Getting back on track...
I have to say, part of the reason for the lack of updates is all because so much has happened since the last time I properly did so that I just don't know where to begin. There's still my final weekend in America that I never talked about--how Brian actually came to spend his weekend in itty bitty boresville with me. There's still my sightseeing of Tokyo to share, including the gazillllllions of pictures from the excursion, ranging from scenery to engrish to cosplay. There's still amazing food to gush about. There's still my struggles with the language barrier to confess. There's still the general school experience to report on. There's still all the hilarious happenings of being a cute foreigner to recount. There's still my new friends to introduce. And so on, and so on...
When there's a lot to tell, my mind feels overwhelmed even thinking about taking on the task. (It's something that happens even when someone asks me an open-ended question. It's like my mind can't handle the myriad possible answers all at once, so I have to ask for more specific questions to feel "mentally at ease".) But I really do want to tell these things. I really do want to catch up to the present and begin updating regularly. And I don't want to simply link to my photo galleries. I want to embed photos into detailed entries of everything, you know?
One thing I'm trying to work on is embracing the philosophy that "there's no better time than now" to do something. So let's get rolling. :3
I. Last weekend in America
Starting from the top of the list: my last weekend in America. I remember being pretty stressed out all week beforehand, trying to think of ways to juggle seeing and spending time with everyone I wanted to before leaving the country for a year. My little sister was dying for me to pay her some special attention, I had run out of time plus gas money from Mom to go to Mobile for a couple nights and see Amanda (matchan) yet there was no way I could ever leave her out, and still I was hoping there'd be a way to see Brian again. @__@;;; So what ended up happening was both Amanda AND Brian stayed the weekend at our house, hehe~ :) Admittedly, I didn't make the time to really shower Brooke with affection that last week, but just two weeks prior she had stayed half a week with me in Tuscaloosa, so I decided that would have to stand as our last sisterly bonding spree. Plus, I knew she'd have fun with Brian and Amanda being there (and, as far as I can recall, I think that's how it played out).
Brooke also played photographer for Brian and me so we could finally have some pictures together~ :D Including a shot of us kissing which I honestly find to be an embarrassing picture, though I can't tell myself if it's just because I've never taken kissing pictures before and I'm just shy about it, or if it's because I just don't find that particular shot to meet my aesthetic standards. ^_^;;; Or probably a mix of both. But after much resistance, Brian convinced me to upload it to facebook anyways. >_>;;; I just left myself untagged, lol... I really still don't like that picture being so public. :| BUT MOVING ON... Here's a picture of us~~~
Yay~ :) We then proceeded to change both our profile pics. Brian called it "Asian repellant", lololol. Maybe if nihonjin guys saw my facebook profile before approaching me, it would work, but... uh... most people here haven't even heard of facebook. So, yea, the repellant isn't really working, haha. xD
I do feel a bit guilty of something: I'm afraid I was a bit too absorbed with Brian being there and that I didn't spend enough time with Amanda. :| Though I do trust her to know it wasn't intentional, and she's got a serious boyfriend of her own, so I think she kind of understood... But, well, yea. I really do apologize about that, Amanda. D: I also want to mention the uber sweet (and long!) letter she left me the morning she had to go back home~~~ It's sitting beside me right now, hehe. I had contemplated the idea of typing it up, but... Nah. It's an intimate letter. I think it's something to be kept private. But, man. Amanda, I am extremely appreciative of your words. I know you know that, but I feel the need to say it anyway. I love you~ ♥ And just know that I do intend to properly express my thanks. :) But I'm going to need your new mailing address... >_>;;;
So... Amanda returned to Mobile, and Brian stayed with us up until we pulled out of the driveway to head for the airport... at midnight. @_@;; And, ugh, gosh. Now I'm thinking about the moment we had to part. And then while on the road, one of us had to call the other for something--I don't remember what--and we just... sat there on the line, not really knowing what to say, but just... not wanting to hang up. Aaaaaand then life interfered and the call dropped, lol. ._.;; Sigh. I miss you...
But on I go with the story.
II. Adventures in Tokyo
Although the experience was fantastic, this was definitely a rough week. First, there's all the heavy suitcase-lugging in hot and muggy weather to mention: from Moriguchi to Osaka, all around Osaka exhaustingly for half a day, the next day to Chiba, the next to Saitama, a few days later to Ashikaga, the next day back to Saitama, and finally to Kyoto. I don't think I'd ever been so glad to not be traveling, lol. And second, there's the endless amount of walking and subsequent pain my feet went through. I quite seriously think it's possible this experience may have changed my shoe size, even. o_o;;; Well, I bought some shoes in Osaka, k... They fit perfectly in the store, and felt great. But I tried them on again three or so days later, and they were way too tight! D: I really don't know what to make of it. I know for sure there's no way I could have left the store with the wrong size... The only idea I have is that the packing and traveling may have mishaped the shoes--but I highly doubt that's the case, seeing how they were comfortably in the box they came in the whole time, not crammed in with everything else... So I don't know! :( Plus, my feet even look different in the shoes I brought from America. x_x;;; I have no idea what to make of it, but it saddens me.
But let's get on to the good stuff. :)
Oomiya. Not really anything worth mentioning about Oomiya, honestly. The only thing I can even remember about it is window-shopping a lot? ^_^;;
Shinjuku. Two words: sushi tabehoudai. *___* Meaning all-you-can-eat sushi~ ★ And I don't mean like a buffet, and I don't mean kaitenzushi (rotation sushi). It was really high quality, and you basically get a chef all to yourself, haha. IT WAS WONDERFUL~ I want to go back. Um. Yea. And that concludes my memory of Shinjuku. ^_^;;
Roppongi. Now this place... was freaking awesome. Inside Roppongi Tower are three main attractions (it seems): 1) the museum, 2) the sky aquarium, and 3) the view from the top. The museum... honestly, I did not enjoy. :| That's not to say I thought it was a bad exhibition--oh no. I do find the artist very talented and original. But I did not enjoy the art. It was too morbid and disturbing for me. :| The sky aquarium, on the other hand, was loads of fun~~~ ★
Akihabara. Ah, the wota's wonderland. Actually, we didn't arrive until around 3pm, so we weren't able to see a lot of what Akihabara is famed for (mostly because we did a lot of spending time in shops nearby the station because we were waiting on friends to arrive). But we were on a mission to accomplish one thing: cosplay at a maid cafe. ;D I have to say, the atmosphere of the cafe itself is kind of creepy. The one we went to was kind of this hole-in-the-wall place, and within that small cafe are just... men. Not even high school boys, but... men. Like I guess they just frequent the cafes, waiting for cute girls to come in and dress up or something. And I don't assume this from nothing--some of them have cameras readily hanging around their neck. o_o;;; I did my best to feign ignorance of anything beyond introductory Japanese here, just to avoid being asked by any of the guys if they could take my picture. But, as life would have it, one starts spouting perfect English! >_o;; *twitch* But we had taken many photos already by that point, so I politely declined and said I was growing tired of the cameras. >_>;; Now onto the costumes!~
If you go to the photo gallery, there are only two of the first outfit because, well... They're supposed to charge you for a change of costume, but this one was too big on me (it was nearly backless and was too droopy on me). D: So, since I hadn't even left the dressing room yet, Tomoko talked them into letting me change costume without a fee... She also talked them into allowing her to take pictures of me in that costume anyway, haha. ;3 Overall, the place may have been filled with creepy men, but it was a really fun experience~ ^_^\\// I think in the spring when I'm on break and my hair is longer, I want to go back and do it again, haha. x3
III. Tomoko's hometown, Ashikaga
Our final destination during my stay with Tomoko was her hometown~ I got to meet her parents and, briefly, the last of her two sisters. Honestly, I was kind of worried about meeting her father. I don't even know why or how, but somehow I had this idea that most older Japanese men were very... solemn and sullen? But instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find he was pretty jovial and quite welcoming~ :) Her entire family was really nice, and it seems they're all happy, fun-loving people~ All in all, we watched Ghibli movies, ate Mister Donut, visited a temple, saw the nighttime cityscape from an outlying mountain, visited the cemetery where their family's tomb is, played in a kids' arcade and did purikura, aaand... last but not least, pulled out the girls' old high school uniforms and cosplayed some more~ ;D
So much fun. :) And then it was time to say good-bye and head back to Saitama because I had to hop on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto in the morning.
So that's where I'll close this recap. :3
Of course, there are many, many photos not included here, but are free for all to see in my photo albums~
[Picasa] [Flickr]
Till next time~ ☀
When there's a lot to tell, my mind feels overwhelmed even thinking about taking on the task. (It's something that happens even when someone asks me an open-ended question. It's like my mind can't handle the myriad possible answers all at once, so I have to ask for more specific questions to feel "mentally at ease".) But I really do want to tell these things. I really do want to catch up to the present and begin updating regularly. And I don't want to simply link to my photo galleries. I want to embed photos into detailed entries of everything, you know?
One thing I'm trying to work on is embracing the philosophy that "there's no better time than now" to do something. So let's get rolling. :3
I. Last weekend in America
Starting from the top of the list: my last weekend in America. I remember being pretty stressed out all week beforehand, trying to think of ways to juggle seeing and spending time with everyone I wanted to before leaving the country for a year. My little sister was dying for me to pay her some special attention, I had run out of time plus gas money from Mom to go to Mobile for a couple nights and see Amanda (matchan) yet there was no way I could ever leave her out, and still I was hoping there'd be a way to see Brian again. @__@;;; So what ended up happening was both Amanda AND Brian stayed the weekend at our house, hehe~ :) Admittedly, I didn't make the time to really shower Brooke with affection that last week, but just two weeks prior she had stayed half a week with me in Tuscaloosa, so I decided that would have to stand as our last sisterly bonding spree. Plus, I knew she'd have fun with Brian and Amanda being there (and, as far as I can recall, I think that's how it played out).
Brooke also played photographer for Brian and me so we could finally have some pictures together~ :D Including a shot of us kissing which I honestly find to be an embarrassing picture, though I can't tell myself if it's just because I've never taken kissing pictures before and I'm just shy about it, or if it's because I just don't find that particular shot to meet my aesthetic standards. ^_^;;; Or probably a mix of both. But after much resistance, Brian convinced me to upload it to facebook anyways. >_>;;; I just left myself untagged, lol... I really still don't like that picture being so public. :| BUT MOVING ON... Here's a picture of us~~~
Yay~ :) We then proceeded to change both our profile pics. Brian called it "Asian repellant", lololol. Maybe if nihonjin guys saw my facebook profile before approaching me, it would work, but... uh... most people here haven't even heard of facebook. So, yea, the repellant isn't really working, haha. xD
I do feel a bit guilty of something: I'm afraid I was a bit too absorbed with Brian being there and that I didn't spend enough time with Amanda. :| Though I do trust her to know it wasn't intentional, and she's got a serious boyfriend of her own, so I think she kind of understood... But, well, yea. I really do apologize about that, Amanda. D: I also want to mention the uber sweet (and long!) letter she left me the morning she had to go back home~~~ It's sitting beside me right now, hehe. I had contemplated the idea of typing it up, but... Nah. It's an intimate letter. I think it's something to be kept private. But, man. Amanda, I am extremely appreciative of your words. I know you know that, but I feel the need to say it anyway. I love you~ ♥ And just know that I do intend to properly express my thanks. :) But I'm going to need your new mailing address... >_>;;;
So... Amanda returned to Mobile, and Brian stayed with us up until we pulled out of the driveway to head for the airport... at midnight. @_@;; And, ugh, gosh. Now I'm thinking about the moment we had to part. And then while on the road, one of us had to call the other for something--I don't remember what--and we just... sat there on the line, not really knowing what to say, but just... not wanting to hang up. Aaaaaand then life interfered and the call dropped, lol. ._.;; Sigh. I miss you...
But on I go with the story.
II. Adventures in Tokyo
Although the experience was fantastic, this was definitely a rough week. First, there's all the heavy suitcase-lugging in hot and muggy weather to mention: from Moriguchi to Osaka, all around Osaka exhaustingly for half a day, the next day to Chiba, the next to Saitama, a few days later to Ashikaga, the next day back to Saitama, and finally to Kyoto. I don't think I'd ever been so glad to not be traveling, lol. And second, there's the endless amount of walking and subsequent pain my feet went through. I quite seriously think it's possible this experience may have changed my shoe size, even. o_o;;; Well, I bought some shoes in Osaka, k... They fit perfectly in the store, and felt great. But I tried them on again three or so days later, and they were way too tight! D: I really don't know what to make of it. I know for sure there's no way I could have left the store with the wrong size... The only idea I have is that the packing and traveling may have mishaped the shoes--but I highly doubt that's the case, seeing how they were comfortably in the box they came in the whole time, not crammed in with everything else... So I don't know! :( Plus, my feet even look different in the shoes I brought from America. x_x;;; I have no idea what to make of it, but it saddens me.
But let's get on to the good stuff. :)
Oomiya. Not really anything worth mentioning about Oomiya, honestly. The only thing I can even remember about it is window-shopping a lot? ^_^;;
Shinjuku. Two words: sushi tabehoudai. *___* Meaning all-you-can-eat sushi~ ★ And I don't mean like a buffet, and I don't mean kaitenzushi (rotation sushi). It was really high quality, and you basically get a chef all to yourself, haha. IT WAS WONDERFUL~ I want to go back. Um. Yea. And that concludes my memory of Shinjuku. ^_^;;
Roppongi. Now this place... was freaking awesome. Inside Roppongi Tower are three main attractions (it seems): 1) the museum, 2) the sky aquarium, and 3) the view from the top. The museum... honestly, I did not enjoy. :| That's not to say I thought it was a bad exhibition--oh no. I do find the artist very talented and original. But I did not enjoy the art. It was too morbid and disturbing for me. :| The sky aquarium, on the other hand, was loads of fun~~~ ★
Akihabara. Ah, the wota's wonderland. Actually, we didn't arrive until around 3pm, so we weren't able to see a lot of what Akihabara is famed for (mostly because we did a lot of spending time in shops nearby the station because we were waiting on friends to arrive). But we were on a mission to accomplish one thing: cosplay at a maid cafe. ;D I have to say, the atmosphere of the cafe itself is kind of creepy. The one we went to was kind of this hole-in-the-wall place, and within that small cafe are just... men. Not even high school boys, but... men. Like I guess they just frequent the cafes, waiting for cute girls to come in and dress up or something. And I don't assume this from nothing--some of them have cameras readily hanging around their neck. o_o;;; I did my best to feign ignorance of anything beyond introductory Japanese here, just to avoid being asked by any of the guys if they could take my picture. But, as life would have it, one starts spouting perfect English! >_o;; *twitch* But we had taken many photos already by that point, so I politely declined and said I was growing tired of the cameras. >_>;; Now onto the costumes!~
If you go to the photo gallery, there are only two of the first outfit because, well... They're supposed to charge you for a change of costume, but this one was too big on me (it was nearly backless and was too droopy on me). D: So, since I hadn't even left the dressing room yet, Tomoko talked them into letting me change costume without a fee... She also talked them into allowing her to take pictures of me in that costume anyway, haha. ;3 Overall, the place may have been filled with creepy men, but it was a really fun experience~ ^_^\\// I think in the spring when I'm on break and my hair is longer, I want to go back and do it again, haha. x3
III. Tomoko's hometown, Ashikaga
Our final destination during my stay with Tomoko was her hometown~ I got to meet her parents and, briefly, the last of her two sisters. Honestly, I was kind of worried about meeting her father. I don't even know why or how, but somehow I had this idea that most older Japanese men were very... solemn and sullen? But instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find he was pretty jovial and quite welcoming~ :) Her entire family was really nice, and it seems they're all happy, fun-loving people~ All in all, we watched Ghibli movies, ate Mister Donut, visited a temple, saw the nighttime cityscape from an outlying mountain, visited the cemetery where their family's tomb is, played in a kids' arcade and did purikura, aaand... last but not least, pulled out the girls' old high school uniforms and cosplayed some more~ ;D
So much fun. :) And then it was time to say good-bye and head back to Saitama because I had to hop on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto in the morning.
So that's where I'll close this recap. :3
Of course, there are many, many photos not included here, but are free for all to see in my photo albums~
[Picasa] [Flickr]
Till next time~ ☀