sayonara

So.

So, according to DiaryLand it's been like 36 days since my last update, and I don't know, maybe I'm taking this too seriously, but writing here just isn't as fun as it used to be. It's not that I don't have anything to say, because I do, trust me. It's just that I keep putting it off and putting it off and meanwhile I have this growing list of things to talk about and finally I just give up because it's just not worth it.

For a week straight I seriously considered writing nothing but Japan entries until I caught up, and then pulling the plug on kate-san. But I was at the (manmade) beach the other day with my girlfriend and her (other) girlfriend (no, not really) and suddenly for no reason at all I felt like writing a diary entry. So I changed my mind and decided to give it another chance. For now, at least.

But even if I have a sudden change of heart and continue writing here for another 5 years, I definitely won't be renewing my SuperGold membership again. I submitted two help requests right after the server crash (three months ago!) and STILL, no response. I'm paying $50 a year for a SuperGold membership only to be completely and utterly ignored.

Anyway. Here's that list I mentioned before of things to talk about:

1. Instead of attending my high school's senior prom, Resa and I went to see a 7:30 showing of Star Wars: Episode III. I have a feeling that someday in the future I'm going to regret that decision, but in the meantime I feel like a rock star.

2. I graduated high school (finally!).

3. My parents and I adopted 2 3-month-old kittens.

4. I attended a 2-day college orientation at the U of M.

5. Di and I threw a goodbye party for my Japanese teacher of 2 years.

We thought we made it perfectly clear to everyone invited what the plan was. Camp Snoopy (the amusement park in the Mall of America), then Tucci Bennuch (a pricey Italian restaurant in the mall). A total of 3 people (out of 15 or so) planned ahead and brought enough money to cover both Camp Snoopy and dinner, and everyone else went on and on about how bored they were.

At one point Nick even took me aside and said, "Kate, you and Di really should have planned this better."

Jesus.

6. Bryan (who I would bang in a second given the chance - srsly), not to be confused with Bendy, flew all the way from Texas to visit Resa and I and stayed at my house for 4 days. In the short time he was here, he ate not only the worst taco he had ever had in his life, but the best pizza.

7. Resa, Di, and I went to the beach, where, instead of going the traditional route and making sand castles, we made anatomically correct boobs, 3 boobs, mermaid tails, and a pregnant belly.

8. Di and I met my Japanese teacher and the Japanese exchange student at the airport to see them off.

While the majority of Americans (and native speakers of English, for that matter) seem to think that sayonara simply means "goodbye," it actually means "goodbye for a long time." For that reason, sayonara is serious and solemn and meaningful.

It's something I only came to understand after living in Japan for 9 months and experiencing Japanese culture firsthand, and because of that it's hard to put into words.

That's why, to me, it was 10 times easier seeing tears stream down my Japanese teacher's face as she hugged each of us goodbye than it was to hear her say sayonara.