So wow, it's been quite a while since my last post! And I have been quite the the busy bee since then!
So two weeks ago AJ and I went to our friend Hiroshi's older brother's house for homemade Japanese food and drinks. I got to mystify everyone with my Japanese capabilities so I was basically playing human dictionary for the entire evening. At the end of the evening, a young man named Senjin asked for my phone number and stuff because we had talked together for most of the night and the next day we made arrangements to meet up for dinner later on in the week.
So last week we met up for dinner a few times and we decided to start dating.
Bluntly put, yes, but I don't have the time or the energy to really go explaining everything, haha. One night we went out for sashimi (I ate maguro (tuna) to my heart's content) and another night we went out of yakiniku (you order various kinds of raw meat and then grill it yourself at your table).
Last weekend I went on a group trip (with other English speaking students) to Enoshima (WHICH WAS BY THE OCEAN AND GORGEOUS) and to Kamakura. I got to stay at a ryokan (Japanese style inn) for the first time so I had a lot of fun with everyone. We went to a bunch of temples and shrines in Kamakura and visited the oldest Buddha statue in Japan (I have now seen the biggest one and the oldest one). I took a ton of pictures so hopefully this week I'll have those up on Facebook!
Last Friday I woke up super early for a class trip to Tokyo Disney Sea! I had a great time hanging out with my good friend Christina and went on a few rides and saw the sights. The park was absolutely beautiful. I'm glad that I got to go at least once.
After that I got lost on the trains for a bit. My return train didn't go where I wanted it to. It was supposed to automatically change lines but I wasn't paying attention and ended up out in the middle of nowhere so I had to do a lot of backtracking. The only problem was that there were 20 minute gaps between trains so there was a lot of waiting involved. I was looking at some timetables and this guy was like "ARE YOU OKAY?!" and I was like "YES IM FINE" because apparently I looked confused and bewildered... but I always look confused and bewildered. I got to a platform where I saw that the train I wanted bound for Nishi-funabashi was... and all of the platforms said they were bound for Nishi-funabashi! LIES! So I hung out for 30 minutes waiting for the train that would hopefully take me back to the Tozai-line where I could transfer and head back home. Luckily I read a marquee that said "the next train for platform 3 is actually going to be at platform 4" so I got on the right train. Eventually I made it home, changed, and then headed out to meet up with AJ in Naka-meguro.
AJ showed me around to the places he likes to go and I got to talk to a lot of the staff and I had a great time. And as a bonus, I was in the clear for my last train! I got home and then slept forever.
Yesterday I had to be at Nogizaka by 6:30 PM, which wasn't a problem, but I had forgotten that I had to go to the bank in Shinjuku which closes at 6:00 PM and I was running late. I got into the section of the bank I wanted at 5:57 PM. I made it. I was very pleased with myself. From Shinjuku I headed to Nogizaka and arrived there EXACTLY at 6:30 PM.
This is where things get funny. My friend Hiroshi had been invited to the house of a man named Watanabe for the usual Japanese nomikai (making a ton of Japanese food and hanging out and having drinks). Watanabe I think is someone from the same company as Hiroshi? But higher up. Anyway, last week Hiroshi had invited Senjin to go with him and Senjin asked, "I got a girlfriend recently so is it ok if she comes with?" and Hiroshi said that was fine. Senjin decided to leave out the fact that it was me that he was dating so he could mess with Hiroshi for a bit. He wasn't planning on telling him at all until I showed up in Nogizaka but Hiroshi kept asking him questions about the new lady friend and while I was on the train I got a text from Senjin saying that he let the cat out of the bag. When I arrived I got the funniest look from Hiroshi ever. After that we met up with Hiroshi's girlfriend Miki and then we all went to Watanabe's.
I ATE SO MUCH GOOD HOMEMADE JAPANESE FOOD. Everyone pitched in 1,500Y and got to eat. I think about 20 people total showed up so we all crammed into the living room and had a great night socializing and Hiroshi telling people that Senjin hadn't told him about me until 30 minutes before we showed up. He was a stickler about this. Whenever I was introduced Hiroshi's brother Wataru would tell people, "this is Amy. Her Japanese is pretty good so be careful what you say... BECAUSE SHE KNOWS." And whenever I heard this I laughed and he would go, "SEE? SHE KNOWS." I did a looooooooooot of speaking and had a great night with everyone. A lot of people wanted me to teach them English and the girls fawned over my "tiny face." A lot of people asked Senjin since I'm American if he spoke English or not. He always answered, "not really, we just speak to each other in Japanese" and everyone always freaked out over that.
Today Senjin and I went for lunch in Asakusa-bashi and I made lots of bad puns and he gave me dirty looks. Afterwards we went to a beeeaaauuutiful Japanese garden together in Ryougoku. I saw a seagull for the first time in forever! There were turtles, too. And GIANT KOI. It was really peaceful. And the weather today was sunny and warm so overall it was very refreshing. Afterwards we both still had free time so we went to Shibuya! We went to a building called Shibuya 109 which has 7598475483 clothing shops and boutiques and... I was taken shopping. Ehehehe.
We're trying to make plans for the next few weeks since my time in Japan is running out. We're both hoping that after I graduate I can somehow move back here. Or something? I have been loving my time here and a lot of people have helped me have a lot of wonderful experiences.
I feel like my English vocabulary has gotten very limited as I write this, haha. Earlier today I was on Facebook writing on someone's wall and my English made absolutely no sense. I'm gonna try and study for my grammar test tomorrow while my Japanese is still fresh in my mind.
I think this is the best summary I can do. And now to go be productive again since I have consumed an entire carton of coffee.
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