Hello Goodbye~

今日の日本語の言葉: yakusoku (約束) - promise

This word is brought to you from the promise I made today to go hang out with Julien when I get back to the states.

I woke up this morning to a wonderful surprise of Anna being around! I thought she was going to be around later, so it was a pleasantly nice surprise to see her around and spend the morning writing in her presence. It made what I was going to do next a bit less bitter. After all, it's sad to say goodbye to a friend, especially since you were expecting them to be around for a while, and you had made plans and everything.

But that's what I went to do next. I met up with Ian and Julien in Yotsuya to have lunch. We were planning on going to the Sophia U cafeteria, but it was closed due to the festivities that were going on. Apparently, classes were cancelled and they were having a school festival! Everyone was out and about, and I think it was a good parting view of Sophia U for Julien. There was a choir singing Seasons of Love, which made it even nicer, and I totally sang along loudly and unabashedly. I love that song to bits.

I also saw a bunch of fearless guys in drag, all spread throughout the festival, which made my day. I didn't manage to get a shot of this extremely beautiful looking dude wearing a full on kimono, face make-up and all, mostly because I was too busy staring (some guys are totally better looking as women, and this guy (I could vaguely tell), looked good either way). I did, however, manage to catch the guy in the blue dress carrying the Hello Kitty sign, which I think is a nice and small representation of just how awesome this thing was.

After lunch was over (we ended up getting some Indian food), we parted ways, but with the promise that we'd hang out in America. After all, we're all going to New England colleges (Ian: Middlebury, Julien: Champlain), so it shouldn't be a hard goal. I'm gonna miss Julien quite a bit! We've had some good conversations. And, plus, now if I want to go to Hokkaido, most likely I'll be going alone. It'll be an adventure...?

We headed to class, and I got my first test back, which is always a milestone anywhere. 100%! Though compared to Latin reflexives and passive paraphrastics, this was a cakewalk. I had let my teachers know that class was too easy, grammar wise, and I'm happy to be giving them proof, rather than making them doubt what I had said. At least I'm learning more vocabulary as we go along, like the word for a vase, which I've never thought about before.

After class, Saya and I headed to Family Mart (wanting to experience all the convenience stores in the area). I was highly tempted to try the Haagen-Dazs crispy sandwich, which is advertised everywhere (and I got a kick out of the "Vanilla & Beans" flavor label), but I settled for that chocolate ice cream mochi I saw yesterday. It was delicious. Very, very delicious. God, I don't understand how someone can not like chocolate ice-cream, or mochi. Especially the two of them together. #self-centeredviewpointbutthatdoesn'tmeanIunderstandanybetter

They also had a make-your-own-noodle-soup stand, which I haven't had a chance to snap a picture of until now. Most convenience stores (and practically all 7/11s) have this. I find it kind of cool, actually, and I wish they had this in the states, just like I wish they had Noodles and Company up in Boston. I love noodles almost as much as I love rice. #Atkinisrollinginhisgrave #I'vegottenintohashtagshaven'tI

I'm also sick, I think, which started this morning. I've been sneezing left and right, and for those of you who know my sneeze, you'll know that it's the look-at-me-and-my-sneeze-that-shakes-the-room-in-a-bad-way type. It's not a room commanding sneeze, but it definitely is an attention getter. And it's very loud. Sometimes Anna has told me that when she hears it over Skype, she thinks I've fallen over or that something has crashed or something. -_-"

But I celebrated being sick in style! I got myself a mask, covered myself up, and, in that moment, I think a part of me irreversibly became Japanese. And it doesn't want to reverse, so that isn't a problem anyways. It's like a rite of passage, and now that I've done it, I can face this sickness head on with newfound strength. Yosh!

For dinner, I had rice, egg drop miso soup, cabbage, tomatoes, and beef. It might sound simple, but some of the most simple dishes can actually be the most delicious, and this was no different. The beef was divine. How does Japan have such good meat? There are so many reasons besides, but I might want to live here just for that. I really should start learning cooking from Yoshiko-san.

After dinner, I did my homework, drew the finishing touches on my cover thus far, and then went to type this blog post! So below so far is my improved sketchbook cover. Now it has two pairs: Shwatsonlock and Malexei. You guys already know the story behind both the pairings, and you know how much I love them, so there's not much else I need to say. I'm going to start drawing Tramando (or Avis? I mean, they're Travis and Armando; I like Tramando. I'm sticking with that). I'll introduce you to them when I get there (and assuming Anna gives me permission to do so. They're her characters, after all).

That's it for today! I leave for Nagasaki tomorrow morning, so tomorrow's post will be from somewhere else! It still hasn't sunk in for me that I'm on the island that is Japan. It feels like this is just another part of America that has signs I can't read and people I don't understand. But what I'm saying is that it feels so comfortable and so much like home that I can't tell the difference. I love it here!

また明日、
マギー