Winter Blues

Ugh, so right now I am trying to mentally recover from starting classes again. Let me tell you, that is no easy task. And neither is updating this blog, because my "e" key sticks really badly and is giving my middle finger quite a workout. You all know how important that muscle is to me...

Kanji test on monday (20+ kanji), learned about/started Newspaper project on Tuesday, Kanji Final Retake on Wed (I didn't do so good on it the first time) plus my final movie report, and today I was just flat out tired despite the lack of any momentous assignments, tests, or papers.

On the upside, my diligent studying (for once!) paid off and I think I did well on all fronts.

So as my reward, despite being tired today, I ventured out with my good German friend Julia to Nipponbashi. The mission being to find a certain Dollfie store. Dollfie is a handmade, customizable, doll from Japan. The Super Dollfie, or SD, is really quite beautiful. Once we arrived at the store, I got the chance to see many dolls in person and I can see why people are so eager to have one of their own. I would have been more tempted to buy one if I hadn't seen the prices though! A SD 13 (the largest doll) runs around $700, and that doesn't include clothing! A "nice" outfit will run you just as much if not more.

But the cool thing is, you do the dolls own makeup (or pay a professional) and choose the body type, hands, face, eyes, wig, feet, facial expression, etc. So no two dolls are ever alike. If you are interested here is a link: http://www.volks.co.jp/en/superdollfie/index_superdollfie.aspx

Only thing that kinda brought my day down was having to bike home in a light drizzle, which feels heavier when you ride into it! It is cold and damp here. Hard to stay warm at night, so I wear three layers of clothes and a hat plus three blankets. Curse Japan's lack of central heat!

I have to do some homework now so... see you on the flipside!

The Flu feat. Food Poisoning: The Sequel

Haha, as you can guess from the title of this entry I have endured times of sickness. My New Years was spent with the flu, and a fever of 102 degrees. I got better just in time for classes to start again! Lucky me!

Well, I got food poisoning at the least convenient time and had to miss not only one of my finals but also my friend's certificate ceremony. The Finnish guys and Sjoerd (the Holland guy) left for home last week and that day was their last day of class.

Fortunately I got myself well enough to go on a trip that weekend to Hiroshima, which was Sjoerd's last "hurrah" in Japan. We went to the famous shrine that sits in the water facing a large tori (gate). When the tide is up they look like they are floating on water.

Of course we also visited the museum of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima. That was a very somber experience, but it was a good thing to see. Some of the exhibits were hard to walk through. For instance, there was a life size, very realistic display of three people (two children) as they must have looked immediately after the explosion. Their skin was melting off their arms and faces and hanging off. The scenery was one of devastation and fire. Truly such an event must never take place again.

Now I am preparing to go to class again this Monday to start my Winter Session. From here on all my classes will be taught in Japanese and I am a little nervous and unsure how well I will do. But I will do my best!