Back after Golden Week with lots of work to look forward too... I got through my kanji quiz and skit okay, but I still have a paper due next week and final exams not long after. Golden Week was awesome, though! I did end up going to Nagoya despite last minute issues finding a way to get there. Of course the bus I was planning on taking filled up, so I got stuck taking the trains all the way. It took a little over 3 hours, but it really wasn't that bad. I got there by the afternoon and ambused Chan at the station. We got to eat Mexican food which was great expect that I got overcharged for melon soda...XP Oh well. It was tasty. We spent most of Saturday shopping for anime stuff. I bought the first Phoenix Wright fanbook and a Tales of Symphonia doujinshi anthology. Later we hit a big doujinshi place. I picked up some KakaIru and Phoenix Wright, but tried to hold back a bit. I still don't know how I'm going to carry all this junk home. O.o

There was a lot of ninja-ing going on this weekend because Chan snuck me into her dorm even though guests technically aren't allowed to stay overnight. Getting past the guard wasn't as hard as we thought it was going to be (didn't even have to jump the fence). The weather was mostly good; there was some rain the last day, but it still wasn't cold out.

Sunday was awesome because we got to go to the Nagoya zoo for most of the day. I went trigger happy with my camera for most of the time since animals are so photogenic. I especially liked the small cats (fishing cats and leapord cats are so cute!). I also totally pawned the big cat spot-identification quiz on one of the wooden boards- proof that I spent too much time as a child learning how to tell tigers, leopards, and jaguars apart. I liked getting the chance to see tanuki (raccoon dogs) because I don't remember seeing them at any other zoo I've been to. I also got some video footage of most of the major exhibits. There was also some pretty good food around. Most of the Japanese lunches were kinda pricey though, so I just had a corndog (which they call a "stick doku" here. O_o I did end up getting some Strawberry shaved ice later though. It was hot!

I've got a funny zoo story for you too. Later on in the day, Chan and I breaked for some Coke (in a glass bottle)! We sat on a bench near one of the trees in the central part of the zoo. We were having a great time, clanging our Coke bottles and taking pictures of ourselves, when for some reason I reached back to rub my neck. I hadn't felt anything until I touched something wet and slimy on the back of my neck. It went something like this:
Me: ACK! *throws mysterious substance on the floor*
Chan: What? What is that? O_o
Me: I think it's...bird poo. >< EWWW *later* Is there any more?
Chan: *takes one look and turns away* It's in your hair...
That's right- I got BIRD TURD on me. And not just a little either. It had to have been one of those stupid crows. Because it landed in my hair, I hadn't even felt it. So gross! Chan had to clean it out of my hair with toliet paper and some Purell. You know you have a real friend when she cleans bird crap out of your hair. The funny thing is, when we were near the bird section, we were talking about how we didn't want to get pooped on. Guess I jinxed myself.

We left the zoo in the late afternoon, and I got sucked in by the capsule machine because they had Super Mario Galaxy keychains! Even though Chan and I haven't played much of the game, we wanted the different versions of Mario with the lumas. We went on to the local karaoke booth and sang our hearts out for an hour and a half. After that, we headed to Nagoya's Hard Rock Cafe. I had never actually eaten at a Hard Rock Cafe despite working inside one for a good chunk of last summer. It was GOOD! I had spaghetti of course; so tasty. I shouldn't talk about this kinda stuff when I'm hungry. We hit the gift shop, and I bought a guitar keychain with a dragon on it and a black cap.

We hit up Starbucks and I had a Java Chip Frappuchino which was actually REALLY good. The guy that worked there was cute too. He even complemented me on my horrible Japanese. XD; Made the drink taste all the sweeter

After that we stopped by an arcade and played some Taiko drumming and Mario Cart. We also took some awesome purikura afterwards, which were some of the best I've done so far. We took some nice buddy shots and I sported my new cap.

Finally, we ended the awesome day with some Avatar. We had wanted to watch Boiling Rock the night before, but were too tired. The guard left by 11, so we were getting back late every night. I loved that two-part episode. Everyone was so awesome in it and, Chan and I had a great time fangirling over Zuko and being general Zutarians. We also watched the Ember Island Players clip, which I actually hadn't seen before. Let me tell you, it was HILARIOUS. Go watch it if you haven't seen it. I can't believe we have to wait so long to see the whole episode.

Monday was a bit short because I had to catch my bus back at 7pm. We did get to go to Nagoya castle, though, which was HUGE. We climbed all the way to the top floor and stopped to see the exhibits in between. I bought some maple cookies with the famous Nagoya "golden dolphin" on them to take back to my host family. I also bought a little container that reminds me of the Fey talisman from Phoenix Wright. Even though the weather wasn't as good as the other days, we still had a good time. We shopped around a little before it was time to go back to Nagoya station.

We had some trouble finding the bus, but Chan saved me by searching downstairs for the information booth. I got on the bus okay and had a long ride back in which I tried to sleep but mostly failed. I was proud of myself though because I was able to find by way back home from Umeda station in Osaka without getting lost. I guess I'm finally getting this train system down. I'm sad that my time in Japan is coming to an end so fast. I'm going to try to make the most of the time I have left though, even though some of it might be spent stressing over finals and whatnot. Hope everyone else is having an awesome time, and I'll talk to you all again soon! Laters~

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