besties at play

so its been a while since ive written (or maybe it just feels that way). i have been on a whirlwind the last few weeks. jennifer came to stay with me after she escaped the mountain. =) her job was absolutely terrible though and i am so glad she was able to leave that place... and so now she is with me.... at least until thursday. on thursday she is heading back to kyoto to start a new job at a macha cafe. macha is green tea, so a green tea cafe. =) i am super excited for her... and it looks like she has an apartment lined up when she gets there. things are finally looking up for her and i am really hopeful that she will finally get to experience the japan that i experience.

that brings me to another thought. i was slightly hesitant to move into a new apartment with very little knowledge of who i would be staying with, etc., but after having jennifer here with me the last ten days, i know i am going to be sooooo bored when she leaves. thus i have decided to move. i am going to put in my notice just as soon as she leaves. i am looking forward to the change. its time i had a roommate anyway. =)

like i said, the last ten days or so have been quite exciting! ive been all over random places in nagoya with mandy and jennifer! last tuesday i made kabocha soup and had mandy over for dinner. then i had a random knock at my door. seems bruce (the landlord) told one of the new girls that i lived in the same building and she came to say hello. of course we fed her and gave her some pointers about the city and such. it was really a nice dinner. my kabocha soup recipe is getting better too!

i also got a fantastic care package from my step sister christi! its my second care package to date and it was filled with all sorts of chips and crackers! i am soooo happy. hehe.

i also got a copy of the ultrasound showing my new nephews face. ^_^

otherwise, the end of the year is approaching and next year is just around the corner. i have my new schedule, new classes, and a whole slew of things on my to-do list for spring. i feel so lucky to have so many awesome things happening right now...

today was lunch date round two, with jennifer. we really had a lot of fun... dinner was about 2.5 hours again and we chatted and spent a lot of time discussing random finer points of language. after lunch jennifer and i went to take purikura.

i have some friends who really bring out the child in me. they allow me to relax and not be so uptight. i dont have many of these friends because i can only relax when i feel completely at peace with someone and if i feel completely assured of his/her competence. jennifer is one of those people. when i think about it, its probably one of the highest compliments i can give someone (because as everyone knows, i am a stress case usually!). =) this is the other shot:

after lunch, jennifer and i went to a PRINCESS CAFE! only in japan do they have such a thing... you go in, pay for lunch/dessert and dress up like a princess. ^_^ it was soooo much fun! of course, here are a couple of pictures for you to see!

and this one:

man, it really was the perfect way to spend the day... it was pretty much a fantastic day. =) oooooo! we also went and had pho! it was sooo good! slightly different from pho in america... which is still the best ive had, but it was good nonetheless. they didnt have siracha which was a bit annoying... but it was pho, and it was good... and it was cheap and relatively close by. ^_^

i also met the newest members of ecc, 7 guys. eeeek. it was funny because usually my friends are male... but upon walking into this training room filled with testosterone, i felt quite out of place. also, just being here for a while you start to blend in with japanese culture... these guys felt SO WESTERN! it was an initial bit of culture shock for me. but theyre all super nice guys and after the initial bit of shock, i was able to mingle a bit more and get comfortable with them. i think theyll all do well here. itll be interesting to see how much they "blend" with time.

saturday is mandys birthday. we have tickets to go and see MARS from the observatory on saturday! i really hope the sky is clear... the weather is so bi-polar here! today it was nice and sunny... and warm even... but the forecast calls for heavy rain tomorrow. lame. i guess this is what the rest of the world calls "spring." i wonder if i will ever not miss california weather... its sooooo beautifu1! lol. side note, you know the song "save me san francisco" from train? i used to think that song would make me feel homesick or nostalgic while i was here... and it does a little, but not in the way i thought it would. i am finally at peace with things. that is such a good/refreshing/new feeling and a relief.

alright, time to study some more japanese. i study every night now... uuugh. why am i not fluent already?! *grumbles*

also, must decide on golden week at some point... i am running out of time! only 5 weeks to go! eeeek!