King Kong, Natsuki-san, and Yamayaki...
It's been awhile! I apologize for slacking on the blog this past week. There really hasn't been a whole lot to write about lately, but now I've had a few days so I think it might be a bit less boring. Let's hope. :)
So last week I remember doing a few things. Casey and I went to see King Kong (I think on Tuesday). It was nice to get out and see another movie. This one was especially long and pretty expensive (about $27 after the conversion from Yen). I thought the special effects were really good, and when I saw Kong's face, many times it reminded me of Charley. I actually ended up crying at this movie- fairly rare for me, if you can believe it- but I think it was because I was thinking about missing Charley so much. That's pretty sad, actually. But it looked to everyone else like I was just crying because the movie was sad, so I didn't get many strange looks, for once. Okay I probably still did anyway. :P
Friday night Casey and I were treated to dinner by a student who worked in Dr. Kaneda's lab and did research that Casey helped work on last year as an REU. Casey never got to meet the guy until we went out with him on Friday night. A few other students from Dr. Kaneda's lab went with us. It was pretty fun, and nice to get out and see the lab members again. I hadn't really seen them since our 5 hour karaoke marathon. Still can't believe I did that...
Saturday, Natsuki-san and I met up in Umeda and went out for yogurt parfaits. We enjoyed talking and getting to know each other better, since we had met under the conditions of New Years Eve and didn't really get to talk that much. We found out that we have quite a bit in common. After about 2.5 hours of talking, we went shopping at Loft (a huge department store with like 7 or 8 floors, each floor having specific items like stationery, clothing, home items, etc.). There were a ton of sales going on so we went crazy. I got a pillow on sale because I have had a terrible time sleeping with my small feather pillow from the US that was pretty much worthless for support. Now I am sleeping better than I have in a long, long time (in Japan, at least). I also bought Casey some fuel for his coffee maker so he can finally get to use it. I bought a few other things, and am sort of longing to go back and enjoy the sales. I might drag Casey there sometime this week (because I tend not to shop compulsively when he is around- he's a good influence). Anyway, I had a blast with Natsuki-san, and I hope to go out with her again soon. She lives in Kobe, so we won't have as many chances to hang out, but we plan on doing so at least a few more times before I leave (two months from tomorrow!! Where is the time going?!?).
Yesterday, Casey and I went to Nara, to a festival called "Yamayaki". In our Lonely Planet: Japan book, it says the following: "This festival commemorates a feud many centuries ago between the monks of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji: Wakakusa-yama (the hill seen in the picture) is set alight at 6 p.m., with an accompanying display of fireworks." So that's what we saw. We got there super early so we could get a good seat. It was a good idea, but the few things we wish we would have done in the process are 1) bring a blanket and/or wear more pairs of socks, and 2) bring a tripod. Our pictures aren't terrific but you get the general idea. The fire wasn't as spectacular as the fireworks were! We tried to get as many pictures of those as possible, and some were pretty decent. You can see all of the pictures at photos.yahoo.com/lilbitfromks in the "Japan Trip 6: Nara- Yamayaki" album. There are also a bunch of pictures of Casey feeding the deer- they were pretty aggressive this time!! A few pictures should show them trying to jump up to get the food from Casey's hand. One even tried chewing on his coat since he wouldn't give it food immediately. Another ate food out of a little boy's hand, scaring him half to death. I guess the surprising thing was that the parents just let the deer take the food, and didn't try to shoo it away or anything. I guess as long as he wasn't hurting the kid, they didn't care? Who knows. So we had a good time and besides the cold, it was nice to enjoy something that so many people were a part of.
That brings us to today, where I plan to study Japanese, knit, do laundry, and maybe get my butt out of the apartment for awhile. Today is a holiday for people who are turning 20 this year- it is like a coming-of-age day. I may go out and see if I can find anyone in kimono or anything exciting going on. If so, of course I will try to get pictures, and write about it later. :)
-Ashley
So last week I remember doing a few things. Casey and I went to see King Kong (I think on Tuesday). It was nice to get out and see another movie. This one was especially long and pretty expensive (about $27 after the conversion from Yen). I thought the special effects were really good, and when I saw Kong's face, many times it reminded me of Charley. I actually ended up crying at this movie- fairly rare for me, if you can believe it- but I think it was because I was thinking about missing Charley so much. That's pretty sad, actually. But it looked to everyone else like I was just crying because the movie was sad, so I didn't get many strange looks, for once. Okay I probably still did anyway. :P
Friday night Casey and I were treated to dinner by a student who worked in Dr. Kaneda's lab and did research that Casey helped work on last year as an REU. Casey never got to meet the guy until we went out with him on Friday night. A few other students from Dr. Kaneda's lab went with us. It was pretty fun, and nice to get out and see the lab members again. I hadn't really seen them since our 5 hour karaoke marathon. Still can't believe I did that...
Saturday, Natsuki-san and I met up in Umeda and went out for yogurt parfaits. We enjoyed talking and getting to know each other better, since we had met under the conditions of New Years Eve and didn't really get to talk that much. We found out that we have quite a bit in common. After about 2.5 hours of talking, we went shopping at Loft (a huge department store with like 7 or 8 floors, each floor having specific items like stationery, clothing, home items, etc.). There were a ton of sales going on so we went crazy. I got a pillow on sale because I have had a terrible time sleeping with my small feather pillow from the US that was pretty much worthless for support. Now I am sleeping better than I have in a long, long time (in Japan, at least). I also bought Casey some fuel for his coffee maker so he can finally get to use it. I bought a few other things, and am sort of longing to go back and enjoy the sales. I might drag Casey there sometime this week (because I tend not to shop compulsively when he is around- he's a good influence). Anyway, I had a blast with Natsuki-san, and I hope to go out with her again soon. She lives in Kobe, so we won't have as many chances to hang out, but we plan on doing so at least a few more times before I leave (two months from tomorrow!! Where is the time going?!?).
Yesterday, Casey and I went to Nara, to a festival called "Yamayaki". In our Lonely Planet: Japan book, it says the following: "This festival commemorates a feud many centuries ago between the monks of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji: Wakakusa-yama (the hill seen in the picture) is set alight at 6 p.m., with an accompanying display of fireworks." So that's what we saw. We got there super early so we could get a good seat. It was a good idea, but the few things we wish we would have done in the process are 1) bring a blanket and/or wear more pairs of socks, and 2) bring a tripod. Our pictures aren't terrific but you get the general idea. The fire wasn't as spectacular as the fireworks were! We tried to get as many pictures of those as possible, and some were pretty decent. You can see all of the pictures at photos.yahoo.com/lilbitfromks in the "Japan Trip 6: Nara- Yamayaki" album. There are also a bunch of pictures of Casey feeding the deer- they were pretty aggressive this time!! A few pictures should show them trying to jump up to get the food from Casey's hand. One even tried chewing on his coat since he wouldn't give it food immediately. Another ate food out of a little boy's hand, scaring him half to death. I guess the surprising thing was that the parents just let the deer take the food, and didn't try to shoo it away or anything. I guess as long as he wasn't hurting the kid, they didn't care? Who knows. So we had a good time and besides the cold, it was nice to enjoy something that so many people were a part of.That brings us to today, where I plan to study Japanese, knit, do laundry, and maybe get my butt out of the apartment for awhile. Today is a holiday for people who are turning 20 this year- it is like a coming-of-age day. I may go out and see if I can find anyone in kimono or anything exciting going on. If so, of course I will try to get pictures, and write about it later. :)
-Ashley
posted by Ashley at 1/09/2006
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