so i posted a blog a few months back about how i get stared at because i'm white. they still stare. and i didn't notice it for a long time until this week.

in america, we don't stare at someone of a different race. well, in hudsonville people do, but that's a different story. but if you go to new york, no one stares at you because you're white, black, asian, hispanic... because the US is such a heterogenius country. but Japan is not. so... if you're not japanese, they stare.

yesterday i was on the train and across from me was this little junior high/high school boy. every time i looked up i could see out of the corner of my eye he was staring at me. not just staring, glaring. like a "why are you in my country" kind of look. i've gotten that look from old people before, but never someone so young. freaked me out.

oh well, right? i chose to come to a society where everyone is 93% the same race.

on a brighter note....

this candy lipstick i'm eating right now is really good.

i pierced my ear yesterday. in japan, you either do it yourself or you go to a hospital.... so i did it myself. actually, my friend did... but it's done!

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holy crap krystle... what the frick am i getting myself into? i don't know i don't know i don't know

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going home again next wednesday! my dad bought new placemats for the kitchen table and lamps for the four seasons porch downstairs for yoshi. i think that's funny.

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i have to go christmas shopping. i think ill do that monday. or tuesday. but i really want to do something before i go home.... like something fun. we never do anything. seriously. it's always the same thing and i want to get out. i feel like i'm not experiencing anything here. let's get off our asses and do something before michigan, ok?

*******

home next wednesday! one week!

hey!

so....... i made it back okay :) i'm tired as what... but that's to be expected.

disappointed in some people.... but really glad i got to see you guys! i'm sad i didn't see leigh :( 4 weeks from today i'll be back dear! i'll see you then! and hopefully by then you will be mono-free!

speaking of next month.....

MY FRIENDS FROM JAPAN ARE COMING!!!!

no lie

yoshi, kyoko and erika are coming to my house december 13 - 21ish!!!!

yay!!!!!!!!!!

i'm so excited!

you all have to meet them :)

yay!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT. so i just wrote this rediculously long blog and hit the cancel button instead of the preview one. i'm so pissed.

but, for your sake, i will try and re-write it.

see, the reason why i hit the cancel button is because myspace just launched myspace japan. so now everything is in japanese. the buttons for cancel and preview included. but i suppose this isn't really an excuse, because i can totally read that they say cancel and preview. i'm a dumbshit. BUT myspace........ you really fricked up my blog. eh... it's good for me to have everything in japanese. more practice.

so i come home in 4 days. that's november 7. not next weekend. not this weekend. NOVEMBER 7-13. no more confusion. that's a tuesday night. i get in at like 11pm.... so i'm not hanging out with you then. but wednesday and thursday are pretty much open. friday during the day i'm busy with my sister setting up the rooms for the wedding. i can probably hang out on friday night, but i'm not sure yet... depends on what time the "rehersal dinner" is done and we're finished setting up. saturday is a no-go. set-up, wedding and reception. it might go kind of late, so i can't really hang out at night. sunday i leave at 10:30am...... so i can't hang out then either. but you've got me for a couple of days. just don't be pissed at me if we don't get to hang out a lot... .i'm coming home for the wedding, not to socialize. BUT i do want to see you :) and if i don't for some reason, i'll be back again for christmas in 4 weeks. we'll all be okay.

beth, if you have the time/energy, i want to PAY you for a massage :) you're the only one that can fix me right now.

krystle, you and i will destroy lives. we know how to do it, and we do it well. watch out michigan.

jillian, i have a feeling we will take many pictures. and of those many pictures, at least 1 will be at the smoking pit, since i've only smoked like 2 times here.

leigh, you and you're swollen spleen will eat my japanese cooking. and you will like it. because we like asian food.

cassie, please make time in your busy schedule to see me. we haven't talked much since i left and i miss the shit outta you.

as for the rest of you...... call me. you know my number.

AND everyone leave me a voicemail or text message for me to read during my 3 layovers on tuesday. they're gonna be a bitch.

CAN'T WAIT.

see you tuesday!

so i have a lot to say.

but i'll keep it short this time.

i have a new favorite song. the ramen song. ramen 3 minutes cooking.

miso. shoyu. tototototototonkatsu shiyo ramen.

and i love my friends here. so so much. i never thought i would have made such awesome friends in a city so impersonal and so big as tokyo. coming here i thought that they would be kind of cold and not really care, but it was totally the opposite. since the day i first stepped foot onto LCJ's 9th floor i have had nothing but awesomeness happen. without them i would have transitioned so much worse. because of them i have easilly transitioned and settled in here without problems. i don't have to worry about what i'm going to do tonight or this weekend because everyone's always more than willing to go out. and i never get stood up. and i feel like i can be myself more than i could with my friends in america that i have known since middle school. i feel like when i came here i had to prove to everyone that americans arent loud and obnoxious and have manners... so i thought i had to be quiet, which wouldn't be a problem because i am naturally pretty quite... or so i thought. i have never talked this much or gone out this much in my life. i love it. i feel like at my school in michigan everyone is so cold and no one gives a shit about you, only themselves, but here it's totally the opposite. i love it. so so so much.

so to sum it up, i like rediculous japanese pop songs about instant ramen noodles, and i love my friends.

i'm serious. so, so serious. you don't even know how serious i am right now.

ever since i got here, i've been stared at walking down the street. on the bus. on the train. in class. at home. in coffee shops. in the line at the bathroom. at the station. everywhere. it kind of bothered me at first. i could pick out all the people who were staring at me. but they never look away after i catch them. honestly.

yesterday i think i got to the point that i don't even realize it anymore. kyoko told me people were staring at me, but i didn't even realize it.

i realize i don't look like them, and that i look funny. i even had someone have the nerve to tell me that the only reason i have friends at my school is because i look different, and people want to be seen with me (although i'm pretty sure that's not true). that's how much emphasis some people here put on race.

i'm not discriminated against. i'm not hated. i'm not looked down upon. i'm just stared at. it's like i came to a foreign country where everyone looks the same and i look the opposite. oh wait, yeah... yeah that's what's happening. different example. it's like you walk into a room where everyone is wearing white, and you're wearing red. all eyes are on you because you're the odd one out, and you don't look like you belong, even though you have the same feelings and capabilities as everyone else.

i'm not complaining, i'm just telling it like it is.

i miss you guys back home!

i miss collaborating with krystle on how to ruin people's lives

i miss late night talks and drives with cassie

i miss beth's support and funnyness

i miss josh's humor.

i miss leigh's personality.

i miss jillian's dances.

i miss sarah's stupid laugh.

and miss everyone else too, i just don't have the time to sit down and write how much i miss you.

but i love my friends here. i love getting to know new people... kyoko, erika, yoshi and jc especially lately.

and i love maki. i missed her so much. and i love that she likes my friends so we can hang out even more.

i miss my bed. i miss my house. i miss my sister. i miss my dad. i miss taco bell. i miss cooking out. i miss the beach. i miss my car. i miss driving wherever whenever with whoever. i really miss my car. a lot.

but i love it here. so much. i've been here 5 weeks now and it seems like it's only started, yet it seems like i've been here forever.

i love this house. i love this family. i love my friends. i love my school. i LOVE the food. i love the city. i love the atmosphere. i love the language. i love the shopping. i hate the bus... but i love the train. i love walking around everywhere. i love izakayas :) i love friday nights. i love going out with my friends after school every day, even if it's just walking to the station, or getting something to eat and going home. i love the 9th floor. i love sleeping wherever whenever.

i will stay 2 semesters. i think it's right.

i will miss you all like crazy!

BUT!

i will be home november 7 for a week!! that's 7 weeks away!

see you then.

Pretty sure that I'm on my way to Japan.

I'll get there Tokyo time at 5pm, so Michigan time 4am Thursday morning. I'll take the shuttle to my hotel. Friday morning I'll take the shuttle back to the airport and get on a bus to Tachikawa (for 3 hours...) to meet Maki! Then I'll be at her house until the 29th, when I move into my host family's house. The 31st I have orientation.

Now I'm pretty sure I'm freaking out.

why does airfare have to be so expensive?

so i'm coming back for a weekend in november for my sister's wedding! nov 7-12 ill be here! then it's back to Tokyo :)

NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I BEEN SO STRESSED OUT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HASN'T EVEN HAPPENED YET.

had someone told me to come to Japan on a certain date, i fricken would have bought the ticket for that date. but since no one said anything, i bought the ticket for when I wanted to come. that CLEARLY was a bad choice.

so after much chaotic confusion, i will still be flying out the 23rd, arriving the 24th, and instead of taking the train, i'll take the limousine bus (don't get any ideas, they're not comfortable and its a 3 hour ride) to get to Maki's house.

no train. no hotel. no next day baggage delivery. no more waiting to hear from this person or that person. Maki and i settled it in 5 minutes. i will hop on to a bus around 6, meet Maki at 9, and stay there until Tuesday the 29th.

never in my life.