Only 9 Days???

Where did Japan go?? Why did time seem to go by so slow at first and then now it feels like it's flown with the blink of an eye?? It feels like I just arrived in Japan only yesterday....Do I really only have a little over a week left??

I decided I wanted to dedicate this blog post to random fun memories that I've had with my friends in Japan. It's the memories that last the longest so I wanted at least one blog post filled with random happy memories that make me giggle whenever I decide to look back on it <3

A lot of these random drabbles won't be in any particular order. I'm just writing down what comes to mind first <3
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• When Brenna and I almost missed our first flight because we thought it didn't depart until later and they had to call us over the intercom LOL
• Getting stuck in the door of the train on my very first day and having that HUGE bruise on my knee hahahaha
• Watching Megamind and the Little Mermaid in Japanese with the kids the second I arrived at my host family house hahahaha
• drinking the Gokuri peach tea for the first time with Brenna and spazzing out over how delicious it was!
• Seeing the Red Light District for the first time and flipping out. (Wow, and now I've been there at least a hundred times! Wait....I shouldn't say that out loud....)
• Making derpy faces in Purikura but still looking beautiful Lol
• Getting lost in Shinjuku for 2 hours trying to find KCP. FAAAAAAAAAIL XD
• the giant group of elementary school kids waving and saying "Hello" to us Americans in English at Naraijuku. They were so freaking cute!
• The random people that kept asking for Kitty's picture because she's platinum blonde! hahahaha! <3
• Making a wish on the random tree thing at Matsumoto Castle
• Buying a "book" from the conbini with Marc and then watching him buy it from the really old lady hahahaha!
• Eating sushi for the first time in Japan and having to force down the raw oyster! I was so proud of myself!
• Seeing all the crazy fish in Tsukiji! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
• Praying at a Buddhist temple to Jesus hahahahaha! 
• Going to Akiba with Ko for the first time and freaking out over all the Persona stuff!
• My Persona 3 Art Book :'D Ahhhh I will treasure it forever!
•  My first trip to Harajuku!
• Sharing an umbrella with Lee during the Harajuku trip and claiming him as my "umbrella buddy"!
• Going into the Body Line store for the first time!! And buying a maid dress and my Rise wig! AHHHHH <3
• Getting VERY annoyed at a certain some one who wouldn't quit complaining the entire time during the Shinjuku Tour trip.... (not the happiest of memories but still a memory nonetheless!)
• Finding the Fairy Tail keychain dispenser for the first time! But then never being able to find it again...
• My umbrella buddy and I writing an ema together at Harajuku (and both us failing horribly at Japanese! hahahaha!)
• Table Flipping Game. And the fact Sodany beat all of us out on it!
• Sodany and I giving Brenna terrible love advice when it came to her boy troubles hahahaha! 
• Eating crepes. Just crepes in general. Crepes are AMAZING!!!
• Getting so ticked off during the Aoyama Daigaku trip because I wasn't in the "cool" group hahahahaha!! 
• Karaoke for the first time with everybody!! I was so nervous singing "Shoujo S" in front of everyone cause I'm terrible at singing but I got soooo into it! hahahaha! Oh...and let's not forget the nomihodai aspect <3
• The karaoke aftermath. Trying to find KFC. Being unable to walk on my own. Randomly stumbling onto the NANA cafe (in which I never found again T___T) 
• The random party at my host family's house when I got home from karaoke. Japanese people can drink A LOT
• The really heartfelt drunken conversation my host dad tried to have with me. "I love you like daughter! You like daughter to me! You happy, I'm happy!" hahahaha!
• "Sake Sake Guy" XD Omigosh that guy was priceless! "No no no, you sake sake with me!" "No...I'm sorry, I really have to go home..." "NO NO NO! You sake sake with meeeeee! :D" hahahaha! So persistent!
• Getting groped on the train..... I really hope that old man enjoyed his handful of butt because it certainly put a damper on my day! :l But I gotta admit....it makes a funny story.
• CAPCOM CAFEEEEEEEE!! Monster Hunter kitties EVERYWHERE! <3 And learning how to say "OBJECTION!" in Japanese! 
• Goin shopping with my host mom in Ikebukuro and seeing Morning Musume perform! 
• Realizing just how fat I am compared to tiny, adorable Japanese girls after trying on tons of clothes in Ikebukuro that just wouldn't fit me!
• My birthday. By far, the best memory I have so far. I wouldn't trade that night for the world! I got to become really close to my new friends and they went out of their way to make that the most special birthday ever! 
• Receiving my Alice birthday cake at the cafe and nearly crying when I realized just how amazing of friends I really do have. Not to mention, I got to eat it to "Part of Your World"--my favorite Disney song EVER!
• Derping around at the Izakaya after the Alice cafe. 
• THE GIANT ROACH AT THE IZAKAYA!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I freaked out and nearly trampled the poor soul sitting next to me! hahahaha!
• Watching Marc try to win a Yoko figure for the first time and everybody biting their finger nails in suspense! And then Kitty and I cheering once he won! hahaha!
• Receiving a Yoko figure for my birthday from Marc :'D THANKS MARC!
• All of those times I would sit in class with my heart beat racing because I was soooo ready to get out of class! hahahaha!
• Going to the Sky Tree for the first time! The Tokyo skyline was just so beautiful!!!
• Getting nervous going into the Sky Tree at first but then dancing with Sodany and Kouji as we went down hahahaha!
• Doing a tanabata tree with my host family!
• Teaching Ririka and Taiga the fortune telling game with origami that I learned back in elementary school. 
• Finding out that Taiga wants to be a dry cleaner when he goes up and marry the girl from his class, Haruna-chan <3
• All those times Taiga and I sat down doing origami. And he was always "Nee, nee, Hana! Asobimashou!"
• Omg.... When the kids started saying "LETS TAKE A BATH TOGETHER!" and I kept having to decline! ^_^;;;
• Sushi and Akiba with Lee!! 
• Mister Donut. 'Nuff said.
• Going to the country side with my host family and meeting Masae's parents! 
• Okaa-san and I trying to figure out how to get me in my yukata! hahaha!
• Going to the festival with my family!!! I felt so pretty in my yukata!!
• Buying skirts from the mall in the countryside <3 I love them so much!
• Going to Nikko!! I got to pray at several shrines and wish really hard for stuff! "No regrets and good experiences <3" So far, I've had some really good experiences!! I have a few regrets but maybe that will change before I leave! <3
• Udon. Udon all the way.
• Taiiyaki for the first time ^___^ 
• Getting a Yukiko figure!! :'D MORE PERSONA GOODNESS!
• My long hilarious conversation with Ricey over Facebook. All of our typos turning into hilarious inside jokes! "Don't pet the gay horse if your haydar is broken!"
• Ramen shop with a bunch of KCP people <3
• Ferris Wheel in Kasai <3 That will be a moment I will never forget! I got to see the Disney Castle from above and even got to see the fireworks from it! Once again, the city of Tokyo will never cease to amaze me <3
• The derpy alligator arcade game! hahahaha!
• Bumping into Hannah Etchinson in Shibuya. And then bumping into Connor McCarthy at Shinjuku Eki.... What in the world??
• Getting to see Ming, Emi, and Kaori ^_^ It had been so long since I had seen Emi!! 
• My giant can of pringles hahahaha
• Curry Cooking Class!! It was REALLY spicey but I ate it since I contributed to making it =^_^= 
• Going to the Sky Tree for the second time! The second most memorable night I've had in Japan!
• THE BEER ADVERTISEMENT GUY!!! He's looking at the can smiling with a very confused look on his face. For some reason, whenever I saw it, I would start laughing!!
• Shopping day with Kitty and Adrian at Harajuku <3
• "I wanted to make a dress but I had all these T-shirts!"--laughing for hours at the one weird looking dress with all the shirts sewn to it! hahahaha!
• "Princess feeling should be able to be tasted at any times if it urges in new clothes"--random Engrish at a store that Kitty, Adrian, and I also laughed at for hours
• Witnessing two pigeons court each other in the park with Kitty and Rose. I had tears coming out of my eyes from laughing so hard...
• The store called "A55" Hahahahaha! Too funny, Japan! 
• The little crafts Ririka and Taiga would leave for me on the table for me to get when I would come home from school
• The funny faces Kitty made while impersonating random people that have been on commercials hahahaha!
• The really scary experience I had in my room one night....I was dreaming and then I woke up and I swore there was this fat creature with big eyes and long fingernails sitting next to my bed....I was able to reach out and touch it before it disappeared. I think it was just a VERY lucid dream but I woke up screaming....Omg, on second thought, I think that's a memory I kind of don't want to remember hahaha....
• All those times I put a lot of effort into looking good for absolutely no reason because I would sweat all of my make up and pretty-ness off by the time I left the house hahahaha!
• The sign with the pigs from Harajuku. "YEAAAAH!"
• The inside jokes that came from said sign hahahaha
• When Adrian was singing karaoke to a song she had never heard before hahahahaha!
• Watching The Regular Show for the first time in my life.... Lol wut?
• All those times playing Taiko! 
• Korean restraunt!!! YUM!
• Being afraid of staying at the house by myself when my host family was gone because I'm seriously convinced the place is haunted....
• Deciding that my room is haunted by a 500 year old homosexual hobo named Ned that sometimes interferes with my sound receiver whenever I'm skyping some one back home hahahaha
• "If my life was a shoujo manga, it would be a tragic tale about a flamingo falling in love with an aardvark. It would involve cheerios, bubblewrap, and sparkles and would be titled "The Laundry Basket." If my life was a shounen manga, it would be a detective story involving lots of explosions and partial nudity. I would call it "Jamal"."Best conversation I ever had with Gina! hahahaha!
• Udon. LOTS of udon.
• Singing the Dango Daikazoku song with Brenna!
• All those times me and my girlies would have an after school snack at the park and have girly conversations <3
• Meeting Rena and Sumire at the Izakaya with Brenna, Jack, and the others!
• Alex telling us about his experience with a drunk girl on the train. He only knew basic Japanese but she kept trying to talk to him so their only conversation was about what their favorite juice was LOL!
• My date with Mister Donut because I'm forever alone. Sad night indeed XD
• Cosplay purikura with Adriaaaaaaan!
• Hanging out with Sodany at her dorm!
• Tokyo Disney adventures <3 Definitely one of the best times I have had in my entire life!
• Getting to see Maiko in general <3
• Being able to ride 17 rides with Maiko at Tokyo Disney Land! And also getting pictures with a ton of characters! 
• "The World is Mine. Oyster."--Lol Ko at Tower of Terror
• Stealing Ko's phone and taking random derpy pictures as we waited in line for Tower of Terror
• Freaking out over all the big rides at disney but then finding them to not be as scary as I thought they were <3
• The days when I used to receive text messages. Those were the daaaaaaays! <3
• Meeting Hachiko for the first time <3
• Buying a super cute top in Shibuya with Sodany!
• Having a blast with Maiko at Harajuku!! We got to shop, eat crepes, and do karaoke!!
• Singing disney songs at karaoke with Maiko! <3 And the Hare Hare Yukai!! 
• Karaoke after the Speech Contest with everyone!! Sing ALLLLLL the Disney songs! 
• When Taiga fell asleep on me in the car for the first time
• Going to an onsen with my host family!! (Sad bananas...) 
• Studying really hard for a kanji quiz and making a 90 <3 Then making a 93 on my grammar quiz!! <3
• Tokyo Tower with the family <3 It was always a dream of mine to go!
• Hyakuen store visits <3 Gotta love em!
• Having my legs kill me during the tea ceremony! hahahaha!
• Having a much needed girl night with Brenna as we ate cake, taiiyaki, and takoyaki and complained about boys and talked about funny memories <3 "It was love at first....hair." Hahahaha! "Did you feel it?!" XD hahahahaha! Oh, the conversations we had that night <3 

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It's getting late and my Tokyo adventures have yet to come to a close <3 I have a feeling I'm going to come back to this blog and add more memories as they cross through my mind.

Man.....I never want to forget all the special memories that I've had. And the friends I've made..... Wow, going home is going to be a lot tougher than I thought. I mean, I always knew it was going to be tough. I knew it was going to be tough the moment I stepped foot out of that air plane. But I've learned so much and I feel like I've grown a lot as a person.............No. Scratch that. Hahahaha, if anything, I've become a lot more crazier. I mean, who sits around talking about how Mister Donut is the only man for her?! hahahaha!

But still..... It's going to be hard to leave. I just feel like I'm going to regret so much.... No, not regret the things that I've done. But regret the things that I didn't do. There's so much that I wanted to do....So many things I wanted to see.....So many more memories I wanted to make with the people special to me. With only nine days, I'm feeling like that just won't happen.

I keep thinking back on a painting I saw at Disneyland. It was of Cinderella looking out dreamily at the castle and underneath it it said, "Cinderella never gave up that her dreams of happiness would come true." Well, Japan isn't over yet and I'm not giving up <3 A lot can happen in 8 days.... Maybe I can have one more REALLY good adventure. The kind that just changes your life forever. Or....maybe I'm overthinking things hahahaha. I've already had so many lifechanging adventures here....maybe I'm just being selfish asking for more.

But we shall see. Who knows what tomorrow will bring??

But I also need to keep in mind that just because Part 1 of Japisney is coming to a close, doesn't mean the adventure is over. No, it's far from it. I get a little bit of an intermission after Japan and then it's onto Part 2--Disney World! Who knows who all I will meet? Maybe I will meet more people that will change my life forever the way Brenna, Sodany, Kitty, Adrian, Lee, and the other KCP students have?  I can only hope :)

Let's see what will happen tomorrow!! <3 Dreams of happiness could be right around the corner! <3

♪~11 Days Left~♪

So I officially have 11 days left of Japan.... But instead of brooding on the fact that Chapter 1 of my Japisney Adventure is coming to a close, I'd rather write about whats happened since Tokyo Disney.... You know....for memory sake. I don't want forget things so thats why I record everything in this blog....

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OKAY! So....a lot has happened since Disney! After all, that was close to two weeks ago hahahaha! I'm so bad about writing in this blog...ANYWAYS!

So my host family had been gone for a few days while I was at Disney. I REALLY missed them because I don't like staying alone in the house....I dunno....just kinda creepy and unnerving.

So when my host family came back from their trip to Okinawa, I was SOOOO happy too see them!! I had taken off school that Monday to recover from Disney. My body was physically exhausted and my legs just refused to move. I had completely over-did it at Disney so I was in desperate need of recuperation!

Well, that Monday night, my host family told me about their trip to Okinawa and stuff. Taiga had brought home a bunch of litter hermit crabs that he had found at the beach and brought home. He was in love with those crabs! He kept calling them his "friends" hahahaha! So cute! It almost made me feel really special that the kids were so excited to see me....<3 They brought me back some delicious sweets from Okinawa! I was so happy! (((*°▽°*)八(*°▽°*)))♪

Well, that Monday night, the kids asked me (for the upteenth time) to take a bath with them. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but in Japan, families take baths together all the time. In fact, everybody takes baths together (Lol like at the onsen) so it's pretty common. Since the twins see me as a big sister, they've been asking me from the beginning if I would take a bath with him. I've always been REALLY hesitant since I'm not used to that kind of thing and bathing with other people is kind of off-limits in America.... But apparently the last girl that lived with my host family would take a bath with the kids all the time like it was no big deal.

That night, the kids were EXTRA persistent and I felt so compelled to do so....After all, my time in Japan was running short. So with a sigh, I agreed that I'd finally take a bath with them. (ﾉ￣д￣)ﾉ

So after dinner, I took a bath with Taiga and Ririka......and about seven hermit crabs. 

Taiga decided he wanted to bring his cup of hermit crabs into the shower with us. He kept trying to bathe the crabs but I kept having to warn them that he was going to kill them if he wasn't careful. I also told him to be careful and not drop the cup of crabs. But he did....

Crabs went everywhere.

They were trying so desperately to escape XD They were running around like they going "RETREAT! RETREAAAAAAAT!" So Taiga and I had to scoop all of them up before they went down the drain. What a crazy turn out! Ririka just laughed and just chilled in the shower while I was freaking out.

Needless to say....the crabs all died in the morning. Poor Taiga cried over the loss of his friends.... Sad but kinda funny. hahahaha!

So bathing with the kids was definitely a strange experience =___=; hahahaha! I probably won't do it again....hahaha....

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After the crab incident, last week went by pretty quickly. Sodany and I went to Shibuya to meet Hachiko and do a little shopping on Tuesday ;) I've always wanted to see Hachiko (the famous dog statue that is the Japanese equivalent to the American story of Balto) since it's pretty well known.

We also met up with Maiko who was meeting some friends that had also studied abroad at UA last year :) It's always good to see Maiko! <3 The picture above is of us standing next to Hachiko!

After parting ways with Maiko, Sodany and I hit up a famous store in Shibuya. I couldn't help but buy a new cute top to help remember the moment. Not to mention, it was pretty cheap! Shibuya is famous for its fashion stores so I feel so happy whenever I wear my top! I just love the style of it! hahahaha! I promise I wont spend anymore money on clothes, mom (︶︹︺)

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On Wednesday, I wanted to meet up with Maiko again since she had to return to Kobe on Thursday. Kobe is REALLY far away (8 hours by bus, 3 hours by Bullet Train) and I had originally planned to visit Maiko in Kobe but it turned out to be a lot more expensive than I had bargained for.... So I was really happy I got to spend another afternoon with Maiko <3

Kitty and Adrian came with me to meet Maiko in Shinjuku and we all did Purikura together! XD The pictures came out SOOOOO cute!

I'm not gonna lie--Purikura is my guilty pleasure! I could take a thousand pictures in Purikura and still not be satisfied! I have no idea how many picture sheets I have already....hahahaha!

After Purikura, Maiko and I had dinner together and then hit up Harajuku ;D Harajuku is still one of my favorite places ever!! There's just so much to do and see! <3 We ended up looking around some shops (Body Line, of course <3) before making our way to a crepe stand. If Purikura is my number one guilty pleasure, then crepes would have to be my second. I mean, come on! Cheesecake and cream with chocolate poured all over it wrapped in a pancake! hahahah! It's heaven on Earth! (* >ω<) Im gonna miss the deliciousness of crepes.... America just doesn't have them like Japan does :( I need to learn how to make them! <3

After crepes, we decided we'd do some karaoke together ;D OMIGOSH THE DISNEY SONGS! Maiko and I totally cranked up some Tangled, Aladdin, and Little Mermaid songs!! Oh, and it wouldn't be karaoke with out the Hare Hare Yukai too <3 Oh! And Cruel Angel Thesis!! Hahahaha! It was so great!! I even got to sing "Melt" but I did such a horrible job at it XD I cannot sing as high as Miku Hatsune can!!

After Karaoke, Maiko and I decided to do Purikura again--just the two of us ｛・ω-*} We got some adorable shots!! It was by far my favorite Purikura yet! <3 The pictures turned out just so cute!!

It was sooooo hard saying good bye to Maiko.... We became so close at UA!! But we had a great time at Disney together and I wouldn't trade our memories for the world ^__^ Next time I come to Japan, I'm definitely gonna hit up Osaka and Kobe and visit her!! She's just one of those friends that are REALLY special! I can't wait to see her again <3

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Last Thursday was the Speech Contest. UGGGGGGGGGH!! Freaking speech contest XD Oh how you humiliate me so.... The way it worked was that each class had its own representative to get up in front of the whole school and give a speech. The rest of the members of the class had to get up on stage and perform a little dance or cheer to cheer on the speaker. The french girl, Are-chan, was our class's speaker so we had to perform the Can-Can on stage. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH IM SO EMBARASSED! >////////////< I was so out of it and so off beat XD (And thank you Brenna for recording it =_=)

The speech contest was a little bit boring in my opinion except for the fact that some of my close friends gave a speech. Nya and Lee did a wonderful job so I was cheering for them in my own seat <3 hahaha!

Honestly, I was just happy we didn't have class that day....hahahaha!

After the speech contest, a bunch of us decided to do karaoke together ^_^ Have I mentioned that I love karaoke?? Well I love karaoke. Karaoke in Japan is just AWESOME! Karaoke in America? No....it's horrible. Drunk rednecks who can't hold a note singing sad country songs in bars. In Japan? You get your own little room and you get to pick from a whole book of songs! Nobody hears you but you and your friends and you can order beverages and have as much as you want! <3 Its SOOOOO much fun! ^___^

I was a total microphone hog at karaoke LOL!! I didn't even care XD I just wanted to share my voice with the world! Lol! I bet all my friends were like "uuuuuuuuuuuugh shut her up already! She already sang like 20 songs!" hahahahahaha!! It was a good stress reliever, too! <3 Not that....I'm stressed about anything or anyone <.< >.>

But we had a great time! They even had American songs too! Of course I sang a ton of Disney <3 Part of Your World, A Whole New World, Reflection....<3 Not to mention some Kingdom Hearts ^__^ I was so happy!!

Kitty cranked up some Ricky Martin. The karaoke room we were in had maracas and tambourines. We all went Livin La Vida Loca....

Needless to say, it was HEAPS of fun! ^_^ Definitely a great memory!!
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And then Friday happened.

Just for my own sake, I'm gonna have to keep a lot of this to myself ^_^;;;; Let's just say it was a night that I'd rather not reflect on too much. Izakaya's are NOT my friend. No more. Nope. Not for me! Bad idea! Casa Blanca was also a bad idea. But I paid for it Saturday when I was forced to lay in bed all day throwing my guts up..... Never going to Casa Blanca again.....

Seven times I threw up on Saturday. Seven. That is how sick it made me. I could have spent Saturday frolicking in the fields of Tokyo (lol what fields?) but I was sick in bed alllllllll day....

Not to mention, I lost my phone at Casa Blanca....

I didn't realize it until I got home :'( I had stupidly left it there and didn't even realize it! I even went back the next day looking for it but the workers there had no idea....

BUT! <3

On the brightside, it turns out my friend Nya had found my phone :'D You have no idea how happy I was when I heard that! Nya gave Lee my phone to give it to me today since I normally hang out with him. Only Lee wasn't at school today so I still don't have my phone ;P That ginger needs to get his little bum back to school so I can have Carl back! (I named my phone Carl...) but yayyyy! I was so worried that I had lost it or that it had gotten stolen....

I mean, my phone will stop working in two weeks. I wont be able to use it back in America... but I want to be able to reread my texts in the future <3 They hold so many memories!! It's something for me to have to look back on...^_^

But yeah <3 Like I said, super happy that Nya found it and that Lee has it! ^-^ Its not gone! yayyyy!

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So Saturday was full of me being sick and laying around the house....but Sunday made up for it ^_^ I went shopping with my host family! in Ikebukuro! We went to Labi (an electronic store) and I babysat the twinsies while mom and dad went shopping for a new washing machine. I played with toy robots with Taiga at Labi and then I stumbled across a Fairy Tail keychain dispenser (ﾉ´▽｀)ﾉ♪ I got Erza, Gray, and Juvia!! IM SO HAPPY!

Even in Japan, I'm all about my ships! <3 Gray and Juvia foreverrrrrrrr! ^_^

But after Labi, my host family decided they wanted to take me somewhere special <3 They asked me if I wanted to go to Odaiba to see the giant Gundam or go to Tokyo Tower ^_^ I decided to go with the Tokyo Tower since thats something I've wanted to do for a long time! Tokyo Tower is featured in many of my favorite series (Magic Knight Rayearth) and even Strange Candy! And Digimon! XD So I just HAD to see the Tokyo Tower before I left Japan <3

I'm so glad I did! ^_^ It was BEAUTIFUL! We had such a great time!

It was so cool in person! And even though I've done the Sky Tree twice, I've only seen the city lights of Tokyo at night. I had yet to see Tokyo from above during the day time! It was just so beautiful!!

I had an excellent view! I took a lot of great pictures, too! <3

After the Tokyo Tower, we came back home. On the drive back, I played with the kiddies in the backseat <3 Taiga had brought random cicada shells in the car and was trying to scare me with them...  So I ended up tickling the kids as they kept trying to scare me! Hahahaha!

I really do love those kids....I'm gonna miss them so much when I leave :( Ririka kept laying her head in my lap on the way back. They really do think of me as their big sister.... They're my little brother and sister too <3 It's gonna be so weird when I go back to America and they're not there...

But I'll deal with those sad feelings later.

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Today was pretty uneventful at school. I found out I made a 90 on a kanji quiz and I passed my last grammar quiz....Yay me <3 With only two weeks left of school, I need to bust my butt to make sure I can get a good grade in the class!! >_<;;

After school, I ended up hanging out with Brenna =w= We had girl-time today at Shinjuku station where we ate cake, Taiiyaki, and Takoyaki XD Hahahaha! Noms FTW!! It was so lovely! <3 We've really bonded since we came to Japan :) I'm so glad I'm gonna at least have her back in Alabama with me so we can hang out all the time! Everyone else lives so far away.....it's gonna be so hard saying good bye.... But I won't think about that yet <3

My favorite quote from the night?? "It was love at first....hair??" XD Hahahaha! I love making Brenna laugh! hahahaha!

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Well...that concludes last week's report! ^_^ For now, I gotta go to bed.... Only 11 days left.....why so soon?? There's still so much I wanna do....I still wanna spend time with people.... Oh, I pray that time stops for me. I want these moments to last forever...

But let's see what tomorrow brings. I still have 11 more days. A lot can happen in 11 days, right??

★ｏ☆Tokyo Disney Sea★ｏ☆

I made an entire blog post dedicated to my adventure in Tokyo Disney Land so now its time to write about Disney Sea! :D

For those of you that don't know, Disney Sea is a park that's only in Tokyo and its more of an adult-oriented theme park. The rides are more thrilling and the layout is more fancy than Tokyo Disneyland. It sorta made me think of Epcot but it was very unique!

I went with Maiko and Ko and we had the most absolute best time ever! <3 Maiko and I bought matching Minnie Mouse shirts that we changed into while we waited for Ko to get there! ^_^

The day started off great! Got to meet Goofy, Chip, and Dale right off the bat! And then we headed to Mermaid Lagoon--a part of Disney Sea that was dedicated entirely to The Little Mermaid! For those of you that don't know......The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie. By far. It beats out everything. I've seen it a million times. ITS MY FAVORITE!!!!!!! So for them to have an entire section of Disney Sea dedicated to Triton's Kingdom, I'm sure you can guess that I flipped out <3

It was decorated like it was under the ocean and it was filled with The Little Mermaid themed rides! The rides were mostly kiddy rides so we didn't ride anything in Mermaid Lagoon other than the roller coaster in the shape of a fish XD We did, however, get to see a performance called Under the Sea! Naturally, it was about Ariel's adventures!! It was the COOLEST show ever! It was the Little Mermaid but with trapeze artists!! Ariel was sooooo beautiful! All of the dialogue was in Japanese so I could only understand bits and pieces but all of the songs were in English ahahahaha. From what I understood, Ariel wanted to be a human (duh) and then Ursula shows up out of nowhere. Ursula wasn't a person but a GIANT robotic head that came out from the ceiling. The robot talked and sang and it was pretty freaking scary!! You could hear kids and babies crying hahahahaha! Unfortunately, I couldnt get any pictures because there was a rule about photography during the performance.... Well, according to the story, Ariel is about to sign Ursula's contact and then decides at the last minute that she doesn't want to give into Ursula and that being under the sea isn't so bad?? hahahaha! So they all sang Under the Sea and that was that! hahahaha! It was pretty neat though!

After the show, we played in Ariel's Playground where you got to walk through a little area that was supposed to represent the places Ariel went to. Like, they had Eric's ship and Ursula's cave. It was really cool!

After Mermaid Lagoon, we went to a part of Disney Sea that represented my second favorite Disney movie--Aladdin! Arabian Coast looked identical to Agrabah and it was SO cool!

At Arabian Coast, we rode Sinbad's Voyage or something like that.... It was a ride like "It's A Small World" but it told the tale of Sinbad and his crazy adventures. The music on the ride was actually really good XD I'm probably going to download the songs from the ride later! Like "Compass of Your Heart" hahahaha! It was a really cute ride!!

Let's see.....what happened next?? Oh yeah! After Sinbad, Ko and Maiko somehow convinced me to try out the Tower of Terror ^_^;;;; I'm a total wimp when it comes to big rides so I REALLY didn't want to ride it at first.... The fast passes were full up for Tower of Terror so we decided we would wait in line for an hour to ride it. That is, until the ride broke hahahaha! So we waited in line for maybe 45 minutes and then the people said to come back later. They gave us each a Priority Fast Pass ticket for any ride in the park (except Toy Story Mania ;A;) so we figured we would come back to Tower of Terror later <3 I was saved for the time being! hahahaha!

But then we realized it was time for Journey to the Center of the Earth--the biggest ride at the park.... I'll be honest. At first, I did NOT want to ride that ride at all. I mean, come on! It's a huge roller coaster!! Roller coasters are my LEAST favorite thing! But I gave into Ko and Maiko anyways.....Well, why not? They were both going and I wasnt going to wait outside alone! hahahaha!! Luckily, we had grabbed a Fast Pass for it earlier so we just hopped right in line!

But yeah, like I said I was REALLY scared at first! You ride in this little drill looking cart (A DRILL THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!!! or not hahaha! Sorry! Gurren Lagann reference!) and you....well, travel to the center of the Earth. Its really dark inside and there's all kinds of creatures. The ride starts out slow so you can get a good view of all the weird beings living in the center of the Earth. By this time, Maiko and I were flipping out. Well, you continue through the Earth's core and then BOOM! There's a giant monster alien thing that's freaking 20 feet tall and its roaring at you and getting up in your face! I totally screamed! The next thing you know, the ride speeds up and you're flying through a roller coaster. I screamed the whole time because I was anticipating a HUGE drop! But by the time it registered to me that I was rocketing through the tracks, the ride was over.... It was too quick!! XD It actually wasn't as scary as I thought! The drop was child's play ;P I had freaked out over nothing! (Even though I screamed the whole time...hahaha!) But you know what? It was a BLAST!! Definitely one of my favorite rides!!

After Journey to the Center of the Earth, we went back to Arabian Coast where we enjoyed some good ole Curry <3

We had a lot of time to kill before our next Fast Pass ride so we chilled and ate curry! ^_^ After curry, we walked around for a little while and even met the birds from the Three Caballeros!

And then it was doom time...We decided to try the Tower of Terror again because it was working. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN! I had never ridden Tower of Terror--even back in Florida! I was either too young or too afraid.... Well, we goofed around in line waiting. Even made some fun memories as I stole Ko's phone and took derpy pictures of myself on it! Hahahaha! I was sooooo nervous about riding the ride that goofing around with Maiko and Ko helped ease my nerves! (Like I said--I'm a scaredy cat!)

It turns out, the Tower of Terror isn't as horrible as I thought <3 (Once again!) I always thought the Tower of Terror was just one REALLY giant free fall! It turns out, it's about six or seven smaller drops going up and down. Oh, don't get me wrong--it definitely gave me butterflies in my stomach!! But I was screaming and laughing at the same time!! Ahahahaha! Tower of Terror was my favorite ride BY FAR!!! It was greeeeeat! <3 I'm so glad I did it!!!

After Tower of Terror, we did a ride called Storm Rider which was a storm motion simulator ride. My dad would have loved to go on that! It felt so real and was a little intense at some parts! hahaha! After Storm Rider, it was icecream! ^_^ And then after icecream, 2000 Leagues Under the Sea. I believe 2000 Leagues used to be in California's Disney Land but they had it in Disney Sea. It made you feel like you were in a submarine going under water and exploring the bottoms of the ocean. I was a complete idiot and asked Ko if we were really under water.... His response was "No comment". There were animatronic creatures and all kinds of cool statues and even a giant squid! It was a very detailed ride! Hahahaha! And totally NOT underwater....hahahaha!

By that point in the day, my feet were KILLING me! I kept needed to sit down and rest hahahaha! But I had walked all day Saturday at Disney Land and then did it again at Disney sea....my poor feet couldn't take much more hahaha. We went to the Magic Lamp Theatre next which was an Aladdin themed performance. I somewhat understood it despite it being COMPLETELY in Nihongo! I was pretty proud of myself!! I'm getting better at Japanese, maybe??

In Disney Sea, they also have Jasmine's Magic Carpet Ride which is kinda like the Dumbo ride but you ride on magic carpets. Just like in Disney World <3 It was so pretty riding at night!

After Jasmine's Magic Carpet Ride, we hurried to find a spot to watch the Fantasmic parade! This parade was actually on the water! We got a pretty good view of it and I even got some amazing pictures and video!! It was so beautiful!! It was all about how imagination is your biggest tool but imagination can sometimes get you into trouble! For example, Maleficent turned into a giant dragon that shot out flames! It was such a sight! I never cease to be amazed over Disney's creative innovations. It was so spectacular!

Just because the performance ended didn't mean the night was over yet! We still had our Fast Passes for the Indiana Jones ride so we did that next! It was a really fun ride that let you ride around in a jeep-like-coaster thing through Indiana Jones's world. You got to see dungeons, caves, and even almost get rolled over by a giant stone! hahaha! It was really cool! It was definitely a bumpy ride!

We were going to ride a roller coaster called Raging Spirits next....but I was feeling a bit sick... So I had to bail out on that one ^_^;; Instead, we decided to go shopping before the park closed! We went back to Mermaid Lagoon and I bought a few souvenirs to take back with me <3

Overall, Disney Sea was a complete BLAST!!! We got to ride soooo many rides and see so much!! The park was beautiful and I definitely had the time of my life! Ko and Maiko really are two of my closest friends so I'm glad I got to spend that day with them! We made so many fun memories and got to joke around with each other!

I'll be writing another blog very soon about what's happened since Disneyland and Disney Sea! I hope you all didn't get too bored reading about my adventures.... I'm mostly writing this blog so I can remember the very important details about how awesome my experience in Japan has been.

With only two weeks, let's see what else Japan can offer me!

★Tokyo Disney Jamboree!★

So I didn't call this blog Japisney for nothing! It's supposed to be a blog about my adventures in Japan and Disney! Well....I finally got to the Disney part :3 Well, at least the Tokyo Disney part of my adventure!
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This weekend was one of the most magical times of my life!!! I'm 21 years old and Disney doesn't cease to bring sparkles and rainbows into my life!!

My friend Maiko and I decided to go to Tokyo Disneyland on Saturday. Unfortunately, I didn't get a super amount of sleep from the past few nights. So with only three hours of sleep from Friday night, I happily skipped onto Tokyo Disney at around 6 am on Saturday morning. Even so, I was so excited that the lack of sleep didnt faze me at all! hahahaha!

I found the train stop to Disney no problem! It was about a 35 minute commute which wasn't bad at all! It actually didn't hit me that I was going to Disney until I stepped out of the train and heard one of my favorite jingles playing on the train.

"Zippidee do daa! Zippidee day!"

When I heard that, my heart started beating like crazy!! I actually almost got a little teary eyed when I heard the music just from being overwhelmed with happiness! XD But I'm a sap like that....

However, once Cinderella's castle came into view, I almost had a heart attack! XD Hahahahha! It was just so pretty! I couldn't contain my excitement!!

I was so happy once I found Maiko!! We bought our tickets (only $100 for a two day pass! Thats SOOOO cheap compared to Florida ticket prices!) We hopped in line and waited for the park to open as we chatted away about how excited we were <3

Right when we got into the park, we saw Mickey Mouse from afar!! He was taking pictures with other people so we didnt get a chance to get a picture with him....but it was so nice seeing him ^__^

I have to admit! The Tokyo Disneyland park was BEAUTIFUL! I was really taken back! It was a lot different than the one back in Florida! It had a lot of the same rides that we have but it had a few that we don't ;) It was definitely an experience!!

I had heard rumors about how crowded Tokyo Disney is to the point where lines are horrible and you have to wait FOREVER to ride anything. Well, right off the bat Maiko and I went to grab some Fast Passes so we could ride the more popular rides with out having to wait in line. We grabbed a pass for Thunder Mountain first before heading to ride some of the smaller rides.

We started out riding Peter Pan's Flight. Thats always been one of my favorites since I adore Peter Pan! It was so cool riding it and listening to the Japanese audio <3 Ride wise, it was about the same as the one in America :) Next, we rode Snow White's Adventures. Now this ride was COMPLETELY different than the one in Walt Disney World! However, it still freaked me out.... Hahahaha! I remember being petrified of this ride as a kid! I remember I closed my eyes on the ride every single time I rode it until I was in high school and I rode it with Ricey when we went on my 18th birthday! But...even though Im 21, I still got unnerved riding it when the animatronic witch got up in my face and when the gator logs came right up to the cart! hahahaha! However, the japanese ride doesn't have a happy ending where Snow White gets kissed by the prince. Instead the ride ends with the witch trying to throw the boulder on you! hahaha! I was surprised!

After Snow White, we rode Pinnochio's Daring Journey! This is a ride we don't have in America!! It's like the Snow White and Peter Pan ride but you get to travel through the world of Pinnochio! ^_^ It was really cute and kinda cool! Until Monstro showed up and scared the nibblets outta me...

"It's A Small World" came after Pinocchio! And then Maiko and I saw Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder! ^____^ They were so perfect! It was funny because they were Americans! hahahah!

We then rode Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion! ^__^ It was so much fun! The Haunted Mansion was very similar to the one in Walt Disney World! Only a few minor changes like the bride in the attic and stuff...

Oh! But Tokyo Disney had a Rodger Rabbit ride!! I was so excited!! I'm a big fan of Jessica Rabbit so I was very excited to ride this!!

It was a very fun ride with a lot of twists and turns!! I really loved the layout of it! We had to wait in line for it for awhile but it was definitely worth it!! Oh, but before Rodger Rabbit, Maiko and I met Goofy and Pluto (GOOBY PLZ!) and got our picture taken with them!! I was so excited!! I love Disney characters <3

Splash Mountain came next--one of my favorite Disney classic rides!! All the songs were in Japanese but it was still so cool hearing Briar Rabbit sing my favorite tunes in Nihongo! <3 Of course, the ride made me very nervous since I hate big drops! It didn't help that the ride was messing up a little too and all the logs were jamming up together....Luckily, they stopped jamming them as people went down the slope....that could have been dangerous >_<;;;

I started feeling a little sick after Splash Mountain because I was getting really hungry....The Stich icecream cone I had had earlier just didn't satisfy my tummy! hahahaha! We ate in Tomorrow Land where we had yummy burgers! ^_^ It was so lovely!  Oh, and we got to meet Angel (Stitch's girlfriend) inside Tomorrow Land! She was so cute! <3

We grabbed a Fast Pass for Space Mountain and then tried to find the Monster's Inc. show! Unfortunately the Monsters Inc. comedy show was temporarily closed so we couldn't ride it....We did, however, head to Pirates of the Caribbean ;D Along the way, we happened to see a bunch of pirates performing on the street with trumpets and drums! It was so much fun! <3

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was similar yet different compared to Disney World's. The entrance was a bit different but once you got down into the ride, it was rather identical. The audio was completely in English and it made me VERY nostalgic XD I loved seeing Jack Sparrow's animatronic though! He looks so life-like! <3 hee hee!

After Pirates, I got to take a picture by the man I look up to most--Walt Disney!

After that, it was time for a good ole' Philhar Magic show ;D  Philhar Magic is basically a 3D movie experience about Donald visiting different Disney worlds through Mickey's hat. There's something about this show that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Probably because it plays songs from top favorite Disney movies-- Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Peter Pan, and of course, the Little Mermaid!! I actually got a little teary eyed while watching it because I got moved so much ^__^;;; Yep. I'm a sap. I'm not going to be working for Disney for nothing XD hahahahaha!

After Philhar Magic, Maiko and I got to take a tour of the Cinderella castle and got to see a lot of Cinderella goodies! We got a lot of cute pictures and even got to see some beautiful Cinderella paintings! It was so beautiful! <3 I wonder if I'll ever have a fairy tale ending like Cinderella? ♪ヽ( ⌒o⌒)人(⌒-⌒ )v ♪

 After the castle tour, we got to see a fantastic parade! ^___^ It was SOOOO cool!! There were so many floats!! But my camera was running low on battery so I couldn't film the entire thing.... But I think Maiko got some good pictures and videos of the parade so Ill have those to keep later ^__^

After the parade, we got to meet Snow White and the mice from Cinderella ^_^ We got some super kawaii pictures!! Oh, but Snow White didn't know Japanese and a bunch of Japanese people bombarded her, wanting pictures and autographs so we didn't get to talk to her for very long! I still wish I was princess at Disney World...

The rest of the day went by pretty fast.... We got to re-ride some other dies and I even went on Space Mountain (which was a first for me!) I was super nervous about riding it since I'm not a huge fan of roller coasters....but once I did, I was super happy! ^_^ It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Like, there weren't many drops and stuff hahahaha!

At some point, we just kept re-riding rides and even went into Minnie's House! ^_^ The crowds really weren't all that bad! I remember my host mom said that the last time she went and took the kids, they only got to ride three rides.... At the end of the day, Maiko and I rode about 17 XD hahahaha! No lie! It was so amazing!! I got to ride everything I wanted to! ^_^

We ended the day with watching the electric light parade and then watching the dance show at the Cinderella castle. The light parade was spectacular (of course <3) and I even got to see some of my favorite characters!

The show at the castle was a lot of fun, too! But it was more of a water show then a fireworks show....Maiko and I got SOAKED XD They kept shooting out water and drenched the crowd! It was a very different show then the one they normally have in Disney World but I was very happy!!

The day officially ended once we rode Pooh's Honey Hunt--yet another ride we don't have in America. It was one of my favorite's and it was a lot of fun! You got to ride in a honey jar and explore the world of Winnie the Pooh! So cute <3

So in short, my day at Tokyo Disneyland with Maiko was a PERFECT day!! We were there from opening until closing! Hahahaha! We walked around for 13 hours! We got to do and see so much! It was definitely a day that I'll never forget!!

Im sorry if I kind of bored you all just talking about the rides and the play-by-play of everything....This blog that I wrote tonight was mostly for me to read in a few years from now when I want to remember all that happened at Tokyo Disney. Not many people can say they've been to Tokyo Disney and I eventually plan to visit EVERY single disney park in the whole world!! ^_^

Its about 1 am right now so I'll write about Tokyo Disney Sea tomorrow ;D Once again, I'm sorry if you got bored reading about all of this.....I promise I wont make my next blogs after Disney be a complete play-by-play! I'll even touch this one up later to not make it so boring for everyone! hahahaha!

Until next time....<3

✿ฺ㋛✿~Never Wanting to Leave~✿ฺ㋛✿

26 days left. The more I'm here, the more I never want to leave. Can I really do it all in 26 days??

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I'm still having the time of my life here in Japan! This weekend was very special, too! I was supposed to do Odaiba this weekend but instead I went to the Sky Tree with Lee on Saturday and then Harajuku on Sunday with Kitty and Adrian :) Ahhhhhhh so much fun times!!

Of course, doing the Sky Tree for the second time was just as awesome as going the first time. I never get tired of looking out in the city lights of Tokyo! Going in the evening time is perfect because you can see all the fun and dazzling sparkly lights! hahahaha! I also got to buy some Sky Tree post cards to send to my lovelies back home~~<3

Saturday went by wayyyyyyyy too fast.....Why couldnt it have lasted a little bit longer?? I need my weekends to go by slow so I can enjoy them and bask in them XD

But Sunday was a fun time with Kitty and Adrian XD Got to have a spectacular time shopping with two crazy ladies!! They literally killed me! We went into the equivalent of a Japanese fashion thrift store. Got to see a lot of cool stuff! Except for a dress that was made out of five dress shirts buttoned together to make one hot mess.

They had the sleeves and pockets and everything on it!! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a random piece of clothing in my entire life! hahahaha! I love Harajuku...<3

After shopping, we went into a dessert store that was a lot like Yogurt Mountain where you mix and match your own dessert <3  I chose ice cream with lots of yummy treats inside!  SO DELICIOUS!

After Harajuku, I came home to be tackled by a very enthusiastic Taiga who wanted me to play a board game with him. Gosh, these kids are just too darn cute.... I was really exhausted and wasn't feeling well but I just couldn't say no to Taiga's adorable face <3

After the board game, I started feeling REALLY sick and checked my temperature--100.9 (*´Д｀)=з How did I let myself get that sick?! I did have a headache most of the day but to have a  fever.....bah!! Luckily, I'm feeling much better and I was able to break my fever for the most part. So I think I'll be okay!

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So far, I'm having the BEST time ever in Japan! I've already seen and done so much but there's still a few things I really wanna do!

• Odaiba!
• Tokyo Disney Land and Tokyo Disney Sea
• See Maiko ^0^
• Karaoke AGAIN! 
• Cat cafe!
• NANA cafe!
• Go to Akihabara on a Sunday IN COSPLAY!
• Get Rise cosplay pics at the Purikura in Akiba that lets you rent cosplays for free <3
• maybe an onsen again! ^_^
• max out social links with everyone! I think everyone is about 6 or 7....I need to reach 10 so a mysterious voice will ring in my head and tell me that I have made an unbreakable bond ;A; (Persona reference hahahaha)
• Maid cafe!
• Tokyo Tower
• Buy a bumload of souvenirs!
• Dance cluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuub! <3
• More Izakaya-ing <3

Hm...I'm sure there's a lot more to add to my list >~<;; But I hope I have enough time to do all of that stuff....*le sigh* 2 months just wasn't enough time...But if I stayed any longer, then I wouldn't be able to go to Disney and I would probably run out of money very quickly :( Tokyo is just so darn expensive!

But a lot can happen in 26 days. I just gotta keep my chin up and have the best darn'd time of my life!! LETS DO THIS! <3

☆Another Day in Japan☆

Time keeps passing like the speed of lightning. When will it slow down? ;A;

This week was a lot of fun! ^_^ I got to do some things I'd never really imagine that I'd do..... Like going on a huge farris wheel!! I went to go visit my friend's dorm in Kasai a few days ago and right next to their dorm is a HUGE farris wheel!! And I got to even go on it! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO incredible!!!

The farris wheel was GIGANTIC!! We went in the evening so you got to see all the beautiful lights and stuff from Tokyo! And....I EVEN GOT TO SEE THE DISNEY CASTLE FROM THE FARRIS WHEEL! It was the most exciting thing ever!!! I got to see the Tokyo Disney castle change colors and I even got to see some fireworks!! It was so beautiful!! Ahhhhhhh Disney, how I love you so much! <3

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For some reason, this week just seemed to fly by. I'm really having a hard time focusing in class because there's so much I want to go out and do and so much I want to see!! I don't want to spend all my time in class! hahaha! I need to keep studying hard though so I can make a good grade...

I'm happy to say that I've finally eaten at a ramen shop and I finally had some Taiyaki ^_^ Im REALLY loving the food here! And of course, my host mom is the best cook ever!  I also went to an Okonomiyaki place in honor of Ricey Gomez! hahahaha! Only, I didn't order Okonomiyaki since the menu confused me.... Instead, I ordered something called Teppengaki? Teppenyaki? Tengaki? Shoot, I don't remember. Either way, it was a 7$ meal consisting only of two pieces of scallops and a tomato. I tried explaining to the waiter that I messed up my order since I thought I was ordering okonomiyaki but I guess he didn't understand my Japanese and he didn't know any English.....so I just ate it and dealt with it hahahaha.

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Last night, I had a cooking class after school that taught us how to make curry!! It was SOOOO exciting! I'm a terrible cook so I really enjoyed learning how to make stuff!! The whole deal was that some people from KCP got to take the class by using a lottery since a lot of people wanted to take it. I was one of the lucky participants! YAY!

We got to meet with a bunch of Japanese students who cooked with us as a part of the class. It was so great! The girl in my group was named Tomoko and she was super sweet! I only wish I knew more Japanese.....I keep feeling so stupid compared to everyone since my Japanese is below average Y_Y;; I'm hoping things will change soon and I'll become super pro at it!! I can't give up just yet! <3

After a long time of cooking and preparing the food (I GOT TO CUT VEGETABLES WITH A SHARP KNIFE AND I DIDNT CUT MYSELF! YAY ME!), we made some delicious spicy curry! It was....really REALLY spicy to me! But I wanted to eat it anyways since I helped prepare it!! It was probably super delicious thanks to Lee's awesome cooking skills since I'm severely lacking them Y_Y;; I am a disgrace to the female species...


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Today, I'm trying to make plans with a friend to see the Sky Tree again :) I can't wait!! And maybe tomorrow, Odaiba?? I really want to go!! I want to see the huge Gundam and the beach and the shopping district! And the everything! Hahahahaha!! Well, maybe I can write more later.... I'm just VERY anxious to see what exciting things await me tonight and tomorrow!! Who knows what'll happen? ^_^

♡1 Month Left♡

So it's official. I have exactly one month left in Japan. Why does it feel like time has completely flown by? It seems like it was just yesterday that Brenna and I arrived in Japan on our flight.... And it feels like just yesterday that I started meeting all the awesome people that I know now even though it feels like I've known them forever ^_^;;; Am I even making sense? Ha ha!

So to start off my final month in Japan, I'm starting to make a list of things I've already done and things I want to do! But for now, I'll write about how awesome my weekend was!

I had a great time with Lee as we ate sushi at Tsukiji and then chilled at Akihabara!! I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm REALLLLLLLLLLLLY starting to love raw fish! ha ha! For those of you who know me, you'd know that before I came to Japan, I'd never touch the pure raw stuff. But now? I'm totally loving it!! And Akihabara is always fun!! So overall, I had a blast with Lee ^_^ Can't wait to do it again!

Next off, my host family took me to....um....they took me to the countryside at some place whose name I completely forgot because I'm a derp. Either way, it was a quaint little town in the country side! Ha ha ha! It was about maybe 2 hours from Tokyo so I watched "My Neighbor Totoro" in the car with the kids until Taiga fell asleep on me ♡ We went to stay with Masae-san's parents so we could go to a Japanese festival Sunday evening.


Oh. My. Lawd.


EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING!!! I absolutely loved Masae-san's parents! Japanese old people are sooooo much fun! They were so incredibly nice to me!! They were amazed that I knew Japanese (Even though I'm terrible...) and they kept wanting me to talk with them and what-not. They were so incredibly sweet! Oh, and their house was REALLY big! It was very traditional with tatami mats and a table you had to sit on the floor to eat on! It was so great!


When we first arrived to the country side, my host parents took me shopping while the grandparents stayed with the twins. We ate udon together which is definitely becoming my favorite dish! (I have to be careful not to get fat over it...) We then went to the mall and I found a REALLY cute skirt for 5$!! I also found a houndstooth skirt for about $7 and bought it mostly because I was just in shock that they actually had houndstooth in Japan. Ha ha! Annnnnnnnnnnd these skirts have been the only things I've been able to find that actually fit me....I hate being a fat American ha ha! 


After shopping, we went back to the house to get ready for the festival. I had bought a very cheap Yukata just for this occasion! It was about 12$ in total for the robe and the obi! VERY cheap! <3 But....I was kind of stupid and didn't realize just how complicated Yukata really are （。_°☆＼(- - ) バシっ！

It took Masae-san about an hour to get me fully dressed in my yukata ^_^'''' It was one of her first times at trying a bow on the yukata and it took us FOREVER to figure it out! Finally, we managed to get it securely on! But WOW those things are tight..... Like....really tight. I could barely breathe. But I didn't complain and I just sucked it up! Plus, I was in a YUKATA, after all!! How many Americans can say that they went to a traditional Japanese festival in a yukata?! Er....probably a lot but still!! Let me enjoy my moment! ha ha!

The festival was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lovely! Like....beyond expectations!! There were floats like in a parade and EVERYBODY was wearing a yukata! I got a lot of stares for being the only American at that festival....but I felt special <3 

But WOW the food was AMAZING! They had all kinds of booths and stuff! I was able to try Takoyaki for the first time and discovered that I really love octopus! (Once again, I bet my friends and family from home are all shocked...) It's just sooooo yummy!! I also had some yummy yakisoba!! Oh, and their cotton candy was fantabulous, too! AND THE OHAGI! Unfortunately, my obi was tied soooo tight that I couldn't eat very much.... 


The festival almost felt like a dream!! ^_^ The grandparents went with us and grandpa kept introducing me to all his friends and was doting on me for being able to speak Japanese.... I got a feeling that gramps really liked me which made me feel REALLY special! He bought ohagi especially for me since he knew I had never had it! Ahhhhhhh! He just wayyyyy too sweet!!


After the festival, I pretty much went back to the grandparents' home and crashed. I took a lot of pictures from the festival so I can't wait to upload them! (Ugh, I really need to get into the habit of uploading pics to my blog! Why am I so lazy??)


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Although the country side was beautiful, something happened at 5 in the morning that really gave me a HUGE scare. Another earthquake.


Okay, so I had already been in two earthquakes so you think I'd be okay with them by now. NOOOOOPE. This one literally almost made me scream. It was a Level 3 earthquake (which to my host family was considered VERY small, but to me, it was bigger than Texas) and I was dead asleep and it woke me right up. The whole house started shaking and rattling and even a few things fell off the shelves. I just threw the covers over my head, latched onto my Totoro plushie, and prayed for it to be over soon. It lasted for a full 45 seconds which may not seem very long but when it happened, it was the longest thing EVER!!! AHHHHH I wanted to cry!! They're just so scary!! 


This morning, my host family asked if I was okay. They seemed totally unfazed by it but they must have known it scared the living daylights out of me. They tried to reassure me that it didn't do any damage but I was still nervous ha ha!! (I'm sure my mom will be, too, when she reads it!) The earthquake wasn't terrible but I was still shaken up over it. (HA! Get it?! 'Shaken up'?! HA! Pun DEFINITELY intended!) 


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So this morning, my host family decided they wanted to take me to a place called Nikko （　・∀・） You should definitely look it up! It's a very historical and touristy place in the country side! I got to even go up a mountain by climbing 200 hundred steps XD It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO cool! I got to see all kinds of shrines and temples!! I even got to see Tokugawa Ieyasu's grave!!!!!! (*゜Д゜*) IT. WAS. SO. COOOOOOOL!!!

Not to mention, I got to eat udon again! <3 (Totally gonna get fat here...)


But ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Nikko was just so amazing!! I got to learn a lot more about Japanese history and culture! ^_^ Not to mention, I got to pray A TON at the shrines! (To Jesus, of course! ♡ I wouldn't dream of praying to anyone else!) 

I have to admit.... There was only one wish I could think of when I was at the shrines. I kept praying for the same thing throughout the day.

A great experience and no regrets.

Like I said, I have only one month left in Japan. I have to make the most of it!! I can't dawdle around and wish for something exciting to happen--I have to MAKE it happen! I don't want to come home wishing that I had done this, or seen that, or talked to so-and-so....I just want to go for it! ♡ I want to say that I did exactly everything that I wanted to do while I was in Japan. I really don't want to come home with any regrets..... So I want to have great opportunities and great experiences during my final month in Japan!! ^_^ No more holding back! 

After sightseeing in Nikko, the twins were getting a bit tired so we decided to eat lunch and head out.... That is, until my host dad suggested we go to....

AN ONSEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (*≧▽≦)

For those of you that don't know, an onsen is a hot spring ^_^ Like, a very hot bath outdoors. So for 500 yen (about 5$), my host family took me to a delightful onsen :'D

And I must say....

I have never seen so many naked asians in my entire life. (ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)

I mean, I don't know why I was so surprised. I knew that at Japanese hot springs, you're basically bathing in a big open air bath with other members of the same sex. But....it was so awkward at first. But mostly because of all the stares I kept getting ^_^;;; Am I really /that/ different from Japanese girls? .........yes. Yes I am. A lot.

I was a little shy at first because all the women (young and old) kept looking me up and down like I was some kind of mutant but I quickly brushed it off once I got into the relaxing bath <3 The bath at this onsen was both outdoors and indoors. It got REALLY hot really quickly--especially in the summer time!! But it was soooooooo relaxing! It was like a giant bathtub! Or like...a giant heated pool! And they even had a jacuzzi! Ahhhhh it was PURE heaven!!   My skin felt so soft afterwards! It was almost like a spa!! 

After the onsen, we decided to head on back to Tokyo. It was about a 3 hour drive from Nikko so I ended up sleeping most of the way with Taiga resting his head on my shoulder, snoring like there was no tomorrow...<3 So cute!

I'm REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY loving my host family!! If I was in a Persona game, I would say that my social link with them has reached Level 7!! Hahahaha! I feel like we're getting really close!! I love talking with them even if all I can do is basic Japanese! They make me feel much more confident in my speaking skills! Ha ha! I feel so blessed to have them....

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In any case, I better stop this blog right here for tonight! I'm SOOOOOOO exhausted from all the excitement from this weekend! With only one month left, I wonder what kinds of adventures still await me?? 
ﾎﾟｯ(*ﾟ.ﾟ)(ﾟ.ﾟ*)ﾎﾟｯ I guess I just have to find out!! Also, I'm sooooo sorry about being so lazy when it comes to uploading pictures.... I promise I'll get some up and decorate my blog more!! I'll also upload them all to Photobucket so I can share my memories with the world and not just my close friends on FB! <3 

Until next time.....<3