The Break

It was a break from blogging and from school, and it was ridiculously refreshing. But it was very bad form for what should be a daily blog.  So now I'll quickly recount in words what I did, and tomorrow I'll recount it in pictures and videos!

Day 1: Mamasan drove me to the bus station, then I Traveled by bus on a rainy day to Sapporo.  Awed by Sapporo's size, traveled around looking at shops and things.  One of these shops was the Pokemon center that sold tons of pokemon memorabilia and figurines.  For dinner I ate ramen that was called on the menu the Japanese word for "Hell."  It was REALLY SPICY.  But soooo delicious.  After more exploring ended up going to karaoke and concluded with the American National anthem.

Day 2: Baseball! After an early wake up, headed for donuts and then off to the baseball game. Although traveling in Sapporo as a group of 6, they only had three baseball tickets left when we decided to buy them.  Then after buying these 3, one person lost their ticket, so it just ended up being me and Nao going to the game.  But wow was it a blast!  You get to the game about 2 hours early, because its free seating and fills up fast.  luckily this gave me time to buy a melon soda, a "tornado potato" (basically a huge curly fry on a stick) and a Fighter's hat.  When the game started I hear my first song, which consisted of people clapping beats I don't know, cheering cheers I don't know, and waving around specific items that I don't have.  Disorienting.  But AWESOME!  After a while I caught on how to do some things, like yelling in unison with them "GO GO, LET'S GO INIBA!" (Iniba being the name of my favorite player.)  Lots of shouting and yelling, and lots of fumbling to learn players songs (each player had about 3 different unique cheers.)  After the game, met up with Max and Brian who were also at the game and headed to get Soup Curry, a specialty of Sapporo.  Super delicious.  Finished the night hanging out, talking, and playing the game "fantasy" with Brian and his friends, which ended in hysterical results.  Another great night sleep in the hostel bed.

Day 3: The Day of Factories!  First to the chocolate factory, where the famous "White Lover" chocolate is made.  It is amazingly tasty, and the tour was pretty cool.  It started with the history and science of chocolate. but concluded with a view of the conveyor belt and the assembly line.  So cool! Next up: Italian(ish) food for lunch, where I ordered what looked like a big fried mozzarella ball in marinara but the ball was filled with rice.  After a filling meal: Beer museum time! We saw the evolution of Sapporo beer's humble beginings all the way to its now world reknowned status.  The tour culminated in Beer ice cream (SO GOOD.) and the beer tasting, where for a chap price you can try three of their top beers.  It was an excellent tour, and excellent beer.  Next up we explored some more of Sapporo, including going to Don Kihote, the Japanese equivalent of Walmart but with crazy stuff inside.  I really wish we had these stores in the states, the costumes and props they sell are amazing.  Dinner was Jingisukan, another one of Sapporo's famous dishes.  It's basically lamb steak cooked at the table along with vegetables on a grill that is shaped like a large lemon juicer.  Very delicious, but since it wasn't quite filling enough I headed to a place called the "Fruitscake Factory" and bought a pastry and yogurt, which I ate in the park talking to friends.  What a nice day.

Day 4 (Today):  Woke up early, headed to the bus station, and returned home.  My phone had died on day 3, so I hadn't been in contact with my host family which worried them, but luckily I had bought them chocolate from the factory as a gift so I didn't feel as bad.  I think mamasan might have even went to the station to pick me up, but turned around once she got there and discovered that I had got off at an earlier stop.  I felt pretty bad but was able to explain to her that my phone had died and I was terribly sorry.  Luckily, I knew she wasn't mad because the rest of the day I spent laughing and having very positive interactions.  For example: The mamasans finally met! I videochatted with my family and introduced them to my host family! Truly magical to watch them try to communicate.  Unfortunately though papasan was downstairs unaware I was video chatting, because he was watching Harii Potaa 3: Azukabann.

Now its bedtime, but stay tuned for pictures!

High: The meeting of my families!

Low:Making mamasan worry because my phone died!

Hero: Both of the mamas in my life for bonding together over being moms!