帰る

(Kaeru - to return)

(This one is a week late)

(This also sets a new record for longest post ever. Hang in there!)

月曜日
Monday - Monday was fairly quiet. After class I went to 北大路(Kitaoji - a subway/bus station in northern 京都) to do some quick shopping. I got myself a decent 浴衣, 帯　and 下駄　(yukata - men's version of a kimono, obi - the sash thats used as a belt, aand geta - the wooden shoes) for a decent price. I also got myself some tasty bread-based treats from my favorite パン屋 (panya - bread shop) and headed back in time for dinner at the 食堂 (shokudou - caffeteria) Hmm, dont remember anything anything too special after that, think we just hung out in the ihouse as I shirked practicing my speech...

火曜日
Tuesday - Tuesday was the last full day of classes After class I had a special treat though! Michelle, Evelyn, Kitty, and Mari were going to see 花より男　(Hana yori Dango - a Japanese Dorama that recently had a movie released more info) We ended up arriving late and missing about the 1st 10 mins of the movie (hard to tell due to commercials) and of course my Japanese isnt that great yet, so I didnt understand a whole lot, but thankfully I had seen the first season so I got a lot of it.

The really weird thing was the people in the theater. This is a drama but has definate comedy to it. However you forgot there were other people even in the theatre. No one ate, drank, laughed, moved, I was honestly not sure they were breathing... We of course tried to be polite but funny is funny and we were chuckling. They probably hated us.

After that, we went to lipton cafe for dinner and caught the last train home. Due to some drama, me and Evelyn returned on our own and had a nice chance to chat.

水曜日
Wednesday - Oh god, its the 発表... (happyou - speech) First we had our last day with おのざき先生 (Onozaki sensei - sensei means teacher :P ) It was kinda sad but we were also all really burned out. I think he knew it, so he had us watch an old anime. However... the anime was entirely in 大阪弁 (Oosakaben - Osaka dialect) which while still Japanese made it basically uncomprehensible to us. The closest thing I can compare it to is Shakesperian.

After class was our last lunch with our CPs. It really began to hit me that we were all leaving so soon and it was a real bummer in that respect. Still everyone was a blast.

But then... oh god that speech... practicing over and over and yet still not being able to read it well was really bothering me. My speech last year was horrible because I had no time for it, and this year I really wanted to make it good. Thing was, I ended up sacrificing badly needed study time for the sake of the speech, and I was STILL BAD! Onozaki先生 had worked long and hard on all of our speeches and had edited mine quite a bit. The problem was since it wasn't my words anymore no matter how many times I read it over I just kept stumbling.

Add to that on Monday afternoon he declared we all had to memorize our speech. I cant do that in English. Oh, one other bonus, we had to answer questions about our speech from the teachers afterwards. My speech was basically translated from wikipedia. What was on my page was all I knew.

My theme was うどん(udon - thick Japanese noodles) my original theme anyway... Tuesday night frustrated I decided to think about doing it the way I would do a speech in English- write an outline and then run my mouth thru the topics.

I quickly wrote (in English) an outline of how I love IJP but I cant stand the speech, that its been the bane of everyone's existance in my 3 trips, and there just simply isnt any time for it in such a busy program. Of course I softened it from that.

Well after going back and forth several times, thats the speech I gave. I had not once practiced it out loud, so it was a challenge, but it went moderately well, certainly better than my other speech would have. Everyone's favorite line was "My real speech is in a bar at 1am." and I closed by saying that "I know I still have a long way to go, and I have made a lot of mistakes here. But I believe you understood me, and to me that is the important part." At the questions part, 岸先生 (Kishi先生）was thrown off and had to think of something to ask me. It was a fun feeling.

The whole speech thing seems to be intrinsic to Japanese education, they are always dressing up in suits and giving speeches to prove they learned something, and I guess I understand it. My problem is there just isn't time for it in such a busy program. Such an off-the-cuff thing was very anti-traditional, and I didn't know what to expect in terms of reaction.

Suprizingly, several people said they really liked it. Both CP's and other Americans. Now I can never quite know if the Japanese are lying because they are just so nice, but I know my fellow Americans would tell me straight. The big casualty was おのざき先生. He had worked long and hard thru this entire program, was averaging something like 3-4 hrs of sleep 3 days a week to come teach us and maintain his other job, and had worked particularly hard on our speeches. I think that this time around he really didnt think I was trying hard enough, and to an extent that may be true. The problem is it is just too important to me to go out and USE my Japanese while in Japan. I cant devote all my free-time to studying. After the speech, he never really talked to me again. I am quite upset by this, and plan to send him an apology email. I wanted to do it in person but he pretty much avoided me at the farwell party.

水曜日の夜
Wednesday night - (that last part was so long I thought I'd break it up) Well, after the speech was out of the way, a huge load was lifted off everyone's shoudlers. Thankfully it coincided with the ぎおん祭り (gion festival, still dont know the kanji for gion) and the night is the best time to go. It is a huge party where the streets are closed off and lined with food stands and everyone walks around in 浴衣. This is what I bought my 浴衣 for on Monday. I had organized a huge group of us to go, and we all had fun.

Afterwards, instead of being good little students and going home, we went to とりのすけ for another round of drinking and having fun. Risa came with us, and a couple of the guys in the bar knew her. They were pretty drunk and speaking in thick 関西弁 (kansaiben - Kansai dialect) so they were hard to understand. I got up to go to the bathroom and ended up talking to a few of the Japanese girls that were sitting at the bar. They commented that it was rare for anyone to wear 浴衣 or 着物 (kimono) at the place, and we both had ours on. One was a French major so I pointed her to Theo, our token French guy, and went to the bathroom. When I came back, they grabbed me again and I ended up talking to them all for about an hour. It is an interesting thing talking to regular people rather than CPs, the CPs seem to "pull more punches" with us, trying to dumb things down to our level. Still, I did pretty well.

It is a wonderful thing that とりのすけ is close enough to walk home from ^^

木曜日
Thursday - This is the morning of the official gion parade. We went to our now familiar (esp to me on my 3rd time) spot to watch the big floats try to navigate down a very narrow street without steering.

But after the 1st big float, Zack and JC were ready to leave. I would have liked to watch a couple more, but since everybody was heading out I decided I would too. We headed off to 寺町(teramachi - name of a street with a ton of shops) for おみあげ (omiage - gifts for people at home) shopping. After a bit of that we headed back to the Ihouse and relaxed, I had a meeting with the 先生s at 5:40 to practice for the oral exam the next day.

After that and dinner we headed out... for 花火！(hanabi - fireworks (litterly flower-fire)) a ton of people came and it was really fun. It was also the first time I really got to talk to Mami, JC's CP. She is tall and thin and does karate! (I was supprized) She also doesnt like fireworks because she was burned as a child. I went over to see why she was hanging so far back (she wasn't cowering, just off to the side) and ended up talking to her quite a bit. She is very nice. Ian didnt come becuase he had planned dinner with the 先生s at a ラーメン屋(ramen house) but it was closed so he ended up eating at the 食堂 with them. He was bummed. His email said "I strongly hate my choice." (yes in English)

Afterwards most people decided to head to とりのすけ again, but Alfa, Kyle and me decided to head back. Alfa is really super nice, and will be spending 2 years in the Ihouse, which is the first time I have ever heard of anyone doing that. We had a nice walk home and then I spent the evening slacking on studying for the oral test. It was kind of hard to study for since we had only a very basic idea of what would be on it.

金曜日
Friday - The day of the oral test. I had organized (as I tried to last year but failed) everyone to hit the computer room around 10 and hang out and trade pics and contact info and such. It actually worked and was fun. I made a Japanese music sampler of 1 album from about 15 artists and gave it to a few people, and got Trevor's music from him. I also started adding people to my newly made Facebook acct. I really wanted to blog and upload pics at the time but there just wasnt any time.

For my oral exam (which was actually just before at 9:40) I did ok I guess. I was mad I forgot the one word I was trying to remember which was a word for servants, but it was a complicated word and I wasnt even sure if it was the right one. I ended up talking around it pretty well. Overall I doubt my grade was good, and I do not feel like I learned much. However I did become a lot smoother in what I DO know, and I have a good place to continue studying from here. Namely, what I need most is a ton more vocab and kanji. I can express myself pretty well, but then I dont understand the reply because they use words I do not know. Overall I am so glad I went and so indebted to all my teachers, especially for putting up with me.

SO then... we went to an お好み焼き (okonomiyaki) resturant that was actually in walking distance of the Ihouse. Ten of us filled the place. When ordering I made it clear that I could not eat fish, meat or bird, and that included the 鰹節（katsuobushi - bonito flakes) that they often put on top, I said this twice.

After waiting over an hour for our meal (it was just 1 cook, and he served a Japanese person who came after us first) mine arrived with the 鰹節 on it. When I told him I couldnt eat it, they offered to scrape it off. It basically melts into the hot dish, so no thanks. The chef (he is the one that took my order btw) got very angry and was claiming I never said that blah blah blah. I realized I had the full capacity in my limited Japanese to tell him off and insist that I did say that, hell we even went over in class just a couple days before how to politely complain, but I wasnt going to be polite so I just decided to leave.

Evelyn, Michelle, and Alfa came chasing after me to make sure I was alright, but I was fine. It's not the first time I've delt with idiots afterall. I ended up going home and making my usual bread pizza which I love, and it came out better than ever.

At 5pm was the saddest event, the farewell party. All the CPs and students were there laughing and having fun. They had all the IJP students give thank you speeches and some of the Japanese did as well. Kae and Mami gave me nice letters, Kae's in the shape of a heart and told me not to read it till I got on the plane. They gave out certificats of completion and おのざき先生 gave me mine, but did not look at me when he did it...

The funny part was as sad as the party was, many were almost waiting for it to end. Afterwards we went to another 飲み放題 (nomihoudai - all you can drink) Yoshiki and Saori made all the plans, for which I thanked them profusely (I had such trouble the whole trip trying to get people together) and 45 of us went out drinking. Mariko wasnt going to come, but I offered to pay for her since I just wanted her there. It was supremely humid down by the river while we waited to go in at 9:30, but it was a nice place inside and was a lot of fun. They started getting slow on my drinks like the other place, so I said screw it and ordered a pitcher. When I got it I was going to pour it in a glass like a normal human, but everyone was so excited about the prospect of me using it as a glass that's what I did. I had 2 of those. ^^

After the 飲み放題 many people went home. The rest of us tried to go to a Mexican resturant that JC wanted to to go, but it was closed. So even more people left. Finally, the last group of us- Kevin, JC, Mariko, Hiro, Shuhei, Yoshiki, and Mariko ended up at McDonnalds till like 4am. We took a cab back.

土曜日
Saturday - I was the first one up from the last group, and bummed around the Ihouse for awhile. I walked Ian to the bus stop so he could catch his flight in 名古屋(Nagoya)

We then all gathered up and went to a temple who's name I forget (there's just so many!) mostly because it was on the way to the Handicrafts Center which is a great one-stop-shop for おみあげ. It was also a rediculous tourist trap, everyone spoke English even if you spoke Japanese to them and there were no Japanese shopping. Still, I got my おみあげ done. Calvin ditched us in the store and forced us to look for him for almost an hour before giving up. Seems he had already left...

Afterwards we went to 寺町(sorry folks, 1 explination per post!) and ate at Shakey's (yes the pizza place) where they have a 食べ放題(tabehoudai - all you can eat) of curry, pizza, salad, and potatoes. After a long night and a long day of walking, that place is life-giving. It was around this time I got a text from Ian that he was late, unsure he was on the correct train, and generally pissed at the world. We had a good laugh. (Dont worry, he made it fine)

Finally it was カラオケ (karaoke) something Trevor had set up, and it was really fun. Natsumi, a girl that showed us around Kiyomizudera and I kept in contact with via email, had said she was going to come. In the end, she wasnt able to because of a party for her club, but she came to the meeting place anyway to personally say so. That was really nice of her. She imediately asked me 'do you remember me?' but she looked so different from 2 weeks before (dressed very differently and wearing a hat) that I stuttered.

Our room was super over crowded, but it was fun. I finally got Trevor to sing "Take on Me" but I had to shoo Zack off the mic to keep him from ruining it. Mariko spent half the time in the hall drawing a picture for Calvin because she had given us all notes with drawings (she drew me as fat and told me to watch my drinking >.>) but didnt make one for Calvin. She said she didnt know him quite well enough to know what to draw. So I told her he always says すげい and めっちゃ (GREAT! VERY!) and she put that in. ^^ (Calvin you're not allowed to read that last part)

Afterwards, everyone else went to go have more fun, but I had to return to the Ihouse by 11 to ask the gaurd when my taxi was coming. Turned out he stuck a note to my door- that sucked. I would have wanted to stay out.

日曜日
Sunday - When everyone got back, we realized we were all going to be up at 5am and it was like 1 and so we decided to stay up all night and pack and such. I was already packed so I pretty much hung out. At 5:10 am my taxi to the airport came, while the other guys were loading theirs up to Kyoto station to head to Tokyo. The one time I leave on time and everyone else stays- no fair!!!

So I went to the airport in 大阪 (Osaka) where they wanted to look in my bags so I had to repack. Then I got to 成田 (Narita - the tokyo airport) where I had to repack into 2 seperate bags or pay 3000 yen for weight, and had a 6 hr layover. I spent my time eating pizza and drinking beer (I wanted to sleep on the flight) and emailing all my new and old friends on my ケータイ(keitai - cell phone)

Eventually I got on the plane and went home. I had an exit row and had my feet up on the safety slide pretty much the whole time. I also slept pretty well.

When I got home, I went to Rubios for something to eat then took a 'nap' which lasted from 12:30-7:30... not at all what I wanted.

Monday I went to work, and have been working ever since. I still have a million things to do like finish unpacking, give people their gifts, tag and upload pictures, and most importantly email all my old and new friends. But I have been sleeping at odd times (mostly 5:30pm-10:30pm) so getting anything done is a bit hard. The good news is with my new time schedule I am awake when Alfa is on the computer, and we have had a couple nice conversations because of it. I almost want to keep the schedule for that reason.

Ok, I'm shutting up now.

Links of the day!

FF12 Potion HOW COME I DIDNT SEE THIS STUFF!!!
Devil May Cry Commercial If American commercials were this good people wouldnt skip em.