Hanami and photo shoot with the sakura!!

Today I didn't feel like going to classes, so I slept in and then Skyped friends until it was time to go to the photo shoot with Emma.

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April Fools!!! You fell for it didn't you? Didn't cha? Don't lie to me ;)

Haha anyways...

This morning, Yuko gave me a lot of breakfast! Two onigiri, meat and vegetable soup, leftover fried tofu and fish cake things from last night, tea, and orange jello. Phew!

After breakfast, I straightened my hair and put in makeup to pretty myself up for the sakura photo shoot!

I ended up taking a while and so it was already 7:46 when I was unlocking my bike. Crap! I was going to miss the 7:57! So I biked like my life depended on it to the station and ended up setting a new record! I made it in SIX minutes!!! Uwahh!

I was at the end of the line today, and I guess the trains were more crowded because college kids are starting up again? But I really had to squeeze myself in. I almost didn't make it in, but I pushed people and ended up smashed against the door for the entire ride. But I'm glad because the glass was cool and it was SO freaking hot on the train. The humidity from all the bodies was causing my hair to curl, but I'd been smart and brought my straightener to school! ;)

At Kanayama, I met up with Esteban and we went to school together. He told me he'd talked to the swimming club yesterday and it turns out ryuugakusei can join, but practices are four days a week. Agh, that's kind of a lot when I'm already so busy! Idk, we'll see.

Then I told him about how the entrance ceremony is today. He asked if I got all dressed up for the football players, haha. I said that was just an added bonus. But I doubted the football players would be there again.

Boy, was I surprised though! The football players were there again! And they were saying "omedetou gozaimasu" to all the new students! There were a bunch of freshmen, all wearing suits coming in. Some stopped to take a picture at the front gate by the sign welcoming students in. And then they all had to walk through the football players. The football players were really cute, bending down and putting their hands out like they were showing off the new kids and shouting congratulations!

We walked in, Esteban and I compared flyers. He was all pissy because people kept giving me flyers as we walked up the hill (it had been crowded with Japanese clubs passing out flyers), but completely ignoring him, haha! He was saying how I got all the flyers and Rafa was all like "I wonder why..." But we told him they were girls who had given me the flyers, not guys, haha.

I was sitting talking with Devon, who was playing the Pokemon April Fools game on Google Maps, when Emma came in. She and I decided to go take pictures of the football players, haha.

When we got down there, two of them saw us trying to take their picture, so they came over to us. The cuter one (with the #1 jersey) was all like, (in English), "I'm from One Direction! I'm Harry!"

Hahahaha! It was adorable!

Then they posed for us!

Haha!

 

I wanted to get a picture with them, but they told me they couldn't right now because they had to welcome people in... :/

Ah well. Emma took me with them in the background!

Then Emma and I saw a pretty cool lizard!

We had to rush back after that because it was class time. Today was the last day of having Kondo sensei every day (Mutsukawa sensei had been on a business trip in Philadelphia). When class started she told us she wouldn't be here on April 7 when we have our test, so was it cool if we had it today instead. I was like "no!"

But Natalia was all like "I think we can do it guys, we've got this!" 

I was like "hell no, are you on drugs? These are chapters I haven't learned yet!" (I didn't actually say that exactly).

But yeah, then Kondo sensei held up a paper that said "April Fools" and we all felt like idiots. I can't believe she tricked us when we're the Americans!

Minju told me later her sensei played a similar trick, telling the class she'd gotten married (she's not married yet) and everyone flipped out, only to find it was an April Fool's joke, lol.

So yeah. Class was fun though! We played a game where Kondo sensei would say a word and we had to write it in kanji on the board. We played rock and paper (a Japanese game like rock, paper, scissors, but without scissors) to decide teams. Heather whispered "paper" to Dylan, Natalia, and me, so we all put paper. It didn't end up in even teams at first, but when we played again, everyone else put rock. Haha. 

So Tina got stuck with the two worst people in the class. But it ended up being fair because she's freaking Taiwanese and knows all the kanji already. Gosh, she wrote them all so fast, the rest of us hadn't even started writing the first kanji by the time she had finished her word!

But we ended up tying because I knew a lot of the kanji already!

At the break between classes, I heard shouting so I went to look out the window. They were announcing things over the loudspeaker and all the freshman were walking in a line. Kondo sensei came over and asked me if I was looking at the football players, lol. I told her no. Then she asked if I am going to join the football team at VT. I told her it's only for guys. So she asked what about team manager? I told her there aren't girl team managers in America, but there are water bottle girls! I always see girls at the football games giving water bottles to the guys during timeouts. I've always envied them, but I have no idea how to become one of those girls. Hahaha.

Also, I apparently have a bit of a reputation at school. I find it funny though, and so does everyone else. But yeah... apparently everyone thinks I'm crazy for Japanese guys... I knew Esteban and Rafa thought that because they're always teasing me about it, but now people I didn't realize thought that have started to as well! Dylan told me today he saw me "on the hunt" yesterday. And Heather told me he'd said "look there's Cate searching for dudes again". And Natalia once said "every time I see Cate, she looks like she's scanning the area for guys."

Haha so yeah... I'm getting kind of famous at school...

At lunchtime, I talked to Brendan. I told him what Yuko had said last night and that maybe he should talk to his host parents more, but he said he's too afraid to speak Japanese because he's afraid he'll mess up. Yeah, I know the feeling. I told him I hope our families will do something together sometime. That would be fun!

He had a lunch box and said his host parents make him lunch each day! Ahhh, jealous!

He, Emma, and I walked through the crowded main street (clubs were still recruiting) to Dagane. There, I got the balanced lunch and Emma and I ate together. While I was eating, Rana came over and told me her host dad had bought Kit Kats last weekend (I assume when they all went to Tokyo Disney Land for Haruka's graduation... Argh I was so jealous Rana got to go with them!) and they were weird flavors, so she brought me some! Ahhh it was so nice!!

I had really wanted to try the wasabi one, but I was too scared to buy it!

I was stuffed after lunch! Emma and I went to the lockers so I could get my hanga stuff. We ran into Esteban there and he told me all about how he'd shaken hands with one of the football players, haha.

Then we had hanga. I worked on a drawing of Totoro in class today. Sensei came over to see what I was drawing and was all like "ahh, Totoro" haha.

After class, Emma went to send an email and I was going to head to the lockers to fix my hair and then we were going to meet there. But when I got outside, I saw the football players all outside R saying goodbye to the freshmen as they went home. So I ran back in and grabbed Emma so she should could take a picture of me with them. I asked them for a picture and they said okay, so Emma got ready to take it when one of the team manager girls told Emma she'd take the picture and Emma should be in it too lol.

So here's Emma and me and the football players!

Lol. So then Emma went back to send her email and I headed to the lockers where I touched up my hair. Emma came in and dropped her stuff and then we headed out.

On the way out, we heard shouting coming from the green area, so we decided to check it out. It turned out it was some sort of pep rally type of thing for the new kids. The cheerleaders were putting on a performance to some American song.

I was amazed at how much this looked like America. Japan is becoming so Anericanized! There were all the American stereotypes. Football players, cheerleaders, and American pop music.

(Cheerleaders wearing football jerseys)

Then these muscular guys with no shirts and oiled chests came out. They flexed their muscles to a Linkin Park song. Smh.

They reminded me of the Low Techs at VT, but they're moves weren't quite as sexual, haha.

Everyone shouted "Encore!" after they left.

 

A movie of them showing their stuff:

 

 

 

Then these fat guys came out, also without shirts, and also danced to Linkin Park. Lol. Emma and I left then.

 

 

We took the subway to Mizuho Undojo-Higashi and walked west towards the river.

Street lined with sakura

 

We found the river easily. It was beautiful!!

First we headed over to the bridge to take some pictures there.

 

Ahhh!!!

We met this Asian looking girl taking selfies, who spoke really good English and she took a picture of both of us for us!

 

Emma and me!

Then we headed back to walk along the river, which was completely lined with sakura. It was gorgeous! Now I see why it's one of the most famous viewing areas in Japan!

 

 

 

 

We walked for a while and then decided to head to a konbini to buy booze and do hanami the right way. Emma wanted to get one of the sake filled juice boxes, but then I found this pink alcohol that looked really good and was perfect for sakura! Then Emma got ice cream and a cheese cake, and I got an anman. Ugh, the tax had made everything 8 yen more. So taihen!

We must have turned the wrong way out of Family Mart because soon we were lost. We found this man with his toddler son and asked him where the river was. He put his son on his shoulders and walked with us a bit until he could show us where to go. We thanked him and followed his directions. It was a bit of a walk, but we found the river easily!

 

Cool drain cover!

Takoyaki truck!

 

Then we found a bench where we sat and ate and drank. The alcohol was fizzy and strawberry flavored. It was good!

 

 

Where we ate

Stray kitty

Tree we ate under (and sign for the bathroom lol)

I shared the Kit Kats with Emma. The wasabi one actually tasted like wasabi! It had little spicy green specks in the cracker part, so I wasn't a big fan and was happy to only eat half.

 

Little green spicy wasabi specks inside

 

The strawberry cheesecake one was really good, though!

It was late then, so we headed back. We weren't sure how to get back to the station we'd come out of, so we headed to the closest subway station. It ended up being on a different line, but we didn't care because it was already 6:30! Emma was okay because her host parents are gone for this week, but I needed to be home by 7. Obviously I was going to be late!

Cute tile on the street

Cool mural in the station!

 

So I switched back to the right line (missing the train by seconds, argh) and then ride to Kanayama. It was kinda expensive... :/

Then I took the JR home and booked it on my bike. I got home and 7:20. Everyone was home and already eating. I apologized, but Yuko said it was fine. She'd wrapped up my food for me and then got me out a steaming bowl of rice. :) We had katsu, tofu soup, salad, and more fried tofu. It was yummy!

I asked Yuko and Miya how Ana to Yuki no Jo (aka Frozen) had been because they'd come to see it today. It turned out they'd seen it in English! Yuko said it was really, really good and she cried three times haha. I want to see it!

After dinner I went to memorize my dialogue for tomorrow.

Whatchu lookin at?