Disaster Strikes

Worst night.
Got lost for the first time. In the middle of Kyoto's biggest festival of the year. Let me just start by saying that GionMatsuri (the festival) is ridiculously entertaining and probably will be fun when I go tomorrow if I'm not too scarred. Also, best day because we just saw HARRY POTTER oh my gosh it was fabulous. Sentimental time for me. I was really shellshocked after the thing ended so I walked around for about half an hour-forty five minutes like a zombie. Then I ate dinner with Ezra, Christian, Jeff, and Sugi, which woke me up a little. Good thing too, because I needed to be coherent to go through what I just went through. Guys if you're reading this, THANK YOU. So yeah we ate, then Sugi and I were going to take a five bus but the five stops usually in Shijo Karasuma I think which is In the middle of the festival. Well I was going to stop there and then switch to another bus that would take me home. But then this guy at Kyoto Eki (which is where we watched Harry) that Sugi asked for help for me said to take a twenty eight, so then Jeff and I went there, but it said the bus wasn't running. So I went by myself back to the five (Jeff went someplace else) and tried to stop at Karasuma but ended up missing that stop and going one more. Then walking down the street the wrong way, crossing to go the right way, walking for fifteen minutes the wrong way, and talking to this very pleasant japanese teenager who was trying to help me out. He spoke english very well actually. So then I walked back to where I started and then wised up and started asking the policemen, who, incidentally didn't help very much. One actually was laughing and that's when I kept walking and started crying. So I'm crying walking down the street that I'm hoping is going to get me out of the festival and to a normal bus stop when I pass two of them but couldn't find the same kanji name on my bus map (which usually never steers me wrong). So I'm losing it slowly trying to figure out which bus stop to go to when i see this little tiny store (that I think sold cigarettes, or at least it said tobacco on it in katakana) but it didn't look like a cigarette shop, also, two little old ladies were sitting in the front, so I walked up to them and was like (in japanese) I'm really sorry but I'm sort of lost and I need to find an 11 bus because I need to get back to Arashiyama and I don't know the way. Then, after they stopped being surprised at the white girl speaking their language, one lady offered to take me to the correct bus stop. We got there, I thanked her profusely, and checked with the bus guy to make sure it was the right place. There were a couple of Australians in front of me, a man and a woman, and the man asked me if I was okay and I just laughed. He called himself Australia-jin (which means person from australia, like I would be an America-jin) which I thought was humorous. So I finally boarded my bus and here I am, trying to calm down a little. I'm exhausted.
But while I'm writing this, I thought of some other things I wanted to touch on. So Japanese people have some weird fear of the sun because they don't want to get tan. So they all walk around (the women at least) with these amusing parasols to block the sun. I don't understand. But what I REALLY don't understand is the arm things they wear. They have these sleeves, most of them are of a strange fashion, that they put on when they walk outside. They only cover the arms and wrists. Not the fingers or thumbs. And they take them off when they get in the bus..... I could understand if it was an elderly person who didn't want to get skin cancer or has sensitive skin or something, but teenagers do it, so they don't get tan because they want to be as white as possible. Things are weird here hahah. While I'm on the bus subject, something else I don't understand is that the busiest day for bus riding in the morning is Friday. There are ALWAYS more people on the bus on Fridays. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Silly.
Also, I heard about in Japanese 10 class how Japanese children (boys mostly I think it was? maybe not) are completely bratty in the home, not listening to their mother, basically just being rude and doing whatever they please. So I was always like nah brah, that's not how it is. It definitely is how it is. Rei is cute and everything, but he throws temper tantrums at EVERYTHING literally everything. Half the time I don't even know why he's crying (fake crying???) He can be a brat sometimes! I honestly would whack him if he was my kid. And yuki just lets him do it! Whatever he wants! And gives him his way when he throws tantrums. I just sit there and look at him scornfully. I don't know if that does anything. I shake my head sometimes. Or say, Rei why are you always crying?? Yuki's parents are also staying with us now until Tuesday. Apparently they are quite well off according to Yuki. They took Rei out and Yuki on Thursday in the day. I'm not sure what they did, but I know Rei got a bunch of toys out of the deal. That's another thing- people have off of school starting now for like a month? I have no clue as to why... This system is just crazy. So they came back around the time I got home yesterday and gave me allll this origami paper! They were like here's a present for you! I was so flattered! It was very kind of them. Also, while they're staying with us, they/we eat out every meal. Well not me because I have school, but the rest of them do. So Thursday night we went to this place called the Beer Garden, which sounds sketchy, but was actually realllyy nice. It was a rooftop restaurant and the view we had was absolutely beautiful. Stupid me though, forgot my camera BLAH sorry (not that you can see the pictures anyway because I'm a dork and left the cord somewhere at home..). Then we were apparently going to go to a public ofuro(which they like to do and do often I think) from what I got from the conversation, but thankfully Rei fell asleep so we didn't end up going. They're really cute, the grandparents! I like them. I miss mine.
So anyway, it is now Saturday (I went to sleep after that last sentence) and I had a miserable night. Woke up I think at one and then at four in terrible pain. NOT that any of you need to know, nor care to know about my bodily functions, but severe cramps are not a fun thing to go through. So I couldn't sleep and took some bufferin or advil or something that sensei gave me, which dulled the pain, but didn't make it go away. Then I sort of fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 5:55 because I'm clever and thought we were going to breakfast at 6:50 not 7:50, way to go me. So I got ready and went downstairs and realized that everyone was still sleeping. So now I'm back in my room writing about it. Greeeaaattttt. But back to more things I was going to say about Japan:
Did I talk about movie prices yet???? OH MY GOSH they're so expensive here!!! A regular movie ticket costs $22!!!!!!! But worth it to go see Harry. Still ridiculous though. Alright enough with the ranting. Today is the family potluck with all the host families! Mine can't go which is a bummer, but sensei asked me to sing (along with other students doing some performing I think) so I'ma go do that. With Christian playing guitar for me like a kind soul. Then tonight I'm going to go to GionMatsuri (intentionally this time, and with a Japanese person so I don't get lost and cry about it) with Juliana and her homestay sister. Should be a good time. Forty more minutes until breakfast! I think I'll go back to sleep...?
Jya~