Day Whatever it is now

I've become so terribly lazy about this and haven't published a post in the past few weeks.  My reasoning is that nothing exceptionally exciting has happened recently, and I felt that I was doing both of us a disservice by just typing the same thing over and over.  So, here's a recap of the moderately interesting things that have happened since I last posted.

1. Summer rain season begins: Okazaki, the town I've been living in for the past 9 weeks, has so far been the hardest hit city in all of Japan.  News reports indicated that authorities ordered all 380,000 residents of the city to leave their homes in the wake of flooding, though that order was later lifted.  As of now the official death toll stands at 1, though there are a few missing and injured.  I, however, am in very little danger, as my residence is high up on a hill, far away from the lowlands where most of the damage is occurring.  The trains were out for part of yesterday, but that didn't stop me from going to the arcade, partly just to make sure that everything was still in working order and not destroyed by the flood waters.

2. O-bon: I followed a friend to Tokyo (as more of a thing to do with somebody than to visit Tokyo again).  Sure, I ended up in the same places as before, namely Akihabara, but that's where he wanted to go, to purchase an electronic dictionary and an iPod touch.  I, on the other hand, purchased mainly subway tickets and admission to parks and such.  And took A LOT of pictures.  Some turned out quite nice, I'd suggest checking out my facebook if you have the chance.  On a related note, when my time here ends, I'll be going through my pictures, weeding out all of the mediocre ones (probably like 1500 of them), and making a best of (series of) album(s).  I again stayed at the capsule hotel, and quite enjoyed it, though I can't say that I'm particularly addicted to them.

The following day I made my favorite trip, to Hiroshima and Miyajima, one of the Three Views of Japan.  The weather wasn't all that great for the Saturday I was there, but Miyajima was still beautiful as anything I've ever seen.  So beautiful that I felt the need to climb yet another mountain, only a week after ascending Fuji.  I didn't get back to the shrine early enough, so it was closed, but I still got enough pictures to make it seem worthwhile.  Then, the following day, I went to Peace Park, home to the remains of the Hiroshima Industrial Promotional Hall, or better known to the rest of the world, the A-bomb dome.  It was more of a sobering and educational experience than I had originally thought it would be, and to me, felt more like Japan should feel than Tokyo did.  If I have the chance, I'll probably go back once more, possibly when I meet my friends starting the KCJS program later in the year.

3. Karaoke: I really don't need to say much about this, except that it's one of the many things I'll really miss when going back home.  Sure, there's a place on the North side of Chicago, but it just won't have that Japanese... feeling about it.

4. Graduations: SILAC is quickly dwindling in numbers as the summer season draws to a close.  At the end of this upcoming week, the remaining members of SILAC SA (from the beginning of the summer) ("the best class" according to pretty much every sensei), including Daryl, Jie, Keon Ung, and me, will be leaving Yamasa.  Other graduating students include Ben who showed up here 5 weeks ago, and I'm sure several others who have to get back for school and other studies.

5. Miscellaneous: thinking about what to sell to make my trip easier home; purchasing a few souvenirs for people; having learned how to make some truly tasty meals; cleaning out the most disgusting rice cooker ever due to some lazy guy who left several weeks ago and didn't do a thing about it (I noticed it, and cleaned it with a friend); discovered a whole new level of power with the iPod touch, which almost makes having a notebook computer obsolete, except for the whole keyboard thing; finally, realized that I can't get fresh strawberries anywhere.

I hope this is sufficient for anybody who used to read this, and that I didn't leave out too many details.  I can't say that I'll write one of these again until next Saturday when I'm leaving, but if something interesting happens, I'll keep you informed.