Can't You Wait a Month, Wisconsin?

"No, Kat. It doesn't start snowing here until mid-February!"

LIES.

Two days ago, I woke up to the sound of rain outside. That's actually one of my favorite ways to wake up, and it's even better if it clears up before I head out for the day.

Instead of clearing up, the rain turned to snow.

I'm really sad because the gifs I'm trying to make of the snow falling to make you feel like you're in a snow globe are not working. I put my camera in action shot mode and took a million shots, thinking "IMMA MAKE SOME GIFS OUTTA THESE."

So here are a few shots of the day:

 And then this happened:

I didn't take a picture of what it looked like here when the snow stopped, but I should have >__<. The wind was pretty gross though O___O. People here walk around with umbrellas and I think I found out why. As you're walking, the big clumps of snow from the trees fall off because of the wind. I felt like I was in Mario, dodging spikes.

But I escaped! I only stopped at the grocery store. I NEEDED EGGS, MAN. And a reason to get out. I was so lazy all day! Well, I did study. Pffft.
Kirsty stopped by when I got back and brought me a piece of apple cake she had made! ^___^

Oh gosh. That's actually a super small plate XD. I saved it to have with breakfast in the morning. It was pretty darn delicious. She made it from the apples I convinced her to buy when we went to the grocery store XD.

Tuesday was my last day of school. Ever. Well, at least college-wise. I made sure to leave early so I could tip-toe around on the ice on the streets. However, when I went out in the snowstorm, there were girls walking around in heels. x___X
People were working hard the day before:

Haha, there were snowman near almost every house I passed. ^__^ Yeah, that's my finger in the shot. I still do that XD.

The class we had was pretty much like any other class we've had. After, I had lunch with some of the exchange students which was really fun. There were talks of Australian slang (sleuth!), Madonna, what s'mores were (but we didn't have a Sandlot conversation, luckily), vacation plans, and having a microwaved egg explode on me. Ugh. I lost so much of the yolk. lolol.

Mitchell and I headed off to another building for the exam interview. Everyone in our class had to have a 30-minute interview with our Japanese Language teacher, Toyoma sensei. We thought we would have to have to do a role-play from the sheet of possible examples she gave us, but luckily, we ended up not having to.
I wasn't too nervous until I got to the door and it was my time to go. It was so relaxed. I really wish all of the Japanese oral exams were like that, instead of memorizing a script. We just had a conversation about how Japan has been and what I'm going to do when I go back home.

I was really happy that at the end she told me that in a short time, she thought I improved a lot and I was continuous with my work.
Even though I still struggle with basic conversation, I'm a whole heck of a lot better than I was before I came here.

I went to the gym after for awhile and Daan and Wendy were there as well. After working out, they were still in the lobby, just sitting and talking. When Mitchell and I were waiting for the interview, Okuma sensei had ran into us and invited us for coffee or tea if we had any free time. He's so nice. He's always inviting students to just sit and talk with him, offering refreshments and food. He also always reminds us how if we ever need help or anything, his door is always open. Coolest big bear ever! (Remember that his name, when said, can mean Big Bear O-kuma) ^___^

So I asked Daan and Wendy if they wanted to go. They were toatz up for it and we headed off to Okuma's office.

We sat and talked for over an hour. He said that he wants to take all of the exchange students somewhere and be our guide. We decided on going to a zoo and Buddhist temple in Chuo next week. ^___^
He gave us tea and some candies and mikans to snack on. The things that Wendy is staring at had a grape in the middle and was surrounded by, I think, mochi. O__O

Okuma loves to give us gifts before we go.
White chocolate bunnies and some kind of cookies that looked like Combos, but with sweet flavors in them XD. Daan took these to the Shibata mansion to share with everyone.

My walk home was somewhat strange. It was hard to think, "Hey, I'm really done with school." woof. I actually kinda feel older. Do you think so too, sock monkey? Sock monkey said yes.

So yeah! That night, I watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," which was a pretty cool movie about a dude on a raw juice diet for 60 days. I also watched "Food Matters" recently. This is me recommending both.

Today was pretty darn chill. I got to talk with Lauren, Beth, and Grant for a bit ^___^. Then, I went grocery shopping and headed out to kickboxing.

It was really difficult to go out today. Lately, I've been feeling rather lazy (lolwut, ikr). I was extremely tempted to go get melon pan, sushi, and Baskin Robbins and eat them while watching Harry Potter in bed and get sick off of the ice cream. lolol. It was so tempting. And Grant was encouraging it. Which I thank him for XD.

In the end, I busted a move to kickboxing. On the way, someone tapped my shoulder. It was Yuuki! He had just got done with class. We even ended up taking the same train and talked about getting together to practice his English for the tests he has on Sunday and Monday. My stop was sooner, so we sayounara'd.

The gym opens at 2, so I got there at about that time. There were only about 3 other people. You're able to sign up to do some mitt training, where the trainer working at the time, holds the focus pads and tells you which moves to do next. My favorite ^___^. I was unsure of signing up, since it was all in Japanese, but I was like oh heck. Oh. heck. Plus, since it's just kicking and punching depending on where the focus pads are positioned, you don't really need to talk too much.
I got to do two rounds and the trainer was laughing and stuff when I was kickboxing. This happens a lot. Haha, I think I kind of surprised him. Actually, my face might have looked funny. Who knows. lolol.
I definitely think it was a good thing though because at the end when I was packing up, he gave me an application form for the gym. I only have the temporary 10-time pass thing and I thought it was supposed to cost extra to become a member. I mentioned how I was leaving in a month, but that didn't change anything.
So that's kind of cool! =^.^=

Guysss, I'm gonna be a memmberrrr. =]

But yeah! I was talking with the other people there for a bit. Everyone is so nice. There's an older man that I've talked with twice that is very enthusiastic to talk with everyone who's at the gym. He seems to know everyone.
I did some yoga and skidaddled home. And here I am! I've been searching for a new place to explore, but I think I feel more like going to Shibuya and Harajuku tomorrow. It's been awhile since I've gone out really, so maybe exploring some more familiar ground would be better. Then, I'll head out to other unknown places ^___^.

Guys, I really want a chocolate chip cookie. Please send me homemade chocolate chip cookies.
lololol. That's okay. I've been having heated frozen blueberries with almonds and that is like dessert, man. Yes.