I can't say I have been having crazy adventures in Japan. I would say that every day I have small adventures that amuse me. For example, on the weekend I went shopping at Gap. When I went to make my purchase, the cashier asked me something in Japanese. My first response is to freeze up and become panicked. After a moment of stuttering around (it seemed like eternity... I hope it wasn't) I finally realized I knew what she was saying. She asked me where I was from. I answered her back in Japanese, successfully, not perfectly but I was understood. Then she asked me if I was here for vacation and I answered her in very broken Japanese that I work at Kasukabe Girls' High School (Watashi wa Kasukabe joshikoko de hatarakimasu).
On Saturday my friend Natsumi and I went to Yoyogi Park in Harajuku for "B-boy Park", an annual event with lots of Bboy battles, MC battles, and sports court (I don't know how to describe this) battles. Luckily I didn't go to dance. Not yet. Too scary. When I first got there I got to see some cyphers (dancing circles) and they were intense - small, crowded and full of Japanese boys. The actual battles were intimidating too, it seemed like most crews concentrated on burning the other side more than dancing. Any way, that's another story - the difference between Canadian and Japanese break dancing. There I met Natsumi's crew and I also met up with a dancer I met in Shinjuku. Surprisingly, I also caught up with a dancer I met in Vancouver. It was fun day. That night my new bboy friend Yuki took Natsumi and I to the fireworks at Tamagawa. Japanese hanabi (fireworks) are much more of a spectacle than Canadian ones. This was the last fireworks event of the summer for Tamagawa and there were many people. It seemed like the entire Tokyo police force was there too (I exaggerate). There were two sites for fireworks. That means double the fun. They were beautiful and the show lasted about an hour. I have pictures that don't adequately capture the beauty of the fireworks. I'll post them later.
On Sunday I bought my first piece of furniture. It's a kotatsu!
This is a kotatsu. Basically it's a coffee table with a heater attached. I have the electric version :) Unfortunately it's way tooooo hot to use one right now so it is just being a table for now.
On Sunday evening I practiced break dance with Natsumi's group again and we went out to eat afterwards. That was fun. One of the guys is an engineer for Honda, this is what he said to me: "I'm a very rich man, I have nothing to spend my money on. So... I would like to entertain you." Ha ha ha ha ha ha. What he meant is that he'd like to "treat me" or pay for my dinner. It was hilarious.
On Monday I went for my first run! Hurray. It was a boring route, approximately 5 km. It was nice to get out, but now my calves are sore. Since it gets so hot here, the only safe time to run is early in the morning or in the evening when it's dark. I got up at the crack of 6:30 to go for my run. It took over an hour for my skin to stop feeling like a furnace. This is even after a cold shower. So even at 6:30 am it is really warm. Perhaps I will try again tomorrow morning.
On Monday night I got lost in a giant mall. Apparently it used to be the biggest shopping mall in Asia. Sadly it no longer holds that title. I spent hours wandering around the mall looking for the way to Ikea. The sad thing is when I got off the train I knew it was the wrong stop, I just figured I was on a different side of the mall or something. WRONG. I was in a completely different mall. Lesson learned. I did have fun wandering around the mall though. And I finally ordered a coffee misto at Starbucks, in Japanese! I also had to ask for help in Japanese. Slowly I think I'm improving.
Well that's all for now. Sorry I haven't posted any pictures yet...
Love and miss you all!
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