Things are cooling down

I only have one interesting photo to post. I saw it in a magazine I was reading in the library. =)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27 (JAPAN TIME)

Studied because I have a kanji test and a short test the following day.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 28 (JAPAN TIME)

I was dead tired today. Studying for that test was draining. I did not finish studying so I felt somewhat screwed. I was not really prepared for my Kanji quiz either. The general trend is as follows: Monday I do well. Tuesday I do a bit worse. Thursday is the worst. On top of that, I get to have a "short" 1hr quiz every other Thursday. =) Today was the first one. The test material was predictable but there was not enough time to prepare for it. I already spend most of my time studying for kanji (Around 5+ hours a day) so it's a bit of a problem fitting in time to study for other things, unfortunately. I find that I am forcing myself to "remember" kanji for the test then forgetting most of them afterward because I have new words to "remember" for the next test. =( -sigh- The pile of unknown words are piling up.
With regards to the short test; like I said, it was predictable but I was not fully prepared for it. The first page is probably my worst. There were a few words I vaguely remember, let alone read, lol. But anyhow, I finished the test in time. I did not feel rushed. I ate some ice cream after the test then ventured to the library to do homework for my academic class. I left the library at around 7PM and ate alone at a ramen shop close to the University. I ordered white miso ramen. It was a bit expensive but rather filling so it was worth it in the end. It was a bit cold today so my glasses instantly fogged when I stepped into the ramen shop. I might visit that place once a week just for fun. It's quite at night so it's a bit nice. I got home at around 8:30PM, went to my room to drop off some stuff then finished the rest of my graphs in the study hall on the second floor. I left the study hall at around 12:30AM, went to bed and passed out like a brick.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 29 (JAPAN TIME)

I only slept for 6 hours but it felt like I slept for 8hrs. I was wide awake and quite energized. Maybe because I slept like a brick. I'm quite certain that nothing would've woken me up. I went to class today and we all had to read out homework. The teacher would then correct our grammar and share some opinions. At the end of the day, we finished 6 of the 7 graphs. Today was a pick-up-garbage day at the University. After class ended, Christine and I volunteered to pick up some garbage since we had some time to kill. I wanted a day off. We left the University at around 3:30PM, ventured to the train station and took the train to Sapporo Station, where we met Bebe. From there, we went to a ramen shop and ate some funky ramen... The noodles were a bit off but that's okay. The soup tasted excellent. A bit salty but still good. We wandered the streets of Sapporo and went into Zara. Gosh, the stuff there is more expensive than Calgary Zara. I wanted to buy a new scarf but it costs roughly 45CAD. I'm quite sure I could get it for half price in Calgary.

---continuation ---

We decided to walk through an underground mall and ended up in BookOff, a second hand store which sells... second hand stuff. =) It ranges from manga (A whole floor dedicated to), various books and dictionaries, adult content and games. GAMES! =) Yay, yay! I bought a game I thought I would never find since it's no longer manufactured, for only 10CAD! =) Happy, happy day. We spent roughly an hour or so in there looking at stuff. Most of it was wasted on looking for an English-Japanese grammar dictionary. We ended the day at a crepe store and we parted ways at around 9PM. I went home, translated my kanji worksheet then went straight to bed. =) That officially ends this fun day.

Awesomeness

Sorry for the delayed post. I was studying mad yesterday. This'll just be a longer post. =) I believe the last time I posted was on Saturday (Friday Calgary time) so I shall continue from Sunday. (Japan day)

SUNDAY 24 2010 (Japan time)

Really, nothing interesting. I studied... Studied some more. Made dinner and that's about it. I discovered that Dinara goes to the market once every two days though. I only go to the market once a week, lol. I guess she wants it really fresh.

MONDAY 25 2010 (Japan time)

Another Monday, another class, another kanji quiz... But different score!!! My first 100%. =) I was totally happy. getting high grades really encourages you to participate better in class. I really enjoyed class today. =)
Plans for the day:

• Run because I have not ran in almost a month
• Pick up Alien Registration Card
• Gather clothing for Halloween Party

completed: Gather clothing for Halloween

-sigh- It might seem like a poor excuse but there's always something that prevents me from running. For an example; I did not have anything to put my running gear in the last time I wanted to go. Today? It rained... A lot. The track is outdoors so I was not very inclined to go for obvious reasons. I also have a Kanji test the following day so I am obligated to study. I ended up studying at the library until 6, went home, cooked, then studied some more. I returned to my room at around 12 and decided to pack for Halloween. I ran into a big problem. I forgot my leather belt. I thought I packed it but I obviously didn't. It's missing... I hope I didn't leave it behind at the hotel in Tokyo. Most likely not... So hopefully it's sitting at home. On a bed that I miss quite dearly. =( Speaking of miss. I'm missing home~ Miss seeing everyone. Miss hearing English everywhere... Well, sort of. =) I don't mind listening to Japanese. 

OCTOBER 26 2010 (Japan time)

Well, today is filled with excitement, confusion, frustration, pain and absolute joy. =) Exciting because the Halloween party is today. Confusion because I did not fully understand what was going on during the Halloween party. Frustration because I quite literally spent 100yen to get soaked. Pain because of the weather. Absolute joy because the event was awesome. =) Now in detail:

I woke up and this is what I saw. =)

Snow~

Awesome, right? Lol. The weather today is crazy. absolutely outrageous. I remember Kodama Sensei told Christine and I that the weather in Japan is not as dramatic as Calgary but I guess today was an exception. Right when I woke up, the sky was white. When I left, it stopped snowing and began to rain a bit. It rained quite a bit when we arrived at the University (10:15AM). When class started at around 10:40AM, the rain trickled. When we went for lunch, it started to pour again (12:15PM). When class started again at 1:00PM, rain transitioned into hail. When Christine and I went to buy stuff from the 100yen shop, it poured like no tomorrow. Note: Today was probably the worst weather I've experienced while being outdoors, lol! When Christine and I left the University, it was mildly windy and dry (At around 5:00PM)... But 10 or so minutes later, it started to pour. I took out my 100yen umbrella and yea, guess what happened? The wind completely destroyed it, lol. The 100yen shop is 20 minutes away so we camped through the rain and stepped into the 100yen shop. Everyone stared at us, lol. I bought a belt for 100yen. =) (Hoorah) We went back outside at around 5:30PM and the rain was worse, the wind was worse... and it was colder, lol. We ventured back to the University. I tried to use my broken umbrella but failed. The rain was running down my face and into my eyes so I could not see at all. My glasses were completely fogged. My hands, face and ears were freezing. It was dark outside. My sweater was soaking up the rain. My jeans were thoroughly soaked. My underwear was mildly wet. My shoes were soaked. My socks were soaked.. Rain water pretty much pooled in my shoes, lol. I went through hell and back for 100yen. Lol, oh geez. Christine and I arrived at the University at around 5:50PM. Definitely got the omg-where-did-you-come-from look. I was in desperate need of a towel because I felt like I just took a shower with all of my clothes on. I ventured to the designated meeting room and asked people if there were towels, lol. Asaka-san, one of the leaders within the group, offered me a handkerchief. Hooray! I willingly used that to dry off a portion of my hair and face in the washroom. I ended up changing into my outfit in the washroom. It turns out I forgot to pack dress shoes socks. =) So I had to wear my dress shoes barefoot. My original pair was soaking wet. It felt rather nice switching into dry clothes, though my underwear was a bit wet. I ventured back to the room where everyone met and dropped my stuff off. I asked Christine for a black pencil liner but she did not have any. Luckily, Dinara had one with her. =) I don't want to explain what I did so I'll just let the pictures explain on my behalf, lol. I ventured back and from there, everyone took lots of pictures, played a little group game (we won.) and ate random food. =) Again, no food pictures... Lol, sorry.

Shh... Don't say anything. I know.

Bucchi won the cutest costume, lmao.

Christine won the Most Scariest award

Her named slipped my mind but she won the award for Most Effort. She dressed up as "Snow Lady" 雪女

At around 8, we all got ready to go a restaurant for some fun time. I took a few pictures, spoke a lot more than I did the past two weeks and had tons of fun! =) Sidenote: it was raining, but was not as windy when we left the University.  My broken umbrella was usable! =) Water was pooling all over the streets so my shoes were soaked a bit and water leaked in a bit. At least I was not wearing socks to soak up the water. I hate that feeling. Anyhow, I ended the day with some awesome quality time with friends. We left the restaurant at around 11:30PM.

The black makeup is still thick around my eyebrows, lol. They look like caterpillars.

I caught the last train with people who lived near city center. We exchanged tongue twisters and had laughed lots. Sapporo weather is a bit strange because it sort of rains and snows at different parts of the city. I was thoroughly surprised to see a few centimeters of snow upon emerging from the subway close to my living quarters. Another reason why I think today's weather was completely off on many tangents. Nonetheless, today is by far, the most interesting day of this month. =) I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I was almost destroyed by the weather, lol.

This is what Autumn should be like.

From the classroom

Taken at night from my room.

Study room

Another welcoming party! 歓迎会

THURSDAY OCTOBER 21 (JAPAN TIME)

So, I realized that I should have bought a few more things with me. For instance, I bought my running gear without bringing something to put it into when I go to the University. I ended up buying one at a store called “Loft.” It’s quite nice and convenient but it cost roughly 45CAD? I think it’s a bit expensive. On sale tag shows the manufacture price and sales price. Assuming that it’s true, they’re making a small profit, but a profit, nonetheless. I guess I’ll take a picture of it. I like it and I guess it’s quite versatile in some aspects. And because I have a thing for green and blue things. I wrote my last Kanji test for the week. I've written the Kanji for "color" so much. I think I'm quite satisfied with the outcome. I could never make this Kanji look nice. Putting that aside, I did not really do much other than relax and sleep.

"Color"

FRIDAY OCTOBER 22 (JAPAN TIME)

I got my second book today. =) Hoorah. I spent roughly 50CAD on textbooks. =) First time I’ve spend so little on textbooks, lol. I guess transit fare is a trade off for having cheap textbooks. In the end, money is slipping past my fingers, lol. Anyhow, I packed my running gear with good intentions to run today but while riding in the bus, I realized I need to return to the dorms by ~4PM for an orientation and welcome party. I was looking forward to running but unfortunately, it did not carry though. It’s been roughly a month and a half since I last ran. I can feel my heart screaming for some exercise. Oh yea, a Japanese student was sitting in our academic class today as an audit student. I think he wanted to see what we were learning? Something along those lines. His name is Kentaro. =) I was quite surprised that he could speak English so well. He has never been on an exchange before yet his English is so good. I am a bit envious. Then again, he’s been taking lessons since he was in Junior High. I guess that’s a bonus for him.

After class ended, the Russian girl gave our Academic professor a gift today… =) A post card of some sort? A picture of her country, I’m guessing. =) It was a present she gave to the professor at the end of class. I guess she wanted to present it “privately” =) but unfortunately, I was still around because I unload and reload my entire bag every time class starts and ends. Loverly person, really. =) I wish I could be like that. (cough)

Kentaro and I ended up exchange numbers then we parted ways. By the way, Japanese cell phones are very convenient. They have this “infrared” sending system where you can just point the phone at another phone and it automatically sends them your contact info. Random fact: So, I received a text from Kentaro later in the evening. I accidentally confused him for another Ken, whom I knew from before. The email I sent back was probably a bit strange but oh well, lol. I'm sure he just assumed it's because I'm a foreigner. =)

I rushed home only to discover that the orientation does not start until 5:30PM. I ended up going to the 100YEN shop to shop for another notebook and flash cards. I found a notebook but no flash cards. =( I spent so much time looking for it too. I walked back to the institute at around 5:15, dropped my stuff off then ventured to the orientation. =) Orientation was quite simple. It was pretty much a review of the information booklets you get when you first move in. After orientation, everyone went to the lounge for the welcome party! =)

The Caucasian girl to the left is Beth, the Asian lady in the middle is Rika, I don't know who the yellow jacket person is. Beth is in the same program as me. She's from England. Rika is a Residence Assistance who lives on the girls floor.

Me being me

People entering the lounge. The person waving is "Sept." 7, in French? =)

Look! I took a food picture. (I made a conscious effort this time, lol)

The guy on the mic is the male Residence Assistance. His name is shouma. 小馬

This be Dinara. She's the girl from Kyrgyzstan. =)

I had to post this picture because it looks absolutely ridiculous, lol.

Normal

The asian guy who's NOT wearing glasses (quite surprised myself) can speak Cantonese! Yay =) The guy licking the bottle is drunk. The guy beside him doesn't talk much. I don't remember any of their names because I only go back to my "dorm" when I need to sleep, cook or do laundry, lol.

General photo to end the evening welcome party.

I took a few pictures of the welcome party. The party followed a general setup. Staff introductions, eating, then new residence introductions. The party ended at around 8 and off I went~ to do my favourite activity. =) Study. That officially ends the day. =) I have a few pictures from my iPod I still need to upload. I'll save that for next time, I guess. =)

Cell Phone Madness~ 携帯電話

I didn't post yesterday because I was dying from lack of sleep, lol. Having kanji tests every day really keeps me up the night before. Anyhow, update time:

Anyhow, two days ago:

Another day at school, another day of Kanji testing and another day filled with nothing out of the ordinary. The days are definitely shorter and colder. Winter is hitting soon, I think. Come on snow! =) The first Kanji quiz (last Thursday) came to me by surprise. It was slightly different from how I am usually tested. I didn't do too well on it (only 14/20) but hey, the following test on Monday I got a 19/20! =) I got an 18 on Tuesdays test. Still satisfied. I'm aiming for 100 on tomorrows test!
I met my second TA today during lunch. I still don't really know why I have two TA's. I asked and I guess it related to how my first TA lives outside of town? And that my second TA is much, much closer to where I live? But anyhow, I met my second TA today. His name is Keita Kashiwa. We talked about random stuff during lunch. I forgot to buy lunch so I was pretty much starving when we parted ways for class. Luckily, another exchange student carried a sweet rice cracker snack with him! He offered it to me and I gratefully accepted. Oh, how salty and sweet sometimes doesn't mix yet... mixes at the same time? Anyhow. At the end of class, one of the classmates gave the professor a little authentic gift from Russia. =) I forgot what it was called but it's a little wooden doll. Larger versions of the doll have smaller, identical versions of the doll inside. Anyhow, it seemed like a nice gift.. =) That was also the day where we had to go see the doctor in the University. He wanted to check us to see if our health is failing. We're all a-okay~ Oh, while waiting, the Russian Asian guy decided to take a picture of the English speaking crew. I decided to take a picture of the Russian speaking crew. =) As posted~ The rest of the day was filled with Kanji. I went home and ate something... I forgot, lol. I think it might've been scrambled eggs with toast. Anyhow, that marked the end of that day.

The Russian Groupy

Yesterday:
I didn't really have much troubles waking up. I slept relatively late that night because I was studying Kanji. I was mighty tired yesterday. The highlight of yesterday is probably be getting my cell phone. There are quite a lot of nifty cell phones ;o I wanted the solar panel one but hey, Calgary weather is crap 300/365days. It just wouldn't be worth it. Instead, I got a free phone ;D It's a white K002 from AU KDDI. Maybe I like it so far. Maybe I'll buy another phone later in the year. If not, I am quite satisfied with my current phone. =) My first TA helped me get the phone, lol. (Shuto) The lady at the desk was speaking so fast, lol. I was mesmerized trying to follow. In fact, I pretty much zoned out, lol. We went to the cell phone store at around... 4PM and left at 6PM. The waiting time was relatively long. Afterward, we took the train to Sapporo Station where we parted ways. I went to look for some socks and a sports bag to put my gym clothes in. I found one but it's somewhat expensive.. I'll still buy it though. I shall do that... Tomorrow! I stopped by the grocery market on the way home. I bought my bananas and apples for the week. =) And meat.

Today:

I slept in and it felt so good. =) I woke up, had scrambled eggs with two slices of bread... Studied until 4 then made a piece of steak with some horribly chewy meat. I should have wacked it with a tenderizer but I conveniently did not have one available. At least it tasted good... =T Tomorrow.. If I cook... I shall hammer that thing until it's soft! =) The rest of the day was put towards studying. Another Kanji quiz tomorrow ;D Yay... Lol! Anyhow, take care. =)

o.o

Freaking A. The damn Russian girl needs to stop sucking up and the Russian guy needs to get over himself.

Weekend repetition

There's not much to report with regards to what I did the past two days. =) The weather is declining on me. Today's weather has been/still is nasty! Lol. Cold, rain and heavy winds. Though thankfully, the leaves are still green. (For the most part) I'm going to lump yesterday and today together since I didn't really do much the past two days. =) No pictures for this week. Unless you think a picture of me studying is interesting.

I've been studying and looking at cellular phone models for AU (KDDI). I'm trying to find one with a SIM card slot. Any suggestions? Lol. Don't know who's still reading this blog but hey~ It's worth a try, lol. I've been trying to memorize the grammar and kanji for this weeks classes. I Skype'd with family and friends over the weekend, cooked and bought groceries. I should seriously consider buying myself a mini rice cooker. Wasting 2 or so CAD everyday to buy onigiri in place of rice is really adding up. Hum, I should do that this week if I have time. =) Though, I'm quite sure I have time. I also need to buy a little gym bag to put my running gear into it. My school messenger bag just isn't big enough.

Random facts:

I think I've mentioned this before but just to make sure, I'll mention it again. The best way to slim down is to go to a different country and screw over your regular eating habits. =) Thankfully, I'm sort of adapting to a stable eating regime and now I am slowly gaining back my precious weight. (Yay, lol) Come on now, you can do it. =)

So yea, over the past two weeks, I've noticed that my vocabulary is very poor. My list of words-to-know is growing quite extensively. That being said, I've also learned quite a few words. Yay. =) I'm learning! Lol. Though at the same time, I'm experiencing a slight learning block. My conversational skills has not really expanded past what I used a week or two ago. Bah, come on now! Must force myself to speak again.

First week over!

So, if you have not already noticed. I am updating this blog every other day as oppose to everyday, lol. There's more to type. If there's a big event then I'll post the day of... Or just the next day because I might get lazy, lol. Anyhow, time to update:

October 14th 2010 (Japan time)
Didn't really do much today. I went to school and tried my best to understand grammar. It's somewhat difficult to learn Japanese grammar in Japanese without any form of english aid, lol. We spent a good hour on a grammar point --- based on ~. I did not understand that grammar point at all until I went back to the dorms and asked one of the students there to explain it in english, lol. As it turns out, that grammar point has restrictions to what you can and cannot say.
We also had our welcoming party today. Every new exchange student (like me) had to do a self introduction in front of a big group of people. I took a few pictures of the event. The event was held at the University cafeteria. It lasted until 6:30 then we all left and went home. I studied the rest of the night and then went to bed.

The asian girl who's doing the peace sign is Madoka. The Caucasian girl in the back in an exchange student named Lisa.

The exchange student from Norway.

The exchange student from Russia: Angela

People slowly flooding into the cafeteria for food.

This be Ayane

This be Bucchi

You can somewhat see Dinara in this picture. She's in the back left. Dark hair, wearing a dark grey shirt with pink embroidery

Panoramic shot of the people in the room. You can see Gerret, the tall Caucasian guy with a short haircut. He's standing closest to the Camera.

October 15th 2010 (Japan time)
Again, I had classes today. It was my first Academic Writing class and I learned a bunch of words related to graphs. We also went over some grammar points. Surprisingly, our Academic Writing instructor is better at teaching Japanese grammar than our grammar teacher. I thought it'd be a boring class but it was not all that bad! Dinara said she was boring but then again, she probably knows all her stuff. I stayed at school for a wee bit and studied until 6PM with Dinara. We went home afterward. It's getting cold here, unfortunately. It's only 10 Degrees yet it feels like it's 4 or 5. It must be because of the humidity. RANDOM FACT: Apparently there was a mini earthquake last night and I did not notice it, lol. I guess I heard a but of rumbling but that was about it. Apparently the table shook but I could not feel it. Dinara and everyone else in the room said they felt it but I didn't feel anything. I was looking forward to experiencing a minor earthquake too. But anyhow, I'm sure there are other opportunities, lol. It's only the first month, lol.

Time for some school (everyday life) repetition.

So, nothing new to report. It's getting colder here. I guess I'll flap on about my day.

School started two days ago. Dinara, Beth and I came to University mighty early. We decided to wait in the international center for a bit before class started. Class starts at 10:45 and we were at the University at 10. fast forwarding to class time --- Class flew by so, so fast. The first thing we had to do was a self introduction. Then we our lesson for the day was a detailed outline of how to make our self introduction more interesting. I guess I am still a bit timid at spouting out Japanese but hey, it's getting better. We had class for 1hr and 30min but it only felt like 30 minutes, not even. We were given a sheet of sentences and were expected to  remember the kanji for next class because we will have a test. According to the teacher, we will have a mini kanji test every day. Oh boy... Lol this is going to be a long year. We were also given our first assignment. It's a one page self introduction, lol. I guess she wanted to see if we actually learned anything. But anyhow, done that. =) and almost done studying my Kanji. And holy smokes. The Kanji she makes us remember is crazy, lol. But hey, the more complex the kanji is, the better it looks! =) Today was also Christine's birthday. I decided to take Christine out for dinner today. =) Shutto joined us. We wandered the streets of Sapporo looking for a restaurant Christine wanted to go to but in the end, could not find. We wandered back to the mall and ate at an okonomiyaki restaurant on the 10th floor. It was mighty good and I forgot to take pictures... LOL anyhow. We went home afterward and that marks the end of that day.

Today, I didn't really do much but finish my self introduction and studied. I overslept today again. I was suppose to wake up at 9AM but I actually woke up at 11, lol. Oh well, I don't have class anyways. Though I told a friend I'd be at the University at 11, lol. I met him afterward so it's all good. I hid in the library and studied kanji. At 3PM, I left to buy something to eat. Actually, now that I think about it... I don't remember what I ate, lol. Oh well. Anyhow, I sat in the cafeteria and finished my self introduction then went back to the library and saw a colleague. I decided to say hello and went back into the library and saw Dinara. We decided to leave about 30 minutes later because it was getting dark outside and we wanted to go home. We stopped by the convenient store and I bought caramel ice cream and she bought peach, lol. I had a great time savoring my ice cream. Caramel is my favourite flavour, after all. We caught our bus at around 6:15, from there, we went straight home. I decided to cook dinner today since I've been eating out the past two days. I stir fried beef and a leafy vegetable (Forgot the name) and ate it with rice. I met two Macao guys who could speak Cantonese! Oh it was nice chatting with them. I have not used my canto in so long. But anyhow, we ate, chat and I left, lol. Now I am here, about to finish the rest of my kanji. =) That's all for now! take care.

Continuation from Gyoza-ing

Random picture while waiting for the train to come.

Sorry, I did not completely post all of the pictures for the last post because the security guy in our building kicked us out of the room at 12. (Curfew) But anyhow, I uploaded more pictures to the previous post. =)

This post will be dedicated to Gyoza making. Never have I ever made so much gyoza in my whole life. I think I'll make some when I come back to Calgary. From the dough to the stuffing, I've made it all! Well, maybe not the dough but it's just flour and water. If I can make bread, I can make gyoza dough. >) To approxiate how many we made:

Two gyoza: 150Y (75/each)
First night: ~2,000Y
Second day: ~300,000Y
Third day: ~200,000Y
Total: ~500,000Y (Approx: 6,152.72CAD)
Approximate amount of gyoza made: 6700 pieces

My hand/arm was seriously hurting at the end of the day three, lol. Anyone interested in apple pie filled gyoza? ;D It's actually quite awesome. Hot dog filled? Curry filled? =) It's all good. Just wait! When I come back, I'll make it for whoever that's interested.

SECOND DAY (Japan: Saturday 09 2010):
I already described what happened on the first night. =) So I'm jumping to the second night.
I was supposed to be at the University at 10AM but the bus only comes once every hour during the weekends so I was completely screwed over. I arrived 10 minutes after 10. I guess it's fine. =) The weather was a bit gloomy when we left. Thank god there was only a slight drizzle throughout the whole day. I came to the university with Dinara, a colleague of mine who lives in the same international housing institute as me. We ventured through the halls and stopped by the international center. Apparently the profs marked our exams already and I know what I placed in. Even though that test was extremely difficult, I somehow made it into the level that I wanted. Level II. Yay, yay yay! But after that taking that test, I a) don't know why/how I got into level II and b) how am I going to survive? Dinara got placed into Level I because she's such a pro. She thinks it'll be boring because there's only three people but oh well. =) I guess there's a slight trade off. The other two people who were placed in first place: A Vietnamese girl and a crazy Russian girl who taught Japanese in Russia. Out of the 20 students in our program, only three were placed into Level I. The majority of the students were placed in Level II. Around 5 or so people were placed in Level III. Afterward, I stopped at the room to drop my stuff off, introduced Dinara and started to make gyoza again, lol. I actually bought my camera with me that day, so here are some pictures!

Tray filled with Gyoza.

The gyoza-making table

Shya-chan on the left. Shutto-san on the right.

Picture of Shutto-san taking a picture of me

Gyoza fest

During breaks, I hopped from tent to tent trying food. What can I say, I'm a glutton. =) I also saw some interesting performances on a stage outside which was nice. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures because my camera was in my bag, in the gyoza making room. I was so glad they had tempura ice cream here. I was dying for some after looking at some pictures on facebook of tempura green tea ice cream back in Calgary. Speaking of ice cream. The ice cream here is insanely good. I can taste an obvious difference between the ice cream I eat in Calgary and the ice cream I eat here. I decided to buy a little container of ice cream today because I was lusting for some. It tasted like the milk I drank earlier. Mind you, I bought it at a convenience store. Even convenience store ice cream tastes better than Dairy Queen ice cream. o_o Seriously. So, so so... Good

THIRD DAY (Japan: Sunday 10 2010) Final day:
Damn, I was mighty tired today. I was supposed to wake up at 7AM to get ready but I just couldn't. I somehow rationed another hour of sleep and still made it to the University around the same time yesterday. I figured that since the bus will come at 9:35AM, I'd might as well sleep until 8, rush and get ready to leave the house by 9 then make it comfortable on time to catch the bus without waiting 45min like the day before. So yea, here's what actually happened: I overslept by 15mins. (8:15AM) After my shower, it was 8:40AM. After I got changed, fixed my hair and ate: 9:00AM. After packing and leaving: 9:10AM. When I got to the station, the train came the moment I stepped on the platform. (9:15AM) I was planning on catching the train at 9:00, lol. It takes roughly 15 minutes to go from my station to the station where I'm supposed to get off. (I wanted 15 minutes of casual walking time) But anyhow, I arrived at my designated station at 9:32AM. My bus comes at 9:35AM, lol. I ended up running up the stairs and jumped into the bus just as the bus driver started up the engine, LOL! Oh, that was a close one.

Anyhow, I made it to the University around the same time as yesterday. I went into the room and made some more gyoza and took more pictures. Today was a rainy day so I guess I didn't mind staying inside. Again, during breaks, I splurged the tents trying various things. I've had okonomiyaki (A pancake-like dish which contains cabbage and batter, topped with deliciousness), ramen, crepes, parfaits and a pickle throughout the two days I was at the University... Yum. =) I bumped into Christine and Lisa during my Ramen eating session. I introduced them to one of the members and from there, they were redirected to the room. After eating, I returned to the room and lol, Christine and Lisa were (in my mind) coerced into making gyozas. I ended up joining them and took some more fun pictures afterward.  Today was the last day so I helped clean up. We all went to an Izakaya afterward to celebrate our wonderful achievements the last two days. Before I go into the details: I noticed that Japanese isn't so hard to follow after spending 2 days listening for hours to people talk while making gyozas. My major problem right now is vocab. I need a kick start on vocab asap.

Cleaning time

Picture of Shutto taking pictures of people. I was done drying dishes so I decided to take a tiny break.

The guy with green dress shirt is Alex. He's always wearing a suit and all of us wonder why but he won't tell us.

This be Kent-san trying to be a cat, I think.

A candid picture of Shutto, lol. He wanted to know why another girl and I were laughing so hard, lol.

Lalala... Waiting

Okay, now about the Izakaya... Lisa left before we left the University because she did not want to go. Only Christine stayed behind. There were a total of 4 international students who went to the Izakaya, including myself. Christine, a Russian guy named Alex and some other guy who came from Nova Scotia. We took the train to 豊水すすきの (hosui susukino) a train stop right before my station. During the train ride, another group member decided to poke fun at Bucchi because he was the youngest one in the group. It turns out Bucchi is extremely ticklish. We finally made it to the Izakaya where Kent made a toast. A few people were suckered into a drinking game. We all ate skewer food, salad and potatoes, lol. I ordered two drinks: a pineapple cocktail and a peach cocktail. It turns out that you can eat and drink as much as you want at this Izakaya for 2hrs for 2,500Y. If I knew, I would've forced myself to drink a third one. I didn't feel overly obnoxious after the second one, surprisingly. I also took a few pictures.

How very modelesque of you, Christine. If it's not obvious yet: Japanese love the peace sign. =)

This be Bucchi-san. The baseball jocky, lol.

The guy with the white shirt on the right is fluent in English and Japanese. I was seriously "wtf?! How is he so good at both?" I asked Christine earlier and it turns out that he came from Alaska. His mom is Japanese so he can speak Japanese and English fluently. I was damn surprised.

Near the end of the night

Drunk Kent being fly

People starting to leave.

And to end this photo gallery: A drunk picture of Bucchi.

While waiting for drinks, I decided it would be a good idea to take out my "Dirty Japanese" book to spark a conversation. In a way, it was a good conversation started at our table but it was also embarrassing. I had a fun time trying to explain that the book contains useful expressions and facts but it also contains some adult expressions. Either way, it was a fun night. I also took a bunch of pictures. =) We left around 10:30PM. A group of people decided to go Karaoke but I decided to pass. I needed to take the train and God knows how long they're going for Karaoke. I wanted to catch my train to go home. =(
So in the end, A bunch of us went home. =) I took the train with Maria while everyone else took JR. I guess it's easier to talk on an individual basis than amongst a group. I got back to my room at around 11:30. I turned the hallway light, changed, brushed then laid on my bed. I was planning on doing a bit of studying but wow... I guess I was very tired. I instantly passed out the moment I touched my pillow. I don't remember slowly drifting into sleep at all. I thought only 15 or so minutes passed after I opened my eyes but it must've been around 5 or 6AM since I saw sunlight. And well... crap. I forgot to turn off the hallway light. -sigh- My poor utility bill. Anyhow, I turned off the light then went back to sleep. I woke up at 11AM and felt well rested. =) (Hoorah) Probably the first time in a long time where I slept in until 11AM. And now here I am, typing away. =) That's all for now. Today is a holiday so no school. School officially starts tomorrow! Hohoho. Take care everyone.