Tuesday 5/18: Yukata Shopping

We didnt have any cultural activities after class on Tuesday- since its the last week things are winding down. We practiced our final speeches in front of the class. Mine is on Japanese religion and I thought I did pretty well, especially considering all the complicated religious words. Our speeches can be about anything dealing with Japan, and some of the other students are talking about how much more efficient everything in Japan is, learning Japanese as a language, how convienient everything is, and Japanese people in general. It:s crazy to think were almost done! The four weeks have gone by fast here.

After chilling on the computer for a while I went in pursuit of a Yukata (simplified kimono). Everyone I had talked to had said that Yukattas were only about $30, and $30 for an obi. Alas, me being a tall oafish American once again put me at a disadvantage. The only yukatas that would go past my calves were the "Big and Tall" sizes, which cost about $100. However, I was intent on buying a yukata so i got it anyway- besides, its not every day that I get to go to Japan, so this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

One of the things I am looking forward to most when I go back to America is milk and cheese. Apparently some of the other host families drink milk, but mine never does, and you dont see milk as a drink at any restaurants. Also, I think cheese is kinda disliked here in Japan and expensive, so I havent seen anything with cheese. I was very excited a couple days ago when my host mom made a salad, and i saw white chunks amidst the lettuce. "Yay! Feta Cheese! I love feta" I thought, until I realized that it was in fact... tofu. Yes, the tasteless soy curd is big here, and they dont even flavor it! They just serve it in giant cubes... anyways, I will stop ranting.