So, been packing for Singapore and getting stuff ready.  It’s pretty exciting.  Singapore is also one of the safest cities and stuff, so that’s kind of reassuring.  Although really strict rules.  I think littering is a $500 fine, in Singapore dollars.  Possibly $350 US dollars.  Definitely don’t want to get in trouble here.

Also, if any of you noticed, there was a huge earthquake in the ocean, and tsunami warnings across the East side of Japan.  I’m safe, so don’t worry.

Yesterday, I had Rotary.  Of course, after writing my speech with Takashi-sensei and then practicing it a lot, ends up that there’s no time at the meeting.  In some ways…that was a lot of time wasted.  But in some ways, I’m glad.  I don’t like giving Japanese speeches because I feel like I have a big American accent and sound stupid.  After that, I was waiting until Japanese class started, and I was looking at MP3 players at a department store I have to go through to go up, and this lady walked up and started talking to me.  I didn’t know her at all, but I’d guess that she was learning English and wanted to practice.  She was 57 and had a daughter attending University in America.  She asked me the usual stuff, and told me stuff about her, and then after like 10 minutes, she seemed satisfied and said goodbye and just went up the escalator.  Stuff like that just happens sometimes.  It isn’t the first time someone I don’t know has just started talking to me.  Then I went to Japanese class and studied for an hour on kanji and general Japanese for the proficiency test, which has been moved until April.

Then I walked back to school and spent some time in the computer lab while I waited for Yudai to finish looking at clothes or something.  He was also on a computer looking at American clothes.  Then we met up with Tsutomu and Shioli and took the train home.  Yudai and I went to dinner together though, since I won’t see him for and he wanted me to try a new Japanese food.  So we ate at a Monjayaki place, which is like Okonamiyaki, but different.  Basically it’s shredded lettuce, a little red pepper, pork, and I also had mochi (rice…cake?) in there as well.  And basically the table is special because it’s like a cooking surface in the middle of it, and you make it right in front of you.  But I definitely like Okonamiyaki better, it’s one of my favorite foods in Japan.  It’s an Osaka dish, while Monjayaki comes from Tokyo.  So it was good to try a new food.

Back to today, I finished the book I had been reading.  I’m not sure if it’s just lack of English books here or what, but I… could not stop reading.  I was book-starved.  So I read it yesterday some at school and then two hours before I went to bed and then finished it off today by basically reading since 1:45 until 4:45 with some misc stuff imbetween.  That was like a 450 page book too.  Now I have nothing to read.  I also go Macaroni and Cheese for dinner!  Toyooka-sans has bought it at my request at a supermarket that we went to, it was made for foreigners and had a lot of American food!  It was really good!

Then Yudai emailed me saying he had finished his English thing he had today.  But he has it every Saturday until July when he leaves.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Obviously this put me in a very bad mood.  My best friend cannot hang out with me on Saturdays now, and Sundays are open, but it’d be more likely that the Toyooka-sans want to go somewhere, because my host father doesn’t hav work.  Ugh.  Luckily Yudai and are spending tomorrow in Umeda.  I need a new backpack and bag.  Nothing wrong with my old one, but there’s a different style here, and over-the-shoulder backpacks looking exceedingly nerdy, and I’d rather try to fit in.  It’ll be a long trip because I won’t get to see my best friend for a week.  But Singapore will be fun.

But I am really disappointed about Saturdays. Luckily it’s only a 3 hour class, so we can do things around lunch time and dinner time.  Still, very annoying.  EF (his program for going to America) is not getting any points in my eyes.  They are even stricter than Rotary.  Yudai had to take all tests like a normal student, and if he consistently gets bad grades he must go back to Japan.  Not my idea of a fun year.  But I’m sure he’ll have a good time.

 UPDATE: Tomorrow in Umeda, Yudai and I will both be buying the Mega Mac from McDonald’s.  It’s something we agreed upon last week.  It has 4 beef patties in it and it is huge.  Plus I’m going to make him supersize his fries and drink and stuff.  It’ll be fun, I hope I throw up like on Supersize Me.  But this is a new thing in Japan, so of course we have to try it.