STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 16

DECEMBER 15

Chaerim and I went to get our hair cut today. My hair was really short when I first came to Japan, and up until now it’s been growing out, so it’s at a weird, unattractive length. I had to get it reshaped up, so it’s kind of short again, but it’s a lot better than it was before. We also received a discount for booking our appointment early though the Internet so it was only 1600 yen! That is a great price compared to some places which offer only the haircut for 2500 yen or more.

The rest of the day I was doing homework and updating my website. I can’t believe it’s already December!! Where did the time go? I still have over half of Kurokenshin to draw. It’s the last book in the series and I would like to have it done before my birthday!

DECEMBER 16

Last Monday we were supposed to meet with Mrs. Yamamoto’s seminar class again, but they were busy with job application forms. Today, they were still busy with the process, so it doesn’t look as though we’ll be seeing them again this semester. With a free afternoon, the ‘cool kids’ headed to CoCo Ichiban for curry. Level 6 cleared.

I also got locked out of my bank account this morning because I couldn’t remember which number was my ‘secret number’. Fail. This is what happens when you try to use a different number for everything. Now I need to go to the bank tomorrow to clear the issue up.

When the evening rolled around I found myself with a lot of things on my mind. I wasn’t stressed out with anything in particular, but there’s been a lot going on recently. Maybe I’m tired, or maybe just worried about the bank situation. I went for a run to clear my head and ran into Tobias on the way back. I’ve rarely had time to hang out with the German exchange students, so I felt like I still knew nothing about them. We talked for a while, and I found out that when this semester was over, the three German students would continue their studies by doing an internship. That’s great for them, but now it has me thinking. How can I make the most of my time with all these people who are leaving? And, what am I going to do when this is all over? If I’m going to work in Japan, I need to start looking for a job.

DECEMBER 17

I’ve had a fever on and off all morning. I haven’t gone to the bank yet to fix my account, so I haven’t been able to pull out any cash yet. Just going to go home and rest.

DECEMBER 18

I finally cleared up my bank issue. It was as easy as filling out a form and waiting for them to input the information. I won’t forget that number again!

I went to the bank during second period, so I couldn’t go see the English class. My headache cleared up a little bit; no other cold symptoms yet.

Also, on the way home I bought a WAON card. It’s basically a charge card that can be used at Aeon, and its related stores, such as Mini Stop. That will be good to keep around for grocery money.

DECEMBER 19

No English Cafe today I guess. We didn’t receive word that it was canceled, but no one showed up. It wasn’t that big a deal, since we didn’t have any other plans until lunch. The group of AIDAI students who go to Heart n’ Soul Cafe all met to eat at Sukiya in the school cafeteria. The cheese beef bowl is too good; most of us at the table ordered it.

I would have liked to continue to hang out with them, but my body wanted to dance. It had only been a week, but that felt like a long time. I danced for a few hours, until about 5pm, and then I had to call it quits so I could some home and finish my presentation for tomorrow’s culture class. This is my last presentation for the culture class this semester, which is why I volunteered to get to done during the first week of presentations, before winter break. This time we can present on anything we want, traditional or modern. I have chosen to make my presentation about the comedy duo called Downtown. I watched a lot of their skits when I was studying Japanese, so they’ve had a big influence on me. Also, they will have another ‘No Laughing…’ special on New Year’s Even that I want to tell the others about~

DECEMBER 20

…That was not my best presentation.

First of all, AIDAI’s promotional team showed up to get some footage. They were also at dance practice last night, and I had made a point to avoid them. Then they show up to film the first few presentations, including mine. There I was with an oncoming sickness and all of the video links I selected for my presentation were for some reason blocked on the school’s Internet. It was almost as if I was starting from 0. I tried my best to present, but my brain was foggy. It was just embarrassing.

DECEMBER 21

I refuse to be sick!!

Today was HAROMASU, a Halloween and Christmas party organized by the ESS. Despite my runny nose, I went to the party anyway dressed in my Tigger costume. I even bought a pack of face masks from store on the way, only to find out that they were the children size.

The party was fun, but it was lacking in drinks like tea and juice, which I really wanted. We played a lot of games, like bingo and something like telephone, only with drawing pictures. Many people were dressed up, too, so there was a costume contest. I’m not sure how, but I won the “coolest” award at the contest. My table’s team also won one of the games, so we received a huge bag of umai-bo. There was also a prize for winning the costume contest, but I had to leave before they passed it out.

I had made plans to hang out with Jordan in Toyohashi. We ate curry again and then headed back to his apartment to play some games. He had a huge TV set up with his computer. I had never played on that big a screen before, so I was trying out a couple games like Skyrim and Fall Out: New Vegas. Every three months or so I need to either watch a bunch of movies, or play a video game to de-stress; this hangout came just in time for that. Now, I’m feeling more focused.