So it has been a week already

Well, it has been a week since I come back from the Kyoto trip. (Is it the past weekend? I can never manage the date in Japan, it's hard to keep track of everyday.) 

First,  I will address the first question that Light emailed us. 

1. Have you observed the behavior of tourists or other students, such as talking too loudly, showing excessive courtesy, acting inappropriately familiar, swaggering, or bragging about their home culture, that you suspect covers fears of not belonging?  How do you react to and handle these feelings in yourself?

We have always been a bit loud wherever we go--On the bus, the street and other places that we go. But of course, we have always tried to keep it down while we talk. Since there is always a huge group of people, it's hard. No one has really been bragging about their home culture. As for the "fears of not beloning," we apparently don't belong, but there is no need to cover this. People can immediately tell that I am not Japanese when I start talking...this is kind of sad. I somewhat wish I can talk more fluently.

Anyways, the Japanese themselves can be rude and weird sometimes. Just like yesterday, I went shopping w/ Kathryn. In one of the clothing store, as I was browsing through some dresses, I accidently dropped one of the dresses on the hanger. Before I could pick it up myself, a Japanese middle-aged woman, looking in her 40s or maybe older, picked up the dress quickly and just started to stare at me w/ some scary eyes for I don't even know how long. I was thinking, "What the heck are you staring at??? you didn't even give me a chance to pick it up as you picked it up the the second it dropped." The Japanese are quite weird sometimes. Also, I don't think that lady owns the store, she was a customer herself. Isn't she a bit too nosy/caring about some random shop that she just so happened to step in? Oh well, I guess she might be at her menopause period. Let's all be forgiving toward others. Ok, I guess I should be more careful next time and pick up something I drop before it touches the floor. (I might as well join the circus if I have that talent.)

Ok, on a happier note, Kyoto trip! Well, actually, it was a bit disappointing b/c I didn't get to see as much as I would love to since we went as a group of 5 girls. Things go slower than usual w/ 5 people, and especially girls. So I didn't even get to see the Kyuumitu otera, which is one of the two most famous temples in Kyoto. What the heck. But we did get to see the Geisha district and some other places. And the night that we went to see the Geisha district on the mission of seeing some real Geisha, the other four girls decided to visit a host club. Seriously, what the heck? "oh, it's a once in a life time experience." Wow, they gave great excuse. So since the other four wanted to go, I didn't want to be the rat. So I just went along. Despite the fact that I wasn't too enthusiastic at first, I think the host club was an interesting experience. But I still don't understand the concept of why you would pay to talk to some random guy? Also, contrary to popular beliefs, most of the hosts at the host club were not good-looking. (Shocking? well, not really to me.)So it was quite a waste of money to have this "once in a life time experience." 

So the 2 and a half day trip ended before I saw all of the famous places. But at least I learn that five girls can not be in the same travel group together. 2 will be the best number, since it's easier to get what you want. So future PII-ers, have a smaller travel group. But I did have fun, like the time when the group of 10 people (we five plus other five people) hanged out at night and played some games. 

Also, at the beginning of this week, Stever sensei came visit! We two yale girls were so happy to see some familiar face! She took us out to restaurant and had some really really delicious Japanese food. We talked about this program and some other random topics. Sensei said that she was happy to see that our Japanese has improved...well, I don't know if that was true...

Anyways, I have come to realize that we only have 3 weeks left. Wow, so fast, really. The first week I was thinking, "I hope my host family will be able to endure 8 weeks of me." And now it has already been five weeks, and I feel very thankful for everything that my host okaasan has done for me. So I always buy her cakes/dessert whenever I get a chance, since she likes to eat sweet things.

Ok, I need to eat ramen, desert, soba, udon, sushi at a restaurant before I leave Japan. I actually haven't eaten out at Kanazawa often since I've been here.(only 2 or 3 times.) And come to think of it, everytime I ate out, it has always been a okonomiyaki shop. Hm...strange.