Kimonos, tea, some food, and more Engrish! :D

I'm currently sitting in front of a heater emitting the most amazing warmth ever. 

The weird thing about the cold here is that it's really only in the morning and kind of at night. For me, at least. Kumamoto pales in comparison to Chicago winters... It doesn't really get below freezing but biking to school in the cold can be pretty brutal with the wonderful breeze that's sure to 'cool you down' on the way. -___- 

SO. This past Monday was my last 茶道部 (Sadou Bu - Tea Ceremony Club) for the rest of the month because this week is... TESTING! Therefore, in order to let everyone study more than they already are every day, the school gave them ALL of last week's afternoons to do it. Isn't that wonderful? I have a feeling I would be a terrible Japanese student even if I knew the language. I don't think I could commit to as much homework and studying as everyone here does. 

On Friday there was no school so AFS took this opportunity to take the two Kumamoto chapters to try on kimonos and make tea (hehehehehhhh). It was about ten minutes away and all the AFSers host families came too. I got there and the woman who would be dressing me (that sounds awkward...) asked me which of five kimonos I wanted to wear. There was this really lovely blue one that I picked, and just as I was about to put it on, I was informed that Anna (who had gotten there a bit before me) had already picked it out and if it was okay to switch with hers. Ahhhh the cruelty of it all. I ended up in a pink one that was very pretty (however I was still jealous of the blue one the whole time):

As pretty and easy as it may look to get on, I'll tell you this: it's not. I remember reading Memoirs of a Geisha and hearing about the complexity of it all, so I was prepared for it to take a while. I almost expected it to be more difficult to get on than it ended up being. It did, however, take more time than I anticipated. I ended up having to take off my shirt which felt a little weird even though I was in a room full of girls. First came this undergarment thing-y that was really loose and resembled a vest with a white collar that had flowers on it (you can see the collar in the picture a bit). Then there was something to tie around my waist above that in order to keep it in place. After that came a blur of garments to be put on that I don't even remember. Once the kimono was on, the woman had to fold it a few times and keep it where the obi (the big green belt) could hide it. Then came another sash thing-y to tie around my waist (still not the obi), then finally the obi (through which they inserted a piece of cardboard to keep it flat and from moving), some stuff that she stuffed at the top of it... honestly I can hardly remember everything she did. All I remember is that it went from looking like an awkwardly-fitting bathrobe to what I have posted up above. I also remember that the obi was tied in a very intricate way in the back that made it look really cool.

(Don't ask why it's crooked; my camera person did this a lot for some reason)

After the kimono was on, they put your hair in a ponytail and braided it into two separate braids that they then made into a bun. To this, they added some fake hair (which I'm seriously creeped out by) for volume, and gave you a choice of flowers to wear. They also gave you red lipstick that I've never though looked that flattering on me, but I figure since I was going to be wearing a kimono I may as well.

After taking a ton of pictures, we went into a tatami room to do our tea ceremony shenanigans. I'm currently on the most basic type of tea ceremony so this was was totally foreign to me. I did, however, know a little bit about how to receive the 茶わん (Chawan - Tea bowl) and how to eat the sweets they give you (yes, there's a certain was to eat and drink). I was supposed to be sitting in 正ざ (seiza - that really painful way to sit where your legs are folded directly beneath you) the entire tea ceremony, but the pain ended up being too much to handle and I had to switch around. 

Yaaay for kimonos and tea ceremonies. After changing out of the kimonos we all ate lunch. 

The exchange kids then decided to go downtown afterwards and since I'm one of them, that means I went along. The usual happened: took purikura, looked around at clothes, ate ate Mister Donuts, and at the end of the day I finally bought The Girl Who Played With Fire! Ahhhh ridiculous excitement ensues! I also bought this adorable backpack that's a giant smiley. Cutest. Thing. Evaaaaaaar. 

I got home at around 9:40 that night so I was dead tired. I had this delicious don buri that my host mom had made for dinner, took a shower, and passed out almost immediately. 

The next day was fairly relaxed. I really just read the whole day... That sounds really lame, but that's honestly what I did. I need to know what happens with Lisbeth and Blomkvist and all the wonderful happenings in Sweden!

My host mom did, however, after hearing my brother mention it on a skype we had this weekend, make me a 焼きそばパン (Yakisoba Pan) Which is exactly what it sounds like: a yakisoba sandwich. Allow me to make you hungry with delicious pictures of sexy food.

There's your food porn for this post. I'm not sure if that even looks that good to anyone that hasn't had it, but trust me, it was delicious. But then again, I think anything with that many carbs is bound to be delicious. Why Japan, WHY?

Today wasn't that eventful either. I did go shopping and bought some boots and a pair of shorts for super cheap! And the boots are heels so I'm boutta be one tall-ass human being when I come home. :D Actually I'll probably be average height back home. Here, however, I think I'm a giant with them on (I'm already considered pretty tall without any heels... I'm 5' 3.5". And yes, the .5 is important).

After shopping, the entire household headed off to get a family picture taken. I think it's my host family's tradition to get these done with their host students or something. Not that I'm complaining; it was really nice. :) Not sure how they look, but I'll get back to you guys on them!

That's pretty much it for the weekend...

I'll close this post with some Engrish I found on Friday while I was downtown:

They're called discarded black cats. Nobody knows how cute and cuddly they are. Although they had dirty hair or faces. Gradually, their individual personalities emerged.

A for spelling... not sure what else to say.

DLEWJGFETOKHRBGKMF

-Ellie