Day 248 - 5th of May

9:12pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Finally got my presentation finished!!! It feels like the last three days have all merged together, and I’ve been working on my presentation continuously. Tomorrow, classes resume and the final, nauseating drop on the rollercoaster ride that has been my time in Japan is upon me; I don’t know if I’m ready to take the plunge. I have just over 20 days left here, and it feels like nothing; all of a sudden, I’ve got too much to do. I’ve written everything I have to do down (as far as assignments and exams are concerned), and I think I can get it all done satisfactorily. As for all the other stuff well, I’ll just have to squeeze it in where ever I can. Tomorrow, I am definitely going to get my two packed boxes sent off, and get one more, larger box to stuff things in. Anyway, that’s tomorrow. Today it was kid’s day, not that I got to enjoy it since I was inside all day… I got up at 9, and after breakfast and shower, I worked on my presentation for two hours, then played KH, then worked on it some more. I had lunch a bit after 2, and then worked on my presentation until 6:30, finally getting the script finished; great day right.

I printed it off, and found Yuji in the kitchen, and he was generous enough to check it over for me; that was such a big help. He told me my way of writing was very easy to follow, and he only fixed or changed a few things; I was very happy with myself. I then had dinner, and after dishing out the pasta bake from last night, I put the rest in the freezer; hopefully it’ll be okay. I sat and talked with Katie and Sarah for a little while (the end was on all of our minds), and then came back down here to fix up the script and power point presentation. Happy with all that, I read it over a few times, and timed it. Well, it turns out that it’s about 9 minutes long, and it’s only supposed to be 5; whoops. In a way it gives me a lot of stake just in case I forget some sentences, which I’m sure I will. The only memo we’re allowed to have has to be written on the designated piece of yellow paper that has 10 lines; one sentence per line. The problem is, ever though I’ve written really small, most of my sentences don’t fit on line. But, it is a memo after all, so I guess that’s good enough. I’ll have a few hours in the morning to memorise it, and then I’ll be performing at 12. Even if it doesn’t go that well, I’ll be glad to get it out of the way tomorrow; means I can move onto the next task. Well, I’m going to have and early night tonight. Hugo’s returning in the morning…

Day 199 - 17th of March

10:53pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

It seems as though the weather’s finally cleared up; darn, I’ve probably just gone and jinxed it now. Anyway, while it was a nice day, I spent most of it couped up indoors, working relentlessly (somewhat) on my essay for Gender and Sexuality. I’m over the halfway point so I’m happy; that’s what I wanted to achieve by tonight… This morning, I got up around 9, and had some vegemite on toast for breakfast; I finally took the two slices of bread that Simon owed me. Then I studied for my Gender and Sexuality quiz, while simultaneously looking of more quotes to use in my essay; killing two birds with one stone. Finally, when it was time to get to uni, I rugged up despite the sunny weather; it’s still a bit nippy. In Reading and Writing class we got our sakubun back and there was unfortunately quite a bit of red; so many little mistakes. So now, as part of assessment, we have to rewrite it and correct the errors to gain up to an extra 10 points; something to look forward to over spring break. After Reading and Writing, I went straight up to Gender and Sexuality, and waited around until class started. The quiz turned out to be (as expected), quite easy, and there were even some questions on there I remembered from last semester in Cultural and Everyday Life; cross-over much. Well, it’s good for me I guess.

I think I finished in about 30 minutes, and upon turning it in, I got the refund from the Takarazuka trip; score. Then I made my way to my bike, and went to do some grocery shopping at Kirindo and Fresco. Getting back home, I had lunch, and watched some more sumo on TV. While I thought it would be fun to go see a tournament in person, I actually think it would get a bit boring after a while; I'm happy to just watch it on TV. After lunch, I got stuck into the essay, having little breaks periodically. I went up for dinner at around 7, and had my defrosted stew. Spongebob Squarepants was on the TV, the Japanese dub kind of failing; it was funny to watch though. I was very good tonight, and excused myself from the conversation at a sensible time, to get back to my essay. I really wish I didn’t procrastinate so much, but I think I’m getting through it at a good pace; I should, no, I will get it done by tomorrow night. Tomorrow at 11, I have my mid-term exam for Speaking, which I studied for over the weekend, and I can study some more for in the morning; I think I’ll be fine. Three days down, two to go; it feels good to be past the halfway mark… Oh and Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

Day 65 - 3rd of November

10:32pm　セミナーハウス
天気：寒い
Although I woke up with a sore throat, I didn't let that stop me have a productive day, although it did spend most of it indoors; it's freezing outside. It's been 10 degrees all day, and it must be colder now. Diego's not back yet. He and Jessica left for Osaka at about 10 this morning. As for me, I did my washing (including hand washing my new clothes), cleaned the room, and got a good part of my Japanese presentation done. Carly hung out with me for most of the day; it was good to have the company. It was not until about 4 that I went out; to Sanko for groceries. I came back soon after and found Amber with Carly. I wanted to make katsudon for dinner tonight, so I looked up a recipe and realised that i was missing one of the ingredients; bonito flakes to make the stock. Amber needed to go grocery shopping, so out again I went, coming back triumphant.

It took a bit of preparation, and a lot of dishes, but I finally made katsudon. It wasn't as nice as the one I get at the cafeteria, but not bad for a first attempt I guess. the meat I got was so cheap; 4 pork chops, half-price at just over 400円. I only cooked two, and I only ate one, so the other is left over for tomorrow night. Even though it's a national holiday Sanko was still open, and the sales were still on. I bought a persimmon, and tried it afterwards for dessert; it wasn't that good. Oh well, tried something new.

10:49pm
Diego's just got home. They ended up going to Osaka castle, Yodobashi camera, and the Pokemon centre in Umeda. I still have to go there. Well, I think the cold, or virus, or whatever that's been going around has finally hit me. I've just got a sore throat, but I also feel really drained. I'm just going to have a shower, then go to bed. Tomorrow, uni again...

Day 43 - 12th of October

9:27pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Lazy day today; for the most part. I woke up at 10:30, had pancakes for breakfast; I'm going to get fat eating them I know. Stuffed around on the computer, ate lunch and stuffed around on the computer some more. Even though it's a holiday for us (体育の日 - tai-iku no hi - health and sports day), the Japanese students still had uni, so I assumed that koto club would still be on; I was right. I got there and it ended up being just four of us foreign students; the Japanese girls filtered in as time past. We did a lot of practice, and every so often I'd have to get to stretch my legs. At about 6:30 we had a meeting, about what we'd be doing at INFES. Apparently, we'll be playing there for two of the three days, and we'll also be selling treats. After the festival, we're going to go out for dinner and karaoke after; so excited! So yeah, practiced some more and then went home. Made dinner; stir fry again (enough for two meals). And now I've got some reading and study to do, so I'll finish now...