Frosted flakes are more than good...

They're great!

So yeah, bland foods. Blandest meal I've had so far was breakfast this morning. I'm starting to see a patern. I start to get nausous after lunch time, maybe its because I'm so full, or I'm not used to eating around this time. I know for a fact that I also feel sick when I'm hungry. It wasn't so bad yesterday, but I did start to feel ill a little bit again.

So yeah, care packages? I know what I want! Pepermints and wetones! I'm still not used to the heat and I feel like I persperate more that the average Japanese, so I've been using my wetones alot to whipe my face off and such. I brought a handfull of pepermints with me and I've already eatin them all (they help with digestion and make me feel less ill). I havn't asked if there are any in Japan yet, I'm pretty sure that are, but not the delicious fluffy kind you can get from Mr. Bulky. I heard somewhere that sweat was good for your pores... opens 'em up and gets the dirt out and such. Been here for 2.5 days and I can already tell my skin is better... but its alot shiny-er too.

Well I lied, yesterday I went to a temple (otera), they never said otera so I wasn't sure. I know this because when praying they didn't clap! At shrines they clap 2 or 4 times, at temples they just put their hands together to pray. The priest surpised me because he spoke very good english (and philipino... random!) and he used an english word I've never heard before to translate a Japanese word I was unfamiliar with: Epcuriam... was how he said it but I'm still unsure what the word what... anyone wanna find that out for me?

So yesterday we couldn't go out because Kyomi went to the hospital (I don't know why, I felt it was rude to ask).

OH YEAH!!! Kyomi is the maid. They never call her a maid, they say "employee" but unlike the male employes she cleans the hous, makes lunch and serves people drinks when they come over.

I should probably explain Senzui mama's buisness. She hasn't told me what it is, she just says "company", but Ithink they sell rice. I asume this because right next door (as in if I leaned out the window I might be able to touch it) Is a building the the largest walk in freezer in the world, and inside there is rice. Lots of rice. Anyway, across the street is where the men work and meet with costomers, its a small office like building with a dog in front. His name is Kuu. There are three dogs. Inside the house is a doxin/wheiner dog named Love (rabu tehe), in front of Kana's house is Joy, a golden retreiver, and Kuu is some really popular bread in japan that I don't know the name of.

We've looked at puppies a few times and you wouldn't beleive the price of dogs here! 2000 dollars or a pure bred puppy, that in America would be 500 to 800 dollars.

So anyway~ back to not being able to go out. I geuss Senzui mama thought I was bored or she didn't want to entertain me anymore (I fallow her around because I don't want to be shut up in my room on my computer *coughcoughlikenowcoughcough*. Go out, do stuff! That was what I was told to do, some I'm gonna do it!) (now is ok because Senzui mama went out, and I'm here with Kyomi). So she got out the bike and told me I could bike anywhere I wanted as long as it wasn't too far, and she gave me her buisness card and said "if you get lost, ask a lady to take you here, no boys! Boys dangerous!" So I went out and biked around for about 20 minutes and got an idea that I wanted to try to bike to school. So I went back and asked Senzui mama if this was ok and she drew me a map, and gave me 150 yen to buy a drink (I baught aquarious(only relevant to tina)). So I biked too school, which took about 20 minutes. Unlike Tina's route mine is very flat, it was pretty easy.

So Senzui mama gave me an address and told me to ask for Ishi because he would show me around the school. I couldn't find the place and so I went to a sports shop on the same street to ask (Senzui mama bragged about that alot because on my first day she said to go there if I got lost because her friend owned it). And then a lady named Hiromi took me to the very obvious building that I passed.

So Ishii took me to the school where they contacted the english teacher, who spoke english very well, and with a british accent. He took me around the school and too my class, where I met a few of my classmates, three girls: Aya, Yuri, and Yuuka. I can't remember the teachers name... I'm very bad like that, people keep telling me all these names and its rude not to know someones name so... I fail.

I got to see where the judo club meets (they didn't have club activities today) and I got to see the Kendo club and the ping pong club.

After that we went back to Ishii's company, and I guess Senzui mama got worried because she came and then picked up the bike and myself and we went home.

I got a little sunburnt (not that bad dad, its gone today, I was just a little red) and I had a bit of a hard time trying to explain sun burn to Senzui mama. We even put it in her electronic dictionary, and she still didn't really understand. But she took me to a home suply store where I found sun screen on a shelf. So now I am fully protected, my very white easy to burn self.

People say "Hi" to me. But at first I don't realize they are talking to me so I respond to late (both times I was on a bike). The first time it was a guy I had biked by earlier. There was a group of, I think, junior high boys biking on the wrong side of the street, and I let them pass. I biked by one of them later waiting for his friends outside the family mart and he shouted "HI!", I thought he had picked up a cell phone or somthing so I tunred around to look, because he didn't say anything else, and I noticed that he was lowering his hand and he looked kinda embarased... oops. Oblivious me.

The second time I was bikign to the school and I biked passed a truck, and a moment later I heard "HELLO!" and I was like wtf? So I turned around and there is a random black man. I geuss he was a little excited to see an American, but once again my reaction was delayed and so I just kept on biking. I'm propbably going to get a reputation for either being rude or being hard of hearing.

So yeah... yesterdays events.

I'm gonna go try to call my mom now. I hate having to call from outside.

Love you
still miss you
Diana

First day!

So, yeah. I'm willing to bet 100 dollars (10,000 yen) that I had the longest flight. Anyways~

My flight was delayed by 2 hours and I felt sooo bad that the people picking me up had to wait so long for me. But I arived at 7 pm Japan time and was picked up by Mr. Umezawa, Mr. Nakamura, and his daughter. She has a son who was one year old, he was soo cute, he reminded me of my own little chunky monkey.

We drove out of narita airport and through Tokyo. Japan is such a contradiction, its huge, and small at the same time. The cars apear small and thin from the outside, but its alot like a prius on the inside. The wheels are on the opposite side too, and you drive on the left side of the road. It freaked me out how close together everyone drives, but they are all very carefull and everyone signals.

It took about an hour to drive out of tokyo (HUGE!!!) and we drove past Disney land. I said I wanted to go and Yuki (nakamura's daughter) is going to take me for christmas!!! When we arived in Kazo they took me too a sushi resturant, I felt bad because I didn't eat much, but Japanese sushi is alot different from american sushi, different fish and stuff. It was really hard communicating at first, but I've got the hang of it now. Most people speak Japananglish.

So they called Senzui mama from the restuant and handed me the phone. I wish they wouldn't because its 10 times harder to talk on the phone than it is in person (i've been handed a phone about 5 times). And she said she was coming. So her and Kana came to pick me up. Senzui mama has a pink car!!! Its soo funny, even the colors of the cars are different, baby powder kinda...

So Senzui mama's house is suuuuper old and traditional, aka SCORE!!! Its really cool being able to stay here. All the rooms have tatami mats, and sliding doors, and you can get to any room through any other room. Even the bathroom is super traditional (which I really like). I'm on the second floor and it gets really hot but I will get used to it. Every room has its own "aiacon" instead of central airconditioning, which is also very Japanese.

When we got here Kana and Senzui mama helped me unpack, I took a bath and went to sleep. Its really hard to beleive is only my second day because on the first day I did sooooo much!!!

First day activities:

I woke up at 6 am which really surprised senzui mama, and I ate a huuuuge breakfast. Toast, curry rice, eegs over easy with bacon underneath, and pears. I don't know how all the women are so thin they eat soo much at every meal, its really hard for me to eat everything, most likely because I'm used to eating at different times.

We went to a castle
the library
a small convenience store
drove to kana's house
drove to the school
went to a temple and went to senzui mama's parents grave
went to town hall
met the mayor (who is in rotary)
had my insurance card changed to Japanese
came back, ate lunch
OMG I ate a whole fish!!! It didn't have a head or guts, but it was a whole fish, and it was delicisous! (take that dad, picky eater huh!?)
I took a couple of naps
then we went to the mall
McDonalds is expensive here, a double cheesburger meal is about 6 dollars.

(I feel horible right now because senzui mama is cleaning my room!!! I can clean! gah~)

Today I had to wake up early and go to a Rotary meating at, geuss what, a shrine!!!
It was sooooo cool. Like how we pray for the deceased rotary members in america, they read the sutra in a traditional shinto shrine. The preist could speak english pretty well, and for some reason everyone thinks I'm christian. But I explained that I'm not religious and they are very understanding and don't make me do any praying or anything unless I want too.

There is a gray payphone near my house (only relevant to Tina) So I can use my phone cards and have already called dad.

So, that is all that has happened so far. Pretty long first blog. I'll be sure to get this address to alot of people but if you want it would be nice if you could pass it along.

Love you
Miss you
Diana