Rain, Rain, Go Away. Come Again Some Other day...

It's threatening to rain again today, which would be just fine except between 5 and 6 pm. I have to ride home in the rain and though I have an umbrella, ella, ella, I haven't quite mastered the ability to ride a bike and hold an umbrella at the same time. This appears to be a common ability in Japan, but I can't even direct a bike with only one hand yet. Not to worry, though, I am practicing my mad bike-riding skillz... So by next semester I might be practiced enough (and brave enough) to use this special talent.

Yesterday I went shopping at the hyaku-en store at Kuzuha mall and bought for myself two desk organizers, two cute letter sets, and a hairbrush for essentially 6.30$. I love hyaku-en stores--I always check there first whenever I need something. Unlike US dollar stores, you can usually find just about anything at a hyaku-en store, and of fairly good quality too. The only thing I've bought at a hyaku-en store that I haven't been happy with is an umbrella (it's too small and it leaks so I use instead a bigger and better one that I got for free...) I enjoyed my shopping trip. I saw many stationary with engrish written all over it. One set is covered with sentences that supposedly have to do with fashion, but when you actually read them, the english makes absolutely no sense. I tried to read the Engrish with a Japanese eye (sometimes if you do that, the Engrish makes sense), but in this case there was just no way to make the words make sense except that they sounded sorta pretty together (albeit sorta disturbing too)... The sets that I got are of Charmmy Kitty (I'm guessing from the looks of her that she's Hello Kitty's younger sister?) and of a pattern with a little bit of Engrish on it: "Textile Collection. The colors that make the colors of a grown woman." I bought both because I think they're prettyful :) I have, however, been inspired to create a Engrish collection of photos. Assuming I can find a card reader to transfer the photos to the computer. I'm slowly running out of room on my card, and I have the Eisaa festival on Sunday so...

For dinner last night I had very mild Shrimp Chili (my host sister Yoshi, thankfully, prefers things super mild like I do so I didn't have to worry about anything super spicy. Yes, I'm aware that I am a weakling). I went to bed shortly after because I've been really tired all the time. I study too much; that's what I'm blaming my fatigue on. Seriously, I spend at least two hours on studying and homework every day, as compared to two hours a week at the most on studying and homework back in the United States. My brain is overloaded and tired.

At breakfast today, my host mother and I discussed politics. In case you don't know, Prime Minister Abe resigned. I asked what happens when a Prime Minister resigns in Japan, and she said that usually the party's representatives will elect a new Prime Minister from within their party, but that this time things will be different (according to her, the current public opinion of Prime Minister Abe is so low that a complete new election may be necessary). Just so you'll get a perspective on this... Prime Minister Abe was elected with significant support, went through three Agricultural Ministers in the past year, and also has several other Ministers that the general public dislikes. Therefore, he got to spend only a year in office before his situation forced him to resign.

Things are about to get really interesting (to me anyway). With Prime Minister Abe gone, I can watch how the Japanese government deals with such a happening. Plus, I can compare this situation to what I know of the United States and impeachment (or at least, resignation before being kicked out; I'm thinking Nixon here, who also when he was elected had a high support among the population...) Comparative Politics, and I get to experience it by being there! And, of course, it helps that at home we have a bi-lingual news channel (so I can understand what's being said) and I'm taking this class called the Dynamics of Modern Japan, which of course will definitely discuss what's going on since it deals with politics and history... I think I'm going to have to start reading the newspaper. More details when I have them.

I also had the very encouraging experience today of reading a passage in Japanese and not once having an english translation cross in my head. Meaning, that I was thinking and understanding what I read entirely in Japanese. This means (to me) that I'm making progress in becoming a competent speaker. For the past few weeks, I'd been a little discouraged because I could remember so few words (well, the words are coming back now), and my Japanese is slow and broken. But, to be able to read a passage in Japanese and comprehend it in Japanese... I'm really thrilled and it was just the encouragement I needed.

This weekend is a three-day weekend because Monday is Respect for the Aged day, so I intend to spend Saturday catching up on homework and buying a cord for my camera so that I can transfer pictures, and Sunday at the Eisaa festival in Osaka, where I will fill up my camera memory card yet again, I'm sure. If I'm lucky, I may even be able to get the battery door on my camera fixed since Nikon is a Japanese brand...

Miss everyone!