Hideko passed out on a pile of futon

At Okonomiyaki Restaurant

Let's see. It's been a crazy past few days. And officially I'm posting this as if it was Saturday, so bear in mind with my dating sequences that all may be a bit fuzzy. My new roommate was a ton of fun before we both had to split to our host family's homes. Most of the nights before were spent staying up late, joking with each other, and Hideko (said roommate) telling me crazy stories about her life in India and with her classmates in Orange County, CA. Occasionally she would stubbornly fall asleep on top of the unfolded futon. She is a morning person, so the only time I woke up before her was when she went to bed at 4 in the morning and I had an obligation at 10 AM and she didn't. Also as a side-note, she was given her Japanese name on purpose, by someone important, and I don't want to guess for fear of getting the story wrong.

Mai at New Delhi

The day before yesterday I went to お好み焼け(Okonomiyaki, a Japanese food pancake) with some friends at a place near the dorms, or seminar houses. It is always quite interesting to see a ton of 外人(foreigners) try to squeeze into the tiny restaurants here in Japan.

Yesterday I went to the New Delhi restaurant with my speaking partner Mai (which Hideko teased me about later because I didn't take her-she's from New Delhi). We had delicious curry and rice, and I took the Nan (bread) home with me after dragging it around all day. They had the biggest servings I have ever seen in Japan.

Me at the Metro

Me in front of a temple

Dissolve your worries

I also went on a tour of Kyoto with Hideko and wore the wrong shoes so my feet, especially ankle, hurt like hell. Lots of things were seen, including a ton of subway trains and interesting temples. I learned quite a bit; Like gravestones are expensive here, but are often bought for the entire family. They also look quite different. The holy color in Japan is red (same as in India, apparently) and 3 story towers have the symbolization from top to bottom of 'heaven, sky, and earth' as well as 'future, present, and past'. Very interesting. We also walked through an interesting temple that had a stone floor and was completely dark; it was supposed to represent the mother's womb, and as you followed the string of beads (Buddha's beads, I guess) through the tunnel you eventually came to this dimly lit stone that you spin and make a wish on before stepping out into the light again and being 'reborn'.

There was also some other things like charms for luck, papers to wash away your worries, prayer services, fortunes, etc. There was also a fountain that gave you one of three kinds of luck or some such thing (like luck in love, or strength, or one other thing that I can't remember just now), but you could only drink once a year from one, otherwise the second drink would wash your luck away. Seemed strangely unsanitary.

Up close of the wish fountain

3 tiered temple

Kitchen God

Wish Fountain from above

Statue of folk tale

Have the priest pray for you

Pond near shrines

Priest asking for money

You may recognize this

back alley of Kyoto

Shop guardian on the roof

Interesting sign on gravestones

We had to climb a hill to get to the temple in the first place so we passed a number of shops on the way down. I made a mistake again of not seeing a "no photo" sign and snapping pictures before the shop owner came over and gave me a dirty look, the X sign with his hands, and his Japanese instructions to not take photos. But other than that, we got to sample some tasty treats that are common Kyoto things (I forget the name) that were basically various sweet bean pastes wrapped in a mushy, rice paste, tortilla like encasing. They were all delicious, especially the cherry blossom; it was a mild and pleasant mix between strawberry, red apple, and melon tastes (maybe?).

We ate at a cheap soba and udon restaurant before returning home on the subway. I honestly forget most of the people's names that I supposedly learned. There were two girls and four guys, one of which was Takahiro (I only know because I met a Hirotaka the day or two before and the mix up was highly discussed). They were all very nice, however. I'm also excited to spend more time with the other 留学生(exchange student) like Ryan, Tiffany, Keifer, Malia, Gary, and Sarah, as well as all the 日本人 (Japanese people) I've met. Perhaps among my classes or I'll see them at lunch. Somehow I got into level 4 Japanese classes; I'm sure I'll get bumped down. D:

Hideko and me

日本人の友達(I forgot names D:)

Udon!

Right now, I'm sitting upstairs in my new room at 枚方市のお母さんの家(my Hirakata mom's house). She's a sweet old lady (who doesn't seem her age at ALL, very 元気-energetic) who has hosted for many years for students all around the world. I gave her my host gifts, of which she especially liked the native american dream catcher and tokens, as she'd never seen them before. She enjoyed the chocolate, but had often gotten that as a present before from other exchange students. The finger puppets were also nice, she thought they were めっちゃかわいい(super cute in Kansai dialect, or 関西弁).

I'm sure that before long, the new way of doing laundry, taking a shower, washing dishes, and everything else will fall into a daily routine.