A Fabulous Weekend

Yesterday (Sat.), I mascotted for Toba High School as their real live, geniune foreigner. They had prospective middle school kids come and tour the school and the kendo club volunteered (or maybe the coach volunteered us? Or maybe we didn't volunteer at all, now that I think about it) to hand out information packets to the younguns. I, however, stood on the side and smiled and made curt little bows while the kids gawked at my actual, factual blond hair. I have a secret. I relish the attention. I do. I absolutely love that random people stop me in the halls and ask to feel my hair. Okay, that's a little wierd, but I do love that everyone in the whole school says good morning to me and I love that my eyes are so blue and my freckles so obvious. I love it. I should have made more of an effort to be popular in high school. It's so much fun.

Anyways, I participated in a sample english class for the middle school students, then snuck out while the kendo club wasn't looking and went out to eat with a friend.

Here's the scoop with the friend. I'd never met her before Saturday. I didn't know her name. I had no idea where we were going. She isn't a Toba High School student. She doesn't live anywhere near me or my high school. Her father is a gym teacher at Toba (not my gym teacher, mind you) and she is intersted in English. So he asked me if I could spend a day with her. It was a lot fun. We went out to eat and then to a puricura booth. We spent the majority of the four hours in the restaurant, getting acquainted and figuring out how to communicate (neither of us where sure which language to speak in). She's a really nice girl who's dream is to travel around the world and learn at least three or four different languages. She also didn't ask me if I needed a spoon and a forku (which is like a slap in the face) when we ate, so she got extra points for that.

Today, I went to a really big festival in Kyoto, which might rival Macy's Day Parade. It was cool, though I don't understand the purpose. If I were a really good exchange student, I would look it up. Alas, I am a mediocre exchange student and I might get around to asking someone tomorrow. Afterwards, we went to my very first karaoke bar, which was a wierd experience. The room was small and a little dark. The table and the chairs took up most of the room, and only one group went in at a time. I was picturing a big room with lots of open space and maybe a stage with a small television and lots of people. Duh, I'm in JapanLand now. It was small and we were alone. We took turns picking songs, and I sang such songs as "Let it Be," "Heartache Tonight," "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Country Roads," and "A Thousand Miles." They sang such songs as "Blah blah blah," "Ukiwakisaki," and other stuff.

We went out to eat and I had possibly the best food ever, though I couldn't tell you the name of it if my life depended on it. It was good though. It was also cooked on the table, which was like a giant pan. A little like that restraunt in WV with a name I can't remember. Oh yeah, Hibachi or something. Except every table had it's own little grill and there were no really cool servers tossing shrimp into your mouth. Japanese food is nothing like Hibachi's, by the way.

We biked/jogged home (there were four of us and three bikes...), Asukachan practiced her piano, we took our baths, and here I am. Tired. Very snug with my favorite teddy bear and cuddly laptop. Oh, I don't think Japanese children sleep with teddy bears. My family thought it was a pillow. Haha.

Okay, I'm exhausted. Oyasumi. Good night.