Long time no blog!

Wow has it been a week since I've updated? Felt so recently. I can't believe I've been in Japan for about two weeks. The past week has been so busy with an activity everyday so I haven't been free unfortunately. And overview of my days in photos!

Sunday my host family took me, Cristina, and Almendarez to Gokayama, a very traditional Japanese village with roofs made out of the rice plant! In this photo, Elizabeth is playing this really fun, traditional percussion instrument.

I then went to the Back Horn concert, which was AWESOME. Photos weren't allowed unfortunately but man they were good. The singer especially has a really strong, talented voice. The mosh pit was as crazy as an American one. We were crammed so close and sweating so profusely (gross yeah I know) that the dye from the clothes of the person in front of me got on my pants! After that we went for do-it-yourself okonomiyaki and yakisoba. SO good (though tastes just like boxed okonomiyaki...).

On Tuesday I hung out with Michael Schmale after class. He did PII last year and this year he's working in Kanazawa. It sounds like the curriculum has changed completely since then! We grabbed DELICIOUS crepes in Kohrinbo. Here's us with a sculpture of kids looking at a map of Kanazawa. The kids don't really look Japanese...

Then on Wednesday a bunch of friends and I went to check out Omicho, the famous Kanazawa fish market. We became friends with this awesome gal who gave us all free nori in soggy form. YUM. Her english was surprisingly good and she was so spunky. Other highlights include hanging out at starbucks for hours together and Desmond buying an oyster and eating it right there on the spot.

Then yesterday, we took a pottery lesson. I hope buy the end of the three lessons I'll have an awesomely gaudy chawan (tea bowl) to supplement my current obsession with green tea.

Current thoughts on the trip: The best parts are my friends and host family. The worst part is I feel I'm learning a lot more outside of class than in (and geez the work is tough!). This weekend everyone's going to Noto while I go to Tokyo for my grandfather's memorial service. Hopefully I won't miss too much.

I feel like I know Kanazawa inside and out know. I don't even know my own neighborhood that well! I guess that's what happens when you use public transportation instead of have your parents drive you around. Last night I was thinking about the culture shock of staying inside a Japanese family's home. At first there were a lot of instances where I was like "they do what?" or "they don't have that?" but then I realized that the things that surprised me were just aspects different from the American suburban home. This is my first time not living with my family (well, aside from college) so that's more of a culture shock for me than being in Japan. I take for granted that everyone has a dishwasher or a backyard or central air conditioning when really I know so many people who don't. Those things aren't even normal in American cities!

One huge difference though between Japan and America is that Japanese people are always thinking about conservation. You hit a button to turn on the hot water and a lot of families have two cars - one energy-saver for short trips and then a normal (not minivanish) car for longer trips. Despite all the stuff we learned in elementary school, I feel like a lot of us don't pick up that mentality. I definitely have left an extraneous light on once or twice. I wonder if my habits will change once I come home?

Anyways that's my week! Now off to hang out with my friend at her house. Hope you're all having great summers too!