So

So I fail at blogging. I just don't always keep up with it.

Anyway, last post was about how the teacher gave me the kimono I thought I was buying. The kimono is gorgeous. I would show you a picture, but I am on a school computer so I don't have it to upload. It's dark green with a gold-colored sakura pattern all over it. I love it. I'm still flabbergasted that Ikushima sensei just... gave it to me. I don't think I can pay the woman back for everything she's done for me.

The play is also over. Has been since a few days after my last blog post. I screwed up the lighting again, much to my dismay. Since then drama club has been an on-and-off thing, and mostly not the big combined deal. Just random theatre games and whatnot. I taught some of the guys here at my college the warmups from back home, and they thought the Chairman Mau excercises rocked. :D There's also a plan in the works for the combined club to go to a cheap group trip resort type place. We rent a cabin, hop in some hot springs, and generally have fun. Looking forward to that, though we are looking at fitting in about twice as many people as the cabin was made for. I think that makes it more fun.

The history class test went better than I expected. The reason for this is that the teacher made a separate test for the exchange students (as four of us were taking the class). First question was what did we learn in the class and the second was which of the art pieces he showed us did we like most and why. YAY! When he walked in with these double-size pieces of paper covered in just LINES, Matt and I looked at each other horror-stricken -- but it turned out not so bad after all.

Shortly after that, we the exchange students were informed that we were expected to participate in "International Night", a party that the school traditionally throws every year. As the teacher explained the party further, I realized that it was gonna be like the one they held for the Okinawans last semester, only less interesting. However, this is the first thing that I've been asked to do here that I absolutely didn't want to do. It's also not a big deal, really, so I didn't try to squirm my way out of it or anything.

It turned out more interesting than I expected, with them showing us how to make okonomiyaki and having tasty food. The Australians and I dressed up for the event because we felt like it, even though we knew no one else would. Matt fully dressed up in a suit, and Thomas wearing a suit with a T-shirt and no tie. Me in my kimono. Turned out Yuuji and Arima from Gaiken also went to the international night, a fact that didn't surprise me. :D They were like "DUDE, sweet kimono!" It was awesome. I also had a teacher from last semester fail to recognize me in the kimono. That was also awesome.

Monday night, Gaiken had an end-of-semester let's-all-go-to-the-all-you-can-eat-yakiniku-place deal. The place is a decent clip from the school, so they chartered a bus for the event. The bus was small and the people were many, and there was much conversation. A girl who went to UAF shortly before I came here and just got back recently brought a guy with her from UAF who seems to be her boyfriend, from the looks of things. He's a fire science major who's just here for the summer and has limited Japanese -- just enough to make silly jokes and keep up minimal conversation. I've never met him, but it seems from talking to him that the only real thing I have in common with him is that I get along with fire fighters rather well.

During the bus ride, I was at one point engaged in conversation with some of my Gaiken friends about a topic which I currently don't recall. During this conversation, I used the Japanese rough equivalent of, "But yeah...", at which point my friends all went O.O *GASP*. I instantly got a little freaked out, and asked if I used it wrong. They said no, that it was just the opposite -- that I had used it so perfectly it sounded completely natural.

(I win Xmas.)

Earlier in the day on Monday I had called my ISP about cutting off my internet around the 18th of this month, but apparently my options were end of July and end of August, after I had already left Japan. So. I now now longer have my own internet connection. Crappy school internet, ahoy!

I have made a great deal of progress towards uploading photos to the internet. They are, in fact, mostly zipped up and uploaded. I just don't remember the URLs at the moment, or I would list them. I want to set up a photo gallery somewhere at some point, but not yet. Blarg.

Realizations of the Period

1) You cannot use credit cards at the Japanese Postal Service.
1b) It's gonna be interesting sending stuff home.
2) Part of me really wants to go home. I figured out why. Everyone treats me like a girl here. I am so used to being one of the guys that it's been really getting on my nerves.