4th post: Taiikusai and More school

So the taiikusai was so much more fun than I thought it would have been. They said I wouldn't be able to participate at all, but I was actually able to participate in quite a few events. There was the Tama Ire game, which was pretty much basketball with tiny balls and a high hoop. Also, there was the "40 person 41 legged race, which means getting 40 people in a line, and tying your feet to your neighbor's. They actually let me cross the finish line, which was a really cool thing, considering they're still talking about it the day after. There was one last event, but its really hard to put into concise words. And, the entire time I was there girls would come up to me asking to take a picture with me. The whole school was participating, so they all know about the white kid in their school. The hardest thing so far has been remembering everyone's name. I'm not used to everyone being one race, so its a little hard to tell all of the students apart. But I have been talking to quite a few of the students, so hopefully even after the buzz winds down I can have people to talk to. Everyone is still surprised at how good my Japanese is, but almost every minute there's a word I don't know, which makes subjects like modern social studies near impossible, having to know words like voting and campaigning and candidates in Japanese. But knowing Japanese has been the greatest boon I could've asked for.

Now its time for random ramblings.
I recently remembered that I don't need to be money conscious, and have been trying every drink from vending machines I can. I'm buying my own drinks for lunch, so I hope to try everything in the vending machine before I leave. So far, milk tea is better than regular tea, and brown(?) tea is better than green. And sparkling grapefruit water isn't sweet but still delicious. However, I found a coffee drink not at my school that is too delicious.

I really liked it, so I thought I'd share.

 Last fun fact, I haven't had much of an appetite since I came here. But I think its coming back. That way I can eat more food and try everything.

Well, until next time.

Christopher Scrafford