Day 114 - 22nd of December

10:43am　普通電車
天気：晴れ
We’re on the local train to Kadomashi. And when I say we, I mean Carly and I, and her luggage, which weighs as much as another person; we’ll call her Casey. We walked all the way from the seminar house to Makino station with Casey at about 10 this morning and gosh it was a mission. This was not fun at all, compared to yesterday with Diego and Jessica’s luggage, which would have weighed less than Casey. At Makino there wasn’t an elevator to get into the station, so was had to split Casey up and take her down in pieces; that was not pleasant. Luckily, there was an elevator to get onto the platform. Well, we’re on the train now, time to relax before the final haul…

11:17am　普通電車
And back to Makino I go… alone! Bye Carly…

11:12pm　セミナーハウス
Long day! After getting to Kadomashi, I helped Carly drag Casey all the way to the monorail, getting though the ticket gate without a ticket; it was all good though cause I was coming straight back out. Bought a ticket back to Makino; had to switch over at Kayashima again. I finished off my 4th journal this morning, so now onto the 5th. Getting back to Makino, I bought a loaf of bread and then walked home; so much easier without Casey being all uncooperative. Since it was past 12 when I returned, I didn’t have much time to get the rest of my room in order; I was so glad I’d done most of it last night. When Okaasan came I was just finishing up. My inspection was about 20 minutes, so I didn’t beat Diego, not by a long shot; oh well, it’s all done now. After lunch, I brought my new futon in and set it up. And when I say new, I mean brand new. They’re much better than the old ones; I was really comfortable napping this afternoon. I also put out my roommate-to-be’s futon; the room doesn’t feel as empty now.

I made pizza for dinner (again), and chatted with Yuji, Jacinthe and Kyle. Jacinthe made this amazing recipe from Quebec called Sucre a la crème (sugar and cream). It’s a lot like fudge, but creamier. She put a box on the table for everyone to share; it was delicious. Kyle bought a new DS game but was having trouble figuring out how to do it, since it was all in Japanese; Jacinthe and I were puzzling over it for a while too. So many people have left now, and most of the people who are staying here for winter, have already left for travel. Katie and Ash went to Tokyo yesterday, Jacinthe is going on Thursday, Jo has gone to Hokkaido, as has someone else. Well, I’ll be going to Nagoya soon, so I don’t feel too left out. I think it’s time for bed now. Tomorrow I’ll drop into to uni and do some grocery shopping in the morning, talk with family at lunch, and then I’m going to 中之島 (nakanoshima) for the 光のルネサンス (Hikari-Renaissance) from 5 till 10; so excited. A huge array of light displays are going to be there; I hope I can get round to see most of it.