Coffee Hour!

At breakfast, we were having toast, and Yuko brought out my peanut butter and jelly for me. So I used my jelly. Then Miya wanted peanut butter so Yuko asked if it was okay and if she could have some too. So they put peanut butter on their bread and thought it was so awesome! They said Skippy (the peanut butter they have here that's super expensive) was really sweet, and this one tasted more like peanuts. Yuko asked me what the difference was between this peanut butter and Skippy and I told her this one was healthier because it was made with natural ingredients.

It was so cold this morning. The puddles were frozen and I saw some slush and mini piles of snow at the station. Did it snow last night?

I know it snowed a lot in Tokyo yesterday which was rare for them. My phone says it'll snow here on Saturday. I really hope so!

When I was squished on the train, I could hear the girl next to me's music because she had it so loud and she was listening to Taylor Swift! Yes. She has good taste in music.

I ran into Autumn as I left Yagoto Nisseki station. She told me the chocolate we made last night turned out pretty mushy like fudge (I'd thought it would!) and then she took the container of it out of her bag to show me, but it had all melted! It was just chocolate syrup in her container. We were so surprised that in the 20 min it took her to get here and with the really cold weather it had completely melted! Wtf. Was the subway that hot?? 

During class today, it snowed!! Tons of flurries were swirling in the sun outside. Mutsukawa sensei noticed and said (in Japanese) that it was snowing. I jumped up and ran over to the window to look haha. It was so pretty! Then two other girls followed suit and Mutsukawa sensei said "ato de", but after class it had stopped. :( I didn't get to walk through it :( So I hope it does snow this Saturday. 

(Me chillin on the window sill before class)

Mutsukawa sensei let us out early for lunch (love that!) Before we all left though, Natalia gave everyone the chocolate she had made. She apologized to me and explained that because she had gotten out of class early the week before, this week they had had a double period, so she got out really late, I think around 5:30, when I was heading home.

Her chocolate had all melted too, but not as bad as Autumn's! We all just licked our chocolates haha. She gave us then in really cute cupcake wrappers. Mine had snowmen on it and Mutsukawa sensei got bunnies haha.

(Other cute heart ones she had)

Since we got out early, I ran to the cafeteria so I could eat a big meal before the internet orientation I was going to at 11:30. After about 10 minutes, all my friends came in so I sat with them.

(Lunch. GUYS THEY HAD SWEET POTATOES TODAY!!! My first sweet potato since December ahhhh!!)

The sweet potatoes were all hard an dry and coated in sugary sauce though so they were kinda gross. But at least I got the taste of sweet potato that I've been craving!

At 11:30, the one other girl doing the internet orientation and I walked over to the computer building. It was an orientation to set up your computer or phone to connect to the Nanzan network. Hardly anyone had decided to do it because it was a tedious process of filling out an application and then waiting for the orientation to happen.

At the orientation, they went over rules and stuff and then added our devices to the network. It turns out my suspicions were true! Nanzan does have a secret wifi! I knew it!

The other girl had brought her laptop (because she lives in a dorm and therefore didn't have to carry it far) and I was using my iPhone. They had a lot of trouble adding me because the lady had told me to write the Bluetooth number instead of the wifi number. Fail. 

But then we both got added and were able to access the secret wifi! It turns out we can use it in two classrooms of the computer building but also outside of Lawson's and on the floor above Lawson's!! So convenient!

When our devices were finally working and we could go, she and I walked over to the CJS office because we were meeting our friends to book rooms in hostels for our time in Osaka and Kyoto. So our huge group went upstairs to the computers in R building to do it. 

However, it turned out that there were only a few single rooms left for Monday night, so everyone but Ben, Andrew, and I got rooms for every night. And that hostel only had single rooms. Ugh. Rana had forgotten to book the last day, so I had an idea. 

I found a nearby hostel that was more expensive for single rooms, but the same price per person for double rooms, so I asked Rana if she would cancel her reservation at the other hostel and come join me in the double room in the other hostel and she did! So we both have a room for every night, yay!

Andrew and Ben said they're just going to pull an all nighter and roam Osaka the first night lol, so they booked the hostel everyone else is in for the rest of the nights.

After everything was figured out, we all headed to Coffee Hour. I was so excited!! I've been waiting for coffee hour to start! Coffee hour is where Japanese students mingle with foreign students. It happens every month. This month's was Setsubun themed. There were tables set up with sushi rolls (slices, not the long rolls I had Monday night lol), which were sooo good, snacks (like dried beans, those chocolate things that look like artichokes, marshmallows filled with chocolate, and Aero (chocolate with holes in it)). We also got cool drinks like lemon and apple tea. So yummy!

Also, Natsumi was there! The Japanese girl who was part of my group at Nagoya Castle and she remembered me! She introduced me to her friend Shiroi who I talked to a lot. Shiroi knew Home Made 家族 which made her awesome. Her dad lived in Kentucky, which is where one of the members lived for a bit.

(See those things the characters are playig with?? That's the toy I played with in the Japan Plaza that I was trying to describe in the onsen post lol)

(Chocolate artichoke thing)

(Setsubun themed chocolate filled marshmallow)

(Aero)

Then we made oni masks! Everyone told me mine was kawaii haha. They were supposed to be scary but whatevs. This Japanese girl helped me make a yarn ribbon for my monster so it would match me!

(It looks like me, ne?)

And then we took tons of pictures!

(Me with Natalia)

( Kazuki, me, and Natsumi)

(Shiroi, me, Natsumi)

(Chris, me, Natsumi)

It was so fun! And now I have two more Japanese friends on Facebook! Also, when I was talking with Kazuki, he told me I am really good at speaking for being in the 300 level! That made me really happy! :)

After coffee hour, I went to the post office to mail in this thing that says I don't have to pay tax on my health insurance. Then I came back to Nanzan. I sat in front of Lawson's for a bit and tested my wifi capability (it worked, totes awesome!)

Then I walked back through the icy winds to R building where I forced myself to go to the Japan Plaza and speak in Japanese. I to myself I would stay until 4:30. So I did. It wasn't too bad.

There was one girl working there. So I talked to her about my commute and playing my Pokemon game and going to shrines and stuff. It's always so cool to be able to have a conversation in Japanese. Although there were a few times I couldn't remember how to say something (which resulted in an awkward pause) and so looked it up in my book, or just said it in Japanese English lol. But I really do like the Japan Plaza since you're not allowed to speak English there, so it forces me to not resort to English. I keep telling myself to go in every day, so in going to really try to now that I went in on my own and it was fine.

Another guy who worked there showed up as I was getting ready to leave. He commented on the fact that I liked pink haha. I would have liked to stay and talk to him too, but I kind if wanted to get home sooner than I did last night.

Ha although on the subway I missed my stop at Kanayama and ended up going two extra stops and having to backtrack. Which resulted in me missing the super rapid train by a minute and having to take the local. Life sucks sometimes.

All day Japanese people kept telling me how cute my bear earphone plug on my phone was and commenting that it's the bear from Line! How does everyone knooooww?? Japanese people must be seriously addicted to Line haha.

At home, Miya saw me playing me DS and said "koha", which freaked me out because that's the name of this girl I've passed a few times on StreetPass. Well turns out she's Miya's friend who lives above us haha. And she told Miya she's streetpassed me five times lol.

Then I played Pokemon and Miya helped me write down words I didn't know. So like back when I was 7 and played the Pokemon GameBoy games, I remember when I started a new game I could just save it and overwrite the old game. Apparently that's not the case with this version. A few days ago I started a new game on the subway and tried to save it but it wouldn't let me. I couldn't understand the Japanese, so I just assumed I hadn't reached the point in the game where I could save it yet. I kept restarting the game and playing further every day for four days. Finally I played really far today and still couldn't save, so I got super pissed off and looked it up online. Turns out you have to press a combination of buttons to erase the previous file first (I'd bought the game used and there was another profile on there). Ugh. So I finally could save it right away tonight.

For dinner we had really good noodles and salad with corn. Yuko told me about this 9 year old girl in Hokkaido who got kidnapped recently. She said the guy who did it was a "niko." She didn't know the English translation of that word, but explained it in English well enough for me to realize she was talking about a recluse.

After dinner, Miya and I watched tv for a bit and played with her string. One night she used a really short string so it was hard for me to get my fingers in so I said "yubi wa futote" (my fingers are too fat) and she thought that was the funniest thing! And now she says it all the time haha. The two of us have a lot of inside jokes that we say again whenever we play together and her parents are always confused haha, but he says it's a secret.

We also looked up Japanese tongue twisters and said them and she taught me more that weren't on the website. One was sooo funny, we both cracked up, and now it's a new inside joke.

It was:

"Basu gasu bakuhatsu" aka "bus gas explosion"

We also played the game where we translate words on my phone that I don't know.

One word involved the word iku (which I know means to go), but I was typing it in anyway, and omg Google Translate translated it to the other meaning of iku.

Yeaaahh, let's just say I'm happy Miya can't understand that much English haha.

Tomorrow starts my yasumi (vacation)!!! Woohoo! 10 days off everyone!

And next Monday through Friday I'll be in Osaka and Kyoto with a huge ass group!

But right now I'm just excited I get to sleep in tomorrow. :)

Here's some pix of opening mom's package from Yuko's Facebook page:

Also, when Yuko uploaded the Setsubun pix, she wrote "Cate ATE NATTO!!! That's something really really surprising and amazing! I cannot eat natto... Am I Japanese?" 

Hahaha

(Omg her face cracks me up)

(I look so Asian here haha)

Visiting the Rainbow House

This morning everyone was really tired. When I woke up at 6:15, Yuko and Miyabi were still sleeping. So I got dressed. I debated whether I should wake Yuko when at 6:30 she was still sleeping. But I finally heard her moving around at 6:45 and then she called me to breakfast a few minutes later, saying "gomen nasai." But hey, having breakfast that late meant we had cereal! Without salad!! We had Yuko's homemade bread with marmalade and orange slices instead. So I was really happy!

Then I went and got my raisin bread, peanut butter, and jelly mom had sent me to make peanut butter and jelly. Yuko and Miya thought the bread was awesome! I said it was small, but Miya thought it was big. I had too when I was her age. Weird.

So I gave her the end piece to eat and she liked it a lot.

Then I made two sandwiches since the bread is so small! Yuko an Miya thought the peanut butter was so awesome. After I had spread it, I opened the jelly and started spreading it on the other bread slice. Yuko was like "You're using jelly and peanut butter??" Haha I explained this was a common sandwich to make in America, although it's usually more for kids.

She asked if peanut butter was sweet or salty because I was using a lot if jelly. I told her both, but I just really like jelly.

Then I put the two slices together and Yuko and Miya were like "whooaaa!"

Hahahahaha. I guess pb&j isn't a thing in Japan! It's hard to believe that people here find this thing so amazing that is so, so common in America haha.

My lunch is so American today, and I'm loving it! :)

I did my homework on the subway, because I hadn't felt like doing it last night lol. Then at school I went to get my book from my locker. I had this amazing idea one day where I take a picture of the book pages I need for homework on my phone and then I don't have to lug my book home! I'm so smart.

I love the bathroom in the building with the lockers because it's PINK!! And it has a super long mirror where you can stand and do your makeup. If only it didn't have squatty potties. :(

Japanese class felt like it took forever today! Probs cause we had Kandou sensei and she doesn't let us out early like Mutsukawa sensei does. Ugh. I was so tired too. And it was so hot in the room. And the guy next to me smelled bad.

There was one funny part though. We had to do so much writing today, so by the last paragraph thing we had to write, I was kind of sick of it, so I decided to have some fun.

We had to write about our hometown (in Japanese) by following along with this example paragraph about Moscow. At the end, it said "Moscow is a good place. Everyone, by all means, please come to Russia."

So I wrote about Houston and at the end I said "Houston is not a good place. Everyone, please never come to Houston."

Sensei came over to read my paragraph and cracked up. So much so that she put her head down on my desk and her whole body shook. Then she said it was the most interesting paragraph she had read.

Also she gave us a kanji workbook with kanji not in our textbook! Yay!!

During class, Natalia said she and her Japanese roommate were going to be making chocolate for Valentine's Day, did we want to come?

I've always wanted to do deco chocolate like Japanese people do! And it would be fun with her Japanese roommate showing us how to do it for real.

So I decided to go. Natalia told me she'd leave a map of how to get to the house she lives in (called the Rainbow House) and the phone number of the house in my mailbox.

At lunch, I ate my sandwiches with Emma, Minju, and some other people in the cafeteria next to the gym. Ah it was so amazing eating American food! 

I really like the roof area outside the cafeteria. I hope they put tables there in the spring.

(It was raining)

Then I had Hanga. Today we had to draw a picture and then trace it onto the woodblock and carve it. So hard!

I drew Sakura flower things.

(We had to draw it on the back of the woodblock we used last time and mine was covered in ink lol)

Then I went to get the map Natalia said she'd put in my mailbox, but there was nothing there. So I walked with Esteban and Rafa to my locker to put my book and Hanga stuff in. When I went back to the CJS office, my locker was still empty. So I got a map and the number of the rainbow house from the CJS staff.

I debated just heading home (and I probably should have), but at the last minute, I got off the subway and transferred to the Tsurumai line and rode to Ueda, where the rainbow house is. 

On the way, I streetpassed someone from Hokkaido!! Omg I've been wanting someone from Hokkaido! :D

When I got off the station I was distracted by the grocery store Natalia always talks about (at least I think it was the one) and stopped to look around in there a bit. This resulted in me turning the wrong way when I came back out and I got lost. 

(I saw this cool shrine though!)

I tried asking for help at a 7-11, but the lady couldn't help much, so I just walked back to the station. Then I saw I had turned the wrong way and finally figured out which way to go.

It was a walk up a big hill, but I finally made it.

(Engrish sign)

(So cute!)

I stopped at a house that looked like it was where the rainbow house was on my map and rang the bell. No one answered, so I walked all the way around and found another door and rang that bell. 

This guy came on the intercom and was all like "who are you?" And I said I was looking for the Rainbow House. Then this lady came out and walked me over to it. It turns out they were the landlords.

Only two of the six girls were home, though, and neither was Natalia. One was this girl, Autumn, I had met a couple of times, so she knew me.

Autumn took me into the kitchen and told me she had no idea where Natalia was either. She was supposed to be back by then because they were going to make chocolate together, but she hadn't shown up.

So Autumn and I made chocolate. Autumn gave me some snacks their Japanese roommate had given them for Setsubun last night before she left to go back to her hometown. They were really good!

It was really cool seeing the rainbow house. I liked it a lot. It's fairly close to school and has good wifi and is pretty big (two bathrooms and two showers!). Autumn showed me her room, which was also really big. Autumn said last semester they were all in high levels if Japanese and thus only spoke Japanese in the house! But then one girl moved out and Natalia moved in. Since Natalia's only in 300, they speak English a lot now.

The only thing I wouldn't like about living there, though, is having to cook for myself and not getting to experience how a Japanese family lives.

I had to leave at 5:30 so I could make it home in time for dinner at 7. The chocolate wasn't done by then. :( but Autumn said she'd bring me some at school tomorrow. Then another of the girls came gone. She gave me some cookies and Ferrero Rocher that she had. Natalia never showed up.

So I walked back to the station, which took me no time now that I knew the way! All today strong, icy, Blacksburg-like winds were blowing, so it was really cold walking back to the station since it was sunset!

The bike ride home was a bitch. I jept getting buffeted by freezing winds and when I got home my nose was running and my face and hands were numb and hurting! Also, there was this black cat at one of the street corners that I almost ran over because it blended into the night!

Dinner was good! We had a lot of fried things and rice and soup and salad. Yummy yummy. Ken got home after we were finished, but we sat around and talked for a bit with him. Yuko asked me about when Rana and I were doing the nomihoudai with the two Japanese girls and told me all about the Japanese expression for "drinking till the morning" and how she used to drink till morning all the time and how fun it was haha.

She asked Ken if he did this too and he said he was always too tired. She called him a grandpa lol!

She asked me if I've ever drank till morning and I said no. I didn't tell her that I'm an old fart too basically because I always end up ptfo'ing on the couch of whoever's apartment I'm in lol.

Then I practiced kanji and went to sleep.

Pix from Facebook:

From the night Miya's friends were over for dinner:

From Obaasan's house:

(Miya, Obaasan, and me with the cake)

(Obaasan teaching me how to wash my hands at the temple)

(Me catching mochi!)

Also, here's a pic of all of us at the Illuminations way back in my first weekend in Japan!

(Lawlz I'm taller than everyone)

I like this picture a lot. It's one of those rare ones where everyone looks good. Yuko has it as her cover photo in Facebook.

Also, everyone go right now and look again at yesterday's post about Setsubun, because I added all the pictures!!