Puriiiikura

Yesterday was boring (just studying) so I didn't write a blog entry for it. I got soaked on my way home yesterday because I forgot an umbrella. :( The food was probably the most notable part of the day: Japanese-style spaghetti at lunch (their sauce tastes a lot different) and really amazing risotto for dinner. Namiko said it's actually really easy to make! I'll have to try it. :)

Today I woke up early so I wouldn't be late for my final exam....only to find all the Tozai line trains at Toyocho station were stopped. I thought it was because of a suicide farther up the line, but my host mom says she heard that a car was broken. I wonder if that's really what happened, but whatever the case, I had to take a bus. Some very nice Japanese people took pity on me and helped me find my way to Shin-Kiba station (never been there before) and then onto another train to Kaihim-makuhari. 

There was a moment in the Shin-Kiba station where I ALMOST cried, which would be the first time of the summer. I was definitely going to be late for my final exam (due what what I thought was suicide, very depressing), I had no idea where to go or where I was, and people were running all around me trying to get to their trains. I made eye contact with a man and said, "Excuse me" in Japanese just like I always do, except with a more scared look on my face probably. He frowned, ROLLED HIS EYES at me, shook his head with irritation, and pointed to the information center, which had a huge line, full of people trying to find new trains after the Tozai line was stopped. Then he hurried away. I know he was busy and I know I look foreign and stupid but I almost cried right there. No one has blown me off like that since I've gotten here. There couldn't have been a worse time for it to happen than when I was already so stressed out and contemplating the fragility of life and the horror of train station suicides. Did I mention it was pouring rain and my feet were soaked? Discomfort goes well with woe.

Eventually I just picked an escalator and a nice English-speaking man directed me to my correct train. I don't think he was American but he didn't look Japanese. Anyway, so that was the rough start to my day. I arrived in class late and immediately had to take a giant 2-hour final exam, which went okay but not great. The speaking part was the most stressful, because I could see my teacher grading me as I was speaking, and I wasn't getting 10s. The particle section was extremely upsetting because I had no idea what I was doing, and same with the reading section. Kanji and grammar were fine, I think. I wouldn't worry so much if this test didn't translate into a huge effect on my UNC GPA.

I talked to Yutaro at lunch and told him that my day was bad because there was a suicide on my train. He proceeded to tell me what it looks like when you see someone jump in front of a train. It basically made me sick. He said his friend saw it happen right in front of him one time.

Then I accidentally poured green tea all over myself and it was not a fun day for Caroline. At least it was cold. At this point I declared to Sachi that I really wanted to make heart-and-sparkle-covered purikura and write, "Shitty day!" on it. Because usually people write "happy day" and all sort of other things on theirs. :)

We had a guest lecture at IES after lunch, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how fascinating it was. The topic was the Edo period of Japanese history, and it was told by a really great British teacher who showed lots of great photos on her powerpoint and had many stories. The whole thing felt like story time, actually. :D Edo is the old name for Tokyo, and also the period in which Edo/Tokyo became the ruling center of Japan. I can't wait to go to the Edo Museum on Thursday after hearing this lecture. I was especially impressed by the massive fires (one wiped out 60% of Edo and killed 100,000), the Edo peasant volunteer firemen, and how the prostitutes of the Edo period had a lifespan of about 22 years.

After the lecture, Laura, Sachi, and I went to the Aeon to do purikura, because I had assumed that it would cure my woes on a bad day. But actually the lecture already took care of that, so we just had fun. Here's all of our purikura (click to see). Editing them was so much fun, and the timer got stopped so we just kept adding more and more stars and hearts. :D I tried to draw kanji but it got vetoed... We need to have some Japanese people with us so they can help us out! It's funny how the goal of purikura is to look really white; I always succeed at that. :) This one is my favorite.

After this, I commuted home and wrote a letter to my Grandma on the train. :D Then I walked to Sunamachi Ginza in search of a special skirt. I was unsuccessful but I did find a nice Japanese one-piece which I will soon wear. Mom, if you're reading this, don't worry; it was not expensive!

We had take-out food tonight because Namiko-san had such a difficult day at work. The take-out food was delicious though! I had rice with chicken and bamboo. I put a raw egg on my food for the first time, and it was tasty. I don't like the texture of raw egg, though.

Here is the baby bird on our porch. I just looked at it outside and I think it is dead. :( Either that, or it's a very rigid sleeper. 

Time to go take a shower; it's so hot in Tokyo all the time. :(