Saturday, February 9, 2013

Bye-byes, Pigeons, and So Many Temples

Yesterday. Was the last day I could go to the training center. =[[ 4evr.
Haha, but really. They are closed on the 10th-13th for some exams that are going on and no one else is allowed on campus. So, it'll be room workouts for the rest of the time here.

I have to say, I choked up a little when I told the staff of the gym that it would be my last day there. There was just a little sadness caught in my throat when I was telling them. XD One of the trainers said she learned a lot from watching me though! And that was really exciting. So, I hugged her and picked her up. And then I picked up one of the dude coaches and that surprised him. lolol.

After, I went around Seijo and got a present (CHOCOLATE) for the International Exchange Office. They've done so much for all of us. I wish I could bake them something instead. ^__^

In the evening, it was my going away party, hosted by Okuma sensei and Yamamoto sensei. I always ran into them at the gym when they were getting ready to play their daily ping-pong matches. I got there kind of early after dropping off the chocolate and helped set up. Asato san caught me setting up and said I shouldn't be the one setting up for my own party. Pffft, I couldn't just sit there. lolol.

There was so much food that they brought, I couldn't believe it. And a lot of people showed up! It was really exciting. Here are some pictures that I'm taking from Facebook XD:
That pink bag had a bunch of sweet cookies with white chocolate from Megumi. Oh my gosh. So. Good. They are gone. In my stomach.
I'm really digging the look I'm giving Mitchell:
I'm probably telling him something that has to do with the color purple.
lolol, Tom:
 Okuma sensei explaining the Apricot liquor to us?
So, you know how Japanese parties are really organized? Starting and ending exactly when they're supposed to? Well, Okuma also planned a time when we all had to sit down and say something for 30 seconds. Most of the people said something about our time together in Japan. Some things people said were really nice! Like Tom saying he really liked the recipes I've been posting, Anthony said I was the most colorful person of them all and his girlfriend mentioned how me going to the gym everyday is ridiculous, and Evan said he wouldn't have survived without me, navigating around Japan our first few days (pfft, he would have been fine). Yu san said I was very childish. lolol, but in a good way.
All-in-all, it was a very awkward moment. lololol.
I think my favorite comment was Moe's, when she said that we ran into each other at the training center, I always yelled her name and rawr'd. ^___^'
But yeah! Here are a few random shots from the party:
Me and Yuka ^___^
Takahiro RAWRRR:
 MOE!!!! RAWRRR!! haha. And Yurie and Kirsty XD:
Asato san told me that when she touched my arm she was like Oh! How it was solid XD. So I had to flex for her:
And then this happened after Tom had picked me up:
lololol.
It was a really nice party though. I was so happy that a lot of people showed up. I'm really not used to the whole party for me thing thoughts like "Will people show up?! Will they have fun? Will I get to talk to everyone?" w00f. No wonder I stopped having parties. It's too stressful XD.
Yuka gave me an amazing purple fanny pack. You bet the penny at the bottom of your purse that I'm gonna rock that in the US.

After, as the party ended at 7:00 P.M. sharp, just as Okuma had planned, a bunch of us went to karaoke ^__^.
 Singing Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are", of course:
lolol. Seriously so fun. The people liked my voice! That was really exciting to hear "うまい!”

This post is full of bragging. Just because I can, man. I thought, man, I shouldn't write all of this. I'm just being all narcissistic. But you know, this is stuff I want to remember! So if I'm feeling down, I can think back: Hey! People liked something about me. And can think back to these awesome days and be happy again. ^___^

Today, I went to Kamakura and Enoshima with Chen, Daan, and Walter. Chen was so awesome and made out an entire plan of places to visit for us all. ^__^

      For truth: I am Temple'd out after this trip.

THE SEA! On the train:
There were a ton of surfers in the sea O__O.
Before Big Buddha.
 Big Buddha was
Well, he was big.
 Perfect representation:
 Aw, Amy looked so cute with her son.
Kidding, I have no idea who these people were.

But these were Buddha's sandals. No wonder he hasn't moved from his spot, they're all the way over here.
Exact match:
Big Buddha Back:
This was Korean building brought over to Japan.
It just reminded me of the last episode of Home Improvement when they moved the entire house.
The writing on the right...is supposed to be the same as the writing on the left.
lolwut.
I asked Daan if he could make this picture of a stone more interesting:
He made it more solid:
That was pretty much it by Big Buddha which I was kind of disappointed about. You even had to pay to go inside the Buddha. x___X lolnoplz.

Plz:
 Just like Animal Crossing:
 Walking around Kamakura, there were a bunch of sweets shops, restaurants, and souvenir shops.
We stopped at a Kaiten Sushi for lunch. One that actually has a conveyer belt that you take sushi off of!
Do you see how happy that sushi chef is? He was just awesome. I can see him getting ready for work everyday with a big smile on his face, even after brushing his teeth.

It was actually the best sushi I've ever had. The fish quality was so good and the fish pieces were actually really thick. You could definitely taste the different between each sushi piece.
lolol, I spent a lot here. Worth every yen.
 The graveyard sushi:
It had a ton of Krill in it, therefore making it a huge graveyard.
Another temple...
 HAHA, YES, PIGEONS!
 DAAN LOVES PIGEONS.
This.
 I was really excited about this.
 Walking to another temple...
 Kenchoji Temple:
 They apparently rang this everyday, every 2 hours:
 This tree was 70____0 years-old. For realz:
 That was a tomb. I was missing the pigeons.
 The strangest Buddha I've ever seen:
He was veins and bones, apparently representing the hardships of his people. With all his worries, he couldn't eat or sleep, etc. x__X
Gold, mon:
 There was a big climb to see another temple at the top:
 Bamboo forest along the way:
 CAVE AND CAVEMEN:
 
 The area had a very Indiana Jones feel.

 Always being watched...
 "Blehhh!!" That's what he's saying because he is throwing up water.
 We were supposed to be able to see Mt. Fuji from here but it was a bit cloudy, haha.
 Daan's vacation pose:
 This was too fitting:
 To Enoshima!
Oh hai, birds.
 THE HAWKS!
It pretty much says to watch out for them. They were flying overhead the entire time, all menacing and stuff. I missed the pigeons.
Crossing the bridge to get to the small island:
 Streets of Enoshima:
 It was pretty much just a bunch of souvenir and snack shops along the way to the temple.
 The view was pretty cool though, to see the city and such.

 Zelda Gate:
There were triforces everywhere.
Dripping tree:
 Flowers in the Winter for MoMo:
Pretty view:
 Another...
 KITTY:
 It let anyone pet it and was just chilling outside. It had an extremely short and stubby tail.
Street performer:
NEW MOON:
Cliff jumping.
Sadly, the cave that Chen wanted to go to was closed, so we headed back.
Grant was up there!
 The House of Stark was here:
Identical.
One of the most fancy stations I've seen:
Daan could stick his fist in his mouth and Chen tried too:
Typical train ride.

Seriously, temple'd out. lolol. I feel so beat right now with all of the excitement these past few days, so I'm sorry for the lack of enthusiasm in this post! I was so sleepy today, haha. ^___^'

Tomorrow, I've reserved the day to go out by myself and do what I want ^___^. I said goodbye to a few people, but now it's time to say goodbye to a few of my favorite places.

2 comments:

  1. YOU DIDN'T EVEN SEE MY COMMENT ON THE LAST POST, DID YOU?

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  2. The Flowers! The Triforce! I can't believe you picked up that dude--wait--oh I guess you can--ha ha. There aren't any boring places in Japan. The going away party was so excellent. They really took good care of you--family away from home.

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