watashi no shumatsu...my weekend.

Friday's Japanese lesson was crazy vocabulary day. We learned a lot of different adjectives and a lot of different verbs. Fun fact, not only do Japanese verbs change according to time and mood...but the adjectives do as well! (#dies)

So, for example...
is = desu                    is not = dewa arimasen
was = deshita         was not = dewa arimasendeshita

This ALSO applies for adjectives like "oukii" (oh-key), big.
is big = oukii desu                is not big = oukikunai desu
was big = oukikatta          was not big = oukikunakatta desu

Also, the structure of a Japanese sentence is subject object verb whereas in English it is subject verb object. This is troublesome for me because I won't understand the start and middle of the phrase, but can catch on that it was about something someone ate.

After our lesson, we walked to a traditional Japanese theater, the Kaho Gekijo Kabuki theater. It is the only two story kabuki theater in Japan that continues to make use of the original building! This picture was from the stage looking at the seating. The building can hold over 1,200 people who sit on tatami mats and traditional Japanese pillows. On the right of the picture, you can just make out the part of the stage that rotates. 26 people push from under the stage to rotate it. This is how they change scenes during the play! Amazing! Sugoi!

I had the chance to wear the "princess's clothes". It was really heavy! "Totemo omoi desu!"

Also, spring is in Japan - the absolutely stunning cherry blossoms, sakura, are beginning to bloom outside of the Iizuka hospital and what a sight they are.

Saturday is groceries and miscellaneous shopping days...and we all know what that means....TRIAL! :) This time, I picked up a toaster oven - something I'd been wanting to add to my kitchen pretty much since I arrived. I refuse to eat a piece of untoasted toast again! (is there a correct term for untoasted toast?...bread?) Anyways, so I picked up a toaster for myself as an early birthday present from my friend Patrick (who'd sat in on one too many of my complaining rants I guess). :) I am very happy with it!
Sam also bought a takoyaki grilling plate! We went nuts for dinner. ALL the takoyaki...only with shrimp not octopus.

Sunday, Samantha and I went for quite the bike ride to a shopping mall called AEON nearby-ish to our apartment. This city and it's streets! We must have road our bikes in the total opposite direction without even noticing. This place is a complete maze. You feel very lost, then all of a sudden end up riding past a place you had dinner a few days ago. I swear if I know the layout of this city before I leave I've accomplished something great. On our way there, we stopped to take a few pictures of the Sakura blooming and of some young boys skateboarding along the Onga river.

 

The malls here are just...crazy. Stores don't have entrances, they just all kind of blend into one...big....crazy-ness of things for purchase. On top of these places, there are massive amounts of ice cream, cakes and confectionery shops. Oh, and arcade and video game stores....and check out the wall of cards!

As we were leaving the mall, I had to stop and watch this guy make cakes for about.....26.7 minutes. They make three different kind of small cakes, each with a different filling. White bean paste, red bean paste (YUM) and custard. They...looked....delicious! If I wasn't totes mcgoats stuffed from our Indian lunch (yeah, I know...I had Indian food in Japan. But! It gave me the chance to meet an Indian man who spoke Japanese. Strange! Oh, and they did Indian GREAT. Believe it or not, I ate the whole thing. When I was done, there was naan left to take home. ;)















Japanese words:
Kirei = pretty
My mother = watashi no haha
My father = watashi no chi chi.
Those are easy for me to remember :P