STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 18

DECEMBER 29

Slept in, did laundry, cleaned my room, you know, the usual time-killing and relatively non-productive things that people do when they are waiting to go somewhere.

My plans didn’t start until the evening. I met Akane and Jon down in Okazaki, then we back-tracked to Shin Anjo to eat Indian curry with two of Jon’s friends, Jessica and Zi. When I first met Jessica she greeted me with such energy and forwardness that I was a little taken aback. I’m not going to lie; the thought that ran in my head was ‘Whoa, she sure is American.’ I’m American, too, but it’s been so long since I’ve met someone as bold in their introduction. Zi was more of the subdued British type, and he is also a Muslim. Only the second one I have met so far and shared a meal with in Japan.

The curry was of course delicious. There was no all-you-can-eat naan deal included with the dinner set, so I only ate the one piece. After curry, we joined Jessica at her favorite little bar. It was expensive, but that was expected of a high class bar. The chef that made the food there was amazing. Even a simple chicken wing was succulent, and the adzuki bean dessert was mouthwatering.

During my talk with Jessica, I came to realize that I am a duck. More appropriately, I am a duckling, just hatched, and still fresh and new to this world. There’s a lot I haven’t experienced, and I should continue to be open, rather than ignorant, in all factors of life.

DECEMBER 30

Last night I stayed over at Akane’s house again. This time it was because we were going to make mocha, a Japanese rice cake! Making mochi before the New Year is one of the Japanese traditions. From the early morning, rice is hammered in a large bowl until it becomes like stretchy, chewy dough that is used in many desserts. My favorite of which is of course daifuku, which is mochi wrapped around adzuki beans.

At the New Year party last year, back in Toledo, I did have a chance to hammer mochi. Today, I honestly expected to take more part in the making, but the house was soon full of Akane’s relatives. The men took turns amongst themselves to hammer the mochi, but we all got a few good swings in. After every batch of mochi was made we would roll it out in the kitchen over some rice flour and make up dough balls. During this whole time we were all also fed mochi with kinako (roasted soybean flour) and adzuki, and also mochi with soy sauce and wrapped in nori, dried seaweed. Jon, Jessica and I were the only foreigners there, so we had to try every new snack they brought out. By the time dinner rolled around we were all stuffed and ready for a nap.

Though, it wasn’t a party, the mochi gathering was a great get together for the family. It was only one part of their extended family, which is what I would consider a family visit, but everyone was really jolly and relaxed. This was the calm, laid-back holiday spirit that was lacking in the hustle and bustle of the big city. Even though I’ve only visited Okazaki a few times, it’s really growing on me, more so than Toyohashi. They are very near in size, and they both are somewhere between a small city and a countryside. I would have liked to spend more time there and relax, but I had to come back to Nagoya. Tomorrow it’s off to Toyohashi~

DECEMBER 31

It felt so great to sleep in today. I wanted to stay home and be lazy all day, but like I said, it’s off to Toyohashi. Even though it would take twice as long, I decided to ride the local train. It was almost an hour and a half long trip, but it was nice to sit there and stare out the window, just listening to music and daydreaming.

I arrived in Toyohashi in the late afternoon. Ai, who I went to the Big Bang Concert with, and her father picked me up at the station and drove me to their home. The house was bigger than I expected; not only that, but it was spotless. I hardly wanted to touch or do anything because I didn’t want to disturb the order. As it were, I was going to spend the New Year’s with them, so I needed to get comfortable. They were more than warm and welcoming. Once the dog got used to me, and I figured out my way around the house I was able to settle down too.

During and after dinner we watched Downtown’s “No Laughing: Earth Defenders” Special program. It was the first time I’ve even seen it on TV as it was broadcast. The program itself was a good 6 hours long, including commercials. As it was ending, the program was interrupted for the New Year countdown. We couldn’t hear the local temple from our house, but at Buddhist Temples all across the country people were gathering for the final countdown. The priest would ring the bell 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins and desires, and to literally ring in the New Year. It’s called joyanokane. Once the bell is rung the 108^th time, people celebrate and eat soba, buckwheat noodles.

It’s now the year of the Horse. I can’t wait to see what new things will happen this year; there are still so many things I have planned, and so many more unplanned things I hope to encounter.

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku.

(Horse sculpture at Inuyama Castle)

JANUARY 1

The year 2014 started out in the warmth of a fluffy futon. Had it been any other day, I would have laid there for hours. However, it was not just any other day, nor was it under my control. This New Year’s holiday isn’t simply a time to kick back. No, it’s a time to enjoy doing things with the family. With that, we were all up and out of the house by 9am to go on a little road-trip.

Our first stop was a small shrine a few blocks away. There the family, mostly the father, paid his respects and asked for help and guidance in the New Year. I couldn’t sit and wait in the car, so I followed the family around the shrine. The father also gave me some coins to donate. The Shrine housed many different gods for everything you can think of: health, wealth, school, work, children, parents… I tossed the coins into the donation box and made a little prayer myself. I prayed that this coming year would go well, and there would be no problems with school, or work, and also that it would be a peaceful year. It was a lot easier than making up another New Year resolution.

We also received fortune slips. There’s always a gauge of luck on the fortunes, and mine showed very little. I guess I’ll be making up my own luck this year. Those fortunes we tied onto a rack at the shrine and then left there; supposedly we can’t take them home or they have no meaning. But, it doesn’t say anything about taking pictures.

More or less, it means as long as I stay positive, good things will come my way. That conveniently matches my current attitude. The other ambiguous half refers to health, love, travel, money, etc.

After that, the real road trip began. In one hour we reached a rest area in Shizuoka Prefecture. There we had a light snack, and stretched our legs: it seems that Shizuoka is indeed a fan of eel. It reminded me of the woman I had met on the train a few months ago who was traveling to Shizuoka to try the squid.

(Eel-shaped éclairs and sweet buns that look like horses.)

We didn’t buy any eel there, just some crème puffs and coffee. Another hour later and we were finally nearing our destination. We could see Mt. Fuji from the car, and to the other side of us, the big blue ocean. The weather also happened to be perfectly clear. So far our luck was pretty good.

Our destination was not Mt. Fuji itself, but one of the many viewing points that surrounded it. There was a large lodge, with shops for souvenirs and restaurants. Just around the corner there was also a large open platform that looked out over the land. There we had a full-on view of Mt. Fuji, stony cold blue with its white crest of snow. We took pictures and watched as a small puff of cloud passed the mountain. A larger cloud followed that one, so we were lucky to arrive when we did and see the mountain in its glory… but it was really far away.

We ate udon for lunch at the cafeteria and then started our drive back to Toyohashi. The drive was actually longer because we made another stop at small old shrine in Toyokawa, near the family’s company’s old factory. The family owns a sweet company which makes all kinds of baked goods, like cookies and muffins. When I came to their house yesterday I brought some rusk as my omiyage, but their desserts are far superior. I didn’t know that I could buy them in the convenient stores, but from now on I will try to find them. They make a delicious almond cookie, which trumps a dry rusk any day.

Once we finally returned home, I offered to help prepare dinner. Turns out that one of the traditional foods that is eaten during the New Years that are prepared in boxes is called osechi. All the food was pretty much ready. My contributions were little more than ‘Take this out of the container and divide on the plates nicely’. I thought that gave me a little free rein to arrange the various foods in an artistic manner, but simple is always best.

JANUARY 2

Today was another early day. We weren’t traveling nearly as far as Shizuoka Prefecture, but it was a little drive back out to Toyokawa. This time, we were going to visit Toyokawa Inari. I was expecting another quick visit to the shrine to drop in some coins and pay our respects. Maybe that would have been the case on any other day, but it wasn’t going to happen today.

(Toyokawa Inari, outside the main shrine)

First, the shrine was packed. There was nearly no parking near the shrine, so we had to park a couple blocks away and walk through a park to reach the shrine grounds. Once we were there, the mass of people was apparent. Food stalls of all kinds lined the paths that led to the main shrine, selling everything from candy apples, to senbei (rice crackers), to chocolate bananas, yakisoba, churros, taiyaki and more. The line for the main shrine itself wasn’t even a line anymore, it was literally a wave of people that stretched far beyond the shrine steps and then wove around to various paths. Because of that, the family moved on to visit small shrines on the grounds.

(Hundreds of fox statues can be found throughout the shrine grounds.)

We spent the rest of our time their wandering through the various stands and little shops. Horses were a popular motif for the New Year. I used to collect horse models when I was younger, so it was a bit nostalgic for me to look at all the various horse crafts. If I had any use for them, I might have bought a couple pieces.

Lunch was a light meal in a small tea house, followed by some senbei and chocolate bananas. The father was on the hunt for some good custard-filled taiyaki, which we didn’t find until we were just about to exit the shrine grounds. The taiyaki was warm and sweet, mine filled with a custard and adzuki bean mix. It was a good end to the day’s outings, so I thought.

Then, on the way home, we stopped at a cemetery where some of the family’s relatives were buried. The father lit two small candles and a few incense before his family’s grave, and then he and the family paid their respects. I stood there watching silently, suddenly reminded of death’s presence. Up until now, I have been fortunate enough not to lose anyone close to me. I said another prayer, hoping that it would still be a long time before I would have to stand over someone’s grave.

JANUARY 3

Third time is the charm, right? Except, not this time: there was still no sleeping in, and no chance at a lazy day. This morning started off with an afternoon movie, a romantic drama that surrounded a girl’s musical journey as well. I’m not much for romance movies, but I enjoyed it for the most part. And then, they messed it up. Everyone stayed to sit through the credits when the movie ended, which was already borderline awkward because the theater was dead quiet. Then, a short clip plays… an extension of the movie, if you will, and it just made everything really confusing. Once that was over people were still quiet as they exited the theater. That silence was so eerie. In the States, there’s always chatter about something or other going on. I made a few comments to Ai just to break the silence around me.

Thankfully, once we exited the theater sounds filled the air again. Children ran about, arcade games were being played, friends chatted amongst themselves. It only took a few moments to readjust, and by then we were at the food court for lunch. Now that I think about it, having a movie theater right next to a department store with a food court is not something you can see in America. At least, I have never been to one. Basically, as we sat there munching down on our French Fries, I could eye the department store’s luggage and contemplate whether or not it was worth a closer look before biting into my burger.

The ride home was briefly delayed by a stop at Tsutaya, a rental and book store. I found the Japanese novel versions of Battle Royale for 600 yen each, but I didn’t buy them because I only had 1000 yen on hand. Now I know what they look like though, so next time I go to Book-Off I can search for them.

It so happened that at the same time my family decided to bombard me on Facebook chat. The four of us were talking in one chat message as I was looking around the store for Ai and her mom. I had to cut the chat short because they kept going off on tangents and I couldn’t stand in one place to try and figure out what they meant.

We returned home for a brief reset, and then it was back out to meet the extended family for dinner. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and Grandparents… I was invited along, but somehow I felt like I was intruding on the family time. Once again, they were all kind and welcoming, and we shared a lot of talks over the full course meal. The Grandmother also gave me an unexpected gift, otoshidama, which is usually something they would only give to their grandchildren. I have received too much from this family, from every family! One day, I’ll repay them all— I won’t forget that.

Also, in the back of my mind, I’m starting to worry about all the food that’s gone in my body these past couple weeks. Not to mention, I haven’t been dancing at all since the weather got colder. I’m pretty sure any weight that I’ve lost in the past three months is going to make a comeback because of this holiday.

That said, my night did not end there…

JANUARY 4

Last night, there was a party going on in Nagoya with the International Students and some of our closest Japanese upperclassmen. In fact, one of the previous exchange students from France, who is now working in Tokyo, stopped by to spend a few days in Nagoya. This party was one of his celebrations.

I left Toyohashi at about 7pm, so just before nine o’clock I arrived at Kentaro’s apartment. I thought it would only be for a couple hours, and then I would go home. Somehow it became 2am, at which time the group was hungry and ready to move the party. We stopped at a nearby ramen joint, one of the only places open at that time of night. I only drank water, as I was still full, and my wallet was mostly empty.

We talked about a lot of things, but most importantly I found out that Junko finally decided on her job! She had been job hunting so long that I was honestly overjoyed to hear that she was done. It’s a small reminder that soon these upperclassmen that I have become so close to will soon be gone, off working in Tokyo or who knows where. That’s why, despite my tiredness, I stayed at the party. From there though, the groups split. One set going to karaoke, and the other, myself included heading home. Junko and another girl had missed the last train, but were too tired to go to karaoke so I let them stay in my room for the night. The two of them shared the bed, and I slept on top of my coat, in my warm Tigger costume, and we may have had the heat on for a bit as well.

The girls stayed in my room until 10am, and once they were safely out the door I went back to sleep for a couple hours. I had made plans to meet a friend later today, so I couldn’t stay in bed. When I woke up, I made an attempt, mostly out of boredom, to once again fix my tire. This coming Thursday it seems as though there is going to be a bike check, so I really need to fix my tire by then.

  

I had a simple wrench amongst my “I may need this one day” pile, but the grip was too small for the bicycle. Then, just as I was contemplating where to go looking for an adjustable wrench my friend messaged me the “OK”. We went out to the movies (agian! Haha). The movie tickets were 1800 yen though! I didn’t realize that yesterday when I went to the movie with Ai that we received such a large discount (we only paid 1000 yen). On the other hand, drinks and snacks were cheaper, so it all balanced out in the end. We watched the Conan VS Lupin III Movie, which was classically enjoyable. We would have watched the Hunger Games 2, but I haven’t seen the first one yet! Then we went out and ate shabu-shabu, thinly sliced beef boiled in water, for dinner. My new favorite thing is now mixing beef in raw egg and eating it over rice~ 

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 17

DECEMBER 22

While still in Toyohashi, I had a small interview, or briefing session, for a possible job opportunity. It’s a small cram school located near Toyohashi station, but here is the current situation:

1) The new location that they are moving to in March is a bit farther from the station.

2) The new building is actually a one-story house, in which I would be able to live. Classes would be from the evening, so during the day I would have the place to myself.

3) From February I can start working there a couple days a week to build experience until my study abroad is over, and then I can start to work full time.

4) Gathering students and promoting will be necessary.

At this point there are a lot of unknowns, and I have a few concerns, but I think I’ll try the place out for a bit and see how it goes.

DECEMBER 23

Rio and Yuki invited us to join them at the A Cafe for a Christmas gift exchange. It was kind of last minute, but we met them there for lunch. It was the same cafe we always had the English Cafe at; however, we had never tried to the food before. We ordered a large plate of fries for the table, and two dessert pizzas (apple cinnamon). The gift exchange itself was kind of interesting. I brought Nutella, which is more expensive here in Japan. My gift in return (all was drawn from a lottery) was a pen. It’s a good pen though, with red, black and blue ink. It’s also erasable, my favorite part.

DECEMBER 24

Survey class presentations: comparing Christmas and New Year’s celebrations between Japan and our home countries. Everyone was able to do their presentation in a group, except for Totoro and me. The Hawaiian students presented on New Year’s, and also some special traditions they have in Hawaii during that time. I mostly focused on Christmas, since we’ve always had a Christmas gathering at my grandma’s house ever since I was little.

In the same spirit, since today was our last day of school before winter break, I sort of arranged a Christmas potluck during lunch. As usual, more people showed up than I thought would, and one even dressed up as a reindeer. We feasted ourselves on all kinds of snacks and chatted through the whole lunch break. We didn’t even finish all the food in time for the next class, so we had to hurry and throw all the extra food in baggies. I’ve been sharing the leftover goodies with random people all day, so thankfully there’s none left for me to carry home.

DECEMBER 25

Merry Christmas! Let’s go on a road trip!

Mark, Long and I made plans to join Long’s friends on a trip out to Nagashima’s outlet mall. I was looking forward to it because I hoped I could find a lot of discounted clothes and shoes. Not so much. All the stores were top-brand names, so their idea of discounts seemed anything but. I did, however, buy an Adidas hat on sale, and also some gloves and a shirt from the Gap. I guess there were time sales also, but we missed most of them.

(Nagashima’s artistically designed outlet mall.)

It was about 6pm when we left the mall and I assumed we would then return to Nagoya. Again, not so; turns out that our driver and one of the girls were dating and he wanted to take her to see the famous illuminations in Mie Prefecture, Nabana no Sato. I had a hard time enjoying it the second time around, but I did my best for the couple. It was also 2000yen I didn’t plan on spending, so when we put in our money for the rental car and gas, I had to borrow my portion from Long.

At least I got to eat the beef rolls again~

DECEMBER 26

Tonight is the Christmas Party/Winter Break Party that I set up at an izakaya called Nezumi. In preparation for the party, and the 19 people that said they were coming, I stopped at the hyaku-en shop and bought 19 different odd items. Then, I wrapped them and stuck a number on them, which the party attendee would select at random.

We started to gather for the party just after 6pm. Once all the members had arrived I tried to say a short ‘thank you’ speech, but that was overridden, so I just passed out the numbers and let people receive their gifts. It was interesting to see some guys receive pink and purple patterned tissues, while other people received portable ash trays and they didn’t even smoke, or a light for their bicycle, when they don’t have one. As for the menu, at first, it was just an all-you-can-drink deal, but in order to get that deal there must be at least one food order per person. We could have all ordered a 300 yen stick of meat, but in the holiday spirit we ate all kinds of food. In the end, we even managed to keep the bill at less than 3000 yen per person!

When we left Nezumi it was nearly midnight, but I’m not sure if we had to leave because our group was so loud, or if we just decided it was time to go. In any case, we had to take the party to karaoke!

All in all, it was a successful end of the year party. Hopefully, that’s the last one that I have to initiate.

DECEMBER 27

No plans today except to take it easy until Jordan’s party. I headed down to Toyohashi around 4:30, but it felt as though it was already getting pretty dark. This was a special Christmas party because we were having tacos!! Jordan invited one of his coworkers, and her friend, and also another ALT. It was a small, but fun party. And, of course, it’s been so long since I’ve had tacos~~!! I can’t thank him enough for that. Had I known it would have been so much fun, I would have stayed all night to play games. However, tomorrow I plan on playing futsal, so it’s back to Nagoya for me.

DECEMBER 28

I’m still feeling a bit under the weather. It’s not a full blown cold, just fatigue and sinus drainage. I ended up deciding against going to play futsal, which I regret a little because that was the same time that it started to snow: the first snow in Nagoya. Then again, I don’t want it to get colder…

As a side note, I learned that I can roast a sweet potato on my little stove if I wrap it in foil!

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.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 15

DECEMBER 8

Did nothing today but sleep, homework, and then sleep again.

DECEMBER 9

I mentioned before that the shoes I brought from the States, the black ones that I usually use for dance, have worn out: holes in the soles, and no more cushion. Even so, I still want to wear them a bit longer. That’s why I went to the hyaku-en shop today and bought some cheap shoe inserts. It’s just a simple cushion to line the bottom of my shoes, but it makes up for the lack of any cushion at the balls of me feet. Simple as it may be, it makes a difference. At least I can use these shoes until I find a new pair.

Sadly, today was the last International Cafe of the semester. Though exams are not until mid-January, soon we will have winter break, and once we return from back it will be time to prepare for the examinations. In other words, people will be too busy studying to come and hang out in the cafe. With that in mind, when the Cafe time ended we took the party back to the apartment for a nabe and tenpura party, courtesy of Rachael. I helped her buy groceries on the way home, but not from MaxValu. Instead, she showed me a little shop a block east of MaxValu which sells produce for significantly cheaper than any supermarket. This is because some of these items are bruised, or their sell-by date is approaching soon. That said, I think I might try to shop there for my fruits and veggies from now on.

DECEMBER 10

Yesterday, when I was at the super cheap grocer I saw a bag of mikan (mandarin oranges) for only 550yen. This was a HUGE bag, with at least two dozen mikan. Normally, a bag barely have that size would be about 400 yen or so. However, when I went back there today after class, the bags were all gone! Instead I bought a bunch of bananas, not just five or six, but literally a bunch of bananas for 250 yen. With bananas, sometimes you can get the value bag with three to five bananas for 90-150 yen, and if they ever sell single bananas, they are usually about 60 yen. I have probably a dozen medium-small bananas now, and most of them are perfectly ripe. There was also a pack of apples, two for 100 yen. Apples seem to be generally expensive. A single value apple will still sell at 150 yen, so of course I bought two of these 100 yen double packs.

(Huge bunches of bananas for only 300 yen, the night before I bought them for 250yen!)

Later, during dance practice I felt a bit sluggish. I wasn’t very motivated to go today, but I’m not sure if that’s partially because of the weather or if it’s just a mood. I went anyway and practiced for a bit before it felt like I pulled a muscle in my leg. Not sure why it happened all of a sudden, but maybe I didn’t warm up enough. I was also practicing handstands a bit, so I was stretching the one leg a lot more than usual. Who knows, it doesn’t feel that bad. I’ll just stretch more next time.

DECEMBER 11

Mikan flavored melon pan (a sweet bun that looks like a cantaloupe) is delicious!!! Usually on Wednesdays, Joy and I stop in the Mini Stop to grab a melon pan between first and second period. Today, on my way to school I stopped by Maxvalu and they had mikan flavored melon pan. The top layer is crusted with orange flavorings. It made up for the bag of mikan that I was unable to buy yesterday.

After second period, we all headed to the drama classroom to eat lunch. By chance I ran into Yuya, one of the poppers from BPM. He asked if I was going to Toyohashi tomorrow, and I said ‘Yes’ without really knowing what was going on in Toyohashi. I messaged another one of the members, Gakki, to find out what was going on. It seems as though they are going to have a little party in honor of the seniors who will be graduating in March. In place of usual club activities, the party will go on tomorrow, Thursday night, until morning. I’m looking forward to being able to hang out with BPM again outside of practice. Though I am friendly with a lot of the members, I’ve never hung out with them in such a large group before. I think it’s worth losing sleep over again, haha.

DECEMBER 12

It was an easy-going, event-less morning. No one was practicing in Nagoya that afternoon, so I simply waited until 4pm to meet Gakki. Together, we boarded the Meitetsu train for Toyohashi. She’s told me before that she is going to study abroad in California for the month of March, so I had her practice speaking English with me. Somehow we got on the topic of jokes and humor. I’m not a skilled joke-teller, nor do I know that many jokes off-hand, which made trying to explain American jokes to her interesting. I taught her the ‘Interrupting Squid’ knock-knock joke, which was the extent that my brain could explain. I wish I could have seen us from the other passengers’ point of view, randomly speaking in English and Japanese, and then throwing our hands in each other’s faces.

Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we jumped onto the Atsumi Line (the local train line). It was a few stops out to the nostalgic Aichi Daigaku Mae (in front of Aichi University). My memories of the campus came flooding back to me, nothing had changed, save we were looking at the campus at night.

The party was held in the building across from the student union; the same building that I had looked at with awe as dancers practiced in the studios across from the dining hall. It’s amazing how all these little things are tying together. I never could have imagined standing in those same studios, celebrating our senior members. Half the studio was lined with blue mats to keep the floor clean from eminent spills. There were a variety of snacks, sodas and tea, and some 3% alcoholic drinks, or ‘juice’ in my opinion. The seniors all gave quick little speeches, one by one. One of the seniors gave a long speech that sometimes seemed to be going on tangents. However, as he spoke, our current club leader was crying. That had a big effect on the other members, too. As I listened more carefully, the words and the stories became more meaningful. They had gone through so much together, and whether it was hard or not, they did it together. It doesn’t matter if they are the best, as long as they keep trying.

I am going to keep trying. I wish that now, more than ever, I had come to AIDAI sooner and joined BPM. These people, the upperclassmen, are the same age as me, but I respect them and look up to them as if I really was a new freshman member. From now until March I hope I can get to know them better, and that starts tonight.

The speeches were done, and the party started again. Drinking games continued on into the night. Those of us who didn’t drink found places to dance in the hallways, and in the open half of the studio. Yuta played DJ most of the night, playing off various tracks for the bboys and the poppers. At one point, Koudai and I took over for some karaoke, which gave rise to a whole different party vibe in the studio as others started to request songs to sing. As they sung on, a small group of us went down to the convenient store near the campus for ice cream and snacks. The night pressed on in good spirits, but around 3am many people began to nod off. Those that stayed awake, myself included, played a mystery game called Jinro. Each player assumes a character and each round they try to figure out who is Jinro, or the werewolf. If they can’t guess correctly, the player rolls change and some are killed off. The person who is Jinro doesn’t want to be discovered, so they hide their identity and try to convince other players that they are something else. It was my first time playing the game, and I’m fairly sure that I still don’t know how to play it well.

DECEMBER 13

Last night turned into another all-nighter straight into a Friday morning class. A few of the other students and I caught the first train from the station around 6:30am. A few of the freshmen girls and I ended up on the same train back to Nagoya together. They had brought a change of clothes, so they looked fresh for the day. I, on the other hand, didn’t know what to expect so I was going home in the same clothes. They were still clean, but they smelled a bit like smoke. We arrived in Nagoya around 8am, which meant there was no time to go home and change. Thankfully, I didn’t have to prepare anything for class today, so I went as I was. As per usual, once class was over, it was back home for a nap.

A few weeks ago I made plans with my host sister to go to a sendo, bath house. A sendo, is similar to an onsen (hot spring), but it is of course all man-made and in the city limits. It was going to be my first trip to a public bath house. I’m glad she invited me almost a month in advance, because in a way that gave me time to mentally prepare myself. As someone who grew up in a culture based on modesty, the idea of being naked around other people was nearly incomprehensible.

But, it was just a culture thing, right? It’s a tradition that goes back many centuries. It’s normal. Though that idea itself is interesting because many Japanese people are very aware of their personal space, yet when it comes to hot springs or crowded trains, they meld with the situation.

The sendo we visited was just a few subway stops from Nagoya Station at a place called Higashi Betsuin. From the outside, the location looked like a pachinko parlor, but maybe that was because it was right next to one. The first floor was actually a little cafe restaurant. The second floor was the entrance to the sendo itself. After passing the reception desk, we walked into a large lobby with various entertainment and relaxing stations. One could read manga, or watch TV, or sit in massage chairs; all the luxuries for only 700 yen. From the lobby, there was a grand staircase that led up to the changing rooms, where the women and men would be separated.

Don’t let your face show you’re uncomfortable, or they will notice. That was my mantra for the day. I just went through the motions in my own little bubble of a world. We undressed and put our things in a locker, save for a small towel to cover our privates. Once I realized everyone was just minding their own business, enjoying their own little bubble, and then I started to relax. We tried each bath, from the hot tub, to the sauna, then up to the top floor for an open bath, much like a natural onsen.

After the initial bath experience we changed back into our clothes and went down to the first floor to eat dinner. I became very sleepy. My host sister went back into the baths again, but I was more content to sit in the big pillow chairs and watch TV. I think going from bath, to dinner, to a comfy seat was the most relaxing experience I’ve had in a long time. I could have fallen asleep right there.

The night wasn’t done however. When I finally gathered up the energy and motivation to grab my things from the locker room, my host sister was also done with her rounds of bathing. We went back to Nagoya station and caught the tail end of Open Mic Nite at the Heart n’ Soul Cafe. It was literally the last 10 minutes, but we had the chance to see two wonderful performances and sample the green tea smoothies. My timing is never that great, but hopefully we can go to the next Open Mic Night.

DECEMBER 14

BIG BANG CONCERT!!

Today was my first concert ever! To be honest, I didn’t actually plan on going to a concert, but actually, the sister of a friend of mine invited me a couple months ago. The tickets were a lottery, so I didn’t actually know that we were going until a couple weeks ago. Joy, Rachael, and Chi (one of the German exchange students) are also going, but we will all be in different sections.

The doors to the concert venue would not open until 4pm, but when we arrived at 10am there was already a significant crowd. For those of you who don’t know, BIG BANG is a Korean Pop band. My friend Lynnette would have died to come to this concert and see them live. Since she could not be there, I made a point to get her some merchandise. My friend’s sister, Ai, and her mom who also came, also wanted to buy some of the concert goods so we arrived at the venue at 10am. We thought it was early enough, but it took us two hours in line to reach the merchandise. I bought a sports towel, tote bag and earrings for Lynnette. It was a little expensive in my opinion, but it was the least I could do. The ticket for the concert itself was also 9500 yen.

To my surprise, and relief, I was treated to lunch. The venue, the Nagoya Dome, was right across from an Aeon mall, so we went to a buffet there, and then killed time until the venue opened. We ran into Joy, Rachael, and Chi for a bit, but once we entered the concert hall I was back with my friend’s family. Our seats were a bit far back, but they were just off center, so we had a great view of the concert overall. One of the things that you can only appreciate by going to a live concert in Japan is the crowd’s synchronization. Almost everyone had a light-up wand, made specifically for that’s concert’s performers. As the concert goes on they all bop and wave their wands with the music.

I have mentioned before that I have bad timing, due to their being different rhythms in one area. In this case, while everyone is bopping their wands at a steady 1-2-3-4 pace I had a tendency to follow the flow of the music more, which often varied from the standard. It was fun though and we stood up for the whole concert, which only made me want to dance (not enough room). That was my only unmet hope at the concert, I would have liked to see more dancing in the performances, but I understand that’s harder to do when the music is live. I’m not sure if I would pay for the same giant concert experience, but I can say that I have more respect for BIG BANG’s members now. I know how hard it can be to pull together a performance like that—well, theoretically I know. Just for the whole experience itself, I’m glad I had the chance to go.