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As the semester is coming to a close, this will be my final entry before I go galavanting around Japan with Bobby. Final exams are here - stressing just a little, but I thankfully lived past my Japanese oral exams. Instead of studying what feels like a few hundred vocabulary words, I decided to write an entry. Don't worry, I'll get to it sooner or later...
Last week I discovered that my group member Max and I got second place in the simulated Japanese stock game I mentioned earlier in the semester... Over four months we had a 16% return on our portfolio... kind of sad - I had it at 26% but was lolo and messed up. But first place were the Germans of course with an amazing 34% return... actually, the two of them are day traders in Germany and are only going to school at the request of their parents. The last kid who went actually created the program that we used to keep track of our portfolios. Dinner and drinks were treated by Professor Doss at a nice izakaya... It was a really pleasant evening out and I learned a lot, especially from the Germans.
Yes, I Know
I'm the only female... but shockingly, I did what every good Japanese girl would and played hostess and ordered everyone's food as well as drinks (IN JAPANESE!) Left to right: Max (America - SF), Oliver (Germany), Thorsten (Germany), Alexzis (ME!), Sam Doss (Professor - America - Indiana), Nhat (Australia) Let's see, this past weekend was crazy. I had no plans except to study, but for some reason, as each day came, I found my calendar packed with last minute requests for my company (^_-). Friday night I went with my friend, Donkey (not his real name), into Kobe. He drives a gorgeous Altezza (Toyota's equivalent to the Lexus IS 300... so you know how happy I was). I wanted to see more things that tourists don't normally get to see, so he took me to several lookouts up a windy mountain road. Kinda scary, kinda reminded me of Tantalus but about 5 times longer and scarier. So the pictures didn't come out so great because pictures are pictures. I just wish you could have seen it... the skyline of Kobe and Osaka was just amazing. Okay, I know it sounds romantic and all, but unfortunately, he wasn't Bobby. So it was just fun. Anyway, the next day I woke up to devote myself to studying. Then I get a phone call to go out to dinner and karaoke with some ruugakusei (foreign students). I thought about it... really hard, because I wanted to study. But ended up going. (^_^)
Kanpai!
Sorry, we kind of got cut off on the left side... It was good fun except I didn't get much more studying done once I got back home. Then on Sunday I went to Osaka to meet up with my speaking partner Mayu and her friend from high school. It was Mother's Day (haha no hi - literally mom's day) so everywhere was mecha kondeiru (super crowded). We went bowling, had lunch, then I rushed home to study for the rest of the night. What a weekend considering I literally had nothing planned except studying for finals and doing my final papers.
Anyway, as my final note, I wanted to write about a few of the things I love about Japan and some of my experiences that I didn't get a chance to write about before... They're a bit random, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed my time here. Thanks everyone for reading. I'll write again and post pictures of my trip with Bobby once I get home (maybe I'll even get pictures of Bryton's graduation up).
(the last one is the best one in my opnion...)
I love how clean Japan is. In a decent city, it's rare to see rubbish lying
on the ground in the middle of the day. Japan is huge on recycling. They do not get paid to separate their trash - yet they do it. SO much is done for the benefit of the country rather than the benefit of the individual... that mentality just blows me away because it's so selfless.
~I walk to and from the train station every day and as I walk through my neighborhood, I will without fail find at least one resident cleaning the area/road in front of his/her home, picking off dead flowers from a tree/bush/plant so that they don't ruin the appearance of the tree, doing some kind of gardening, or just cleaning house...
~Around my campus I find maintenance people scrubbing the bottom of pillars, washing the ground, cleaning out gutters even though there are no trees in sight, walking around picking up pieces of trash...
People here are generally really really nice people. They're not only respectful, but usually don't mind taking a little bit of time out of their day to help you.
~FIRST FIRST experience in Japan - we got lost trying to find our hotel in Osaka on a crowded and bustling Friday
night. But a very kind older salary man (business man) stopped to ask us (in English mind you) if we needed directions or help finding our hotel. It was pretty obvious because we had huge suitcases. Initially he explained to us where to go - but looking at our blank and somewhat puzzled faces, he offered to escort us to our hotel which was a good 15 minute walk in the freezing cold!
~On my way to Hiroshima with Dawn we took several slower trains to keep to our low budget travel plans... I had woken up about 5:30 that morning to get to Osaka early and it was already around 2 pm and we had been traveling all day. We were on a train that had only bench style seats. Dawn was reading her Japanese comics and I was listening to music and dozing off every now and then. I don't know when or how it happened... but when we got to our final destination I woke up extremely comfortable... but something felt odd... A little dazed and confused I looked around and realized... I FELL ASLEEP ON THE SHOULDER OF AN OLD LADY! It had to have been
Son of A...
Peach! Haha, sorry, a little vulgar but I thought it was hilarious... found it in an American/Western themed restaurant in Kobe - though most Japanese won't understand the phrase or the joke... for at least a good 30 minutes or so. I didn't know whether the situation was more embarrassing or hilarious. I know I probably turned beet red when I was apologizing to her about a million times - but she apparently didn't even say anything to her husband while we were on the train who looked really confused while I was trying so hard not to die from embarrassment. She wasn't really old - about 60 or so, but WOW. I still laugh at myself to this day and am just appalled that I'd done that!
Anyway, I know I've had so many more amazing experiences, but I need to get back to studying for the final stretch! Not to mention I need to pack.
Take care everyone and see you soon!
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yo... 俺だ。
aBBsOW_mÏÏÏBnJVÍU“oYTOª_Dx00]ngUKx00c_KHp...x00JMUWfnx00haha.. jp... but yea.. hopefully you have a fun traveling all around and getting into all sortsa trouble! JghFon finishing your classes and such... well.. you know what i mean.. but yea.. call me when you stop by the Kobe area and I'll see if i can tag along with you and Bobby... aite.. have FUNNNNNNN!