OSAKA

Ma and I rode on a train for 34 hours. How ridiculous. There was something wrong with the signal apparently because of heavy rain that caused trains to be seriously delayed. As in, we were to arrive at 12:52pm and didn't get in until 11:40pm. 11 hours delayed. BUT, it turned out alright, even though we were suppossed to share the room with 2 other people, no one showed up and the train wasn't full. So we got the compartment to ourselves, place to lay down, and even though we arrived a little later than if we had tried to switch trains in Kanazawa, we didn't have to sit in a tiny seat. 

We also didn't eat lunch or dinner, just snacks. Stupid train didn't have any food. How stupid?

I'll try and make a bigger post later, but I only have the internet for 24 hours, so until 12:30am tomorrow. We'll be going to the Aquarium tomorrow here in Osaka, then to Kobe for the day, then back to Osaka for nightlife. It seriously reminds me of New York - taxis everywhere! Even at midnight it's busy!

And the hotel....Oh my gosh! Ma and I are STUNNEd. They have bellboys and...well, it's just super fancy. And it's a good thing that I understand Japanese, even the little I do, because it helps...a lot. A lot a lot.

I'll write more and post later! Hope everyone is well and if anyone can figure out what was wrong with the trains...because I can't. heh.

Mom and a Birthday!

I don't have time to elaborate on everything right now, but my birthday evening dinner was a hit.

I got some nice gifts, and had a nice time.

Mom got here fine! And I'm excited to start our trip. I hope she's as excited as I am.

Dunno how much internet I'll have, so I'll get on when I can but I doubt they'll be long. Except Dave-long, in the sense that they're short.

Hope you all are well!

3 to 0?

So, I haven't posted yet. Sorry about that.

I also haven't uploaded pictures because Picasa sucked and my computer freaked.

My holiday was...interesting. It rained a lot. A lot a lot. It took forever to get food at JoJo's, but it was SO GOOD. I biked like 20-30km...which was ridiculous and I'm in pain still. Dave and I went to the Ice cream place and spent too much money. And got free random herbs which we gave to Okaa-san. I got a little frustrated/pissed after biking from Niseko because I didn't think we would be able to find food and I was tired. But I was just too stressed over nothing! Because things turned out fine and Dave and I had a wonderful evening.

Trains don't like bikes. And that sucks.

Today I planted Tulips in the morning, and had a nice conversation with Otoo-san. Then helped with lunch a little, and then went "Traditional" Japanese rafting in the afternoon. It was nice, but I felt lonely because no one was speaking any English and pretty much just igorning me. Whatevs. I got soaked too.

Then, this evening I had an hour nap, then Dave came and we went to the book store (I bought 2 notebooks, some more writing paper for Chinese practice, and 3 CCS books in Japanese! -excited-), and to MaxValu where we got some fantastic ice cream.

I'm a little upset because I think Ma is going to have to buy all the food for my birthday party tomorrow. That just makes me a little angry. But maybe they'll pay some of it, or not make her pay for staying the night. Or something. I am super excited for her to come! And for my dinner! I think it'll be a lot of fun!

Sorry for the short update.

Oh, and earthquakes suck. Otoo-san and I are both afraid of them. A lot.

Just a warning

My computer randomly shut down for no reason.

Not only that, but it took almost an hour to try and repair itself. It came up with "Fatal System Error" for a breif 5 seconds. It says it could not repair it, however it is working right now.

No idea what happened.

But if I suddenly "go missing," my computer probably freaked.

Sorry.

T Minus 3 days....

First of all, I'm sorry I haven't been updating my pictures. I have since uploaded a whole bunch of new ones and added the link to the right side navigation bar.

Two days worth of things to tell, so I'll get to it!

Yesterday
was relatively nice. I got up late though in the morning (7:15) and felt horrible because KaKa and Sylph were working (since 7:00ish) and I had slept in. I told them later "Hey, if it's past 7 and I'm not up, just kick me. Seriously." I on;y have two more days though, and one of them is there (other) holiday. So, it doesn't really matter.
Okaa-san had made KaKa-san clean the kitchen, and Otoo-san said that today was "cleaning check" or something like that. And for some reason tenstions were high. I could feel the stress like it was palable. I was wondering why...
I worked outside in the morning, mowing some more in this one area of the landscape. It is a really hard place to mow though because it is way overgrown with plants at least to my hips. So, it takes awhile. And then it started pouring. I worked a little bit more outside, waiting for someone to come and get me and say "It's ok! Stop!" but no one came. So, I went inside, my hair soaked, my shirt a little soaked (since I had an over outfit thing on), and went to see Otoo-san Okaa-san to see if it was alright that I stopped. Okaa-san saw me and instantly said "Go take a shower. Now." I laughed and said it was alright, but took a shower anyway. After that, we all went and cleaned the badmition room some more, and I found out that there were inspectors coming to check the place out for some reason. So, that's why everyone was stressed! I guess it went alright though.
Sylph-san fell and hurt her back at one point, but other than that, it was an uneventful morning.
In the afternoon, we went to a cherry-farm (I ate like 40 cherries), a farm/ice cream place where I bought two things for Grami (small) and a blueberry icecream (the original place that made them), and then to an onsen. We then went out to dinner, I ate some more intestines of some sort and some chicken yakitori. Except I think that translates are "chicken grilled chicken." hahahahah.
We then stopped at a festival that was going on for two days in downtown Niseko. It was really pretty! Small booths, girls in yukatas, people stared at me, and yummy food! They had cream puff things (which Okaa-san bought one for me), french fries, and cotton candy! It was really, really cool to see. I would like to go to more sometime.
At the farm place, Otoo-san bought a grape tree and said it was a ceremony tree. And that one day, when we came back with husbands and children, we had to come to Bouken and show them the tree that was planted for us. How sweet!


Today
So today it rained in the morning. We cleaned a little bit, mostly worked on stuff for the guest rooms, and helped Otoo-san move some old things to the car/van to be taken to the reclycle place. By lunch time I was starving. We ate lunch, and while we were eating, guests arrived. So we finished quickly, and then we helped prepare the lunch of the guests. Unfortuently, this meant we got no lunch break. I checked online quickly to see if Ma's flight was going alright and found out it landed. Yeah! Welcome to Japan, Mom!
I cleaned the dishes of the guests while KaKa and Sylph-san went outside. Then, I went outside too, and finished mowing. I mowed for 2 in a half hours, about. Gosh, it was a long time. Raked some of the giants leaves into piles too. Giant piles. I'll probably move those to the pile in the back on Friday. How much fun! We stopped work at 4:30.
I took a shower, and am now updating this! Dave and I, after I eat dinner here, will go to JoJo's and have some garlic rolls and coffee, and probably play some cards or study Japanese.
Then, tomorrow is our holiday! Yeah! Who knows what we'll do though. hahahaha.

That's all for now!

Miso Soup Ettiquette

I am really tired.

This morning I got up at 6:30 to get ready to help Okaa-san with breakfast for our 6 guests and ourselves. Usually Sylph and KaKa-san would help with this, but they have their holiday's on Mondays. So I'm SOL. Get up (somehow) and make my way semi-deliriously to the kitchen. I gradually being to wake up (I don't think Okaa-san is a morning person either), and I clean dishes, do menially things. And then Okaa-san asks me to help! Yeah! So I helped make breakfast - well, just preparing some soup and rice and place settings, but still.

Breakfast ends, I clean all the dishes, and then I have nothing really to do. After my break, I clean the restuarant. All the chairs, tables, etc. Then, it's about 10:30, and Okaa-san is done with her activity with people (10 people, about 6 of them mentally challenged) of sasuage making and is preapring lunch. I help her again. But even more! I actually got the salads ready, got the soups ready, got a whole bunch of stuff ready, and then helped make tempura! We had 10 people, and then 3 more showed up, but it was after Okaa-san said I was done. But it was really exciting to help her.

Bad thing though: I fumbled around like an idiot. Didn't know where half the stuff was, or this or that. So that wasn't fun, but I guess it was just nerves. One of the guests kindly informed me that theso Miso Soup goes on the RIGHT side of the place setting as the gohan (rice) goes on the left. Oh! Gosh! How did I not know that!?

No, that's sarcasm there.

Americans and their uncultivated lack of miso placing ettiquette. But now I know.

So, I eat lunch at 12:40 and figure it would be ok not to start again at 1 and have an hour break. I'm exhausted anyway. Chill until 1:30 and then wonder what to do. I see Okaa-san with her daughter and friend in the kitchen, so I figure I'll go outside and clean the yard. So I do that. It was so freakin' boring. Gah! This one person in a car pointed at me though and kept pointing at me. Either that or the chickens...

I finish at about 3:50, go inside and clean a little, and then Okaa-san asks me if I've cleaned my work clothes lately. I keep thinking she means the clothes I work in everyday, so I said yes. We got confused a little, a then we both said "Dijobu." Then I figured out she meant WORK clothes! Oh! That little suit thing! So I went outside, figured out how to use the outside washer, and wshed my suit thing. Then she walked past the room and said "Sometimes clean your room." And we both laughed at how messy it was, so I vaccumed a little and straightened a little.

Then, I was talking to Dave, thinking of taking a nap, figuring out if we would see each other, and Otoo-san calls me....for dinner! It's like 5:00 at this point, so I was a little confused. Turns out they were going to an onsen. Dave had left to come here while I was eating dinner and arrived shortly after I was done. But I though that I was going to the onsen too...which I didn't want to, but I didn't have to! Yeah!

So after Otoo-san and Okaa-san left, Dave and I went to ride into town, but ended up just going to the MaxValu. He bought me some food (yogurt, drinks, etc.), some stuff for him, and ice cream. The ice cream was really delicious! And the man there (owner?) said that the next time I came I had to try the melon, and gave me a 100yen off card thing. Yeah! So I told him I would. I have to go back now! hahaha. Mom and I will have to go for the special dinner anyway.

We get back and we were going to go to JoJo's for coffee and garlic rolls, but it looked like rain and it was getting dark, so we decided that we'll do that in the coming days. Tomorrow I think we may ride into town, and then Wednesday go to JoJo's and hang out. I like hanging out there. And the server guy is very adorable.

Now I'm chilling out, just had some delicious yogurt, waiting for Sylph and KaKa-san to return, and then hit the sack. I guess I should shower somewhere in there too....hmmm...

NOTE TO DAD:
I got an e-mail this morning saying that it couldn't deliver my e-mail to you. I'm not sure if it's here or there that's the problem. But I have been sending you e-mails! You may just not be getting them! Sorry!

Update:
KaKa-san and Sylph-san just got back. Apparently, they WALKED from Niseko back home (it's like a 10 minute 50mph drive). Okaa-san, however was not too happy about this. And frankly, I agree with her.
They didn't say when they would be back, they didn't call saying they'd be late, they didn't have the number at all. I know my Mother would have my head on the chopping block if I did something like that.
I know Okaa-san isn't our real mother, but I think she's worried about us too. Well, we are good workers. She can't go losing us! But, she is responsible for us, our well-being, in a way.
KaKa was saying she didn't think that was right, Okaa-san telling them that they're too late. I said that I don't think it's too late, it's the fact that we didn't know where you were and Okaa-san was worried.
She came in probably 5 minutes before they arrived to see if they were here. I said I didn't know.

I recently read in my Bible that we're suppossed to act like children. Not like children in the "let's be irresponsible," but in the "I'm going to trust you, and a love you, and forgive you" kind of way. And this trip, I think, has been all about that. I mean, these people could kill me if they wanted too. (I mean, a lot of people could kill me, but let's think about it this way.) They could take me to a mountain and leave me there with nothing. They could sell me into slavery. I think this trip has shown me that humans are inherently good. At least, most. And that we need to trust more, believe more. I mean, it may still be hard to forgive, but I/we can work on that, right?

Ame onnanoko

Rain girl, they have taken to calling me. Since it rains whenever I go outside.

Today was a good day, if a little long. We got to make ice cream! Okaa-san had some guests coming over for an activity on making ice cream, and we got to as well! So now, when I get home, I want to have an ice cream making party! It was really delicious too!

Then we cleaned the rest of the day pretty much. It was super boring. Especially because I wanted music, but didn't have any. Sad. After lunch (o-bento...again), I watched the beginning of AVATAR Season Finale. OH MY GOSH! But I only got to the 2nd part (out of 4). Sylph-san and I then went outside and picked up grass. And guess who passed by! Well, yeah, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? Dave passed by with another SAS guy and luckily, we were outside and close to the road. It was pretty amazing.

It started to rain just a little, and I thought to myself, how cool it would be if it were like a Florida storm, where it was suddenly raining hard. And it did! Not super hard, but harder than the drizzle it usually is. I laughed to myself. And Otoo-san told us to go inside. We had an hour left. So we cleaned more. Got some ice cream. And then Dave stopped by for about two minutes. Very nice of his SAS guy to let him stop in.

During our free time, after work, I finished Avatar. AND OH MY GOSH! It was SO EPIC. I can't even begin to tell you all how EPIC it was. It was THE BEST EVER. Better than, and yes, I'll will say it, Doctor Who. OH MY GOSH! -spazz-

I then went to help with dinner and I actually did! She told me to help with the guests food. Yeah! Her two grandchildren were over (the ones that played tag with me), and the "children" ate together. Okaa-san was going in and out of the kitchen, and the fish we were suppossed to eat was in the middle. It was the really nasty smelling fish that makes me hate fish in general, and I really, really didn't want to eat it. So I didn't. Woo! Got away with it. And very happy about that too. 

Sylph and KaKa-san don't like the children much, and they were upset when Okaa-san asked us to walk outside with them. I think they're adorable, if a little spoiled (ok, a lot spoiled). So I cleaned up, and then went outside with them for awhile. I understood them mostly, but I still didn't get some of it. I also tried to teach them some manners. Don't know how that worked. XD

I wanted to do more on the computer before I go to bed, but KaKa and Sylph-san were on it for awhile. That's alright though. I'm going to bed early though because I have to help with breakfast t 6:45 since it's their holiday. Wee. Long day.

But, Dave'll be coming done at the end of the day and we'll be riding into Kutchan. Fun!

5 days until I get to see Ma and my birthday! I'm so excited! Woo hoo! And only 4 days of work, really, since I have a holiday! (Well, not including tomorrow in these counts.)