Day 217 - 4th of April

11:12pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Happy Easter; chocolate overdose!!! I have a headache now, but it was so totally worth it; all I have left is two Cadbury crème eggs. Today was great…We didn’t end up getting home from Karaoke until 3 this morning; it was so much fun. I slept until about 9:30, and then went up to have breakfast; vegemite and cheese on English muffins. I was joined by Ash and Katie, and we sat for a while, before drifting off to our own devices. Since Hugo was still in bed (he no doubt had a late night too) I set my laptop up in the lounge to Skype with Mum, Nanny and Poppy; my Dad and brother are off camping with scouts. I tucked into my first crème egg, and soon had another; best Easter eggs ever! We talked until my laptop put itself into safety mode as the batteries were almost dead. By this time, Hugo had gotten up, so I went back to my room and set up once more. I ended up talking with them till about 2, after my laptop had shut itself down twice from overheating; silly thing. After that, I gave it a rest, and got stuck into some study. I spent almost 3 hours just going over the grammar patterns for chapter 7, and now I have a much better understanding of them; I’m really pleased with myself. From now on I’m going to try to revise every day, even if it’s only for half an hour; I really need to do it.

During that time, I started on my dark chocolate bunny, and got halfway through it before I didn’t feel so good. I worked on my blog until a bit after 7, and then went up to make gyudon for dinner. I sat with Rachel and Ash, and Jacinthe joined us. After finishing my meal, I decided to play Easter bunny, and went downstairs to get my bag of Lindor chocolate eggs. I gave the first one to Hugo, and then went to the computer room to give one to Simon; we caught up on each other’s weekends. I went upstairs to find Jazz just about to enter the elevator, and quickly gave her one, before deciding to jump in with her; I need her battery charger. After getting that, I went to Rachael and Sarah’s room, and gave them an egg each, and heard about their wonderful weekends. Then I went downstairs to find Katie and Julie in the kitchen, and dispersed the rest of the eggs to them, and Ash and Rachel; and I even had one left for me. I stayed in the kitchen till 9, when I remembered I had told Carly I’d be online, and quickly went down. I had a good chat with her, and Jamie, while continuing on my blog; almost up-to-date. I’m feeling a lot better now, and I’m sure I’ll be 100% tomorrow; just need a good sleep…

Day 177 - 23rd of February

9:43pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
It was another wonderfully warm, sunny day today. I slept in till about 9, and then dragged myself out of bed to pancakes for breakfast. After eating, I helped Okaasan clean up the kitchen a bit; she was very grateful. It was really in a dreadful state though. I’d actually gone up last night, and helped Yuji to put all the dirty pots and pans out on the table, as a statement to try to get people to clean up after themselves; I don’t think it’ll work, but it’s something I guess. I got to uni, and did a quick revision of the vocab words before having the quiz for Speaking. After class, I went down to the lounge, and sat with Biancha, got my homework done, and helped her with study for her map quiz in History this afternoon. Soon enough it was time for Religion and we had a little bit of a history lesson, focusing on how Buddhism was pushed aside in favour of Shinto to bring power back to the Emperor in the early 20th century, emphasising nationalism, and homogeny. I made my way home straight afterwards, talking with Nadezhda for a while. When I got back I realised that by bike, it really only takes 5 minutes to get to university; that’s much better than 15 minutes walking. I was so hungry, so you can imagine how happy I was when I finished off the rest of the Nachos; so good. I’m definitely going to have to make that again; hopefully find some spicier sauce for it next time.

After lunch, I went downstairs to find Simon in the computer room, and we chatted for quite a while, eventually moving into the lounge. Then we went to Sanko, so Simon could by some food for dinner tonight, since his plan to go out with people for gyudon had fallen through. I ended up only buying some bananas, which I was very happy about; always spent too much money at supermarkets. We got back just before 6, and the fact that it was still light out was wonderful. The windows were open in the kitchen, and there was no need for the A/C. Simon was hungry and asked for my vegemite to put on some bread until he realised he’d actually picked up メープル (maple) bread; that would’ve been terrible with vegemite. It smelt amazing though, and Simon is letting me have two pieces as compensation; score. I’m going to have them with the rest of my pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. Katie was in the kitchen and, remember that statement Yuji was trying to make; well, she decided it was a good idea to clean it all herself. We tried valiantly to stop her, but she was a woman on a mission. I ended up helping her in the end; I just couldn’t restrain myself.

Getting back downstairs, I spent the next hour and a half uploading photos on deviant art and facebook; I’m way behind. Satisfied with the amount I’d done, I went up and made dinner (yakisoba), and then sat with Ash and Rachel. We talked until 9, and when Katie came in Yuji thanked her for her work in the kitchen. Then it was time for cleaning, and even though it wasn’t my week, I felt compelled to help. I really don’t mind doing it, and it means I can chat with people a bit longer. Finally, it was time to come back down here. I’m going to do some kanji practice after this, and then call it a night. It’s so nice to be able to sit here in a t-shirt, and no socks; I’m even sweating, which I guess isn’t so nice. Anyway, I tried my new soap this morning, and I smelt great; I really did feel smell with my whole heart. Pretty soon I’ll be able to start shipping back all my winter clothes, and hopefully make room to buy some more summer clothes; my hunger for clothing is insatiable. I still have to buy some boots, and my Converse are getting pretty tattered too… well, I’ll see how I go. And wow I really need a haircut!!!

Day175 - 21st of February

11:35pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Today was such a nice, sunny day. Perfect weather for climbing a mountain; and that’s just what I did… I got up at 8:15, and readied myself to be out of the seminar house by 9. Well I actually took a little longer, but still managed to make it to Makino station before 9:30; yay for bike. I got on the local train, which took a little over 30 minutes to get to Fushimi Inari; I played Harvest Moon on the way. Getting off at the station, I met with the others (a disappointingly small number), and we set out for the shrine; after waiting for the next train, which no one else got off. I tried my hardest to stay close to the professor for the field trip, to gain as much information as possible; and it was very interesting. Even though we took the same path I’d been on before (it is after all the main route), many things along the way seemed much more meaningful. There was a stone, where you have a question in your head and, if the stone is heavier then you though it was when you lift it, the answer is no, but if it is lighter, then it’s a yes; I got a no.

And later on, there was a “coughing shrine” – basically a manifestation of Inari that deals with peoples coughs. This is interesting because the onomatopoeia for both coughing and the cry of the fox is “kon kon”, and Inari is most often portrayed as a fox; Japan loves its puns. This particular shrine even received mail, from people who either want their coughing cured, or in thanks. Nearby, we got to see a woman practicing waterfall purification; the water must’ve been freezing. Inari is a really amazing god actually. Undoubtedly the most personalised, it has so many different manifestations. I got some film, and of course took plenty of photos; sometimes falling behind a bit. Another interesting shrine, right at the bottom of the mountain, was the one to pacify executed animals i.e. the ones we kill to eat. We finished up around 1, and I decided to make my way straight home, not seeing much point in going to the flea market. All in all, it was a good field trip. Fushimi Inari is a beautiful place to visit; I think I might go back one more time during cherry blossom season.

Getting back to Makino, I bought some bread at Mini Stop, and then went over to where I parked my bike. When I found it wasn’t there, I freaked out and though, “My bike’s been taken away, and it’s only the second day I’ve had it!” Luckily, I soon located it, propped up in a nearby gutter; phew, I was so relieved! The ride back was very pleasant, although my legs did hurt a bit; oh well, it is good exercise. I made some lunch (avocado which corn chips on top), and watched TV for a while. There was a really cool quiz show on, where the contestant had to answer a question while doing jump rope. They had to get 6 people on without stuffing up; that would have been incredibly tiring. Japanese game shows are so active; and we wonder why they’re all so skinny. After that, I slept for a few hours, having developed a headache; probably all the exercise was too much for me, how sad. I got up at about 5:30, and cleaned up the room, and sorted my shelves and desk out; looks much better now.

I had dinner a little after 7:30 (heated up butaman and rice), and caught up with Rachel, who had been to the flea market; she didn’t end up getting any kimono though. We sat with Alvaro and Tristan (my next door neighbours), and talked about heaps of stuff. Simon came in a bit later, back from his exciting day at USJ. Since he didn’t have any dinner, he asked if he could have some bread and some vegemite, and how could I possibly refuse a fellow Aussie vegemite? We got Rachael to try some, and she hated it; the look on her face was priceless. Later, when everyone else had gone, Simon put on some rice, and we talked for a few more hours, and he told me about how Australia is making genetically modified lamb with a chocolate taste, I an attempt to increase exports to Japan. I don’t know if this is true, but that’s absolutely crazy; who would want to eat chocolate-tasting lamb!? Speaking of chocolate tasting things, Jeremy found “sparkling chocolate” at Top World, a soft drink; I want to try some… I finally got back down here at 10, and did some kanji practice for a little over an hour. I guess it’s time for bed now, uni tomorrow, and Hugo should be back in the afternoon.