Yeah, It's been a while

Well, I have had a very busy last week and a half or so, I'm sorry for not keeping you all informed!

So last Friday, (not three days ago, but the friday before that) my friends and I went out for our first karaoke experience. I stuck to what I knew and sang Guns N' Roses, as well as "ABC" by the Jackson 5 which I quickly realized I knew not a single lyric to. Well, other than "ABC, 123, etc." Karaoke was both not as embarrassing as I thought it would be, and way more embarrassing than I thought it would be. Perhaps I should have consumed a little more alcohol beforehand...

The next day we made our first trip to Osaka, which has a section called Denden town which may as well be called Video Game Land, or possibly, Greg's favorite place on earth. Really old video games which you could never find in America are pouring out of shop windows on to the street, and the area is famous for its negotiable prices, so if you find the same product at two stores, you can show the lower price to the higher-priced store, and that store will sell you the product for an even lower price. I didn't buy anything (somehow) but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to every 5 feet.

Sunday was a chill at home day (they usually are) and Monday was class, but Tuesday was a national holiday, and also happened to be my 21st birthday. So, Monday night we, the Midd Kids, plus a friend from summer school and some Midd kids from other programs went out to a pub (which an english speaking bartender, though we spoke in japanese anyway) and had a great time. Tuesday, of course, was more drinking, this time with my host family. They took me to the Suntory brewery which is very close to my house, very awesome, and very free. We took a tour of which I took a few pictures even though I was asked not to, and got free drinks at the end! Before that my family took me to a sushi lunch, which was both fantastic and incredibly cheap. A huge plate full of sushi plus soup, tea, and coffee flavored jello (never again) was 12 bucks, and would probably be around 30 in America. It was awesome. For dinner we went to basically the opposite kind of place, a real shack of a restaurant my family frequents a lot, where we sat at the bar and talked to the bartender the whole time. It was a yakitori place (grilled chicken) but of course they grilled every thing else too.

I talked my family out of ordering horse, and reluctantly ate a piece of raw chicken, which I told my host family would raise hell in America. It was delicious, however, and the bartender was a real character. I felt pretty proud of myself too, as I heard other guests in the restaurant commenting to each other about how surprised they were at my Japanese skills. I guess all this education has gotten me somewhere.

Wednesday and thursday were same old same old, and friday my garden class went to another awesome garden where we sat and drew pictures for a few hours. I have to say it is definitely my kind of class. Friday we went into kyoto and chilled by the river after hitting the arcade, and yesterday went back to Osaka, though I was only there for a short while. Today was another family sunday, with the exception of some studying with some buddies.

So now you're all caught up, mostly, although I'm definitely saving material for conversation at the wedding next week. I'll see you all there!