So today was a very frustrating day. It was only the first period of the day but halfway through the class I started to get really frustrated (how else to describe this swelling of emotion?) so I.. uhh... 'missed out' on my 2nd period class to go take a walk around campus and cool down. Sitting under some trees and enjoying the sunshine, I think I realized all the stress is building up again and I'm getting more and more restless >__< I've finally gotten to A class in the IJL program and now that I'm here, it's like... what next? I'm about to return to UBC within a couple months and when I go back, I'm deathly scared that I'll forget all the Japanese I learned here D: However, the JLPT is around the corner and if I don't buckle down and study, I will fail hard >3< It's not that A class is especially hard, but I'm really starting to wonder where all my motivation went for this term... 

In any case, I only have roughly 3 months left to enjoy my time here and hopefully I'll make the best of it. I will brutally honestly say I only semi-look forward to going back to Vancouver, but I really do miss everyone and wouldn't mind getting back to finishing my degree. The JWP classes in the program are not really... enriching and I only recently realized I'm dismayed at the fact that I've missed out on classes where I actually learn something (reading through the Political Science 2011 course guide made me DROOL), though I'm also scared that my English level has just plummeted and I won't be able to write all those lovely 20 page essays when I get back. DOOOOOOM.

Recently I've also started thinking more about my future after UBC (but then again, when am I not?) and I realize I really, really want to travel (though my parents won't be pleased to hear that). So, I'm starting to look at my options ie. working holiday visa in other countries or maybe I'll go to South Korea or Japan to teach English (though I really don't like it) or do an internship in some European country, hopefully in an area that's relevant to my degree. Next adventure... Germany or the Netherlands? :D Wheee the thought excites me.

Luckily enough we're all going to an onsen resort this weekend, so I positively absolutely can't wait to board the train and get there and see the ocean and jump in an outdoor onsen and set off some fireworks and just relaaax before midterms and presentations come.

Just. Relax.

Oops, the last time I blogged was April 7th? This must be a joke :x So... it's been a whole month of exciting exciting... saving money (not really). I decorated my phone with rhinestones and plastic deco pieces, but I just want to rip it off and put on a new design that's not so... sparkly HAHA Because the sakura (cherry blossoms) also started blooming in the beginning to mid-April, I went for hanami (flower viewing) quite a number of time and the sakura were just LOVELYYY <3 Sitting outside drinking beer and watching other people get wasted (ie. group of guys at Hirano Shrine just getting their drink on at 2pm... priceless because public drinking is allowed here!!) during the day or eating food with my friends and enjoying the beautiful surroundings... I wish we had this custom in Canada D:

I printed out my report card for the first term (which is also Rits' 2nd term since school starts in April here!!) and... all A's!! NOT Foreign Relations of Japan professor gave me a B despite all my hard work dksfljsfljds D: In any case, A A A A etc etc B :( It's only too bad my grades don't transfer back to UBC... I hope I do as well in my last term here as well!!

Since I'm relatively job-less (aside from teaching English once a week), I've taken up an internship at Cafe Frosch near Kitano Tenmangu (: If you have time, drop by!! The cafe is really international and the owners are so friendly and love talking to people. I'm not paid (occasionally I might be) for this job, but they feed me and the working environment is quite nice <3 Also get to practice my Japanese, so I'm glad they took me on :D 

I also had time to take a Japanese culture class this term, so while I had the choice between Ikebana and Wagashi, I picked Wagashi since I can't afford both T^T

- It's 1:30am, I'm going to bed since I'm sick haha. Maybe more tomorrow (: -

So, it's been a crazy 2 weeks. I remember very little of it, to be honest (the days just blur in my head, honestly) so basically I would just recommend you read my friend Kevin's blog HAHA here. Kevin is the only UBC student who came this term, and he also happens to be living at I-House I with the rest of us awesome people :) Yay! Very little new students seem to have come this term due to the circumstances, but I'm really happy to see new faces at I-House and around Rits since it's been rather... empty.

Regarding my last post, I didn't manage to even get an interview for the job since my Japanese was deemed too immature. It was a quick knife thrust to my heart to read that email, but after reading my application (which I write after reading multiple Japanese resume help sites and whatnot...), I can't even disagree or agree because I can't even tell :( I really wish we did more keigo writing and speaking in class, but it couldn't be helped since I was only in B class (upper intermediate). I was a bit depressed after, but these things can't be helped at all (actually they can, but I'm just a failure in general now anyways) :)

However, I was able to spend a week tutoring 2 children who came to Kyoto for a 2 week long vacation. Their mother had contacted me via the helpful website FindStudents.net (useful for finding students when wanting to teach/tutor a language ie. English). Luckily I was well paid for my time, and made some spare cash towards living expenses :) Yay! The kids were a handful (5 and 9 years old... at the same time @@), but I really enjoyed working with them. At times it was trying (and even the mother wanted to know if I needed a break before switching between the two girls), but I can see why people stick with being teachers because it can be really rewarding at other times :)

Orientation was boring as usual (though as a continuing student I only had to attend very little of it, YAY!). We were fortunate and lucky enough to be invited to the 2011 Ritsumeikan Entrance Ceremony for new undergraduate and graduate students, but... I was a bit (very?) disappointed with the ceremony itself. Someone said it had to be toned down due to the earthquake and tsunami situation, but I still felt like it was a bit of a waste of time. It was ~2 hour ceremony, with the first part being ceremonial with speeches and the second part being the "festive" portion. I'll write a post on this later.

Placement test wasn't as hard as I dreaded it to be, though the listening portion of the test was just... I think my listening is fine, but there's something about the JLPT style that just irks me (is it really an accurate way of testing listening???). However, I apparently did decent because the results for the placement test were in today, and I was put in A2 level :) Yay, got into advanced Japanese! I'm honestly a little disappointed in myself because while I could have made more effort last term (as I was told by my teachers... twice), I didn't and therefore I'm paying for it HAH. I've been split off from some of my friends as the advanced level is divided into A1 and A2, but I guess I'll just have to treasure the memories, get off my butt and move onto the new term. It's going to be intense though- T^T Thursday alone, I have classes solid from 9am to 4:10pm (except for a lunch break, yay!) Booo D:

The JLPT will take place in early July and I hope to take N1 by then. My mother has made a bet with me: if I pass N1 then I won't have to pay her back all the money I owe her (which is frankly.. a lot @@) otherwise I will be slaving away at 2-3 part time jobs in the future when I return LOL Will I win this bet?? I hope so, so I gotta work hard >__<

I guess I should update tomorrow too, just to get my thoughts down (though this could turn into an angry rant just oh too easily). For now... looking forward to 1, 2, 3, and 4th period classes tomorrow followed by some picture taking at the Kyoto Imperial Palace (because the sakura have bloomed there) and more English tutoring until 9pm :) Yay for staying busy, I guess :)

So due to recent circumstances (i took a peek at my cell phone bill and thanks for the earthquake, it's in the... well, it's quite horrifying), I've increased my efforts to find a proper part-time job in Japan. I do teach English at the moment, but it's definitely not enough to make up for the damage or support my alcoholic tendencies (jokes... but I would like to buy more clothing...).

On top of this job posting, I hope I can take some cultural classes with Rits (or at a cultural centre) and also get an internship at this local cafe :) Yes for being busy in the last 5 months of exchange!

So I found a job posting online on a site targeted directly to foreign exchange students. I emailed them using keigo (formal Japanese) to the best of my very limited ability (Why doesn't B level practice keigo?? Why only A level!? Us B students need to practice too!!!!) and they replied with 2 forms.

The first form was relatively simple... not really. In Japan, they use a standard resume format (example) and not only does it ask you basic information like your name, your work experience, education , address etc, they also ask you things illegal by Canadian standards (whether you're married, if you have dependents). It also asks you the motive you have for wanting to work at the company, what kind of person you are, the clubs/sports you participate in, your salary expectations (I don't even know what kind of job I'm applying for @__@), your transportation expense expectations (I don't even know where they're going to place me!!), what my previous salary was and how much they covered for my transportation (nada, I never had a job in Japan) and on and on and on.

So after a day or two of struggling to fill out the applications, I've sent them in and hopefully I'll be able to meet them and hopefully hopefully my Japanese will pass :) I don't want to play the foreign exchange student card but... I hope they go easy on me >__<

Now some people have asked me why I don't just go the easy route (look in windows and look for a "Hiring" sign, or just teach English until I break down at the sight of a grammar point), I'm actually not sure why. I think I do possess enough ability to work at a restaurant or convenience store but I guess for now... I'm trying to give myself a challenge. I don't know if I've progressed in Japanese at all since I've come here or if I've gained any confidence in my Japanese, but with this chance hopefully hopefully I can learn something that's not in a classroom.

After all... they don't teach us a lot in the classroom. I never really learned how to order at a Japanese restaurant (I used to freeze up whenever they asked a question I didn't expect.. now it's not so bad :D), or how to reply to an email in Japanese (this one is supremely tough..), or how to sign up for a cell phone (the first time I learned the term 契約 keiyaku (contract) was on the spot while I was trying to secure a cell phone...), or... well, a lot of things. But luckily the good thing about this exchange is that I can learn myself (though I'm sure someone is going to point their big fat finger right now and go YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT? THEY TAUGHT THAT IN XXXX) or well, learn with others. Learning outside the classroom is definitely the best part of exchange.

In any case, school is beginning in a week. NOOOOOO! Study... must study...

sooo not studying.

So, reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I also wrote a huge post about my experience, but when I clicked post LJ gave me a 404 and I lost all of it... But here I go again :)

So I went to Tokyo on March 9 via night bus. Night bus is a bit of a painful experience where the bus is super cheap, but it's an 8 hour ride jammed in a seat (mine was overnight so I was expected to sleep but couldn't...). It snowed when we left Kyoto, shockingly enough but the weather was quite nice when we reached Tokyo on March 10th. Spent the day playing around before proceeding to meet my mother's friend, my "aunt" and her family who live in Tokyo (not central, but close enough).

Fast-forwarding to the next day (Mar 11), I met up with my friend Haruka to go to Ginza before we headed to Ikebukuro to meet up with our other friends Yuichi and Saori for a small SEP (UBC JA's Summer Exchange Program) reunion <3 We went to Namja Town in Sunshine City, a small cat amusement park complete with a gyoza town in it. While chowing on some gyoza, the tables and lights around us started to shake. At first we thought someone was just walking like a giant, but the shaking continued more violently so we stood up to head for an exit, though changed our minds and ducked under the tables instead. The shaking just went on and on, but staff members reassured everyone and asked us to remain calm. Once the shaking subsided, they checked for injuries and fallen objects before directing us to an emergency exit into the main mall area.

All around us, people were starting to get up from crouching near the ground and everyone had their cell phones out to call and mail people. We decided to proceed since the earthquake seemed rather minor, and finally left the building in search of some new amusement. On the streets, people were waiting because so many buildings had evacuated people and weren't letting them back in for safety reasons. We eventually ended up a cafe just to chat for a bit before it was announced that the building was closing, so the staff quickly kicked us out. It's then we finally realized that it might be best to head home, and headed for Ikebukuro Station.

However, immediately after the earthquake all the trains had been stopped. People still on the trains had been evacuated out and escorted back onto platforms as train stations all over the area began to close down and the ticket gates closed. When we got to Ikebukuro Station, we saw a huge crowd of people standing outside the ticket gates just waiting and hoping the trains would be restarted so they could go home. However, the trains remained shut down all night until around 11pm, when 3 subway lines opened up and by 2-4am, the rest of the trains started running again. Until then, people were forced to rely on taxis and buses. Thanks to my friend Yuichi, he found a bus for Haruka and I to take to a station where we could transfer.

The bus line was at least 1-2 hours long, and I bid Yuichi and Saori farewell as they decided to walk the hour or so home and settled in for a long wait. Haruka and I waited for more than an hour in the bus line up as we listened to people talk about the growing disaster all around us. The cell phone networks were all extremely busy, and mail came randomly and in huge quantities. People lined up several city blocks just for the pay phones, and buses only came 2-4 times in that hour.

We finanally managed to get on the bus and while the bus was extremely full, the bus driver remained polite and kept apologizing for the long wait in traffic. We got off at a stop to transfer buses, but the bus never came in the end. After waiting around 1.5 hours (Haruka ran to the convenience store and could only buy snacks because the shelves had been cleaned out), my aunt called to tell us that a couple subway lines were running. So around 11pm (we started trying to go home since 4pm), we ran half-frozen for the subway and managed to get on before people really knew the subways were running.

I called my friend Jon, who was living in Shinjuku at the time and he offered a place for Haruka and I to stay for the night while we waited for the trains to start again. PROPS TO JON :) Everyone at the guesthouse we stayed in were very accomodating and nice, and we got to catch a couple hours of sleep before the trains started again.

However, Haruka had an AU network phone, which sent out a mail complete with a loud buzzing alarm (rang no matter what setting you had it on) whenever there was an earthquake, so we were woken up twice to incoming aftershocks/earthquake notifications. Finally at around 6:30am, we caught a train home and split up. Got home at around 7, and my aunt literally grabbed me in a bear hug the second she saw me. Getting home was such a pain... it was a trying experience and I was really happy to be back.

In Shinjuku, the trains were closed but the station was still open for people to take shelter while they waited for the trains to start again. The taxi line snaked around the plaza, but there were no taxis to take. Groups of people holding cardboard passed by (to sleep on?? there were a lot of people holding cardboard...) and earthquake shelters opened up in elementary schools. One person from Jon's guesthouse brought back emergency rations they had handed him, which consisted of a bottle of water and a packet of hard, flour biscuits (not appetizing but very filling, I guess?).
Guess I'll do a post later on the aftermath :) I probably missed some stuff, haha...

Every year in Japan, the 2nd monday of January is marked as 成人の日seijin no hi, or Coming of Age day. On this day, Japanese people aged 20 in the past year celebrate turning 20 years old (which is the legal age within Japan). So generally around this time period all over the country, ceremonies (成人式 seijin shiki) are held just for this special age.

ivyinjapan and I decided to participate after my friend Hazel at Doshisha asked if I was going, and I realized this is truly a once in a life chance (you can only turn 20 once, and be at Japan at the same time? priceless!) so we decided to participate. To participate, all we had to do was mail in a postcard with our details to the organization within Kyoto that deals with this ceremony and pick a timeslot.

For seijin no hi, it is custom for Japanese women to wear kimono. However, it's not the usual kimono but the special kind known as 振袖 furisode. This type of kimono is usually reserved for young, unmarried women (though there is no specified age limit, possibly up to around 30?) and has long, swinging sleeves. It is also usually made of silk (though polyester is a cheaper alternative).

Now back in December, Ivy and I did some research and managed to find a kimono rental store where we could rent a cheap furisode (~￥15,750). While this may seem expensive, I really have to emphasize: this is incredibly cheap in terms of furisode. My Japanese friends who also participated in Coming of Age day paid up to ￥120,000 for their furisode rental (included may be a studio for commemorative photos, make-up and hair styling). Girls may also inherit a furisode from their mother (passed down through generations <3).

So in order to save on time on the actual day (January 10, 2011 in this case), we went to the shop early to try on furisode, The shop had several patterns to pick one; Ivy selected the white furisode with a purple flower pattern and I picked a red furisode with a flower pattern.

So once again, I am writing another summary post :0 It's been half a year here, but every day has been as fun as the last and I know I'm definitely not ready to leave here anytime soon ): However with 6 months left, I guess I'll have to plan my vacations more carefully (after this Spring Break, I only have 3 days of school off for Golden Week... no more breaks after this... -____-) , and try to get going to more places like Mie Prefecture (Ise Shrine!!) and Nagoya (:

- went to Korea for a 2nd time with Aki, Philipp, and Raynor (: Kim Young accompanied us on the flight back since he was returning there for good (T__T), and Jun met us at the airport for a joyful reunion (: We stayed in a huge family style room together (excluding Young since he lives in Seoul) and basically spent 90% of our time together. Had to sleep with Aki on a bed, but we survived (though Jun snored a LOT D:) and made lots of good memories on the way (soo much good food). Perhaps I'll do a seperate post on it sometime, haha.

- finally have a couple students for teaching English :D So far I'm teaching 2 guys, but I have another possible student lined up for when I come back from Tokyo ^__^ Yayy!! One of my students drives a JAGUAR, so I was like LOL WTF when he started showing me pictures @__@

- will be going to Tokyo from March 9 (night bus) to March 18 (arriving back in Kyoto at 6am in the morning, yay). I'll get to see all my Tokyo friends and can't wait!! For accomodation, I'm lucky because my mom asked her friend to let me stay for the week and she said yes!! Guess all my money will go towards transportation and food <3

- my room furnishings have been upgraded even more by my purchase of a TOAST LOW CHAIR <33 So far I have multiple postcards on my walls, a fridge, a hot water kettle (never used), a low table (thanks Eki <33), my rug from Nissen, and this lovely lovely chair <33

- Nellie, Crystal (with Hazel) came to Kyoto to visit (though in the end we went to Osaka) <33 Nellie stayed in my room while Crystal was at Hazel's, and it was so nice to see them here <33 MISS YOU GUYS!! Osaka was crazy walking though, I'm glad I didn't wear my boots because my feet would've died ><

- We had a "chikan" incident at I-House, but it was nothing superr major. A girl on the first floor screamed because she saw the shadow of a guy outside her window and while he was gone by the time the guys went to check the rooms and outside, security at I-House has been upgraded to having barbed wire around all the fences and walls. Good luck, you gross pervs D:

- For Lillian's farewell party, we had another huge potluck and Aki and I bought a whole fish (not realizing the guts and scales were untouched)... So I proceeded to descaling it and then finally cutting it open and ripping the guts out (they were stuck so I had to hack at them with a knife...). Fun! As for Lillian leaving, I'm so glad I'll see her back in Canada but I thought my heart would stop again for the 2nd time ):

- Jun was leaving the next day after Lillian and had no more money to do anything (I had to cut his hair for him because he couldn't afford his usual expensive haircut), so we treated him to Jumbo and eat giant poritions of yakisoba (<33) and okonomiyaki (: We didn't stay up with him, but we walked him to the station and also made him breakfast (can't send him off starving, right?)  at 6am. HOWEVER... the jackass somehow took MY cell phone and nearly got on the train to the airport WITH my cell phone in his pocket (he had to borrow money off Raynor for the train haha)  -___- Luckily, Yuusuke was with him and managed to recover my phone otherwise the phone would've gone with Jun to Korea and I would STILL be searching for it >< YOU JERK!!

- WENT TO AN ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION CONCERT IN OSAKA. It was definitely one of the best days of my life, even if I had to go alone. I couldn't buy a ticket on the day they went on sale (sold out within 2 minutes -___-), so I had to go on Yahoo Auctions and bid on a pair for a slightly more expensive price. Observing Japanese concert culture was also definitely amusing. Nearly everyone was on the floor (though I had a reserved seat because I didn't want to be crushed) and nearly 1000-2000 people (?) were standing shoulder to shoulder, packed against the stage, jumping and pumping their fists. That's what Japanese people do at rock concerts. They pump their fist with their index finger sticking out and pointed at the musician. THEY ALSO DON'T ALLOW PHOTOGRAPHY!!! I had to take a sneak shot in the end (and it wasn't even of the band T__T), but after that coincidentally there was a staff member standing directly behind me and to my left, so I couldn't whip out my camera to capture the action >< But that's okay, I'll forever remember the concert <3 I nearly cried with happiness when I saw the band come out on stage, and they did 2-3 encores (-___- why not all at once??). They played around 30 songs, and everyone screamed with joy when they did Solanin (I did too...). In the end, Gotoh came up with this lovely mini song (if I  remember it correctly) to commemorate the Osaka concert:


- Went to the Kyoto Imperial Palace tour with Anna <3 It was strange standing among all the tourists and hearing the tour in English, but it was enjoyable the palace is lovely <33

- Went to Kaiten Sushi I don't know how many times with Aki <33 We went after the King's Speech at Toho Cinema and again with Philipp's mother, whee <33 The King's Speech was an awesome movie, but why don't Japanese people laugh in theatres?? We were the only ones laughing at the funny parts, and we had to muffle our laughter because the entire theatre was silent. Embarassing...

- Went to Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine (伏見稲荷退社) with Anna, Aki, and my Japanese language exchange friends Natsuki and Yuuri (: It was a 2 hour climb to the top and about 1 hour down, but it was really nice weather and there was a special feeling as we hiked higher because eventually we were one of the few people attempting the massive staircase. After, we had a 2 hour nabe/shabu shabu in my room. When Japanese people think nabe, they think of a pot with already set ingredients inside. However in North America, we usually dip meat and other things into the water before consuming them (thus shabu shabu hot pot?), so it was definitely a new experience for Natsuki and Yuuri, haha.

I guess I should do a whole bunch of seperate posts later, but that's it for now (:

Soooo it's not actually that I've been too lazy to write entires (a half lie), or that I've been super super busy (not really), I've just been mostly getting things done. Updates (out of chronological order):

- finally got my health insurance refund for my contacts :D japanese health insurance covers 70% of health fees, so you just have to pay 30%. my eye examination came to 980 yen instead of the steep 3200 yen :D

- in the midst of helping my friend finish planning a trip for Korea (again :D) . it'll be my 2nd time going, but I'm super super superrr excited! planet tickets are already booked, I just finished booking the taxi to take us to the airport today, 10 days left! i'll be going from feb 8 - feb 16, can't wait :) 

- on jan 10, went with Ivy and we got all dressed up for seijin no hi. I guess I'll do a seperate post sometime, but it was definitely an interesting experience wearing kimono (furisode to be exact) for a couple hours...

- about to go to nara and kobe in the next 2 days, transportation is as expensive as ever but it beats sitting at home and not doing anything... I should be studying, but at most right now I can only handle half an hour before my brain goes BOOM will be playing hockey again in kobe, can't wait!!!

- went to hiroshima from jan 2 - jan 4 with cho, jun, philipp, lillian and ang <3 though we didn't go out to drink, we did get the chance to go to this fantastic outdoor bath which was only 700 yen.outdoor baths!! <3 there's nothing like bonding with everyone... naked. also saw the peace memorial museum (very touching, i preferred it a lot to china's nanjing massacre museum...), miyajima island took up an entire day (deer <3333 food<3333), and survied the long highway bus (around 6-7 hours...) philipp, jun and I also bought an arrow from the famous Itsukushima Shrine for I-House I, so it'll keep us all safe :) we also left a ema (wooden plaques where you can write wishes or prayers) at the shrine, hopefully all our wishes will come true x]

- managed to pass japanese comprehensive hohoho for sure, got a B on the final whew XD i definitely thought I failed since the readings were long and hard and even when the bell rang, we were all still seated and still scribbling frantically >__<  managed to pull off a miracle in japanese listening/speaking with another B, though apparently I failed my placement test in the beginning of the year with a spectacular 12/27 haha. guess it doesn't pay to fall asleep during the test...

- went to the SKP completion ceremony, it was extremely brief and I had a final right before. my professor actually managed to mix up the final exam time, and told us the wrong time. when the time came for the exam to start, he didn't show up and left all us students wondering what the hell he was trying to pull this time. I run to his office to see if he's there and he is there, waiting for the exam time (!?!?). he comes to the classroom with me, and explains that the exam time was actually at 4:30, not 3:00. he goes down to talk to the office bureaucrats and when he comes back, he explains that he can't move the exam time, so it turns out that our final exam will coincide with the start of the completion ceremony -___- ARGHH and it couldn't be changed because the official time was 4:30, and all the japanese students were going to come at 4:30. result? people who actually attended and listened in class were punished by 1 1/2 hours because the japanese students who never came to class didn't come on time... either way, i wrote super fast and got to the completion ceremony on time WHEW :) a lot of my friends were in the shamisen class and did a touching performance ending with jingle bells, and there were quite a few speeches made (yay for ohno-sensei, the writer of the GENKI series who teaches at ritsumeikan... I wish he was my japanese teacher!!). after, there was a reception where kim young and kousuke sang a song, fern played her ukelele and sang, we saw a slideshow of term pictures and videos, free food <3, people getting their certificates... it was a really sad night in a way, because a lot of the people leaving I wouldn't see after that night :( after, there was a nomihoudai and i got pretty drunk and had to go home early. whoops XD

- went to another nomihoudai (all you can drink) and after we hit up a club in kyoto called butterfly. honestly... i hate to say this but going into the club I immediately wished I was back in vancouver clubbing haha when we went in, the dj was playing some kind of wailing sad song and everyone was just standing on the dance floor just watching. my friend disappeared (turned out she went to the dj and told him to change the song haha) and we went on the dance floor and I wobbled around until 5am with everyone :) in a way, it was super fun (and I uh... danced with a guy from sri lanka who came out of nowhere lol!) but honestly... not too eager to go to a japanese club anytime soon... it's hella hard getting the smoke smell out of my clothes and hair after too >__< 

- ang's farewell party was on sunday-monday, and we stayed up until 5:30am with her to wait for her shuttle to come pick her up to the airport. it was a fun party and we tried hard to keep our spirits up, but when it came to her leaving and waiting at the entrance for the taxi, it really felt like my heart was going to stop because i was so so sad she was leaving :( exchange is tremendous fun and all, but it's definitely short-lived and after august, i'll be leaving i-house I myself and going back to life in vancouver. I don't know how I'm going to live when more of my friends go back home at the end of this week...

Life, I guess... definitely still fun :)

It's been a while since my last entry, so here's an update:

- Currently on Winter Break holidays, which is from the 27th to the 5th of January. So far I've been a sloth and barely done anything productive (coughcoughfindapart-timejob). Yay!!
- For a couple days in November, I went to Korea (skipped school, whoops) and it was awesome!! Lots of awesome memories like pretending to be a Japanese tourist and eating awesome food <3
- Rented my kimono (furisode style) from Sensho Kitamura, so I can't wait for Seijin no Hi 成人の日 (Coming of Age day) so Ivy and I can experience it :)

So today I decided to go and get some contacts for Seijin no Hi so I wouldn't have to wear glasses :D It was a bit of a pain because contact lens stores and eyewear (glasses) stores are strictly divided in Japan. I tried Megane Super who then recommended me to Heart Up in Yodobashi Camera near Kyoto Station. Despite my limited contact lens Japanese lingo, the staff member who helped me was super friendly and after filling in some forms, I was told to come back for an eye check-up.

The optometrist was conveiently located next to Heart Up and everything was done super efficiently (as expected in Japan? :D). With one staff guiding me, I went from station to station and finally settled down to trying to put the darn thing in. I know I'll get used to it, but trying to push the lens into one eye had me with my heart in my throat because I was deathly scared of scratching my eyeball T__T

In any case, it was a very humbling experience because a lot of the terms they used were something I definitely wouldn't learn in a textbook >__< Communication was a bit hard, but I managed to understand most of what they said :) Now to spend the next 6 days getting used to contact lens...

So life is slowly becoming busier as I'm starting to get hit by presentations, quizzes, and tests. I spend every single night studying for more than an hour (I NEVER did this back in Vancouver...) just to keep up with my classes and prepare readings and stuff for the next. However, I really feel I'm becoming a tiny bit better at Japanese (despite my dismal marks...), so all this work is definitely worth it. It's also become ~10 degrees C, so biking home is like wading through snow because the wind is so bitterly cold :( Hopefully I'll be able to keep biking in the winter to save money; apparently it rarely snows in Kyoto!

I'm also in the process of looking for a part-time job. Getting your work permit in Japan is a bit of a pain (requires some paperwork, but isn't too painful), but luckily the International Centre at Rits is really helpful :) Anyways, onto kaiten sushi!

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Since it's a Friday night, my friends and I went to eat at Kura Sushi, a kaiten sushi restaurant.  Kaiten Sushi (回転寿司 kaitenzushiI), aka. Conveyor Belt sushi is just simply sushi on plates, which whizz around on conveyor belts. The plate colour usually corresponds to how much you have to pay (ie. blue plates are 100 yen). Luckily for us, the kaiten sushi place near Rits is 100 yen per plate <3 (105 yen with tax)