Even though, nerd that I am, I have been studying almost non-stop, I managed to make it out last weekend to the neighborhood matsuri (festival).

I went during the day long enough to see them carrying the mikoshi (portable shrine)and then Chiemi San, Sanshiro San and I returned in the evening to enjoy the booths. For all my anime geeks back home:
No, I did not wear a yukata. Mine is at home because I didn’t have room to pack it.
Yes, I did eat takoyaki .
Yes, they did have goldfish scooping, an air rifle booth and ring toss. The only one that I played was the ring toss game. I threw ten rings and won a little ceramic maneki neko, two bells and a pack of gum.
We watched some of the entertainers, there was this one guitarist who was amazing, I got some video of him but I think y’all will have to wait until I get home to see it.
I have put up a picture of the mikoshi and one I took from the overpass at night.
The matsuri was awesome but yesterday was even better. I finally opened my bank account (at Shinsei Ginko) and got a cell phone. I think I actually qualify as a human being again.
I am doing alright in my Japanese class. I am studying almost non-stop and I am managing to stay at about a high C average, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

This week coming up we have holidays on Monday (Respect for Seniors day)and Thursday (The Autumnal Equinox). I plan to put in all weekend studying so that on Monday and Thursday I can finally go out and explore. Well, on Thursday I will be exploring. Chiemi San, Sanshiro San and I are going to Inogawa which is an older part of Tokyo, to do some sightseeing. On Monday though, me and some of my friends from school are going shopping and maybe to see a movie. I am so excited that I will be doing something other than studying, that I can barely contain myself. I would be doing little happy dances all over the place, but I try not to do anything that might scare the neighbors.

Speaking of scaring the neighbors, being the only gaikokujin (polite term for foreigner, the neighbors more than likely term me gaijin which is less polite) in my neighborhood, has become a constant form of amusement for me. Mostly I get the “glance and look away” somebody checks me out, but when I look up at them they look away really quickly. I am getting really good at timing out the movement and I have an almost overwhelming urge to wait until they look and then lunge forward and yell “BOO”. I am managing to restrain myself only because I don’t want to end up in a police station explaining myself. Now I know you are probably thinking “would the police really pick her up for something so stupid?” and the answer is absolutely YES. Tokyo has per capita, more police officers than almost any other city in the world. Combine that little tidbit with the fact that there is almost no street crime in Japan, and you end up with a horde of policemen wandering around with absolutely nothing to do but give directions.
The brave and diligent men and women of the Tokyo PD are the Maytag repairmen of the law enforcement community. As one of our deans put it during orientation “foreign students are the only entertainment that the Tokyo PD get.” And Japan is not the US, the police do not need an actual reason to detain you, they can pick you up for having a bad hair day. So I am reigning in my natural inclination to screw with people, in order to save myself the trip to the police station. But in the morning…on the train…trapped and bored, it’s not easy.

Well, I need to get back to work. Besides my matsuri pictures, I am also posting my hand picture that I mentioned before, and it rained today so I took a picture of the wave of umbrellas crossing the intersection in Shibuya.
I will try to post again soon.
Hugs - Liz