festivals and ferris wheels

So it's been a veerry long time since my last post, but in my defense I seemed to have caught a stomach bug last week and really didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping. Also it appears my last post was as boring as I predicted (judging by the lack of comments), so sorry! This one should be slightly more exciting. :)

As mentioned, I did spend one night in the dorm, but as I didn't venture from my room to explore at all, I can't really compare it to the ones in America. I stayed in a very nice little single with my own bathroom (tiny bathtub and everything) and a little veranda even (I think it may be for hanging laundry). One difference I can say is that apparently you're not allowed to have friends in your room; they're allowed in the common room until 11 but not after that! Which is a little crazy when I think about how much time I spend in other people's rooms/in the lounges at Carleton. The front door was also locked like the dorms at Carleton, but instead of a OneCard you use your room key and a code, which was kind of fun to do. Anyway, I think I may be heading back to the dorm for a few nights later this month, so maybe I'll have more to say then.

Me with Sakura Panda! Also a little bit of my friend Evan.

Last weekend was a pretty exciting one. As I think I've said before (or maybe I forgot), this year is Nagoya's 400th anniversary of becoming a city! As a result, there are lots of celebrations happening - autumn is also the season for festivals, so there is lots of excitement. Anyway, last weekend Nagoya had a yuru-kyara festival, which I went to with some friends. Yuru-kyara, or yuru-character,  basically means 'mascot', as in the kind where people wear giant costumes! I think it was mainly targeted for little kids, but I actually enjoyed myself immensely. There were characters from all over Japan (and even some of the audience were from places as far as Hokkaido), and we ran around taking pictures of/with them and buying character goods. My favorite was Negiccho, who is basically a giant green onion. :D We also watched a performance of some people dressed up as famous historical characters like Togukawa Ieyasu (the shogunate, who lived in Nagoya), which was fun. They also danced with a few characters, which I thought was hilarious.

The next day, because I had no homework (for once), my host mom took me to a little amusement center in the middle of nowhere called something Oasis (for some reason oases are popular here). The main reason we went was to ride the ferris wheel, because I told her about how I really like them (I've already been on two since coming to Japan and have plans to ride at least one more), but we also tasted senbei crackers at a senbei store, watched a drum performance, and watched somebody carve feathers out of wood with chainsaws.

Since then life has been pretty tame- yesterday was the first Saturday I didn't go explore somewhere with friends, mostly because they were all off somewhere else, but I did have a nice day visiting a fabric store with my host mom and exploring Tokyu Hands, the 'creative life store'. We also rented a movie (Public Enemy), which was fun. Anyway, I think the newness of Japan is wearing off and my schedule is becoming routine. Not that it isn't fun anymore, but now it's starting to feel like regular life instead of every day being an adventure - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Next weekend, though, my friend Anna from Carleton is coming to Nagoya, just in time for the Nagoya Festival, which I am ridiculously excited for! :D There are only 10 Saturdays left before I leave Nagoya, so I'll keep trying to make the most of them. :)