I did all of this! ... And I studied a little bit too.

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote to you guys. I’ve settled into day to day life here in Japan. First of all, yes, Aunt J, the bread is amazing. There’s this great bakery just a couple blocks from my house that makes the most amazing cheesy bread. My host mother brings it for me most mornings. Otherwise, the food is ok. I tried tofu a couple days ago. It was pretty good. So was the “Soup Curry” that my okaasan made. Everything else has been mostly misses. But I don’t really like food in general, so it’s not that big of a deal. Oh! But I went to a festival a couple days ago where I bought the most amazing candied strawberry.

Class is going pretty well. I’m learning more than I expected to. The weather is starting to get cold, though I think it’s actually colder inside than outside, at my house. It also got colder a lot faster than it does back home. I’m not ready for winter!

At the festival, we also got to watch this Japanese dance. I forget the name. None of my pictures turned out very well, it was too dark and we were too far away. We also went to a zoo! It was a little bit amazing and we got in for free! All the better! The red pandas and the big cats were my favorite. In the US, there are two huge panes of glass and a good couple yards between you and the cage. Here, they were right behind one panel of glass that you could touch, they were so close. I never realized how big lions and tigers really are.

We’ve done karaoke, gone to a Cuban bar and danced salsa and watched 50s dancers during an Autumn Festival and went to the zoo. All in all, a good couple of weeks.

Now, to answer some of your questions. The weather is pretty nice right now, but it keeps switching between late fall and early fall weather. One day I don’t need a jacket, the next I’m bundled up under my winter coat and a scarf. It’s been messing with my sinuses and I’ve been getting headaches, but it looks like it’s mellowing out a little bit, finally. The train system is amazing. I can walk to school, but on weekends it’s the only way to travel. Much faster than riding my bike anyway.

My classes are ok. The Japanese Business and Japanese Culture ones are really, really boring. And by no fault of the content. The professors are just really monotone. My Shintoism class, however, is shaping up to be very interesting. It doesn’t hurt that I like my professor. He’s the guy that’s helping me figure out my travel plans for December.

My family is very nice. I’m sorry that I don’t have any pictures of them yet. My host mom is trying really hard to make everything feel like home for me. I’m also making friends. I’m having a lot of fun with them, going out and about all the time.

I haven’t tried sake, yet. But I’m underage, so I really shouldn’t. I will, however, once I hit my birthday. My business class is going to a sake factory for a field trip, so I will try it then.

Until next time!

Love you!

PS I'm having a difficult time uploading pictures. So go to my flickr page to see all the new ones!