Could it be? Is it Spring already?

I know I used this title once before... and actually.. it did get really fricking cold again after that.... But now its warm again. :) And...
The proof is here I guess. There are sakura blooming all over the place. I repeat.. there are cherry blossoms ablooming... In the states we got groundhogs who lie to us and tell us spring is coming but actually doesnt come for another 10 months... whereas here they have pretty flowers that only REALLY come out when the weather is nice..

Stupid groundhog. I'd rather follow the flowers.. they're more reliable. :)

Congratulations Mariko and Takeru!

So my friends Mariko and Takeru who were exchange students im Wisconsin two years ago are having a baby and getting married!!!!

In celebration of this, we had a UW-Madison exchange student reunion! IT was one of the best reunions ever! Yuka, Butsurin, Chikako, Takeru, Mariko, Sarah, David, Tomoko, Sarah, Landy, and myself were all in attendence. We ate at a very tasty Vietnamese restaurant. Butsurin put together a very wonderful yet sometimes embarassing slide show of photos from back in the day in Madison. :) Landy and I performed a Mini Moni dance in honor of the bride and groom to be.. even though I had no idea how the dance really went. ha ha ha Then we all sat around and tried to come up with names for their baby boy who will soon be on his way in July.

After dinner, we all went to Coldstone ice cream together. This Coldstone store is the first one in Japan and always has a wait of an hour or more. I'm not particularily fond of Coldstone, but in the effort to not be a party pooper, I made the best of the hour and a half wait and was able to hide my disappointment when the quality of the food did not own up to the quantity of the wait time in line. hahaha

Yuka is still adorable as all get out, Tomoko still crazy, blunt, and funny, David still not saying a single word, Butsurin is still Butsurin, Takeru is still Mr. Cool, Mariko is still adorable tiny.. even though she's like 7 months along, Chikako is still as sweet as ever, Sarah and I are still Sarah and I.. we can just speak Japanese better.. haha... And everyone was so happy to see that Landy still remembered her Mini Moni dance :) It was a great time seeing everyone again, hanging out, and reminiscing about the good ol' days back in Madison. It was a great time seeing everyone again, hanging out, and reminiscing about the good ol' days back in Madison.

Chiko + Landy = FUN FUN FUN!

Ok so Chiko and Landy are now BOTH here! And even though I'm sick as a frickin dog.. AGAIN... we're making the best of it and having a great time!

I'll just let the pics explain it.. we mainly all just hung out around Toks.. went to Karaoke, went clubbing, went to a Shinto shrine, went to a park, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya... everywhere! It was a blast!

Thanks guys so much for coming! :)

Josetta and Me on the Midlevel of Mount Victoria in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

I'll sum it up in six words:

Good shopping!
AMAZING FOOD!
INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!

I've never been to a foreign country in which I had no comprehension whatsoever of the language. I can see how that can be a stressful thing for travelers... but at the same time.. it's a LOT easier to tune out :) hahaha

So I'm here in Hong Kong with my friend Josette and her parents. Our first night we got to the hotel, showered after a long day of traveling.. went shopping immediately. I bought a pair of shoes.. This can only get worse... hahaha

Then we went and had dinner with Josette's grandmother and uncle.. who speak no English at all. It was an interesting dinner to say the least. We ate Mandarin food, which, although it wasn't awful or anything, BUT I think that I prefer Cantonese to Mandarin food from now on. I had some Salty Duck egg thing and some drunken chicken thing... I had a lot of different "things".. ha ha ha

The next day, Josette's mom, Josette, and I did a full day of.. well.. SHOPPING!! Hong Kong IS the shoppers paradise you know... After shopping we went to go and see the Laser light show on the Harbor where they have their Hong Kong walk of fame with different stars and panels for Hong Kong movie stars, directors, and other famous people. On the way home... it happened again... only this time.. I agreed to do it. I got schmoozed into doing one of those glamour shots things.. only because it only costed like $100... I figured.. if I really DO wanna try modeling.. I might as well get my own pics ahead of time so I don't have to worry about paying $800...

So the next day, I went for my photo shoot which ended up being an all day thing. It was interesting because Josette and her parents left to go hang out as a family unit.. and I stayed at the studio by myself. NO ONE spoke English... sure they told Josette's parents that someone could speak SOME English.. but that just meant that they could say 'hello' and 'goodbye'.. and nothing more. So that was an interesting experience. I swear, after being immersed in it for only a few hours, I could almost understand what they were all saying by the time I left. Anyway, my shoot was done, the pics were amazing. I could pick up my CD on Monday, and they would mail me the prints later. That night we went to go have a REAL home cooked Chinese dinner at Josette's grandmother's house. She lives halfway up Victoria mountain. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain. After dinner, we watched Stephen Chow's police movie.. I don't remember what it was called. All I know is that it was subtitled (Thank God) and hilarious!!! After that, we took the long drive down the mountain and went to bed.

The next day after that, Sunday, it was another shopping day with Josette and her mama. Then, that evening, Josette and I went on one of those bus tour things around the city. We went to this place called the Temple Street Market. Apparantly, it is sacreligious to sell things for personal profit around the temple during the day/time of worship. So at night, when the time of worship ends, all the peddlers come out with their fake Louis Vuitton purses, bootleg CDs and DVDS, fake DIOR sunglasses.. the works. Also, Chinese opera singers and fortune tellers come out to try to make a buck. Josette and I did some shopping in the market before boarding the bus again to go to dinner in the famous "Jumbo Floating Restaurant" in Victoria Harbor. The Queen of England came to eat here at its opening in the 70's, they even filmed movies like James Bond's "Goldfinger" and "Tomb Raider 2". We had a DELICIOUS 6 course seafood dinner which only I at my table devoured in its entirety. ha ha

The next day, we trekked out to the mountains by bus to go to see the world's largest Buddha statue. This thing was freaking huge!!!!! It was the size of like three of my Dad's houses stacked on top of each other. It was an amazing sight. The pictures really don't do it justice. After the Buddha, we went to go pick up my photo CD... and then it happened.. AGAIN!!!

According to the sales associate, the owner and head photographer of the studio saw my photos, LOVED my photos, and wanted me to take more for their promotional posters for the studio. These promotional posters would be displayed in the subway areas, malls, magazine ads, and newspapers all over Hong Kong. And I was going to be the model for them. Me... a real modeling gig! And on top of that, as payment, I got to get prints of the entire thing. So I can put those in my portfolio!!! It was so much fun! I get those prints also for free in the mail with the other ones I had already ordered.

After the swelling of my head went down.. (he he he), I went back to the hotel and Josette and I packed for our long day of travel home the next day. The next day we woke up bright and early and made our way to Hong Kong International Port of Air. Josette's flight left at 12.. but mine didn't leave until almost four.. So in order to kill time I bought the book Memoirs of a Geisha. I got SOOOOO hooked on it that I read it straight through the entire day of travel home and finished by the time I arrived in Shibuya on the bus from Narita International. It's such a good book!! I recommend it to any and everyone!

So in short.. those 6 words again:
Good shopping!
AMAZING FOOD!
INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!

I'm so glad I went. Thank you Josette and thank you Mr. and Mrs. Tin for EVERYTHING! I had an amazing time!

Nightview from Mount Victoria.. Hong Kong

Josetta.... has..... ARRIVED!!!

My Josetta has arrived and we've been doing nothing but shopping. I'm dead meat. hahaha We're having a great time hanging out. It almost feels like home... except that there are Japanese people everywhere and no farms... haha

Anyway, in a few days we're heading to Hong Kong...
I can't WAIT!!!

SCAMMED! (Almost...)

So I got scouted by a modeling agency!!!!!!!!!
I got hired by the modeling agency!!!!!!!!!!
This agency has casted for dramas featuring one of the hottest men ever, Tsumabuki Satoshi!!!!!!!!!!!
I could do comercials, movies, magazine ads!!!!!!!
Oooooh.. my first shoot with the agency!!!!!!!!
Wait.. they want $800 for this shoot!!.......????
This shoot is only for my profile!!.....??????????
The profile only has two poses!?????????????
What $300 manager fee??????????

Kouta: "This place is such crap. They are such a scam. I looked them up on the internet, and I've found nothing but bad things. It seems they just take so much of your money and you don't get that much work in return."

Bummer.... Why me.... Thanks Kouta for watching out for me. I guess it's not THAT easy to become a superstar. ha ha ha Maybe I should just apply for the next ANTM. haha!

DJ RINA

Yeah.. I did it

I bought my first DJ set.. Turntables, mixers.. the works.

I'm determined to learn how to do this.. and learn how to do this well.
I've been practicing everyday since I got them. I love them to death. They're my new babies. Ok... I will stop talking about them.. but that won't stop me from posting a pic of them. :-P

My sweetie, My new hair, and Kyouko's sexy top. What a combination :)

It's all... GONE!!!

My hair that is!!!!

Today, I did the unthinkable. I've been saying I was going to do it for about two years now and I never did... and now I did it. I had ALL of my hair cut off. The longest part is about 4 inches long and that's just the top part!

My friend Kyouko cut it for me and she did a fantastic job!!!!
I'll let the pictures do the talking. :)

Adorable little boy at Yoyogi Park

Could it be? Is it Spring already?

So today the weather was wonderful... and so.. Kouta and I went on a walk through our favorite Yoyogi park. Only this time.. EVERYONE decided to take a walk through our favorite Yoyogi park. Including a famous Japanese singing duo WaT who was doing a photo shoot. I didn't want to be tacky so I didn't take any pics of them.. I could see they were getting enough of that from the gaggle of 30 or so schoolgirls following them around the park trying to snap their pics with cellphones..

Anyway, WaT consists of two pretty cute guys. One of them is names Wentz (don't ask).. and I forgot the other guys name. Wentz is actually half American, half Japanese... (but he can't speak any English unfortunatley)... Anyway, he is really kind of.. well... hot! hahaha So me and Kouta are sitting on a bench in the park when Wentz walks by... what a gorgeous guy.. that's all I can say. Later on Kouta and I went walking by the pond and decided to sprawl out and take a nap on the grass. I watched little kids play around us and thought of my sweet nephews and niece. I also snapped a pic of this adorable little boy. Oh little kids are so cute~!!!

Then Kouta and I decided to go for a walk to Harajuku... As we were walking there... there he was.. Wentz.. walking straight towards me.. Luckily I was on a date with Kouta.. so I was looking my best.. and then it happened... As I'm walking hand-in-hand with Kouta... Wentz.... checked....... me.... out!!!!!!!! It was a full on head turning, eyes locking kind of holy-crap-he-just-totally-checked-me-out type of checkout!!!!!!!!!!! Never had my self esteem soared higher.. I had never been checked out by a celebrity before!!!! I've seen this kid on the TV dozens of times.. and now he's checked me out!!! And what made it even better was that Kouta saw it, said "Oh my God Wentz just checked out MY girlfriend!" and got just as excited and giddy about it as I did!! I LOVE that I can share these kind of moments with Kouta... It's awesome!

After that, Kouta and I went to our usual Akihabara... walked around looking at different electronics stores and acting like nerds. Then we went to Yodobashi Camera - Akiba.. which is basically Best Buy on steroids... On one of the upper floors of Yodobashi they have these full body massage chairs that you can try out for fifteen minutes at a time... Kouta and I have made it a ritual to go there at least twice a month... I know I know.. we're horrible... he he he But it feels so good!!!!! ha ha ha

Afterwards, we went to a Starbucks where I proceeded to begin the long and tedious process of... teaching Kouta English. He bought and English grammar and vocabulary book and I've been teaching him out of it once a week... weekly. He doesn't like to study so it will take longer than the book says it should.. but whatever.. as long as he learns right?

And that was that... another typical day in my life here in Tokyo. :)

Isn't he cute???!!!

Bye bye Ayumi <3 Oh and that's AWESOME that that light cord is just resting on my head like that... or not... ha ha ha

Valentines Day.. Happy times and sad times...

Ok so today is Valentines DAY!!!!! I'm so lucky to have someone special to share it with.... ok.. are you done gagging? hahaha. This year, Valentines Day for me was just like any other plain ol' day except that I bought Kouta some cologne... WHICH was on sale.. but he.. it WAS BVLGARI.... give me some props for that :-P

Anyway, today was kind of a sad day because Sarah's and my lovely friend Ayumi's Goodbye party was today. Ayumi is from Chicago and she has been in Japan for two years and is finally graduating the Keio University Japanese Language program and is going back to Chicago to start what she calls "real life." Ayumi graduated a few years back and came to Japan after graduation to study Japanese... sounds good to me :) Anyway, we were all kinda sad but luckily no one shed any tears.. none that I saw anyway. Kouta went with me to the party even though he knew no one and was a really good sport about hanging out with a bunch of college kids... he he he the old fart is already a post-graduate.. haha Anyway, he seemed to enjoy himself and what was even sweeter was that even though it was Valentine's Day and we were at MY friend's party and afterwards we didn't do anything too special, he didn't care! ha OkOk.. enough gushing...

Anyway, Valentine's Day in Japan...
Well it is very different from Valentine's day in the states. Difference Number 1: Girls don't get jack on Valentine's day. Girls buy guys the presents... Difference Number 2: Girls don't really buy the guys gifts... they usually bake them some sort of chocolate something... fudge,cake, cookies.. whatever.. Difference Number 3: Usually everything you get or give your man is hand-made... They like that sort of thing.

Now I know all the girls reading this are like... "So when do WE get our gifts???" Well we get our gifts on what they call "White Day". White Day is exactly a month after Valentines day on March 14th. On White Day, guys give the girls a present. Why they don't just wrap it up on one day I don't know.. from what I hear.. that's what Christmas is for. haha

So for V-day.. I gave Kouta this BVLGARI perfume that smells absolutely delish... and a sweet kiss on the cheek. That's it.. and he was quite satisfied. :)

From an unofficial survey (which was basically me just asking random guys I know), for most Japanese guys, they really don't care for chocolate.. or any hand made candies..... I bet if all the girls in Japan knew that, they wouldn't act like madwomen buying their men 50 dollar chocolates that might just end up in the garbage.

Anyway, I had a good Valentines Day...
In addition to my good Vday with Kouta, I got a great V-Day present from the US.... a message from my Landy-chan telling me she's coming to JAPAN!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
I'm so happy I could burst!!! It's so exciting to have all these friends coming to visit me. I can't wait!

Oooh.. look at Gorogoro the pimp... See my disposable camera? Classic!

Soccer People plus me.. hahaha All of these people play on the intramural soccer team.. except me. lol

Oh Z.. You're so drunk.. and studying a bottle of Sake hahaha

Sangenjaya's Willing Setagaya = PARTY CENTRAL!

So today we had a party at our dorm. Can I just say.. Paulina needs to quit partying for a looooong time.. I'm talking like, no more until Landy gets here... I'm tired.. I have no job, no school right now.. and I'm tired.. that's insane!!!! ha ha ha

Anyway, we had a big Keio University party at our dorm today. It was so much fun. All of our friends, Japanese AND international, came and we had a typical American party. We had it all... beer kegs... two people TRYING to play bartender and making cocktails.. we had the cheap snacks (to be more specific.. one bag of chips and one bag of pretzels) which was enough to feed maybe 5 out of the 70 people that came.... There was cheesy top 40 pop music pumping out of an Ipod and a set of small speakers (all 9 months or older of course... since none of us are up to date on American pop music right now)... there were drinking card games.. and to top it all of... beer pong. Boy those Japanese kids got a first-hand taste of the real American college party. ha ha ha

First difference between a Japanese college party and an American college party is the food... First... at a Japanese one there is um... food... and I mean REAL food.. like a meal.. with enough for everyone to eat and get full off of.. There also AREN'T 4 kegs, 25 bottles of spirits, and 10 12 packs of wine-coolers at a Japanese party... like there were at this party... heck.. there isn't that much booze at an American college party in America either... I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that compared with a Japanese college party... an American college party's food to beverage.. oops I mean alcohol.. ratio is WAY unbalanced. ha ha

Anyway, I don't remember much of the night and I don't really need to tell you why.. haha But I DO remember at some point I did end up cooking a meal for like 10 people in my room that turned out to be really tasty. My friend, nickname Gorogoro, helped me cook it. He's the one in the blue Adidas shirt in my only two pics of the night... ha ha ha.. The rest of the pics I took on an ordinary old disposable camera... It's amazing how used to looking through a digital camera I am.. I almost forgot how to use a viewfinder. And winding? I forgot to wind the film after a picture EVERY SINGLE TIME! haha I dare you to out-of-the-blue purchase a disposable camera.. it will take you a minute to readjust I bet. :)

Anyway, the next day was just another nice hangover day with sleeping in really late and watching Japanese dramas all day. YESSSS!!! My kind of weekend!

Spring Break... BEGINS!!

Ok so.. final exams are over.. No more classes... No more trucking for an hour to school through the crowds for two whole months. Whatever will I do?

Well, it turns out that I have about a month solid of plans... so I should be busy for the most part.

I quit my job teaching English because quite frankly... I don't enjoy teaching English. So this will be the first time I have been jobless since I was 15... lets hope all my loans and funds hold out. haha

In a few weeks my friend Josette from Madison will be coming to stay with me for a few days. It will be refreshing to have someone from home come see me. Then a few days after that, we will be going to HONG KONG!!! YEEEEEAH! I've been wanting to go there for a long time now.. especially since Josetta told me its a shoppers paradise... hmm, maybe I do need that job after all. haha Anyway, we'll be staying there for about a week. When I get back from Hong Kong, I have a few days off and then my friend Chiko is coming to visit. He's going to stay at my place for a week and then move to a hotel because of the stupid icky rules of my dorm that I can't have guests for more than a week... And also, there is even fine print on the guest factor.. the guest must be part of your immediate family... so Chiko is now Chiko Bugembe.. my big brother. hahaha

Valentine's day is coming up.. oooooo... I'll save that whole schpiel for my V-day post. Otherwise, I have a whole lot of nothing to get started on doing... hmmm.. maybe today I'll just laze in bed and watch TV all day... sounds good to me..

Ahh... I love Spring Break!

Keita Rocking it out with the Tambourine @ Karaoke

The happy couple..

MARRIED!

No.. not me... but wouldn't that be a shocker!

No, my friend Erin and her then-boyfriend now-husband Etienne got married! Erin studied abroad here at Keio two years ago. So did Etienne. He is from Canada. My sentences are so simple. They've become that way because I can no longer function in English. ha... ha... ha.......... (~.~)

ANYWAY, Etienne has a job working as a diplomat for the Canadian government in Tokyo. He will be moving here in May.. I think... Erin is currently a JET program participant, and she is working in Hokkaido.. and hates it apparantly. Anyway, she quit her job and will be moving to Tokyo also in like June or July. It was so great to finally meet Etienne after hearing so much about him. And it was so cute to see them together as newlyweds.. They were so in love and glowing. It was awesome!

Anyway, we kind of had a Madison reuinon with them, Sarah, Keita, and me. We all went out for a nice dinner and then went to karaoke. I actually tried to drink wine.. and managed to finish a whole glass!!! Etienne is big on wine... ol' French Candian self... so he and Erin bought our table a bottle of red and white. I've decided that I like red better than white.. but I still don't really like any of them. Sorry Sharon :-P

So it was fun night of friends, reminiscing about good ol' times when Sarah, Keita, Erin, and I were back in Madison... and filling Etienne in on all of our inside jokes. I had a great time. Oh.. and I think I'm getting a cold again.. but then again.. what's new?

Kyoto Pics POSTED!!!!

OK so I finally posted the pics from Kyoto. Enjoy :)

After 18 hours of train riding... finally.. we've arrived.. And I'm beat.

Ginkaku-ji and Kouta disrupting that little kid's picture.. ha ha ha

Ginkakuji
The entire outside of this temple is covered in REAL gold. The word "Gin" in it's name corresponds the Chinese character that means gold.

Ryouan-ji in Kyoto

Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto

5 level pagoda in Ryouan-ji in Kyoto

Ryouan-ji

Oni guarding Ryouan Shrine

Oni Statue guarding Ryouan Shrine.. 'Oni' = demon and these statues stand tall outside the entrance to the Ryouan Shrine

Gion

Kiyomizu Temple (The view behind us is of the city of Kyoto.) This temple is set into one of the mountains surrounding the city. Unfortunately we did not get there until the sun was already going down, so the pics didn't turn out that great. But the sunset was beautiful!

Kiyomizu Temple Lanterns

Gion - The old entertainment district of Kyoto... The buildings are all made of wood.. This is where the Geisha used to roam around and entertain back in the day. There are still those that dress up as Geisha and roam around, but today it was WAAY to cold, so they didn't come out.

Kiyomizu Temple Entrance

Kiyomizu Temple view

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! \(^^)/\(^^)/

Well, it's official. I am now 22. And I had a great time celebrating it!!!
I went out with all of my friends on Thursday night for my birthday. It was Kouta's DJ debut at Womb and we were all excited to go see him play there. First we went out for yakiniku (for those of you who have forgotten what that is... it is a place where they give you raw meat and you cook it on a grill in the middle of your table. It's soooo tasty!) Anyway, we went for yakiniku and then we went to Womb.

Well, in addition to all my friends that came for yakiniku, even MORE showed up to Womb and I had a fantastic time drinking and dancing with everyone.. (Though my toe hurt like hell...... Truth be told.. I wasn't feeling it too much that night... wink wink ;-) But I sure did hurt EVERYWHERE the next day... ha ha ha wink wink) I had about 10 different toasts to my birthday with 5 different groups of people and 10 different shots... the last being Tequila... Luckily it wasn't straight.. (~.~)

Anyway, I was a dancing machine... My friends all had a good time, and we all topped it off with some nice hot fresh hotcakes at McDonalds at 5:30 in the morning... ha ha ha

It was a birthday to go down in the books as one of the best. I had a fabulous time... and the next day was even better.. I had a lovely hangover as a birthday present! ha ha ha But I just lazed around at Kouta's house all day while he made me lunch and watched movies together... It was a nice bday present :) Then I went to work... But hey.. that was Friday.

For my REAL birthday (today), I didn't really do much. Since today is the start of the Chinese New Years celebration, we all decided to go to Chinatown to see the dragon dancing. Well unfortunately, we got there WAY to late to even get close enough to see anything! I saw a little, but the picture I TRIED to take is horrible. I ended up standing on a huge flower pot and crushing some petunias... oooops..... Anyway, we did end up going to a delicious delicous TASTY Chinese buffet afterwards... where I actually pulled out my Midwestern buffet big guns and ate more than could probably had fit in my body... Don't get me wrong.. there were a few breaks in there and I did use the bathroom once.. ha ha ha But still, I ate like 4 plates and it was delicious!

So for my birthday... that's pretty much what I did.
I miss my mom's Yellow Cake with chocolate frosting though.......
There's always next year I guess :)

Can we say "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" in unison? This was probably the best Chinese food I've ever eaten... and get this.. it was a BUFFET!! Or.. as the Japanese call it "A Viking!" Buffet = 'Viking' in Japanese... don't ask me why... he he he

Some guy with this weird cake hat on.. it has different cartoon figurines on it... And he was just riding around on his bike.. I have no idea what he was doing or why he was there.. ha ha

Chinese Temple where they were having the New Year's Celebration... It's right across the street from the buffet we ate at... he he

The Chinese Dragon dancing parade... as you can see.. its freaking PACKED and this is as close as we could get. You can kinda see the purple dragon in the background. From what I could see, it was really cool!

These are all my friends who came out to celebrate my turning 22.... :)

The Birthday flowers I got from Rina and Mako
And YES that is my Rockwell Automation "ViewAnyWare" vase.. I mean coffee mug :) he he he

My birthday is in 6 days...

What are YOU gonna do that day?
he he he

I broke my TOE!!! :'( (T.T)

Yeah.. for real.. how crappy is that. I broke my toe on metal stair in my apartment building. I didn't lift my feet up high enough and bam.. smacked my foot on the stair and cracked my second toe on my right foot... It HURTS!!! I can barely walk.

So I went to the doctor... he he he he... oh Japanese doctors crack me up... for real.. But of the three experiences I've had with Japanese doctors.. this one is the best.. It was this old guy.. he had the nurse (a mannish one as Austin Powers might say) take my X-Ray... Good.. it was only an incomplete fracture he says... AFTER my sigh of relief he says "But incomplete fractures are worse... They hurt more, take longer to heal, and sometimes heal improperly and end up hurting for the rest of your life." Thanks doc.....

So then he starts jerking my toe around asking if it hurts as I'm screaming in pain about to pass out. Kouta was there with me.. thank God... I don't think I could have gotten through the visit as fast as I did without him there. Then the doctor tries to explain to me how to tape my toes together... He didn't prescribe and pain killers and didn't use a splint. Maybe that's all you can do for a toe but... when he taped my toe up, it was so loose there might as well have not been tape on it! Then he starts talking to Kouta as if I don't understand Japanese telling him to explain to me how to tape my toe later...

It was an interesting experience to say the least.

I hope my toe gets better soon... I'm already depressed that I won't get to go out dancing for my birthday. :'(

Moving.......o.o.O.O.0.0.O.O.o.o......

So today I moved from Kawasaki to Sangenjaya... BIG difference.. My room is bigger, my bathroom is bigger, the location is waaay better, and the walk to the station is not as bad on my troublesome knee... Thank God! I love it here.. It's great..
I'll put up pics of my new place later.... maybe... he he he

Lina's DJ Debut

So I had my DJ Debut today.. It went pretty well.. I made a few rookie mistakes but overall I feel like I did pretty well!!! It was kinda crazy though cause I had only brought like an hour and a half worth of music with me.. and I ended up DJing for like 3 hours instead of the 1 I thought. One of the other DJs didn't show up and another one didn't DJ that much. I wasn't mad though. It was fun and I got to get more experience DJing in an actual club instead of just in Kouta's room.

Hopefully this will lead to many more shows to come because I had a blast and according to the people there... I wasn't half bad.. he he he

Kyoto!!!

So after our lovely trip to Kumamoto.. we took the train.... for 18 hours to Kyoto... what a trip.. it took forever to get there.. In the process I caught a cold.. I guess it's true when you're running on no sleep and you have a really hard and arduous trip, you catch a cold easily!

So anyway, we finally got to Kyoto at about midnight after waking up at 6:30 a.m. and leaving Kumamoto at 7 a.m., and stayed in a love hotel because they're cheaper than regular hotels and you don't need a reservation... We tried to find the least sketchy one we could but come on.. its a LOVE hotel.. he he he We found a nice one though... and crashed.. immediately...

We woke up @ about 10 a.m. the next day and set out for our "Power-Sightseeing.." We only had a few hours in Kyoto and we wanted to see as much as we could. We didn't care how cold it was, or how sick we were.. we were in Kyoto dammit and we were gonna see the sights!

That was our downfall for the next few weeks to come as we caught.. well I should say I caught probably the worst cold I've ever had.. that lasted for three weeks.

Anyway, power-sightseeing.. Yeah so we went to about 3 shrines and shopping and ate dinner and went to Gion which is the old entertainment district in Kyoto in about.... 7 hours.. it was uneblievable. Not to mention the fact that it was New Years season (which in Japan lasts from the 31st to about the 5th).. so it was sooooo crowded with tourists and stuff.. it was insane. It was so rough.. and it was soooooooo COLD!!!! I literally felt like I was gonna die... but hey.. at least I would die knowing that I saw Kyoto in all its winter glory.. he he he

Anyway, Blogger won't let me post anymore photos today because I've posted almost a hundred already today trying to update this blog. So I'll post the Kyoto pics later.

The thing I'm looking forward to now after our vacation is over, is my DJ debut coming up on the 12th.. I'm soooo nervous!

KUMAMOTO!!!!!

So the drive to Kumamoto took like 12 and half hours... it was long.. but well worth the trip. Since I have about a million pictures and all of them each have a little explanation about the trip, I'm not going to write a really long spiel here or anything..

I'll just sum up..

I had a great time in Kumamoto. I got to meet Kouta's AWESOME family and friends. They fed me well, and I slept well on a nice warm futon. We went to a few different places around Kumamoto.. the castle, Amakusa, and I even got to wear a kimono. It was probably one of the best experiences I've ever had. I was really happy I got to go!!!!!

Take a look at the pics and enjoy!

Trying on Kouta's mama's kimono...

Kouta's mama dn Kimono Lina :)

Kimono Lina and Kouta's Papa

Me posing in front of a Shrine nearby Kouta's parents house.. and when I say nearby.. I mean nextdoor.. he he he

Don't mess with me.. I'll go old school on you! :) (What's funny is he actually is reeling back.. he he he)

Me posing in Kouta's mama's kimono

Kimono Lina and Kouta

Kimono Lina

Kimono Lina

Kouta's papa enjoying a nice nama beer and some raw fish.. too bad we didn't catch any :'(

Kouta's mama is tearing up this custardy egg pudding thing that came with our meal.. I didn't really like it so Kouta ate mine.. but his mama sure does!

Like father like son... squid fishing off of one of the piers in Amakusa Bay

Well, we didn't catch any squit that day, but that didn't stop me from having shrimp, squid, and fish for dinner!!! We ate at this delicious restaurant in Amakusa.. and.. my hair is a mess.. I don't know why... hmmmmm :-/

On the pier as the boat is leaving.. he he he

Two of the 8 hawks that chased our boat along with the 50 seagulls while we throwing breadcrumbs off the backend.. ha ha a

Beautiful sunset while squid fishing..