Learning How to Smile

It's snowing outside right now. It's snowing quite a bit. I'm so excited I've got my window wide open and the snow is falling onto my bed. It's so coooool! (no pun intended)

Well, it's cool when you're not riding your bike into the wind that's full of little snow bits....er...snowflakes. They turn into little daggers that make your face all red and raw.

How do I know this, you ask?

Well, I just spent an hour and half this morning looking for my lost key. Sometime last night it slipped off my keychain. I could conjecture, but based on where I found it I have NO clue how I lost it.

Let me walk you through my day and we'll see what you can come up with.

So I woke up a bit melancholy. Don't know why, just was. Spending the day alone didn't do much to fix that, either. I pulled through till 6:30 though. That's when Jen, Lily, and Sam planned to come over for some Vampire Diaries goodness.

After cleaning my room spick and span, they knocked... well actually they didn't knock. Haha! They just kind of wandered into my room. At any rate, the party commenced. We goofed around for a bit, downloaded the episode and started the game.

By the end of it we were a little sad. The episode was a bit disappointing, so to cheer ourselves up, we watched some Sabrina the Teenage Witch. That's right. Blast from the 90's past! I never realized just how hokey that show was.

So we killed time with that till karaoke. We'd made the plan on the last day of school to go to this Karaoke place called Cybac for a 6 hour karaoke/ping pong/darts/billiards/soft drink 飲み放題 marathon. They have this fantastic deal after 10pm-- all-inclusive 6 hours for ¥1230. It ended up being Kevin, Henry, and us. It was FANTASTIC. I sang my heart out. My voice is super scratchy right now. I've got some hot tea working on that.

So we were there till about 6am. Surprisingly I was wide awake and very hungry after all that. We cruised over to the nearest McDonalds to see if we could get one of the new New York Burgers. Turns out it was so popular they ran out of them that day, so we settled for Big Macs. It's the second Big Mac I've had in my life and it was perfect. It really hit the spot.

After that bite we figured we should head home for some shut eye. I think we decided on that mostly because we couldn't think of anything else to do. Sam and Lily followed Jen and I home to crash for the evening.

Sam and I went back at super speed. We beat Jen and Lily back by a good 10 minutes; just long enough for me to figure out I was, once again, locked out of my room. The last time that happened Nicole and I were in soaking wet clubbing clothes in the dead of winter. This time around it was Sam and I, but at least we were dry.

Earlier that evening, as we were heading out the door, Sam said that Lily had forgotten something in my room. I passed my keys back, Lily said never mind, and I promptly got them returned. I figured maybe Lily had taken the key off then and she had it. Unfortunately she didn't.

We scoured the halls, out front Maison, and all of our bags and pockets. It was nowhere. When we got in the room, Lily kindly called the karaoke place to inquire if it was found in the room. They searched, but it wasn't there. I started to get a little worried, but there was nothing we could do about it at 7am, so we crashed.

As per usual I woke up before everyone else. I faffed about for a bit then decided to go searching for it. I retraced my foot steps exactly.

I asked at the 7/11.

Wasn't there.

I looked up and down Karasuma as I biked in the falling snow.

Nowhere in sight.

Looked where I parked my bike last night.

No such luck.

Headed down the back road from my bike to the karaoke place.

And then!

There it was.

It was wedged between two buildings, really far back, about 100 meters from where my bike was last night.

I don't know. I really don't know, but at least I found it.

As I ecstatically biked back home, the snow began to fall harder. I must have looked like a loon. One of the bigger bits flew into my eye, so I was winking spastically, singing "雪雪雪が降っている／雪雪雪が大好き" and peddling as fast as my legs could go.

Crazy 外人 girl.

In the end all is well. I have my key and I had a lot of fun last night.

Also, it's criminal that taking pictures of falling snow is so hard.

Anyway, Love until later!

Caitlin D.

Unlike Me, Strawberry Fields Forever

Exciting news! I just booked 3 youth hostels for Matuyama in Shikoku, Iwakuni back on Honshu, and Hiroshima. Jen, Lily and I are officially going traveling.

The hope is that we'll get rooms at the Tokushima and Takamatsu youth hostels as well, but if not, we can at least spend 5 or so days going around Matsuyama and Hiroshima.

So the plan that's been finalized so far is this:

Feb 17: travel to Matsuyama

Feb 18: spend the day at Dogo Onsen

Feb 19: catch a boat over to Hiroshima and make our way down to Iwakuni

Feb 20: see Miyajima island

Feb 21: look around Iwakuni and move over to Hiroshima for a night

Feb 22: go to the Peace Park and Hiroshima-jo then catch a night bus back to Kyoto

It's going to be freaking awesome. I was reading up on Dogo onsen, turns out it's been recorded in literature as far back as 3,000 years! It's also the onsen that Miyazaki supposedly based the main bath house in Spirited Away on.

I'm getting super jazzed for this vacation.

I kinda needed this pick me up after today. It was a little bit of a nightmare.

So I didn't have to go into school till 2nd period, and that was nice, but I got a bit of a surprise. I remember waking up and looking outside and thinking it looked a little bleak, but it didn't even occur to me that it might rain, so I stupidly didn't bring an umbrella. I hopped on my bike and made it up to school and when I came out after class it was raining.

Crap.

Kindly, Jeremy lent me his umbrella. It was a little on the small side though. Jen and I had plans to go get our re-entry permits today. It didn't seem that far away so I said we should walk. Big mistake.

We got underfoot (after being stalked by Sam for a bit) and it started getting colder and wetter. We walked for probably 40 minutes trying to find this place. By the time we got to the building our shoes were sloshing and our coats were as waterlogged as our boots.

So we get in there and it's all warm and cozy. We pull off our wet jackets and pull out our passports and forms, and they tell us that we have to go back outside to go to the post office (which we passed on the way to the building) and purchase a special stamp. LAME. Totarry rame.

So we put back on our cold jackets and slodge back outside and guess what happens. It starts to sleet on us. SLEET! It was cold enough for the rain to freeze into happy, painful little stones of ice. Awesome.

The return trip was pretty miserable too. The closest train station to the building was on the Keihan. The Keihan doesn't connect to the chikatetsu line that runs under Karasuma-- the line that's closest to where we live. So we took a train and then had to walk for another 20 or so minutes to get back home. We got a little goofy.

The only thing that kept me cheery on the trip is the awesome pictures of Senryu making their new drums. I felt like a proud Mom today showing off pictures of her children. I showed those pictures to everyone.

That and singing "Singing in the Rain."

So it was a pain in the butt, but we have our re-entry permits! It's even more official now! Weeeeee

So now I have to go study for my last two finals and I'm home free.... literally!

Can't wait to see you all!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

That's Okay, Weak Sister

I'm officially half way done with finals!

This week was a nightmare, but it's done now. Friday I had 3 finals, but one didn't really count. Toda's B seminar final was awful. 100 questions, 102 grammar points covered, 1 hour to do it. My brain was fried afterwards. Not to mention I was going on 4-5 hours of sleep.

Thursday night Jen and I decided to study. It was ridiculous. We reviewed over 50 grammar points, which was good, but concentrating is so hard! Towards the end of it we started getting really slap happy (~_^ AHHHHHHHH!). It was fun though. Studying really is more fun with friends.

Wow this blog is painful to write. I don't know how to order it and I'm still feeling last night....

So after Okada's final, Nicole and I took care of some errands and made our way back to my place. I got nail polish! We met Sam and hooked up with Lily and Jen later on. The 5 of us watched Vampire Diaries and played our game. It was hilarious. After that was over we decided to go out.

The original plan was just to go to Milan's Bar and hang out with some other people. What ended up happening was this:

We hit up Milan's, met some new people from Australia and made our way over to this club called Metro. Apparently one of Sam's friends from Cambridge will be DJing there on Tuesday. So we walked over there for some dancing. Turns out it was Drag Night. Yeah. That's right. DRAG NIGHT.

It was GLORIOUS. A small place, but it was nice. When we walked in, there was this dude on the stage up at the front. I have never seen so much eye make up on a woman, let alone a MAN. I wish I could have taken a picture with him. His get up was awesome.

So we danced and danced and danced some more. It felt so good. Around 3am we headed home.

As we exited Milan's there was a ¥100 Lawson's next door. We grabbed a snack for the ride home. I had the best onigiri I've ever had. It had a creme coroque on top of this flavored rice. Oh man. I'm going to have to find it again.

Anyway, we grabbed a taxi and made it home. Living across from Nishi Honganji makes giving taxi directions really easy. I crashed the minute I stepped through the door. Nicole stayed up for first train home. I fell asleep, but I think Jen and Lily kept her company for a bit of it.

It was an eventful and entertaining night to say the least.

I got to destress from this week, and now I have to prepare for the next. Sunday is going to be study day. Tsukiyama's final is going to kill me.

Monday Jen and I are going to take care of our re-entry permits. I'm so excited! Just another month and I get to see everyone! Weeee

Other plans for this week include a class party on Tuesday, followed by Metro to watch Frankie DJ, finishing finals, making reservations for Shikoku, and doing nothing at all to celebrate the beginning of Spring Break.

That's all I've got for now!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

Pacing in the Cage

I am officially engaging in grooming patterns.

Guess that only makes sense to my family, so let me explain. When my mom was in college she would always start cleaning everything when she got stressed around finals and whatnot. One of her professors dubbed it "engaging in grooming patterns." Apparently it's a pretty common psychological thing. I've got it too.

First day of finals was today. I feel like I did alright. I'm really confident about my second final of the day- general Japanese grammar. It was a test on the first three chapters we studied. I hope I actually did as well as I feel I did. Even if I didn't, I know what to expect from the rest of the tests now.

After that test was over I felt so good. I'm not facing the unknown anymore! Yay! So I came home and got on top of things. I did the laundry that had been sitting for weeks, picked up my room, scrubbed my bathroom, made food, and did the dishes.

Now I can study in peace.

I've got two more general tests tomorrow and another one on Friday along with Toda's B-seminar and Okada's hatsuon class. Then I get the weekend to study up for my last few finals.

There's still a ways to go, but I'm feeling good about it. I just need to keep my spirits up. There's a lot of good things coming my way; I just need to remember that.

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

Echo

Woo! Well it took me almost a month to get back to you, but here I am!

So far the new year has been pretty good. I've been sick twice, but that's normal for me. School is drawing to a close. We just had our last day of official classes. I still have two classes on Monday to make up for days teachers cancelled lecture (what's up with that, right!?) and then finals.

It's going to be an intense week to say the least. The only thing keeping me going is the thought that after all that misery is pure bliss.

Lily, Jen and I are planning a 10 day trip around Shikoku and then up to Hiroshima in February. I'm really excited about it. It'll just be the three of us, youth hostels, and trains around Japan!

Then, after those glorious adventures I get to kick it in Kyoto for a week or so. I'm hoping to go back to Nara to hit Horyu-ji and see the massive collection of buddhist art. I'd also like to see some more temples around Kyoto. It's hard to go sight seeing when you're in classes all day. Perhaps a trip to Lake Biwa, as well.

After all that, I get to go home!

Last minute Jen decided she wanted to go back home, which left me without a travel partner. I was a little annoyed for a bit, but then I decided to go home earlier. The new plan is to head to Narita on a night bus on March 2. I'll fly out of NRT on March 3 and arrive the same day around 5pm in Ontario, CA! I'll be home for almost a month.

I can't wait to see everyone again. I love Japan and I'm really happy here, but I miss my friends and family unbelievably much. I miss taiko and taiko hang outs. I miss my dog and my car. I miss my grandma and my brother. I miss my parents. I can't wait to just relax at home.

It'll be interesting to see how America feels after being in Japan for so long. I'm seriously doubting I'll ever remember English again. I'm stuck permanently in Japenglish. Just writing for this blog in english is an arduous task!

At any rate, I'll be glad when finals are over and I get to relax.

Until then, I'll be studying and worrying my butt off!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.