Rainy Season Hath Begun

And here we have the rainy season.... Or, as an article online put it, "Rainy Season Boot Camp." Meaning - no it's not quite rainy season, but the training period before it. Because it's only the end of May! We should have at least a couple days....

Oh well. Now is the time to be grumpy! First of all, I'm itchy. There are going to be bugs living in my room, due to the moist environment. I need to vacuum every week, lest there be a tick infestation. I need to find time to hang out my futon, or mold will grow. Mold will grow everywhere if I'm not careful.

Did I mention the bugs.

I want to buy a mosquito net but I don't think I'll be able to make it work over my bed, since it's a temporary room. Life is sad sometimes =P

I don't know where to run now either. I can try to take advantage of every sunny moment... That'll be exciting. =P

I do want to buy rain boots though, and maybe even a rain jacket to go along with my umbrella. I wonder if those are "in style" at all in Kinjo...? I feel bad enough wearing flip-flops when no one else does, hehe.

I'll figure it out! Two more months here. I'm half-way done. It's kind of bittersweet. I'll really miss my friends here, but at the same time, I'm not looking forward to the next month and a half being non-stop rain. Of course, once the rain stops, it'll be sunny - and that's when I'll need to come home! xD Oh well. It'll be awful summer weather. So that's one way to look at it.

Okay! Enough of this rant. Hope everyone is safe, warm & dry back in the States! <3 Love you!

Went to Kyoto~ 京都行った！

Had a pretty cool day in Kyoto today. It was only a day trip, so I didn't do TOO much stuff, but it was very nice nonetheless. Except for the rain. It would have been nicer if that wasn't there. But you know, whatever. It was neat. =]

Woke up at 5:40 just to go, too. The bus ride was about 2 hours long, but it probably could've been shorter if we didn't keep stopping for breaks. I guess it's cause it's a bus of a 30-some people. Someone's bound to have to go to the bathroom at any second. But whatever, it's fine ^^

Our first stop was Kiyomizudera, a temple overlooking the city (beautiful views, although I didn't get many pictures of it). It's a UNESCO World Heritage sight, which is pretty cool ^_^ And dates back to 778! Except... the buildings we walked around in were built in 1633. Still pretty gosh darn old, though.

I didn't take this picture; found it online ^^
I was there though!

I had lunch here. Nat-chan, me, and 3 Japanese girls walked down a narrow road and found a modern ramen shop. It was delicious!! I couldn't stop thinking about my diet though xD It should be okay. Ramen doesn't have too many calories, and there was a bunch of meat, egg, and vegetables in it. Should be fine! - I really wanted to take a picture of the ramen, but I forgot Y__Y It was my first Ramen-eating experience, haha. Not including... the instant ramen.

After lunch, we boarded the bus and went off to a big shopping "mall" (term 'mall' here is completely different than an American mall. Think.... strip mall... but completely covered and in a grid shape ^^). We went into a little sweets shop and learned how to make yatsuhashi, which are these biscuit things one puts in, for instance, ice cream or parfaits. It is supposedly one of the best souvenirs one can take back from Kyoto.

I might add pictures of the making of these yatsuhashi. Or... you can check out my facebook. The latter is preferable, but maybe if I got some comments asking to post these to the blog, I'll know you actually care. But as of now, the only feedback I'm getting is on facebook, AIM, or e-mail =] I can't hear you!

Anywho! After that adventure, we wandered off to Nijou Jou, which was the first Shogun's castle. Ieyasu, anyone? It was built in 1603 and is an entire work of art in itself. The castle's a historic relic, and a National Treasure. So it was pretty amazing getting to walk through the place, (shoes off, as per custom.) The most notable part of this palace - besides its amazing garden - is the way they designed the floors. Wherever you walk, the hallways make loud squeaking noises, kind of like the chirping of birds. This was done on purpose, to awaken anyone in the castle if there were an ambush or attack. It was pretty cool ^_^

I enjoyed the garden so much, though. I transformed into "emotional Lori" and found everything so beautiful that I tried taking pictures of everything that was amazing to me. I love Japanese gardens. The way the shapes of everything come together. It's wonderful. I try to capture what I see on camera, but I am not a photographer Y__Y Nor an artist. I always wish I was though!

So after that... we boarded the bus and went home. =] So even though it was just a day in Kyoto, I feel like I did quite a lot! ^^ I even bought some souvenirs. Some traditional okashi, candy. I don't know what its called and I can't explain it very well at all ^__^; It's like... a very, very soft flour dumpling with anko, sweet bean paste, inside. They're amazing. I was continuing to be emotional Lori on the way home on the bus, and I ended up eating HALF of them!! OH man. So much for my diet.

Speaking of my diet, it's going good. The only time I've "splurged" is today, with eating half of those candies =/ Its okay though! I did a lot of walking today. And, I've been exercising. I didn't jog yesterday, Friday, because I already hurt so much from Thursday and I was afraid if I did, today - my trip to Kyoto - was going to be unbearable. So I'm going to continue jogging again tomorrow and Monday. I wanted to tonight, but my friends say I shouldn't after dark - I think its totally fine, but if I do end up getting mugged, all I'd hear is "I told you so!" and I don't really care for that... so I'll keep my jogging for the daytime. But! I am doing ab exercises. Sort of. I can't really do crunches - mainly because I don't have the muscles there to begin with. Mostly because it destroys my neck and back. Certainly my scoliosis doesn't help the back part - hopefully neck pain will go away in time.

And tonight's dinner is 2 hard boiled eggs, and a can of corn. Today I've eaten... 2 sticks of bread for breakfast (230 calories), a bowl of ramen (?? calories), random pieces of Japanese candy (too many calories probably!!), and corn and eggs (?? calories). So... I dunno. I did ab exercises for about 20 minutes. And walked all day.

We'll see what happens. I really want to get into that 5 small meals a day thing, instead of 3 or 2 meals. Not quite sure how to make a "small meal." How can it be a meal if it's small? =/ I also find it really hard to eat breakfast, and that's supposed to be the largest of all 5 meals. Guh. I need a professional!

Okay well that's all for tonight. ^^; Hope everyone's having a good summer!

Haven't been Updating

Ahh...
I'm sorry, followers! I haven't updated in about a month Y__Y I suck so much! Don't hate me. (I'm actually more worried about hating myself, 20 years down the road when I want to re-visit my semester in Japan. =])
Updating has become some sort of chore for me. Especially! adding photos. You guys really need to check out my Facebook, hehe. The photos come with captions and everything! It's very special. ^_^
Anyways, not much has happened since my last post. Except that's a total lie. I went to Osaka & Nara for Golden Week (the beginning of May). It was tons of fun ^_^ Dad bought us a super awesome hotel because he's the BEST, so I got to save a lot of money. I think that trip might be one of the things that sticks with me.
Another "exciting" thing that happened - perhaps - was last weekend, I went to stay at a Japanese family's house for "homestay." Only, it was really just a sleepover =] It was a lot of fun. I think I'd learn Japanese 10x faster if I was in homestay my entire semester, but... I do like my solitude at the dorms. They both have their pros/cons...
This weekend I'm visiting Kyoto! Just for a couple hours though. I'll be sure to try to update, haha ^_^
I have to be in a good mood... Lately I've been depressed, but not because I'm homesick anymore. I'm having a huge problem with my weight. I'm 5'4, maybe 5'5, and weigh 130lbs, which isn't awful, but none of my clothes fit when they're for 100lb girls, and it's really bringing me down. I can't wear anything without having a huge muffin top. Also, my stomach is ultimate beer belly. It's awful. And it definitely doesn't help that every Japanese girl here is stunning and slender and fit.
So instead of "hoping" I'll lose weight just by existing in Japan, I'm gonna try to start working out and eating healthy. It's Day #1! I woke up early this morning and jogged for 15 minutes (a lot for me! I was so dizzy afterward), and then tried a 10 minute ab exercise via youtube. I don't think my body was made for abs or exercise at all. I somehow managed to destroy my shoulder(!) and had to lie on the ground for like a whole 5 minutes before I could move again, haha. OH man, I'm going to kill myself. I need to find a personal trainer. I don't think I have the abs to do any exercise with them... I need help xD
Anyway, the jogging and the abs took about 30 minutes. I'm gonna do it again later tonight, so that'll be a full 60 minutes of activity a day. And I'm also cutting out all junk food, including soda and alcohol. I have an "occasionally" only rule. Meaning, hey if my friends have money & I'm out, then go ahead and drink. -- Oh and I'm gonna try not to eat anything after 6pm, because of ... science ...
So, hello month of counting calories and destroying my body! I really hope I can keep up with this. I really want to be skinny again. I really hate myself whenever I eat anything. I feel so huge ><;
Okay! That's enough of that. Total non-Japan related. Sorry! I'll try to update more often ok ^^;