Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted, but really life has not been that exciting. However, I took some time today and wrote a very very long post for your enjoyment. I wracked my brain for things that I've been meaning to write and things you might find entertaining. Enjoy.
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I've had two hamburgers since I came to Japan. The first was at a cool diner called Oatman's. Lucy and I went after class one day. The diner had American decorations all over the place, there was a sign that said "y'all come back now, ya hear", and it played some sweet American tunes from the 90s. Oddly enough, there were only girls in the entire place. It was strange. I had a Teriyaki burger, Lucy had an Avocado burger. While they were quite delicious and hit the spot, it was definitely not an American hamburger and actually, mine didn't taste much like a teriyaki burger, perhaps because it was drowned in mayonnaise (a completely other topic I will come to later). It came with maybe 5, tiny steak fries. The patty was pretty small for a diner burger, and the bun was strange. Strange as in, it was shiny and had a distinctive taste, maybe sweet? but I recognized it again when I had my second burger in Japan. I had number 2 in Tokyo, but it was just a fastfood place called Lotteria, which are everywhere. Here I got real fries, which were awfully tasty. The cheeseburger was delicious, made with chedder cheese (but really, not a fan of the chedder, I prefer American cheese), it was literally meat and cheese, no onions even and had the same kind of bun as Oatman's. So I'm thinking that's just the Japanese hamburger bun. I wish I could explain it better.
Now the real question is: does McDonald's have regular McDonald's buns or Japanese buns? I will find out if I ever bring myself to eat at one of the two McDonalds I pass twice a day.
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I had a paper due on Thursday, so I wrote it the Sunday before. We were also going to have a midterm in that class that Thursday, so I thought ahead. On Tuesday night some students had a study group and I walked over and teasingly called them nerds. They retorted with "Didn't you write your paper already?".... touche. I do believe I was the only person in the class of 25 that didn't have to write my paper wednesday night, oh and Shosuke, but he thought it was due on Wednesday. Luckily too, the midterm was turned into a take-home test, not due until May 2nd. But yes, I finished it already. *Dad, after all those years of waiting until the last minute to do things, I've finally learned, doing them early is WAY better (please note this revelation occurred sometime in the past few years).
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I went to school to do homework and study on Saturday (I'm a good student), and some friends suggested we go to Meiji shrine in Tokyo. So of course, I graciously refused their invitation and did my homework instead. Just kidding! I didn't want to lug around my heavy backpack with my computer and books in it all around Tokyo, so I put it in a coin locker at the station. Seeing that I didn't want to carry my phone, wallet, camera, etc around in my hands all day, upon arrival in Harajuku, I promptly found a bag store and bought a new bag. I needed one anyway, so it all worked out. The best part of this story, is that my bag says, in big letters: "I AM ANXIOUS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING." Thank you Japan.
On a side note, we walked through a very popular shopping strip and it had tons of cool shops. One shop had, what might be, the cutest socks ever made. Lucy and I plan on returning and actually shopping. This time was just a walk-through on the way to the shrine.
The shrine was so pretty! It's in this huge park in the middle of Tokyo, which in itself is amazing. I took pictures, look for them soon.
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Saturday was Dexter and Dill's "birthday." One year old! I miss them! (Unrelated, but still interesting)
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The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past few days. Warm, if not borderline hot ( it felt really hot while I was running). Sunny, blue skies, pretty clouds here and there. For some reason, the only shorts I brought are ones I'm not terribly fond of... what was I thinking? So, I need to either invest in some and/or have someone send me some *nudge nudge wink wink dad*. I'll definitely need them, especially once summer hits. I heard that girls in Japan don't wear tanktops because they have the connotation of only being worn by tough girls in gangs. But also, I think Japanese people just like to be hot. I was warm in a tanktop (which I was wearing because I'm tough and in a gang... clearly) and jeans, and I look around me and people are wearing pants, longsleeves and jackets. The price of looking cute? Except it was everyone, not just the young, fashionably dressed hipsters. I mean, it's 80 degrees, not 60. On the other hand, girls will wear shorts/skirts that don't live up to their purpose of covering the entire butt, when it's cold outside. And I don't think many of the sweatshirts are made for warmth, just fashion. So really, I have no idea.
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I can eat sushi and sashimi now, and enjoy it. Phew, good thing. Not that it's eaten as often as you would think. I mean, it's definitely common, but its not like everyone eats is everyday. My family has it maybe twice a week, and it's usually just a side dish. I can eat most mushrooms too. Those mostly get me with their texture though. In any case, my taste buds are evolving. (But not toward tomatoes. I get teased in my Japanese class because my teacher and the two other girls all love tomatoes.)
Which brings me back to mayonnaise. I don't know if I've written about this yet, maybe I have. If so, I apologize but I promise to bring new material this time. Japanese people LOVE mayonnaise. It's like people who love Ranch in the US, but worse. They eat it on everything. "Oh here's a salad, want some salad dressing? - Oh no thanks, I'll just gob on some straight mayo." "Oh yum karage (fried chicken pieces), why don't I dip it in this giant dish of mayonnaise that came with it?" I don't understand. I don't understand Americans eating Ranch on everything either though. But really, this is ridiculous. The other night, my japanese friend and I ate some karage. Seeing that I had no use for my mayonnaise, I gave it to him. After eating there was some leftover in the extra dish, and we were all talking about how much he loves mayonnaise. He takes his chopsticks, picks up a HUGE glob of mayo and eats it...plain. The table erupted in a chorus of "EW," "Gross!" and "That's disgusting!"
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When at a restaurant, the food is often times not served all together. It is not rude in Japanese culture to start eating before everyone is served.
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I bought a DS. The software is in English. The game is not, but that's okay, it's not really necessary. I've also come to the conclusion that I really am terrible at Super Mario Brothers. The DS has wifi, so when in the same vicinity you can chat with other DS's and even play the same game against each other, only one person needs to have the game, everyone else can just download it. I played Tetris with two other people. It was so much fun. I clearly need to work on my thumb muscles though, because they got tired quickly.
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My otoosan got a new cell phone. The charger doubles as a stand, but even better, the phone sits on it horizontally and doubles as a digital clock. It's pretty cool.
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I had fun trying to teach my host sister the difference between the sounds of "full" "fool" "fall" and "four".
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My host mom needed a place to put something, so she took a newspaper ad and folded it into a box. It was amazing.
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THE END.
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