left. The new wave of breads are sticker-less.
The guy took it AND GAVE ME A BUNNY PLATE!!!!! Ahhh! I was so sure he was going to tell me to mail the sheet in or give him an address to send the plate to or whatever, but he just gave it to me right then and there!
(It says Miffy Curry Plate :D )
When I got home, I made a half a pecan butter sandwich with the bread I bought. It was gooooood! The bread in Japan is so thick, though!
Then I took a shower. Miya and Yuko didn't get home until 6:30. Miya had this awesome thing she made today with paper, a bag, and a straw, where she would blow into the straw and the bag would fill up!! Sugoi!
When they got home I did my homework and then Ken came home and we all had dinner.
Dinner was soooo good! I told Yuko it was "mecha oishii" haha. It was a tofu burger with mushrooms in it that tasted exactly like the veggie burgers I eat and love in America! Yuko made it herself!
And we had miso soup with pumpkins in it!
Miya poured her tea in her rice bowl and I was like wtf? And her parents didn't say anything. They even encouraged her! Yuko must have seen my wtf face, because she explained that's a thing in Japan. She said you don't do it in a restaurant, only in your home, but people do it all the time lol! She said it's really good. Maybe I'll try it too some time.
After dinner, I studied for my dialogue check and did some of my worksheet due next week.
Ahhh today was such a good day!!
Friday should be fun too. Rafa and I are going to go shopping in Osu and then Taylor's organizing an all-night karaoke slumber party! I was telling everyone about it at dinner and I knew how to say all night!
I learned it from Miss You, this song by M-flo I'm obsessed with and listen to every day. In it they say "asa made" which means "until morning". So I said the karaoke was "asa made" and everyone understood what I saying! Yayyy!
Also, here are pix of me and Minju from the science museum from the CJS Facebook page:
(Burning calories on the bike)
Matta ashita!
I want a plate !!!!!!!
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