Let's go to Kyoto!

Ahhh, the last day of orientation. It's both extremely nice as well as nerve-wracking at the same time, because that means it's almost time to move in with my host family!! Which I found out won't be until Sunday at 4:30. Ahaha, wow... now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do until then!! But ah well, it will give me some time to relax and make sure I have my bags all packed and ready to go.

Today we had the last of our briefing... meeting... things... there was some more good information to be learned there. The safety talk was actually quite humorous, as the professor that was giving it kept adding in all these snarky remarks. After that, we basically just had to wait around until 2:00, which was when the Kyoto tour started, so we ate lunch... hung out in the CIE... cool stuff like that. I know. We are awesome.
Although we were a bit disappointed, because they posted our Japanese placement tests results today, but not until after we'd already left for Kyoto!! So we won't know them until tomorrow. I guess it doesn't really matter, since we're all gonna know anyway, ahaha, but still, we'd like to know.

The Kyoto tour ended up being... quite a lot of fun. It was interesting the way they did it. Basically, they formed a big line of all the gaijin going on the tour, and then a big line of all the Japanese students going on the tour, then they paired us together in small groups so there was an equal amount of each. That meant we would have people to talk to and everything. Which turned out to be lots of fun! We had to walk down to Goten-Yama station to take the train, so the entire time there I got to talk with a girl... uh... I think her name was Suzuki. I'm not sure, I learned a lot of names today. ^^ But anyway, it totally started testing my Japanese skills, ahaha. She knew... more English than I knew Japanese, but not nearly as much as many of the helpers have so far on campus. So we took turns talking in both Japanese and English. I was rather surprised - I knew more Japanese than I thought I would and was actually able to carry on conversations with it. But then I was always needing to say something that I had absolutely no idea how to say in Japanese, so I'd switch back and such.

So anyway, yeah, that was cool. Also, we got to take the express train this time - it was the first time we'd gotten to take it! It was about... thirty minutes or so to Kyoto? We had to change trains one time as well. Kyoto was simply beautiful, though! TONS of more traditional-style buildings. Plus, it's so strange, because all the buildings are intermixed with each other. So you've got more modern buildings interspersed with more traditional buildings, and then you'll have a random shrine situated between two stores!! So strange! But very pretty. And lots of really cool stores and shops and confectionaries. We also visited our first Shinto shrine! It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!! It was a huge one too. We walked around to all the different buildings and such, and then even threw a coin in to ring the bell and pray. It was a lot of fun.

After that, we walked back along the street a ways until we got this bit loooooong stretched out mall/shopping area. It was weird because it was like... half inside, but half outside. It's hard to explain. But it just kept going and going and going... Some really awesome shops, though. They sell a lot more traditional Japanese things here, so it was fun simply to look through the things.
For a while now, Casey and I had both really wanted to buy kimonos, but had decided that yukatas were much more in the budget range (a yukata's like a summer kimono - only one layer and much cooler). So, we took this opportunity to look around for some and figure out the prices. We went to one shop, where everything was very traditional and everything looked extremely well-done and beautiful, but the prices were really high!! So we kept walking for some time until we came to a shop that just sold kimonos and yukatas, but at a much better price than any of the other shops. So we looked through there, and both of us ended up finding a pattern that we really, really liked, so the girls we were with helped us talk to the shopkeeper and figure out the best color for our obi, and then we decided to get them! So we're both really excited now to have yukatas, and we can't wait for an opportunity to wear them!! I'd really love to go to a festival in it, or many of the girls suggested halloween as well. So yeah, it was pretty much awesome. My yukata is so pretty!

We also went to a manga/doujin shop at the mall... which was... the biggest, more insane place I've ever seen. I was completely overwhelmed by it. An entire store... just dedicated to selling manga... and doujinshi... and various anime/manga nick-nacks and accesories... it was an amazing place. We spent almost twenty minutes there just looking around. I still don't quite understand how the organization words for manga though, AHAHA. I know that it's by publisher, but it's still so hard to find anything!! I hope that by the time I leave, I will be able to figure out how to really find things in stores like that.
Mrrrrr.

Hmmm, well, that's about most of what I can think of that we did today. For dinner, we came back to Hirakata Station to eat at the chicken restaurant from one of the first nights, then we simply took the bus home. That's about it, though.
Tomorrow's going to be a nice day of relaxation after the rather hectic week I just had, so it's going to be nice. I will also see what my Japanese placement test results are! Ahhh, kind of scary! But no matter what, it will work out fine, ahaha.
As always, pictures up tomorrow, though tonight it's mainly because I'm far too tired to try and upload them all....

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