A まあまあ day...

Nothing really exciting happened today, but I've heard so much positive feedback regarding this blog that I decided I'd write a post anyway.

That being said, all you lurkers out there, please leave a comment! I love getting comments. They make me happy! :)

This morning at breakfast my iPhone fell off my chair and dented a tiny bit. :( It's really bumming me out. Because that wouldn't have happened if I had a case. But I've been looking everywhere and the only cases I can find are $17 and up. The hyaku en store only carries cases for iPhone 5 and 4/4s. I guess the iPhone 5s is still too new for Japan... Sadness.

But, hey, we did have cereal for breakfast! And the orange tea I really like and was craving last night. But of course cereal always comes with salad... Haha I still can't...

Yuko told me I looked kawaii this morning, so I think with my new 400 yen outfit, I'm finally starting to blend in!

(Whoo selfies! And see guys, no pink! I didn't even wear my uggs because I saw it was supposed to rain. But you know me, I have a pink shirt on underneath ;) )

So I found this Subway earphone thing in the street one day and I really like it! It's cute.

(See? It's a little sandwhich sticking out of my phone haha)

The trains still really baffle me. Like yesterday, I got on the 7:57 train and at 7:58, it still hadn't left yet. It was just chilling there with its doors closed. Then the doors opened again! So I guess if someone had been late they still could have hopped on, but no one did. Then finally, at 7:59 it left.

Today, I got up to the platform at 7:58 (I should have speed biked but I didn't think I was that late) and the train had already left! Whaaat, I'm so confused!

So I had to catch the 8:07 :(

But then, the 8:07 train showed up on the opposite side of the platform (aka behind me) and I didn't realize it, so I missed that one too!!! Ahhhh.

So I had to take the 8:17. Damn I was so scared I was gonna be late to school!

The train I finally got on at 8:17 made a stop before Kanayama, which was weird. I want listening to the announcer because I was too busy trying read what my new game was saying, so I almost got off, but I looked up and didn't recognize the kanji, so I just stayed in the train and thankfully Kanayama was the next stop.

Since I missed the subway I usually take, I was like oh man, I'm gonna miss the blind lady too. I like watching her because I'm seriously in awe of her. But she was on my subway!!!! 

Maybe I caught the one I usually take after all? Idk. Or maybe she was late today too.

So yesterday I bought Pokemon Pearl because I figured I could play it even without understanding it because I played it so much when I was younger. So yeah, it's been a challenge so far. Like at one point this guy on the game was saying something about a monster ball (which I figured meant pokeball) button and he kept saying it over and over again, until I finally realized I had to tap this button on the pokeball on the lower screen to make him shut up lol.

And this is the first screen where I completely understood what I was reading lol.

(Although I've never heard それとも used before)

When I came out of the station, it was pouring rain. That was a fun walk to school. When I got to school, I talked to my friends for a bit. Then I went up to class. One of the CJS ladies told us that Matsukawa sensei was "osoi", and I was the only one who understood that that meant he was late, so I had to translate for everyone else.

Class was pretty boring. At lunchtime, I met up with Rana and Emma and we walked in the rain over to Dagane. Emma told me that her host mother always sees pictures of me on Facebook and has started referring to me as "pinku ga sukina hito" aka person who likes pink. Omg.

I got the sides again because they had fruit and salmon!!

(Whoops someone already ate the noodles :P )

And then I got rice too because I was still hungry. Gosh, I eat sooo much here I've probably gained so much weight lol. But the scale in the bathroom at home is in kilograms and I hate converting all the time.

After lunch Emma went home and Rana went to the dorms with some of other friends. I didn't feel like going, so I went to the library to watch some of the movie, Onmyoji, that I was supposed to watch for class today. Whoops.

It took a while with my broken Japanese to talk to the librarian and find out where to get the movie and where to watch it, but I did it! The system here is that they keep your student ID card at the circulation desk and then you get a remote control and you can go watch the DVD on a tv that's in a little cubicle.

The movie was actually pretty good! I would have liked to watch more than the half hour I did, but I had to go to class. Apparently things get really weird later on in the movie though haha.

And it took me like 10 minutes to figure out how to make the freaking subtitles show up. But I finally saw the kanji for English so I selected that and bam, subtitles!

In class, the teacher was having so many problems with her computer so we lost a lot of class time.

After class, it was dark out. Esteban and I walked to my locker so I could get the manga books Emma gave me.

(The books. The one in the middle looks pretty risqué lol)

And then we rode home together. 

When I got home, I couldn't get the door open with my key for some reason, so I rang the doorbell. Miyabi answered with two girls I'd never seen before and told me they were her friends.

Their mom was here too. It was 7:02 when I got home, so we ate right away. We had curry on top of rice and salad. I spoke a bit of Japanese to the mom of the two girls, telling her where I'd got my outfit (so many people asked me that at school today, so now my secret shopping spot is known among the girls in CJS and this lady, dangit!) and about my long commute to school and how I effed up at the station this morning. It was a little intimidating at dinner because no one had told me we were having guests, so I hadn't been expecting them and I was trying to remember all the things Yuko had taught me about what to do and not to do at the dinner table.

Then I made origami with the two girls and Miyabi. The older girl, Kaori, was really good at origami and showed us all how to make 3D cubes that we all then played ball with.

Then it was time for dessert. We had strawberries for dessert. We each got four of them. They were so, so sweet and tasted better than American strawberries for some reason! I was excited and surprised because strawberries are expensive here!

Then I played with the girls a bit more before they had to leave. Then I played with Miyabi. Finally, after that I sat down to memorize the stupid dialogue I have to do tomorrow.

But hey, at least I'm going to an onsen tomorrow!! Yayyyy!

Just another day in 日本

Lawlz there was this dude snoring super loudly on the train this morning. The trains are super awk at rush hour because they're like dead silent. Literally no one is talking. It's so weird. So yeah it was dead quiet and then you hear this reeeaaally loud snoring haha.

I have no idea how the first week I managed to catch the super rapid train each time even though I had no idea what I was doing and now that I do know what I'm doing, I always get to the station when the local trains are running. It's soo annoying bc it takes 30 min as opposed to 15-20.

Ha and since we're on the topic of trains, the other day I scanned my train pass and it beeped red and wouldn't let me through. I tried to slip through anyway because I've done that before and gotten away with it, but this time the guy at the window totally saw me and started shouting at me in Japanese to come over haha. Darn.

When we were going to the castle yesterday, my card didn't work because the station wasn't on my route. I did this awesome slide on my feet through the gate before it closed but the CJS faculty made me go back and pay anyway. :(

I reminded myself of the middle schoolers I always watched slip through the turnstile to ride the subway in New York for free.

And one more thing about trains. They play this really pretty music when the subway is about to come in. I love it! I really want it on a soundtrack so I can listen to it all the time haha.

Gosh this post is already super long and I haven't even said anything worthwhile about my day!

I almost missed the stop for Kanayama this morning. I tuned out the dude who announces the stops but just happened to look up at which station we were at and it said Kanayama! So I got out of my seat just as we pulled in, instead of a few minutes before like everyone does.

(Cute guy haha)

(The hill up to school everyone complains about)

When I got to school I talked to Rana a bit but she had to study for her Japanese class, so I decided to go buy my lunch at Lawson before the line got too long. Even though campus was strangely empty today. Idk where all the Japanese students were!

So I bought the giant melon pan again because it's the cheapest and biggest of the breads, and a CUP OF FRESH FRUIT omg!! It had apples, dragon fruit, and yellow kiwi! And then a huge carton of orange juice.

I heard kids shouting so I went to go explore why and I came across the lacrosse team practicing!

(Lacrosse team)

(I like how our trash bins say Nanzan University lol)

I'm pretty sure I'm dying because I'm still sick and it's been a week. So I decided to go to the clinic. They were really slow about helping me so I ended up being late to class. I ran into Matsui san, one of the CJS faculty and he helped translate for me. They gave me cough drops like I wanted and then photocopied the box for me so I could buy more if I wanted! They also gave me four sick masks, which I'll die before I wear haha.

Because I was late to class I missed the first half of the quiz, but it sounded like because I was at the clinic and not skipping class they won't count the quiz which is good because I spelled some things wrong anyway.

I found out that I was supposed to pick up my workbook from my mailbox yesterday (how was I supposed to know that?!) so I could do my homework. So I guess I got a late grade for homework. Ugh. At least I finally understand how everything works for the most part.

We got out of class 2 minutes early for lunch, yay! So I went with Taylor and Jess and one of their friends to lunch. We ate at the place I got the ramen at the other day. I had miso katsu, which Nagoya is famous for. It was delicious!

After lunch I did the workbook homework that was due this morning. I didn't have class till 3 so I went to the CJS office and found out that I got into the bonsai experience I'd been on the wait list for!

It's this Saturday and I'm really excited!

Because I had time, I went to the computer lab to use the computer. There were a bunch of Japanese students in there on the computers. I found out that they had these next few days off as study days, so most chose not to come to school.

Anyway, the computer was all in Japanese and so frustrating to use! But I was able to check my Tech email and email back Akiko, the lady I met on the train yesterday.

(Pretty hallway going out of the library building)

Also Google was really cool here today!

Then I had my Japanese Folklore class. We introduced ourselves and said 3 things we liked about Japan and 3 things we miss from our home country. Everyone kept saying how they missed peanut butter and I was like whooaaahhh I forgot about peanut butter! But apparently it doesn't exist here!

Then we had to choose a movie to present about. I wanted to do Spirited Away, but of course it filled up so fast. And so did the other one that looked interesting, Departures. 

So I signed up to do The Mourning Forest. I have no clue what it's about. And I'm gonna have to find time to go watch it in the library. Or maybe If I check it out my host family will watch it with me, because I hate watching movies alone.

We got out of class a half hour early (5 pm) which was nice because the sun was already setting! I went downstairs and picked up my workbook this time.

Then Rana, Pearl and I left together. Pearl went back to her dorm and Rana and I got on the subway. We met up with Esteban on the subway. His host family lives in Ichinomiya too, so he and I went all the way home together. He's one of the two people I've met who have a longer commute than I do, but only by a bit. He takes a bus from Ichinomiya Station to his house, so he actually loves farther out than I do!

We took the local train since the next rapid didn't come for another 15 min. Ugh I hate the local train so much!

It was 6:40 by the time I got home. Imagine if I'd gotten out of class when I was supposed to, at 5:30. Geez! I might be too late for dinner on some nights. I guess I really need to get minutes on my phone in case that ever happens...

I talked to Yuko and she said this really long paragraph in Japanese and then was like "wakarimasu ka?" Asking if I understood. And I translated back what I thought she said in English and I was right! Omg I must be getting better at listening :D

Dinner was sooooo delicious!!! Holy crap. My favorite meal yet! We had Oden.

(I liked that it was pink ^^ )

What it had in it:

- tamago (hard boiled eggs)

- sakana (the pink things. Fish. They were hot pink inside!!!)

- tofu (one of the brown things)

- vegetable stuff (in the other brown thing)

- pickled daikon (but when it's boiled like this it tastes like potato!)

- potato jelly (wtf... It was actually good but had such a weird texture lol)

Ahhhh so so good! Oishii desu yo! And we had mikan for dessert.

And I talked a lot at dinner tonight! These are the times when I'm happy I chose a host family. Maybe I'd get more sleep in a dorm, but I definitely wouldn't get all the practice I do now. I just wish my Japanese were better!

Miyabi helped me do my homework lol. It was child's play for her. The stupid thing is we have to memorize the dialogues in the Genki textbook and say them in class, so I had Miyabi be Takeshi and I was Mary and we practiced. :)

P.S. My host family has freaking scented toilet paper. I'm dying.

Also more pictures people put on Facebook from the castle:

At the entrance