Wow... 2 weeks since my last post? Shame on me.
In any case, I have tons to say. Let's see if I can organize my thoughts!
First off, I will start off with the not-so-hot news haha. I feel that my language skills are not really that great, and are in fact getting worse. I guess I was just expecting to know more by the end of the 1st month, but it doesn't seem to work that way. Who knows! Maybe by month 2 I will amazing at Japanese... in fact, a lot of this is a lie. I know I am improving, I just haven't had the time to study yet... I am also beginning to feel homesick. I know I shouldn't feel this already after one month, but I am lacking familiarity and it is frustrating. Aside from that though, this is where better news comes in :)
The reason for never studying is because I have been traveling for the past week or so! Japan loves their holidays, so we had a 5 day weekend! A large group of us went to Osaka and Tokyo...and I am still trying to get over how shocked I was in both cities.
Osaka was very cool. My favorite part was the aquarium! For the same cost as the Shedd Aquarium, we were able to see far more sea life and even capybaras! I saw a whale shark, which is unheard of! It was HUGE! Just as a back-story for those who don't know, I love sea life... I was hoping to be a marine biologist when I was younger. But yeah... I hate math so oh well haha. I also saw the biggest manta ray yet (20-30ft wing-span I want to say). I am very happy about that haha. I also went on one of the biggest ferris wheels which was really scary but the view was amazing. Although Japan is an island, buildings seem endlessly sprout up across the horizon.
As soon as we returned from Osaka, we took a night bus to Tokyo. This made me realize that I am never doing that again. The buses are super small and I was too excited to sleep. However, we managed to make it. We went to the imperial gardens in the morning, and it was really interesting seeing a very traditional garden surrounded by sky-scrapers. I was then proceeded to be hit on by a drunk man in the gardens... who, to my lucky surprise, spoke some english (keep in mind, this was 11am). I wonder about my life sometimes.
However, it's all good because the rest of the time we explored pretty much all areas of Tokyo! We went to harajuku... and let me tell you... CRAZIEST PLACE EVER. I have never in my life seen so many people packed on one road. The clothes shops were ridiculous, and it made me realize that Japan is some light-years ahead of Americans, because I don't think I'll ever understand the fashion. Oh, and how could I forget to mention the capsule hotel?? SO COOL! us ladies had our own floor so it was safe, and I tried an onsen for the first time (public bath)! It was extremely uncomfortable at first, but once you do it, it's no big deal. If this post is super long and spastic, I am sorry, but this is how much happens in just 2 weeks.
But by far my favorite place was Ueno. The park was sweet and there is a ton to do at night. Kei, our Japanese TA from last year and coolest person ever, took us to a karaoke place, and I sang my heart out haha. It was a really good time. The people that I have gotten close to on my program are really cool people. It makes you think that you would not have met them otherwise.
Overall, it was a pretty fantastic trip, and I am for sure going back because I merely scratched the surface of what Tokyo is.
As for my host mom and dad, they have been more than wonderful to Alyssa and I. They are pretty lenient on how long we stay out and took us to get cellphones and whatnot. I just hope they know I appreciate everything they are doing, because it's really hard to communicate that. So, Alyssa and I just do little things like take the dishes to the kitchen and figure out internet problems haha. I guess I am just very conflicted about staying for 3 months because the commute is such a major time consumer and I feel overwhelmed by all my work. But, I am sure it will work itself out. Even if I stay for just 2 months-21/2 months, I have still made connections with wonderful people and it's very plausible to visit them. Well, it's time to do some work I suppose.
Bye for now! it might be another 2 weeks before the next post haha.