A change of pace

The weeks following Hiroshima have been fairly routine. Not to say this is a bad thing, but I do have a hankerin' to go see more of Japan. I'm trying to pinch every last yen so that I can go somewhere for New Year's. Normally, the money wouldn't be an issue since I had quite a bit left over from last month which I spent on Christmas gifts and the trip to Hiroshima and broke about even. But, alas, this month money is tighter since I bought a Playstation 3 which I must add is a very sweet purchase indeed and I think I might even be able to play PS3 games when I get back to the States.

In between the PS3 time, I've done a couple of things here and there of interest.

Last Sunday, I went to a drama performed by the drama section of the ESS club here at Yamaguchi. While I don't attend the club anymore, the people I met were generally pretty nice and fun to hang out with. That being the case, Jiro, Sean, and I went to go watch their performace of I am Sam on Sunday and it wasn't half bad. There were a few discrepencies that got lost in the translation but it was quite entertaining. The actor who played the lead, Sam, did a surprisingly well job of portraying the character. The play went on for about 2 hours and afterwards Sean and I headed back home to the dorm.

Monday-Wednesday were pretty routine. Nothing really special. However, Sean and I got cornered into singing La Bamba for the international student christmas party next friday. Considering I don't really know this song this might turn out quite interesting, but I'm not afraid. On Wednesday, Sean, Shaoxuan, and I all had Karate and I must say it's actually becoming quite fun despite the fact that the class is way too early (8:40-10:10). I'm learning about how to take people down who come at me with plastic knives and I'm becoming quite skilled at doing so. So, if the situation ever arises that someone is coming at me with a plastic knife, cleaver, or any sort of fake stabbing mechanism, I will be more than prepared. I am a force to be reckoned with. However, if someone comes at me with a real knife I'm more than likely screwed.

Thursday brought along a wonderful excursion. It must be said that I've actually made my first real Japanese friend; a friend that I can hang out with and hold a decent conversation with. Her name is Naoko. While we were going to go to the beach on Thursday, it was raining very hard. We instead decided to push back the trip until Sunday. Though, we still hung out and went to lunch and bowling. It was nice to actually somewhat connect with a Japanese person for once. The reason why this probably happened was the fact that she could speak very good English and had traveled the world during her four years at college.

Friday, a big group of us went over to our german friend's Mattieu's apartment. We hung out, played cards, ate some Nabe (a delicious Japanese stew sort of concoction), and drank a little bit. It was pretty relaxed and just overall a good time.

Saturday, Just played a little PS3 and took her easy.

Sunday was the fun trip to Hagi. Hagi is about an hour and a half away from the university and sits on the edge of the Chugoku prefecture (the one I'm living in) near the Japan Sea. Naoko, Yen-Wei, and I arrived in Hagi by 1-1:30, went to a few shrines, visited the local natsumikan farms (sort of a bitter orange; Hagi's specialty), climbed an active volcano, and went to the beach. It was a lot of fun..

This week I have three things to look forward to: a health check, an international christmas party, and a friend's birthday party. I'll write more about those later..I'm tired of typing.

Oh and check Flickr soon because the photos from Hagi will be up soon..