STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 47

JULY 20

Despite the thinness of the mattress, I actually slept well last night, except for my neck. I really need to get a good pillow before anything else. Akane took me out shopping around Donki and the Daiso were I bought the essentials for new living: a wonderful micro-foam pillow, garbage sorting bags, a dust mop, and some food. I didn’t buy all that much because much of my kitchenware was still back in Nagoya. Moreover, I was going to be receiving various items from the other exchange students before they returned home, too. In the past, the students used to be able to leave items for the next round of students; however, for some reason we were no longer allowed to do that. So, the plan was that I would hold on to the extra things, take what I needed, and pass the rest on to the new students when they came in September.

Shopping took a little bit longer than expected. It was already past five by the time I returned to my apartment. Tonight, I had made plans to meet with the other exchange students down in Gamagori for the fireworks festival. I had to hurry, but I also had to get dressed in my yukata. If I hurried, I thought I could make it in time to meet the others at the station before six. That’s what I thought, but then Akane suggested having her grandmother help me with the yukata. I didn’t want to impose, but I also didn’t want to make a mistake either. Thankfully, they only lived a few minutes away by car, and her grandmother was more than willing to show me how it was done. I’m more than grateful that she did, too, because I hadn’t realized that I would need so many strings to hold things in place. She lent me all the necessary straps and ties, as well as an undershirt and a little bag to carry. The process took about a half an hour, but most of the time was spent by the grandmother asking questions or making comments: my sleeves were a bit short, but she could let them out a bit. Then, surprisingly, as she placed the obi around my waist she noted that it was small— my waist, that is in comparison to my hips. For the average slim build of a Japanese woman, a yukata can easily be wrapped. However, in order to accommodate for my size, the fabric needed to be rotated so that the top layer reached my side, leaving little to overlap with.

Alterations could be done at another time. It was past the meeting time, so I needed to hurry still. Akane dropped me off at the station, and I shuffled my way to the platform on my geta. I expected some looks, some acknowledgment that a foreigner is wearing a yukata, but if there were any then I didn’t notice. Often I heard about people getting stared at, but I guess my dark hair and eyes aren’t as interesting as the characteristic blond-haired, blue-eyed American.

After a short time, I finally arrived in Gamagori and met up with my friends before the huge mass of people swarmed the area. From the station’s exit, all the way out to the port side, crowds of people, both in yukata and western wear filled the streets. Food stalls lined one side, creating huge lines of people as well. I wish I had eaten beforehand, but we all were a little bit hungry. We broke up into groups to grab drinks and snacks before the show started. Little did we know that the first line we entered would take us over an hour. Right before we ordered our food, the fireworks countdown started.

(We watched the fireworks as we were in line for our “waffler corn” crepes.)

The fireworks were presented in rounds, each sponsored by a different company, or part of the city. The few of us still standing in line watched the fireworks from there as we sent the bulk of our group off to snag a spot to sit. In the end, we spent most of our time in line, and then searching for our group amongst the hundreds of people that we, or at least I, barely saw the fireworks. The ones that I did see were as good as they can get, and the musical accompaniments were very suitable.

The show ended around 9pm, but we made the mistake of staying until the end. When we walked back toward the station, we soon saw that the line for the trains was winding around outside the station. It would move in chunks, but it was incredibly long. I’ve had enough of lines to last me a lifetime!!

JULY 21

I don’t think I have mentioned it, but as part of our grammar and reading class final this semester, we actually have to do a presentation. That presentation had to be something related to the school system’s in our home country. This wasn’t like our survey class, where we were simply comparing the differences, nor were we going to present this in front of our own class. It all started when we were told to look up an article and bring it to class. One thing led to another, and the topic of education came up. That’s when it was decided that we would give presentations on education to Mrs. Yamamoto’s seminar class.

The topic that I chose was homeschooling. It’s hardly ever practiced in Japan, but in America and other parts of the world, it is an increasing alternative to attending regular school. Personally, I was home-schooled when I was in the 7th and 8th grade. I learned a lot about responsibility and motivation at that time, and it was also when I started to really practice drawing. I don’t remember much of the daily schedules, but I can recall hands-on experiments, field trips, and time to expand my own interests. These are only a few of the benefits of homeschooling which I presented to the seminar class. None of them had heard of it before.

I haven’t thought much of it before, but I suppose the Japanese education system is incredibly standardized. It doesn’t seem to promote much individual growth either. Part of that is due to the society’s group mindset, which as a whole I don’t think is a terrible thing. I can understand why it’s hard for many people to have unique ideas if they are brought up in such a society. Yet, at the same time, I have met many incredibly unique and gifted people in the past year. They’re still individuals, even if they walk the same path as others.

JULY 22

Our final survey class today ended with a small interview from our professor’s daughter. Though only in middle school, she is incredibly motivated. Currently, she is doing research on skin color and prejudices, and she’s going far beyond her school assignment to do so. Interviewing us exchange students from America was only a fraction of her report. After months of answering questions like, ‘What’s your favorite food?’ ‘How did you study Japanese?’ and other surface-level questions we were taken-aback when she asked us ‘Have you ever seen or experienced prejudice in your life?’ Remember what I said about those unique and gifted people? There you go.

JULY 23

Today was another prime example of meeting someone you should have met months ago. Through a friend’s introduction, I met Anisa, an exchange student from Indonesia. She is also Muslim, like me, so she was also participating in Ramadan. We only spoke briefly today, but we are going to try to plan something for this coming Monday, which is Eid, the holiday at the end of Ramadan.

On that note, I actually couldn’t fast today, which was convenient because today was also the day of the Farewell Party put on by the University. It wasn’t quite as grand as last semester’s, since there was less food options on the table. Instead, we had a buffet of sushi which is a feast in itself. A couple people cried as they gave their farewell and thank you speeches. Overall, this time the occasion felt more unfortunate. There wasn’t as much laughter as before, and that feeling seemed to be felt in the new students as well. We were lucky enough to be part of such a great group, everyone got along, and we were all friends…an international family. Why is our time so short?

Well, we can’t wonder and mope about it all day. I had to go to training, so I took another load of luggage (round 2) down with me. Most of my stuff is now at the new apartment, but I haven’t received anything from the others yet. Hopefully it’s only a couple more trips.

JULY 24

Let’s forget about the grammar exam we had this morning. It wasn’t horrible, but I made a good handful of silly mistakes, particularly on the last section. I studied that section in particular, but I went ahead and made the same mistakes. Hopefully the rest fared better.

After dance practice, I met with Rachael at the cafe for Open Mic Night rehearsal. We sung outside the cafe to warm up as others went through their own rehearsals. When it came to us, our music came from an MP3, so it was just the two of us standing there singing a duet. Should he turn up the microphone’s volume? I don’t know. I’m not thinking when I’m standing up there.

OK, not panicking. I have the lyrics down, and by some form of magic confidence I have broken down the initial barrier that would otherwise prevent me from even speaking in front of a crowd. Still, I could probably do better. Tomorrow’s the big day after all.

JULY 25

Final presentations for our culture class started off our morning. I was anxious to leave because I needed to catch the train down to Gamagori to meet with the company I had been training with. We were finally going to go to the embassy to hand in the visa request forms. If you haven’t guessed already, I got the job! Now, all we need to work through is the visa process. They say it can take as little as two weeks, or up to three months. I hope it’s the former.

(Waiting at immigrations…)

Once the paperwork was turned in, and no problems seemed to be at hand, it was already well into the afternoon, nearing on 5pm. Without delay, I caught the train back from Toyohashi (where the immigrations office was) and headed towards Nagoya.

By the time I reached the cafe, rehearsals were coming to a close. Rachael and I briefly went over the lyrics one last time, and then I broke my fast and waited. The song that we had chosen was called Summer Paradise, and it seemed fitting due to the fact that my closest friends would soon be returning to Hawaii.

I was nervous, but in spite of myself, I tried to open up our performance with a lively greeting and introduction in English and Japanese. I could feel the tightness creep into my throat, but I fought to keep it at bay. For three minutes, I stepped out of myself and trusted my actions. Soon our duet was over, and I left the stage to Rachael for a hula dance performance. I sung, I laughed, and I had fun. It wasn’t perfect, but I did it. We did it. If Rachael hadn’t been there, I would never have even dared to try. Maybe that’s what I’m missing when it comes to dancing— someone I can trust and lean on, no matter what.

JULY 26 - JULY 27

Oh my goodness. This sickness came out of nowhere. I could only bear to sleep on Saturday, and Sunday was much of the same. Then again, I was so tired; I think I needed the rest. Hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow~

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 45

JULY 6

It’s been too long since I have danced at Shirakawa Park. The weather today was a bit iffy, but it started out nice and sunny. Five of us were practicing, doing our own thing when I noticed someone watching in the corner of my eye. We made eye-contact and he spoke to me, ‘Do you speak English?’

Had he not asked this in a perfect American accent, I would have assumed he was Japanese. On the contrary, he was actually from Michigan! On top of that, he was a break dancer, but he was in Japan on a three-week internship as an engineer. Of all the people!

At the time he had just finished touring the science museum, so he happened to notice us as he passed by. He wasn’t meeting his friend until later that evening, so we offered him the chance to rest, or to join us if he’d like. It had been ‘months’ since he’s practiced, but he jumped right into it, despite the light rain that started to fall. Eventually, we moved our group to the basketball court, which was covered by the overpass and practiced there. As the first English-speaking break dancer I have met in the past year, I eagerly took his well-pointed advice. Now I’m trying to figure out how to do thread while I’m in a shoulder freeze. Thanks, Albert. Be seeing you again I hope.

JULY 7

I started packing and preparing for the move. What I really mean is that I’ve put away all my winter things nicely, and I have filled up my large orange luggage with things I am not using now, but will need later. It never hurts to start early. Then, evening practice in the Naka District.

JULY 8

After weeks of waiting, my group has finally been able to present our survey to the class. All the themes had a relation to school, and ours was about the commute. Almost a month ago we started our surveys by asking a few volunteer students who came to our class basic questions in regards to our research. We didn’t have to actually create another survey on our own accord, but since we only had two questions to investigate, and already eight people’s answers, we decided it was an opportune time.

I was in charge of the survey, but we divided the other research and presentation creation amongst the three of us. Not only were we to present on Japan’s school commute, but our home countries as well. As far as information goes, we filled our twenty minutes greatly, and that was before playing the video material. I wish our member had shown us the video beforehand, rather than playing the five minutes’ worth during the real presentation as we were on the clock. There were no questions to be asked, which may or may not have been a good thing. I think people just wanted to go to their next class. There will probably be a question session at the beginning of class next week.

JULY 9

It’s the second to last week of the semester, which means today was the second to last Business Japanese class we will have. Next week also happens to be the final exam, which will be similar to the midterm where we had to do role-plays. However, we also have to write a thank you speech, and practice new role plays such as telephone conversations ad lib. I hope I don’t get picked for the telephone conversation!

JULY 10

Our morning started out with a guidance meeting for the students who are going to return to their home countries soon. Granted, some of us are ready to go home, but I’m not. We spent about an hour or so being talked about canceling our Internet contracts, preparing for water and electric bills, returning our bikes to the university, cleaning up our rooms, and, of course, final paperwork. My only comfort was that if anything happened, I would still be around later to deal with it. But the harsh truth was very clear: in less than a month I would be saying good-bye to some of the most important people in my life, my second family.

Like I said it was depressing, but we couldn’t wallow in it. We still had more immediate preparations to make. The day after tomorrow four of us, Joy, Rachael, Aurianne and I were heading to Mt. Fuji. Joy and I rode our bikes to Donki for some last minute preparations, in particular headlamps. We intended to climb the mountain over the course of the day and into the night so that we could see the sunrise. Then, we hurried home to work on our final presentations for culture class tomorrow. Once again, we can present on anything we want, and I was still undecided until yesterday.

JULY 11

(I woke up just in time for the clouds to give way to the dawn.)

My second to last presentation topic of the semester, of my undergraduate career was this: Okami. Okami has several meanings when translated, all which depend on its kanji. The basis for my presentation was a Capcom video game that came out a few years back when I was in high school. In this game you played as Amaterasu, a god or okami, who comes down to Japan to save the people from the dark ages as a wolf, also okami, and your powers are used by drawing symbols on paper, the final kami. The main reason I chose this as my final subject was because this game opened my eyes to Japanese folklore. Every character, every story within the story has a link to a Japanese folktale. I’m a fan of folklore, and another big theme that I enjoy is past meets present. This game does exactly that, as it is a modern tool depicting old stories. I highly recommend it.

That said, I kind of tripped through the presentation itself. Maybe that was karma, or some foul curse that said any video I planned to use in my culture presentation would betray me. In this case, the voice over of the video was faster than I could read, but it wasn’t a real, clear language. So I constantly had to pause, read, and play the video again. It made my presentation much longer than the intended ten minutes.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 44

JUNE 29

This morning I went to Okazaki to sign the finalization of my apartment contract. The events have finally settled in, and I will be moving in a few weeks. While I was in Okazaki, I decided to walk to the mall and also check out the nearby Donki, where I bought some sportswear.

By the way, Ramadan is supposed to be starting soon, but I’ve been hearing different things about the starting day. Some are saying it’s tomorrow, and others are saying it’s Tuesday. I’m not sure, so I decided to start fasting from today. As long as this summer isn’t too humid, I think I won’t have a problem.

JUNE 30

I haven’t really had a chance to relax and do nothing the past couple weeks, and since I was out all day yesterday, that’s exactly what I did today after class. I sent in my book stuff to be printed; now it’s just time to wait until the proof copy is delivered.

JULY 1 - JULY 2

Today I decided to kick back a bit more. Joy and the others have decided to go climb Mt. Fuji on July 12th and 13th. That just so happens to be my birthday week. I couldn’t have planned a better way to spend my birthday than with them. As for climbing the mountain, if we can get all the way to the top it will be a great feat. I have a few doubts, since I’ve never done it before, but as far as fitness goes I think I can make the climb. I may be slow, but I will get to the top if that’s where we are going.

JULY 3

Today is all about BPM. They’re having another party down in Toyohashi tonight, which I almost missed out on. Initially the date was set for next Thursday, but it was suddenly changed to today. It’s probably going to go all night again, but I’m looking forward to seeing if any of the graduated students show up. This may also be the last time I can party with them as a student, so I have to make the most of it! Toyohashi here I come!

JULY 4

As expected, the party lasted all night. It wasn’t as lively as some of the other previous parties, and by that I mean a lot more people slept through the night. I considered napping once or twice myself, but I have a hard time doing so in public places. Instead I danced most of the night, and when morning came, this time I was showered and ready to start my day.

I actually had quite a Friday planned. After class, where presentations on Japanese instruments continued, I went to karaoke with Taiga and Rachael for the afternoon three-hour special. We needed to figure out what songs we can sing together, so I went for practice, she just went to be awesome.

Then, following an enriching karaoke experience, I met with Takahiro at the station. We headed down to Osu on the subway in search for yukatas, preferably cheap ones. Normally, a new, well-made yukata might go for a couple hundred dollars or so. If at all possible, I hoped to get the whole set: yukata, obi, and geta (wooden shoes) for less than a hundred. They had pre-made packs in Aeon for about one-hundred dollars; that was my back-up plan.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to go to Aeon after all. The first store we went into had two floors, with used yukatas and kimonos on the second floor. We checked the second floor first because some were as cheap as 500 yen! Unfortunately, we could find little that would suit my height, or that was the right material/color. We were pretty set on some sort of blue as the main color. Two middle-aged women graciously gave us advice on where to look for the right styles for summer, and they even went as far as to lead us, well me, around the store to try on different styles. They didn’t work there, they were customers like us, though clearly more experienced.

When the second floor proved to be insightful, but not plentiful, we headed down to the first floor. I expected prices to be through the roof, but there was actually yukata between 3000 and 5000 yen. There was only one blue one that would fit my height, I was worried if it would fit the girth of my hips, when suddenly another middle-aged woman came out of nowhere and started to properly dress me in the yukata. We had a red obi picked out, which she quickly wrapped around me and confirmed the sizes would fit. Thank you, random lady, for saving us the guess work. All I had to do was choose a pair of geta, which for my size was even harder to find, but there was a few extra-large pairs. In any case, they would have been tight because they were new. All that for about 7200 yen, perfect!

Following our shopping venture, Takahiro and I trudged back to Nagoya station so we could go to English Cafe Nite. There happened to be a large group visiting from California, which at least doubled the number of English speakers in the room. We played a game similar to telephone, only with gestures instead of speaking the phrases. Some of the phrases we had to act out were impossible to decipher: my group’s phrase was becoming a ghost, but it ended up looking like the rain came and something sprouted. Regardless, we had a great time, and I earned the right to a good night sleep. Good night!

JULY 5

Mark’s having a party tonight in his room. For the first time it’s not in my or Rachael’s room, so we’re grateful. It went well, as most parties do. Nobody came to hush us, though I thought sometimes we got a bit loud. Then, out of nowhere, Mark’s neighbor calls for his attention on the balcony. Next thing we know, he’s sitting in the room with us, talking about games. We thought he was going to tell us to be quiet, but he just came over to join the party. In fact, this was the same guy that I had talked to WAY back in September when there was a fire in the building across the street. Who knew he was Mark’s neighbor?

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 43

JUNE 22

I am still in shock.

This morning Akane and I went back to the apartment dealer. There were three out of five places that we could go see today, and the first one just so happened to be my first pick as well. As soon as I stepped in I knew it was the place. I didn’t really want to see the other places, but I didn’t want to make an impulsive decision, so we did check out the other two places. In comparison, they seemed small, unappealing, but maybe that was because I had already made my decision.

When we headed back to the dealer, and I mentioned that I really liked the first place. I thought that would mean, all right come back again next week and we’ll draw up the contract. No, they had the paperwork ready. I knew it was the right place, so now or later it didn’t really matter, right? I didn’t want someone else to take it. We worked through the paper and they printed out the initial bill for me. It wasn’t just rent, but also a gratuity fee, insurance, neighborhood fee. In the end, it came to about 2000 dollars. I had to pay it this week. Also, I had to move into the new place within a month of signing the contract. July 19th it is.

It felt like I was doing the right thing, but I couldn’t help wondering if I had acted impulsively. Was I supposed to inform the university first? Or, was I missing some vital piece of information? It all seemed to go too smoothly.

We ate at SUSHI-RO after that, and I was still in shock.

Then I returned to Nagoya in the late afternoon, only to run into Jordan outside Nagoya Station. His plans to meet someone had fallen through and he was just on his way home. Turns out, he hadn’t eaten at the time so I took him to the nearby udon place for some venting time for the both of us.

So excited! And terrified! Am I really doing this all on my own?

JUNE 23

The last International Cafe… so sad. I will miss all the regular faces, and the bi-weekly excuse to talk about nothing in particular. Takahiro and Yuto also showed up today to hang out. Apparently, they needed a picture of me for the interview, so Yuto snapped one with his phone. I wish he had told me about it sooner because I was not at all dressed for a photo today.

JUNE 24

I did my duty and paid for the apartment today. So much money gone, and once again the bank account is starved. The JASSO money should be coming in soon though. I got to save up because it looks like we’ll be traveling next month: Disneyland, Universal Studios, who knows! It’s going to be an adventure. I’m pretty sure we are going to USJ because the new Harry Potter attraction will open around the 17th. I can’t wait to go; I’ve never been to a Universal Studio or Disneyland before.

JUNE 25

No time to work on manga today, only class and training. I’m in the last stages though; I think I can finish up the pages in a couple more days!

JUNE 26

Joy joined me to play futsal again. We always have too much fun playing against each other. Also, now that I know a few more of the members, we can actually interact with them as other matches are going on. Speaking a few sentences in English is fairly popular, but the conversation always reverts back to Japanese. Our conversations aren’t about much, but we have a great time playing futsal.

After futsal I went straight to dance practice for a few hours. Now I am home and showered. Tonight I’m going to try and get some more pages done. I have all night to do it since there’s no class tomorrow. Less than one chapter to go!

JUNE 27

It’s done! It’s done!

The pages are all complete! I finished the last details at 6pm, just in time for me to go to Open Mic Nite at the Heart n’ Soul Cafe. I even started on the cover, so all I have to do is check out the pages and prepare them for printing, finally.

Going to Open Mic became my initial celebration. Rachael and a couple other students also came to the event this time. Takahiro was there working as the MC, and he somehow managed to convince Rachael to perform next month. On one condition: that I perform with her. I enjoy karaoke, not singing on a stage. I can’t even sing that well. But, if it’s for Rachael, I’ll brave that fire. Somehow, someway, we’ll pull a performance together.

JUNE 28

Today’s culture experience was all about traditional Japanese instruments and yukata. As one of the first to arrive, I had the chance to watch our teachers for the day wander into the university all dressed up properly in yukatas. As soon as our class officially started, at 9am, we were dressed in various yukatas. They weren’t so much separated by size as they were by height, meaning there was few for me two choose from. This time, as one of the older women helped me put the yukata on and set the obi I tried to pay close attention. I would be buying my own yukata for the upcoming fireworks festivals, so I had to figure out how to wear it properly on my own.

Once everyone was dressed in their yukatas and the pictures were taken, we were split into two groups. My group was the first to experience the instruments, while the other group was taught obondori, a festival dance that takes place to celebrate obon, a festival based on the Buddhist custom of honoring one’s ancestors. In the instrument room they had set up there was flutes, shamisen, and small taiko drums. I tried the flute first, but in the allotted time I could hardly get a note through. Rachael and Joy on the other hand had experience playing wind instruments, so it came more naturally to them. Next I was sent to the small drums, which started out all right until I started going off rhythm. As for the techniques of hitting and holding the drum itself, I found that I was quite capable. Last was the shamisen, the instrument I had least faith that I could play, but it turned out to be the most fun. My fingers tend to move slowly so I thought that strumming the strings would be harder for me. To my surprise, the challenge of plucking the notes was more fun that I thought. I would have loved to have more time learning it, but our time quickly came to an end.

We switched rooms with the other group and danced for an hour in our yukatas. Dancing was nearly mindless for me, especially since the steps in and of themselves are relatively simply and they repeat for the entire song. At this point, a few people were complaining about the tightness of their yukatas as well, but I felt no such discomfort. I’m looking forward to finding my own yukata, but hopefully it’s not too expensive.

I planned a dinner get-together with the Hawaiian students and a few of the Japanese students that we have known since last year. It had been too long since we had eaten out together, outside of the curry house, so this time we went to yakiniku. Taigen recommended the place, which we found to be cheap and conveniently near the station.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 41

JUNE 9

How was today already the second to last International Cafe?? This semester is going too fast. It’s too short. I don’t know what it is. Last semester was mid-September to mid-January because we had a couple breaks. This semester it’s just a straight fifteen weeks, beginning of April to the end of July.

I hung around school after the Cafe was over, expecting that I would be going to the fitness room with Shin after his class. I didn’t know until afterward that he went earlier in the day, during 4th period. Instead of working out, we bought some dinner from MaxValu and ate at Chambre 72. Then, he wanted me to show him how to dance, so we had a brief ‘This is how you dance hip hop’ session on the roof that consisted mostly of moving with the down beat.

JUNE 10

…Manga…Dance…

JUNE 11

I have been seriously looking for apartments the past couple weeks, you know, during all my free time. The only thing I know for sure is that I want to try and live in Okazaki, and I would like a place for less than 400 a month. I didn’t have too many preferences except that it was on the second floor, or higher, had a balcony, hardwood floor, storage space, a slightly larger kitchen space than my current place, and a place to put a washing machine.

A few days ago I sent an inquiry to one of the apartment searching companies, asking if the apartments would allow a foreigner to live there. Today, I received the reply: the owner would not like to rent to a foreigner. That kind of sucked, because I really liked the place in the pictures. It had a lot of closets set in the walls, too.

But, was this my first case of prejudice?

I don’t think so. Granted, the owner knows nothing about me, I can understand why they wouldn’t want to rent out to just any foreigner. What if I couldn’t speak Japanese? Or, what if I didn’t know Japanese house customs? I’ve done my research and I’ve read about some bad cases. My contact was happy to inform me that there were two other locations in their database that would allow foreigners if I was interested. That led me to contact Akane. She lived in Okazaki and recently moved into her own apartment. We decided it was best to go directly to the apartment dealer’s, so that’s what we’ll do on Sunday.

JUNE 12

…Manga…Futsal…Dance…

Joy couldn’t come to futsal today, so I went alone. I only played with the girls today, which is fun, but they still group up too much. Once they start to spread out and get a hang of the game then I think it will be a lot more fun. I also met some more of the guys in the club, mostly third years like Shogo. They seem pretty cool. One of the guys is named Rikiya, but his nickname is Rickey, which also happens to be the same name of one of the club’s main teams: Rickey’s. I wonder if he has something to do with that.

JUNE 13

As a member of the newspaper club, Yuto asked me last week if I wouldn’t mind doing an interview with one of his juniors. He couldn’t join us for the interview, but we managed pretty well, I think. I couldn’t tell what his junior thought of my answers, and there were only a few basic questions prepared. Those basic questions were nearly over before we started, since I had sent the information to Yuto prior. I gave the interviewer more information, checking to see if there was anything else she wanted to ask about. Somehow, the topic settled on manga. I was hoping to keep that secret from the mass, if for no other reason than I didn’t want to be written off as another person who came to Japan because of manga and anime. I guess we’ll see how that turns out.

JUNE 14

…Manga… so much toning to do…