Uber post with pictures and stuff :D
Hurrah! [in readiness for Pirates next week] Huzzah! An uber post!
As always, I am doing wonderfully and having an amazing time. The most exciting thing that happened this week was when Wodger the wonder laptop picked up a wireless connection last night and I got to talk to people, including a webcam conversation with my darling brother who is getting even less sleep than I am.
But here I shall take you back a bit seeing as the last update I did was weeks ago. I have pictures and stories.
Golden Week
On Thursday of Golden week (which was the third of May) Gen and I went to Nara. Nara is about and hour an a half/two hours south-east of Kyoto. So we had a fun-filled trip on the packed train with a million families and screaming children.
This was taken at the hall of the big Budda statue. It does have a name but I’ve forgotten it. Whoops.
This is one of the huge statue guard things that scare the crap out of me, even though this one looks a bit “stop! In the name of love/ before you break my heart…”
The actual statue ‘Daibutsu’ (Big Budda) with teeny-tiny person. Gen and I decided that he looks rather stoned. “Look at me and my shiny, shiny friends. It’s all good. It is aaaaall good!”
Gen and I being disrespectful. “It’s all good!”
The deer will eat anything. They’re not as crazy as the Miyajima deer, where I feared for my life, but fairly crazy. It’s funny because this one is poking its tongue out.
On Friday Steph came up from Osaka and we organised a picnic in the imperial palace gardens with some Japanese friends and some other exchange students.
Gen and I rode our bikes there because we’re cheap and didn’t want to pay for the train when it would be quicker to ride our bikes. Steph didn’t ride, obviously so Gen tried to dink her. They failed, much to mine and a nearby policeman’s amusement.
Picnicing peoples. Steph, me, Mai, (forgotten name, I’m a horrible person), Flavia (Italian) and Marlon (Dutch). Mai is one of the few relatively normal Japanese girls I’ve met here. That said, the first time I met her she ran up to me said “you’re from Australia?? That is soooo cool!” then ran away to tell her friends, leaving me wondering what the hell had just happened. Japanese people are so strange.
Then on Saturday I went with a group of exchange students (there were ten of us) to Tottori which is on the north coast of Honshu. It’s about 150kms on the map but it took us five hours on the train. I counted fifty-two stops. DEATH! Anyway, once we got there it was lovely. The water was freezing but with a bit of screaming and charging, Gen and I got in, earning ourselves the title of “Crazy Australians” which we still answer to.
This is Ralphi the gay German tourist. Not really. Well, he is German and a tourist but I don’t think he’s actually gay. He’s not an exchange student at KUFS but a friend of another German student who came to visit.
We had a sand castle building competition and, boys being boys, this is what they came up with:
“Boobs Castle” or “Boobs-jo”
Here is the happy, happy gecko like lizard thing that we found at our youth hostel. The fact that Gen and I found this little guy cute spurred an awful number of poor taste “isn’t she a beauty?” Steve Irwin jokes.
We went back to the beach at night, just because we could. Well, actually we couldn’t. There was supposed to be a 10pm curfew but oh well.
Gen and I taught the others some great Australian bush dancing, the Heel and Toe Polka.
And then we went to get hot chocolate because it was bloody freezing.
This is Michael (German, if you couldn’t tell) and Unji (Korean).
And the other two Germans, Phillip and Ralphi trying to looks sexy *snort*
And then we went back to the youth hostel like good little children (ahem, at 1am).
On Sunday we went to “the desert” but first had to spend and hour and a half waiting for a train to take us there. To amuse ourselves Gen brought out the cards and Carla (Peruvian) told our fortunes. She looks the part, doesn’t she?
And then we did a spot of Regency dancing (at a train station in Japan, heehee). Gen taught us Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot (i.e. the Lizzy/Darcy dance).
Once we finally got there there was a somewhat lame chair-lift. It was lame in that it wouldn’t hurt if you jumped of it and I could have walked faster than it, but oh well.
This “desert” looked more like a really big beach with two sand dunes but they imported a camel to make it feel more derserty.
The girls at the top of the dune
Gen, Unji, Carla, me and Julienne (Dutch)
And the boys, trying to look manly. I particularly like the fact that Michael is holding Unji’s sparkely high heels. Tee hee.
Wilbert (Dutch), Phillip, Ralphi, Michael and Baudewijn (Dutch) in the front. So manly!
Gen and Baudewijn doing their best “I’m flying, Jack!” It was very windy up there.
I got home from that trip after ten on Sunday night without having done any work and with a test to do the next day. I was also soaking wet having ridden home from the college residence (where I left my bike) in the pissing down rain. Good times!
Last Weekend
Last Friday there was a scary, scary party. Seriously, I think it was the most traumatising experience I’ve been through since I got here, including my first night in Osaka. I barely made it two metres into the room during the whole course of the evening. I was constantly surrounded my crazy Japanese girls who were trying to touch my hair and tell me how cute I was. I have never been so scared in my life.
But then we went back to the college residence and had a bit of a party with the exchange students who are much less frightening.
There were lots of shoes, obviously. And none of them are facing in the right direction. How’s that for stickin’ it to the man?
This is Baudewijn’s mullet. We like to touch it for good luck but only when it’s clean, which occurs, scarily enough, quite infrequently.
Gen and her German bitches.
Cheesy grins are the best.
Julienne, Gen, Carla, Marlon, Talyn and me.
On Saturday the Spanish girls cooked for us all and we had another party.
Karin, Marta and Isa
We played a card game that involved killing people, but not really. Basically, everyone got a card, the ace of spades is the killer, who kills people by winking at them, the jack of clubs is the police who has to figure out who the killer is and the queen of hearts is the whore who saves dead people by kissing them. If the game’s moving slowly the killer can recruit others to join them in killing by poking their tongue out the side of their mouth at them. So basically you end up with a group of people sitting around looking shifty and making suggestive faces at each other.
Exhibit A:
We had ice cream and one of the Dutch guys went to ask “who has the big fridge” (that can fit ice cream in it, because most of them can’t) but it came out “who has the bitch fridge” which spurred a huge number of immature jokes. E.g. “get back in the fridge with the other bitches, bitch.” And of course, “bitch cream”.
And then we went out afterwards into kawaramachi and were amused by the incredibly sus club names.
We ended up at an insane Japanese reggae bar which was smaller than my room and had far too many people in it. It was lots of fun though. At one stage a very drunk Japanese guy walked past, put his white cowboy hat on my head and proceeded to the bathroom (presumably to throw up). There was a very interesting conversation when he came back for his hat because his English wasn`t very good and he was drunk and the music was loud so I couldn`t really understand his Japanese. Very amusing. Unfortunately I don`t have any photos of this reggae bar.
Then we went to an English bar, and as you can guess, there was soccer on on big tvs.
When that bar closed at three in the morning we went to sit by the river for a while. By the time we got home it was 5am and the sun was coming up. Wooh! All nighter!
This last weekend was also quite eventful. Friday was the uni`s birthday so it was a no-class day, hurrah for long weekends. Thursday night I went to a surprise birthday party at the college residence. Stayed up far too late again. After the party we went out to dinner, sat around in the common room watching people play stupid fighting games on the play station but amusing ourselves by making immature comments about the characters. Tatoeba:
GEN: he has one red glove on.
ME: he so wants to be Michael Jackson
BOTH: “OOOOW!” Smackdown!
Ended up riding home at about 3am.
On Friday night there was another surprise party at the college residence but we were too tired from the night before to stay there too late. We ended up braving the storm at about 11 to head home. We watched an episode of Lois and Clark (the last in season two, homg) and then got a phonecall from Julienne, who was planning to break up with her long-term boyfriend that night but had to wait up because of time differences. She didn`t want to be alone. So, Gen and I get on our bikes at 12:30, pjs and all, armed with chocolate and Pride and Prejudice. We did not sleep that night. I rode back home at 8am in the morning in my pyjamas looking like a zombie. What are friends for, right?
To finish with, some incredibly funny Engrish, because we are such children.
♥
As always, I am doing wonderfully and having an amazing time. The most exciting thing that happened this week was when Wodger the wonder laptop picked up a wireless connection last night and I got to talk to people, including a webcam conversation with my darling brother who is getting even less sleep than I am.
But here I shall take you back a bit seeing as the last update I did was weeks ago. I have pictures and stories.
Golden Week
On Thursday of Golden week (which was the third of May) Gen and I went to Nara. Nara is about and hour an a half/two hours south-east of Kyoto. So we had a fun-filled trip on the packed train with a million families and screaming children.
This was taken at the hall of the big Budda statue. It does have a name but I’ve forgotten it. Whoops.
This is one of the huge statue guard things that scare the crap out of me, even though this one looks a bit “stop! In the name of love/ before you break my heart…”
The actual statue ‘Daibutsu’ (Big Budda) with teeny-tiny person. Gen and I decided that he looks rather stoned. “Look at me and my shiny, shiny friends. It’s all good. It is aaaaall good!”
Gen and I being disrespectful. “It’s all good!”
The deer will eat anything. They’re not as crazy as the Miyajima deer, where I feared for my life, but fairly crazy. It’s funny because this one is poking its tongue out.
On Friday Steph came up from Osaka and we organised a picnic in the imperial palace gardens with some Japanese friends and some other exchange students.
Gen and I rode our bikes there because we’re cheap and didn’t want to pay for the train when it would be quicker to ride our bikes. Steph didn’t ride, obviously so Gen tried to dink her. They failed, much to mine and a nearby policeman’s amusement.
Picnicing peoples. Steph, me, Mai, (forgotten name, I’m a horrible person), Flavia (Italian) and Marlon (Dutch). Mai is one of the few relatively normal Japanese girls I’ve met here. That said, the first time I met her she ran up to me said “you’re from Australia?? That is soooo cool!” then ran away to tell her friends, leaving me wondering what the hell had just happened. Japanese people are so strange.
Then on Saturday I went with a group of exchange students (there were ten of us) to Tottori which is on the north coast of Honshu. It’s about 150kms on the map but it took us five hours on the train. I counted fifty-two stops. DEATH! Anyway, once we got there it was lovely. The water was freezing but with a bit of screaming and charging, Gen and I got in, earning ourselves the title of “Crazy Australians” which we still answer to.
This is Ralphi the gay German tourist. Not really. Well, he is German and a tourist but I don’t think he’s actually gay. He’s not an exchange student at KUFS but a friend of another German student who came to visit.
We had a sand castle building competition and, boys being boys, this is what they came up with:
“Boobs Castle” or “Boobs-jo”
Here is the happy, happy gecko like lizard thing that we found at our youth hostel. The fact that Gen and I found this little guy cute spurred an awful number of poor taste “isn’t she a beauty?” Steve Irwin jokes.
We went back to the beach at night, just because we could. Well, actually we couldn’t. There was supposed to be a 10pm curfew but oh well.
Gen and I taught the others some great Australian bush dancing, the Heel and Toe Polka.
And then we went to get hot chocolate because it was bloody freezing.
This is Michael (German, if you couldn’t tell) and Unji (Korean).
And the other two Germans, Phillip and Ralphi trying to looks sexy *snort*
And then we went back to the youth hostel like good little children (ahem, at 1am).
On Sunday we went to “the desert” but first had to spend and hour and a half waiting for a train to take us there. To amuse ourselves Gen brought out the cards and Carla (Peruvian) told our fortunes. She looks the part, doesn’t she?
And then we did a spot of Regency dancing (at a train station in Japan, heehee). Gen taught us Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot (i.e. the Lizzy/Darcy dance).
Once we finally got there there was a somewhat lame chair-lift. It was lame in that it wouldn’t hurt if you jumped of it and I could have walked faster than it, but oh well.
This “desert” looked more like a really big beach with two sand dunes but they imported a camel to make it feel more derserty.
The girls at the top of the dune
Gen, Unji, Carla, me and Julienne (Dutch)
And the boys, trying to look manly. I particularly like the fact that Michael is holding Unji’s sparkely high heels. Tee hee.
Wilbert (Dutch), Phillip, Ralphi, Michael and Baudewijn (Dutch) in the front. So manly!
Gen and Baudewijn doing their best “I’m flying, Jack!” It was very windy up there.
I got home from that trip after ten on Sunday night without having done any work and with a test to do the next day. I was also soaking wet having ridden home from the college residence (where I left my bike) in the pissing down rain. Good times!
Last Weekend
Last Friday there was a scary, scary party. Seriously, I think it was the most traumatising experience I’ve been through since I got here, including my first night in Osaka. I barely made it two metres into the room during the whole course of the evening. I was constantly surrounded my crazy Japanese girls who were trying to touch my hair and tell me how cute I was. I have never been so scared in my life.
But then we went back to the college residence and had a bit of a party with the exchange students who are much less frightening.
There were lots of shoes, obviously. And none of them are facing in the right direction. How’s that for stickin’ it to the man?
This is Baudewijn’s mullet. We like to touch it for good luck but only when it’s clean, which occurs, scarily enough, quite infrequently.
Gen and her German bitches.
Cheesy grins are the best.
Julienne, Gen, Carla, Marlon, Talyn and me.
On Saturday the Spanish girls cooked for us all and we had another party.
Karin, Marta and Isa
We played a card game that involved killing people, but not really. Basically, everyone got a card, the ace of spades is the killer, who kills people by winking at them, the jack of clubs is the police who has to figure out who the killer is and the queen of hearts is the whore who saves dead people by kissing them. If the game’s moving slowly the killer can recruit others to join them in killing by poking their tongue out the side of their mouth at them. So basically you end up with a group of people sitting around looking shifty and making suggestive faces at each other.
Exhibit A:
We had ice cream and one of the Dutch guys went to ask “who has the big fridge” (that can fit ice cream in it, because most of them can’t) but it came out “who has the bitch fridge” which spurred a huge number of immature jokes. E.g. “get back in the fridge with the other bitches, bitch.” And of course, “bitch cream”.
And then we went out afterwards into kawaramachi and were amused by the incredibly sus club names.
We ended up at an insane Japanese reggae bar which was smaller than my room and had far too many people in it. It was lots of fun though. At one stage a very drunk Japanese guy walked past, put his white cowboy hat on my head and proceeded to the bathroom (presumably to throw up). There was a very interesting conversation when he came back for his hat because his English wasn`t very good and he was drunk and the music was loud so I couldn`t really understand his Japanese. Very amusing. Unfortunately I don`t have any photos of this reggae bar.
Then we went to an English bar, and as you can guess, there was soccer on on big tvs.
When that bar closed at three in the morning we went to sit by the river for a while. By the time we got home it was 5am and the sun was coming up. Wooh! All nighter!
This last weekend was also quite eventful. Friday was the uni`s birthday so it was a no-class day, hurrah for long weekends. Thursday night I went to a surprise birthday party at the college residence. Stayed up far too late again. After the party we went out to dinner, sat around in the common room watching people play stupid fighting games on the play station but amusing ourselves by making immature comments about the characters. Tatoeba:
GEN: he has one red glove on.
ME: he so wants to be Michael Jackson
BOTH: “OOOOW!” Smackdown!
Ended up riding home at about 3am.
On Friday night there was another surprise party at the college residence but we were too tired from the night before to stay there too late. We ended up braving the storm at about 11 to head home. We watched an episode of Lois and Clark (the last in season two, homg) and then got a phonecall from Julienne, who was planning to break up with her long-term boyfriend that night but had to wait up because of time differences. She didn`t want to be alone. So, Gen and I get on our bikes at 12:30, pjs and all, armed with chocolate and Pride and Prejudice. We did not sleep that night. I rode back home at 8am in the morning in my pyjamas looking like a zombie. What are friends for, right?
To finish with, some incredibly funny Engrish, because we are such children.
♥