A recap of my first weekend as a free agent (not constricted by orientation schedules): In summary- extremely wonderful! Saturday was spent bopping around Takadanobaba (try saying that five times fast)-an area near Waseda- with some of the Japanese students. They were helping us get our cell phones in the morning, and then, as I didn't really have any plans and neither did they, we decided to just hang out together for the afternoon. Really great to get to know them better, practice my Japanese, and have a fun day out in the city. That night I met another Japan Study friend for dinner along with another Japanese student. Okonomiyake was on the menu, basically a pancake-batter liked substance with lots of cabbage and other add-ins. To garnish, add seaweed, dried fish skin and mayo. Actually very very tasty. Our Japanese friend had to leave after dinner, so my Japan Study friend and I had fun wandering the streets of Tokyo. A really great day.
Today was so wonderful. It started out at five fifty am, the time I got up to get ready for church. Going to church was a much bigger ordeal for me than it normally is, especially as I had to find this church myself without the benefit of clear directions. In normal Gillian fashion, I completely misinterpreted the directions and didn't find the church on time BUT, I did find the church! I had been biking for over an hour, at this point long past having given up making it to Mass, when I saw a hospital that Machico-san had been saying was close to the church. Getting warmer, no. Then, I saw a statue of the Virgin Mary. Even warmer. Then, I saw a Catholic nun walk out of a parking lot in full regalia and I knew I had succeeded in my mission. I might not have made it to Mass this week, but in my failures I ensure success for the weeks to come.
After that, the fam and I headed to a beautiful park that is only blocks from our home. There was a celebration going on in honor of the fall solstice, so there were entertainers, food vendors, flea markets, and lots and lots of people. Machico-san and I headed to the flea market for a while while Kenichi-san and Kojiro-kun had fun looking at a firetruck. Kojiro is absolutely obsessed with trains, trucks, and airplanes. It is so adorable to watch how his eyes light up every time he sees a train or hears it tooting its horn in the distance. After this, we all had a picnic lunch together. I wish I could better relate how wonderful it was to be outdoors in the sunshine, eating delicious food and soaking in the sights and sounds of the festival going on around us. A fantastic memory!
Kojiro had to take a nap after lunch, so we all kind of parted ways- Kenichi-san returning to the house with Kojiro-kun, Machico-san returning to the flea market, and myself exploring the bike paths of the park. The park is huge, and I'm so excited to be able to take walks and bike rides as the trees begin to change color.
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| My family! |
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For more pictures, go to http://gillianjapan.shutterfly.com/
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