Attack of Mothra

Today my test went really well! Not a whole lot happened today other than homework and class, but I did see this cool insect on the window and got a picture.

I think its a skimmer, but it might be a moth.  Whatever it is, very cool. (I'm a notorious bug geek so I'm a bit biased)

Tomorrow: we go to a school and hang out with kids and play them games! I'm going to teach them Oshiri!!

High: Playing Oshiri again.  It's attracting more followers.

Low: Dinner tonight was interesting and consisted of several things that I didn't really wish to consume in mass quantities. But nevertheless, I ate. (I would kill for American food right now)

Hero: Mikia, for being my new bus riding buddy! We live only a block or two apart!

かわいい

The title is pronounced "Kawaii!" and its heard all the time in Japan.  It means "cute!!" And it's today's theme.

But...test tomorrow! So I'll keep things on the short side. Today I invented a new game- or at least, translated an amazing english game into all new Japanese game.  The game "big booty" is pretty difficult in english, (it involves assigning numbers to people and then calling out their number when yours is called), but it is outrageous in Japanese.  Instead of "Big Booty," it was "Oshiri" (meaning booty in Japanese).  Lots of people joined in and I think it will become a tradition of sorts during our tea break!

I took a picture during class today. My teacher was making adorable gestures using cut out hearts, and I couldn't resist.  I mean actually, she's always making adorable gestures. ^^  

The picture also gives an idea of where I spend a good chunk of my day. Today in class we talked about differences between Japanese customs and American ones regarding kissing, hugging, and holding hands.  At new years, Japanese people bow to each other instead of kissing.

After school I studied for a long time, and then had a delicious dinner with my host family plus my host aunt's family.  The above picture from left to right is my host uncle (kai's dad), papasan, and then my little cousin Kai.  Who spoke more this time!  We had a very sophisticated conversation about animal names.

High: Big Booty in translated form!!

Low: I had a small period of discouragement today about Japanese.  But the dinner with my whole family helped fix that!

Hero: Ashok, current reigning oshiri king.  FOR NOW.

Onuma...numa!

So yesterday and this morning I was away in the beautiful Onuma Quasi-national park.  I have no idea what being quasi-national entails, but it was always described in that way.  The weather was great! And the flowers were beautiful! 

The weekend in Onuma is a required part of HIF, where we take a bus to Onuma, stay in a hotel, and do a talent show.  It was a blast.  On the way over we stopped at a park where we had lunch and ate ice cream, although after an hour of eating lunch we realized there were tons of cool activities we could have done instead of eating for so long.  But no bother because after the park we went to the hotel and thats where all the fun activities were!

Nao and I rented a double bike and biked around at unsafe speeds.  Which was probably only around 5mph, but it took a TON of energy to pedal that thing!  We also didn't really listen to the instructional at the beginning about sticking to the bike path...so as a result we nearly drove into the hotel before veering a sharp left and going up the hill we were supposed to go up.  I ate a bug using my eye.  That wasn't on purpose, and it took away my driving privileges.

Other activities included an obstacle course and a metal slider.  The slider was a blast, and even though I had done one before in the states, there is something very exhilarating about flying around a corner and seeing a sign that is written in a language you can't read very fast.  As a result I didn't heed any of the warning signs, but it all worked out!

At 6:00 we had a dinner and a talent show to get to , but before that we had time to shower and go to our rooms.  They were all Japanses style! First you take off your shoes at the front door (like at my homestay house) and then put on slippers and walk into the tatami room.  The chairs are on the floor, and at night time you move everything and unroll futons to sleep on.  The toilet even has a separate pair of slippers that you put on to wear just while in the bathroom.  Before the talent show started, my friends and I gathered in the tatami room to talk and drink in Japanese culture. 

The food at dinner was pretty good, complete with a hot pot of oil to cook some of the food in.  Two of my friends and I decided to drink raw eggs, on the premise that if its good enough for Rocky, its good enough for us.  Also we had been told it was very safe to eat raw eggs, so drinking them should be fair game too.  The talent show was a blast-my class along with the highest advanced class sang "Rinda Rinda" which went over really well.  And is still stuck in my head. 

Afterwards, Karaoke!! Quick fun Japanese fact: it literally means kara (empty) oke (orchestra).  It was great to belt out everything from Chumbawumba to Since U Been Gone.  We stayed until it closed.  Next stop: Onsen (hot springs).  It was closing soon so I didn't get to stay long, but it was very relaxing. It was also very naked, so it was both gender segregated and fairly unphotographable.

After the onsen and some more talking with HIF kids, it was bed time.  The futons were really comfy! Today consisted waking up, taking the bus back home, and catching up on homework.

High: Playing around outside at the hotel!

Low: Missing out on some great activities on the park: even though its an hour away, I plan on returning.

Hero: HIF for planning a great weekend for us!

Samurai Training, Part II & III

So where was I... Ah yes, Kendo.

We were taught by the woman in the above photo: she was by far the most badass old woman I've ever met.  She was no taller than 5 feet tall but she was TOUGH.  Most of the drills we did in Kendo consisted of lining up and repeatedly hitting one part of the body, either the head, arm, or chest.  And to practice this drill, we either hit the dummy, or this woman.  Who as previously stated, was a badass.  Point taken.

Fastforward one day. It's Friday! Classes flew by.  Things to look forward to in class next week: I'm the nitchyoku (Teacher's assistant!) next monday, and tuesday we have a test.  After school, I past the time by eating spicy veggie curry and then aisukuriimu (say it out loud if you don't know what it is, and you've learned a new japanese word!)  Today I also tried the above Super Lemon Soda, which tastes like a slightly sweeter form of licking batteries.

Why was I passing time? Because at 5:00, the next stage of my samurai training begun.  First I learned to use a bow.  Then a sword.  Finally, today, I would learn to just use my body.  Judo.

One thing that got me immediately excited was that we got to wear uniforms.  It turns out, wearing the uniform is a critical part of Judo, because most moves involve grabbing one of the baggy sleeves and flipping your opponent over you.   We did a long stretch process, in which we had to do backwards summersault splits (read: I can not do backwards summersault flips) and once we were warm we got partnered up with an experienced person who would run through the moves with us.  So cool!  I didn't get many pictures but in the last ten minutes I realized this ommision so I asked someone to get my picture...and they turned out cool! See below photo.

I'm already stiff from getting tossed so much ...and I have to wake up early, because tomorrow we  head off to Onuma for a reason that I don't yet know. But I'll know soon enough!

High:Judo!

Low: I got another headache on Thursday! But once again, better now!

Hero:The bus driver I had today! I had got lost and spoke to him in Japanese about how to get to where I wanted to go, and I understood his response!

Because even samurai need sleep...

Today's adventure will be postponed until tomorrow, making tomorrow a combined Samurai Training Part II & III. But as a preview of today's discipline of choice: Kendo, literally  meaning "The Way of The Sword."  Badass.  To demonstrate this ferocity:

And although this was a heat of the moment shot, its coincidentally the exact same face I made earlier in the day when I heard how much homework I had tonight.

Samurai Training, Part I

Today started as a normal day, with breakfast, class, and lunch. Immediately after school, things were also quite normal-  I watched another Japanese movie, although this one was nowhere near as good/funny as "Magic Hour," the movie I watched earlier in the week (which I highly suggest if you're looking for a good foreign comedy movie).

The second half of my day was when things got interesting/amazing.  I took a tram to the near-by all girls middle school, where I was to learn about the art of Kyudo, Japanese Archery.  I didn't fully know what to expect going into it, but daaanng.  Those girls were amazing.

When we arrived at the school, there was a small group of girls who asked us in Japanese if we were the foreigners who wanted to learn Kyudo.  After an affirmative "Hai!", they led us onwards to the fields.

Although the girls were all really short, they all used huge bows.  They gave us a quick demonstration.  The demonstration was completely silent, and was very zen and serene.  The movements that are taken are very slow, and there are no unnecessary movements.  Their aim is amazing.  When someone hits the target, everyone yells "Yooosh!"

After that their sensei gave a demonstration.  It took several minutes for the whole process of firing the arrow, including bowing and slowly pulling the string back. Watching their sensei was like watching art.

Now it was my turn.  They give me a glove for my right hand, the thumb of which is solid to protect it from the bow string.  After practicing without the arrow, and beng instructed in complicated Japanese words that I didn't understand...

It was time for the real deal.  Bow, step forward, wide stance, lift the bow high...pull half-way, pull all the way...and...

Fire! Bullseye!! Actually not at all--- it flew to the right and barely made it to the targets.  But in my mind it hit the bullseye. It's probably because I wasn't focused enough.

High: Watching the sensei shoot an arrow was really cool, and made archery into an art/meditation form.

Low: I had a random hour long headache in class today, but luckily it went away quick!

Hero: Those little amazon girls who taught me to shoot an arrow, who were astoundingly good.

Thus today was part one of samurai training...but brace yourself because there's more to come!

Pottery, Baths, and Beyond

Last night I took my first Japanese bath! I liked it enough that I took another one tonight. To recap what it entails, basically you first completely shower and wash yourself, then get into the hot bath that is already filled, and just relax.  Although my bath wasn't more than 20 minutes, it felt like hours.  Its was great time to just have time to think, a luxury that I really enjoy.

Today after school was part two of the pottery class.  This time I found the house without getting lost!  I got out my pot from last week which had dried a bit, and put it back onto the wheel.  This week, we shaved it smooth and made the bottom rim on which the bowl will stand.

"On which the bowl will stand"?? Sorry if my grammar is getting awkward and choppy, but on the plus side I think its a trade-off for my Japanese grammar getting better.  Right next to the house there is a look out on the ocean, and the lighting was really cool.  The city was lit up even though the sky was dark.  I like Hakodate a lot.

After dinner, yet another funny conversation ensued, this one between mamasan and papasan.  Papasan noticed their clock was broken, and jokingly asked me why mamasan broke the clock.  He then said in english "She is a Crusher! She breaks...Everything!"  Mamasan protested, "No! No!"  His rebuttle was "Her middle name...is Godzilla!" It was a really funny exchange and I felt really lucky to be put in a host family with such good-hearted people.

High: Looking out at the ocean and realizing how much I like Hakodate

Low: Putting off homework...

Hero: My host parents, for being such great people.

Dock? Dog? Duck? Oh! Dark!!

Today I had my first test, and although it was hard I think I did just fine.  After school was over I went to go get ice cream and then watched a hilarious Japanese movie that HIF was showing.  I don't remember the title but it was very clever and funny.

Then I took a quick jaunt around Hakodate looking at the churches and temples.  Hakodate is famous for its churches, so I figured today was as good a day as any to see them.  They were pretty cool, but I found the temples much more interesting simply because they are so new to me.  Above is the Episcopalian church and below is outside of a Temple.

The door to the temple is a Japanese style small door which has a tatami mat, and so you take your shoes off before entering.  Inside the temple was huge and spacious, with a golden shrine in the front that was really cool.

Back at home, I took a hirune (hiru=afternoon, ne= sleep, ...aka a nap!) until dinner.  Dinner was a delicious food that was something along the lines of a cheeseburger in a bowl with soup on it.  I don't know what its called, but it was delicious!  The real surprise for dinner though were our guests!  At dinner there was not only my host family, but also Mamasan's sister and her adorable 9 year old nephew!  And the best part is I found out they eat dinner with us every monday, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to talk to them.

Selected conversations from dinner:

1- Mamasan said something about my shoes being different and everyone was shocked.  At first I thought that meant that Japanese shoes weren't right/left specific, but after running to the entry way where all of our shoes were I discovered that that is not the case.  Then I realized they were saying the word for socks.  Basically, it was hilarious to them that one of my socks was a pure white one and one had a grey toe and heel section.  Apparently you always match socks in Japan. Whodathunkit.

2-When we were talking about the solar eclipse that is going to happen in about a month, Mamasan used a word I didn't know, but luckily I didn't have to look it up (yet) because she knew the word in english. "Daahk.  Dockh."  I said questioning, "Dock?" and said in rough japanese- "wood inside water?"  Much laughter.  "Oh you mean dog? Woof Woof?"  more laughter.  "Oh Duck? Quack Quack?"  With each one of these suggestions we all laughed and they would tell me it was a different word.  I looked it up. Dark! Daarrrrk.

High-Dinner Conversations

Low- Failing to realize before I looked it up that "dark" was new vocab.

Hero- Kai, the 9 year old who knows a bit of english but was too shy to use it in front of me. Awww!

Weekend Double Dose- Towers and Flowers

Today I learned a new Japanese word- "overslept."  I woke up to papasan telling me that if I wanted to go to the flower festival we would need to leave soon.  I jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed--but more on that later, first I'm going to blitzkrieg through yesterday.

Yesterday I told papasan that I wanted to go to Goryokaku, so I could see it and meet up with some friends.  He offered to drop me off and also told me roughly how I should take the bus route home.  Goryokaku is a fort that was built with a star-shaped moat around it, allowing for maximum area that could be covered by cannons.  Although it is famous for being the last battle site of the Boshin war (a civil war that was to my understanding between the samurai and the empire) , it has now been turned into a park.  The park itself was not terribly impressive, but only because there are several things inside under construction.  So after having my fill on the small playground inside the park, my friends and I decided to circumnavi...that is, starcumnavigate the fort.

After  Goryokaku, we went to go get lunch at a nearby Lucky Pierrot, although this one wasn't clown themed. Instead it had a super bizarre biblical theme.  All over the front of the building there were drawings of saints and angels, and then on the side of the building there was this blasphemous little gem.  I ordered the chinese chicken burger (their best seller) and it was so delicious I ordered a second.

After lunch it was time to split up, because people had told their host families they would be back soon.  I made a quick stop at the public library and admired how crazy difficult Japanese is to read, and then headed to the nearest bus stop.  I read the bus sign and calculated I had about a 20 minute wait for my bus.  So I waited.

And I waited.  And waited some more, now reading the Japanese-English dictionary for fun.  I was getting sort of frustrated, mentally yelling at the bus sign "Reveal your secrets to me!!" To pass the time I bought a vending machine drink called Milk Coffee, that promised "the perfect balance between rich and milky mouthfeel with intense, high-tone aroma of fresh coffee."

 I soon realized that I had been looking at the bus schedule for week days.  It was a weekend. Darn it!  In total I spent about two hours at the bus stop but at around hour 1.5, I had a moment where suddenly busses made complete sense. And I understood how they worked, and knew how I could get home taking a different bus.  It worked! I now feel like I can get however lost I want and always find my way home on the bus. Yay!

On to today-  As I said, I woke up and found out today is the flower festival! And apparently mamasan was working there, handing out the flyers to people.  It was a blast, and on the car ride there and back papasan and I talked in Japanese and I taught him some more english phrases (although he's already surprisingly good! I guess its picked up from his previous 7 host kids.  Who were all girls by the way, I'm their first host son! But enough writing in these parentheses).

The festival was a lot of fun, filled with colors and flowers and a band playing.  The first order of business was to find mamasan.

Found her! Next Papa-san and I went to go get some food for lunch.  Once more, it was a "Challenji"  to find out what Kurisu (me) could eat.

The one normal thing I recognized was hot dog on a stick.  Everything else...didn't fully understand but I ate it anyway.  The thing that looks like an octopus tentacle on a stick was actually quite tasty. After a bit more walking around, looking around, and eating some professional takoyaki (deeeelishous) we headed home, and I started studying which I need to keep doing now because I have my first test tomorrow. Ah!

High: Learning how to use the bus system!!

Low: The cold wait until the above happy realization.

Hero: My dad! Happy Fathers Day daddio! I miss you!

And of course...What festival would be complete without a robotic squid!

Star Fortress: Pt. 1

I'm tired, but I promise I'll write right away tomorrow morning!  For now I leave you with the above and below pictures, and the important conclusion that can be drawn from them- the Japanese can turn absolutely anything (including inanimate towers) into adorable mascots.

Takoyaki Party

I was able to sleep in 30 extra minutes today since yesterday mama-san and I arrived at school entirely too early. This morning after serving breakfast, mama-san left for a two day business trip, which means I was on my own for my bus commute.  I had planned to spend the whole bus ride studying for my kanji quiz, but then suddenly my phone rang.  I picked it up and it was mamasan, but unfortunately although it was about a 2 minute conversation the only things I took out of it were the words hi, bye, and something about a key.  Ah well, I would worry about that later I figured.  School went well, and after it was over I went out to lunch with some friends.  After that: more squid ink ice cream! But this time I ordered the  squid ink and melon swirl, which was very sweet and a tiny bit salty.

When I got home Shinon was already there, so the key problem from earlier had already been resolved.  After talking with her a bit and using my dictionary a lot I found out more information about the party.  Two of her friends were coming over, and we were all going to cook Takoyaki together!

Although the word "Taco" will forever conjure images of delicious mexican food (I haven't forgot about you mexican food; I miss you a lot), in Japanese Tako means octopus.  The way you make Takoyaki is as follows- 

First pour batter into one of the small golf ball sized holes in the pan.

Next, add in a filler- either octopus, mochi, chocolate, and cheese.

Wait a tiny bit of time, and then flip it so the other side gets cooked.

Make an absolute mess trying to do the above step.

Remove from the pan when fully cooked, dip in a mayonnaise-barbecue like sauce and enjoy!

After filling up with takoyaki, we all went to the grocery store to buy candy and then to the movie store to rent a movie.  The most notable thing I saw in the video store was the following gem:

If I'm not mistaken, the only point of these movies is to look at cats and stuff. WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT IN AMERICA!?

We ended up renting a horror movie, and watched it all in Japanese.  I didn't understand all of the plot, but it was definitely scary enough to make me jump up and swear loudly in english.

High: Takoyaki!

Low: Not understanding any of the gossip that Shinon and her friends were talking about. Teenage girls are the same no matter where you go.

Hero: Thanh and Ashok for making me laugh and lending me some Yen to buy ice cream when I was out.  Thanks!

Culture Shock and Awe

Breakfast in a new home! The food was delicious (rice, hash browns!, and a soup that I didn't understand) and the TV was always playing crazy Japanese TV shows.  After breakfast, Mamasan joined me for a short walk to the bus station, and escorted me onto the number 1 bus and showed me how to get to HIF.  It's incredibly simple- I get on the bus at the main station, and arrive withing 4 minutes of the HIF building.  Overall it's a longish bus ride ~30-40 minutes, but it was very relaxing and fun to talk to mama-san! 

After we got to the building and she made sure I knew everything I needed to know (including giving me written instructions) I headed off to school!  School went fast and it was over all a very good day, because afterwards was the first of the culture classes!  One of the main reasons why HIF was so appealing to me was the because of the prospect of culture classes.  You can sign up for as many as you want, they are about 2 hours long, and they teach you about Japanese culture one item at a time.  Although its going to take a lot of time, I am doing every single culture class.  Thus I'm going to get a taste of everything from Calligraphy to kimono culture to flower arrangement to Kyudo (Japanese archery)!

First I went to a Koto concert, which is a traditional Japanese instrument much like a harp but laid on its side and much more Japanese sounding.  The frets all move around and she played everything from really cool classic Japanese songs to "Yesterday" by the Beatles.

Next I walked to one of the sensei's houses to go practice/learn about pottery!  The house was sort of far away, so of course I got lost.  But I couldn't have gotten lost in a prettier place, and after a quick phone call I found my way!

Playing with clay was really fun, and I think the bowl I made will turn out nicely...but I won't know until my next pottery class when we fire and glaze them.  The bus ride home was just as easy as the morning bus ride, but this one was filled with Japanese school girls wearing their uniforms and old ladies. It was fun to eavesdrop and catch words every once and a while.

Dinner was delicious, but is much different than dinners that I'm used to.  The host family realized that I was looking for challenges with food, and so tonights dinner was shrimp head soup, squid sashimi, rice, eggplant, and a slimy gelatinous seaweed dish the name of which I don't remember.  The dinner was actually delicious, and I realized that when I come home from this trip I am going to be a fearless eater, but also the king of charades (from all the words I don't know in Japanese that I have to mime!)

After dinner we went to the grocery store to go buy supplies.  Apparently there's a small party tomorrow at our house?  I don't know the occasion (I couldn't understand. go figure), but whatever it is: I'm in! It sounds like I'm going to help make this delicious dish which has something to do with chocolate, cheese, and possibly octopus.  But that last one could have been a translation problem on my end.

Finally, I didn't feel like writing down the humorous misunderstandings I've had so far, so instead I made a video.  

High:Watching TV with my host family and trying to figure out what the strange people on the TV were doing!

Low:  I can't think of one.

Hero: Mama-san! For taking me all the way to HIF and teaching me the route!

The big day!

I won't keep you waiting! Here they are! And now, the story that leads up to this glorious moment.

We woke up early this morning and moved out of the hotel.  At breakfast I tried the fresh Hokkaido milk for the first time and wowee is it delicious! It's the same consistency but the taste is more smooth and buttery than American milk.  As much as I love American milk, I think Hokkaido's got us beat!

I was crazy nervous all day today.  The closer and closer the time got to 5:00 (when we were meeting the host families), the more jittery I became.  In fact when we all lined up in the hallway, my teeth were actually chattering. I kept running through the ritual introduction in my head, practicing and hoping I wouldn't make a bad first impression.

Next thing I know they've called my name, a Japanese man has stepped forward, and I've just shook hands with my host dad! He seems incredibly nice, and we walked out to the car together.  He explained that his wife was in a meeting right now, and that his 18 year old daughter was working her part time job.  His older daughter is in Kanazawa doing something that my limited Japanese couldn't comprehend...but I think I caught something along the lines of she will be back at some point before I leave.

He told me to call him "Papa-san" and his wife "Mama-san," and I am totally down for that! He then took me to a small tempura shop which was crazy delicious, but because it was my first pure Japanese non-touristy restaurant I had no idea what to do with a lot of the food they handed me.  When it came time to ordering (and papa-san saw that I had no idea what I wanted) he asked me "Are you really hungry?"  I answered yes, he said something super fast to the cook, and we kept making broken small talk.  The food was awesome; the chef fried clams, squid, shrimp, pumpkin, peppers, and potatos. 

 When each of these things was cooked (right in front of us! did I mention it was a tiny restaurant) and put on my plate, I would play a game of monkey-see monkey-do with my host dad.  Some things you dip in the soy sauce, some things you put salt and lemon on, etc.  Overall it was a great first impression.

When we got home he showed me my room (more pictures tomorrow) and then Mama-san came home.  She also seems very nice!  Then my sister Shinon came home, and we were all one together as a big happy Japanese family. I took the occasion to go get my presents and hand them out, and I think they went over very well--

I've skipped over a lot of really funny stories from when I was first meeting my family, but they'll have to wait till tomorrow because I am tuckered out! 

High: Mama-san trying to explain the toilet to me was the funniest moment in Japan so far.  It's a washlet toilet, complete with a bidet and two kinds of flush- big and small.  Thus this thing is loaded with buttons.  She kept pointing to the flush handle and making strange motions, and I honestly couldn't figure out one word of the Japanese she was saying.  So I did the only logical thing- I acted stuff out.  But even then we couldn't communicate for some reason! So instead there was tons of laughing and I eventually figured out what she was saying about always using the big flush.

Low: The HOURS of homework that I just finished at 2:00AM.  Noone said this would be easy!

Hero: My real mom, whose birthday it is today! Happy Birthday Mom!

Remember the extravagant dinners of days past?

...here's what they look like now.  Study dinner on the go, complete with fried squid (which is flying up the ranks of my favorite foods), Strawberry milk (todays vending machine concoction), banana pocky, assorted sushi (all that sushi for less than $4!), and butter chips made with Hokkaido butter (delicious!).

Since I was the Teachers assistant today, I got to read off the announcements and write stuff on the blackboard.  It was fun! Time is actually moving pretty fast in class, because it definitely doesn't feel like 3 hours of class time. On the other hand the 5 hours of homework still feels like...5 hours of homework.

Tonight is the last night in the hotel, because tomorrow we meet the host families.  Ahhhh!!! I'm getting pretty nervous but I know they'll be wonderful.  Tomorrow I'm going to really study the gift giving unit, because gift giving is very important in Japan.  For example, one crazy thing you would never see in the states:

$30 melon.  right next to the $5/$6 melons.  These melons are grown specifically to give as gifts.  Yet another part of Japanese culture I don't yet understand.  we'll see how I do tomorrow!!

High: Getting a "yoku dekimashita!" stamp (well done!) on my homework.  woooo!

Low: The quiz I took today totally exploded.  Remember the Kanji quiz I studied for yesterday? Well I did have a quiz, but it wasn't over Kanji. Oops.  

Hero:My friends and family (aka you guys!) who make me feel strong enough to be in a foreign country and never feel alone. Thanks for being there for me! <3

First Day of Classes

Whew! What a day!

I found out today that I was placed into Intermediate Class 1A, and although the teacher seems incredibly nice the workload is tremendous.  They flooded us with packets today, and many of them have parts that are due tomorrow.  Ahhh!

On the positive side, some exciting things to look forward to:

-In class starting next week, show and tell starts! each day will be a different student, and we can bring anything! It's the best part of kindergarten all over again!

-Everyday it's possible to earn stamps for doing things well, volunteering, etc.  cool!

-Tomorrow, I was chosen to be the teacher's assistant (because I'm first alphabetically) and that means I'll get to read announcements and erase the blackboard and stuff.  More on that tomorrow!

To escape the tons and tons of homework, I went for a brief walk to the Depaato (Department store) and bought a dictionary.  Whilst there, I saw this eloquent shirt and photographed it for all the world to see:

Ummmm yea. I wonder if anyone who has ever bought this shirt could read english.

After the brief victorious trek to the mall, I gathered up some friends and went to a kaiten-zushi, or a conveyor belt sushi restaurant for dinner. What an awesome way to dine!  The chef stands in the middle where you can watch her make sushi and sashimi out of really fresh ingredients.  She then puts it on a colored plate (the plate color corresponds to price) and sets it off on its conveyor belt journey.  When you see something you like....you take it!  Sometimes deals float by unnoticed and other times you're just too hungry to care and take whatever comes first.  I felt like a hunter/gatherer.

High: The restaurant! Delicious! My favorite was the tenpura squid!

Low: All the homework- our first quiz is tomorrow over 30 new kanji...

Hero: Ito-sensei, my new teacher! She seems wonderful, but we'll find out more tomorrow when I'm her assistant.

Since I feel like a picture doesn't really capture the experience, heres a quick video!