Boots, Dreams, and Karaoke

As the days go by the weeks seem to get busier and busier, though, thankfully, in a good way. Compared to Midd the schoolwork here is quite light and so we have plenty of opportunities to go out and have fun. This past weekend (which I realize was almost a week ago...I've slacked off, sorry!) Meli and I spent the whole day exploring Shijo and its multitude of shops. There are streets lined with shops and department stores that are filled with levels of more shops, and then there are these random little nooks that look like they're just one store, but once you go in it's as if you've been sucked into another world...of more shops!! And everything is SUPER CUTE. It was like a maze that never ended. The amount of consumption in Japan is incredible and there's something about those department stores that puts you in a daze so that before you know it it's been already almost 9 hours that you've been walking around and you've hardly eaten and you've tried on every boot in almost every store (our mission that day was boots, and I'm super glad we've succeeded because it's gotten really rainy lately!!) and your fingers are sore from pulling zippers! I think it's all the bright lights and colorful clothes and shiny floors that are so bewitching. Warning: If you're a girl and you want to save money, resist the Shijo shopping malls, especially OPA. Guys don't really have to worry, it seems as the shopping malls cater mostly to the women, and out of 7 floors there might be 1 dedicated to guys...

Though I think Japanese clothing is incredible, there's one thing I don't get: Japanese bras. We passed a store and they had these bras on display that were either heavily sequined, festooned with lace and/or encrusted with beads. BEADS. I mean, how are you supposed to wear something like that?

Anyway, on Sunday we went to Kobe, which is about an hour away from Kyoto, for this dream party that Adam's host mom threw. Apparently Kobe is up there with Tokyo for being one of the most "oshare" (fashionable) cities in Japan and before the party we got to tour the city a bit. Our first stop was China town where we stopped for lunch. It was really crowded and colorful and every single stall that we passed was heaped with steaming food like chasubaos (sp?) which are these white fluffy dumplings that have meat inside, gyoza, boba, and these fried something-or-others which looked absolutely terrible for your body but oh so good to eat!

Chinatown in Kobe (notice the boots! ;))

We also went to the harbor and saw where the Kobe earthquake happened and afterwards we went to this shopping center which sold Kobe sweets and trinkets. There Adam bought a chocolate wrench. We called it "the monkey" and ate it the next day.

Yum.

After getting a taste of Kobe sweets we went to this place where there are old-fashioned European buildings. Apparently, a long time ago some Europeans came to Kobe to work and built a little community and now you can take tours of the houses, which admittedly wasn't all that exciting to me (though the area was pretty and had cute houses and tiny stone streets), but I can see how a Japanese person who has never left Japan would find it interesting.

And finally, the party. It was at this gorgeous tea room called Ricardina Real Princess. There were chandeliers everywhere and even the patio was made out of marble floor so shiny you feel as if you can skate on it.


For the party we got this big room with a lot of couches and even a baby grand all to ourselves. There were fourteen people and we were the only foreigners/students there. Everyone else was a friend of Adam's parents. Before the party I have to admit I was a little apprehensive, because part of the requirement was that we had to give a little speech about our dreams in Japanese. But in the end, I'm really glad that I went. It was a lot of fun and not as nerve wracking as I thought it would be and I think it's great to have a kind of party like that - a party that makes you really reflect on what your goals are and to share those dreams with the others around you, making it a little bit more of a reality with each word you pronounce.


Yesterday (Thursday) was Meli's birthday and so we decided to go karaokiing! It was was a blast, and it was especially amusing to sing to Outkast and Black Eyed Peas while the video on the screen showed old footage (like imagine 70s style) of Santa Monica. I guess they need to update their music videos! Highlight: Adam and Max singing to Spice Girls.


I have a video, but I think they'd hate me if I posted it ;).