Day 183 - 1st of March

10:10pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天

I can’t believe it’s already March; I’ve just realised now that I’ve got less than three months here! Anyway, another rainy day today; I really wish the weather would make up its mind… After getting ready, I rode to uni with Simon; it wasn’t raining at the time. We were a little early, so we sat in the lounge, while I went through my vocab. It was only when I got to class that i found out that in fact the vocab test was tomorrow; oh well, nothing wrong with a bit more study. Sensei played Angela Aki’s “Tegami” in class today, a song that I love so much. We had to fill in the blanks while listening to the lyrics, than he let us sing along with a video clip; really want to go to karaoke now. After class, I had an hour to study before my lesson test, and used it to its fullest; I sat with Sarah, Katie, and Rachel. When I got to the test, I was actually really surprised at how it was. Apart from one question, I felt confident about everything else, and I got all the kanji right; I was out of there in half an hour. I guess it helps when we only go through two chapters for each lesson test, unlike in Speaking where we go through three; so crazy. Just have to wait and see the results.

I went to Kirindo to get some groceries, and then came home, having just avocado on toast since I didn’t have any rice left; I’ll have to buy some at Sanko tomorrow. Then I napped for a few hours, before trying to check out the gym with Simon. I say trying, because we couldn’t actually get in there; all the gates were locked. I’ll have to ask Yuji about whether we can actually use it, because I did actually see people in there. I got back I got my blog updated, and did some homework, before going back out again. I was going back to the uni, to see one of Professor Hester’s screenings; every Monday he shows documentaries in the classroom. I had wanted to go see some earlier on, but for some reason or another, never got there. It makes it a lot easier now that I have a bike, that’s for sure. It just started to rain when I got to uni, and after a quick chat with Jacinthe in the bike parking, I made my way over to the CIE building and up to my Gender and Sexuality classroom; Simon was already there, with Jo. I was really surprised at the number of people who had showed up, especially since it was almost 6:30 by this point, and the documentaries are usually an hour. Usually, they’re about issues in Japan, but not this week. This was a documentary about Gay and Lesbian people in developing countries, titled “Dangerous Living: Coming out in the Developing World”.

It was very interesting, and quite moving, examining the lives of gay and lesbian people in Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, Thailand, Vietnam and a few other countries that have received little mainstream media attention. After it had finished, Simon and I rode home in the pouring rain; that wasn’t much fun. It was almost 8, so we went up to make dinner. On the TV, was the closing ceremony for the winter Olympics; I can’t believe it’s over already. So I enjoyed watching the rest of that, while eating my spaghetti. A number of singers and bands performed, including Michael Buble, Avril Lavigne, Nickelback, and Simple Plan. The lighting effects were again spectacular, and there were these really cool helium balls being bounced around in the audience, that would change colour on impact. It ended a little before 9, with fireworks. While the US got the most medals over all, Canada received the most gold; Australia got two gold, YAY!!! I stayed in the kitchen for a bit longer, and then bid everyone goodnight, before going to bug Simon in the computer room. Just about time for bed now, just gotta finish off some homework…

Day 167 - 13th of February

天気：晴れ
I had initially planned on going to the ice festival today, but decided to put it off to tomorrow. I felt the need to get everything done today, so I could justify going out and having fun. Also I had had a late night, and figured that it would be better to get to Kobe as early in the day as possible, so Sunday seemed much more appropriate; with the intention of having an early night tonight… So, this meant that I ended up sleeping in until 10:30. After breakfast, I did my homework, and pondered over what to make for the food party tomorrow. A most excellent idea hit me. Since I couldn’t find rolled oats to make ANZAC biscuits, why not make Milo biscuits; it’s Australian too!!! And, easily enough, I found a recipe online; all the ingredients were easily obtainable. So, feeling excited and determined, I went to Sanko and purchased butter, Milo, and sugar with the money given by the CIE, and a few other things separately. Getting back, I went straight to the kitchen, to find the opening ceremony of the 2010 winter Olympics on the TV. Katie, Ash, and Jacinthe were among the viewers, and Katie was ecstatic; her face lit up in pride.

Not overly fussed about watching the ceremony (I had missed most of it anyway), I got stuck into making my Milo biscuits. The recipe was really easy – cream butter and sugar, add an egg, the Milo, and flour, then bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. I had a lot of fun making a mess with the flour and butter, and then killing my arm stirring it all together. The end mixture was looking very promising, considering I hadn’t been exact with any of the measurements; I was playing it by ear, or should I say by consistency. Simon was in and out of the kitchen periodically, checking my progress, and at this point he commented that I didn’t look like enough; I wasn’t perturbed. I prepped both of the microwave ovens, and decided to get one batch done, just to see if it was okay, before proceeding with more. I rolled out 9 balls for this first batch, pressing them down with a fork. I remembering to wet my hands, and the fork, and that helped a lot; thanks Nanny. And into the oven they went…

I watched them, and noticed that they were expanding quite a lot and, when they were done, almost all were connected; okay so the trays were too small for 9 biscuits at a time. Touching them, I realised they were really soft, and panicked, adding more flour to the mixture. My worries were for nothing though, because as they cooled, they hardened. Simon came in at a good time, and he and I tried them; they were really good. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and packed with Milo flavour; more like cookies really. Thoroughly satisfied, I went about baking the rest. Almost 2 hours later, and a lunch break mid-way, I had successfully baked 51 Milo biscuits! I must have done about 7 batches (8 including the first lot), with 6 biscuits in each; utilising both ovens. I’d bought a nice big Tupperware container to put them all in, and then put them in the fridge, ready for tomorrow; I was very happy. I went downstairs, and talked with my family for a few hours, trying to get my speech for Japanese started. It’s just a 2-3 minute speech about anything. I decided to talk about my 故郷 (furusato – hometown). Soon after talking with the family, Yuji came in, to get me to sign a card for Asami; I wrote in yellow. Not getting much further with my speech, I went up to make dinner, noticing Asami in the computer room, dressed in a Kimono.

I made gyudon for dinner, Jacinthe graciously letting me borrow her soy sauce; I’ve been out of it for a while now. On the TV, were the highlights from the Olympic ceremony, and I realised I’d missed out on a really amazing show; the visual effects were incredible. Katie came in, and swelled with pride once more. Instead of going back down, I ended up staying and chatting in the kitchen with Katie, Ash, and Rachel until 9, when I had to do cleaning; again, Hugo was out. Still, I am most satisfied with the cleaning group. Perhaps it’s just because we only have to clean three times a week, but it feels like much less of a chore than it did last semester. Chelsea was once again helping out; even though it’s not her week. After finishing up, I went downstairs, showered, and got everything ready for tomorrow. Jeremy and Rachael were still up for going (after I explained that it wouldn’t be happening today), and Simon will be joining us too. We’re going to leave around 7; see how well that goes…