Homework Wave

Long time no see!

I'm hear to type a short post and apologize for the delay concerning my Tokyo trip. I took around 2,000 pictures and have not sorted through all of them. I will probably write two posts concerning Tokyo - one for each day - since my friends and I did so much. If not Thursday or Friday, then this weekend, I will write up some awesome and detailed posts.

I'm glad we went when we did because Midterms are next week and there is suddenly a lot of homework and review needed right now (also explaining why I have not sorted through all my pictures or wrote about Tokyo yet).

I recount some fun things from today and yesterday, but then must retire for the night.

• Saw three new birds yesterday - no pictures (frustratingly) since my camera battery had not been charged yet from the Tokyo trip. I saw an adorable Japanese White Eye, a bird with a gorgeous voice that I know the name of in Japanese but neither know how to spell it or the English translation, and a cute little bird with whitish-grey body and black stripes and a slightly tufted head. 
• The Shinkansen park by my house is absolutely lush with green and clovers - like a little fairy sanctuary above one of the fastest train tracks (that is magnetized, by the way) and among suburban houses and electric wire canopies.
• Rested yesterday but did legs today (I'm glad I waited because the one person from our group who decided to work out yesterday anyway was apparently extremely fatigued and slightly delirious yesterday). 
• Went to a Lawson convenience store for the first time: pretty nice. I may like it a bit more than the ever-present Family Mart. 
• There is fruit juice at convenience stores that cost less than 100 yen (about $1) - awesome!
• Rocking Panic! at the Disco's "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time" on Bass
• Setting up studio session dates with my group (I asked them about the price and it will be like $10 - also awesome)
• Made friends with a spider and then had an interesting time getting the little fella out of my room without actually touching it (it was on the ceiling by the way - no easy feat)
• I felt so good after working out and stretching today - actually increased my energy
• We had tempura with cold soba today and it was so gooooooood (delectable, divine, delicious). I love tempura so much! It's simple so I think I can replicate it.
• It's so weird to be getting end-of-study-abroad-experience request e-mails and hearing about people finishing finals or *wells up a bit* graduating...while I'm approaching mid-terms. I remember feeling off when I had such a long Winter Break while everyone else was studying, and this is like that, but in reverse. None of the alumni I talked to or articles I read prepared me for that dissonance. I'll definitely try to pass it on to those hoping to study abroad someplace with a different track than what they are accustomed to.
•  Sometimes my host dad is like an actor, so I asked him what type of movie he would want to appear in - comedy. I knew it.
• I was reading Tolkien yesterday and, last night, I had a dream where we went to Kobe and visited the kofun of Frodo...it was surreal...And there was a mascot cut-out of Frodo next to it. 

 Anyway, Tokyo adventures are coming!