June???

8 June 2009

Well, another insane length of time has passed since my last entry. I have been putting in a lot of time studying for my Japanese midterm, for which I got a 66.5%. I think it’s the worst grade I’ve ever gotten on a test, including high school. I am really bummed about it, but it was a passing grade, so yay, I guess. It’s hard to think about putting in more time on other things when I am just barely passing Japanese, and the grade is going to affect my GPA at home. But I do need to devote some more time to my independent study project and my other 3 classes now that the semester is in full swing.

I did go to Kyoto last weekend, and got to do some Roketsuzome fiber art. They had a whole little operation set up, with dozens of designs you can choose from. You pick a design (I did bamboo) and then you put a piece of white fabric over the design. The desk is backlit so you can trace the design with hot liquid wax using a long haired brush. The wax cools and then the fabric is dyed dark blue, and the wax blocks the dye, making your design show up. It was really fun. I will try to post pictures. I made a pillow cover.

Also fun (but too brief) was my visit with Sam, Kazue and all the GMC students on the trip with them. They are in Tokyo right now, winding down their trip. I think they leave early this coming week.

I got a bike! I’ve been riding it for about a week now, it’s so convenient. I have stopped spending money on subway fare, so I think the 7,500 yen (about $72) was a good investment. I had been spending about $10 a week on subways, just going around town. Now I bike everywhere.

As a result I have noticed that when I walk anywhere, especially uphill or up stairs, the effort I have to exert is minimal. The bike is only one speed, so any kind of incline gets my heart rate up. It’s ideal training. I estimate that so far on this trip I have lost 35 lbs (the scales here are in kg and are kind of clunky old gym scales), and am hoping to lose another 15 by the time I leave in late August. I have started doing crunches, weights, stretching and modified push-ups every day in my room, along with eating very little bad stuff. (Although whenever I do I film it for your entertainment!) I’m really getting hopeful that when I get home I will be able to keep up with a similar regimen and keep off the weight/maybe lose even more! If I could lose a total of 75 I think I would be in a healthy range.
Well that’s it for now. I have been doing a lot of housekeeping/laundry/organizing today and need to get some homework time in before I bed down. I promise to write again sooner rather than later this time!