1/10
In my main class there were only four students, now C.J. has gone back home to England, well technically he’s from Singapore and studying in England and he took a semester to study abroad in Japan, but that’s not important. I just never realized how much of a buffer he was. Kim and I are friends and CJ was an acquaintance, but Markeith and I just don’t get along, and Kim and Markeith don’t get along either. However with CJ there it kept everything running smoothly. Now that he’s gone, it’s a bit award. I’m looking forward to the last day of school so that this will end.
I actually read or hear somewhere that gaijin (foreigners in Japan) should be helpful and friendly to each other. I agree that you as a foreigner should be kind to others in a similar situation to you, but some of the people here make it too hard. They are constantly adding to the gaijin stereotype that I hate. So I’m going to settle for being civil instead of friendly. It’s the best I can do.
1-11
I live at proxy which has a free bin downstairs. Today I found a violin! I use to play in middle school so I was super excited to see what I remembered from my days as second chair. I did have to replace the A string but luckily whoever had it previously had already bought a replacement string. I had to find sheet music from online only to realize that I couldn’t read it anymore. This might be harder than I thought.
1/12
My sister in America requested a plushy doll for Christmas, actually now that I think about it she might have just asked for one for no real reason, cause I got her something else for Christmas. Regardless, it meant that I needed to make a trip to Apita (a great little mall about 20 minutes by bike from Proxy). I had already bought her a yukata ( like a kimono but way cheaper) but I needed ties for it so I decided to check there. In the end I did find the ties and they were ridiculously cheap. New kimono’s are very expensive ranging from several thousand to a couple of hundred dollars. If you get a used yukata they can be as low as 5 bucks. Usually they come with the ties but you have to purchase the obi ( the wide outside belt) separately. It was kind of hard getting the ties because I had to ask the sales person for help but despite his looks he was perfectly nice and could speak some English. While I was there I found an adorable pig plushy so I got it for Kim as a late birthday present. I also found a shy turtle that I couldn’t resist so I let it follow me home.
