Kayoubi.

It's been quite an interesting couple of days! Done a lot of cool stuff. Sunday I went to Jing's party allll the way in (I think...) Shiga-ken. Which is north of Kyoto-fu. Thank goodness I went with Gaby because I would have been so lost otherwise. We took bus 11 to a different bus to Kyoto Eki, where we then got on a JR train going to Shiga-ken. The station was literally a three minute walk from his house, which was great. I then proceeded to experience a proper Japanese party (and according to Jing, a normal Asian party). We started by hanging out in Jing's room (WHICH HAS A BED!!! rest assured I took advantage of THAT opportunity.), us Dartmouth kids. Then, when the other guests had arrived (Jing's family's friends), we went downstairs and drew numbers/letters for where we were going to sit. We were mixed up between ourselves and the parent's friends. It was really great actually because we got a good chance to talk to Japanese people of different ages and different accents. They were all superrr nice, we had some great conversations. We ate osushi and I believe sukiyaki. Jing had a bit too much wine, which was absolutely great to witness. I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but in Japan, the drinking age is twenty. However, they don't card gaijin (foreigners- or anyone, for that matter) because they can't tell how old they are. That's why it's easy for a lot of kids to get into clubs even if they're underage, because Japanese people can't tell how old white people are. Also, the smoking culture makes my lungs hurt. Anyway, after we ate and talked, I can't remember which came first, but we did a kind of variety show and they gave the Dartmouth students gifts. The variety show included a magic show (by this elderly woman.. SO CUTE), guitar playing (by Jing's dad and Jeff- kudos to Jeff, didn't know he could sing ahah), piano playing (by Gaby, Juliana, and myself), and a hula dance (by two older ladies). I think that's it, but I may have forgotten something. So then we drew names to see who we would receive our gift from. I was given this really cute little purse thing with a cat on it, a small cat thingy, and a magnet. Then we played Bingo!!!! I got last.... for anyone who knows me..... shocker, right? Everyone got to pick a prize though, which was really nice of them. I got this AWESOME pencil box thing with THREE COMPARTMENTS!!! whattttttt. mind was blown. It has Stitch on it :)) Then we had dessert (coffee/tea and flan), took a bunch of pictures, and went home. It was thoroughly organized and flawlessly executed. I had a really awesome time!!! As we were going into the train station, the other ladies that had attended the party were running after us, saying they forgot to give us something. Then they gave us these great okashi things!! Still not quite sure what they are. So then I went home and had dinner. Yuki's friend and her two kids had come over and we did fireworks with them! Which was actually perfect since it was the day before fourth of July. However, I think these might have been in the spirit of Gionmatsuri, Kyoto's biggest festival of the year.
Monday was a pretty bad sick day, which was unfortunate. Had class like normal, then went to the post office! Nothing really exciting there though, except that there were no lines. Oh, and the addresses have to be written in pen. If you write them in pencil, they make you re-write them. I don't know if that's regular in America, at least, it's not in any of the post offices I go to...? Before that, though, we had lunch and then listened to this apparently famous Japanese folk singer, who gave the talk only to our class! He was so cute! While he was talking, I drew him (probably rude... but I was totally listening!!) in my sketchbook. I showed it to sensei after he was done speaking and he showed it to him!!!!! Then the guy (his name was Miura) asked if he could have it. So I took a picture of it and said goodbye...... sigh. He was a cute old man anyway. And very interesting! He said, as a child he wanted to either become a folk singer or a Buddhist monk? haha He was funny. He's done a tonn of different things though. At present they all escape me, but I know he was a teacher and translator for a while, among other things. After that I went home... and stayed there. Didn't feel well at all. Still don't, really. But maybe it'll get better. Otherwise, tomorrow, it's back to the doctor for me! Zannen.
Today was a pretty good day. Had the same class for three and a half hours- that was rough. We gave presentations on our families. Everyone else went to a different area of town for lunch, but I didn't really feel up to it. So here I am. Tonight, going to sushi (or osushi, to be polite) with my family!! Fun times! Now going home to maybe watch Harry Potter/ take a nap. Blah mono.
I learned to say:
-kayui: itchy
-hareteiru: swollen
-zutto: all the time
-scholarship: shougakukin
-seki: cough, which you don't do, in fact, it leaves you. "seki wo deru" -deru meaning to leave/go out
Jya~