Friday (8/1) marked the beginning of August, and an explicit mark that the end of our time was drawing near. After class (and a quick lunch at the nearby conveyor-belt-sushi place with two Yale friends), everyone headed over to the international hotel for the HIF Speech Contest, where the best two speeches of each class were presented. My roommate Nick was included and did a great job, speaking about his experience and techniques he had learned for studying Japanese.
Afterwards, the festivities for the Port Festival (lasting all weekend) began. After wandering about for a bit, a group of us went to an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) and enjoyed ourselves (with complimentary karaoke, too!). I then rand off to a barbecue hosted by one on my classmate's host family, and we watched the impressive and lengthy fireworks display from high up on the hill.
Saturday (8/2), Okaasan, Mariko, Haruto, Nick and I all drove out to the sea to swim. I had mentioned wanting to go swimming during the week, so Okaasan brought us to a spot she knew – and I at first was wondering why we had driven to a place so far away (about 1.5 hours), but it was well worth it, getting to swim in the lukewarm water, explore among the rocks, see starfish, etc. There were several sea urchins, and Mariko asked me if I wanted to eat one. I thought she was joking. Nope. She cut it open with scissors she had brought and scooped out some of the yellow insides and offered it to me – and as disgusting as I make that sound, it was actually tasty, and somewhat sweet. (Much better fresh than the sea urchin that is prepared in restaurants, I think.)
After we got back to town, Okaasan dropped off Nick and I to participate in the festival parade, which consisted of several different groups of people dancing to the Ika Odori. Over and over and over and over again. It was a lot of fun, and definitely exhausting, and hot! I was sweating buckets. The rest of the evening, a group of us walked around, checked out various food vendors, and enjoyed each others company amidst the celebratory mood of the evening.
Sunday (8/3), Okaasan had to pick up some vegetables from a friend, so on the way she dropped us off at a terrific, huge bookstore. I
wish there were a bookstore like this at home (maybe there is somewhere, I don't know) – somewhat like a Borders, but spacious and comfortable (with many desks and sofas for reading or studying), as well as a Starbucks, a restaurant, a convenience store, a stationary store, even some furniture… etc. I didn't buy anything, but I had brought a couple of books to read. There was a man napping on the couch near me, but a staff person came by and poked him, so I thought maybe it wasn't the place for a nap.
Afterwards, we went to the grocery store so Nick could get ingredients to make guacamole. We had mentioned a few times wanting to make something specially for Okaasan, and I couldn't think of anything that special I could make, but then I thought I'd try and make some chai tea. It ended up quite the eclectic snack-time: chai tea, guacamole, and crackers (since tortilla chips don't really exist in Japan). It was nice to at least
attempt to do something nice in return after all Okaasan had done for both of us.
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