Going Home

So Ben and I are going back to the states for a few weeks, for our wedding!
We'll be in the states for most of the month of August. We're really excited about going home. We miss our friends and family. We also miss things...

Here is our top 10 of things we miss here in Japan
10. Chocolate Chip Cookies- I have never been anywhere outside of the US that had chocolate chip cookies (chips ahoy don't count) melted chocolate in a gooey cookie... drool.
9. The Food Network (and really stupid TV in English in general)-All the TV here is in Japanese
8. Good Toothpaste-toothpaste here does nothing, my breath is bad, and my teeth feel (and look) gross, we have tried every imaginable brand here, and even tried the $6 a tube stuff
7. Jokes-Our Japanese is not good enough to understand or tell jokes
6. Cheap Transportation- It costs a minimum of 400 yen per person for us to get out of town and do something, unfortunately that is a huge sum, and really deters us from many of the adventures we want to do.
5. PDA-It is taboo to hold hands here in Japan. Anything more intimate then just holing hands is even more taboo. Ben and I have been to some beautiful places here, and I really just want to hold his hand.
4. Movies-There are no places to rent movies in our city, and the nearest theater to us costs 3200 yen for a couple ($38)
3. Barefoot- I hate wearing shoes, but even in other peoples houses it's really taboo to go barefoot
2. Spicy food- Herbs, salsa, chili peppers, curries, all the food here is pretty much Japanese (or it has been Japanified) it's very flavorful and nice, BUT THEY HAVE NO HERBS.
1. The Rainbow of People- People in America come in every color and shape, I really miss not being pre-judged based on my genetics. I am aware that they are often just trying to be accommodating and polite, but it is a constant reminder that I do not belong.

Feeling Awesome

Today happened on accident. And it was an awesome happy accident.
It has been brain meltingly hot, and Ben and my air conditioner is pathetic and can barely cool one of our rooms to the point of near comfort.
Our one and only thought as to what we wanted to do today was we wanted to be in air conditioning. So we went to Shinjuku, which is basically a mini city of malls. It was the perfect choice.
We arrived in Shinjuku at around lunch time, and we repeated an old favorite meal there, smoked ramen. It was even better than we remembered, which started our day on a high note.

It is the end of the month, and Ben and I are both 24 years old, which means we have (almost) no money. So we weren't so much shopping as just appreciating Japan (and AC).

I did end up buying a pair of shorts, partially because the heat lately has turned me into a nearly nudist zombie. Now that I am on vacation I pick my outfits almost solely how cool they will keep me. I also bought the shorts because I am finally to the point in my weight loss journey where I look at myself in the mirror and think "Yeah Katie, you can turn a few heads today".



Ben also got something... but before I tell you what he got I want to preface it. Ben and I are both fresh out of college, and to us that means we're now grown ups. More "grown up" grown ups seam to disagree with us, and still treat us like kids, but we feel pretty grown up now. With Ben's transition to adulthood has come a change in wardrobe, worn out band T-Shirts have been replaced with button ups, and torn up jeans have been replaced by much (much...wink) more flattering pants. Japanese men actually pay attention to how they look, and Ben has been highly influenced by this. His wardrobe has also been reenforced by the fact that people in our town frequently tell him how handsome he is, which I wholeheartedly agree with. So as a symbol of feeling mature and studly, he bought himself a murse.

Ben and I are lucky that we went to Shinjuku today because we came upon a festival. It was fun.  It started out as mostly just cute kids doing parades and dances, but transitioned into old people (and Ben) doing odd dances. It was outstandingly fun.

Ben and I felt really awesome today, and glad to be in Japan.

Rose Garden

The other day when we were in Ibaraki, we went to a rose garden. It was very lovely, but my favorite moment was running into two girls in cosplay who were just as eager to take a picture of me as I was to take a picture of them.