Rockin', rockin', rockin' without a band!
This weekend was...how do you say...AWESOME. Good times, all around.
Saturday night we karaoke'd. First, Thomas and I wandered through some sketchy officey buildings at Hirakata-shi, having an urban adventure. We met Blaine, did a little window shopping...and I found this.
THE BOOK OF ANSWERS TO LIFE!
Thank god...humanity has waited so long for this...but, wait...
I CAN'T READ IT! We will never know the answers. NOOO!
Megan couldn't come, and we couldn't contact Amanda, so the crew ended up being: myself, Katiekay, Blaine, Julie, Thomas, Katiekay's host-sister Kaori, and Kaori's boyfriend Yasutaka. For the most part, none of us can sing. (And I took videos...when I return to the States, you can all see our lack of singing ability for yourselves. I think the best video is of Thomas and Blaine singing Britney Spears.)
Katiekay and I jamming out...I think to Muse.
Yeah, definitely Muse..."Time Is Running Out."
Afterwards, we got some okonomiyaki and yakisoba. MMM food. Talked to the Japanese kids more...Yasutaka is a hoot. Very crazy kid.
Sunday, Blaine and I paid a call to Katiekay's host residence. There we met several new Japanese teens...Kaori and Yasutaka's friends.
From left to right: Kotaro, Sayoko, Katie, Blaine, me, Yasutaka, Kaori, and Taka.
We played lots of games, and had a good time. I learned two different versions of a card game called daifugo (one version required teams...me and Yasutaka vs. the world!!!), we had a puzzle race (that my team won), and we played a mysterious game that involved intestines and dead fish and hypodermic needles. DON'T ASK.
Here are some more better pictures of everyone. That's right -- more better.
Sayoko and Katie.
Blaine and Kotaro.
Taka, Kaori, and Yasutaka.
And also, there was cake. The type of cake which you can only dream of. Cake such as I have never eaten before. Oh, Japan cake, American cakes all bow down before your awesome presence!
I seriously can't describe the deliciousness. No joke, the best cake ever.
Katie's host mom -- "Mama-san" -- invited me to spend the night sometime, in their deluxe Hirakata Hollywood-style home. OMG.
It was a good night. I gave Yasutaka a Braves hat.
Monday was a national holiday, so no school! (It was something like Hooray For Old People Day.) Instead I chilled at home with Okaa-san...mostly doing homework, writing a paper, et cetera. I finally showed them photos of my house and family and friends. Okaa-san's comments? My dad is "so cute!" and my mom is "sekushii!!!" Say that second one out loud a few times, and you'll know what she said...it's not Japanese, it's ENGRISH. Also, she thought that Scarlett was very pretty, was impressed by our house and our garden, and seemed dumbfounded by Stone Mountain.
We made gyoza -- delicious dumplings -- for dinner. By "we" I mean that Okaa-san did all the real work, and then I helped her fold the filling into the little pastry dumpling things.
The tray that I made! (Before being cooked.)
With the gyoza I had another mysterious Japanese food. At first I thought it was little crispy noodles, until Otoo-san invited me to try some...at which point they explained the truth.
THE TINIEST FISH THAT YOU WILL EVER SEE!!!
They appear to be dried, and you just eat them whole, with soy sauce and lime juice.
Then it was back to school, for more academic adventures. Yesterday classes finally started for all of the Japanese students, and campus has been suddenly FLOODED.
They've got us surrounded!
This is a good thing. This means Japanese people looking for foreign friends. At last! Enough Japanese students to go around!
But, yes, there are a zillion of them, doing strange things...like walking around with mysterious signs, or street dancing, or blasting music in the lunch atrium. And they're all so FASHIONABLE. It's so hard to keep up with Japan's complicated style!
Megan: "It's like a Prada bomb fell. An Armani tornado tore through, and everyone fell down wearing perfect clothing."
After class yesterday, I wandered downstairs and saw Katiekay sitting with Julie in the lounge. As I walked over to say hello, I noticed, "Oh, they're sitting with Japanese people!" As I got closer, I noticed, "Oh, they're sitting with Japanese BOYS!"
Apparently, these four Japanese guys had just sat down and started talking to them. They were first year students (but our age?) and jokingly called us sempai (upperclassman). Their names were Takeshi, Yuki, Naoyuki, and "Komatty" -- a nickname, apparently. After conversing for awhile, we traded email addresses. We've already been contacted by both Takeshi and Komatty...HOORAY, WE MADE (cute) FRIENDS!
And that was only the first day they were on campus. I LOVE COLLEGE.
I bet you won't get crunk!!!
The country my group made in our justice class.
Anko. Did I mention anko? Maybe not. Just know this: DON'T EAT MORE THAN ONE.
Saturday night we karaoke'd. First, Thomas and I wandered through some sketchy officey buildings at Hirakata-shi, having an urban adventure. We met Blaine, did a little window shopping...and I found this.
THE BOOK OF ANSWERS TO LIFE!
Thank god...humanity has waited so long for this...but, wait...
I CAN'T READ IT! We will never know the answers. NOOO!
Megan couldn't come, and we couldn't contact Amanda, so the crew ended up being: myself, Katiekay, Blaine, Julie, Thomas, Katiekay's host-sister Kaori, and Kaori's boyfriend Yasutaka. For the most part, none of us can sing. (And I took videos...when I return to the States, you can all see our lack of singing ability for yourselves. I think the best video is of Thomas and Blaine singing Britney Spears.)
Katiekay and I jamming out...I think to Muse.
Yeah, definitely Muse..."Time Is Running Out."
Afterwards, we got some okonomiyaki and yakisoba. MMM food. Talked to the Japanese kids more...Yasutaka is a hoot. Very crazy kid.
Sunday, Blaine and I paid a call to Katiekay's host residence. There we met several new Japanese teens...Kaori and Yasutaka's friends.
From left to right: Kotaro, Sayoko, Katie, Blaine, me, Yasutaka, Kaori, and Taka.
We played lots of games, and had a good time. I learned two different versions of a card game called daifugo (one version required teams...me and Yasutaka vs. the world!!!), we had a puzzle race (that my team won), and we played a mysterious game that involved intestines and dead fish and hypodermic needles. DON'T ASK.
Here are some more better pictures of everyone. That's right -- more better.
Sayoko and Katie.
Blaine and Kotaro.
Taka, Kaori, and Yasutaka.
And also, there was cake. The type of cake which you can only dream of. Cake such as I have never eaten before. Oh, Japan cake, American cakes all bow down before your awesome presence!
I seriously can't describe the deliciousness. No joke, the best cake ever.
Katie's host mom -- "Mama-san" -- invited me to spend the night sometime, in their deluxe Hirakata Hollywood-style home. OMG.
It was a good night. I gave Yasutaka a Braves hat.
Monday was a national holiday, so no school! (It was something like Hooray For Old People Day.) Instead I chilled at home with Okaa-san...mostly doing homework, writing a paper, et cetera. I finally showed them photos of my house and family and friends. Okaa-san's comments? My dad is "so cute!" and my mom is "sekushii!!!" Say that second one out loud a few times, and you'll know what she said...it's not Japanese, it's ENGRISH. Also, she thought that Scarlett was very pretty, was impressed by our house and our garden, and seemed dumbfounded by Stone Mountain.
We made gyoza -- delicious dumplings -- for dinner. By "we" I mean that Okaa-san did all the real work, and then I helped her fold the filling into the little pastry dumpling things.
The tray that I made! (Before being cooked.)
With the gyoza I had another mysterious Japanese food. At first I thought it was little crispy noodles, until Otoo-san invited me to try some...at which point they explained the truth.
THE TINIEST FISH THAT YOU WILL EVER SEE!!!
They appear to be dried, and you just eat them whole, with soy sauce and lime juice.
Then it was back to school, for more academic adventures. Yesterday classes finally started for all of the Japanese students, and campus has been suddenly FLOODED.
They've got us surrounded!
This is a good thing. This means Japanese people looking for foreign friends. At last! Enough Japanese students to go around!
But, yes, there are a zillion of them, doing strange things...like walking around with mysterious signs, or street dancing, or blasting music in the lunch atrium. And they're all so FASHIONABLE. It's so hard to keep up with Japan's complicated style!
Megan: "It's like a Prada bomb fell. An Armani tornado tore through, and everyone fell down wearing perfect clothing."
After class yesterday, I wandered downstairs and saw Katiekay sitting with Julie in the lounge. As I walked over to say hello, I noticed, "Oh, they're sitting with Japanese people!" As I got closer, I noticed, "Oh, they're sitting with Japanese BOYS!"
Apparently, these four Japanese guys had just sat down and started talking to them. They were first year students (but our age?) and jokingly called us sempai (upperclassman). Their names were Takeshi, Yuki, Naoyuki, and "Komatty" -- a nickname, apparently. After conversing for awhile, we traded email addresses. We've already been contacted by both Takeshi and Komatty...HOORAY, WE MADE (cute) FRIENDS!
And that was only the first day they were on campus. I LOVE COLLEGE.
I bet you won't get crunk!!!
The country my group made in our justice class.
Anko. Did I mention anko? Maybe not. Just know this: DON'T EAT MORE THAN ONE.