Compromise?

So this blog has pretty much transformed into "Today, Thanh did XYZ..." and just lists all the wonderfully exciting things I've been doing in Japan without anything of real substance. ごめんなさい. I can't resist cataloging every little thing because I don't want to forget any of it. I promise, after I finish dissecting the activities of this weekend (中やすみ-Semester Break!) I'll try to break the monotonous rambling. Compromise? I'll finish dissecting every minor incident from this weekend and I'll talk more about my homestay =).

SATURDAY! Pabots for bowling with Ashok, Juan, and Liz, woo! I SCORED OVER 100 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. We played 3 games, ate ice cream, and then bummed around the bookstore and Daiso (100 yen store) across the street for a long time, and I actually ran into my homestay-cousin who lives next door to us. Yeah, it's DEFINITELY true that you run into random people in the Goryokaku area all the time.

OUTSIDE PABOTS: It is new century arrival to an amusement.
RISING reverses common sense.
Please spend the pleasant time of a thrill and excitement.

SUNDAY! We had lunch at Goa, this Indian restaurant in Goryokaku, which turned out to be one of the best ideas EVER. Ashok even approved of the place, so you know it's legit. Plus, the Indian guy who was working at the time spoke English, which is always a win, although we mostly answered in Japanese I think. The food was good but best of all was the DVD of Bollywood songs they had playing. Ashok, Juan, Sarah, and I probably sat there for at least an extra hour staring at the screen and dissecting Bollywood plot themes slash analyzing probable protagonists/antagonists/conflicts based upon the way the actors/actresses were dressed. Very educational. After a stop at Mister Donuts we met Thanu and Yiwen at the Russian Orthodox Church near HIF/Mt. Hakodate. The original plan was to visit all the 神社 in the area, but Ashok, Sarah, and I were enjoying the outdoors too much and got left behind as we sat and talked by the fountain, although in all honesty I didn't mind.

Look, Ashok's actually smiling! =)

We ended up running into Asaoka-先生 and his wife, culminating in awkward conversation (all in Japanese of course) and thankfully we used Juan's absence as an excuse to politely refuse their invitation to climb the mountain with them. Not that I don't love Hakodate Yama (sooo pretty!) and not that Asaoka-先生's a bad guy or anything, but it would've been a bit awkward--but just a lil bit :P. After our lovely chat they went along their merry way and we went to get the BEST ICE CREAM EVER. Seriously, if you come to Hakodate check out the shop adjacent to the "floating" chopsticks (picture to follow at some point) ramen place. Apparently there's also a foot onsen there too that I've been walking by every morning, completely oblivious to its existence. We tried that out and chatted for a long time before heading home. Who said you had to go to Sapporo over 中休み to have fun? It was a good weekend =).

Monday was actually spent mostly relaxing at home. I talked to my okaasan a whole lot, and spent about an hour trying to explain Certamen and NJCL. There was a lot of charades (to convey buzzing in...) and gesturing and generalizing of things in really bad Japanese, but I think she got the general idea and definitely said that it was "すごい!" or the equivelent of "Cool!" The times that I'm not dead tired and capable of thinking and speaking Japanese, we actually talk about a lot of things. I'm really going to miss my okaasan a hell of a lot when I head back to the states. She can probably tell you more about me than my actual biological mother can, from what events I did for Track & Field in high school to what my academic major is. Ask my real mother? She wouldn't know either, in fact, she'd probably be surprised to know that I even ran track in the first place. Fail.

I kind of lied about having an extended homestay blog post. I'm actually really tired (when is that NOT the case), so I promise I'll write more next time. Naptime!