Day 262 - 19th of May

9:03pm　バス停　－　片鉾中央図書館

天気：雨天

I’m standing here with Carly at the bus stop, waiting for the 9:20 bus. We’re staying at her hotel tonight, so we can get an early start tomorrow; we’re going to the geisha dances in Kyoto, and then probably doing some shopping. It’s raining, and probably will be raining again tomorrow; great way to end the semester. I’m finished, I’M FINISHED!!! I’ve been saying that sporadically since this evening. I feel… empty. I’m happy, but at the same time, the realisation that really is the end is starting to kick in… Today, I spent from 8 till 3 working on my essay, with one break for lunch. Since Hugo was sleeping, I spent most of the morning in the computer room, and then moved back into my room when he finally got up. At 3:15, I decided I had to get going, and since I had finished everything but the conclusion, I figured I could work on that after getting everything else sorted out. It actually took a surprisingly short amount of time. Basically, I had to go to the library, then the L.L. and then the CIE office, before finally going to the SHOMU-BU office for my reimbursement; yay for cash in hand. Admittedly it was a bit of running around, but there were very efficient; my bike registration has now been cancelled, and my ID card has a hole punched through the barcode.

That done, I got onto my conclusion, and ended up having to use a computer in the L.L since the computer lab on the first floor was absolutely packed. After I finished, I had to go down there anyway to print it off. I was very lucky in the fact that a computer opened up just as I arrived; thank you Kirianna. I found Carly, and after hand in my essay to the professor (and a few words of thanks), we went to check out the sumi-e and ceramics’ exhibition; since I didn’t bring mine, Carly let me use her camera. I must admit, I found the works this semester to be of a much higher standard overall, and fell in love with many…

バス

Now we’re on the bus; that was the longest 20 minutes ever… I would have bought them if they had been on sale; I was thoroughly impressed. After that, we went and got taiyaki (custard-, and caramel-filled) and I felt so stuffed afterwards; so yummy. Then we made our way back to the seminar house, briefly browsing Avail; I bought my brother a shirt. Getting back, I talked with my family over skype until about 7, and then went up to make dinner; spaghetti bolognese. Carly came in too, and we got in trouble when Yuji came in; I felt bad about that. After updating my blog, we got going; we’ve just made it to the station now…

11:13pm　セミナーハウス

Well this evening took an interesting turn. When we got to Carly’s hotel, as soon as the lady at the reception desk saw we were going to the elevator, she stopped us and said I couldn’t go to the room; since it’s a single room, only one person’s allowed. Oh well, so much for that. I made my way home on the next bus, and was thankful for Carly’s umbrella walking back to the seminar house; it was pouring. When I was getting off the bus at Hirakatashi I realised I didn’t have my keys with me, so when I arrived back and the gate was locked, I got really worried. Luckily, not five minutes later Marine and Angela returned home and let me in; I was so, so grateful. I immediately went to the kitchen to retrieve my keys; of course I had left them in the cupboard. I sat with Julie, Liz, Chelsea and Rebecca for a little while, and was interviewed by Liz about my English/Japanese experience; she’s doing it for assessment at her home university. Soon after, I came back down here, and was visited by Katie; she had just got back from a fun-filled day with her friend who’s just come from Canada. She let me know the time and place of the geisha dances tomorrow, and we’ll probably be meeting her when we get there. With that in mind, I’d better get some sleep; I’m finished…

Day 231 - 18th of April

10:26pm　セミナーハウス

天気：　晴れ

I just got back from 鳥貴族 (Torikizoku), a restaurant where all the items on the menu are 280円 (well, technically 294円with the tax). As the name suggests (torikizoku means bird of nobility), chicken is the primary meat, but there are also salads, soups, and rice. But more about that later… I got up this morning at about 9:30, and had a citron, apple and banana for breakfast; I didn’t have any milk for cereal. Then, I spent until 1 doing homework, and practicing kanji. I decided I needed a bit of fresh air, so I had a bit of a ride before getting some take out from the new kebab shop just across from the east gate; Café Istanbul. I’ve been missing kebabs since I’ve been here, so I was really happy. Two international students were in there smoking a hookah, which anyone can do for the price of 800円; not for my thanks. Still, I thought that was kinda of cool; they are quite beautiful devices. I ate my doner kebab in the nearby park and wow, it was really nice; maybe a bit small for the price. After eating, I went to Avail, but didn’t end up buying anything; there were a few things I liked though.

Getting back home, I worked on my blog, and talked with family for a little bit, before getting interviewed by Hugo. He’s doing a group report for his physiology class, and has to interview both Japanese and foreign students; I hope my answers help him. Soon after that, he asked if I wanted to come out with him and Yuji to torikizoku for dinner; they would be going straight away. Since my best decisions are usually made spur of the moment (before I have time to think about them), I decided to go for it; it would be fun. And it was! We were joined by Yuki (Yuji’s friend from a university in Osaka), and Biancha met us there. We arrived at straight on 6 when it opened, and ended up staying until after 9:30; well, Biancha left a bit early. After ordering drinks (I just had water), we could order whatever we wanted, whenever; they have a buzzer system. I only ended up having 3 dishes, and they were all chicken. My favourite would have had to be the filleted chicken covered with tartar sauce. Also, after the first bowl of cabbage, all the rest are free; not that I like cabbage that much.

I got the opportunity to talk in Japanese a bit to Yuki, who wasn’t very good at English; I also translated for Hugo a bit. Yuji got considerably drunk, and this made him very tired for some reason. While the quality of the food was very high, the service was a little slow; Yuji had to wait half an hour for his last meal. Everyone else ate way more than me, but that was more because I was being cheap; I would have liked to try a bit more. I did get to try some of Biancha’s deep fried camembert cheese; gosh that was so tasty. If I go again, I’m definitely going to order it. I also got to try some of Hugo’s chicken naan bread, which reminded me of Mexican food; it was beautifully spicy. When we left, Hugo and I soon separated from Yuji and Yuki; Yuji was going to Tsutaya, and Yuki was presumably returning home. I decided I would make a quick stop to Makkas, to get a soft serve; that made me happy. Hugo and I were soon on the bus back home; unfortunately Yuji missed it. Even though it was a little long, it was a great night out and I’m glad I went; I need to do stuff like that more often. Well, uni again tomorrow, better get some sleep…

Day 219 - 6th of April

10:56pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Another beautiful day; it was almost too warm… almost. I’m really, really hoping the weather stays like this, because I’m thinking about going to Himeji castle this weekend; should be able to catch the last of the cherry blossoms. See how I go; it might be nicer, and certainly cheaper, to just go into Kyoto. Anyway, about my day… I got up just after 9, and after getting ready, rode to Sanko to do a small grocery shop; I needed a few more things for biscuits. Unfortunately when I got there, they still hadn’t opened. I found this quite annoying, especially considering they’re supposed to open at 9:30; I had to wait around till almost 10. Anyway that done, I got back home and after unpacking my groceries I did a little bit of last minute study for Religion. I made my way to uni shortly after, and truly began to appreciate just how lovely and warm it was today. After Speaking class, I went to the club room and practiced koto for an hour with Maarika, and caught up with Midori sempai, who had just been on a short exchange to Australia. Getting to Religion, I ended up finishing the exam in 15 minutes; as did many of my other classmates. It was a piece of cake, or as I’ve come to learn a 河童の屁 (kappa no he – Kappa’s fart), in Japanese. Actually I lie, there were a couple that threw me a bit, but I feel pretty confident about it. I was done just as the professor came back with the compilation of this group’s interview write-ups for us to read; taking the handouts, I left.

When I got to my bike, I realised I needed baking paper, so I made my way over to Kirindo, and got some; bought some juice too. I decided to take a route through the houses to get home, and it was actually really interesting. I noticed a shrine on the way, and now I really want to go back to check it out; it’s amazing what you’ll find in side streets. Getting back, I had lunch, and then got stuck into baking biscuits; Milo ones again. I think this mixture turned out a lot better than the last, and I ended up making about 30 decent sized biscuits. I’ve got them in a box in my room now, and I’ve so tempted to eat them all. I’ve already put aside the ones for Rachael, so I’m not allowed to touch them. That ended up taking about 2 hours, and in that time, I got my Speaking homework done. Getting back downstairs, I decided I wanted to go to Avail, so I did. I wore my new shoes for the first time today, and they’re already starting to get a little dirty; can’t be helped. I wasn’t doing any shoes shopping today though; I was more interested in the bargains. And there were plenty. They were still clearing out the winter clothes, and some of the prices were amazing; 500円 for long sleeve T-shirts! I ended up making two purchases, which made me very happy; I haven’t bought anything from there for a while now.

Getting back worked on my vocab and studied kanji until I went up to have dinner at about 7. I mixed last night’s leftovers with the rest of my rice, and added carrot and bok choy, and a bit of soy sauce; it turned out great. I sat with Rachel and Ash, and finally payed them back; out of debt once again. I also retrieved Jazz’s battery charger from my room for her. After finishing dinner, I had a Milo (you’d think I’d already had enough from all the biscuits I’d ate) and a banana for dessert, and then helped Rebecca with her dinner. She was making yakisoba for the first time and wasn’t feeling very confident about it, so I offered to help; I ended up cooking it for her. It’s my own fault for being such a control freak; at least she prepared it all. And I gave her some pointers, so I think she’ll be right to do it on her own next time. I’m certainly no professional myself; I wind it most of the time. She gave me her approval after getting into it, so that made me feel good; I would have hated to have cooked a bad meal for someone. Anyway, Ash and Rachel soon left, but Katie arrived, so I talked with her for a bit, and then left myself. It was about 8:30 when I got back down, and I decided I would have a shower and shave; feel much better now. After that, I sorted my laundry for tomorrow, and then did some reading for class. Finally, I uploaded a bunch of photos on facebook, and here I am; better get some sleep…

Day 182 - 28th of February

天気：曇り

So, what did I spend the last day of the month doing? Well, not much at all really… I got up at around 8:30, and had a frugal breakfast, and decided to just stay in my pyjamas all day; strangely, Hugo wasn’t back yet. I skyped with Carly, and Alex, before talking with my family for over two hours; got to see my Nanny and Poppy! Then it was time for lunch. The TV was on in the kitchen, and in the right hand corner of the screen there was a map of Japan, with colours flashing around it’s coast; a 津波警報 (tsunami keihou – tsunami warning). There were three colours, red orange and yellow, red being the areas in the most danger, and yellow just having a general warning. Since we’re so far inland, we really have nothing to worry about. I find it quite amazing that an earthquake on the other side of the ocean (in Chile), could potentially have repercussions all the way over here in Japan. Flicking through all the channels, there was a warning on every one of them, the colours being slightly different from station to station; I wonder if a tsunami will hit?

After lunch, I spent the next couple of hours trying to get my blog up to speed; speed unfortunately, is not the word I would use for what the internet possesses here. Hugo eventually came back, and had fun ironing his clothes on the tiny little ironing standing; reminded me of Diego when he used to do it. It almost 3:30 by the time I was satisfied, and then I made my way out to fetch Simon. He had informed me of a fundraiser near Hirakata station for Haiti, and wanted to donate. We had already planned to go out this afternoon to find clothes for the gym, so at least we could look around while we were down there. Riding there was, for the most part, okay. That was until we got to the hill into downtown Hirakata, which provides no room for bikes. It was a less than enjoyable experience, as we sped down the slope, liberally applying the brakes and trying not to hit the side walk on our left (crowed with people), or the cars inches away from us on our right. Well, we both made it unscathed, and continued on to the station.

Here, there was a new dilemma; finding somewhere to park. We really didn’t want to have to pay to park our bikes, so searched for empty areas down side alleys; the problem was that there were “no parking for bikes” signs everywhere. Simon had got a warning ticket down here before, and didn’t want another. We finally found a space over by the park that I only just realised is under major renovation, if that’s the right word; we had walked past it when Simon was going to get his alien registration sorted, and I didn’t even notice. Anyway, we made our way back over there, as it was supposedly where the fundraiser was taking place. Well, when we got there we found nothing, no hint of any activity of the sort. After a little bit a searching, we decided to abandon the cause and go on our second mission; information gathered from facebook obviously doesn’t always have merit. We walked over to Saty, and went to the men’s floor, in search of some gym pants. We’ve been talking about going to the gym for a while now, and since there’s one less than a minute down the road from us that we can use for free (it belongs to the university), we don’t really have an excuse not to go.

In Saty we couldn’t find anything, that wasn’t stupidly priced, and Simon resigned himself to using some pants he already had; so now we were just looking for some for me. We tried in Kintetsu, but were out of luck; all brand name stuff. We even tried in Uniqlo, but all they had were track suits, and I wasn’t about to one of them. So, going all the way down to Hirakata station was a big waste of time; however as I was about to find out, the ride back served as excellent exercise. Yes, it was the hill again, though this time it wasn’t scary at all, just extremely exhausting; I really felt like I was going to die when I got to the top. This made me feel really out of shape, and only made my resolve to go to the gym stronger. Simon wanted to pick some stuff up for dinner, so we made our way to Fresco, Simon having a bit of a stack along the way, resulting in a broken reflector. I was well behind him, and got to witness the whole thing; it was pretty funny. In Fresco we bought a few things, and then, as a last resort we decided to go to Avail to see if they had anything. Well, we didn’t find any shorts, and the track suits were definitely a no. However, I did find a pack of two t-shirts for 300円, which is incredibly cheap. The rest of the time in there was dedicated to trying on other clothes, which proved unsuccessful, and having fun with this little Japanese boy, who was really good at speaking English. He was very excitable, and wasn’t shy at all, as he came up to us, and played hide-and-seek; I was really surprised.

We finally got back after 6. We didn’t achieve very much, but at least we had a little bit of fun, and got some exercise. Since Simon was going up to eat his 枝豆 (edamame – green soybeans) for dinner, I thought I might as well eat too. I heated up some stew, and was soon enjoying it with bread. We stayed up there for a little while, and then parted, intent on study. I tried on my new shirts, and they fit perfectly. Hugo was a little worried that they weren’t going to fit; the M size singlet he has is really tight. In Avail, when I saw the pants I had bought a while back, I thought, why not wear them; they’re pretty much sweat pants. Simon agreed when I showed him; they’re black, so they match my shirts too. Now I feel ready to go to the gym; and I spent way less than I had expected to for it. I studied until 9, and then went up to the kitchen for a snack, inevitably staying up there to sit and talk with Ash; she had just gotten back from her day with Peter at USJ. The tsunami warning was still on TV, though the threat had greatly lessened, with the most dangerous colour gone from the map. Just after 10, I went back downstairs, and did another hour of studying, before getting ready for bed; lesson test tomorrow…

Day 163 - 9th of February

11:40pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
I’ve just been talking with Simon in the computer room. Gosh today was such a nice, mild day; the warmest I’ve felt in a long time… I got up at 9:30, and had toast for breakfast, since I don’t have any cereal; have to do that tomorrow too. First up was Reading, and we had a quiz, and then went through two new grammar points. We receive homework every day, but it’s a really small amount; just two sentences using the new grammar. After class, I went for lunch with Jo, Kim, Nathan, and his speaking partner (Yuki) and her friend. I had a little bit of a conversation with the Japanese girls, which was great. We were there until almost 1, when we had to get to class. On the way to the CIE building, I bumped into Mori sempai (Ryoko) from koto club. Since she will be studying abroad, she has to come to the afternoon classes (to get used to learning in English), so doesn’t really get a spring break; that’s tough. She let me know there was practice tomorrow from 11 till 3; really stupid time if you ask me. Well, I guess it is fine for everyone but Maarika and I. I’m going to go in my break from 11 to 12, so atleast I’ll get some practice.

So yeah, in Religion we started to cover Shinto, learning about the 神棚 (kamidana – household Shinto shrine), torii, and purity and fertility as “themes” within Shinto. It’s a weird religion in that it has no doctrines; it just is. Someone brought up the fertility festival on Sunday, and I was able to add to that. And that was me done for the day. I went and bought the texts for Onna to Otoko, and then went home, stopping by Avail on the way. I noticed that the boots I’d liked were gone; I wasn’t that disappointed. I didn’t like anything I saw, so I went home empty handed; probably a good thing. Getting back to my room, I got my laundry put away, and then had a nap; and it was longer than 30 minutes. I felt good afterwards though, and got stuck into my homework. Around 7 I went up and had dinner (the leftover chicken on rice). Soon after coming back down, I was visited by Yuji, who asked me if I’d be willing to cook for Sunday’s food party; I accepted the call.

We had a meeting in the lounge (Biancha, Victor, Barbara, Yuji, and I), and each decided what we would make. I had already been thinking about it and, since the theme is food from your own country, I though ANZAC biscuits would be a great idea; they’re yummy and easy to make. The biggest problem is finding the ingredients but Biancha’s helping me with that. She’s going to the American military base near Wakayama on Thursday to pick me up what I need. We each got 2000円 for supplies (which I think is very generous), and then went on our way. I went up to the kitchen to show Biancha what I needed, and then got stuck chatting with Katie, Ash, and Rachel; not that that’s a bad thing. I figured I might as well stay up there anyway since I had cleaning at 9. That went very well. Everyone showed up except Hugo, who was out, and we got everything done relatively fast. I got back down at about 9:30, and got my reading done for Onna to Otoko tomorrow; Hugo arrived back in that time. Then I went out and talked with Simon, who was on Facebook chatting with a very opinionated Japanese student. Well, class at 10 tomorrow; hopefully feeling better too…

Day 159 - 5th of February

11:45pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
I’ve just finished watching Nightmare before Christmas, and Sleepy Hollow with Ash, Katie, Rachel, and Rachael; Tim Burton is the best! Today went well. I got up a little late, but got to uni on time for my 9 o’clock class, in which I had my Reading and Writing test. Straight after that was the Speaking test. Both went pretty well I think; glad they’re over. Then I went down to the lounge, after finding a notice of interest in my mailbox. Someone is selling textbooks cheap and my Onna to Otoko books were listed. So, I sent an email to the seller; sadly, still no reply. I actually waited in the computer lab for a while, for the reply since I was sending the message to a mobile phone; I had expected a hasty reply. Now feeling hungry, I went to lunch with Jacinthe, and had 肉じゃが丼 (nikujagadon – a meat and potato dish). It’s an interesting dish that sees the marriage of British beef stew and Japanese style cooking and ingredients; very tasty. It’s a great winter dish, and I’ll have to try cooking it some time.

After lunch, I had my Onna to Otoko class, where we discussed the definition of gender, contrasted it to the word “sex”, and brought up the issue of intersex; it was all very fascinating. And then I was done for the day. I decided to check out Avail before going home, and found a pretty cool pair of boots. I wasn’t completely convinced, so decided to wait, in hopes the price may drop; already really cheap though considering. When I got back, I found Simon and Rachael in the computer lab, and chatted with them for a while, before going up with Simon to the kitchen to get something to eat. As we were climbing the stairs, Katie was coming down and oh wow she looked great with straight hair; so different too. After eating, Simon soon left to go out with friends. I went back to my room and chatted with Alex and then family for a while, and then went up to make dinner; pizza. While it was cooking, Hugo came in, telling me he had someone to introduce. I soon become acquainted with Richard; a friend of Hugo’s who has been following my blog.

Needless to say, I was quite shocked by this; meeting someone who already knows much about me. I can’t say that it isn’t a bit creepy; hopefully he will read this and have a good laugh. He was really cool though, and even offered me a gift; sweets. I ate them straight after my pizza; thanks Richard they were very tasty. So yeah, that was cool. At this point, I was joined by Katie and Ash, and soon Rachel, and we sat and talked, while watching a program featuring Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (which I still haven’t seen), and other Ghibli works. They also showed the Ghibli museum, which I really want to go to. At about 8:30, it was movie time, and we had quite a number watch Nightmare before Christmas. That soon dissipated, after Sleepy Hollow came on; great night of viewing. Next Friday’s going to be Sweeny Todd, then another movie that Ash is dying to show us; looking forward to it. Well, better get some sleep; Beauty and the Beast tomorrow!!!

Day 75 - 13th of November

天気：曇り
I had a lot of fun this morning making banana pancakes. I was really glad to use the bananas, cause they were getting old. I put them in the blender and blended them up, with a little bit of milk and Vanilla essence. The mixture was perfect with a bit more milk, and while they weren't of perfect shape, the end result tasted amazing. I talked with Dad afterwards about booking my plane ticket home. We decided that I'd just book online. So that was settled. I went to uni soon after and the new student teacher (Taka-san) took the class. It was fun, but a little confusing. I came home straight after, and got my PC@LL done; it was very difficult.

Got back, and had lunch, then did some more Japanese homework, before I had to go to singing booth practice. It was very cold, and I had a jumper and jacket, beanie and gloves. On the way I had my "Friday the 13th moment". As I was walking towards the uni, down the side road, the dog (a shiba) whom I always comment is so cute, came out of it's kennel and looked at me innocently. I decided to approach it; big mistake! As I put out my hand to let it sniff me, it viciously snapped at me, grabbing onto my jeans tightly. I freaked out and pulled back against it. I was thinking, "this dog might not let go"; I know how strong their jaws are. I persisted and it finally gave up "Riiiiiippp!!!"; hole in my jeans. I felt extremely lucky. 1. because the dog was on a short leash and, 2. because I'd earlier changed out of my black jeans into my blue ones beforehand for no apparent reason. So apart from my jeans, I got out of that one unscathed. I briskly walked away as it barked angrily. Phew; that was exhilarating.

Practice was short. Basically, we just got shown where we'd be sitting, and how we'd come on. It was finished within the hour. I walked back to the fast beat of the song of I was listening to, and decided on impulse, to go to Avail. I love shopping at Avail; it has so much great stuff. And today didn't disappoint. I came home with a shirt and two vests, two long sleeve shirts, and two packs of two pack underpants! And it all cost me exactly 6000円! The only let down are the shoes; they just don't make then in my size. I saw this awesome pair of lime green converse that would have gone great with my orange jeans; oh well. I saw Carly and Amber while I was in there.

Soon after getting back I booked my plane ticket successfully; I'm glad it's out of the way. For dinner I made Shepherd's pie. Since I only had two potatoes (and they are small potatoes), I decided to put in a carrot for mashing too. I also put in a packet soup mix, to bind the mince and veggies together. Put it together with grilled cheese on top and it was great. I even have a little left over; I think I'll put it with some rice. After dinner I went up and watched a movie with Carly on her computer (Pan's Labyrinth), taking up lots of goodies. The movie was really great albeit very violent in parts (it is rated R). Finally got to bed at about 12.

Day 63 - 1st of November

10:51pm　セミナーハウス
天気；雨天
I didn't loose my key!!! Oh my gosh, I felt so silly. As soon as I had done explaining the situation to Otousan this morning, I went up to the kitchen for breakfast, and as soon as I walked in, I saw the key hanging in my cupboard keyhole! I grabbed it and immediately run down to Otousan to tell him it was okay. The crazy thing is I didn't even notice it last night, and I was up there making toast. I was so relieved; I munched on my pancakes happily. I spent the majority of the morning getting my blog up to speed, talking with Mum and working on my presentation. Nanny and Poppy came over in the afternoon, and I got to talk with them a bit, before having lunch and going out to meet Naomi in Hirakata.

We met up easily enough (she was waiting by the buses). She took me to a karaoke place on the 6th floor of the building across from the bus terminal. I had to become a member (only cost 200円), then we got a drink and went in. It was a little awkward, but I got practice done, and had a fun singing with her. Now I know what the song is called 「栄光の架橋」 (Eikou no Kakehashi - bridge of glory) by Yuzu. It's a very nice song, but quite high in parts. I know I'll be able to do it though. We spent about an hour and a half there, and then went our separate ways home. Stepping out of the bus, I noticed that Avail was having a sale, and I couldn't help myself; I had to go in. I spend almost an hour in there, and came out with another pair of overalls, a sweater and a pair of socks. I wanted to buy some shirts, but the problem was they were too tight and short in the arms; I tried M and L. The sweater I bought was XL!!! It fits perfectly; too bad they didn't have shirts in this size.

It was still pouring with rain when I came out, as it had been since noon. Diego and Jess were back in the room, and I told them about the sale; they went there for a while before Jess had to go home. Diego returned, empty-handed. I started making dinner at about 6:30; stew. I turned out wonderfully, and I have two more servings left in the freezer. I watched this really cool show on TV, while eating dinner. It was like the Japanese version of Mythbusters. We could get the gist of what was going on. They made a sakura tree bloom in fall; they made a boat out of compacted salt and tried to row to an off shore island (that failed); and they made a camouflage suit out of glass (that was really cool). After the show, I studied with Amber for a while, then come back down to my room. I think it's time for sleep now, since I have early class tomorrow. Overall a nice beginning to a new month.

Day 60 - 29th of October

9:34pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
I'm starting to get used to long Thursdays. I didn't get much sleep last night, but I got up early nonetheless. After breakfast I had a shower, then made lunch for later (noodles and salad). It was actually pretty hot today; I want it to be cold already. We're now up to the second last chapter of Genki II - textbook for Japanese. I'll be sorry to say goodbye to the Genki series next semester; even though some of the explanations can be pretty confusing. After my classes, which were all very interesting (surprisingly), I went with Carly, Nadia, and Katie (different Katie), to go pay for the Hokkaido trip. It all went quite smoothly. There are five of us going; another guy (Edward) is joining us. At one point the travel agents were worried that I may have to get a guardians signature since I'm still technically a minor in Japan, but it wasn't needed in the end. So, now the flight and accommodation have all been payed for and I'm so excited; it's less than a month away!!!

After that, Carly and I walked back home, stopping by Shimamura and Avail on the way. She was looking for white tights to complete her Hello Kitty costume for Halloween. Unfortunately she was unsuccessful. As for me, I'm not really fussed with Halloween. We'll be going out that night to a restaurant in Hirakata called "The Hobbit", and then probably karaoke after that. I won't be getting dressed up though; I don't have a costume. Anyway, we came back to the dorm and noticed a flyer on the bulletin board. On the 7th of November, the Kansai Gaidai symphony orchestra will be preforming at the Uni; and it's free!!! I'm so there, and even more so because they'll be playing selections from Princess Mononoke. During koto practice I actually heard a trumpeter practicing the music from it; now I know what it's for. So that's next Saturday is taken care of.

Soon after getting back, I went grocery shopping with Carly, just for a few things I needed at Sanko. I made chicken parmigiana for dinner and it was so good; I was really pleased with myself. The sauce I got from Sanko was amazing. I used the whole bag; Diego thought it was too much, but not me. There were a lot of dishes, but it was totally worth it. I've had a quiet one tonight, Deigo's been working on his economics paper, and I've been doing, well, not much really; I actually ended up doing the homework due tomorrow yesterday. I've been munching on these amazing biscuits (coconut sable); they are so good. Deigo's almost done now. Hopefully I can sleep better tonight; I think I'll have a shower, that might help...

Day 3 - 1st of Septemeber

8:19am　セミナーハウス
天気：　暑い
I'm here waiting around. The shops don't open 'til 9am so I'm gonna get going at 8:30. I think I'll go to "Top World" again. But I should try the 99円 store first. Jut gotta remember to get back in time to have my breakfast, and then go out again to the uni for 10:30. Hopefully I can make it!!!

10:11am　関西外大
Here I am in the multimedia room waiting for the Japanese placement test to commence. I have no idea how I will go, but wherever I get placed, it'll be the right thing. You only know what you know. I've probably forgotten heaps though, especially kanji. Whoops!!! Oh well, lolz. There people behind me are having a heated discussion about kanji. It's pretty full in here. About to start. 頑張って。。。



5:30pm セミナーハウス
Back in the dorm. Had a big day at uni; got a lot done. The Japanese placement test was so crazy. I think I went okay. After that I went to lunch at McDonalds. Got a Big Mac, fries and grape fanta (no orange fanta here). I think the taste was slightly better than what it is in Australia. It's a bit more costly than the cafeteria though, so I won't be having it too often. After that I went to the PC@LL session. It's a really cool system that allows you to listen to all the lessons covered in the course, and record your voice for practice and homework submission.

Then, I went to the banking session. That was really helpful; I wouldn't have been able to fill out the forms otherwise. Unfortunately I hadn't been able to copy pages of my passport because the photocopier downstairs was broken. It seemed that everyone else hadn't done this either. After filling in the forms, there was already a huge line up at the copier apparently fixed. I decided to go see Seimu who was in the student lounge. He is reading "The Catcher in the Rye" in English for homework at the moment. He was kind enough to wait around with me while I rushed around trying to get the passport copied. I ended up in the book shop above the convenience store, which I hadn't known about before (so that was a plus; finding where to but my textbooks). Finally got back to the room and completed the bank process, making a new friend along the way (Christina). Seimu was happy because he got to use his English, talking with all the international students.

Phew!!! So, after that, I went to the Shomubu office to pay my fees, Seimu in tow. The guy at the counter didn't like what he saw when I showed him the international draft. I ended up having to go back to the CIE (Centre for International Education) to get it sorted out. While talking to the lady, I found out that I would have to do more courses than just the Japanese language. I've sent a hasty email to Donna and Liani, so I'll just wait and see what they think. It'll be interesting to try some more courses, but it's a bummer that they probs won't count towards my degree. Might better my career opportunities though.

Anyway, after that I made I made my way back to the dorm, leaving Seimu with Christina. I went to "Top World" (as it wasn't open when I went in the morning), and got a spoon, fork, and bowl, oh, and some face wash. Then I went to the clothes shop across from the library near the seminar houses called "Avail". OMG I was so tempted to buy things. So many awesome clothes xD. I resisted though. Ended up just buying an umbrella and pillow. It's weird that every shop I've been in so far has played English songs continuously (old and new). Okay that's enough about today...