disunirando! yakiniku! nagano nishi koukou! zenkoji!

HEY MINNASANNNNN!!

Edit:

Japanese language skill update lol: Ack, I totally should have proofread this but I didn’t have time XD! I made it sound as if I could now speak fluently, but that’s totally not the case. I understand all conversations (which is fun because sometimes they think I don’t know what they’re saying), but generally speaking is still hard. It’s complicated things I want to say that sometimes that don’t work out. I can hold casual conversations alright if it’s about something like dramas or how long I’ve been here and whatnot. The best conversations I have are about J-dramas, because everyone’s really shocked by how much of a drama nerd I am and all the idols I like XD.
I was pissed off because sometimes I am not given a chance. Sometimes I don’t even get to open my mouth before they’re like ‘how do you do’.
What’s been really tough is that for some reason I’ve been surrounded by other YFU students that speak English and no Japanese. So I have to speak English. My ‘Japanese-mode’ totally shuts down, and it’s making progression really hard. Lately I haven’t learned much T_T! unlike the first few days when I was just with kaasan and tousan who speak no English and was in 100% Japanese mode. Sure I can help interpret for the only-English people I’m with, but that’s not helping me learn. It’s not understanding I have a problem with, it’s speaking. I’m actually sick of all the English because it’s getting in my way. -_-

Oh and wsup MAX! Sounds like you haven’t changed haha, stop spending so much money. I’m gonna go shopping soon, you want some shirts with engrish on it or what?

Haha Jordan I don’t know what to say. Definitely sign up for the JAFS scholarship next year, you get treated like royalty in Tokyo (Takazawa Grand Prince Hotel = <3). I’ve already seen students having bad experiences though, so I might be setting unrealistic expectations LOL. Well despite that, yeah, you’ll totally make it in. Seriously… some of the YFU acceptees this year… really immature. >_> I will say no more.

My haircut went awesome. To be honest it doesn’t look that different, but it’s styled a bit and the bottom is thinned out. What was awesome was that:
1) Japanese hair salons are fucking baller. Okay, so first they rinse your hair, then they cut it, then they wash\condition it (In America they wash, then cut)… and I swear, he just massaged my head for like 10 minutes, it felt SO GOOD LOL. They’re really gentle with your hair and treat your head like a bomb that could go off. PLUS they know how to handle Asian hair… and I got apple tea!
2) Our train was coming in like 15 minutes and my hair wasn’t dried yet, so my hair stylist asked his friend to help. So they were both drying my hair at the same time. It just looked really funny, and they were both pretty okay looking so I enjoyed it.. LOL

Oh, PS: I did another 100yen fortune thing… and yep… ANOTHER DAIKICHI! Dude, two ‘best fortune’s in a row. =D

I forgot to mention how much I love talking to Ichikokaasan. She’s so happy all the time and is such a typical cheery Japanese mother!! Always like ‘AAaaa ssooooouuu desuu kaaa? Sumimaseennn. Taihensouuuuuu!’… hard to type out the way she says it, I’ll show you when I come home haha. But she really helps me with my Japanese and feeds me way too much. I’m really lucky to have her! She and hiromitousan are the ones who are most interested in me, Minami just got back so she wants to rebond with her friends, and Nao is always going to her boyfriend’s soccer games. Generally their lives are pretty busy and seperate from mine, so it’s the parents that are the ones I get to really enjoy teh company of.

/Edit

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-JENNAA LIAAAA! I miss you guys! But you know, not enough to come back yet. Bwahaha <3. OH I haven’t found anything I really think you guys would want yet, yahh!
-Jenna: I never sat or ate alone, btw. My first night in Tokyo I hung out with Harold (search on Facebook) and I ate that ramen with 3 friends… just so you know XD you sounded suprised that I made a single friend lol T_T… I’ll ask my dad if it’s okay to call you, but the connection is REALLLLLLY bad (like I can hardly hear…) D: I wish I was there to be your cheer-up psycho!
-Lia: Are you okay LOL? DAMN YOUR VAGUENESS! BTW I saw like a GANG of totally decked-out lolitas at Disneyland. Seriously, 7 of them walking together. And like 2 other stragglers at other times. I thought of you! Nao likes lolita too, she even walked up and ask if we could have a picture with them rofl (and got denied -_-)
-MATTO & JAKEY: I didn’t feel the earthquake at all. Although about 6 YFU kids’ homestay was delayed because their shinkansen was coming from that area. Not dead, but thanks for the concern XD.
-SAM: Wtf? Can’t you just comment? …
-POTATO: Well I’m here for another 5 weeks! And I’m pretty pro now (lol sort of) so I could definitry show ya round.
-EVERYONE: I have so much to say and so many pictures- but not enough time! =( And moving pictures onto this computer takes FOREVER OMG. So I’m really sorry like all my blogs are really half-assed…BUT YOU GUYS SEEM TO LIKE THEM ANYWAYS SO YAYYY! XD

Purikura with Naooooo!

Nao, Noeru (from da Netherlandz haha), and I

Moreee

This has been the longest week of my life.

In a good way, haha. But seriously, I’ve had to adjust to different lifestyles 3 times in a freaking row. San Jose, Tokyo, Nagano-shi. It’s only been about a week and three days, but… oh god it feels like a thousand years ago since I left home. But it’s been a really good thousand years, lol! I wasn’t jetlagged at all, I’m not homesick, and everything has turned out insanely well. I even put 100yen into a fortune telling machine (at Zenko-ji temple) and got ‘Daikichi’ (the best one you can get!).

I think the memories are a lot sweeter than when I’m actually at these sites, though. Like at Disneyland we pretty much stood in lines all day and my back was killing me and it was MECHAKUCHA ATSUI T~T! The whole time I realllly wanted to sit down! But I got to bond with Noel (OTAKU! hahaha. Jk, she’s awesome. an awesome otaku) and Nao, and once I got home (last night) I missed it pretty bad. Even though my back was seriously going to break from standing so long lol.

Speaking of Nao, I love her!! She’s so freaking adorable. For about a day we were awkward and then suddenly at Disneyland… BAM! NAKAMA (good friends)! XD Anyways I wasn’t exxagerating when I said adorable. I think she was crying on Splash Mountain LOL SO CUTE. All the rides we went on she was like ‘YABAI YABAI YABAI YABAI’ (this is bad!) And I poke fun at her for being in rabu rabu (she’s got a boyfriend). She laughs at me because I tell her I’m ‘ikemen sagashiteiru’ (searching for hot guys). Also because I say stupid shit like ‘nao no kareshi no ikemen tomodachi to gokon shiyoze~~~’ (let’s go on a group date with your boyfriend’s hot friends) bahaha. There was only 1 hot guy at disneyland btw.

:3

I saw a ton of matching couples there, haha. Japanese people seem to be Disney-crazy. At least, Stitch-crazy (why…). Oh and all the workers there are like trained to talk in like the exact same way, it’s painful to watch! And some are hired to just wave while you’re on the ride, so they’re waving for hours straight. There are people who just stand there reeling off the rules over and over again in the same voice and forcing a smile all day. I couldn’t stand it! I felt bad for them and it was distracting. D: Ah well. The Indiana Jones ride was amazing, btw.

I look sort of pissed off, haha

After Disneyland and Disneysea, Minami was picked up from the airport so I finally met her! She’s really nice, misses America, and prefers to use English with me aghh lol. We also picked up Ayumi (college student) so Noeru and I had dinner with the whole family. =D My first YAKINIKU (see picture~) It was really fun. Siblings interacting is always funny to me. Like when we told Ayumi goodbye, Nao yelled ‘chanto taberu yo <3′ (eat properly) and Minami just yelled ‘FUTOTTE!’ (GET FAT!) lmao.

Minami & Nao (hahaha she’s gonna kill me) I forgot to take a pic of Ayumi

For you, Nico! XD. Fairly good looking, ne? (I was in a car so I wasn’t some freak on the street aiming a camera at him… I was a stalker in a car! :3)

I visited my school today.

I was told that I was just going to meet the principal so I was just all whatevs… TURNS OUT I HAD TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO MY CLASS WTF. I have not been nervous to meet anyone at all in the past 10 days… I talked at the embassy in front of like 150 people, I was very calm meeting my family, generally I haven’t been nervous for anything… but I FROZE LIKE CRAZY. I wasn’t expecting to intro today. T_T… I always thought of how I’d introduce myself in Japan, over and over again, and I messed up! By messed up, I mean, they probably don’t think I know Japanese LOL. But I’m actually okay with it now, because I can totally make it right by just talking to them on my first day. Plus, I swear, I just said ‘konnichiwa minnasan… liz to moushimasu…’ and the WHOLE CLASS goes ‘OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!’ roflmao. Easily impressed, yay.

Well the school looks great and I’m really excited to go!! Despite my shitty intro XD

Well anyways, I had negi miso ramen today, we helped pick up another YFU student (my father is this area’s YFU representative), then visited Zenko-ji temple with a YFU alumni who was a Japanese guy who had a really cute accent (he exchanged in Australia), lol.

Miso ramen! I had regular ramen the other day, too. Yasai ramen is still my favorite.

Ugh I’m squinting so bad. It was really hot and bright, aghhhh >_<.

It’s upside down but this computer is too slow, so do it yourself haha

Omake! Me and YFU buddies in Emperial palace (maybe? I wasn’t paying attention, rofl) in Tokyo

The guy in the back in the black suit is Conner (from my akihabara post) lol. After he went to disneyland (and helped me) he went clubbing, LOL

Umm other things… People don’t get weird with me when I pay for things anymore! =D Meaning my Japanese isn’t suspicious, and I can buy things and have the cashier actually be comfortable with me. I can also ask where things are and all that and I get no ‘foreigner…’ eyes.　=D I actually get pissed off– when I’m introduced as a ryuugakusei– people don’t even give my Japanese a chance and immediately switch to ‘how are you?’ before I can even say anything, although it’s not their fault and they really don’t know lol.

But when I do talk I can proudly say people are always like ‘uwah, jouzu O_O’. Even if they’re all just way too easily impressed, it makes me happy xD.

Ok I’m sure there is like 10000 more details but I’ve already taken so much time to do this much. Sorry… BYE EVERYONE THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS!!!! I LOVE YOU AND THE COMMENTS!! XD

OH YES I FORGOT! I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow!! =D Haha yes, I just had to do it in Japan.