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 169 - 15th of February

天気：雨天
Well today was certainly much more mundane than yesterday. And, it was raining; though that wasn’t particularly unpleasant… I got ready for uni, and fixed up a few things for my speech, before picking up an umbrella with a Seminar House 2 sticker on it (since I haven’t bought a new one yet), before making my way out into the rain. I made it to class just after the bell rang, and was shortly asked to present; that’s when I hit a snag. I asked to use the computer, and sensei gave me a perplexed look, not understanding my intentions. I told him I wanted to use the projector, because I had a power point presentation, and then he explained that it wasn’t necessary. I insisted on it, but he said he wanted us to just speak, with nothing else. He then asked if I’d like to do it tomorrow instead and, although downtrodden I was ready to present today, so I did it. I managed to get through it okay, tweaking it in some places where I would have otherwise had visual aid. I think the class was interested enough, though I’m sure they would have appreciated it more with the photos; oh well I was happy enough with it. I was asked a few questions, and people were surprised when I told them that we had kangaroos living on campus (always a great selling point), so that was good.

I got through the rest of the class, and then went down to the lounge to find Simon. I talked with him, and got my homework done before going to my Reading and Writing class; that was rather uneventful. Straight after class, I made my way back home, the rain still coming down heavily; I was excited about lunch. Almost at the dorms, I noticed an Austria key chain (from Hetalia), neglected on the side of the road. I walked past it, but then couldn't help myself from going back to retrieve it. i put him on the shelf with the others, then went straight to the kitchen. My avocado had finally ripened, and I had some English muffins to put it on; it was so good! I got talking with a guy from Adelaide named Adam. I knew straight away he was Australian by the way he was dressed; no self respecting American would be caught dead in skinny jeans, xD. On TV, was a Black and White Audrey Hepburn Movie, called Sabrina; I found out the title later. I ended up watching all of it; it was quite good actually. Then I went back downstairs and napped. At around 5:30, for no apparent reason (I think I was going up to the kitchen), I went out of my room and had to do a double take when I saw who was on TV; Jacinthe!!!

Jacinthe was on a Japanese game show; along with 4 other international students from Kansai Gaidai. Her roommate Julie (who is coincidentally a friend of Amber), was in the lounge watching it, and I made my way in, beckoning Simon and Tomo. All I kept thinking, and saying, was wow she looks good on TV, and If that was me I’d be pooing myself; for want of a better phrase. All the students did really well (most of them I knew), and they all looked so calm and cool. The basic premise of the show was celebrities answering questions concerning Vancouver and the Olympics, with the students holding up possible answers and asserting why their answer was correct. They were on for about 30 minutes, and then the news came on; gosh it was just so surreal. We all kept on expecting Jacinthe to come around the corner, although that would’ve been impossible since it was broadcast live. I do remember Jacinthe mentioning this to me last week, but I had forgotten, so I was really glad that I did get to see it; so lucky. We watched the TV for a little while longer, and then Tomo and Simon went out to get some sushi.

I on the other hand went up to the kitchen to have dinner; leftovers. I sat with Julie, watching TV (again), and we were soon joined by Katie and Rachel, Jeremy, and later Ash.. Rachel was acting really weird (well not that weird for me), and we wondered what had brought this on; sleep deprivation? Jacinthe returned, and we all congratulated her with applause and kind words. She sat down with us, and told us all about the lead up, saying she was more nervous in the practice run. Simon came in and asked her how she’d gotten the opportunity, and she told us her Japanese teacher had requested people from his classes, chiefly Canadians; there was also an Australian and an American. Simon also let me know he was buying a new bike, and asked if I wanted his old one; for free, why not. I offered up the last of my Milo biscuits (after heating them up), and vowed to make them again; they were really good With Rachel continuing to act strange, Katie was in hysterics, and when we all retired for the night, she was still laughing in the hallway, and up the elevator, escorted by Ash. As for me, I spent the rest of the night trying desperately to get my blog updated. Jacinthe came in and gave me a Canada pin, which I preceded to put on my bag, and then got chatting with Hugo for a while. He wasn’t having much fun at all with all his Japanese homework, and came to me for help a few times; I was more than happy to. I got the rest of my homework done, and then it was time for bed…