Typhoon 15, Roke

Typhoon Roke is here, and I have to leave for work in about an hour. We got school off today because of the typhoon, but I still have to go to work. The winds are so ridiculously fast and gusty that I have no idea how I'm going to make it to the station without being blown right off the road.

This is what it looks like outside. Not so bad, right? No flooding, and aside from that tree in the corner, the craziness of the wind is barely noticeable.

That said, I'm sort of glad I have to go to work, as I have done absolutely NOTHING today. Except sleep. And study kanji for about an hour. And stare at the wall. And not study for the test I was supposed to have today that has now been moved to tomorrow that I'm worried about failing.

So I figured, before work, I could at least update the blog. Even though I've really done nothing of interest lately.

I went bowling with a bunch of people from my class, and I bowled my highest score ever!!!! 139. I'm really good at bowling zeros, and somehow I just didn't this time (of course the next two games, I returned to my typical score of around 70).

Cesar, Sandra, Vickie

It was the first time (and probably the last time) that I've ever even come close to beating Martin. But I did!!!!

That 131 is Martin, and the 139 is me!!!!

It almost makes me want to practice and try to become a good bowler so that I can be better than Martin at at least something.

Notice his inability to believe my awesomeness!

We also went to the gay dance party again, but this time with more people than just me and Martin!

Martin, Alexis, me, Miho, Paul, Cooper, and our new friend, Leo

The hot drag queen came out and talked to us, so we took a picture with her.

Other than that, well. . . I went to a pet store with my friend Tatsushi, and it was SO sad to see all of the little puppies in their little cages. I really think I hate pet stores. At the same time, I was once again overwhelmed with an unbearable desire to have a pet dog. Please.

I want a shiba or a husky.

Please. Thank you. Okay.

We also went to this Japanese/English language exchange thing, and it was the best one I've been to yet, and if I get a chance, I'll totally return. I spoke lots of Japanese, which I NEVER do, because I'm too embarrassed, and I realized (as I regularly do) that if I'm even going to advance, I need to regularly put myself in situations like that in which I'm forced to speak Japanese.

Other than that, I've just been working like a crazy person and trying to keep up with my school work. Tomorrow is the last day of term, and Friday morning I head to the states for Russell's wedding!!!! I can't believe my little baby brother is getting MARRIED! I'm so old.

That said, I should have packed today, since I had miraculous and unexpected free time, but I didn't, and now I don't know when I will.

And that's pretty much it for now! I'll be sure to post wedding pictures, once they exist and all. :-)

Doing things in the RAIN!

So theoretically 梅雨 (tsuyu), the Japanese rainy season, is over, but you really could never tell from how much it has been raining lately.

Last weekend, Alexis and I headed over to Mie Prefecture for a hike, and of course it rained. Which didn't really bother me all that much, as I adore hiking in the rain. . . but still. You would think just ONCE I could plan to go hiking and have it NOT rain.

First, we headed over to see the wind turbines, and they were AMAZING! They were a little smaller, I think, than the ones I've seen in Texas, but still awesome. And because of the rain and the fog, they were all creepy and mysterious. <3ed it! What made it even cooler was that they kept disappearing and reappearing, so you would be walking and not even realize at first that you were about to walk right into one.

The we headed over to 青蓮寺ダム　（Shourenji dam, I think), and it had the most AMAZING view! At first I wanted to jump into the water, but then Maranda pointed out a very large mass of floating oil, and then I no longer wanted to jump into the water. Still, the water was still and gorgeous and with the mists in the mountains, it just felt so peaceful and nice. I think that misty mountains with water in front of them has to be my favorite view in the entire world. And the Japanese know what they're doing when they throw a red bridge into the mix - sheer gorgeousness!

The we headed further into the depths of Mie for a hike (in the rain!). We were supposed to see 48 waterfalls, but, while we did see an ENORMOUS amount of waterfalls, I don't think there were that many.

The hike was super easy and breathtakingly beautiful, which I was more than grateful for, as the car ride there made me totally motion sick.
At the end of the hike, there was a salamander museum, and we got to see some of the CUTEST salamanders native to Japan. They have five fingers,and when they move them it's really just the cutest thing ever. I wanted to hug one and bring him home with me!

Then this past Friday, despite the fact that a typhoon was very obviously coming in, I went to Nagoya to meet up with Rachael to go see Skull Candy and Bunny the Party. Skull Candy played a very short set, but Bunny the Party was ON! The singer was ridiculously energetic, and just watching her up on stage filled my heart with happiness.

At one point, though, she pointed directly at me and said "あの白いお姉さん、超素敵！”　　That basically means "That white person is super awesome!" Maybe I should have felt flattered, but I think more than anything I felt embarrassed. In any case, I love Bunny the Party!

The last band to play was Splash, and they were SO amazing! Super fast totally addictive ska punk, and I was into it (unfortunately the lyrics leave much to be desired, but, well, meh). Now, I know that a lot of times this kind of band will single out one person in the audience, but after the Bunny the Party comment, it felt weird that this person should once again be me. Especially since he was speaking in super fast Japanese, and he had no way of knowing if I would understand him. He asked who I came to see and then he asked if it was my first time seeing them. . .and yeah. I guess it's normal to do that to someone in the audience. I dunno. . .

Anyhow, it was SUPER fun, and I fell in love with Splash and will definitely be seeing them again. And Bunny the Party. And Skull Candy. And the Rattle Trapz, who also played and were fab!

Last night, Martin and I once again braved the typhoon and went to Nagoya to meet up with Rachael (again!) and some of her friends! Her friends were all awesome, so we had a great time! First, we went to an izakaya, where we were practically accosted by crazy people.

Note that we didn't know about half of the people in this picture

Then we went bowling, and I feel bad for Martin, who was on a team with me. I think I must have bowled the worst game ever of my entire life. I was very consistent in bowling 0s.

Will, Tatsu, and Chiko, seen in the left of the picture, weren't much better than I was, but Stephen (picture, right) was an interesting bowler.

He would either get 0s or strikes. But there was very rarely much in between. He also had techinque, which all of the rest of us were completely lacking.

On the right, there--> Tatsu, me and Chiko.
Rachael's friends were all really amazing.

Except that, for some reason, the boys (Will, Tatsu, and Stephen) felt the need to be anti-social and go off and smoke. I hate cigarettes. I hate smoking. I eventually went over and threw their cigarettes away (yes, I actually threw them in the trashcan - why they didn't seem to hate me afterward, I'm not entirely sure), but in the meantime, I had to make some new friends.

The guys sitting across from us were ridiculously amazing bowlers, and they were also quite nice. Plus, they were eating ice cream and NOT smoking. I really don't know why I so regularly feel the need to talk to random strangers, but I do, so. . .what you gonna do?

Other things I have recently done in the rain:

I went shopping in Nagoya with Rachael, and she received an extraordinarily large number of kleenex

And that's sort of it, actually. I'm sure I've done other rainy things, but none of them are coming to mind.

In the meantime, this is getting extraordinarily long, and I've got some homework to finish.
以上です。

January to March 2011 randomness

So, this updating thing might take a little while, as it has been AGES since I last updated. I'm going to do my best to keep things super brief, though.

So, small summaries - no longer a Minna no Nihongo student but now a New Approach student nearing the end of the blue book.

I went home for Christmas and had a fantabulous time!

Then I went to France for the end of my Christmas vacation, where I got to eat delicious Ethiopian food and do Viet Vo Dao and just generally chill.

Came back to Japan and pretty much immediately got the flu, which put me basically out of commission for a good threeish weeks. Other than that (and the obvious), had a fabulous term.

Went indoor rock climbing.

Went bowling.

Went plum blossom viewing.

Went to some cool festivals (the Takisanji Ogre festival being the coolest!)

These dudes were supposed to be chasing an ogre around the temple with fire. It was super awesome.

Went to the Okazaki Zoo and saw lots of cute animals.

Did lots of other things that I don't really remember (because I didn't take any pictures of them), studied probably much less than I should have but still managed to do well (though my Japanese speaking could use some major work), hung out with friends in Nagoya,. . .

Then the earthquake happened, and I was in Yahagi, and it felt like the building I was in suddenly went to sea, and I'm surprised I didn't throw up. Then I

Went to an okonomiyaki restaurant and didn't eat anything.

Played some cards.

And then I woke up the next morning and inexplicably went to Tokyo.

Saw some beautiful mountains on the way.

Ate lots of DELICIOUS vegan food, including
adorable caramel heart-shaped donuts

and peanut glutinous rice balls and a chocolate shake!

Yummy!

Then I met up with my friend Jonnie who was in Japan for the first time ever.

He still has the coolest bag ever of all time.

It had been ages since I last saw him, and it was super cool to catch up and just get to spend the day together. I seriously had an AWESOME time hanging out with him.

The next day I had a medical visit right in front of Tokyo Tower.

It was my first time to see Tokyo Tower, and it was actually pretty cool.
Then I took the bus home to Okazaki, where I was finally able to talk to my father, who ordered me to evacuate. So I did (I'll admit, it was kinda scary, especially as the night I got back there was a huge aftershock, and while I was in Tokyo the ground never seemed to stop shaking).

And next time (which will hopefully be sooner rather than later), I'll write about my day in Honolulu with Alexis and hanging out in Colorado.