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 260 - 17th of May

11:12pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Two courses down, two to go; so happy!!! Well, I’ll be even happier come Wednesday evening, after I’ve handed in my Gender and Sexuality essay. After that, all I’ll have to worry about is getting home in one piece; so much less stressful. Anyway, today was another beautiful warm day, but we’re expecting rain soon…I woke up at 8, and after a quick breakfast and shower, I did a bit more study for Reading and Writing, before going to face the inevitable. It actually turned out to be not that bad at all. I read a letter from Nanny just before starting, and that gave me the extra bit of encouragement I needed. I got out of their feeling good, and shortly made my way back home. After lunch, I took a nap. I had intended to only stay in bed for half an hour, but ended up hitting the snooze button about three times, and didn’t get up until about 1:30. After that though I felt better, and got stuck into researching for my Gender and Sexuality; this consisted of me scouring my reading package for anything that related to my topic. I’m talking about marriage in Japan, and how it has changed, and continues to change; should be good.

Carly came round a bit after 2:30 and I continued my research until almost 6; she brought chocolate, chips and cookies to keep me motivated. At the request of Mori Sempai, I went into uni to play Miyabi with her and Maarika one last time; we played in front of some of the students from other clubs. We ended on a high, but it’s still sad to think that’s the last time; I’ll definitely have to pick it up again one day. Hopefully Mori, and Midori can come to our graduation on Saturday; I’d really like to see them one last time. After that, we made our way back home, and I made cup noodles for Carly, and pizza for myself; I love easy meals. After eating in the lounge, I sat with everyone in the kitchen for about half an hour, talking about anything; I don’t have many more opportunities to have these kinds of interactions so I’m making the most of what’s left. After getting back downstairs at about 8:45, I spent the next hour and a half revising for tomorrow’s Reading exam; I’m not looking forward to it at all. Unlike the exam today, which focused on 3 chapters, the exam tomorrow will be on the entire textbook; 10 chapters!!! I think I’ll be okay; I know most of the grammar and vocab. It’s just a matter of being able to get everything done in an hour and 20 minutes. Well, I’d better get some sleep now; get one more course out of the way tomorrow…

Day 80 - 18th of November

11:28pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
Yay, just finished my history essay; finally!!! Today was a much nicer day; the sun even decided to come out for a little while. I got up a bit late this morning, so had to rush to get my homework done, but got to class just on time. Second to last grammar pattern in Speaking today; "Until...". In Reading and Writing, we're up to the second last chapter of Kanji; not long left now. After class I made my way back home. On the basketball courts, elementary kids were practicing marching band. That they could perform such a feat simply astounds me. It goes to show just how much pressure is put on Japanese people from such a young age. I guess in many aspects it pays off.

The dog that ripped my jeans hates me now. As soon as it saw me it instantly knew who I was and reared up and growled. I feel really bad about that now; I hope I haven't caused it any undue stress. I got home and put some rice home, then got my homework done for tomorrow. Had lunch (rice, and left over chicken from last night) then worked on my essay solidly until Diego got back at about 6 15. We went up and made dinner at 6 30. I decided to make yakisoba with the beef strips I had; really yummy. Then I had three donuts for dessert; what a fatty I am! At about 8:30 I continued to work solidly on my essay, and now I have finally got it finished; such a good feeling. I'll be turning 19 in less than 30 minutes, and while I'm tempted to stay up till midnight, I think it would be best if I went to bed now. Deigo's already been asleep for over an hour. Good night world, see you again when I'm 19...