tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43145897354096282982024-03-18T20:18:39.964-07:00japan hello!It's so nice to meet you finally!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-52417782427637903272010-08-25T18:11:00.000-07:002010-08-25T18:14:01.830-07:00Oh dear!Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated about my adventures in Japan! <br /><br />I have been back in the USA for about 7 weeks now and have been so busy! I got engaged! Yay! Also, I moved back to my college and before that I spent time with family and friends. It's been a crazy time! I will try to go back and write about special times in Japan, don't worry! :) <br /><br />Thanks for reading!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-49595936944625189132010-06-26T02:30:00.000-07:002010-06-26T03:11:25.011-07:00Day 27: Fun at Tokyu Hands!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxpQwizph84MeYBFzpoaewu5U7F9Sdeuc6r-jYa1qt8TLcB1Oi0lWqx3LY_nuH2ERl-evhIBoRpttiuC6M3bw8dG0IFx5Ie6K_AX2nQXFkKeR33l3zdVGELCJwEAvk4Hl4qQPLics_B55/s1600/DSCN7405.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxpQwizph84MeYBFzpoaewu5U7F9Sdeuc6r-jYa1qt8TLcB1Oi0lWqx3LY_nuH2ERl-evhIBoRpttiuC6M3bw8dG0IFx5Ie6K_AX2nQXFkKeR33l3zdVGELCJwEAvk4Hl4qQPLics_B55/s400/DSCN7405.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487019665824592594" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxj8B1hL-cVHkNq59vr0FOUHNP7RQoN3oP_MvoZ7iAARTmN6CeYUTrXjOS3fpzLp0XwiECUxEFKd9YZjILMPJYOX3bFDdawIKoKNAnPbQi9eN8WPH-f3SZxjgX7_k5-F8SAFnP3hV5GylV/s1600/DSCN7406.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxj8B1hL-cVHkNq59vr0FOUHNP7RQoN3oP_MvoZ7iAARTmN6CeYUTrXjOS3fpzLp0XwiECUxEFKd9YZjILMPJYOX3bFDdawIKoKNAnPbQi9eN8WPH-f3SZxjgX7_k5-F8SAFnP3hV5GylV/s400/DSCN7406.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487019651805429426" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PHfuP7V1b_T-TbZK3d0jUW25v2FqDNO1SZiDpGEt-1ZOEesvJBz-DTy8Xsc1LCf8gzoUlaiccFGFXcJqqhRm5I9tz63_dXQZEV2-XLcvxLLvFSXq9q1g38rtlZ8TIBLknGOMx9b6vWgy/s1600/DSCN7408.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PHfuP7V1b_T-TbZK3d0jUW25v2FqDNO1SZiDpGEt-1ZOEesvJBz-DTy8Xsc1LCf8gzoUlaiccFGFXcJqqhRm5I9tz63_dXQZEV2-XLcvxLLvFSXq9q1g38rtlZ8TIBLknGOMx9b6vWgy/s400/DSCN7408.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487019643562501714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQKLih6IxLFBrQ2bhGOaEf0d-UYGN3Dg9tAtqS9N6MiCoTEceTQ5TdAaAjpxWIHwLEU2nb2r3JoVftW7pHAhSMp4sqVuUZq1XyE0neplQ1j0wnXJFwsWhr76JXYXZwMdz82-1P97cDUtV/s1600/DSCN7407.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQKLih6IxLFBrQ2bhGOaEf0d-UYGN3Dg9tAtqS9N6MiCoTEceTQ5TdAaAjpxWIHwLEU2nb2r3JoVftW7pHAhSMp4sqVuUZq1XyE0neplQ1j0wnXJFwsWhr76JXYXZwMdz82-1P97cDUtV/s400/DSCN7407.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487019640756230690" /></a><br />Day 27: June 13<br /><br />Something that is bothersome about being an American in Japan is the time difference; one has difficulty communicating with friends and family. Being awake knowing Andrew and my friends are asleep can drive me crazy! Needless to say, I get lonely here sometimes. Also, Japan is a day ahead, so this day was actually Saturday June 12 in America. The day of Andrew's first show at the Plea for Peace Center in Stockton! I was so upset all day that I was missing the show; my heart was hurting badly. I wanted to be there to support him! In the end, he told me that not many people showed up and that it went well. I am glad it was a good experience for him and he made some new friends! Yep, I am proud of my boo! Great job hun! :D <br /><br />Even though I was pretty upset, Mary wanted to take me and the girls to Umeda to shop at Tokyu Hands. It was a good outing and enough to take my mind off things. It was raining, and shopping indoors is pretty much one of the only things to do on a rainy day. I found myself really enjoying Tokyu hands! There were many nice things to buy of all varieties, although it was not cheap. The cooking floor was so expensive! I wanted to buy Andrew a bar of apricot chocolate, but for 630 yen, I knew he would get mad at me lol! :D Mary was so sweet, she bought me some lovely things, like stickers, stationary, special tape, and some gifts for Andrew's brothers! I bought, with my money, a funky wooden necklace with awesome colors. I was also excited to find the Studio Ghibli section! YAY! :D <br /><br />After shopping, we had to go home and start dinner. On the way home, we stopped at Kobe-ya and ate some simple goodies. I got a super oily fried curry bread and a chocolate croissant. Yum~! Thank you Mary for a nice day! And congrats to Andrew for what I am sure was a great show! :DAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-87114183844359811552010-06-25T07:29:00.000-07:002010-06-25T17:50:09.736-07:00Day 26: Shopping Spree in Senri-Chuo!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEVAGhdyCb7Zs8pcatDp8JVHOCL6S41lm2-AMNgxNxWszq5RFeT-unbHLp82MNVpJdsLy6ShkoQkCBbZxCJ6dln8uP16xk-peT9IV8tWmwFxZUcSfonMgNmqlD_137jmA3JVvmtD8SaDJ/s1600/DSCN7387.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEVAGhdyCb7Zs8pcatDp8JVHOCL6S41lm2-AMNgxNxWszq5RFeT-unbHLp82MNVpJdsLy6ShkoQkCBbZxCJ6dln8uP16xk-peT9IV8tWmwFxZUcSfonMgNmqlD_137jmA3JVvmtD8SaDJ/s400/DSCN7387.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486700485730075074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqMi5AV1nDHmISrKHkAZDDSFgGwlAdDmNKcBYM8lcgonYJxaRVXtxBj5MzBySrtmI_kNABeU1hvCc_q4cbYIUrfD72Ho09O2eN0debYiZFi440EFgsU-EE0IoR416xm6JvQcV-d8CNBeI/s1600/DSCN7396.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqMi5AV1nDHmISrKHkAZDDSFgGwlAdDmNKcBYM8lcgonYJxaRVXtxBj5MzBySrtmI_kNABeU1hvCc_q4cbYIUrfD72Ho09O2eN0debYiZFi440EFgsU-EE0IoR416xm6JvQcV-d8CNBeI/s400/DSCN7396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486700477589582098" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUH9Jy-uZzPEdLM-8aG_vvy6cJ6aamdAWXZaqlInsPYkxa7VBsFOcy6LMTnmMom0HqP6io9j5qEx0RSwZzN8KTQ22wGf5Ujn9wUmKL-SbBLap5kCYNmuHs9e_OYta9guMHRAk-cU4XMn5f/s1600/DSCN7393.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUH9Jy-uZzPEdLM-8aG_vvy6cJ6aamdAWXZaqlInsPYkxa7VBsFOcy6LMTnmMom0HqP6io9j5qEx0RSwZzN8KTQ22wGf5Ujn9wUmKL-SbBLap5kCYNmuHs9e_OYta9guMHRAk-cU4XMn5f/s400/DSCN7393.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486700470412492786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrB6uvR2xmTpU_uPnuvBvWVgA8byMNJ08f4msOUkhO8dl2-hX1iNnGacrhyphenhyphenOxHUBxGDaHuVdRxE3sCQS7Wcj0o-eVsA9c8EZSIlFpu725p5suNOERuEyfcBzP_5CkqKZxTHD-Xk3LTqR9/s1600/DSCN7390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrB6uvR2xmTpU_uPnuvBvWVgA8byMNJ08f4msOUkhO8dl2-hX1iNnGacrhyphenhyphenOxHUBxGDaHuVdRxE3sCQS7Wcj0o-eVsA9c8EZSIlFpu725p5suNOERuEyfcBzP_5CkqKZxTHD-Xk3LTqR9/s400/DSCN7390.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486700463881075522" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6DKlw3ODuGoSLxT-rMFoUHVMsiBbEw0y8kv4ypMy3DprfLFsdPb8yu2UlLYsivnfNRMiesJlkyT65p83rLfN_c1xiso4FGMCN5oNWfka_LQKPH5LB8CXjvczQS7Xv2rbpzf5a8_uPoau/s1600/DSCN7389.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6DKlw3ODuGoSLxT-rMFoUHVMsiBbEw0y8kv4ypMy3DprfLFsdPb8yu2UlLYsivnfNRMiesJlkyT65p83rLfN_c1xiso4FGMCN5oNWfka_LQKPH5LB8CXjvczQS7Xv2rbpzf5a8_uPoau/s400/DSCN7389.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486700453293282562" /></a><br />Day 26: June 12<br /><br />It was a Saturday dedicated to shopping! My father graciously wanted me to spend some money and have fun, so I did a lot of shopping. Mary was going to Senri-Chuo, where a big shopping area was located and offered to take me with her. I leapt at the chance! <br /><br />First off, I got a yummy miso katsu sandwich from a place called Victoria's Cafe; Mary loves their sandwiches. It was large, filling, and tasty with the savory sweet miso sauce! Then, I just walked around and went to the bookstore to get some books. I had finished the book I came to Japan with earlier in the week and was eager to start reading again. I ended up buying two books in English (one of which I finished yesterday) and some cool stationary supplies! I was excited! <br /><br />I then made my way to Hankyuu Department store and was surprised by the high prices. It was very stylish, and I went up and down the whole building just to see what was on each floor. I bought some pretty things and a gift for my grandma, and then went down to the food area! WOW! The food floor in department stores is amazing; they have so much! I walked around the whole place a few times trying to decide what to eat! I ended up choosing a selection of chinese goodies, such as gyoza and little nikuman. It was delicious! The lady in charge of the stand was so happy, and it was amazing to see the man next to her making everything fresh on the spot!<br /><br />After that, I wandered through the pastry/dessert section trying to decide which tasty morsel I should get. I saw so many delicious and well-made looking pastries, but decided on a one person tiramisu chocolate cake! SO GOOD! I ate it when I got back to the house and it was amazng, so rich and chocolatey! I took some pictures and went back outside to walk around and sit down to eat. I visited some more shops, and took pictures. There were a few spots around that were set up like mini concert spaces; there was a lot of live music! <br /><br />I bought a few more things at the bookstore again and then was picked up by Mari. It was a fun shopping day, but I was worn out by the end of it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-91222014039693234692010-06-25T05:28:00.000-07:002010-06-25T06:09:53.457-07:00Day 25: Helping Out at the OIS Graduation!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBS_i18prkee6UM-0zSZ04Z8GS2fziiocsKOV4gQBCliszMIT5Ih9gkK92TWfbLSlZ70Hq_3pj-qZzLf6AcEMTwZl02zuSG-VPHjBnn2IvMlabrmywgHhaYyKyeJPNpU5-2adBA3mzTF7/s1600/DSCN7384.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBS_i18prkee6UM-0zSZ04Z8GS2fziiocsKOV4gQBCliszMIT5Ih9gkK92TWfbLSlZ70Hq_3pj-qZzLf6AcEMTwZl02zuSG-VPHjBnn2IvMlabrmywgHhaYyKyeJPNpU5-2adBA3mzTF7/s400/DSCN7384.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486673647138431650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9ennZYAoiLWriRqEQmP-08pNGZM4xew1MQ2z1FKSDhqC6x4nQZUuc8Bd2JutGEtFU3ZfBSDecmF-MXOjbkjz1fZyKqxx1AiSJZXOdq3GCeGZGgquYUcIcbpmITfxiTuLt-yRoVkRB99s/s1600/DSCN7383.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9ennZYAoiLWriRqEQmP-08pNGZM4xew1MQ2z1FKSDhqC6x4nQZUuc8Bd2JutGEtFU3ZfBSDecmF-MXOjbkjz1fZyKqxx1AiSJZXOdq3GCeGZGgquYUcIcbpmITfxiTuLt-yRoVkRB99s/s400/DSCN7383.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486673633769083506" /></a><br />Day 25: June 11<br /><br />Friday dawned slow and softly. I didn't have much planned and I was okay with that. That evening , I wound up going to the nearby Osaka International School to help out with their high school graduation! Tradition dictates that the mothers of the 11th grade class have to cook and put on the party for graduation night. So, since I wanted to experience as much as I can, I went to help Mari, since Tessfaye is in 11th grade at the school. It was a bit odd though; there were some mothers who were full Japanese and they all huddled together talking in their nice clothes and frilly aprons. On the other hand, there were some foreign mothers, like from Malaysia, who didn't really speak Japanese so they felt a bit left out. I ended up speaking with one who was so sweet! <br /><br />Seeing the graduation was fun, and made me think about Andrew's college graduation or even my own! I never think about graduating from college; it feels so far away and I have so much to do before it happens. <br /><br />Anyway, the food was nice, but I did not get to try all of it. There was Indian take out from a place called Herbal Indo Yoga (bwahahahah love the name!), which was naan, samosa, kebabs, and some chicken tikka masala which I was able to eat~ I also got some authentic homemade Thai red curry! It was so interesting and good! A little spicy, but I handled it! I was able to talk to a super nice Japanese man whose daughter was in 11th grade. We spoke first in Japanese, then he switched to English. He told me some restaurants to check out in San Francisco! He was such a nice man~ I love being able to meet nice people! There was also a very literate and knowledgeable chemistry teacher who knew a lot about ancient history whose wife was from Thailand. They have the cutest, chubbiest daughter lol! <br /><br />The desserts were wonderful! I was able to get some macarons to try, yay! The lemon one was awful, but the strawberry and matcha ones were good. Around 10 pm, I was exhausted so I walked home and rested after a busy but rather fun night!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-26264824234177082342010-06-25T03:28:00.000-07:002010-06-25T04:34:18.831-07:00Day 24: Cooking Time!! :D<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTYQL_TSMh4wKtCXiK6VhKcy5YChcmO6E6RWnu1akClNBo_NxUDM1Y25GNAMsotUVtHPm8N4-1Cr3hkKzlYVYRxkIu8p4XxClZBwHH84nCnpOVYqHgakKKJihsU5lps2CyVKQUsY-2JKJ/s1600/DSCN7380.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTYQL_TSMh4wKtCXiK6VhKcy5YChcmO6E6RWnu1akClNBo_NxUDM1Y25GNAMsotUVtHPm8N4-1Cr3hkKzlYVYRxkIu8p4XxClZBwHH84nCnpOVYqHgakKKJihsU5lps2CyVKQUsY-2JKJ/s400/DSCN7380.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486672012651027986" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtskY0KOxWPRbF-62ae-H2QK7cTPbiIzif_-eF9X_KtRcVpP10kMJDCPxFWTEnJqR9I_saggvIC0YsrxjM61Glk3igXooCRn9R50XK7Sr-_eSzfldOEeTabDbaLh875tpXAMk2iNG6BZ8/s1600/DSCN7376.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtskY0KOxWPRbF-62ae-H2QK7cTPbiIzif_-eF9X_KtRcVpP10kMJDCPxFWTEnJqR9I_saggvIC0YsrxjM61Glk3igXooCRn9R50XK7Sr-_eSzfldOEeTabDbaLh875tpXAMk2iNG6BZ8/s400/DSCN7376.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486672004053748802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdP23hyphenhyphenFEV5Zol_xynh6g4qYy6af7L0-9mO6BfXdmWgS8lJTZY_kN_6sGxfPl2GUYh36bBTtwlch5o3ZmhfI8METbT0s0EL2dLaUi8qi8-0q-IkLM30zvlnvVoGrij2jLbG0CR-sIC7fGs/s1600/DSCN7375.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdP23hyphenhyphenFEV5Zol_xynh6g4qYy6af7L0-9mO6BfXdmWgS8lJTZY_kN_6sGxfPl2GUYh36bBTtwlch5o3ZmhfI8METbT0s0EL2dLaUi8qi8-0q-IkLM30zvlnvVoGrij2jLbG0CR-sIC7fGs/s400/DSCN7375.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486671998398200226" /></a><br />Day 24: June 10<br /><br />On this Thursday, some of my host-mom's students came over to make us a grand feast! They taught me how to make makizushi, and I helped mix the sushi rice and cut the veggies for tempura! Everything was very delicious and interesting! There even was oden, a Japanese style stew....hmm, it's hard to explain exactly what oden is. It's an interesting mix of foods that are "stewed" in a dashi-type broth. I tried some of it, like the mochi piece and the hard-boiled egg, but I have to admit that I don't really like it. There was lots of tempura, and some fried shrimp too, but the fried shrimp were a bit too bland. I felt like they needed some extra pizzazz~~ (is that how you spell it? haha)<br /><br />The ladies were very nice, but a bit shy! We had strawberries and yogurt for dessert, along with green tea jelly. Japanese yogurt is interesting...sometimes it tastes too much like butter or something! Definitely different! <br /><br />It was so nice of them to come over and I learned a lot! Thanks to those ladies, I got to make makizushi and I was able to take many nice pictures for my book project! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-21422231833283687332010-06-21T00:00:00.000-07:002010-06-21T00:10:24.087-07:00Day 23: Renoir in Osaka?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWHizwVg14uLORfwYnEU6g5hYtuiNpuCAicuTEeN3BEpQW4pvHw1ENI1Wpw3RAbZK1wbbT2ju-0fmGUpqTbhMMV-LbvyKIOWe35_4O5sVVYwIT5W9yyksNX95ouP8UqisTNmaR5yn09yH/s1600/DSCN7341.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWHizwVg14uLORfwYnEU6g5hYtuiNpuCAicuTEeN3BEpQW4pvHw1ENI1Wpw3RAbZK1wbbT2ju-0fmGUpqTbhMMV-LbvyKIOWe35_4O5sVVYwIT5W9yyksNX95ouP8UqisTNmaR5yn09yH/s400/DSCN7341.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485116512169547282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_cJm1KSXdb1yUs6gm-26eBlyV09ZWqa4xE_ObqKtbuL23_y203gWOIkxbNnRo6H5lwFcyilJg_C5ASiGze62Nntp2NDMdeU1B5cKlQ34A9TE0vwj_lhcyECr0qnf-yAPzBlWdM8MaN0z/s1600/DSCN7340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_cJm1KSXdb1yUs6gm-26eBlyV09ZWqa4xE_ObqKtbuL23_y203gWOIkxbNnRo6H5lwFcyilJg_C5ASiGze62Nntp2NDMdeU1B5cKlQ34A9TE0vwj_lhcyECr0qnf-yAPzBlWdM8MaN0z/s400/DSCN7340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485116502080168146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCb4oG7vF9ddytkfrjoooS0lWQoy2z3a7LZJKNzuDilILuJxn3L3CZlusjXhuKyzMOOKJRs0Me2FVcvc_SrlG8n2mWx04QnmP_-rDxXjNHO9k3jH3XgssV8JGqEcfjbjmD3ncjlAMc8dD/s1600/DSCN7334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCb4oG7vF9ddytkfrjoooS0lWQoy2z3a7LZJKNzuDilILuJxn3L3CZlusjXhuKyzMOOKJRs0Me2FVcvc_SrlG8n2mWx04QnmP_-rDxXjNHO9k3jH3XgssV8JGqEcfjbjmD3ncjlAMc8dD/s400/DSCN7334.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485116487929203874" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtD1nUKRKTI9EaEmVUnU9ZapZ68leLaxE49NndlS5tIpyMjjRIgK-9l09D2XU5klZc53LTIZqBJb4GQJviHmgGR8_-2SSel8i-MT-hjBu6WBqR-bUzKngenfj-iIpvcMc5K8xtEFoD0nj/s1600/DSCN7339.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtD1nUKRKTI9EaEmVUnU9ZapZ68leLaxE49NndlS5tIpyMjjRIgK-9l09D2XU5klZc53LTIZqBJb4GQJviHmgGR8_-2SSel8i-MT-hjBu6WBqR-bUzKngenfj-iIpvcMc5K8xtEFoD0nj/s400/DSCN7339.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485116471069167522" /></a><br />day 23: June 9th<br /><br />This was definitely the day where my homesickness hit it's peak! I called my father, telling him how I felt, but he told me what I needed to hear. I had to be strong and make the most of my time here, even though it can be hard and it's a bit of a shock. I have never traveled outside of the country for such a long time (well, I did live in France when I was a baby, but I don't remember it!). My dad was right; I needed to take a deep breath and shake off the tears and look ahead! <br />Luckily, this day I was going to meet one of the new friends I had made! Yu-san, who took me to Arashiyama and Kinkakuji, invited me to go see the Renoir exhibit at the National Museum of Osaka! I met Yu-san's mother, Matsuoka-san (who is a Japanese woman in the extreme, very nice though), Noriko who is so sweet, and saw Kayo again, who is awesome! :D Matsuoka-san didn't go to the museum with us, we just saw her at the Umeda station going into Hankyuu department store, haha~ She was nice, but treated me like a three year-old, which I didn't really appreciate. They all could tell I was feeling a bit down, so they cheered me up! <br />We took a train to Nakanoshima, a city built on landfill, which is where the museum is. It was a grey day, and starting to get pretty humid. <br /><br />The museum itself was fun! It was interesting to see an art exhibit, especially of Western art, in Japan! I have to say, the paintings were marvelous, but the gallery where they were hanging was so stark. We followed a labyrinthine path to see the paintings and various sculptures. Some of the paintings were so summery and filled with cheerful colors! Many of the works I had never seen before; my father would have loved it! ;) The gift shop was SWARMING with people! Japanese people love giving gifts and buying souvenirs, thus people were buying so much! I ended up spending a lot of money; I bought tons of postcards (since I collect them), a poster for my new Townhouse next year, a notebook, a matted picture for Mari, and something for my Dad! :D I hope he likes it! <br /><br />After the museum, we went out and were supposed to meet Matsuoka-san for a bite to eat. None of us had really eaten lunch, so we expected to go to a real restaurant, but Matsuoka-san wanted to take us to a tea room! Before that, we each got a tofu donut from Hara Donuts! So good! A revelation! I got the lemon honey one! <br /><br />The tea room was called the Musica Tea Salon, and it was high up in a building, as the fancy places in Japan usually are. Most of us ordered a cake set, which came with cake and tea. But, I got cake and some orange juice. The cake I chose was a delightful caramel mousse/steamed cake! It was so delicious! So sweet, and with a pleasantly fluffy texture~ I was so happy~~ Then, we sat there for hours talking, well, Matsuoka-san did a lot of the talking. I got a headache trying to follow her Japanese! <br /><br />When it started to get dark, we left the quaint tea room. Matsuoka-san wanted to take me out to dinner, but I felt too tired and just wanted to go and rest. In the end, she bought me some okonomiyaki and matcha jellies to take home. Before she left, Kayo-san gave me her favorite bracelet, which had touched me so much! She said she wanted me to have something to remember her by! I really have made some wonderful friends here! I was also so happy to meet Noriko, as she and I have so much in common! <br /><br />Thank you Yu-san, Kayo, Noriko, and Matsuoka-san for a great day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-53285184621181357392010-06-20T07:14:00.000-07:002010-06-20T07:24:24.093-07:00Days 21 & 22: Of Food, Elevators, and Hyperactive Pets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienriBSmQ0a1F9gJOb1U6RF6ZJhPnahWI4Sla50-1jlXvU7WL1xb4NWyWpV4-6F8DGtPfXC7N6qGCyK8iHJyOu-V6ZVg3ZioX62MPWIF-r9M-FBHKMi9gRPNKX42V5QFjjVleO9bcNfxbh/s1600/DSCN7327.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienriBSmQ0a1F9gJOb1U6RF6ZJhPnahWI4Sla50-1jlXvU7WL1xb4NWyWpV4-6F8DGtPfXC7N6qGCyK8iHJyOu-V6ZVg3ZioX62MPWIF-r9M-FBHKMi9gRPNKX42V5QFjjVleO9bcNfxbh/s400/DSCN7327.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484859891964290482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8NVS88FFilpOflrIUaVOmn7P0Hn3j48V5shHiGju35dyUudCNikewcba8EZMe4baAzd9cGiBbWPh_KTKBxTuQFoC_dSGghr_8wwzMUkXg8fIpi38D0biF1CzbFkO2LGIUUEHvSbrQyiH/s1600/DSCN7325.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8NVS88FFilpOflrIUaVOmn7P0Hn3j48V5shHiGju35dyUudCNikewcba8EZMe4baAzd9cGiBbWPh_KTKBxTuQFoC_dSGghr_8wwzMUkXg8fIpi38D0biF1CzbFkO2LGIUUEHvSbrQyiH/s400/DSCN7325.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484859882894010690" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SyCI_OoS25ZvBVAQpRP-JuPo-qisZXCgTioFfjW00yocqMkPdaa-cWuXPu0lZQ6FGyl-Tw7Xt0wdBOOYcqkpKR_rzXo4VxulVThIWNVSHTEM1Am9Em8Rp6NkSzRVj64kBHSMn93IHmYf/s1600/DSCN7322.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SyCI_OoS25ZvBVAQpRP-JuPo-qisZXCgTioFfjW00yocqMkPdaa-cWuXPu0lZQ6FGyl-Tw7Xt0wdBOOYcqkpKR_rzXo4VxulVThIWNVSHTEM1Am9Em8Rp6NkSzRVj64kBHSMn93IHmYf/s400/DSCN7322.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484859874776184514" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Q7XwqYwG3C_5f7fKcL-d3veOejnkjnoSVPLH_HVAMP-ejtq4fVef5edZbzDlKI4w0UefOoPKAIHLEujgDwY_PGrrDqZSn4CGNon3UNmebYIo1Dch6eDWpVmt1Vm6dK4lJ1Zzn1LUx-iZ/s1600/DSCN7321.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Q7XwqYwG3C_5f7fKcL-d3veOejnkjnoSVPLH_HVAMP-ejtq4fVef5edZbzDlKI4w0UefOoPKAIHLEujgDwY_PGrrDqZSn4CGNon3UNmebYIo1Dch6eDWpVmt1Vm6dK4lJ1Zzn1LUx-iZ/s400/DSCN7321.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484859864756754818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nAGSE0pDATpNtzf6KfpZp3ha8bkmzX8ecV2FtOC57n83QJWU0425fZg_4iyU9A3H1BtRHipq5rzO-X0_dBv73XXJUiceePo4tVl2QdX1iX9kOdrSsIKtRwOnqBXhUsic1E5xL93B5ADf/s1600/DSCN7320.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nAGSE0pDATpNtzf6KfpZp3ha8bkmzX8ecV2FtOC57n83QJWU0425fZg_4iyU9A3H1BtRHipq5rzO-X0_dBv73XXJUiceePo4tVl2QdX1iX9kOdrSsIKtRwOnqBXhUsic1E5xL93B5ADf/s400/DSCN7320.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484859852751915250" /></a><br /><br />Monday, day 21, was not much of a day....I hate to say it but I don't really remember what I did! I tried to take a little walk, but it was hot and rainy, so that didn't work out too well, haha~ I was still in the homesick slump, and with the awful weather I didn't have too much motivation. But, I soldiered on! I knew I had the support of Andrew and my family and friends, so that helped me! :)<br /><br />Tuesday was quite a day! I was invited to a special lunch hosted by some of my host-mom's students! We went to Suita, a nearby residential neighborhood with steep streets and lovely houses~ The woman whose house we went to, Akama-san, was very lovely! She has an elevator in it!!! Crazy! XD She and the other ladies made lots of food, such as tempura, chunky miso soup, and special rice with egg and fish. For dessert, we had a lovely chocolate walnut cake and some tea~ So pleasant! I spoke to the nice ladies in English to help them and told them about my life in America. Then, I went to another lady's house who lives nearby. She hosts exchange students and wanted me to spend the night. Since I have so much planned before I go home, I am unable to visit her. But, she was very hospitable and had a sweet, super energetic chocolate toy poodle named Hug-chan! XD I enjoyed meeting all the ladies and had my first taste of traditional Japanese home-cooking! <br /><br />Then, I relaxed the rest of the day~ Very quiet and peaceful~ :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-23633313499977959062010-06-10T02:22:00.000-07:002010-06-10T02:31:31.335-07:00Day 20: Obento Sunday~!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich8qJvDXFgdHUePObMoqOXRRQClcdhCP1xFNSEttKC2AUQX4270yF6vGqAG-RliTiUuuyt2UoE-0EzE7nCy7ke2cWnLMuT8OMUxomgmD0Ms8FyVNtC9SBGNxG_aoXyTwRMIFuWmlUGftC/s1600/DSCN7319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich8qJvDXFgdHUePObMoqOXRRQClcdhCP1xFNSEttKC2AUQX4270yF6vGqAG-RliTiUuuyt2UoE-0EzE7nCy7ke2cWnLMuT8OMUxomgmD0Ms8FyVNtC9SBGNxG_aoXyTwRMIFuWmlUGftC/s400/DSCN7319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481073177343325010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJjGfC7BnbdIT9gf48qdAA12MmaK3s2QbkbfPQ0KJUkkKpDNsv_PDE3AZ1vHfulD4JMjh8oZOim6lB0dDb0H-or9M-rp1d7lVaA0ti0rp60eD87dJk9UMAZyqUfYZbokijQSTNn5EJ8PZ/s1600/DSCN7318.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJjGfC7BnbdIT9gf48qdAA12MmaK3s2QbkbfPQ0KJUkkKpDNsv_PDE3AZ1vHfulD4JMjh8oZOim6lB0dDb0H-or9M-rp1d7lVaA0ti0rp60eD87dJk9UMAZyqUfYZbokijQSTNn5EJ8PZ/s400/DSCN7318.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481073167263046210" /></a><br /><br />Sunday was a rather nice day, full of good eats and supermarket adventures! It's so fun going to the supermarkets here; so much interesting and delicious-looking food! :) Since we were going to have curry rice soon, we went and picked up some ingredients for it, such as veggies and curry roux (blocks). Since it was lunchtime and we were all hungry (all being Mari, myself, and her son Bruckie) we picked up some goodies! I got a classic Japanese o-bento and a little salad. We also bought a fancy roll cake since Mari's since it was church day for Mari. They were handing out free samples and it was sooo good! XD <br />The o-bento was tasty and fun to eat! The little bit of spaghetti under the little sausage made me nostalgic, and the fried shrimp was good too! All in all, a very satisfying lunch. Mari is awesome. :) <br />The roll cake was sooooo creamy, sweet, and fluffy! I really enjoyed it! It was a relaxing day; from my room upstairs I could hear Mari and her church friends sing songs and it was rather comforting. I was able to talk to Andrew a bit, which made me happy! Yay!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-20408664670535119502010-06-10T02:14:00.000-07:002010-06-10T02:23:02.100-07:00Day 18: Feeling the Heat!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SUFhJPxH2Xyhl0I2mGZIU40Vck2khYcNACMEZWfC9qeyTZW52NfJ5VSUPIG35ivZkB9AyFDj7cntF99iD1MTvjZ2m9rEAHRY9p9DH_TML68LxrNfMgHR00xeYmVYaOozc7IDtGiifz7e/s1600/DSCN7317.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SUFhJPxH2Xyhl0I2mGZIU40Vck2khYcNACMEZWfC9qeyTZW52NfJ5VSUPIG35ivZkB9AyFDj7cntF99iD1MTvjZ2m9rEAHRY9p9DH_TML68LxrNfMgHR00xeYmVYaOozc7IDtGiifz7e/s400/DSCN7317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481070167592527650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhm1NUZsVuyCALarp3EbLyLGXYDUzhi4Urki3XzYtfQfHmBBwh33Hf0Nt7KBK3wnwE5D4BoGF1WfyQumo_5NzIusSwDXeayEn0emim61LH_DK_l7G-HezR79tLtNq_kyD6jBxFIce8xgtF/s1600/DSCN7316.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhm1NUZsVuyCALarp3EbLyLGXYDUzhi4Urki3XzYtfQfHmBBwh33Hf0Nt7KBK3wnwE5D4BoGF1WfyQumo_5NzIusSwDXeayEn0emim61LH_DK_l7G-HezR79tLtNq_kyD6jBxFIce8xgtF/s400/DSCN7316.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481070161668071106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqvekUdSdhdBLs4h_f1eEbbDKGsBUYlOjNleSgF3GouU36-BpjwdoRQTmHAH6HfnuoZnZULpWLmRJZlVvZV0LAeP5Xgec2QKxm_h9Q8Uf86897IGwy9dR6rgg6AvS5KwZVw-gCx3_6XjM/s1600/DSCN7311.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqvekUdSdhdBLs4h_f1eEbbDKGsBUYlOjNleSgF3GouU36-BpjwdoRQTmHAH6HfnuoZnZULpWLmRJZlVvZV0LAeP5Xgec2QKxm_h9Q8Uf86897IGwy9dR6rgg6AvS5KwZVw-gCx3_6XjM/s400/DSCN7311.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481070151319244642" /></a><br /><br />Ok, I am going to be honest here. This whole week has been really hard for me. I've been feeling very lonely and homseick. It's natural to feel this way, since I have been here for a while, and I still have three weeks before I go back home. I am trying to stay busy and strong; I need to stay motivated! I miss Andrew, my family, and school sooooooo much! I just need to keep in mind that they are rooting for me and that it's okay. It's just hard. This is the first time I have ever been in another country, let alone for this long! I think it's a bit overwhelming for me. <br /><br />This day, last Saturday, was hard. I felt sick because of the night before, and I didn't have any plans. I missed Andrew like crazy. Luckily, I was still reading the book I had brought, so I read that to relax. In the afternoon, it was so lovely so I walked to the little park down the street to read a bit. I snapped some pics because there was such a nice view! I love how Japan has so many little hidden pathways~ :) <br /><br />Anyway, I am trying to stay positive! Sadly, I have finished that book so I hope I can find another one in English at a bookstore this weekend...thank goodness for little parks though. They can clear your mind. :) I did get a lot of mosquito bites though.....it's that time of year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-27201247276645597122010-06-10T02:00:00.000-07:002010-06-10T02:09:54.812-07:00Day 17: The Day I Actually Became Sick of Food...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl25W_yAQBsSpiWJshj8j8l5Y6vFRx-MgTcrGAku7oQQ3eWzeJoEsG873DbfcxIX26DuHUiFfNtpRTQjZvxxvMhfRR15JmPaitp8bNPy5OiZojJQjhXkaC-Fq6GSRcDflKiAUQ1q2wZF9/s1600/DSCN7308.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl25W_yAQBsSpiWJshj8j8l5Y6vFRx-MgTcrGAku7oQQ3eWzeJoEsG873DbfcxIX26DuHUiFfNtpRTQjZvxxvMhfRR15JmPaitp8bNPy5OiZojJQjhXkaC-Fq6GSRcDflKiAUQ1q2wZF9/s400/DSCN7308.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481066483054042162" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaVSCNukKb3qezKhl6wx1EtrqbmpB07R1uRXaNST0-EH7UiGP2rOAOZaQZM1yTWRxhYRRlGhWPRP-aoxepxoPzN0qiZah6cZ0dPiD3knFgNdiUSEHzaHEplM_qtW9luY33mu-MYwF9DWd/s1600/DSCN7297.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaVSCNukKb3qezKhl6wx1EtrqbmpB07R1uRXaNST0-EH7UiGP2rOAOZaQZM1yTWRxhYRRlGhWPRP-aoxepxoPzN0qiZah6cZ0dPiD3knFgNdiUSEHzaHEplM_qtW9luY33mu-MYwF9DWd/s400/DSCN7297.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481066471404401218" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4QgXNBxFFQAhwuzrBKJ5fZwF4d_w44DnrMVaK4Za5X1j4o_KYDKUNY_Mqix9GxhY4-R6Vvtqb-M0F9pA5USVPUcxhh0jw4NxVTAbNuKWHJjxYAlRVI0gDC72TGAXugw7Z1_MDd1yLdpK/s1600/DSCN7300.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4QgXNBxFFQAhwuzrBKJ5fZwF4d_w44DnrMVaK4Za5X1j4o_KYDKUNY_Mqix9GxhY4-R6Vvtqb-M0F9pA5USVPUcxhh0jw4NxVTAbNuKWHJjxYAlRVI0gDC72TGAXugw7Z1_MDd1yLdpK/s400/DSCN7300.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481066464883804338" /></a><br /><br />I will admit, all the eating I did n this day did me in. I felt pretty sick for a few days after and am just now getting over it. <br /><br />Friday, around lunchtime, I was feeling adventurous and decided to go out and eat ramen for lunch. Going out and doing things really helps combat the homesickness. I went to a rather popular ramen place nearby and ordered the wontonmen, ramen that has thin wontons in it. It was pretty good, and everyone was nice to me there too! No one looked at me funny when I brought out my big camera. The ramen noodles were thin (Hakata-style?) and tasty! The soup was fatty and a bit spicy, but it was all right. I finished quickly and walked to a pastry shop in the opposite direction from the house! I ordered three goodies: a chocolate and nuts cake slice, a green tea macaron, and a strawberry tart. After I chatted with Andrew for a bit (yay!) I took some pictures of the chocolate cake and macaron for my book project. I ate both, and felt a bit sick, but I shrugged it off. Then, after relaxing for a bit, I was told that we were going out to Yakitori (grilled chicken parts on skewers)! <br />We ended up waiting for an hour since we were such a large party (I'm staying with a big family!) and when we finally were seated, we were all so hungry! We ordered a ton of food! <br />I got an apricot sake drink, since I am of age in Japan, and it was very tasty and sweet! I ate so much! There was chicken skin (all of this on skewers by the way), asparagus and pork, bacon and mochi, chicken wings, salad, shio ramen, and so much more!<br />For some reason, I started feeling overwhelmed and kind of sick. I think the food in Japan is too rich; there is a lot of fat in dishes, which makes them heavy. Add in the hot and humid weather, and you get an Ophelia with a queasy stomach! I was so tired, and I was also starting my "womanly times" if you get what I mean, which made me feel so much worse.<br />I am taking a break from ramen right now....my stomach is rebelling against heavy food. I have been eating lightly because I want to be healthy and feel good in this weather. It was a fun day, but full of food! XD Crazy times!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-28783443528449650482010-06-10T01:15:00.000-07:002010-06-10T01:55:15.408-07:00Day 16: Shopping Fun!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJVFARTjAYBba6qCLeK8DUZXZ1vrV50GU1VWPKZ1GbFTt1TpmDAdxjYMN9vGe_IKtsHdCnwUKQQ2QpbceiKjCUdEjJziGcOx9W3mdYT7apBSO0C_17Y1ZuIlvPAmvPwdrR2eMMmFxW-mE/s1600/DSCN7291.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJVFARTjAYBba6qCLeK8DUZXZ1vrV50GU1VWPKZ1GbFTt1TpmDAdxjYMN9vGe_IKtsHdCnwUKQQ2QpbceiKjCUdEjJziGcOx9W3mdYT7apBSO0C_17Y1ZuIlvPAmvPwdrR2eMMmFxW-mE/s400/DSCN7291.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481064602266358642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLoaetWrfCgO9vHr5VULmibNMnOyrctbik6zNoU8vd9PbWXjOTJF44kRqHRV7kFiruG3gKRmYXmpPFoSAlvDtkuXs8u7BB9jlqwk_bmsvAcYlXf3aXvWNiWrTJTnIUKI6TK-8JC1-5fBS/s1600/DSCN7290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLoaetWrfCgO9vHr5VULmibNMnOyrctbik6zNoU8vd9PbWXjOTJF44kRqHRV7kFiruG3gKRmYXmpPFoSAlvDtkuXs8u7BB9jlqwk_bmsvAcYlXf3aXvWNiWrTJTnIUKI6TK-8JC1-5fBS/s400/DSCN7290.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481064594397675074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32gmjRro5AN4SqhszGR-tDs81qtvfJ78e2GurO3__IYhT9892zsSl-3pO9pa1S331oh3c9KsItm72i6WcSMTpzd-iUeWag_GBQvX5yoNUMAXUklw1e6bZ6kbkucsL8NOntHRVlkuxWEmG/s1600/DSCN7286.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32gmjRro5AN4SqhszGR-tDs81qtvfJ78e2GurO3__IYhT9892zsSl-3pO9pa1S331oh3c9KsItm72i6WcSMTpzd-iUeWag_GBQvX5yoNUMAXUklw1e6bZ6kbkucsL8NOntHRVlkuxWEmG/s400/DSCN7286.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481064586362922658" /></a><br /><br />I was happy to spend Thursday afternoon shopping with Mari! She took time off work to hang out with me and it was fun! We first shopped for shoes in Namba, and we both got a cute pair of sandals~! :) Then we drove to Umeda to go to Kiddyland, an underground shopping area with tons of stores full of cute things, haha~ I found some awesome Mameshiba stuff! It was just fun to walk around and be out~ :) I even found my mom a cute gift, which made me happy. Mari and I were so exhausted after shopping, but it was a good kind of tired. :) We didn't have time to go to a popular store called Loft, so we are going this weekend! <br /><br />That cream puff pictured above was so delicious! The cream was light and vanilla-flavored; I really enjoyed it! We were so hungry afterwards of course! ;) <br /><br />Anyway, it was a fun shoping day! Thank you Mari for spending the day with me! :DAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-80330623040829448502010-06-10T01:13:00.000-07:002010-06-10T01:46:54.530-07:00Day 15: Osaka Aquarium Adventure!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaWBvTMws6wierTmNCPCLyCRdngFJxKpZYSBtXMmFMB82Fa8E4gU_20IBUYrdynbbO2_RrN0656svEQjusvXD1hFo4Rx5YEFzcvFrv5BU4Ohhvik5ZmgKG7Np0JDJ7ooNX2oFMYA6vdq9/s1600/DSCN7259.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaWBvTMws6wierTmNCPCLyCRdngFJxKpZYSBtXMmFMB82Fa8E4gU_20IBUYrdynbbO2_RrN0656svEQjusvXD1hFo4Rx5YEFzcvFrv5BU4Ohhvik5ZmgKG7Np0JDJ7ooNX2oFMYA6vdq9/s400/DSCN7259.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481060594491496114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnH7UkK2fCF0Nej6crN17Ww-tBmpiYXSndBT9q8bHwtfijdSA198WyPlDayNenNjSfxSgW_WfNO1yTv9WNVBVjmMdvpBgkNAUfG5Gxkzr_AGsweiu8CNRrp-zTZsN27GhXZqP8m2dJ_vu/s1600/DSCN7269.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnH7UkK2fCF0Nej6crN17Ww-tBmpiYXSndBT9q8bHwtfijdSA198WyPlDayNenNjSfxSgW_WfNO1yTv9WNVBVjmMdvpBgkNAUfG5Gxkzr_AGsweiu8CNRrp-zTZsN27GhXZqP8m2dJ_vu/s400/DSCN7269.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481060586666414114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hksVjo3FwjFzT0MttrnEDBjtaoKgmj6kDRvTFvdoovf5GMOUUzREaplTP0CkSZgRr8y-1Qqw95FODcMFJjlg6NG-qPGVT44zVhfENAnpA9Fmo_THDjaysbAtHlKbZ81TBNNWxXFZPdyn/s1600/DSCN7199.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hksVjo3FwjFzT0MttrnEDBjtaoKgmj6kDRvTFvdoovf5GMOUUzREaplTP0CkSZgRr8y-1Qqw95FODcMFJjlg6NG-qPGVT44zVhfENAnpA9Fmo_THDjaysbAtHlKbZ81TBNNWxXFZPdyn/s400/DSCN7199.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481060577988731330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1j_fwKtteqDbDzGrWVy2mEQq4Z56pnI9ICGfp1Z0QSbB_dcK0iS9TD0C8g3GPDzdEztYhzIMV5itAsrhIGsT6Pu2_8ZmVsAAtF1m3wRFqeRdnZV4LeP7fn0W6eMDgYLabrhUZ02bihif/s1600/DSCN7265.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1j_fwKtteqDbDzGrWVy2mEQq4Z56pnI9ICGfp1Z0QSbB_dcK0iS9TD0C8g3GPDzdEztYhzIMV5itAsrhIGsT6Pu2_8ZmVsAAtF1m3wRFqeRdnZV4LeP7fn0W6eMDgYLabrhUZ02bihif/s400/DSCN7265.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481060564911402482" /></a><br /><br />I had wanted to go to the Osaka Aquarium for a long time! Known as the Kaiyukan, it is located at the Osaka Port next to the ocean! I was really looking forward to seeing the ocean and going on an adventure! <br />The Kaiyukan is a wonderfully easy place to walk around. I felt so much freedom as I looked at the animals; all the aquariums I'd been to in California were always so crowded and small. But, at this one there seemed to be a lot of room to enjoy the animals. <br />The fish were cool! There were many different kinds! I loved the cute otters; they were so playful! The Kapibara (picture at top) was so statuesque and awesome. XD The seals were so pretty and smooth when they swam. The crabs were soooo scary! >.< <br />I really enjoyed seeing the special Japanese whale shark! So cute and chill~ There were finless porpoises too, and those were so pretty and white! <br />The Kaiyukan seemed like a great place for families and couples. Yes, I went by myself and it was a little lonely. But. I kept thinking about how I want to go with Andrew someday and that helped me cheer up a bit. I did some shopping for gifts in the Kaiyukan and in the mall across the way. I found a Studio Ghibli store! YAY! I got some cute special things~ <br />I took the train to Senri-Chuo when I was done and walked around there for a while. I was starting to get sick of all the shops and the constant shopping though....too much! Mari came and picked me up when she was done with work and I was glad, since I was exhausted. I am so happy I got to be near the ocean again! :) ALso, more cookies and green tea ice cream doesn't hurt! ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-67711613957718932012010-06-10T01:00:00.000-07:002010-06-10T01:29:07.769-07:00Day 14: Feeling a bit homesick...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdSsJlh7b7xYpp_1FuRtV0r3XWNdI0hyphenhyphenE3JzB1dt8i92UlJEh277bDN5j-YbvE5-LHmmvR223MhK4hMSgDciAaQPpCYO8YvuhyphenhyphenlRIJO-CRv-9s0nwpjj2_73aELLE0Ebgwn-k6TX2odsx/s1600/DSCN7152.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdSsJlh7b7xYpp_1FuRtV0r3XWNdI0hyphenhyphenE3JzB1dt8i92UlJEh277bDN5j-YbvE5-LHmmvR223MhK4hMSgDciAaQPpCYO8YvuhyphenhyphenlRIJO-CRv-9s0nwpjj2_73aELLE0Ebgwn-k6TX2odsx/s400/DSCN7152.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479218580301609026" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDAO8RvqQ_8mqyJzewaO2zMJWSZh8u2nM6k3i-zMg13rQeWqp4SrBg8_fI9pqksK1gsloUrp_Zhr8crm5361-0IixkydpsCh5X8dFULayg2RYfy8QTEx2YWTZVbqsZ2vWINL8hIC3ekve/s1600/DSCN7150.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDAO8RvqQ_8mqyJzewaO2zMJWSZh8u2nM6k3i-zMg13rQeWqp4SrBg8_fI9pqksK1gsloUrp_Zhr8crm5361-0IixkydpsCh5X8dFULayg2RYfy8QTEx2YWTZVbqsZ2vWINL8hIC3ekve/s400/DSCN7150.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479218565791668738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwnhEuIBj7mC_3IeWtnZolf0g_sQjPrWKMka5_KLYW7WtbK-6W0oNh4nrRtEewC0KPTZbfhRIJb3_QB-944ocd5b-pKh_RWAdMxsehr_mZtoOl3zugY_R9E0mUze85CnDsgaVGHZe6Cjy/s1600/DSCN7149.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwnhEuIBj7mC_3IeWtnZolf0g_sQjPrWKMka5_KLYW7WtbK-6W0oNh4nrRtEewC0KPTZbfhRIJb3_QB-944ocd5b-pKh_RWAdMxsehr_mZtoOl3zugY_R9E0mUze85CnDsgaVGHZe6Cjy/s400/DSCN7149.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479218559082977810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIhr9ZmIs3VA2EOCVrm7MR-xAZr54YcUEvZenoDajMgmWY8RUv4VtGpy5tfq0RgXqJD9GpfaxQd4lPIqLRoJYGSEzvohdcg0GC12k-AzZ-3f6Wff2y0IGwCu4XkFIbON3yeijT7j0kxbn/s1600/DSCN7148.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIhr9ZmIs3VA2EOCVrm7MR-xAZr54YcUEvZenoDajMgmWY8RUv4VtGpy5tfq0RgXqJD9GpfaxQd4lPIqLRoJYGSEzvohdcg0GC12k-AzZ-3f6Wff2y0IGwCu4XkFIbON3yeijT7j0kxbn/s400/DSCN7148.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479218550400807442" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4O8Z6BwaqqHAAmZRe3X3byqY7D35uhtJF1EvKTEGU67LzlHjFjYx3tAtIz8h3KbC2UV01QzG1zzKZ_sEsSRvrXehVrZBioL5nrA5rrIr49kpi5pQ1KmRDRpcvfzBk_SZ-L7vpndrOSnZ/s1600/DSCN7147.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4O8Z6BwaqqHAAmZRe3X3byqY7D35uhtJF1EvKTEGU67LzlHjFjYx3tAtIz8h3KbC2UV01QzG1zzKZ_sEsSRvrXehVrZBioL5nrA5rrIr49kpi5pQ1KmRDRpcvfzBk_SZ-L7vpndrOSnZ/s400/DSCN7147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479218539409477906" /></a><br /><br />Tuesday was a hard day. I was not feeling well and I was still a bit homesick for school and all my loved ones. Mari was kind enough to bring me to her volunteer work to help out so I wouldn't feel bummed at home. It was a hot day and I was so sleepy in the stuffy office. Everyone there was really nice; they could probably see that I was shy! <br />The office was for an organization in Minoh known as MOFGA. I forgot what it stands for, but I know it has something to do with helping international people in Mino. I helped translate and then typed up a flyer. It was nice to have something to do! <br />We had goodies from a tiny bakery down the street for lunch. :) It was a humble shop, so that was fun! <br />All in all, a hot, humid, homesick, humble kind of day~! (so many "h" words, lol)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-11158005286018679702010-06-05T02:12:00.001-07:002010-06-05T02:22:34.900-07:00Day 13: Taco Night!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_WOTSGXVtGpTFsiOgSEOLjBL6YnyiEPbC6HTC62kViDgVUKe8jWtHZE4jZ61oWwfYAh-Q2K3KTmeiJ6oVYc1ili01PksryJgecDtWbGKsPOErxYD2VfDjMHDjuhH-mfwwRokFO4fdoe0/s1600/DSCN7146.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_WOTSGXVtGpTFsiOgSEOLjBL6YnyiEPbC6HTC62kViDgVUKe8jWtHZE4jZ61oWwfYAh-Q2K3KTmeiJ6oVYc1ili01PksryJgecDtWbGKsPOErxYD2VfDjMHDjuhH-mfwwRokFO4fdoe0/s400/DSCN7146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479215842197490082" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE713NgwioEPbonOyAGCotsdgG4W4-lY7Bv_NQm52VUFRS-3IeBAVdb272iK80BOVilEtL7_cR75fuHDswW2rDz-SpvO5Vi9T1dUKJkPBNTQr73HzpPrpxcLROnultjMuBSdmmpjjNrlw/s1600/DSCN7145.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE713NgwioEPbonOyAGCotsdgG4W4-lY7Bv_NQm52VUFRS-3IeBAVdb272iK80BOVilEtL7_cR75fuHDswW2rDz-SpvO5Vi9T1dUKJkPBNTQr73HzpPrpxcLROnultjMuBSdmmpjjNrlw/s400/DSCN7145.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479215835417808018" /></a><br /><br />I was still feeling a bit down about the night before, but I tried to cheer up. Not much went on during the day....just taking it easy. I was starting to miss school, Andrew, and my family quite a bit so I tried to keep myself busy. I helped around the house, started cooking the taco meat, and went shopping with Mari to finish getting the ingredients we needed! I was so happy to be cooking for the family; the girls were really craving tacos and I was glad to be able to make something they liked and wanted. :) The sour cream was a bit funky...it tasted okay but was hard like butter! We also got some guacamole chips and those went fast! The meat wasn't spicy, but was very comforting! I was proud of myself for being able to cook a meal that was to feed about 7 people! XDAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-60195031017101504732010-06-04T21:05:00.000-07:002010-06-05T02:11:28.387-07:00Day 12: An Interesting Dinner.....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GVF55GONQe9o1YuyQLfL4XpTQXXZZqruKO8F9uxHD5ozYaD-l5_oXmRbuBo1EJSJ7f4XMikstJLZjmql1UrT6hXE8S3U5x-nkMqjRcVhqm1eCY5A1Qtk1yas3wOQatOdX2AvjV9YIhb9/s1600/DSCN7143.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GVF55GONQe9o1YuyQLfL4XpTQXXZZqruKO8F9uxHD5ozYaD-l5_oXmRbuBo1EJSJ7f4XMikstJLZjmql1UrT6hXE8S3U5x-nkMqjRcVhqm1eCY5A1Qtk1yas3wOQatOdX2AvjV9YIhb9/s400/DSCN7143.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479211237078481698" /></a><br /><br />Most of my experiences in Japan up to this point were very positive, but some have been a bit.....interesting. <br />I was invited to an Italian restaurant, called Kitchen Tatsuhiro, by a student of my host-mother (who is an english teacher) and there were many people there I didn't know. I felt a little out of place and everyone treated me differently because I wasn't super fluent in Japanese. The restaurant itself was very quaint and cool; lots of vintage Italian movie posters and wine bottles were everywhere. We were served community style and had different courses. First course was a delightful hors d'Å“uvres and I looked forward to the rest of the meal. Sadly, none of the other courses save dessert were very good. The pizza was a cracker covered in cheese and some sauce, with halved cherry tomatoes on top. The first pasta was a bolognese sauce that lacked much taste, and the second pasta was a clam pasta that also lacked any taste. The dessert was tiramisu, and was so delicious! I really enjoyed it; it was so light and creamy! It was my first time eating tiramisu and it was a good one! <br /><br />However, I felt like a token American and everyone kept asking me questions, like "are you okay with soy sauce?" Are chopsticks difficult for you?" Are you in culture shock?" and the like. I was okay with answering those, but then one man asked if I was in culture shock, to which I replied no, and then asked me if I am surprised that people in Japan don't lick their plates! He then started to pretend to lick his plate and everyone laughed. I was in shock. Perhaps I am being a little sensitive, but I found it rude. The conversation left me feeling lonely and very much like an outsider. It was very nice of Toyoko-san to invite me to dinner, but it didn't go as I had thought it would. I have to admit I was dissappointed with the experience. There were some nice girls there though, including one who had gone to college at SF State; she kept telling me how much she missed SF. I suppose Japanese people have a skewed image of Americans, but I won't let that bring me down!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-30535416776521568032010-06-04T15:12:00.000-07:002010-06-05T01:56:15.389-07:00Day 11: Kimono, New Friends, and Mister Donuts!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aeJ6B0cAfMmgSkrPr92eRm1cnpMsnuvTM6xF8lWaPoP98VOK_PlqMsBET9LDOK8_hTvzG12DN7UvEZ122eiP-_xcOMvhXzR0-U-ha20pQeT3077X0Ln6Tn2canDNtKSOdqmQtIqJpVcO/s1600/28715_445937565728_695520728_6042769_1838797_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aeJ6B0cAfMmgSkrPr92eRm1cnpMsnuvTM6xF8lWaPoP98VOK_PlqMsBET9LDOK8_hTvzG12DN7UvEZ122eiP-_xcOMvhXzR0-U-ha20pQeT3077X0Ln6Tn2canDNtKSOdqmQtIqJpVcO/s400/28715_445937565728_695520728_6042769_1838797_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476865070301266786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejDz-mj7HJdnZpObAVsbgFj27WPA3KvNQUx9G9oBlpEpyjMYb-rBz1PxhVBPwd7KG3lNN3hXUFCkrmMzpDfP8BFmO3jNbeTwqZeP3oqS2f3QQWfcpgM7IbhCiSSJYVZi_6gQbrU-ecU7b/s1600/28715_445937370728_695520728_6042744_2151028_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejDz-mj7HJdnZpObAVsbgFj27WPA3KvNQUx9G9oBlpEpyjMYb-rBz1PxhVBPwd7KG3lNN3hXUFCkrmMzpDfP8BFmO3jNbeTwqZeP3oqS2f3QQWfcpgM7IbhCiSSJYVZi_6gQbrU-ecU7b/s400/28715_445937370728_695520728_6042744_2151028_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476865063413490402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsKyNo4w4bzKj5GRSGrQ5Af3Gl6ewQb72VcKt7AKEyLPDHOdXKD-NOQ1t1vYYtzeZGQXibaf1T7NAVYjg-bctAZBH07xuJYZMkeLlmF2cM5WMv3UZ3d6wOAu2V0L88Hm4v4f14q4jGxw0/s1600/28715_445937445728_695520728_6042750_427086_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsKyNo4w4bzKj5GRSGrQ5Af3Gl6ewQb72VcKt7AKEyLPDHOdXKD-NOQ1t1vYYtzeZGQXibaf1T7NAVYjg-bctAZBH07xuJYZMkeLlmF2cM5WMv3UZ3d6wOAu2V0L88Hm4v4f14q4jGxw0/s400/28715_445937445728_695520728_6042750_427086_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476865056177094290" /></a><br /><br />Saturday was a bigger adventure than I thought it would be! :) I was a little nervous but excited to go the Kimono event. It was held at the Higashi library and as I walked in there was a little ceramics sale going on! I couldn't stop to look at that time because I wanted to be on time for the Kimono event. When I got there, I was given a number (9) and went to sit down on the Tatami floor. It hurt my legs to kneel for so long! At first I was shy because I didn't know anyone; most of the international students were from Osaka University. I ended up making friends with two girls, one from America and one from Romania! They were so nice and I hope to hang out with them soon! :) <br /><br />Some of the ladies who were helping out with the event spoke to me in English and Japanese; some thought I only spoke English and treated me a bit differently. It was okay though; everyone was nice. I was just feeling a bit out of it since I didn't know anyone. <br /><br />I thought the kimono I chose was so pretty! I also chose a pretty pink obi and was so happy to be vested in such lovely pink finery~ The kimono felt tight, but that is because I have curves! I realized that perhaps kimono aren;t meant for women with curves, haha! :D Anyway, it was an interesting experience and I am glad I met some nice people! My new friends and I stayed talking for a long while after the event was over, which was very fun for me. :) It was a beautiful day too, so it felt good! When we left the basement room where it was held, we saw a ceramics sale going on near the front entrance of the library. It was fun to look at the pieces and explain some aspects of ceramics to Ashlyn. :) We stayed looking there for a while, and then she bought some pretty pieces! <br /><br />After we talked outside for a while, we parted ways and I began my walk home. I thought it was going to be a terribly long walk, but it wasn't at all! I really enjoyed it; the day was beautiful and I felt like I had learned something. I felt inspired, so I started my book for the grant project with a scene from the kimono event. :) I was starting to get hungry on my walk home; I knew I was going to pass a Mister Donuts so I decided to go in there and see what they had! <br /><br />It was set up like most bakeries-- you pick up a tray and tongs and choose what items you want. I chose a honey old-fashioned, a match ring donut, and a puff pastry filled with a curry sausage! XD Everything was delicious! I actually really want to go back, haha! I was proud of myself for being able to speak and understand the man behind the counter. I ate all three there since I was so hungry. Then, when I was done, I went bakc on my way. When I made it back home, I was tired but proud of myself. I couldn't wait to see the pics of me in the kimono and I couldn't wait to share my day with Andrew! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-20247919750945299462010-05-29T15:10:00.000-07:002010-05-29T18:11:41.568-07:00Day 10: O-sento Adventures and Making Dinner!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvg5RIbpLn0lPtr8PJVmvFkkAYi2Kn2nbQpr22CRfvf4qIyb54clvBFnoviTcfWVNmOAQsMhcAJ4WykgDDK50UoUCCI6EzUGT7BPy4Xe68hkHSya7OeBWubMt5GzA4SdFGJJXJW1_0wCr/s1600/DSCN7141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvg5RIbpLn0lPtr8PJVmvFkkAYi2Kn2nbQpr22CRfvf4qIyb54clvBFnoviTcfWVNmOAQsMhcAJ4WykgDDK50UoUCCI6EzUGT7BPy4Xe68hkHSya7OeBWubMt5GzA4SdFGJJXJW1_0wCr/s400/DSCN7141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476857517700944898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNYwkzNqIMs67a4PYL8UUyQkz_16I4AosXPTEy1UJtfgoD5QfOeqtIi4AWiqTa3ctFiVYOq6v_vhWB0IahfqojeydxwAkZV8P2VljjLT9ckMdzAFud0lASGrXp2N7yAGo4ZwrAfsLlVed/s1600/DSCN7142.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNYwkzNqIMs67a4PYL8UUyQkz_16I4AosXPTEy1UJtfgoD5QfOeqtIi4AWiqTa3ctFiVYOq6v_vhWB0IahfqojeydxwAkZV8P2VljjLT9ckMdzAFud0lASGrXp2N7yAGo4ZwrAfsLlVed/s400/DSCN7142.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476857504784522882" /></a><br />Friday was the day I was planning to make dinner! Yay! <br /><br />Around lunchtime, I went over to Sunny Side bakery to get some garlic bread and goodies for my lunch! :) It was packed, of course, and they were so many delectable goodies! I got the rest of the garlic bread for dinner (5 slender baguettes) and then started looking around for my lunch! :) I got a mini hamburg sandwich, a pizza bread, the amazing matcha muffin, and a lemon cheesecake tart! I wanted to try different things, but I think I like what I had the first time best~ :) The pizza bread had corn in it! XD The muffin is still the best muffin I have ever had! <br /><br />After shopping there, I walked across the street to Lawsons, a conbini. I bought a Japanese fashion magazine that came with a Hello Kitty bag and a Mameshiba book! YAY! Then, I walked back home. Tecola came back from work and asked if I wanted to go to the O-sento, which is the bathhouse. I was flustered, but I said yes since I didnt have anything else planned. <br /><br />It was not too far away and the bathhouse itself was so nice inside! Very classy and fun atmosphere! It was not expensive either. I put my shoes in a locker and gave the key to the lady behind the desk. She then gave me a bracelet with a bar code that keeps count of what I buy/order. Then, I was escorted upstairs to the women's bath and shown my locker for my clothes. I wore the key as a bracelt too and, well, started to get ready! First I undressed, then went into the shower area, because you have to shower and clean up before bathing. <br /><br />Yes, it was a little nerve-wracking at first. I was the only foreign woman and one of the youngest too. No one was mean though, so that was nice. I got a few funny looks, and one old lady smiled at me. :) The water was warm and there were a few different baths. My favorite was the private tub outside. The cool breeze felt really good! <br /><br />After a while, I started feeling overwhelmed by the heat, and got ready to get out. I changed and dried my hair in the area reserved for primping. I then went downstairs, got a water bottle, and called Tecola to come pick me up. After a little while, he came and got me. We stopped at a secondhand store that had a lot of awesome things!!! I kind of want to go back, but if I did I would spend too much money! XD <br /><br />The rest of the day I felt very relaxed and energetic because of the baths. It was really nice. :) I started dinner, and everyone enjoyed the pasta and salad! YAY! The garlic bread was delicious too! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-70969588910992529792010-05-29T14:08:00.000-07:002010-05-29T17:32:56.372-07:00Day 9: English Lessons~!Thursday was a rather simple day, I relaxed all morning and was able to chat with Andrew! It was a lot of fun! :) Then, I got ready to go to Namba to speak at Mari's English lesson there! <br /><br />Before the lesson, we went into a little shop next door to the school where they sold international food. I was going to make pasta for the family the next day, so we bought some pasta sauce and noodles! :) <br /><br />At the lesson, we talked for a long time and I enjoyed speaking to the students. There were 4 people there; all four were older Japanese people who wanted to learn English since they had so much spare time. They were very kind and interested in who I am and what I had to say. One of the ladies even made me homemade sembei!!! That was so sweet of her! Like I've said before, Japanese people are so generous! :) We talked about literature, music, American concerts, and the Shinsengumi! <br /><br />After the lesson, Mari treated me to some soft serve ice cream with caramel sauce and cookie bits drizzled on top in a waffle cookie! SO GOOD! Even thhough it was very cold that day! >.< Both Thursday and Friday were extremely cold days and everyone was surprised!<br /><br />That night, I was supposed to speak English with some of Mari's students, but one never showed up and the other was too shy so he went home. We are going to do it in a couple weeks though, so that's good! <br /><br />For dinner, we had pork cutlets and a radish salad made by Katoh-san, the nice Japanese housekeeper! It was delicious and I helped out a lot, which made me happy. Tecola's family are being so generous, so I like to help out as much as I can! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-1037948103744105252010-05-29T07:47:00.000-07:002010-05-29T17:14:46.035-07:00Day 8: Totoro Forest!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdY0kCu7P-X4aNrdTNuf0TqacdnnqpVwK-Ey00i-CHSfynjbnT-j6FNiPbHPaWN0fRSfHh0d1LY22PYHBdixUCtj5N96exZPWqURDawTTt_fFNT2iMBDYdBnzRJTpyDRYJ4rdOE02gTpak/s1600/DSCN7106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdY0kCu7P-X4aNrdTNuf0TqacdnnqpVwK-Ey00i-CHSfynjbnT-j6FNiPbHPaWN0fRSfHh0d1LY22PYHBdixUCtj5N96exZPWqURDawTTt_fFNT2iMBDYdBnzRJTpyDRYJ4rdOE02gTpak/s400/DSCN7106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476848786807708306" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc695nazGz3oevZnrdbLMc8xIVqZdyvU2MQpEdtYvwr0s1S24mR6qbLcXTQ96aiVVWPnNboFowVi7-qze-_uy6XrjS2j9OYe6Hh51gKjif0cqSiMODBGXKUzvcq9zd9IPHgaIiMv6MkfvL/s1600/DSCN7126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc695nazGz3oevZnrdbLMc8xIVqZdyvU2MQpEdtYvwr0s1S24mR6qbLcXTQ96aiVVWPnNboFowVi7-qze-_uy6XrjS2j9OYe6Hh51gKjif0cqSiMODBGXKUzvcq9zd9IPHgaIiMv6MkfvL/s400/DSCN7126.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476848780449687042" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHsSSQxr9eAaKNTq46uZnoYqFOdHE5GnnqhwZYA-Ej0Wx__iZAbdsfTgWE95hs2vyUzToBG4ZXgP443p7YZXog1TcUWv3IYAytU5ocVaOvEyer6_9fb2XlDARp-45sdGVidh7tuxCMGva/s1600/DSCN7072.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHsSSQxr9eAaKNTq46uZnoYqFOdHE5GnnqhwZYA-Ej0Wx__iZAbdsfTgWE95hs2vyUzToBG4ZXgP443p7YZXog1TcUWv3IYAytU5ocVaOvEyer6_9fb2XlDARp-45sdGVidh7tuxCMGva/s400/DSCN7072.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476848771463434754" /></a><br />Even though I was kind of tired from the Kyoto trip the day before, I was super excited to go up to the nearby mountains with Tecola! We drove up these achingly green mountains, hoping for a glimpse of monkeys, but there were none to be found! Only signs telling people about them. <br /><br />We visited Katsuo-ji Temple, which is famous for being a temple dedicated to people winning things! It is a working temple, and people go there to make wishes, so there are daruma and wishing placards all over! It is such a magical temple; perhaps my favorite out of the ones I've visited so far! :D <br /><br />There were also the cutest little things that made me think of wooden dolls everywhere! Apparently, they are for wishing to. I couldn't stop taking pictures of them! XD I really can't wait for Andrew to come visit that temple with me; I think he would love it too~! It really made me think of a Totoro forest!!! So special! <br /><br />It was funny because Tecola bought me a charm that was supposed to make sure I got married! Hear that Andrew? ;) lol :D It is a really cute charm, and even has a little golden daruma on it that has the name of the temple on the back, so I am so happy to have a souvenir! :D <br /><br />As we left the temple after walking around and admiring the fish in the lake, we noticed a path in the side of the hill across from the temple. Tecola asked about it and it turns out that it is a pathway that goes over the mountain to Mino! Tecola and I were up for adventuring so we stared walking up the path. Even though it has stairs built in, it was hard going! The trees were magnificent and plentiful! Perhaps I will walk that path sometime, eh? :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-15353645205141102222010-05-29T07:46:00.000-07:002010-05-29T16:55:57.209-07:00Day 7: Making New Friends!This day seemed daunting at first because I had to navigate the train system myself, but it turned out to be very fun and adventurous! Being thrown into situations in a foreign country always makes one learn! :)<br /><br />I took a train to Umeda to meet up with the daughter of one of Mari's friends. Her name is Yu and she is so pretty! I was a little nervous at first, but as the day went on we became friends~ :) <br /><br />We went on another train to begin our journey to Arashiyama, a town in Kyoto that is very old and lovely! We got off at a town called Katsura and I had to use the bathroom. Much to my surprise and dismay, this bathroom was Japanese-style!! Which meant the toilet was just a sink-like hole in the floor....and one has to squat...needless to say I was not happy and didn't like it one bit! >.<<br /><br />We made it to Arashiyama quickly and as soon as we stepped out of the train it was hot! Arashiyama is so beautiful! One of my favorite places EVER! There is a huge rushing river going through it that is so powerful and people walk and play along the banks of it! We crossed a bridge into the town part and I loooved how old it is! Lots of people and children on school trips were there, but it wasn't as crowded as Shijyo-dori. We went to see Tenryu-ji, a huge temple with a lovely garden! I bought some goodies at a sweets shop, and we walked around a bit before going to lunch. I ordered a soba set at the cutest restaurant! It came with cold soba, tempura, and the most amazing rice ever! The rice was stir-fried with seaweed, green onions, and maybe garlic! YUM! <br /><br />After lunch, Yu-san wanted to take me to Kinkakuji and meet up with her friend at Kyoto station. Before heading on the bus to Kyoto station, I bought a roll cake sandwich with matcha flavored mousse. It was so tasty and sweet! MMMMMMM....I can't wait to go back to that stand! :) The bus ride was kinda long but easy enough. We met up with her cute friend at the huge Kyoto station and boarded a crowded bus to Kinkakuji. <br /><br />Kinkakuji is an amazing feat-- It's so large and beautiful! The gardens are amazing and even prettier than the garden at Tenryu-ji! I bought some goodies at the little shops along the way and we talked about how the garden made us think of Totoro! Yay!<br /><br />After that, we took yet another bus to Kawaramachi, a shopping arcade. We went in some cute shops and bought some fun things! :) Since I had told Yu-san I liked ramen, we went to Ippudo, which is a famous ramen chain!!!! OMG It was so good! I loved what I had! It was the red bowl, and so rich!!! XD I was in ramen heaven! The place itself is interesting because you sit at communal tables. It's not awkward at all though. <br /><br />After dinner, they wanted to go to a cafe. I was getting pretty wiped out, but we had fun talking at a cool cafe. :) I took the train back to Mino and was so tired from the surprisingly super fun day!! :D Thanks you guys!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-47587574623800280352010-05-26T19:45:00.005-07:002010-05-27T02:07:16.391-07:00Day 6: Ramen Adventures!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9y1r4gh0xIq4sb1EmyOMkn0RA98X1SH2mvYbkNUeMliMWDtqXAc4IcQQoYOu60xG8lvn_3lrmU0rTIRL1tFWt9IOterrSO7asbWeYf0B-qAzvFR2aobg5MKOVHM9-p4lG57ctylePlOJM/s1600/DSCN6925.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9y1r4gh0xIq4sb1EmyOMkn0RA98X1SH2mvYbkNUeMliMWDtqXAc4IcQQoYOu60xG8lvn_3lrmU0rTIRL1tFWt9IOterrSO7asbWeYf0B-qAzvFR2aobg5MKOVHM9-p4lG57ctylePlOJM/s400/DSCN6925.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475872654889856226" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cYkcNN3_ZnlpWf5rWhJVzTNob2ILFM6Sl2Z6V7BWCQKLi_lVC1ABfi5rQbtZYrdAfLMGoCcIe6TS4fFNXlJP-1gYqMTKa33EtdUR_jM1cRiZlM3NzgL110v8u2gUu5qhsU15PhVoC091/s1600/DSCN6920.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cYkcNN3_ZnlpWf5rWhJVzTNob2ILFM6Sl2Z6V7BWCQKLi_lVC1ABfi5rQbtZYrdAfLMGoCcIe6TS4fFNXlJP-1gYqMTKa33EtdUR_jM1cRiZlM3NzgL110v8u2gUu5qhsU15PhVoC091/s400/DSCN6920.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475872639590917266" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo3U-l3_O-b8iMAP5T0dUJXM7GpWWnwQn-ODGPmTEsK19S-0cCR7kAr5d5MFzGE7gcIVeuxSv6qifgdnL3RRftaQ_kI8Vcg990DuaSPcty3wuKqMmaRK6CrMBDruty1dxpT1NOOm_Tr_O/s1600/DSCN6921.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo3U-l3_O-b8iMAP5T0dUJXM7GpWWnwQn-ODGPmTEsK19S-0cCR7kAr5d5MFzGE7gcIVeuxSv6qifgdnL3RRftaQ_kI8Vcg990DuaSPcty3wuKqMmaRK6CrMBDruty1dxpT1NOOm_Tr_O/s400/DSCN6921.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475872634214939842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMxok0oVRc7cHkPIM6mUsNhQwOff2ufbuziVForqvhyphenhyphenMxeTPDF221N0XGUXwpWesL3OotwE6CX651YHedHJB7_VR0VcG94c1QOJaqpfz3XLf9VSqmZGxNUr_OL2Kkfcg6agWpkbPcRB20/s1600/DSCN6922.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMxok0oVRc7cHkPIM6mUsNhQwOff2ufbuziVForqvhyphenhyphenMxeTPDF221N0XGUXwpWesL3OotwE6CX651YHedHJB7_VR0VcG94c1QOJaqpfz3XLf9VSqmZGxNUr_OL2Kkfcg6agWpkbPcRB20/s400/DSCN6922.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475872622030615906" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKb88eMmpFPlrzUye-mEjiTYPG2KfTV4psT8l-LYXUiH7XBkeuqDMHWkiJZ3zsVmGptV9rhWcLoRys6RuEwbB_L1Qic5Txvdjyk6_AMz7bmW1aFsVyHhWl01pseTYan8E1yjt1orGWdWZ/s1600/DSCN6923.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKb88eMmpFPlrzUye-mEjiTYPG2KfTV4psT8l-LYXUiH7XBkeuqDMHWkiJZ3zsVmGptV9rhWcLoRys6RuEwbB_L1Qic5Txvdjyk6_AMz7bmW1aFsVyHhWl01pseTYan8E1yjt1orGWdWZ/s400/DSCN6923.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475872613186204466" /></a><br />Since I had a free Monday, I wanted to go try the nearby ramen place. On Saturday, I spent two hours walking around Mino, taking pictures and trying to find it. Mari told me the right way to go, and on Monday I set out to find it!<br /><br />It was a grey day, raining slightly, and I took one of the girls' umbrellas just in case. It felt so cool to be walking around Japan, toting an umbrella on a rainy day. It was just so cute! <br /><br />The ramen place certainly has character! Tecola thinks the kitchen is dirty, but I was brave and went anyway~ The ladies were super nice to me. I sat on a stool at a little bar overlooking the street. I ordered the #2 most popular item (according to their website), the Sesame miso ramen, and some gyoza. The gyoza were okay, I think I have had better. The ramen was rich and very miso-y! I enjoyed it, but it was heavy! It came with a special sesame paste, which was a tad bit spicy. I loved the crunchy, refreshing bean sprouts! It was a pretty cheap and filling lunch! <br /><br />I ambled out of there and walked next door to a conbini. I got a green tea Kit Kat, yum! Also, I picked up some band-aids and cute little things for me and Andrew, hehe~ Then, for the rest of the day I rested and then played catch with Sei outside. It was a fun and relaxing day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-59474345001692519112010-05-26T19:45:00.003-07:002010-05-27T01:47:07.817-07:00Day 5: Concert at Namba Hatch!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H36bnSVH684JtMqRa35sNw26cG_U_yVdW18lDZ8WvFNCa5xTQzn_4TCFiyeZyz-Zsod0qjtF7ITe7BxcJXFwD3MgHlI-0tSGzLtfwHuJWcoCtC7HgtO1oDQ6U1yOgwECUM7UvOa75gw8/s1600/DSCN6919.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7H36bnSVH684JtMqRa35sNw26cG_U_yVdW18lDZ8WvFNCa5xTQzn_4TCFiyeZyz-Zsod0qjtF7ITe7BxcJXFwD3MgHlI-0tSGzLtfwHuJWcoCtC7HgtO1oDQ6U1yOgwECUM7UvOa75gw8/s400/DSCN6919.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475866254175229714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrQ4VqLebyhaVwXp5fSmd09-ugJLLeF68bc8nwb5lfQdF6ZEpJV6dlRC7i5ZycoipYFxBafHHIVXIDYkVy9VLk0wDWIcKYOh6i_gTtm95tlwEOH0yf1Y0fHtoN-Q1ZC0ISgRDZdpYXKT9/s1600/DSCN6915.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrQ4VqLebyhaVwXp5fSmd09-ugJLLeF68bc8nwb5lfQdF6ZEpJV6dlRC7i5ZycoipYFxBafHHIVXIDYkVy9VLk0wDWIcKYOh6i_gTtm95tlwEOH0yf1Y0fHtoN-Q1ZC0ISgRDZdpYXKT9/s400/DSCN6915.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475866245371733698" /></a><br />Even though I was pretty tired from my exciting surprise trip to Kyoto the day before, I woke up ready and excited for a concert!<br /><br />And not just any concert mind you, this was an event called Over The Edge '10! There were 11 bands and some session bands too! I was really going to see one of my favorite Japanese bands, Girugamesh. I've always wanted to see them live, and this was my big chance! <br /><br />The concert started at 1, so I got there around 12:15. I bought a peach yogurt drink at the conbini next door to the entrance to the Namba Hatch. I went up the escalators, and entered the concert! Yay! I dropped off a gift for Girugamesh, and went to go up to the concert area. A line of visual kei band guys greeted me and handed me fliers. I was so nervous to walk through them; that kind of attention is too much lol! XD <br /><br />The girls (and a few guys) in the audience were for the most part very nice! It was fun to see all the different kinds of outfits, hehe~ I talked to one nice lady while we were waiting for the next band to set up. She was standing behind me, and I had offered her a little snack, which she declined. We had a cute conversation in Japanese and I was super proud of myself, hehe~ She was a Mama, so I was jealous! XD <br /><br />I was there for a total of 8 1/2 hours.....totally crazy. Some of the bands were okay, but then some were AWESOME and really fun! Girugamesh were great, but they came at the end. I was pretty tired by then, and not as excited as I had been earlier. They were seriously awesome, thought it went by too quick! This just means I have to go to an entire concert by them!! <br /><br />After I left, which was after Giru performed, I went back down and bought a Giru t-shirt and towel! Yay! You can't get that stuff in the states! ;) Then, I went to go wait for Mari, who nicely offered to pick me up! I sat on some steps outside, under a big dome thing (hard to explain, eee), and felt a bit sad. It went by too quick and I wished Giru had performed a bit longer. <br /><br />Also, I think I was feeling lonely. Going to a concert by yourself can be a bit sad, especially when you are a foreigner. I kept wishing Andrew had been with me, because his observations would have been funny to hear! But, being in a foreign country by yourself is lonely, luckily I live with a nice family. That makes me feel better. If I was here in Japan as an exchange student, I think I would be depressed! I am excited to be here and experience Japan, but I am also looking forward to going back home and being with Andrew, my friends, and my family. I think things at school will hopefully get better too~ I feel more mature lately! ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-63763130190780436652010-05-26T19:45:00.001-07:002010-05-26T19:59:59.307-07:00Day 4: Surprise Trip To Kyoto~!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoOgB50uqopIcyi8g280WsH7jA1gXmoVURLUXAGh3iETAYHZyHDa8ylPTFtTOt0K4dxIwTPURtJrcMbS4YBoUaA1rhvGuHIlb694RT7wC2JRgZ91dvoe-b5ffrvwz8o-rV-IAunNR1y68/s1600/DSCN6866.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoOgB50uqopIcyi8g280WsH7jA1gXmoVURLUXAGh3iETAYHZyHDa8ylPTFtTOt0K4dxIwTPURtJrcMbS4YBoUaA1rhvGuHIlb694RT7wC2JRgZ91dvoe-b5ffrvwz8o-rV-IAunNR1y68/s400/DSCN6866.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475779162294909458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GWROX9jkaJ7ryE4xIQaDrmHQpknLNnT5U3djYjICFnqgLn5i2zQh2S1qcadFWzugdt1q37_q9m1JduVLbKlzUPPg8zl1tQaDWsC1s1fxMRUJ-q1Jtu5bXoukySvyBgIvW3X_5v2ji1GI/s1600/DSCN6875.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GWROX9jkaJ7ryE4xIQaDrmHQpknLNnT5U3djYjICFnqgLn5i2zQh2S1qcadFWzugdt1q37_q9m1JduVLbKlzUPPg8zl1tQaDWsC1s1fxMRUJ-q1Jtu5bXoukySvyBgIvW3X_5v2ji1GI/s400/DSCN6875.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475779154316814850" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcc2vUbiPNP6GvfbkqsTyYUfvcsjH75bnhw8P2oFdJul8lg3ek6Y7OYCuOCtYuq7_1UNWg89P2lCB9uiAtw5fMERBR5DDq1rxau94p2nqvi0uwNH8nW48pevTJ1rz9TEbyWp6pqw5Ohw2/s1600/DSCN6877.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcc2vUbiPNP6GvfbkqsTyYUfvcsjH75bnhw8P2oFdJul8lg3ek6Y7OYCuOCtYuq7_1UNWg89P2lCB9uiAtw5fMERBR5DDq1rxau94p2nqvi0uwNH8nW48pevTJ1rz9TEbyWp6pqw5Ohw2/s400/DSCN6877.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475779149611229170" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRt6wRayTVtEZ4N3vRQn8d_1LT4V1OZq5uYELa2beIy6Us0ooShWPquDVWnvxhq2e3z37loYAG1VTwTnNfGFsCmNhAPJmUcwV5V9WlLtiuQBvu-xUwJ2M3ryz1priq3YO3c-faIbmHPoZr/s1600/DSCN6864.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRt6wRayTVtEZ4N3vRQn8d_1LT4V1OZq5uYELa2beIy6Us0ooShWPquDVWnvxhq2e3z37loYAG1VTwTnNfGFsCmNhAPJmUcwV5V9WlLtiuQBvu-xUwJ2M3ryz1priq3YO3c-faIbmHPoZr/s400/DSCN6864.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475779140108082866" /></a><br /><br />Saturday was an amazing day! So many adventures and surprises! Japanese people are extremely generous! <br /><br />I spent the morning walking around Mino, trying to find the ramen place for lunch! I was going the entirely wrong direction though...so after two hours, I went back to the house, planning to whip up something quick. <br />When I got there, sunburnt and with aching feet, Mari (my host-mother) was with one of her students. Mari is an English teacher and has many kind students of all ages! This particular woman, Morita-san, was dressed in a light pink kimono. She was so excited to meet me, and spoke very little English. Turns out she is the owner of a famous Kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto known as Sa-ami. She invited me to go back to Kyoto with her! <br /><br />I was ecstatic and very surprised by her generous offer. It was a wonderful chance for me to practice my Japanese, and I never bowed so much in my life, haha~ :) <br />After the 1 hour drive to Kyoto, she took me around and showed me Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Koen, and Shijyo-dori (the main street of Kyoto), and fed me zenzai mochi. It was all so beautiful and overwhelming! :D I even saw Maiko, which are apprentice geisha~ <br /><br />Sa-ami is in Odu Nobunaga's brother's house, so there is so much history behind such a place! It was beautiful; I love tatami and shoji panels~ After letting me shop myself for a few hours, I went back to the restaurant and she fed me a modified Kaiseki dinner FOR FREE! WOW! I couldn't believe it!! The food was wonderful! I ate everything! <br /><br />I learned so much about Japan and Japanese people. It was that day that I realized that I am truly becoming immersed in Japan. I am now used to hearing Japanese spoken all the time. It was so fun! I met so many kind people at her restaurant! She even gave me some parting gifts! <br /><br />Morita-san, thank you for everything! I will never forget my first experience in Kyoto! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-71143827938692388132010-05-21T14:29:00.000-07:002010-05-21T15:10:30.931-07:00Day 3: COSTCO<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaETGyTmib0BiV4NNjMKtdnEgD6ldD_Ckrg14bV7jrlb-ASLHbw5fMWlvNgx3io_r6fLx6S7fBPJRVqW61uXxXrAlnADHDeEnmXNXQqpvJvpPRl5KHrD-LTzq1kCZjqFdw1y4PRK-dqa6/s1600/DSCN6835.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaETGyTmib0BiV4NNjMKtdnEgD6ldD_Ckrg14bV7jrlb-ASLHbw5fMWlvNgx3io_r6fLx6S7fBPJRVqW61uXxXrAlnADHDeEnmXNXQqpvJvpPRl5KHrD-LTzq1kCZjqFdw1y4PRK-dqa6/s400/DSCN6835.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473848641369826050" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXiLE9QPnC4OVsBC-z9wS2cFMW61WfD10_tn4GUUsP63wWgkoTs_L8yWUo_qN2COinh2NSlpmOHk9OR4gVBUFl6ih89oDNgfrEZuZ933PU3KYZJI1rAUWTChc27FYQNuO5DMh63WOrUTR/s1600/DSCN6836.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXiLE9QPnC4OVsBC-z9wS2cFMW61WfD10_tn4GUUsP63wWgkoTs_L8yWUo_qN2COinh2NSlpmOHk9OR4gVBUFl6ih89oDNgfrEZuZ933PU3KYZJI1rAUWTChc27FYQNuO5DMh63WOrUTR/s400/DSCN6836.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473848628383186882" /></a><br />Day 3: Friday, May 21, 2010<br /><br />As I had mentioned in the previous post, I had not slept well the night before. I woke up groggy and not feeling well at all! It was probably some residual jet lag I had to get through. I went downstairs to eat breakfast after I had taken a shower, and was so tired I didn't want to "be Japanese today", which meant I felt so tired and out of it! Of course, that was silly and I snapped out of it right away. At 10 am, Tecola took me to COSTCO with him in Amagasaki, which was a city about 45 minutes away. I didn't mind the long drive because I got to look at the interesting scenery. Osaka is super developed and industrialized. There are so many tall buildings, and there are still old-fashioned Japanese style homes and businesses so those are fun to spot! Electrical wire runs above us, and there is so much of it!<br /><br />When we got to Costco, the sun was shining a bit but it was ridiculously hot, ugh. Once we got inside, I felt a slight tremor of fear: IT WAS SO CROWDED. And here's the thing, Japanese people aren't so careful about walking around. They are really cutthroat, they drive like that too. There is a different sort of dynamic present and I had to learn it. They had a lot of American things, but also special fruits that are only availible here. We got some mangoes, kiwis, and mangosteens! Mangosteens aren't allowed in America, so I am excited to try it soon! Tecola also got me some goodies, like muffins and frozen macarons whch was super nice! What was interesting was that they don't bag your groceries. You can put your things in boxes of you want or just out your items in your car. One of the ladies helping us say that we spoke english so she practiced her english with us, haha. It's funny because a lot of the Japanese people I meet want to speak English to me. I still need to practice my Japanese though! <br /><br />After shopping, we went to go get a hot dog! They were such a good deal; 200 yen for a long hot dog and a tall drink! I got lemon Fanta, which was all right. The hot dog was so tasty! :) Shopping at Costco in the heat and crowd took a lot out of us!<br />When we got home, I went to my room to relax. I was still feeling iffy from the night before, so I had no engery to go out and about. Later, I made a sandwich from the leftover chicken katsu, and it was good! I ate some frozen macarons for dessert, hehe~ When the kids came home, I watched a little TV with them; they are so shy! Sei-chan wanted to play catch with me, but she was too shy to ask! So Tecola asked me to play with her, and we had fun! Around 7, I went with Tecola to a department store shopping area nearby. He wanted to buy some shoes and get some groceries. The department store we went to was called Aeon, but it used to be Carrefour, when it was owned by a French company. The French style is still prevalent, especially in the wine section, hehe~ He bought some giant dried corn, which was good! You can't find it in America apparently! XD It was cool~ <br /><br />After shopping, he bought me ice cream at Haagen Daz! I got cookies and green tea on a cone and it was sooooo tasty and yummy! :D <br />When we got home, I helped prepare dinner. We had bulgogi beef, spinach, salmon sashimi, and rice. I tried the sashimi....and was not a fan. The taste wasn't that bad, but the texture got me! Eeeep! I enjoyed taking with Mari after dinner (Tecola's wife) and then I became sooo tired. I went to sleep and actually slept for a little over 7 hours straight! YAY! <br /><br />What was interesting about last night was that one of Bruck's (the third son) friends from his school came to sleep over. He is half-French and half-Japanese. His mother is from France and apparently not doing so well here. Her husband beats on her!!!! D: Mari told me that happens a lot to wives, especially the wives of policemen. It's really tragic. The boy has a French accent when he speaks English and Japanese! He was really shy when I spoke to him in French, but answered me. <br /><br />This morning dawned sunny, so hopefully it will be a nice day! :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4314589735409628298.post-21639189505101375042010-05-20T17:13:00.000-07:002010-05-20T17:47:45.507-07:00Day 2: Of Japanese bread and Namba ShoppingDay 2: Thursday May 20, 2010<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJddVeThNKk_Yx07Fjf3KHREyaLkyn9uRnuFHJs1TQy-i74VOeonJf1trHVDdajJcdU8U2YRXSY9RYk2eq6fC9R2o0TePPJykLvxCf1VBzh2p3aDmgHpz87lbgfnmDfsJyHI8yLWXN3MR/s1600/DSCN6822.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJddVeThNKk_Yx07Fjf3KHREyaLkyn9uRnuFHJs1TQy-i74VOeonJf1trHVDdajJcdU8U2YRXSY9RYk2eq6fC9R2o0TePPJykLvxCf1VBzh2p3aDmgHpz87lbgfnmDfsJyHI8yLWXN3MR/s400/DSCN6822.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473511391770492802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK21W-J4T5v-DhKoVjUvhc8OmIoTjhmD7QZLELMdMekbDxTRhyphenhyphenWHfNr4Mun5WsCefyZfqrfN3LC4zJQfpgb3pPzkufe1vksw6hXkDZxtVuSjl4a5xAmdx3L_ZD1AGo9qv2hrDL57NqFko_/s1600/DSCN6809.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK21W-J4T5v-DhKoVjUvhc8OmIoTjhmD7QZLELMdMekbDxTRhyphenhyphenWHfNr4Mun5WsCefyZfqrfN3LC4zJQfpgb3pPzkufe1vksw6hXkDZxtVuSjl4a5xAmdx3L_ZD1AGo9qv2hrDL57NqFko_/s400/DSCN6809.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473511382922347650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tJZW_QmLzCMiLOJjmzRzTaeMoqThWMBgT1NAheM4xOB0_1zTGbhoN_LMrkUut4TVFd1FuFhfkabPgD_Gsg_rebtrwFNXGDClmXWgiSufxZ2eACh-sgKMqZq1K_vq7N5is7LthjF3Ianq/s1600/DSCN6804.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tJZW_QmLzCMiLOJjmzRzTaeMoqThWMBgT1NAheM4xOB0_1zTGbhoN_LMrkUut4TVFd1FuFhfkabPgD_Gsg_rebtrwFNXGDClmXWgiSufxZ2eACh-sgKMqZq1K_vq7N5is7LthjF3Ianq/s400/DSCN6804.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473511375460460626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJa31RndBFLyOP-4-c38Wpkf291lTr-uRDXQnglJt6M2lSHOAjHA-WHfoqJEskJCnFkl5C64L11bQwOinjWwzlftrRByfcNSOgGi4wUB7evsJO8v-0EWEZ8VHkUDLYamm9hw8rZiqegxM/s1600/DSCN6834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJa31RndBFLyOP-4-c38Wpkf291lTr-uRDXQnglJt6M2lSHOAjHA-WHfoqJEskJCnFkl5C64L11bQwOinjWwzlftrRByfcNSOgGi4wUB7evsJO8v-0EWEZ8VHkUDLYamm9hw8rZiqegxM/s400/DSCN6834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473511364753874930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbW28TqQTU8rqTwuOyiZnmGafbzrvFL_OEfcRN53CulXaFDe4S0eUQCY5wxf7zyWIxhZs4fHqrjidmTv9Tu1AGBW0Tl5v_A16J9kxhahZ-Uj6lfhlUbil7Bbp2PGug2biAF85GHC3jSwq/s1600/DSCN6828.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbW28TqQTU8rqTwuOyiZnmGafbzrvFL_OEfcRN53CulXaFDe4S0eUQCY5wxf7zyWIxhZs4fHqrjidmTv9Tu1AGBW0Tl5v_A16J9kxhahZ-Uj6lfhlUbil7Bbp2PGug2biAF85GHC3jSwq/s400/DSCN6828.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473511356447459858" /></a><br /><br />Yes my friends, I got to go out and experience crazy shopping in Japan!! <br /><br />First, lets start with my breakfast. I had a wonderfully fluffy and tasy slice of Japanese white bread with strawberry preserves, and let me tell you it is DIVINE. For some reason, it's so good! Then, I relaxed all morning because I was still tired and sore. At noon, Tecola's wife took me to a wonderful bakery called Sunny Side! It was sooooo good and cute! I met all these Japanese women, because Mari knows them all, and they were so nice and happy to meet me! Then, we went inside and I picked out some breads for lunch! OH MY GOODNESS there were so many wonderful things to choose from! We were in a hurry, so I wasn't able to take pictures, but I will next time! I chose a bacon gratin baguette, fried curry bread, matcha muffin with white chocolate, and an almond cream bread. WOW! The fried curry bread was hot and fresh, and the curry was rich with tomatoes, beef, and other goodies. The bacon gratin bread was very rich and filled with creamy sharp cheese and tasty chunks of bacon! That was my lunch, haha. :) I saved the sweets for later~ <br /><br />Driving through Osaka to go to Namba was fascinating. Osaka has some almost industrial parts to it, as well as tall buildings with interesting architecture. So many people bike; I saw many men in suits biking, which made me think they must bike to work. There are people everywhere! <br />We parked in a lot next to 2 or three love hotels, since it was cheaper. The people going into the hotels and coming out seemed like young couples having fun, but it was a little awkward! XD <br />We walked up some streets to the Namba shopping arcade, which is crazy and crowded! So different than any place I've ever been to! I thought it was rather exhilarating myself, but I know my boyfriend wouldn't like how crowded it was. ;) It was also really interesting to be in a place surrounded by people who don't look like you. I felt like I stuck out alot! <br />Mari teaches English once a week in a historic elementary school that hosts classes for older people. Its a funny place because it's in the heart of the shopping arcade! To get there, we walked down Namba Cafe Street, and I loved it! Such cute and clean cafes~ :) <br />I was free to roam and shop for an hour and a half, so I got to it! At first, I was shy about going into a store and buying something but in the end it was no problem. I got a few cute things, and a gift for my sister. I can't wait to go back and buy some takoyaki and ramen, as well as the cute tourist things haha! :D <br />I did get to go into the school, and I love how old it is! Thw wood creaks lol~ I am going to go to the class next week to answer questiong, but I went in to meet everyone real quick first. They applauded me when I entered the room!!!! XD It was so sweet and nice! I am really looking forward to going back next week! <br /><br />When we got home, we were exhausted. I almost fell asleep upstairs, but lukcily Mari asked if I wanted to go to the store with her and pick up her daughters. I was happy to go! We drove through Old Street, which was so cute and narrow! The homes were so lovely! <br />After getting the girls, we went to a Supa, a supermarket. She let me choose some goodies to try, so I got Yuzu sorbet (Japanese citrus), rice gelato (!!!!), and black sesame rice crackers. I am excited to try all these goodies and report to you all! :) <br />Then, I helped make the salad and veggies for dinner. We had chicken katsu, and it was tasty! We also had Hijiki, a sweet seawead salad. Hmmmm, I ate it but it's not my favorite! Tecola also got me a special adapter plug for my laptop, so I can use it! Yay!!<br />After dinner, I was so tired I went straight to bed. Only to wake up at 4 in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep....I don't like jet lag! <br /><br />All in all, a super fun and exciting day!!!! <br /><br />http://sunny-side.co.jp/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09820828054178211418noreply@blogger.com2