Days 70-74: Merp.

(Sorry this entry has no pictures; there's been nothing picture-worthy lately.)

Since I've been back, I haven't been doing much.
But I LIKE IT.

I could be pressuring myself to do the last little bits of Nagasaki sight-seeing I haven't done yet, or rushing myself to buy souvenirs for my friends and family, but I'm not. I've just been doing work on the computer (regarding fall quarter school/work stuff and job applications for next year,) going to the grocery store, cooking and eating, napping, and internet-ing. But after two weeks of being on the road rushing around, it feels good to have a little lazy sloth time.

The exception was yesterday, where we went to Guy's restaurant in Huis Ten Bosch for the WHOLE DAY. And when I say the whole day I mean like 6am--9pm. An 180-person-big field trip of students from Okayama prefecture came to Rock & Roll Brats to eat hot dogs and practice ordering in English, and we were recruited to be order-takers. It was fun really, talking to the kids and pointing to signs: "Would you like a regular brat or a cheese brat? Which drink would you like, iced tea, Coca-Cola, or Hi-C?" A few were eager to order in English, pulling out their best "this one, please" but most were shy and just pointed at what they wanted. I like being at HTB because I get free food, I get social interaction, and I get into a theme park for free, but the two other interns don't like it as much. I don't know if I'll go there again, though, because Guy is hesitant to pay for my train fare up if I'm not going to be helping out that much.

Tonight I tried to make tempura. That was a fail. Of course, I followed the recipe I found exactly, but that recipe made batter which was way too thin and didn't coat the vegetables well at all. Then I used too much oil and had to take some out in order to get it to "crackle" right. Then the stove setting was too high at first, so the first couple rounds were burnt. But it was still good. :)

On Mon and Tues (Aug 8th and 9th) my friend Akira is coming to Nagasaki! She's coming to visit because August 9th is the anniversary date of the atom bombing of the city, so there is a memorial event going on around the Peace Park area. I'm excited to spend time with her and be in Nagasaki on the historic date. And it's something to spice up the days of monotony that we have with barely any work to do.

ALSO:
I had to make the very difficult decision not to take another trip to Kagawa/Tokushima to visit my friend Liz, meaning we won't be meeting up in Japan at all this time. It's such a weird feeling for me. Normally I prioritize money to travel over all else, and value it as more important than almost anything else money can buy. And technically I have the money in my account. But I didn't feel safe spending that money. I want to save that money just in case I don't get new students/classes to sub at home as quickly as I hope. I'm still beside myself that I didn't get to travel to Beppu, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima, as I had planned to, and now I have to add Kagawa and Tokushima to that list. Missed opportunity, experience unknown. But I have to tell myself that I can see them next year when I come back, and even if I didn't, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I don't have to see every nook and cranny the the earth has to offer. If there's a will, there's a way, so if I want to make it back there, I will somehow. Just like the places in France/Italy I was going to visit but didn't: Nice, Cannes, Marseilles, Monaco, and Cinque Terre. I will definitely be back for those someday. And Paris again.

The days here are long, and home is starting to sound real good. I can taste the Mexican food and feel the cool breezes already. :)