a cry for help

my host mother got back from her shikoku retreat at like 1 a.m. on tuesday. she left me a souvenir on the keyboard. a shikoku hello kitty charm. she got a matching one for moegi.

we all went shopping. right off the bat we hit the clothing department because moegi wanted a skirt. three days after my big $400 purchase, but whatever. the last thing i wanted to do was look at more skirts, so i killed time trying on tank tops. i picked out three to try on, but they were a lot cuter on the rack. or would be a lot cuter on someone elses rack, i should say. they didnt do much for my boobs, which can pretty much be said of most of the stuff i try on.

i left the tanks in the dressing room, but my host mother caught me. she took them out one by one, folded them up neatly, and made me put them back.

for lunch we had omuraisu, omelettes with rice inside. usually you eat them with ketchup or sauce. click here for pictures.

while my host parents were paying for lunch, moegi and i played with the electronic keyboards and this really cool guitar caught my eye. the frets were buttons and the strings were thick wires that you pressed instead of strummed. it was so neat.

next was grocery shopping. because japanese homes have next to no storage space, the japanese generally buy groceries every day.

i bought a cinnamon roll.

i ducked out early to look at purses, but didnt find anything. its almost september and im STILL keeping my eyes peeled for a cute purse.

that night we played a few games of uno, plus another japanese card game that the japanese usually play around new years.

wednesday, may 5th, 2004

on wednesday i went shopping AGAIN, this time for tops to match the pricy skirts i bought.

i did a LOT of shopping during golden week*.

anyway, my host mother brought me to this really upscale department store in motomachi where everything was ridiculously overpriced. like, a plain no-frills tank top could cost as much as $120, and it wasnt even particularly sturdy. on the other hand, the sales people were extremely helpful. all i had to do was show them what skirt i was trying to match and theyd bring over 3 or 4 different tops for me to try on, as well as accessories. i ended up buying 3 tank tops and a cute belt.

afterwards my host mother and i stopped for lunch. i ordered a plate of 3 cheese sandwich wedges and a glass of iced tea with milk. an appetizer compared to the lunches you can buy in america, but it was just the right size.

since we were already at a classy department store we bought a fancy cake, plus onigiri (rice balls) for dinner. the place was packed because of childrens day, the day you can see carp streamers flying outside of japanese homes. you can read up on childrens day here.

because the growth rate in japan is currently 0, you dont see kids everywhere like you do in america (and other countries where the growth rate is above 0). but since it was childrens day, kids were crawling out of the woodwork. and they were ALL STARING AT ME. i was THIS CLOSE to playing mind games.

*"The Golden Week is a collection of several national holidays within seven days in the end of April and beginning of May. It consists of four national holidays: Green Day (Midori no hi) on April 29, Constitution Day (Kenpo kinenbi) on May 3, "Between Day" (Kokumin no kyujitsu) on May 4 and the Boy's Festival (Kodomo no hi) on May 5. For more detailed information on the holidays, please visit the Golden Week information page." - japan-guide.com

p.s. i updated my rings and links page - changed the layout, cleaned up my diaryrings, added some links, and, last but not least, posted my current address in japan. PLEASE write me. getting mail totally makes my day and makes living in a foreign (in every sense of the word) country bearable. it doesnt matter who you are (although if were friends i would especially like to hear from you) or what you write about. it doesnt even have to be a letter. seriously. it would mean a lot to me. plus if you write me i can send you cool things from japan.