Ready to Fly

Well my dear wonderful friends- It's time for a long put off update.
I mean...a REALLY long put off update >_<

And there have been so many exciting adventures, I don't know where to start.
But I have decided to try a new thing, and make this a picture blog! That way it will be more interesting. BECCA! Stand by- I have a special pictures for you!
Several weekends ago I stayed with my friend Fumi at her house in Kamakura. It was...amazing.

Fumi is by far my closest Japanese friend, and this weekend especially we talked a lot. (Sadly mostly in English. I know, I know...yabai.) However, I think there's something to be said for talking in English, but really becoming closer as friends rather than practicing Japanese. It's a whole part of the experience to be making close friends as well.


While we were at a Kamakura Temple I got a little Fortune thing (for those who have know me since middle school *cough* Christine *cough* think Felix's little trinkets he brought back from Japan. Mine was good luck, but in the language catergory, it said that my language skills are lacking. 分かったよ！！！　いつも～もっともっと勉強するべきた...
That evening we went to a viewpoint- It was kinda funny cause literally everyone else there was a couple- and we were just sitting there...giggling. But it really was pretty. I felt like I was in a Ghibli movie. like any moment the cat bus would climb the building and we would hop in, or suddenly I'd hear the clicking of the tree spirits heads.


The Following weekend...I walked. No really... I walked from 10pm at night to 6:30am, just because. I was with Cat and we were in my room, and I am like...bouncing off the walls with energy so I look at her and say "Can we go on a quick walk??" and...well...yeah. We walked all the way to Yokohama and back. That's 40km. I took a quick nap, called my parents and was ready for the next day!

We had a class fieldtrip to the earthquake center!
We had to go through Simulations that would definitely not be kosher in America. People were bruised and beaten after the earthquake one, after the fire one people were coughing up lungs (at least, I think it was a lung...) Yeah- But it was really fun! My Japanese teacher Mori is a sweetheart. I mean...I don't learn any Japanese from her, but...shes...cute. (NIIIIICK I MISS YOU)

Sadly...I don't remember the next several weekends adventures right now... but I know that I had wonderful times with my friends! Every day I do something fun and exciting just to make sure that I don't waste my time in Japan!

AH! I remember! Hanabata!


That's a huge festival in Japan, and I went, and it was super fun, and I became Charlies Angels with Sung Hoon and T!! Hahahaha, that was EXCELLENT! It was a lot of fun at the festival, I hung out primarily with Nascha, made friends with a whole bunch of Random Japanese people who all cheered for me as I valiantly played Rock Paper Scissors to try and win Nascha a free Sugared Plum! And it was pretty fantastic. She made me act like an American!

I WANT YOU!

We found a Kittaro face thing,

which was awesome. Then I ran into Sung Hoon, T and Han, and we merged groups and became and ultra powerful super fun group to end all other groups. Yeah. Beat that other groups at the festival! ;P

Oh my gosh.... so many memories are coming back now! I'm exploding with too much to write!!

Sometime during the festival when we were taking pictures T did a super hero pose, and then Sung Hoon asked me what I thought a funny pose was, and I just kinda saied Charlies Angels, and so he had me show him, and so we did the pose and it was all fun and silly!


Then later on Facebook we were talking and we decided to do the pose they do at the end of the trailer next time we were all together. So...enter the following weekend! ~~

The fourth of July! One of my personal favorite holidays, because it totally reminds me of my Granda Mary telling me about when I was a little kid and I didn't know when my birthday was Date wise, but I would tell everyone that it was "After the Fourth of July", in a very deep voice.

So We had a huge picnic on the 4th, and there was Frisbee! Which means that really.. I just played frisbee for hours and hours and hours. I also lit off a couple fireworks, but really, the frisbee had my heart. I think I taught about... 15 people how to throw a frisbee. Because all the Japanese and Korean people just don't play frisbee. God that was amazingly fun... and after a little bit it started pouring down ran. Like...terenchall downpour. So Me and Mike continued to play frisbee. Alex joined us for awhile, but then he decided to go hit on girls instead. So that left Mike and I throwing it back and forth and running and sliding and colliding. It reminded me of home so much! Oh! We also took the 2nd Charlies angel picture!

And decided on the 3rd pose (but we haven't done it yet!)

Then I saw someone get hit by a car and it was a really bad hit. There was blood, and he was almost knocked out. Dad- You would have been proud how fast I was on the scene. I had to stop people from moving him (his back was hit by the car, so I figured it was defnitely a bad idea, and there was plenty of room for the cars to get around!) I was the Foriegner who's Japanese sucks, but I can do the basic questions to check memory and that kinda thing. He hit his head pretty hard, but it seemed to be in working order. (OKay, here's the really really dark humor here: He lost his shoes. My inner Dane Cook fan was laughing) I've never seen Nascha so scared in my life. She froze pretty hardcore. She was very shocked.

Oh! Random Story! So- My friend Marie and I were talking, and all the sudden we realize were both from WA! Then we realize that were both from seattle ish, then from Everetis, then near woodinville... Turned out she lives about 10 minutes away from my house. And we Meet in Japan.... Small World!

That's me, Marie and Cat! Hahaha


Okay...Birthday!! I had an absolutely wonderful and amazing birthday. I've never had so many people so ridiculously excited over my birthday. It was so excessive it was scary.

Really... you have no idea how many Okinomiyaki had my name written on it. Or how many songs were made up about me. It was fun =)
For reals...and, I even got Star Wars Presents! I now has Lightsaber Chopsticks!


They were courtesy of Nascha <3 (Isn't it great to match names with Faces!?)
It really was an amazing birthday! And I think that I am the only Foriegner ever to celebrate their 20th birthday in Japan and not get drunk! HA. Take that Bad Stereotypes about America!

A couple days later my friend Makoto took me out to a themed cafe for my birthday! It was called "The Lock-Up" and it was amazingly fun. It's a haunted, pirate, prison themed cafe. Yaaaaay!

Doodeedoodeedoo...We're getting there! Only 2 more weeks to catch up one!

Presentations! I was an American guy in a presentation and it was awesome. I loved it very very much. I think I can eventually post a video of that one...

Then In my performance class my group and I had to write and perform a 10-15 minute play that highlighted how disabled people were super-abled. He said that he'd never seen such a well put together and beautiful written play by a student. I was very proud, cause he's like... a realy directer and stuff. =) Really...I will highly compliment this play. I was really proud of it. He also really really complemented my directing ;P

Oh! By the way! The class I always talk about, Evanoff, the one that I talk abot Star Trek in and all that Jazz, here's a pic!

It's not what you expected right? He's just a guy! But his class is bloody brilliant. I love it beyond almost any other classes I've had.

People are starting to leave =( Cat is now back in Montana. Saaaaaaaad. I'm gonna miss her. I mean, we argued all the time about politics and whatnot, but she was probably my closest friend in Japan. I haven't said much about her in this particular blog post...but I hung out with her almost everyday. Went on long walks at night, just talked, hung out, argued. Hahaha- Here's to you Cat! MTFBWY in Montana and I know that we'll be hanging out a lot in the future!

It's Finals week, but I only have one final to worry about (and 2 reports)


I helped Sung Hoon write his report for Evanoffs class! Now I just have to do it too...

Other news... OH! Summer Plans!!
I'm going to be traveling all summer! Like...a lot.
This week: Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday: Niigata Area with Nascha. We will be sleeping in Sleeping bags on the beach! Yay! Totally illegal and all the more fun.

This Weekend: I will be a Camp Captain is Nasu!

August 6th-13: I will be living in Shikoku with a Japanese Family
13-20: Hiroshima with a Japanese Family
21-22: Working at a Culture Fair in Tokyo
23-24: Aomori
25-8: Hokkaido Kutchan
8-15: Hokkaido Rankoshi
15/16: Personal Travel along the coast and returning Home for School that starts on the 19th!

Yeah! I'm going to have amazing Adventures! And after summer camp, it's all ALONE. Why? Cause that's how I roll.

Love you all! CONGRATS TO ALESSA KARLIN! <3 <3 <3 <3

I may add more info in later blogs but this is just so you all know I'm alive ;P

We Can Make It!

I.Love.Kristina.Winch.

I got my very first thing sent to me today <3
Kristina listened to the cries of things that I missed and totally has my back.

I love you so much Nana!
The other day in class a teacher said that Americans don't make friends that they will keep for ever, and I told him that he was wrong.

When he asked why I said he could find me in 50 years and see if I was still friends with my friend Kristina.

Yeah...I showed him! ;P

But Really: Thank you so much. I love you times the entire world and a half. I have a postcard for you- this has prompted me to finally send it.

I sent a postcard to my parents...but I wrote down the wrong address...
Somehow, if got to them anyway.
That says a lot for the American Postal Service.
Postmen are cool.
Everyone- Be really really good to your postman, okay? Bake him/her cookies and stuff. Spread the love.

I tangent.

Nana, you have filled my heart with joy, and I will be coloring all night!

Monster

As a proud Washington born person, I straight up refuse to carry an umbrella. I think they're rather bothersome, and I'd forget them all the time anyway. My hairs always messy, at least rain gives me an excuse for it! And...I just love the feel of rain falling on me.
This leads to both positive and negative effects:
+ I have a great game on rainy days, I call it survival. I'm not kidding when I say EVERYONE and their mom has an umbrella. and Tokyo is CROWDED. So I have to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge simply to avoid the very powerful and determined umbrella carrying Japanese people who are on a mission, and god help anyone who gets in their way.
- People try and share umbrella's with me. I know-I know, it seems friendly, but as kind spirited as it is, it always ends with me half bent over, a pokey umbrella point in my neck, and desperately wishing for the feel of rain on my face, the freedom to walk at my own pace, and stand up straight.

Also- Umbrellas remind me of the umbrella corp. Which reminds me of Zombies and then I imagine what would happen to Tokyo if someone got the T Virus.

Not only would the Zombies be super fashionable....but...think of how many people would be turned into zombies within 15 minutes!!! God help us all....

Alright! Moving On!
Late night deep discussions with Cat or Nascha! Seriously, Cat and I got into a debate about America's politics that lasted from 10pm to 4am. It was wonderful! She's a great person to debate with- she knows her constitution, supreme court cases, and the important current issues. So we debated and discussed the role of government in todays society and what we like don't like, made the other person explain all views and...so on and so forth. It was aaaammmaaaazzzing. People who have gotten into these topic with me know that there's almost nothing I like more than a good political/ethical/random idea debate.
We also have done similar things, but talking about Japans societal problems. And that kind of thing. Several times a week, she just comes into my room and we end up talking. Like... really talking. It feels amazing. I'm gonna miss Cat SO much when she leaves.... and it's not long until she does leave. 40 days I think?

Hmmm... I love ridiculously long walks with adventures a-plenty. The thing about Japan is that, a walk in the city results in forest adventures, Rice fields, and a lot of other random things you would simply NEVER find in the states. Random silly little things, and other huge things. I don't even know how to describe it besides I <3 it with all my heart.

I found a new tactic for making flashcards. Listen to conversations in english, and take notes of words I want to learn in Japanese- and going from there. I think it'll help a lot.

Hmmmm...Oh! Okay- Chatroom <3
So remember my part time job as a chatleader where I just talk to people? Okay, so my boss told me that I was the most natural sounding chatleader, and after every Students kept telling her that I was their favorite chatleader. Which just made my day completely. The people who are training to be chinese chatleaders all had to take turns sitting in on my sessions because all the staff told them that I was the perfect example <3

I'm sorry- that's not meant as a "I'm Wonderful!" it just made my day and I don't wanna tell anyone here for fear of sounding....pompus. Like that guy Gina knew in middle school. I forgot his name... O or A something?? Osis?


KRISTINA WINCH: I <3 you dearie, and it was wonderful to talk to you on the phone...whenever it was that we talked on the phone. And I'm sorry I'm so bad at replying to facebook messages. You have no idea how ridiculously excited I am that you might come visit me in Japan. <3 Even if you can't for some reason- the fact that you want to and are trying to... makes me super happy!

JJ: Everytime I read your comments it warms up me heart and makes me super happy. Thank you so much lovely, and believe me- I'm sure I miss you double how much you miss me! <3

REGINA: You at one point mentioned possibly coming to visit <3 If you think it might be possible, we should talk about it soon. AND talking to you on the 31st was wonderful. I LOVE YOU!! You're the bestest sister ever. I miss you like crazy. One of these days we'll actually work out that whole...skype thing, mmmkay?

ALESSA: Oh. My. God. You're getting married so soon. Like... SO soon. I promise promise promise that I will visit you a lot when I get back. And I think about you everyday! For a multitude of reasons! My teacher mentioned the Beatles, Snoopy's everywhere...and other stuff.

CHRISTINE: Yaaaay! Here's an update on my life ;P Have fun wading through it all! I'm so happy you have an account here... I had no idea. The whole...blogging community is still pretty new to me. Anyways- I miss you so much, and I'll try and be better at keeping in touch. >_< I just get distracted so easily, I just literally forget that I was even on the computer at all! But seriously, I'll try and get better at it!

PARENTS: I. Miss. you. A lot... I want to call you every day, but I'm SO busy here, and the times I am free is usually between 3-6 there, and that's just awkward. But I miss you, and I'm sending you letters soon! But seriously- I really do miss you guys a ton.

BECCA: Raaaaawwwrr! I miss you and I can't wait until you come to Japan! Do you have someone picking you up at the Airport yet? If not, count me in! For reals- I would be honored to help you get back to your dorm <3

Ugh... I can only do so many shout-outs before getting distracted...I really have to go buy shampoo >_< But do not doubt my love for you/how much I miss you!

Song For Me

Dear Wentz: I'm not just saying this because I think I love you, but because it is the honest truth...what some may call a fact of life. Your toothpaste really is better. I found myself...unsatisfied with the aftertaste of all the toothpastes that I had tried here in Japan. And Finally I let my fangirl have a break and tried your brand. Oh how refreshing and wonderful. My mouth tastes minty and clean! Even 15 minutes after brushing! Thank you good sir. On another note... you're candy is also quite delightful, and were I male I'm sure I'd find your underwear brand to be absolutely wonderful. Here's to Everyday Heroes.

I have been in search of Posters of the great sparkly wonder that Becca showed me... but yet I have not succeeded. But fear not! I will not give up yet!! Everyday I am secretly looking...up, down, around...UNDER. (Sparkly Fellows are know to hide) hoping to catch him in my periff... just an add or something of the sort. One day... I can feel that I will be able to report success to Becca before too long! Fear not Becca-Chan! I have been looking for Mr. Shiny!

Little things that delight:
There's this fashion in Tokyo, where guys where a slightly unbuttoned white shirt, a black vest and Black pants with a slightly Askew belt.
I feel like I've seen it somewhere before... hmm.. Can't think of where. Moving on!

The other day- My Performance Studies Teacher mentioned Dr. Horrible! Needless to say, I almost died. Love! I had literally just shown it to Nascha the night before so I was ridiculously excited.

I wrote a rap about sexism!!! It was for a class, and it was actually a song and Rap. It was a re-write of Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz. Yaaaay for awesome stuff! Then we performed it and I had a blast.

Okay- So here's the deal: Imagine Chloe' in America. I'm rather energetic from time to time, right?
Weeeeeelll...Japan Chloe is even more so. Particularly because so many people are so calm it just makes me wanna explode. I have a lot of really random ways that I get energy out. Some of them are fairly normal, like running through Tokyo for no reason, doing Yoga on the train, taking several hour long walks...or that kinda thing. But my favorite (and most effective) way is to do along term dance jog (which involves using the walls, rails, ducking, spinning, kicking.... the whole 9 yards...just around Eda. I usually do it at night, and I prefer to do it in the heavy rain. I was talking to Nascha about it, and my quote was,
"I can't help it...and I'm not crazy!! I just have SO MUCH ENERGY...ALL THE TIME."

A couple weekends ago I went the the Sagamihara campus for a club meeting that my friend Ken wanted me to go to, and I met a ton of new people who I've been keeping in contact with. It was amazing because I was the only white person there, and there were students who really hardly ever see international students so I felt like... the prize animal at a zoo, but in a good way =)
It was pretty random though, cause Kensuke just kinda called me and was like "Come to my club meeting! It's a cool club and it'll be fun! Here's the time to be there! By the way it's tomorrow ;P "
And I came after my english lesson, but it really was super fun. People asked me so many random questions.

You know, you'd think the "Why did you come to Japan" question would get easier after awhile, but I change my answer every time. It started because I just thought of different things every time, but then I decided to keep it up. So now most of the battle is thinking of something I haven't already said! Which is really hard...cause bloody EVERYone asks that question! So I have to think up new ones almost every day! It had made me appreciate coming to Japan more though, cause I have realized all the awesome reasons that someone could want to come to Japan. But on the days I'm tired... people get really lame answers. Like:
"I like the color of seaweed." のりの色が好きよ！
and then I realized what I said and had to try and support it, which ended with a very desperate sounding Chloe using lots and lots of wild hand motions and one helluva confused Japanese person trying to find a way to leave while still maintaining the Nihonjin politeness. Yeah... that was awkward.

Then I went to a Japanese BBQ. Let me describe a Japanese BBQ...
First- you go to a far away parc, where you spend ridiculous amounts of money to rent a bbq set and a table and a tent. Then you purchase food from the parc too. Then you go about bbq yakiniku and vegetables. Which is pure oishii. I hung out with a really funny Korean who spoke no english beside lines that he memorized from "The Holiday" and British TV shows. We talked about Faulty Towers =D
I also taught him how to say "Picking up Chicks" and he was really excited. He did this sillt thing where whenever anyone would speak english, he would repeat it, whichout knowing the imi. So if someone would say "I'm gonna kill you!" He'd repeat it to the same person. And.... you probably had to be there. But it was really funny!

The weekend after that I just hung out with people and chilled around Tokyo. AKA: worked >_<

This weekend was bloody amazing!!!! Satuday I met Saori (who was an exchange student at Linfield last semester) and we hung out in Tokyo. It was really fun, she's a sweetheart! Then that night I had an interview for a summer camp counsilor position and... it was really fun. I don't know why, but I absolutely love interviews. I made friends with the interviewers and we laughed, had a good old time, and even created some inside jokes by the time the next person came in. I sang and performed "Take me out to the ballgame" and then said that it was a cultural bridge and stuff. Ganbarimasu!

Then Sunday was....aaaaammmmaaaaazzzzing. Why You ask? Well, obviously, because it was filled with Frisbee and awesomeness. It's hard to explain just how much I love Frisbee. And I just love running around and exerting physical energy. I think my friend Mike and I were the only ones to be out playing Frisbee (or Soccer) pretty much the whole time. Other people would come in for like...15 minutes or so. But we stayed consistant. And we were both sweaty and stinky by the end =)
Oh! there was a tornado too! That was cool and random!
Aaaaannnd...a random Tokyo University Student came over and started talking to me. He just kinda walked up to me and asked if we could hang out. I laughed and said "Sure, join our soccer game!" But then my American friends teased him instead. It was pretty adorable.

Nihongaku is the most dull class ever. Thank god for Mike, cause we just draw comics the whole time. Quite wonderful comics though! They are epic and have random plot points and some panels look bad (the ones I draw) and some look freaking amazing (the ones that mike draws) and most end with a star wars reference.

Hmmm...Homesick?
Not really. I mean... I miss my Parents a lot, I miss my sister a lot, I miss my friends too. And there's a couple of things that I guess I miss about America. But overall...Naw. Not yet =)
I am so happy here. So so so so so so so happy!

But don't take that the wrong way either. I mean... I actually have had some hard times this month. MY language skills (or LACK THERE OF) have frustrated me almost to the point of crying. And had my friend Tee not been there after my second period last week, I probably would have gone and hid in a corner by myself for several hours frustrated at life for understanding BUT not being able to say words like: inconspicuous, Social Norms, Developing Countries, global market, interchangeable, subjective... ect ect. But Tee (my sweet Thai Friend) just walked with me to the cafeteria, and kindly reassured me. So it was okay. There was no Chloe' melt-down incident. And then I went home and called Regina, and after that made several new sets of vocab words so that I can totally speak up next time! Yeah! ;P

My dorm has become the consolation room... People come in after midnight to ask for advice about random things. It doesn't bother me...cause I'll do anything I can to help someone...it's just.... I wake up at 6:30. And When people don't leave my room until 2:30 it makes the whole- sleeping enough to make my head stop hurting from trying to think in japanese, thing very difficult.

Jah...I'll continue later =)

Friendship

Point #1: I still have a great fear that no one watched the awesome video I linked to, therefore I will post it again! GO HHHHEEEEERRREEEE I don't even know why it's so vitally important that you watch it (Becca- You already have ;P ) but maybe because I talk about this stuff so much, I want everyone to see how amazing it is. Now imagine living in the same place as this. That's what I'm going through... it's like... before all the things that I loved were amazing and I adored them, but now... they're REAL. They literally live in the same couple square mile radius!
This is the typical Chloe "Share this with me!" stuff =)


Soooooo...I had another awkward chikan in Tokyo come up and start talking to me in Japanese. He was asking if I was alone, how I learned japanese, what I was doing in Japan, and if I wanted Japanese friends. Not only was he creepy, but I was about to buy a new Arashi Magazine and he ruined it >=(
No Mr. Tokyo street man...I don't want to get coffee with you. No... I don't care if you think my eyes are pretty. No I don't care if you're impressed that I speaketh Japanese. No I don't care if you say that my smile melts your heart. You're standing too close and smell bad.
So I looked at him, and said, "Peace out. Saki ni." And walked away.

One more slight complaint... TISSUE DISCRIMINATION!!! SO there's this thing in Japan where people give out tissues as advertisements... I happen to collect these tissues. Yesterday I was hoping to really add to my horde, as there were a myriad of unique tissues in the area, and I was really excited about it. But alas...I was offered NO tissues. I guarantee that I was the only person who actively and proudly wanted them, i didn't see a single person accept the tissues being desperately thrust into their midsection, but I was the ONLY person who no one offered them too. I even thought that they probably just missed me, so I passed by again. And again. And again. AND AGAIN. BUT TO NO AVAIL!!!!!!!! Oh the tragedies that come with being white. *sigh* ...tissue discrimination.

The person I mentioned in my last blog, had a little bit of a break down during dinner yesterday. She started crying, at which point I took her on a several hour walk and we talked for a very long time about various things. Yes.... she does have a difficult personality and she says things that are straight up insulting. But I can live with that. She's not a bad person, and she has feelings, and weaknesses just like anyone else. She also has strong points, and qualities that are very rare in people- I like her a lot. I enjoy talking to her and hanging out with her. But the other girls in the dorm simply can't adjust to her. Which I understand! I don't blame them, and I mean, they were also raised in an entirely differnt culture, and they're already adjusting to japanese life, and the unchangable american is hard to deal with. But at the same time, I refuse to have her blatantly left out of things. So I found myself begging Teddy to let me invite Amy to our drama watching session tomorrow, Teddy finally said okay. But the Ling said that she didn't want to go. AAHHHHH.
But I still think it's not right to leave her out. So I'm gonna make a point of spending time with her. I talked to Nascha too, and she said that she's totally willing to hang out with Amy, and Lin(not Ling) also has been talking to Amy recently. It's not much, but it's something! I just can't stand to see someone so upset and so hurt, and so very alone. That's not okay, especially when I'm loving Japan and everything so much. There's nothing I've done to deserve enjoying Japan more than Amy, if anything, she's studied the language longer, she knows an insane amount about Japan's history, and coming here has been her dream for a long time.

I bought the first pokemon manga in Japanese and have been reading it! Yaaaaay!

Hmmm....Octopus tentacles taste odd, but I don't mind them until I consciously think about the fact I'm eating octopus tentacles. Then I feel nauseous.

Okay... I realize that I really need to start taking more pictures of the food I eat...because sometimes, it's just unbelievable. I mean that in a good way. The best way possible in fact =)

I've been getting to meet a lot of new people through the chatroom! Which is great. I met people who are in some of my classes, so I've been moving around and sitting by new people, which I love doing. I've also gotten on a great teasing level with all the American guys, which makes me feel right a home. My japanese friends and I are at the "hang-out on weekends" stage, and hahaha...Nascha <3 Nascha and I are at the stay up till 5 am never once stopping laughing stage. Which happens more often than not! It's so bizzare to think that...a month and a week ago I didn't even know she spoke English. Now she spends hours upon hours in my room making up silly/awesome plans. For instance: we have decided to befriend Dimitri (the most strangest ever guy) in a bright and happy way, because of all the great quotes we'd get from him.
"Dimitri, what did you do in childhood"
--"I played with Grass."
"Is that because you didn't have any friends?"
--"No. I had friends. We played in grass

Hmmm...We're also making a list of useful things to do with this giant slab of stone that one of my students gave me as he confessed his love to me. Along with a seashell and a perfume bottle. It's a very heavy slab of rock.

Believe

I hate it when I get a couple days behind. I know that I'll forget some good stories, and meaningful moments. Here's a couple of very important shout outs:

1: Happy Mothers Day Mom!! I know I called you on Mothers Day, and now it's long past. But Hey, I think people should appreciate their parents every day of the year! Yeah, we have a special day but...parents are awesome. On that note: Happy Early Fathers Day Dad!! Hahaha <3

2: Continuing Luck with Comedy!!! May the Force be with you guys =)

3:
Chloe Wandler
434- 1 Eda-Cho, Aoba-Ku,
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, 225-0013 JAPAN

I pity the fool that doesn't write to me. Also, I have lost every ones address. That literally only excludes my parents. Send it to me please! Facebook...e-mail...in a comment here- anything! I just need to start sending postcards and stuff!


Now onto life!

I'm gonna attempt another day-by-day and then general follow up, mmmkay?! Mkay!

Friday: I had 2 classes, and then officially started my third part-time job! I work as a teachers assistant. Kinda like I did for Jackson, but even more fun and random stuff. The teacher is freaking amazing. I was all nervous going in, because I'd never met him. I was sure he was going to take one look at the frumpy American and banish me from his office. But alas! He was amazingly awesome! The second I opened the door I was totally at ease. He's from London, and has that chill english thing going on. I'll be working on excel sheets, updating random stuff, working with students, being interviewed, formatting an encyclopedia...and a TON of other awesome sounding stuff. AND when I come back to the states, I'll continue to work for him! Yee-haw! It's a nice $14 an hour, and as many hours as I want! (With limits, I mean, I'll probably get in about 8 hours a week with this one, 5 hours a week with chatroom, and then my private students vary, and the pay is $15-20 and hour. It's pretty sweet yo!

Saturday: Met with a student, and then walked around crazy back roads in an unknown district of Tokyo just to see how long it would take to find Shibuya. Then I walked around Shibuya, not doing much in particular, just enjoying myself! I had a lot of fun listening to WaT, Arashi, NEWS and Ayumi for 6 hours non stop! Then I got back, and hung out with Nascha until 3 AM or so. Basically showing her videos and pictures of WaT =)

Sunday: (See Cookie Story)

Monday: Aw... Monday was great! On the way to class, I ran into 2 of my Korean friends, and talking to them is always an adventure because they speak almost no english. Literally...maybe 5 sentences. But it was really awesome! Me and JeauUn and Game Friends, because we talk about video games, and movies and all kind of awesome things. We decided to watch a drama together that night, a new one that was going to start coming out. Now, might I simply say that it's almost pointless for me to watch any more Drama right now? I'm currently in the middle of 4 different drama's. (Kaibutsu-Kun being the best!) But I really wanted to watch it with them! Then I saw Dan (for the first time in almost a centurey) and my friend Makoto. Which was just a lot of fun. In Japanese class, we did Taiko, which is a traditional Japanese type of drumming. It was aaaaamazing. Seriously...I think I might join a Taiko Circle or club. Then I had Nihongaku. Which is singly the most boring class ever, but me, Mike and Makoto passed math equations back and forth the whole time, so it was pretty fun. Um- I watched the Drama with some of my Chinese friends instead of the Korean ones because Jeuen got back from school reeeaaallly late. Which was fine! I love hanging out with Jamie,Teddy and Ling! <3 It was suuper fun actually, it was a long time since we'd spent time together, and it was simply wonderful!

Tuesday: Two classes, two chatrooms, and Japanese Chatroom! One of my chatrooms was awesome cause I had two complete goofball guys who were just off the wall and super ridiculous. Our chatroom was just cracking up in hysterics which was just a blast! We had a great teasing vibe going on and a lot of intergroup sillyness. You should have seen them when I tried to explain Ultimate Frisbee. It took so long to convince them that people played with frisbees outside the dogpark, and I'm still not sure they believed me.

Wednesday: Ugh...My first class on wednesdays is an absolute drag. It's so...japanese. Which is definitely a bad thing when it comes to school. It translates to: monotone voices by a sensei sitting in a chair at the front of a lecture hall speaking very fast Japanese for 1.5 hours. The class is also very anti-america, which just makes it a little bit stingy. Then I had chatroom again, and Japanese class. After Japanese class, I went to BooKOff with Hana and we got some Manga and stuff like that, which was very fun. I love Hana-Chan! She's Mongolian, and adorable. Imagine JJ...now give her asian. She's also a bonafied Mongolian Popstar and when she gets back has a 5 year contract with the best recording studio in mongolia. Then I got home, and went and met my one mildy creepy student. Then I got back and hung out with Jaimie and Ling for quite awhile just being silly! <3

And now today! Yay for catching up!!
Thursday/today: Today has my favorite classes! I have Intercultural Communication, Performance Studies, and Intercultural Dialogue. I also randomly got two of my friends chat sessions because he went to china after 2nd period. Go figure...
But I ended up having to awkwardly break sushi planswith Nascha and I felt really bad about that >_<; But I mean...he was frantic and going to china! There was no one else to take his chat sessions------- What else could I do!
Got Back to the dorm, had dinner with friends, watched a drama with friends, and now really need to do some work for my part time job!


Overall Comments:
When I comeback, you all may notice some added vocabulary. I absolutely refuse to EVER stop using the word Chigaou. It is simply the best word ever. It means that whatever someone just said is wrong, misunderstood, BS or something of that sort. Basically, it's the greatest vocabulary word of all time and I will fight to integrate it into the US. If you think that I will fail... chagaou da yo!

I feel really bad, because there's a couple odd layers of dorm dynamics going on. I'm ridiculously fine with everyone. But there are some feelings of dislike that aren't known by the disliked party, and she feels left out, andI like her and want to see her, but other people don't like to invite her places. *sigh* I'm not surewhatI should really do- I mean, she's a nice person. Yeah, she comes across strong at times. But she's a good person. I think I'll just make more of an effort to hang out with her just with me. Maybe Cat will too, I think she's starting to like her. At least I hope so! It's really lame not to invite her places. I mean, we're all here together, you know? She's also only here for a semester, and I want her to go back with a whole bunch of good friends, not like...just one person, you know? Anyway, I think she'll like Dr. Horrible, so I think I'll bring it to her room tomorrow or sometime this weekend. Project- Incorporate Said Person starts...NOW!

Also, My sister's Birthday is coming up. I would VERY VERY VERY VERY much appreciate it is on May 15, everyone called her and told her that Chloe loves her and Wishes her a happy birthday.
I know it sounds silly, but I'm dead serious and geniunely asking all of you to do this. I'm sending her a card, but I can't figure out how to send stuff yet! So It will probably be late.

Seriously guys... I'll owe you big time.
425-299-2632

That's MAY 15 anytime of day- just leave a message! Hell- You can even send a text!
Please please please please please please!!!!!!!
PLEASE PLEASE!
She's the best sister ever, and there's only so much I can do from over here!

R-E-G-I-N-A 425-299-2632

Your Song

Hey all-
I'm sure it is a very very exciting time for most of you! Kristina is at Linfield which is pretty awesome. Comedy started and I heard Steven was fantastic and dead sexy- AND I heard Nick does decent slapstick! wOOt!

Nana: I MISS YOU AND YOUR FACE. A LOT. You never write to me.... which is fine, I mean... I know your busy, but I really do miss you. And worry about you, and <3 you.

You guys realize that when I say I miss you, I mean it right? I like to write about my fun times and such, and for me writing about anything that isn't positive is not in my nature or character. I'm also picky about who I give this link too, so that I know exactly who I'm saying I miss you too. (By the way- HI KELLY!!! The I miss you applies to you too! And I can't wait until you come to Japan! My dorm isn't really all that far from Yokohama! If you guys want, I could even meet you at the airport or something like that!)

Anyway- That was my conscious clearer- I was talking to Milo recently and mentioned that I really missed people, but because my blogs are always so Japan Happy I didn't think people believed me. So I'm going to make this as clear as I can: no matter what i say about the people here, or how much I rave about everything, I LOVE YOU ALL and think about you all the time. Believe me, my mind is constantly thinking about things back home-
I really miss my family
I think about my Uncle Max a ton
I miss people who understand my Star Wars and Star Trek refrences (though rare...at least in America I could find SOMEONE who would understand)

Sorry... I just worry that my friends think I'm forgetting about them, but I'm not. However, I am in Japan. And I don't want to forget what it's like, SO I take a lot of pictures and write a lot of blogs about it.

Moving on:

So...tonight in the dorm there was a potluck of sorts, where everyone was to make food from their home country. I had a student tonight, so I decided to make cookies in the morning and then just join the potluck when I got home. So Nascha and I decide to make food together in the morning. This starts with a shopping trip, because we didn't bring flour with us to Japan. So we go shopping: and let me tell you, ingredients are hard to find in a Japanese supermarket. We did a lot of impromptu substitution, such as I used yogurt instead of butter, and various other stuff.
Now the biggest substitution? Weeeellll...here in Japan I don't exactly have an oven. So I fried chocolate chip cookies. We were in hysterics while cooking. We didn't have bowls- so we were mixing in a cooking pot. The ingredients we had were retarded (I used chai latte seasoning because I couldn't find cinnamon in any other form) I used a spoon as a spatula, and the cookies looked like pancakes. It was so much fun though. And so embarrassing. We hid in the tea room to do all the mixing because we knew we looked dumb, and then my friend panda camein and was excitedbecause we were cooking. "Teach me!" she said. And Naschaand I just start cracking up and turning bright red. "Tabun...condo mohou ga ii" I manage to squeak out. (maybe next times better) and then during the frying process, whenever anyone asked what I was doing I said that I was making American style cookies. So a whole bunch of Japanese girls think Americans are ridiculous....just a heads up.





Okay, it's once again almost 2 am so I leave you with this:
If you didn't watch the video I linked to in the post entitles WAVE, then shame on you. You should watch it =)

There's so much more fun stuff that happened, I really need to fill in some blanks at some point. (Yeah...I know, "There's stuff she hasn'twritten!?"

OH one more thing- I missed the potluck =(

WAVE!

We have a new watcher!
I'm now welcoming BECCA-CHAN to the pool!

I'm very excited about this because I miss her dearly, and I do believe that she will understand all my Japanese Pop Culture References!!

Also- She will soon be joining me in Japan <3
Her Japanese also Kicks my Japanese's ass and makes cower in a corner praying that the Yakuza will come because they aren't as scary.

Sometimes I assume it's about 9pm, and then I look at the clock and realize its 2am, and I have to get up in just a few short hours.

It's at this time I reluctantly beam out.

Peace-

WISH

Hey you guys!
1: BREAK LEGS WITH COMEDY! Steven I wish so much that I could see you! Seriously- I need to see pictures and you should blog about every second of it. You're gonna be AMAZING! Tell everyone I wish them the best- I believe in all of you! ROCK THE HOUSE!

2: A update on my recent adventures!

Here in Japan it's been Golden week, so I had a couple days off (just started back today) and it was really nice! I didn't do anything massively epic. But lets see if I can do a day to day =)

Thursday: I went to Harajuku again! It was UNBELIEVABLY crowded! Even for Harajuku! And that's saying a lot. Vivian, Nascha, and I went in search of the Daiso there. Cause it's an epic 5 stories, and we needed art supplies for class!

Friday: Hahaha....okay I went to Harajuku again, but this time with Cat, and NOT the usual way. We took a whole bunch of randomcrazy backroads and just enjoyed walking around. Then we looked for a place we couldn't find- but it was fun to look! And we saw some random fun stuff.
Oh! Okay the picture I posted? That's an advertisement Van. They're all over Shibuya. Now the guy on the van is Jun Matsumoto from Arashi. This Van is chased where ever it goes with people desperately trying to take pictures of Jun. I just took it because I wanna keep the memory of the girls RUNNING after this van with their cameras. Not because I love Arashi...that'd be...silly... THOUGH- for the recorod- Jun isn't my favorite member!
That honor belongs to Ohno Satoshi (the one from Kaibutsu-Kun! Which I added a picture of for Good Measure- He's also just kick ass in general, CHECK IT
No...Seriously- Watch that Video, it's AMAZING. I'm begging all of you to watch it! Really Stand by for about 1:20 on, where the dance solo gets AMAZING. But watch before that too!

Saturday: I gave a Yoga class! Teddy's been begging me to teach her Yoga, and so I finally relented. We did Yoga for about 2 hours. Then I hung out with Cat and Yuka, which was really fun. Then Cat went cak the the dorm and Yuka and I went into Azamino and spent some time together. Then, Saturday night...That's when I watched kaibutsu-Kun for the first time! Seriously...AMAZING!! Then I introduced Nascha to wonderful things like WaT and Arashi and a whole bunch of silly things.

Sunday: I met with two new students! Yaaaay for jobs! They both asked meto permanently be their teacher! I spent a lot of time in Shibuya walking around and had a lot of fun! I got Teddy a birthday present and then helped Vivian with her English chatroom at the dorm- that was fun too!

Monday: I hung out with Cat in the morning, then I had another English Session, another student who asked me to permanently be his teacher. Then it was...TEDDY'S BIRTHDAY!! Yaaaaaaaay! We went to an AMAZING restaurant called "Gut's Soul" which sounds and looked sketch, but it was amazingly delicious. Then we came back to the dorm and played games. <3

Tuesday: Bwahahaha...hung out with Nascha, Cat and...Sho. Who's DEFINITELY creepy. He's been bothering Nascha for awhile and she was scared to meet with him alone, so she asked me to go with her. Being a big strong American I agreed, and invited Cat along too. Who was none to happy with the idea of meeting Sho- who she's been avoiding for the last 5 months. But it wasn't too bad! It was really fun in it's awkwardness. "How has he been sitting behind the statue in the one place we can't see him!!???" After that though we did one of the most amazing things I've done since coming to Japan. Conveyor belt sushi. OH. My. GOD. I already can't wait to go back...and am trying to figure out when. See, it's delicious, Cheap, and there's UNLIMITED PICKLED GINGER! (LOVE YOU KRISTINA!!!!!!) Then we explored Shibuya some more (it's unlimited...) Then I hung out with Nascha till 3 am, and then went to bed at about 5am. Yay!

Wednesday: Called my parents (which was delightful) Went to Tama-Plaza with Nascha-- We just explored for several hours, and ate Mochi in celebration of Childrens Day! Awww...then I hung out with Jane in the Kitchen and she gave me Kimchi <3 Which is one of the most delicious things EVER. I love my dormmates!!!!

And that brings me to today! I gave a speech in 2 out of 3 classes, which I felt very good about. In the class that I mentioned Star Trek in last week, the teacher was talking about whaling and what it means for the future. Do you have ANY IDEA how freaking difficult it was not to bring up Star Trek IV: The Journey Home? Anyway- Then I went to Harajuku with Nascha (again!) and wen went on a poster hunt. It was very successful indeed. *looks at walls* oh yeah.

Okay! That's my last week!
I really do miss you all-
NANA- I pine for you. I have 6 worry dolls, and one of them is always designated to you, and the fact that I miss you and want you to be happy. I haven't talked to you enough and it makes me sad. Lets fix that okay? I need my Nana T_T

REGINA: RAAAWR! I miss the hell out of you. ANd you should be aware I brag about you here too. Whenever people ask about my siblings and I say I have a 21 year old sister, they always ask what college you go to. Hahahahah- That's when it starts. I miss you =(

MOM and DAD: You know I miss the hell out of you- You're the only ones I call on a semi-regular basis. And assoon as I figure out how to mail a damn letter *mumble mumble*

Alessa: I miss you! And I'm so happy your wedding plans are going well! Every time I see a facebook update about it I'm both happy for you, and sad because I know that I won't be there.

JJ: Well.. my dear...you just got a blog shout out so I don't know what to say...but I <3 you. Keep Linfield awesome for me, okay?

I know that there's probably people I forgot to shout out to- but I seriously do love and miss you all a lot. Tell me what's going on in your life! Please! I miss hearing from you!

Friendship

I miss you Ms. Jaelyn Forthun;

Remember the time it was raining really hard, and we just ran out and played in the rain, pretending to be dinosaurs?
Or the time we walked to winco at 2am just because we weren't tired?
Or the billion other fantastic things that we have done?

I miss you =(
Honestly and truly, and when I think about how long it will be before I see you again, it makes me very sad. I worry that you will be grown up by the time I get back, and as silly as it seems, think about how much people change in a year!

Anyway- I <3 you JJ dear. As amazing as japan is,it doesn't have JJ, and that's a massive flaw.

Everyone else: Don't take this as a sign that I don't miss you too!I was just overcome with a great pang of I miss JJ, and I feel like she should know in a very private public way.

LOVE.

怪物ーくん！

あああ！　怪物ーくんは最高のテレビショウ！　大好きだよ　＜３
ほんとうに長すてき！　大野智は。。。何と言う。。。すごくそごくすごくじょうずによるできる。

Okay...sorry guys. I just really wanted to express that in Japanese.
I basically said that this new TV show I just watched is pretty much the most amazing thing ever, and Satoshi Ohno is really good at acting.
AAAHHHH! It was so good! And Nascha pretty much makes my life better!
I have turned her to the way of the Japanese Drama, and I've always loved Nascha, but the more I see her and talk to her, the more and more I grow to adore her. She's so much fun, and she's funny as hell- she'll surprise you with her unique and brilliant observations. Such as pointing out that the creepy guys talking to the little boy in Kaibutsu kun was dressed as a catholic priest.
We're going together into Harajuku soon to find pictures of Kaibutsu-kun!

Okay everyone- I want you to look at the picture I posted very carefully, and let this next fact sink in, okay? The guy in yellow (with the silly cap and big ears)- his birthday is November 26th, 1980. Do the math... he's 30 years old!!!! And these pictures were taken LAST WEEK.

Dear Japan: WHHHHHHHY?

OH- One more thing:
Chole has made it's appearance in Japan =)
So has Clowy. Which I am personally very fond of. It makes me feel like a clown!

Toki Meki

Doo-bee-doo-bee-doop!
1: I think that JJ and maybe nana are the only ones you understand my title/first line

2: Wow. I don't know what in the world I have done to deserve such ridiculously good fortune sometimes. Here's what I mean:

remember my little rant about money? Since then I have acquired an additional 3/4 jobs, with more coming in. 2/3 of these are being a private English teacher, getting payed about $15 an hour, 2/3 hours a week. (It adds up, and more of these jobs are coming)
And the other one is, one of my professors recommended me to another professor who wanted someone to work for him. I'm not sure how many a hours a week this job is, but it's getting payed about $11 an hour.
AND my chat-room sessions went from 3 to 5 every week.
I might just be able to survive living in Tokyo =)
I mean... I still will have to ask my parents for help. But the less a burden I can be, the better.

I'm in a state of amazement right now. So uh...yeah =)

LOVE YOU ALL!

My Answer

This is a comment I just posted to my friend Marc, but I thought you all might enjoy this as well...


Oh. My. God. I made such a fool out of myself in class yesterday. Like....hardcore. Aaaahhhhhhh >_<

Okay- so this particular class is taught in English- and the teacher was talking about intercultural Dialogue. It's my biggest class...I think that there's about 150 students, and I was sitting in the front row. The teacher starts ... See Moretalking about Cannibals, and he's saying that there are two distinct ideas when it comes to it, the "It's their culture, we have to right to interfere" people, and the "What about basic human rights? We have to save them people!"

On the paper I'm taking notes on, I IMMEDIATELY write down "Prime Directive, and then start a rough outline of a paper saying that these two ideas are reflected in Captain Picard, and Captain Kirk. I start listing examples, and supporting this. Captain Kirk would say screw the prime directive, we have to save these people, and Picard would most likely end up leaving the culture as is with a rather sad song playing in the background.
ALll the sudden, a microphone is in front of my face, and the teacher says,
"What do you think?"
I start laughing. The teacher looks absolutely shocked, and then asks again. While still laughing, I manage to say,
"Well it goes back to the age old debate, who's the better captain, Kirk or Picard?"
The teacher (and EVERYONE else in the class) has NO idea what I'm talking about. I'm the crazy white girl, laughing about people eating eachother. The teacher looks at me,
"I don't know those words."
"YOu know...Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise"
"......."
"...Spock?"
"STAR TREK?!"
(Keep in mind, I'm still laughing)
I'm getting really embarrassed so I just say, "Yeah, I'd go the culture side" (which I wouldn't but...whatever)
The teacher goes,
"With Mr.Spock?"
And I really put the cherryon top, when I abruptly stop laughing and say,
"No. Spock's with Captain Kirk"


ANYWAY... I thought you might enjoy that little story. =)


On another note...

I'M SO CLUMSY! It's ridiculous >_<
Everyday I spill things, and knock things over, run into people, fall down, break things, drop things...
Even people I don't know talk about how clumsy I am
T_T

The point of that little rant was this:
Today at Lunch I
1: Spilled hot green tea all over the table, forcing my friend Dae Young to leap out of his seat before it spilled all over him.
2: Peeled a banana too far so that the entire thing fell out of the skin and onto the floor
3: Stood up, and almost knocked the table over, causing Yuria's book-bag to fall off the table.

That is all!

Bokura No Love Story

Okay- I love all of you that read this blog, and here's a warning: A huge part of the reason that I'm keeping a blog is for me to look back on it later! I really hope you guys don't get bored reading them or anything. Especially times like now when I seem to be posting frequently!


So please picture my room back home/dormroom.
What is the first thing you imagine?

If it isn't toys or posters please turn your computer off and go to bed, I think your memory is malfunctioning. Kidding Kidding! <3
If it was something else than you have a beautiful and unique mind...don't change ;P

Hahaha...anyway, my room is lonely of posters! But here in Japan I have a unique opportunity... I can cover my walls with pictures of Arashi, Wentz, and Ikuta Toma!!

Okay- So my arubito is a chatroom leader, which means that I talk to people for 40 minute sessions. The application process was pretty cool, it's the first time I've ever had a formal interview! But it was a really fun interview, the three scary men interviewing me were all in stitches at multiple points during the interview, and apparently they didn't laugh in any of the other interviews so my goofy comments and comebacks made a good impression. Anyway- The interview was a couple weeks ago now, and I've been working at Chatroom for 2 weeks now. I love it =) Whenever it comes up that I like Arashi or something- people get SUPER excited. Apparently white girls never like Japanese music, even the exchange students. So the fact that I do makes them really happy. I took the liberty of recommending "The Princess Bride" to everyone in my second chat group today.

I've also been attending Japanese Chatroom, and todays chatroom was super fun. I think that everyone there talked a whole bunch and we just really enjoyed ourselves!

Dinner was also fun- I'm making some new friends in the dorm, I can't believe how many girls I hadn't talked to before!

The weather here is soooooo weird: It's been raining a lot lately, and I've always loved rain, and the rain in Tokyo is super gung-hoe. It doesn't just kinda rain, it really comes down hard. I like to dance around the city and splash in Puddles. Which gets me strange looks from a whole bunch of Japanese people, which is fun in itself.

In my intercultural communications class- I love doing the reading because it's so interesting. Even when the information isn't necessarily knew, there's something about reading it that makes me draw really strange connections. I dunno- but I really like it!

Okay- So once again this post has no strong purp----


OH MY GOD!
I found a place to buy american peanut butter <3
I didn't and I don't think I will for a long time,but...It's there!!!!

Okay- so as I was saying: -----ose, but I just wanted to write down some thoughts!

looooove!

Raise Your Hands

Today...Wonderful things happened:

1: I woke up at 6 to a room so bright because of sun that it was impossible to sleep any longer. So I hopped up and went on a long run around Eda, which was wonderful =)

2: I finally saw Yui again! It's been sooooo long since we've seen each other! I've been missing my tutor a lot!

3: I introduced a whole bunch of friends to Mr. Squiggle <3 It was SO freaking amazing to play again! It's been a long time. Mr. Sqiggle really is the best game ever, especially during really boring classes where even if you wanted to listen, it would be impossible because everyone is talking to loud for you to hear the teacher.

4: Darth Vader has followed me to Japan. He's EVERYWHERE! He's Docomo's newest mascot (starting today) which means that Shibuya is FULL of posters of Darth Vader saying "Who's your BOSS" check out new FaceBook pics for a couple examples! <3

Looooove you all!

Everything

Okay- Sorry! I just wanted to write more =)

Okay- Daily live...changes every day! My school is in the middle of Shibuya, so there's NEVER a dull moment. It's a 5 minute walk to Harajuku, and a short jaunt to any other famous place in Tokyo. I LOVE it so much. I feel like I'm a part of whats going on in the world. It's not uncommon to see celebs walking around.
A member of Johnny attends my school (I saw him, and then walked into the conbi and he was on a huge poster in there, and on a magazine cover) Literally across the street is where Ikuta Toma was in Grease last year. (I LOVE Ikuta Toma). Aoyama Gakuin is one of the best schools in Japan. Whenever I tell people I go there, they get super excited. They ask how I got into the school, assuming that I had to take exams to get in. It's wonderful. I couldn't be happier =)

My dorm is a 40 minute train ride away (which is very common for Japan) but I've found that I actually like the trains. I get super weird looks cause...well I'm white and have blue eyes... but It's super interesting. Yesterday this adorable kid kept staring at me, and then said "Helro!!" like...20 times or so. It was ridiculously adorable. His parents were cracking up =)

I've seen a lot of old friends, which is really nice. I loved seeing Haruna and Yuki that one time, I've seen Tiffany Ross, Mai and John! I hope to see more people over golden week too!

I've made some really good friends here. I'm gonna give you all a briefing, but I know that this can never do these people justice, but just so you have some idea!

Cat is AMAZING. I don't think she realizes how wonderful she is, but I'm so happy whenever we spend time together =)
I don't really know what to say...but we have some awesome conversations, and I quote;

"I think it's easier for black people to mug people at night, cause... they blend in"
"Yeah...well I think it's easier for white people to attack from the snow."
Okay...that's worded oddly, I can't remember exactly, but you get the gist! She's so much fun, and genuinely a wonderful person. She's been there for me from the first day. When I was so confused and overwhelmed by the Japanese around me! I think she's one of the main reasons I don't miss the US, because when I'm with her, it feels like the US. Except she understands my love for Japan stuff, so it's like having a little bit of home, but with a Japanese twist.

Ling, Teddy, and Jamie: I love these girls =) They're from hong kong, and just....amazing! They're so funny and so cute. I've spent a ton of time with them, and I feel like we've gotten very close. I don't even know what to say about them!!

Vivian: Vivian is so funny, she's very kind and I've had some great talks with her. She's from America, but is ethnically chinese. I realy like her! She's a ton of fun =)

Fumi Kimura: From the dayI met this girls, she has gone way out of her way to help me out with the whole...Japan...thing. She's wonderful, and supportive and fun! I looooooove her so much! I'm hope to see her a lot =) Maybe even visit her sometime!

Yuria: Aaaaaahhhh! Yuria is so much fun! She talks fast, but is SO amazing. I've hung out with her on several occasions, and soon (hopefully this weekend) we're gonna hang out at her place and watch a whole bunch of American Movies. I have a class with her, and have just hung out on a couple times! I can't wait to spend more time with her!

OKay... I'm getting tired of the shout outs. Maybe I'll do one a week or something like that =)

Classes!

Japanese
I have to teachers, and once I figure out how the set up works a little better it'll be great! But it's a little awkward having two seperate lessons going on at once but on opposite days. I do love the teachers though! Especially Mori Sensei!!! She's a blast =)

Japanese Culture
Mori Sensei again! This kinda feels like Japanese class, but we do things like calligraphy and whatnot.

Japanology
Ugh. So dreadfully boring! I like the teacher and all...but I don't understand what he's saying, and when I do understand something, I don't understand why he's saying it.

Music and Philosophy
Haven't gone yet! The first week the teacher didn't show up, and the second week my train was late due to suicide so I missed class!

Intercultural Communications
The teacher is very kind, and I like the people I sit around! I also rather enjoy the readings we have to do! I'm SO happy that I'm an Intercultural Communications major now

Thinking of Peace
I hate being an American.

Intercultural Communication Sem.
SO AMAZING!!!! I love this class =) I have to get up at 6am to go to it, but it's freaking amazing! I love my group, and aaaah! <3

Performance Studies
OKay, so my teacher professionally directs plays in Tokyo. That's HUGE! He's really cool, and I think that my acting will improve a ton. I've never workedwith someone who is such a big director. But this class is only partially about acting and stuff. We study different social injustices, and then perform significant events or speeches or something. I'm gonna show everyone Prop 8 the musical when it gets to that particular -ism)

Intercultural Lit
My teacher is crazy. I mean like...Jim Carrey Crazy.

Colors and Shapes
I like it! It's my first real art class and I really really like it!! It's in Japanese, but I understand the teacher pretty well, and that's pretty cool.


I can't really describe how wonderful it is to have decided to stay for a year. I get giddy and excited. I feel like maybe my japanese really will improve a great amount,and I'll really have time to form some great friendships with people around me. I dropped my theater major, but there's a lot of relieve tied to that statement. Goodbye Stage management class, goodbye scenic design, goodbye environment that drives me insane.
I dropped out of directing the icebreaker: Good bye too much time with Sunderland!

I'll miss my family like crazy, (I already want to call them everyday, but it's too damned expensive!) will miss some important events, will miss friends a ton. But I think we'll all be okay. =)

Okay...I'm running out of writing steam... I'll write more soon!
I could never say enough about Japan =)

LOVE YOU NANA! Talking to you on the phone made my life better. I miss you! <3

Love Situation

It's been a long time since I've posted... okay... before my general itinerary of sorts, I'm gonna just say a couple things here:

1: I like the fact that I can reach the ceiling of buildings a lot more frequently that elsewhere. Not all the time or anything, just...more frequently!

Japanese architecture is so awesome! They have buildings of all kinds of shapes and sizes. Surrounding my school, there is a Pyramid, a circle, a triangle, a blob, and some other random stuff. I don't know...it's just to bizarre and so much fun =)

I've had a couple things that I've had problems with- I guess a couple exapmles of culture shock?
1: Dreams- I've been having the weirdest dreams for the past couple weeks.
2: (Jj, sit down) Peanut Butter. It's not the same. At all. It's weird...and soft and fluffy and suuuuuuper creamy. And it broke my hearts.
3: Gah...money. Why is it impossible for money not to be an issue!? Honestly, I don't care at all that the people around me spend $500 on a whimsical "This looks kinda cute" purchase, while I spent $3 on a new purse, and $7 on a book bag. I'm seriously more than okay with that. I kinda feel like the heroine of a Japanese Drama. All that needs to happen now is a world famous corporation heir needs to fall in love with me. It'll be rough, I mean I know I'll get kidnapped, threatened, people will try to pay me off to leave him, I'll have to prove myself to his mother who is an evil woman and wants to marry him to someone else to ensure a merger... but I'm sure in the end our love would tear down any obstacles. (Doesn't that happen in real life?) Okay- but what does bother me is the fact that...I have bills to pay! And I don't know how I'm going to pay them. Gah. But I think It'll work out. I'll stand strong! I refuse to let money be an issue! I don't plan on having much money after college anyway...just enough to slowly pay back school loans and make a modest living somewhere...

Okkaaaayyy- On to happy topics!

So, you may have seen my facebook status...but here goes:
I'm staying. Not forever, but for another semester. I think I've made it pretty obvious that I simply love Japan. But even beyond that, I like taking risks and challenges, and staying for longer will make me grow in so many ways. I can't even begin to express how amazing Japan is. I miss you all (Mom and Dad and Sister especially) deeply. And you are all amazing people, please don't take my raving about how amazing Japan is as me not loving you or doubting your amazingness! I <3 you all. Japan has simply stolen my heart =)

Classes have started, and I love them all! A lot <3
Oh my god...my Japanese teacher, Mori-Sensei is SO wonderful! I love her.

I don't even know what to tell you guys, it's bee so long since I've written. I'll start with recent things I suppose: I went to a maid Cafe yesterday! Yeah...all the girls talked in super polite form with bunny maid costumes on, and it wasn't even creepy! It was just...adorable! My friend Makoto took a whole bunch myself, the chinese girls and the korean girls =) It was ridiculous! And so much fun

I hate wearing make-up everyday >_< Even at my girliest, everyone still tells me I dress like a boy *sigh* That might be because of the Star Wars shirts and way of conversation. I also always wear a ponytail and get slack for that. But...I'm frightened of my hair. It's like the preachers hair in firefly! It's...always there. If I let it out then it will grow strong and I won't be able to control it anymore!

I don't feel homesick yet- I call my parents when I can, and that keeps me sane =)

Hmmmmmm.... There's so much more to say...but I wanna go for a walk.

later!

Carnival Night

I finished signing up for classes today- This Semester I'm taking (ready for it?)
Japanese
Japanese Culture and Society
JapanGaku
Inercultural Literacy
Performance Studies
and then...classes that are fully taught in Japanese-
Music and Philosophy
Kangaeru
Color and Shapes
Japanese History of Gardening
and Caligraphy

Yup...10 classes.... five of which are being taught in Japanese...
Did I mention that they are ENTIRELY in Japanese?
Yup...I might be scared to death of that... =)

Yay for Chinese Girls who are super kind! I spent the last 2 hours just talking to two of them, in my (already) messy room >_<; They are super fun, and they speak 4 (FOUR) languages!!! Everyone always asks me to talk French because they think it's pretty, and I do when they ask me to, but sometimes it gets really confused with Japanese. je vais koen ni aller! (That's a complete jumble =D)

Today I hung out with my Russian Friend Nascha! We went to school, and finished signing up for classes, had lunch, then went shopping, I bought a scarf today. Woot.She bought a cute Girly Skirt that she insists she'll never wear, but I hope she does because she's adorable and the skirt would totally suit her!

Then I played Cliff with my American friends at Dinner, I <3 Cat! She's super fun, and are Talia and Eli and Nikki! Nandero...
Oh- Last night i helped my RA Yuka with English for a couple hours, which was pretty sweet. She asked me a couple days ago if I could help her with English, then yesterday she was like "Chloe please see my room if you have no busy!"
In Japanese they use the phrase Asobu when inviting someone over, and asobu often translates as PLay. So she said she almost asked me to come play. I would have definitely taken her up on that offer too! Both Yuka and Maari are amazing RA's! Super <3
Yui is also faaaaantastic! So are other peoples Tutors, they keep sending me messages on Facebook that basically say that they'd love to go Karaoke or exploring together sometime <3

I know that there's a lot of word that Japanese People are cold, but even the strangers I talk to on the train or in stores are incredibly warm. Whoever said that they aren't friendly is a rumor starter. They are just maybe a little shy at first if they don't know you.

Okay- Love you guys! <3

Steven: I saw Jigglypuff shaped Pink bread that came in a pokeball package and I thought of you =) Keep on keeping on and...blah blah blah ;P
I tried to type a little less excitedly for you... better?

Happiness

Hiii! Just a general update =)

Okay- So yesterday I spent the day in Aobadai (Tokyo Bay) with Haruna and Yuki! (Linfield kara) It was so much fun! I <3 those girls =D
It was my first time riding the trains alone, which was exciting! I managed not to get lost or anything. Which was pretty sweet. At the station, I met Haruna and Yuki, which was the best thing ever. Roughly =)
Then Dan came from a not the only train place, and to this day I'm still not sure how he got there...
OKay- So I found a giant cat bus <3
A "Giant Sky Wheel" AKA Ferris wheel, but because it's Japan, the ferris wheels are like... 4 times the size of ones in america. I'm not even exaggerating! It was freaking awesome. Then we toured Fugi Terabi, which is one of the craziest buildings ever... there's randomly a giant circle in the middle, and it's awesome.
This is the studio where most of my favorite dramas are made! Yaaaay! But really, it was mostly fun because I got to see Haruna and Yuki =)
Then the 4 of us went to Shibuya and walked around, rode a couple elevators and all that jazz. That was pretty super fun =)
Then I got back to the dorm and gave cadbury cream eggs to the americans. I honestly don't think I've ever seen people light up that much. It was so funny!

I think that covers Sunday!
Now- Monday:
In the morning I had orientation on registering, and then info on the part time job I'm applying for. I really want to work at Chatroom! It'd be a great way to meet even more Japanese students. ;P

OKay, so after orientation we had...the health exam from HELL!!! *dramatic music featuring bass trombone*
It really wasn't that bad. Just weird.
Then we had a "Social Gathering" Which was AMAZING! Okay, so knowing me, who did I spend 3.5 hours talking to? A group of guys, of course. It's so much easier to talk to Boys! I always feel intimidated when talking to girls! But I was able to follow, and understand the whole conversation. And it was about random stuff I've never talked about even! Hahaha, it was a blast. It was by far the best my Japanese has ever been, and so I was uber happy. No one in the group believed me that I'd only been studying for 1.5 years =)
God that was fun... probably one of the most fun things yet! And it was just hanging out with people in a room >_<

Okay, then I saw a awesome street performer, (see facebook picture) and he was uber good. I went and talked to him after and he was super awesome. I got an autographed CD, so when he's famous I'll be pretty excited. He kept saying that I was adorable because I was a foreigner who was talking in Japanese. And everytime I said anything his friend would sit there and say "Kaaawaaii! Chou Kawai!!" Once again, because it's rare for foreigners to talk to people in Japanese. So fun! <3
Then I ran into a whole bunch of friends, and we rode the train back together. Twas fun!

Thursday I went out to breafast with my RA, Cat, and Cat's friend, and that was fun. Then I met my tutor and registered, then I went and played ping pon with my tutor, Shogo, Charlie, and Dimitri. That was also really fun, but for some reason I get really nervous with my Japanese around Yui, and so I hardly said anything the whole time. It was still really fun though! I then explored harajuka alone, which was interesting. Harajuka is super intense and busy, so It was quite the experience to explore it alone!
Okay, then I went home, and tried to catch up on facebook again. That's super hard!

Today was pretty basic, I had breakfast with some friends, then registered for my alien registration card, then went out with some friends to the shops around this area. Yaaaay! I bought a mirror an Trash can. For about three dollars <3
I also bought shoes- Which were a little more expensive, but still not that bad!

<3 you all!





You're so Genki!
Kodomo mitai!!
Aaaaahhhh....Chou Kawaii!
Kurooii ga daisuki!

Love Parade

Okay...so if I had to condense these last 3 or 4 days into a Sentence...
"Japan is fucking awesome."

Okay...mentally prepare yourself for a long and poorly written blog, okay?

Okay...GO!

Seriously...My Japanese sucks, but even so I have no shortage of friends here! From the first moment I met Yui, I already felt at home, and everyone else has been the same. Moments after meeting my friend Hana we had linked arms and were laughing at silly things like me completely slaughtering the japanese language =)
But seriously... I already know as many people here as I do at Linfield, and school hasn't even started yet. And the other difference? The people I meet are genuinely completely kind and selfless. It's mind boggling! Me and my friend Amy spent the train ride home explaining dead baby jokes to some of our Chinese friends, it was freaking hilarious!

Okay.... lets try and add some structure to this blog!

Maybe a timeling?
We'll start with the morning I left!

My dad and I met my sister for Coffee at 7am in Woodinville, went home, finished packing, and went to the airport. For various reasons, saying goodbye to my parents was very hard. Then I had a 10.5 hour plane ride to Korea, the two women I sat next to were super awesome... we talked for 6 hours! The other 4 hours I watched 'The Invention of Lying' and....that Ellen Page movie about roller-skaters.

Side Note- It's really hard not to type in Japanese...

Anyway, I had about 2 hours in Korea, then I was on my way to the country of dream, Nihon!

We got to the airport, and then had to go through customs, and then get our bags, so by the time I actually went to where I was supposed to meet my Tutor (Yui-chan) It was over an hour after I asked her to meet us. But you'd never think it was an inconvenience! Her and her had been waiting for a long time, and they had to drive for an hour and a half to get there, and 2 hours back because of traffic, plus there were a whole bunch of tolls to pay, buuuuut they just seemed super happy that I was in Japan! Yui has awesome taste in music, I was treated to a bunch of my favorite J-pop, spice girls, backstreet boys, Utada Hikaru... it was fantastic. And Late? Did I mention that? On my clock it was about 5am when we arrived, and I'd bee up since 6:30am, taihen,ne?

So we went to her friends house who had offered to let Dan, Yui and I stay there for the night because otherwise we'd have to pay for a hotel. They were two other exchange students who Yui had met last semester, and it was awesome. We didn't go to bed till after 9am on that pesky internal clock, but only 1:30am really. Then I was woken up at 10am by a traveling Tofu Salesman. What I mean by that is that he rides around on a bike with a Giant basket of Tofu. He Rides around tokyo selling this product by screaming how "Oishii" -delicious- it is and playing a strange instrument that sounds like a cat in heat. Then about half an hour later, the ice cream man came by! Oh wait.. that's the garbage man who's truck plays a song that sounds like the ice cream song and says how much it loves eating garbage.

Okay- so then Yui took me all the way across Tokyo to my dorm (that's an hour and a half train ride by the way)

Gah...it's getting hard to write >_< I'm tiiiiired =(


At the dorm I met my RA's and all the new international students. Instant love. <3
I can't even express how much I adore these people. Across language barriers and everything, they genuinely care, and are wonderful wonderful people, it's amazing.

Okay...continuing... so I got a tour of the area around my dorm. And then Yuka took me out to go shopping and buy things like shampoo, and body soap. I set up my room, took a shower talked with student who got here last semester, studied Kanji and eventually went to bed.

The next morning I had breakfast with some friends and the RA's, then we had orientation at 10 AM at Aoyama, which is about an hour commute from the dorm. After Orientation I got to spend some time with Yui before the...dun dun duuuuun...Placement test of pure evil!
After that horrific event, all the international students, Tutors, and regular Aoyama Students went to the hanami park. Which was amazingly beautiful and definitely fun. IYui put it together, and I was super happy that she is my tutor. At the hanami, I talked to a whole bunch of Japanese Students and tried some Japanese snacks. Circumstances led to me staying after most people had left, and was the only female international student still there! I didn't know how to get home! >_< Fumi, who I had met only a couple hours before, stayed until I was ready to leave just to make sure I got back to my dorm safely. Soooooo Nice =)

If you know me, you know that I feel really bad when people get me things, or go out of their way to help me! But here, it is so important, because without these people...I'd totally lost. Okay... I got back to my dorm and hung out with students then caught up on facebook (kinda) and went to bed.

Then I Got up for breakfast, went to Orientation day 2, Went to Karaoke with a big group of people. Okay, at Karaoke I sang Bad Romance, and it was ridiculous how much of a hit it was. First of all-singing isn't really my strong point, but I'm a theater kid, so I have fun with it =) Everyone else got into it too, and it was a massive bonding moment! From that song on everyone was laughing and having a good time- thank you Steven <3

I had so many amazing bonding experiences last night!

At dinner, Me and Hana caught each others eyes and just started laughing, and couldn't stop for aaagggggessss...for no reason. It was great =)

That brings me to today!
It was fantastic! I went to Shibuya with 5 girls from my dorm, and we met a bunch of other students and spent the day going to an amazing restaurant, where I had the best and cutest deserts ever, looking around Shibuya a little bit, and once again, going Karaoke! This time was totally different, but also super fun- it was a smaller group, and Jimi talked to me a lot about the music and stuff, it was great! I sang a whole bunch of songs I'd never heard before, and they were fantastic. I talked to new people, and had a grand old time introducing some of my chinese friends to dead baby jokes =) That was awesome.... and me and Amy talking about strategies to hit on Japanese boys. That was so ridiculous! But so much fun =)

By the way, I think that I have the best Tutor ever, Yui is fantastic, and I feel amazingly lucky that she's my tutor. Like I said, from the first time I saw her at the airport, I felt at home in Japan. Sorry, that's one of the random things I had to say in this blog!

I wish I could give shout outs to everyone that deserves them...but That's waaaay too much to write.

Okay... so there's a basic itinerary! I love Japan sooooooo much!
But I still love all of you! AND miss you!

Next time I'll work on writing better, okay!? okay!