So this weekend was not only fun, but extremely tiring. All I feel like doing right now is going to bed. Luckily tomorrow is Wednesday, my free day, so I can relax.
Anyway, let me backtrack some. Friday night after class some friends and I met up with some Japanese friends and went to a Yakitori restaurant. Yakitori is basically grilled meat and vegatables on a stick. It was really good and there were so many different kinds. You could get chicken, asparagas, shrimp, and even mochi (some kind of rice thing). After Yakitori most of us went to Karaoke where we sang together for a few hours. It was a pretty fun night.
On Saturday I went with some of the same people from last night on a hike. We walked from Makomanai Station to Geijutsu no mori Art Park. It took us about 2-3 hours to get there, but we made various stops along the way. We explored an alcove in a rock wall from an old quarry, we stopped to eat lunch, and picked up some gelato along the way.
Eventually we made it to the park. We explored the area a little and went to a neat museum before going to a field and playing some frisbee. It was a lot of fun. After a few hours of playing frisbee and hanging out in the park we made our way back home. The hike was really a lot of fun. I made a lot of new Japanese friends and got to explore a different part of Sapporo.
On Sunday me and my friend Mallory went to an undokai, a mini olympics that was put on my our neighborhood. It was mainly for elementary and middle school kids, but I got to compete in some of the events. I competed in an obstacle course thing, tug-of-war, some thing where you have to go around and collect vegtables, and a relay. The weirdest thing about the undokai was that instead of getting trophies or cool prizes, you got groceries. I won a bag of sugar, a bag of flour, seran-wrap, curry sauce, and vegtables. Needless to say, my Okaasan was very excited. Below is a picture of me and Mal with our winnings.
On Monday it was back to school. I've got a bunch of quizzes and homeworks coming up so it should be a fun time. Today, Tuesday, I ate lunch with my friend Daiki and I met his girlfriend Yukina. After lunch I went of some of the other International Students to try on Kimonos, or Hakama for men. It was a pretty neat experience. You start with an under robe, and then put on a belt, then you put on another robe and some more belts (by the way the people tie these belts super tight). You top it off with a kind of cloak, a pant/skirt thing, and some sandels. Once I got it all on and got used to it it was actually pretty comfortable. Trying on a tradtional Japanese outfit was a lot of fun and it definitly makes you wonder how people could have put things like that on everyday. Below are some pictures!!
So as you can see I have had a lot going on these past few days and it doesn't look like it will be letting up anytime soon. I am going to a karate class tomorrow with a friend of my Okaasan's, Friday I am going to go to the outlets with some friends, Sunday I have a host family BBQ, and then on Monday I am going to a museum with my Okaasan and a friend of hers. I just keep getting busier, but I am still having a blast.
Stephen
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