friends and furniture

It's the end of a good weekend! I think it was both fun and productive, which is always a good thing. :)

On Friday, I went to a social dance circle (club) at the community center. There are apparently several groups that meet in the community center, but since this one meets on Fridays I figured it was a good time to actually try going to one! I went hoping that it was like the social dance club at Carleton, which is basically just open dance, but it turns out that it was actually more of a lesson-type thing. There were about 5 people, all probably past retirement age and their teacher, who were nice enough to let me observe/participate for free, even though they have monthly membership dues. I danced a little bit of waltz and tango and also learned some new things, which was cool. Since I mostly just want to dance for fun and don't really care too much about proper ballroom technique anymore (...oops), I don't think I will be back, but it was definitely worth going once! Now I just have to figure out how to very politely inform somebody that I won't be joining their group, in Japanese. -.-'

The next day I went to IKEA! As you know, I've been in Chiba for more than a month now but still have all my clothes in suitcases, so it was high time I went out and got a dresser. I went with my friend from Carleton and a couple of people I'd met at Chiba orientation, and we had a good time eating meatballs (naturally) and trying to identify various products. I also picked and bought a dresser, hurray (though it won't be delivered until Wednesday)!

After IKEA we went over to LaLaport, which I think is the biggest shopping mall in Chiba. We wandered for a while before stopping by a little arcade that was in there. I watched two of them play Taiko before the four of us played some game that was basically just us throwing plastic balls at a screen for ten minutes. It was awesome. :D Then we had a quick dinner before parting ways. I'll definitely have to go back to LaLaport sometime, if only because they have a Tokyu Hands (one of my favorite Japanese stores)!

Finally, today I went to the Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, on the last day of their exhibit of stuff involving light. I was originally planning to go with my friend from high school who lives in Yokohama, but she got sick right before the weekend, which also meant right before her trip back to Atlanta! So I headed to the museum alone, which was still definitely worth it. I think it was mainly targeted for children (and there were plenty of them there), but there were lots of really cool pieces, and a lot of them were also interactive. My favorite involved a little vehicle with a light traveling on a track through a city made of everyday objects, like colanders and pencils. The light on the vehicle cast really awesome shadows on the walls as it moved, which at some points were like a first-person view from the vehicle itself. I don't think I'm doing a good job explaining it, but basically, it was awesome. I liked it so much I stayed and watched it twice in a row, from different angles. :)

All in all, it was a good weekend! I even cleaned my apartment, so that it's fit to be seen when the IKEA people come to deliver my dresser, haha. Let's hope it lasts until then. :P