Mashed Potatoes = Luv

Some days, I can't believe how amazingly lucky I am. I'm freaking in Japan for one. For two, I'm in the best district in Japan. The weather doesn't get too too bad (though I hear the summers get a lot worse than what I saw) here and it's beautiful and it's close enough to Osaka if I have any shopping needs. It's not too far from the beach, not too terribly far from Tokyo, not too terribly far from anything, real. And then, I'm the luckiest of all the kids in my district because I'm the only one actually in Kyoto City. The Amazing Kyoto City, full of history and culture and beauty. The one every Japanese exchange student yearns to visit.

And then, I ended up in Toba High School, with really supportive teachers, namely Nakai Sensei. I also got a great AET (the English teacher from America that every high school has) who is really friendly and a wonderful all-around person. And then, I landed the Watada's, who are absolutely amazing. My first week here, Okaasan asked me what my favorite foods are, and I mentioned mashed potatoes. She said she didn't know them, so I told her I'd make them for her some day. That was two months ago. Today, I walked in the door and was met by a large helping of the best mashed potatoes in the world. I wanted to cry or hug or her or scream how incredibly nice she is, but instead, I ate the mashed potatoes. I can't believe this lady. She made me mashed potatoes! They were different than I've ever tasted, but probably the best mashed potatoes I'll ever eat. How did I get so lucky? And how will I ever repay this woman her kindness?

I'm also doing great with the language. My sister read me a story today, and I almost could follow the whole thing! Haha, I read it back, and she was cracking up over how slow I was. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with their alphabets. Of course, I learned them before I left the States, but it takes me forever to read. And most things aren't even written in the two alphabets I learned. Most things are written in kanji, which is the one character per word thing everyone's heard of. It's a mess. My calligraphy class is really great though because I get to practice kanji, learn a new word, and surprise, learn calligraphy all at once. I've learned invaluable phrases from the calligraphy class such as "Heather! Not like that!" "Don't do that!"
"Slowly!" "Please practice more." and "STOP!" Haha, I love it here. I can seriously say all that in Japanese. Who knew calligraphy would teach me all that?