Oh, man, has it been a while. Okay! Well, while it's still fresh in my mind, this past weekend, I went to Tokyo with the president of one of the local Rotary clubs, and his family. We did some sightseeing, and had some FINE sushi, while staying the night in the Imperial Hotel (I must confess, I stayed up until like 2 a.m. that night and just watched the city lights out the window). It is indescribably different from rural Iowa's night sky, though both possess in-and-of themselves, a unique beauty. The week before that, it was school festival time! I'm, uh, never completely sure whats going on (I swear, it's like everyone is speaking a different language), but, there were a few days where classes were cut short (or simply not held). On these days, the student body participated in various sporting events (Myself? Jump rope and tug-of-war. Oh, and "selfies with the foreigner," if that is a sport. If it is, It's an awesome sport. Everybody wins). there was also some sort of "cultural festival" day, or somesuch. The students would decorate their homerooms with various themes (for example, my class did Ghibli, with the room bearing heavy influences from films such as Princess Mononoke, and, of course, My Neighbor Totoro--shoutout to Johnny Campbell here, for his occasional absent minded renditions of the one of the film's final tracks. I guess keep doing...whatever it is you're doing). I wandered around, ate yakisoba, and went to see a friend perform with his band in some kind of school showing. There were several bands, and I found the whole thing to be quite enjoyable (An important thing to note, however, is that these children do not like to mosh...yet. I have twice opened a pit, only to watch it die within several seconds). Besides that, Its been essentially the same routine of school-club-sleep, as I continue to learn Japanese and shave off weight. Thanks everyone for your interest! Ive gotten a few emails already, and I probably check that maybe a little more than I post on here, so feel free to shoot something my way!
Okay! So, this past week or so has just blown by, though the whole "not home until around 7:30" thing has certainly helped occupy my time. Kendo club is exciting, I think. That's where most of the social aspects of my time at school come into play. I don't think I made mention of the food in my last post, so, I would like to do that here! First off, there is lots of rice. That's definitely a staple. I find that I generally consume a fair amount of meat and fish, along with vegetables (recognizable ones are barely cooked), many of them unfamiliar. As far as the taste itself, It would seem that salty is preferred over sweet, but the flavor combinations are a bit jarring, at first. I'm eating less, doing more, and I've lost about 10 pounds since landing. I've pretty much settled into a daily routine, with the occasional Rotary meeting. If you have any questions or want me to mention something specific next time, I can be reached via Facebook or email, so feel free to send something my way.
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