Day 187 - 5th of March

天気：曇り

Today was a great day; a great start to the weekend... I got my morning Japanese classes over with in the morning, and then decided to go home for lunch; I also had a little nap. I got back to uni for my Gender and Sexuality class at 1:15, in which we talked about masculinity and rites of passage to manhood; a bit of cross over from last semester. After class, we picked up our tickets for Takarazuka, and also received a plot summary, which will be a great help I’m sure; and another week of uni was over! I went downstairs to meet Rachel, where she proceeded to tell me that she’d forgotten the paperwork. So, we rode back home, she got the necessary papers, and we were back out in a flash. Riding down to the station was again, quite terrifying, and I don’t think it’s worth it, especially since when we got there, the bikes already in the parking space Simon and I had found, had all received tickets. Luckily, we were in and out of the city office in about 10 minutes, and weren’t caught. Since it was only about 3:30, we decided to go on a bit of a bike ride; it was way too early to pick up dinner.

I took Rachel up to the Okami shrine on the top of the forested hill (which was no easy feat with our bikes), and the plum grove there was in full bloom; I wish I’d brought my camera. We enjoyed that for a while, and then took in the view, sitting under a gazebo for a few hours just chatting; it was really peaceful. At about 5:30, when it did start to get cold, we decided it was time to go, and made our way back towards the university, to New Delhi. Rachel, had a list of what everyone wanted, so it was pretty easy to order everything. We had to wait about 20 minutes for it to be ready, so in that time we went to Fresco, and I picked up a few goodies for tonight’s TV viewing, including some great oranges. We left our bikes at Fresco (since they were less in the way there), and got back to New Delhi a bit early. In the time we had to wait, they gave us mango laisse, and when we did finally get the food, they gave us a huge discount; at least $10 off!!! We walked back to Fresco, and promptly rode back home; we didn’t want the food getting cold.

Getting back, I immediately went upstairs to heat up my yakisoba, kinda regretting not getting New Delhi. But, I don’t think I’ll have to wait very long for my next fix. For the price, and quality (and quantity) of the food, we thinking we’re going to make New Delhi part of our Friday night tradition. As soon as I got back down with my food, we started watching Firefly, and by the end of the night, we’d watched the last 4 episodes, and the movie “Serenity”. There were of course, a few breaks, in between. I got to eat my profiteroles, and sakura-an pan, which tasted amazing; just like the ice cream. We also had a bit of an interruption when Simon came in, telling us his keys were locked in his room; his roommate was out. So, he’d found Hugo, and borrowed his keys in order to get back in here, and then had to go back out to give them back. So, he needed someone to open the gate, and side door for him. His coming in the lounge room to ask me though was completely unnecessary, as he was able to get in when someone else returned home. It was about 1:30 by the time we finished, and then Simon came in to sleep on the lounge; I talked with him for a little while, then got to bed myself. I really enjoyed the movie, and it did help to tie up most of the loose ends the series had brought up. But, although I felt closure, I really wish there was more; the series was a lot of fun, and the characters were great.

Day 174 - 20th of February

天気：曇り
I finally have a new bike, and the best part about it is that I got it for free… I woke up at about 10 this morning, and talked with Simon, who showed his eagerness in getting all the bike registration stuff done this morning; he had Otousan on his back because he’s only allowed to have one bike. So, as soon as I got ready, we made our way over to the bike shop just past Sanko, where he had first purchased the bike. I insisted we walk, since the handle bars on the bike were very loose. Getting there, the old man who runs the store got everything in order for putting the bike in my name. There are actually four stickers you need on your bike – one for the police (a crime prevention sticker), one with your name and address on it, one to register with the university so you can park there, and one so you can park at the seminar house! The bike shop guy proceeded to take off the crime prevention sticker (he had to use a blow torch to get it off), and the address sticker, replacing them with mine. Then I got him to fix my handle bars; a few quick turns with an Allen key and it was sweet. Now I could legally ride the bike, and I did so in earnest, to the university with Simon.

We went straight to the student affairs office in the main administration building, to get a coupon out of a machine, to take to the CIE so I could register my bike with the uni. Getting there, I had to get a photo copy of the paper I got from the bike shop, and fill out a form, presenting that with the coupon; oh Japan, you and your bureaucracy. Anyway, that was all fine, and I eventually got the sticker for my bike; now I could park at the uni. We rode back in the direction of home, deciding to check out Avail. We spent a little while in there, and Simon found something he like (I didn’t), but was in a bit of a rush to get home, so he decided to think on it. He left before me, since he was meeting someone at 11:30. I was in no rush, but ended up leaving not long after him, not really fussed. I ended up meeting him out the front of the seminar house, and he asked me to let Otousan know the switching of hands had taken place, and he no longer had two bikes. I had to talk to Otousan anyway, to get the final sticker I needed; gotta stick ‘em all. So that was that; I was a bona fide bike owner.

I went back to my room, and got talking to Carly. She’s planning to come back to Japan for a two week holiday, with a really good deal on the plane fare. She’s going to come around the end of May, and looks forward to seeing everyone again, and buying heaps more kimonos at Toji; crazy girl. At around two I had lunch, explaining to yet another person what that green stuff was on my toast; I never get tired of that. I really have been enjoying my avocado and rice on toast for lunch; it’s so good. Back in my room, I did some more chatting, getting my blog updated, before changing the futon linen and vacuuming the floor. After that I was a bit restless, so decided to test out my new bike. I had heard of a great discount store called ドン・キホーテ (Don Kihote – Don Quijote ~ I don’t know the significance of the name. It’s a chain almost exclusive to Japan, with a few stores in Hawaii), past Midori on Highway 1. By foot, it would’ve taken over an hour to get there, but now that I had my bike, it would be totally doable, so I went for it. I’ve pushed the limits of how far I’m willing to walk; now I have to push the limits of how far I’m to bike.

Everything just feels physically closer when you have a bike, and I managed to get there with 30 minutes, the penguin mascot and bright colours making it stand out. I parked out back, and entered. It was absolutely packed, floor to ceiling, of stuff; incredibly dense too. It had two storeys, and I casually browsed, not really finding anything of interest; it was after all, a junk shop. My face did light up however when I finally stumbled upon the imported junk foods section, and found Tim Tams and Doritos. And wow the Tim Tams were way cheaper than they had been on Rokkosan; I guess that makes sense. I didn’t get too carried away though, mindful of having only a small basket at the front of the bike. I picked up a few other things, and went to pay. Don Quijote is duty-free for short term residents if they show there passport, and if they spent at least 10,000円 (over $100 dollars in the store); that was definitely not happening. Happy with what I got, I made my way back along the highway, wanting to check out a few more stores I had spotted on the way. I went to a video-game/DVD place (forgotten the name of it), and got chatting with a random Japanese guy for a little while. After browsing for a little while, I left and went in a nearby second-hand clothes shop; a rarity in Japan indeed. Finding nothing I liked, I made my way back to Midori, past car dealers, restaurants, and Sega world. Of course, as soon as I got there, I couldn’t resist going to play one of the electric pianos on display.

After that, I went and browsed the games, and picked up Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the DS, along with a case and screen protectors (with Jack Skellington stickers). I finally got back home at 7:30; I was a little surprised at how long I’d been out. The group were just about ready to watch some more Firefly, so I quickly made scrambled eggs, and took it downstairs. At 9, Rachael had kitchen cleaning duty, and I went up to help; I had to wash my dishes anyway. Biancha, seeing that I was help called me 豪い (erai – admirable), and Yuji went on to explain that erai is used when someone does something even though they don’t have to; there’s probably a good English word for that. It’s also really cool because that word uses the kanji 豪, which stands for Australia; so I was honoured. Getting back downstairs, we continued our viewing and had watched 4 episodes by about 11:30; only 6 more to go. Sleepy, and knowing I’d have to get up early the next day, I went to bed soon after…

Day 173 - 19th of February

天気：曇り

9 o’clock classes are not fun at all, especially when you have a vocab quiz. I managed to get to uni on time though, with the help of my alarm. The quiz was in Reading and Writing, and it went okay, then we spent the rest of the lesson going over old grammar points, just with a lot of new kanji in the mix this time. I went straight from that to a lesson test in Speaking; such a relief when it was over. After that I went down to the lounge, and sat with Rachel, Rachael, and Sarah, watching the live streaming of the ice skating on Rachel’s laptop. Since it was Sarah’s birthday, Rachel had decided to take her to New Delhi (an Indian restaurant) for lunch, and pay for her meal. I hadn’t eaten there, but had heard many good things about it, so asked if I could join; Simon come along too. Rachel decided to stay and watch her ice skating; she’s really into it. So off we went; it’s just outside the main gate. And wow, what a spread! Simon had to quickly go and sort out his insurance so we didn’t end up ordering until he came back, and then the food just kept on coming.

To start off, we all got a soup, and then they brought out our main meals. Simon and I both got the “B Lunch” which consisted of a salad (with some deep-fried eggplant), a huge piece of Naan (it was literally falling off the sides of the plate), a curry (we could chose from two, and the level of spice), saffron rice, this other really spicy thing, and a mango lassi (mango yoghurt drink). And then they brought out another type of bread with coconut inside; and this was all for 700円. Far out, I was so full afterwards; I had to ask to take out the coconut bread because I just couldn’t eat it at the time. It was really good though, but maybe a bit too spicy for me; next time I’ll choose a lower level spice. Rachael had to leave early, to get to her class in time for a test, and Simon was supposed to go to class too (but didn’t because he wanted to enjoy his food), so when we left Simon rushed off, Sarah went to 7/11, and I went to the post office to send some postcards.

Getting back to uni, I sat down with Ash, and we were soon joined by Rachael, and shortly after, Rachel and Katie. After playing some Plants vs. Zombies, and watching some more Olympics, I had to get to class. We signed up for the Takarazuka trip today, and talked about gendered language in Japanese. The professor brought in some native speakers, to demonstrate different aspects of how language can be made more masculine, or more feminine; really interesting. Then we watched a short clip on the making of the 土俵 (Dohyo – the ring where the sumo match takes place). The professor told us that next month the sumo tournament would be held in Osaka, and I think it would be a great opportunity to go and see a match; so that’s something. After class, I walked home, on the way talking with Sydney, before she was given a lift with Maureen on her bike; I’ll be able to do that for people soon. Getting back, I got my blog up-to-date and soon enough it was time for dinner. Somehow I was still hungry enough to eat my leftover yakisoba.

I sat with the group (as they shall be called for now, since I couldn’t be bothered writing all their names), and Rachael showed me some awesome goodies she’d found at Animate today; a Final Fantasy AC novel complete and postcard book. I am so jealous. Then she proceeded to tell me about all her story ideas that she hasn’t gotten round to writing yet; I got cake as a reward for listening. I wish she would, so I could read them. Katie bought Sarah a slice of cake, and we wished her a happy birthday, before getting ready to go downstairs for our Friday night viewing session. When I got down to the lounge, I found Yuji watching a DVD; he asked if it was okay if we waited another 30 minutes. So in the mean time, I went back to my room, and saw Hugo off; weekend in Tokyo, lucky guy. Then I sat in the computer room with Simon and Rachael. When he was finished, Yuji joined us, and I asked him again about the A/C; for some reason the filter warning light wasn’t turning off, even after I cleaned it. So, we went to Otousan, and he knew the solution straight away; the reset button on the controller. It was as easy as that. Thanking Yuji, I roused the troops (went up to the kitchen and told them it was time), and then we all gathered in the lounge with all our treats. I ate my coconut bread; it was really tasty.

It was about 9:30 by that time, and for the next 3 hours we watched 4 episodes of a really cool Sci-fi/Western series (weird mix right) called firefly. The story is set in 2517. The Earth has been drained of all its resources, forcing mankind to emigrate to a new star system. The only two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, have fused to form the central federal government, called the Alliance, resulting in the fusion of the two cultures as well. The plot revolves around a captain and his crew who make a living on the outskirts of the society, as part of the pioneer culture that exists on the fringes of the system. The special effects are pretty good, and as a result of the cultural fusion, Mandarin Chinese is spoken often (usually when they are swearing), and there are kanji all over the place. There aren’t any aliens, which is a nice change, just a really scary cannibalistic group of nomadic humans called Reavers. The only thing I really don’t like about it is the country western music, especially in the opening credits. When everyone started singing, it was sickening; Rachel had the same sentiment. Actually, Rachel and Katie had also never seen this before. Sadly though, the series was axed after the 14 episode; so a lot was left in the air. Luckily, after a huge push by the fan base, they made a movie, which I’m told explains most things. And that was the end of my night; I was very tired.