On Friday morning, I had my first Japanese grammar course at a higher level. As you may remember, I was initially put into a Beginner's course, and had a lot of trouble persuading the administration to let me switch, even though it was faaaaaar too easy. I was apprehensive about this course as well. Just like my first Kanji course the day before, because of the timing of the trip with my lab and the Germans and all of the rearranging of course levels, I had missed two days' worth of classes. (That is, one of the days I was still trapped in the Beginner's class, and the other I was on the road). As it turns out, the student that I sat next to in my first Kanji class is also in my Grammar class. She let me look off of the handouts from the days I had missed. Her name is Magali, and she is from Switzerland. Goodness, she is so nice and cheerful. Towards the end of class, I decided to mention to her that on Saturday I was planning to go to an orchard and that she was welcome to join us. I wanted to make sure she felt welcome, and maybe to have a chance to get to know her since she seemed so nice. I was very happy when she accepted my invitation! We exchanged contact information and I told her that I would check with Becca to see when we would be leaving. If I remember correctly, that afternoon I went back to Uniqlo where I had purchased my coat in order to buy a few sweaters since the weather has been becoming chilly. I found a few, and was rather happy to have actually located the store in the tangled mess that Sapporo Station. In the evening, I attended my Environmental Science course. The professor reminded us about the upcoming field trip opportunity, and I was glad when I asked if Becca could also attend, he seemed happy to have any who is interested come along. That evening after class was the Welcome Party for the new international research students (a.k.a. Diao and I). Although this was supposed to "welcome" us, I think it may have been more of an excuse for a bunch of guys to get together and drink sake. But nevertheless, the sentiment was very kind. Ogura-san met Diao and I at the lab, and then we found Professor Koike, collected some more students, and then headed over to a little restaurant/bar a short ways from campus. In fact, I have passed this restaurant many time while biking around the outside of campus. We collected more students as we went. There were red paper lanterns hanging outside of the small door of the restaurant, and it looked far too small to fit us all. It definitely gave off the feeling of a bar to me, and so this also made me a little nervous. But I was hopeful that because Professor Koike was attending, and because he cannot drink alcohol, there should not be too much to worry about. We squeezed through the tiny tables on the first floor, and the waiter led us to the back where there was a tiny, tucked away staircase. We took off our shoes and went up. At the top of the stairs there was a small room with a long, low table at the center, and some flat, square pillows to sit on. On the walls there were scrawled Japanese notes, which I think were items you could order (primarily beers and sake). Food kept coming and coming, and the table was soon filled up with small plates of fish, pickled vegetables, ramen salad, fried chicken organs, and fortunately a very thoughtful plate of vegetables that Professor Koike had ordered just for me. Professor Koike had some of the students introduce themselves properly, in both Japanese and English for a challenge. Because everyone was so caught up in chatting and drinking, they only actually got through half of the students. Diao and I were told to introduce ourselves as well. Since everyone else had been challenged with doing so in English, I decided to try my hand at Japanese. I think I did pretty well! At least I hope so. Diao, the Chinese international student in the same lab as me, who also arrived here about the same time as me and is also in two classes with me, sat next to me. She is too young to drink, though is not especially interested in drinking anyways. So we talked together quietly about how we wished Japan had more vegetables. She assured me that in China, vegetables are cooked in much more delicious ways than in Japan and that if I were studying in China I would have little trouble finding enough vegetables. I really enjoyed speaking with her more, and learning more about her. She is so quiet, but so sweet. I like to try to make her laugh, or think of funny stories. Diao and I decided that we would meet together that week to cook vegetables together. All in all, it was a very fun night, although my legs kept falling asleep from sitting so long in such a cramped space. Apparently most of the other students were headed off to a second party (and who knows, maybe even a third). Diao, Nana, and Mao (the three Chinese researcher students) and myself--the only four girls from the welcome party--all walked back to the Agricultural Building. I said goodnight to them, hopped on my bike, and Mao and I rode back to the International House. Mao-san lives in the couples building just a little ways from mine. Right now she is preparing for her Phd examination, and so she is so busy and stressed. I always offer to help her in whatever way I can, but so far she has not taken me up on the offer. Hopefully she will soon, because she seems like she has so much on her plate right now. I went back to my room, and checked with Becca a few more times to see about the plans for going to the orchard the next day. Becca also suggested that afterwards we could go to an onsen.
On Saturday, Becca and I first met just before noon briefly attend the Hiking Club's barbeque, which Becca had been informed about from a classmate. We met the classmate in front of one of the dining halls. It had just stopped raining and so we waited a little for things to get started then walked a short ways to the open grassy areas where student groups frequently roast meat, fish, and vegetables over little fires. There was a group of Japanese students in charge of the Hiking Club collected there and we introduced ourselves to them. We spoke with a few members for a short time, learned a little about where they go, and when they meet, then gave them our contact information to join the mailing list. Becca's friend Aki was going to meet us at the International House at 12:30PM, and so we could not stay long at the barbeque. We had to hurry off to get back to meet Aki in time. Becca ran upstairs to pack some towels. Then we headed over to the International House that is on the other side of campus, where Magali lives. We had a little trouble finding it by car, but then we connected with Magali, and spotted her waving, standing on the sidewalk outside the International House 23. We pulled over and she jumped in. (A taxi also swung over to the curb to pick her up after seeing her wave, but we got her first). The drive to the orchard was rather slow, because of traffic, and it sprinkled a little bit as well. Once we got a little ways out of the busy part of Sapporo we stopped at a small stand to ask if the orchard was nearby. We found it was actually very close--maybe only 9 miles or so away were I to bike. We turned at the sign for the orchard and wound up an extremely narrow allegedly two-way road, all the way seeing waving banners reading "strawberries", "apples", "grapes," etc. I was so excited at this point. Because of the rainy weather forecast, I had been worried that we may not go to the orchard, but as we pulled up to the parking lot amongst the trees and the beautiful mountains in the background the sun and blue sky appeared. The orchard was so lovely, and I was extremely grateful to be there. Magali was also very happy, because she had actually not yet had a chance to get out of the city to see some of the countryside. This made me even more glad that she was able to join us. We walked over to some of the workers selling fruit at the stands and asked if there was anything that we could still collect ourselves. We were told that we could still pick apples, or chestnuts. Becca and I were very excited about the prospect of picking chestnuts (we remain fascinated with them) and so we were given two buckets, and two pairs of tongs to go collect them from the ground around the chestnut trees. We followed the little paths through the orchard building frames, and then came to the chestnut trees. There were prickly chestnut husks all over, and so many chestnuts that had split from their husks lying on the ground. Far more than we could collect. We filled up our buckets and brought them back to pay. At the stand, I also became very excited seeing all the fruit and bought a handful of apples and a big peach. After the orchard, we drove to the onsen which was on the way back into Sapporo. It looked as though rain might be headed our way again. Next to the onsen is also another Ainu Museum, and Becca pointed it out. Knowing that I was very interested in going, she suggested that we might as well go! I am glad that we did. It is not very big, but there is a collection of Ainu related history and language books, a number of lecture rooms, art displays, and one big room with various cultural objects that you can actually touch and pick up. That is something I have not seen before in a cultural museum. It was all very beautiful, and I really want to go back to meet more with the staff and to learn more about what we saw. Especially, I would like to contribute to their book collection by offering to illustrate language materials. I have made it a rule that I will always illustrate books for language revitalization purposes for free, no matter what, if someone is interested. When we got to the exit, it was raining still. We headed into the onsen entrance. Like before, of course, onsens mean public bathing. But since the day had been somewhat chilly, I was looking forward to a warm bath. This onsen was much bigger and busier than the little one I had visited at the Ryoukan with the German researchers. So it was a little more intimidating to go through the locker room, get undressed, and then walk around naked in such a big space, with so many sinks and pools. This onsen also had an outdoors section, and we went out there to soak. There are little "pots" that you can sit in, and Becca and I soaked in these as well. They were so cozy. I especially enjoyed looking up at the darkening sky, and smelling the cool air. Afterwards, Aki and Becca dropped me off at the dorm, and then dropped Magali off as well. That night, I contemplated ways to cook my bag of chestnuts. Normally you might roast them in an oven, but we don't have ovens, so I am being creative.
On Sunday morning, Becca and I met with Magali to go with her to a Softbank cellphone store so that Becca could help explain the contract to her. When she first bought the phone, there were a number of questions she had about what all her contract entailed and so we had offered to help sort things out. Of course, I was not much use in this situation, and Becca did the translating. We wandered around Sapporo Station a little, ate lunch in the delicious smelling department store underground--I had my dear inarizushi and Becca and Magali tried out the infamous Mos Burgers. Mos Burgers is the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds, and somewhat of a "cultural" experience to try them. I opted out, because if I am going to eat unhealthy things, I want to eat desserts of course! After lunch we went to get dessert at Mister Donut (pumpkin honey doughnuts, our favorite). At 1PM we were supposed to meet Kotaro-san at the Station entrance and he surprised us when he found us at the Mister Donut. His roommates were all with him, and we all sat for a time, talked, and ate our doughnuts. We were headed to one of Kotaro-san's friend's rugby matches--his last rugby match, in fact, and the "state" level match game. We invited Magali along, but she was busy in the afternoon, so we bid her farewell and headed down to the subways. Kotaro-san and his entourage are all such interesting, nice people. It was very fun to join them, and to learn more about them. Becca has gotten to know them better than I, I suppose, because I was gone for a time with my field trip/German research bonanza. This is also probably because I am more timid. I really do hope they will see beyond myself shyness. I try my best to be outgoing, but I truly am a very introverted person. This is not necessarily because I am naturally shy anymore--I am just more reserved. Recently, I have been more aware that one of the reasons I am "shy" is actually that I have often had my feelings hurt quite a bit by becoming more open with people in the past, or letting myself become friends too easily. I have often been taken advantage of, or experienced rather inconsiderate actions from friends. So although I am so excited to meet such interesting people, it usually takes folks a little longer to learn much about me. I feel sometimes that, if someone does not reaaaallly know me, I seem like a rather generic, perhaps bland, quiet girl. Everyone in Kotaro's group does seem so genuinely considerate and kind, though, so I will keep doing my best. The weather was very chilly, and cloudy. We all got off the subway and walked to the rugby stadium. It was so much fun to sit in the stands and watch. Japanese rugby (or rather, rugby in general) is such a ridiculous sport. It sometimes seems to be just a big pile of men in short-shorts. Kotaro-san's friend, Hayashi-san, was playing. Everyone was so excited for him when he scored a point. Unfortunately, his team ended up losing very narrowly. Some of the players and coaches openly wept, and although it was very sad, it was also a little refreshing to see someone so dedicated and connected to their sport. It reminded me poignantly of my last track race. After that race, I walked off the track and onto the infield. Then I started to weep. Even thinking about it now makes me cry, because competing in track and field is so tied to my heart. It was a sorrow so strong that I could truly feel it in my chest (and still can). I felt that I could very clearly understand the feelings of the players, so bound to their sport and so upset at their loss, and their last game. It was also Hayashi-san's last game, since he is a fourth-year student. I thought a lot about this as we walked back to the station. After taking the subway back to Sapporo Station, Kotaro-san and his friends went to print out some pictures from the game to give to Hayashi-san. They also went shopping for sake, to throw him a little party to help cheer him up. It made me feel that Hayashi-san is very lucky to have a group of such caring friends. It was about 6PM, and of course already dark. I really wanted to get a run in that day, and was apprehensive about whether or not there would be out of hand drinking, so I excused myself and headed back to the dorm to go for a run. I felt very bad to leave them, and I did want to help them cheer up Hayashi-san, but I can only take so much activity in one day before I become a little overwhelmed by interacting with too many people. I changed for my run--it was by now rather chilly. I ran around the campus, and actually went rather far that night doing some extra loops compared to usual. Since I have been here, I feel that I have been very lazy about running. Many people who run here go very slow, and I also get so bored running on my own, that sometimes I lose my motivation to push myself. Remembering my dear track and field so much that day, perhaps, gave me some extra motivation. When I ran down the mainstreet in the center of campus, I made sure to go extra fast. It does make me happy to her people whisper "mecha hayai" ("super fast!") when I pass them. However, this is not so much because I am going all that fast as that everyone else runs rather slow. No joke. So even going my normal pace, it seems that I am going fast when in the U.S., I know that I am just average. Another reason is that, I feel, very few girls try to push themselves to run especially fast. Hopefully that is not true, and I will meet some more athletic girls who I may be able to run with. I got back to my dorm, then cooked the squash I had bought out in the countryside on my field trip. I only have a little tiny knife, so I actually ended up cutting my thumb pretty bad, but the squash turned out yummy anyways! I cooked some chestnuts and potatoes and added this to my rice as well. A pretty good dinner, I have to say.
On Monday, I fortunately did not have an early class. I woke up fairly early nonetheless to get things done. I had a list of more pressing things that I wanted to accomplish. After breakfast, I first stopped at a conbini to pay my water bill. I had thought this may be complicated, but it was very simple. I just handed the cashier my bill, handed them the money, and it was taken care of. Next I stopped at the post office to mail a birthday card. Then I decided to bike over to Aeon to finish some grocery shopping and get some vegetables to cook that evening with Diao. I also needed to buy foods for breakfast the next day. After groceries, I wandered to the second floor of Aeon to see if I could find some folders for my classwork. Upstairs everything was being re-arranged in the stationary section, but it also seemed like many things were on sale, so I got distracted in the fabric/craft section. I ended up buying some leather, beads, needles and thread to do some beadwork. I had seem some scraps of leather for sale at a shop in Sapporo Station, but it was pretty expensive there. Here, it was much cheaper so it seemed like a good opportunity. That afternoon, I attended one of Professor Koike's little lectures for us four international students. These are to help prepare Mao-san for her Phd examination, but the material is useful for all of us. After the lecture, Diao and I headed to a grocery store by her dorm to buy some vegetables to cook together. I was really shocked at this store because many of the vegetables were cheaper than at Aeon. I ended up even buying a pineapple!!! I was so excited. I didn't have much room in my bag, so I wound up zipping it into the front of my coat and carrying it there. Diao thought this was especially funny. At her dorm, they do not have kitchens in their rooms, but shared kitchen spaces for the floor. Diao cooked some breaded tofu and Chinese pancakes, and I made vegetables (fast becoming my specialty, as a vegetarian of course). The Chinese pancakes were especially delicious! I felt so grateful to be sharing cultures. We sat down and at the food we had prepared together, promising to do so again soon. It started storming a bit outside, and so my bike ride back was windy and rainy, but I was so satisfied and happy with the evening. I started some beadwork, and practiced the banjo to finish off the night.
On Tuesday morning, I attended my early Kanji class. Magali and I discussed further strategies for chestnut cooking. After class I met Becca outside the International Student Center. It was rainy outside, as usual. She had a number of errands to run, and I had a few things to get done as well. Firstly, she was headed to pay her first rent payment. This was something I needed to get done as well, so I was grateful to be able to go along with Becca. The rent is not paid at your actual dormitory, but at a building off of campus, in fact over by Sapporo Station. We navigated there, and were relieved when we found the correct building. Once there, we walked in and sat down a small desk in the corner where two workers met us and looked us up in their binders, and helped us to pay. They also mentioned that for the future we could now set up direct payments, if we had our bank books with us. As you may remember, Becca and I went through a whole debacle with the Japanese bank system. Our only option for an international friendly bank, as it turns out, does not issue bank booklets but only cards. This is somewhat unusual, and certainly inconvenient because anything procedural here uses a bank book. Becca and I were nervous, because this might mean that we could not set up direct payments, and we would have to come all the way over to the building to pay in person every month. I had foreseen this issue when we signed up for our bank accounts, but there was no other option. Becca amazingly managed to call our bank, speak with them in Japanese, and figure out what official names we had registered with, and so we were able to use our cards to fill out the forms and do direct payments. Thank goodness. She spent a long time talking with the bank on the phone in the hallway, while I sat akwardly at the payment desk with the two workers. Mostly we just sat and twiddled our fingers. A few times we sparked up short-lived conversations about where I was from ("oh! Minnesota! The Twins!" Japanese people seem to know U.S. geography by baseball teams) , how long I would be there, and about the landscape of Minnesota. I explained that bears in Minnesota are not particularly aggressive--black bears are generally timid and shy--and they laughed at this (as all Japanese people do when I mention it) because everyone in Japan is afraid of bears. Becca came back at last, as I described, and triumphant. Afterwards we stopped at Sapporo Station and got some desserts, had some really great conversations about racisms/minorities in Japan while eating desserts, then went to do grocery shopping. I bought some little things like cloves (my favorite spice) and cereal, then went to look at shelves. I have been wanting badly to buy a shelf for my room to maximize space. I found one that was perhaps a little wider then I wanted, but very cheap and made of wood. While grocery shopping, I always feel like I am made to feel that I am in the way, no matter where I stand or where I move. If I go stand in a completely vacant isle to look for something, somehow swarms of people appear around me. This usually happens everywhere I go, in the United States as well, but here in Japan I feel very pointedly that there is an understanding that as a foreigner, I am just always in the way even if it is actually the Japanese shoppers who are in the way. This may be me feeling overly self-conscious, but Becca and I conferred, there is a definite feeling that we are always in the way, even when we are definitely not. Even if we are standing in a completely empty spot, I just get the sense that people are thinking "move!" or "geez, that foreigner is in the way." And believe it or not, I have actually been budged in lines here in Japan more times than I think I've ever been budged in the U.S. It is almost as if, sometimes, people purposely go in front of me because, I can only assume, I am a foreigner. So much for politeness! A few times, waiting in line at the register, people have just snaked their stuff in front of mine, confusing the cashier who not realizing takes their stuff instead of mine, only for me to point out "ummm...I was here, I don't know what this crazy person is doing ringing up their stuff." The cashiers seem to have a similar sentiment to me, I hope. Of course, this does not go for all people here, and I do certainly hope that it is more of a fluke. When I got back, Becca went to her room to start baking a chestnut mousse cake! I went back to mine to assemble my shelf, to go for a run, and to figure out my complicated loan deferment form. I was successful in building my shelf, though I got a pretty bad blister. It is now sitting snugly on top of my fridge, and works perfectly. I went for a run, came back, cooked a dinner of spinach, chestnuts, and rice (I was rather disappointed when after waiting 40 minutes for my rice to cook, I opened it to find I had forgotten to add water!) with my delicious pineapple for dessert, then Becca came up and we drank milk tea together. I enjoyed chatting with her again.
On Wednesday, I had class, then I spent midday biking back and forth between the post office and my room trying to mail my loan deferment form. It has been a harrowing experience to try to set up my loan deferment to begin with, but the whole process of acquiring american stamps, putting extra addressed envelopes, then weighing the mail at the post office was so frustrating and troublesome. Finally, I was successful. About 1PM, I went to the lab to meet with one of the students to help him with some research at the Hitsujigaoka experimental forest just outside of Sapporo, where I had also gone to help with the German forest survey. We took to subway most of the way there, then Professor Koike picked us up and drove us to the forest. This was one of the first times we really bushwacked through the bamboo grass ('sasa'). I hadn't quite expected that, but I've learned well enough to dress for any possible circumstance. Professor Koike, in his professional clothes and rainboots, plunged right in. As usual, I had no real idea of what we were there to do. I ducked through the thick bamboo grass and stepped carefully through the tangled layer of tree trunks and plant stems on the ground. I felt bad for Diao, who was following behind me and who it seemed perhaps was not expecting such conditions. Personally, I love weaving through thick forest, and feeling the plants and branches glide past me (or sometimes not glide at all and smack me in the face). We came to a clearing, and there were trees strapped with little monitors to record water flow. They looked like heart monitors, to me. We went to another clearing after that, and then I noticed looking through the bamboo that there was scaffolding hidden a ways away, peaking through the gaps in the leaves. Professor Koike explained to us that this was one of their FACE experiments (Free Air CO2 Exposure)! This is one of the experiments that I hoped to help with, and believe that I will in fact be able to. The scaffolding was much larger than I thought, and went high up into the canopy. We climbed up a little ways (and I wanted to go all the way to the top), but Professor Koike did not want us to fall out. We got back with a little spare time before Professor Koike's guest lecture in my class so I went back to my room to take a little nap. The lecture was at 4:30PM with plenty of time, but I ended up accidentally waking up at 4:24PM! I couldn't believe it! I was so shocked. For a moment, I didn't know what I should do, because I thought I would miss the lecture. Then I told myself "GO!" and I sure did "go." I grabbed whatever was next to me, my bike keys, and then leaped onto Akaji (my bike). I took off as fast as I could go, whizzing past Becca on the sidewalk as she was returning from class and probably frightening many people on the main street as I zoomed past them. I made it to the building at 4:30PM exactly, then had to lock my bike as fast as possible, and ran up the stairs. Unfortunately, I was still about 2 minutes late and Professor Koike had just started speaking. But I was amazed that I had made it there in only 8 minutes! I have no idea how I did it. I also felt more relaxed when one of my labmates came in a minute after me. Phew.
After class on Wednesday, Becca had invited me to come over to Kotaro's place. Since we had just gone chestnut collecting, Becca found a recipe for a cake that uses chestnuts AND doesn't use an over (since we have no ovens). As usual, it was already completely dark after class even though it was only 6PM. I talked with Professor Koike and my labmates as we strolled out of the building, then I bid them goodnight and headed to my bike. Becca was already at Kotaro's, and so I considered this an opportunity to test whether or not I could navigate on my own. Becca sent me the address, and I decided to try to find it without using my phone to help. The streets are a grid, as I mentioned, though sometimes it doesn't always follow it's own system, but I figured if I could crack the code it would be helpful for the rest of the year. The air was very crisp and cold, and breathing it reminded me of winter's nighttime air in Minnesota. At Kotaro's, they had cooked a creamy curry-like dish. It was cold in their apartment and for the first time they broke out their kerosine heater. It looked like a rather dangerous set-up, in my opinion--a big cage-like heater with a flame in the middle. But they are common in Japan, and I was happy for a little heat. The dinner was delicious, and I was so thankful again for how kind Kotaro and his friends are. After dinner, it was time for Becca's cake. I was so excited. It looked incredible! It was one layer of chestnut mousse, one layer of chocolate mouse, and a couple layers of think biscuit cookies. Kotaro and his roommate, Zenta, were so excited for it too. Zenta took a slice and instantly and emphatically said "UMAI!" (DELICIOUS!). It sure was. Becca was so relieved, because she had never tried the recipe before. It was some of the best cake I have ever had, and I consider myself experienced in the art of dessert consumption. We started playing a card game called hearts, which was the card game we had all learned the first time Kotaro invited us along. I think that he has really become addicted to it. We were waiting for their friend, Hayashi the rugby player, to come over because they wanted him to eat some cake too. He said he couldn't be there till 11PM and they threatened him that "it will be too late! The surprise will be gone by then!" They made it sound very urgent, which I thought was hilarious. So they managed to get him to show up just before 10PM. He is apparently the quiet one of the group, and he seems very nice (like all of Kotaro's friends!). They were all anxious for him to try the cake too, and also to finish it off themselves I think! He confirmed, it was delicious. Kotaro made us some coffee to drink (and some hot chocolate for me). Since it was getting late, Becca and I needed to get back. We have our early morning classes. Becca had walked to Kotaro's place in order to balance carrying the cake, but I had biked. It was also very cold and wintery outside. I told her let's just fill my backpack and hers with the cake pans, she could ride my bike, and I'll run! Admittedly, this sounds like a weird proposition, but I figured heck I had missed my run earlier, it would get us back faster, keep us warmer, and it would be awesome. So Becca got onto my bike--a little tall for her so it was a bit precarious--I strapped on my backpack, and started jogging along next to her. Hayashi left on bike at the same time as we did, and I think he found our arrangement a little humorous. I'm sure I seem like a crazy person! But it was so much more efficient, and fun too. Wearing my backpack and holding onto it made running a bit strange. I told Becca I felt like a donkey, especially because I could hear the pots clanging in my bag. She said it made me look like an ostrich, which also seemed accurate. Anyways, it was a really great way to travel. We got back, and that night I did a bit more beadwork before bed.
On Thursday morning, I had my kanji class with Magali. The weather was so sunny, warm, and beautiful. My class gets done at 10:15AM, so I bought some bread for lunch at the campus bakery, then went back to my room and took a nap in the sunshine and worked on some emails. At 1PM I checked in with Professor Koike and Diao, because we were originally supposed to have a lecture at this time, but it was moved to 4:00PM. I came back to my room, changed, and went for a little run. I decided to try running down Oodori (the big mainstreet) because it is also a park. That wasn't especially successful, because it crosses streets often and so I was always having to wait for lights to change. When I returned, I finished up a paper and went to the lecture. Afterwards, at 6:15PM Magali met me on bike outside of the Agricultural Building. In fact, she showed me the way to the track! I've been searching for it, but simply could not locate it. By map, it was allegedly nearby, but had remained illusive. As it turns out, I've been running past the road it is on nearly every day! Our plan for the evening was to bike to the Indian restaurant that I love. I had never biked there on my own before, always with Becca leading the way, so I was apprehensive about finding it. I carried one of their business cards with their address written on it, and made some educated guesses. Because the restaurant is actually on the basement floor of the building, it is more difficult to locate. You have to find its tiny, tiny sign on a banner with many others, and you go down some small, tucked away stairs. Magali had never been there before, so was relying on me to find it. We came to the address on the card, but still had trouble finding exactly where on the block it would be. I tried to recognize the area, and it was all very familiar. I decided to take a closer look at a sign, and sure enough, recognized it! Then I saw the stairs, and knew we were in the right place. A success! I tried a new curry (garbanzo beans). Everything there is delicious and I love the comfort of being able to pick from so many vegetarian dishes. The quirky owner recognized me, and was happy to see me. He even gave us free lassi again! So kind. We had originally invited Becca to come along, but she had a very stressful day and so had opted to stay home. So after biking back towards campus with Magali I bid her goodnight, and decided to circle over to Sapporo Station where there is a yummy homemade cookie-shop. As you probably know, I absolutely hate to navigate in Sapporo Station because it is a constant wave of people, and because the layout seems so confusing, with so many nearly identical buildings. I searched, and at first had a lot of trouble, but somehow or other relying on my gradually improving memory of familiar places, I made it there. I biked back to the dorm in a light rain, put a little beadwork gift in the bag, and brought them to Becca. She was skyping with her mom when she invited me in, so I was happy to meet her mom as well.
On Friday, I had my grammar class in the morning, and my Environmental Science course in the evening. The lectures in my afternoon classes are typically very basic and dry, but this lecture was about compouds (besides the general oxygen and water vapor) emitted by trees. I was so intrigued, and really enjoyed it. So I was in a great mood after lecture. I was supposed to have dinner with Becca that evening (ironically enough at the Indian restaurant!) but she thought she might be late getting back from a little trip. When my lecture was finished I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was already back! I biked over to the dorm to meet her and her friend Aki, then we went to the Indian restaurant. I had just been there yesterday, but could not pass up a chance to go back! When I had left the evening before I told the waiter "Mata raishuu!" meaning "til next week!" as I try to go once a week. He was very amused to see me back again so soon. I tried his recommendation for a curry, and it was delicious. When we left he told me "Mata ashita!" as a joke, meaning "til tomorrow!".