So loved!

T5B: 1) It rained today. 2) I didn't get too wet riding home thanks to my new jacket. 3) I finished my book. 4) Both sets of elders called (I'm so popular!). 5) The host family loved me so much they wanted me to stay all day! They also gave me a gift of food!

basal temp: 36.02

Morning:
- much to my sadness, the real bed didn't improve my sleep deprivation :/ new place maybe
- got ready for the day
- breakfast was HUGE (turned down the coffee)
- after breakfast we chatted and I showed them pictures and they showed me pictures
- we had tea (macha this time - the fancy, tea ceremony stuff) and cake
- they dropped me off at the station, I rode my bike home in the rain

Notes: Holy moly - breakfast: sea grass (very slimy, hard to eat), baked salmon, miso soup, rice, umeboshi, something pink and white, brined cukes, eggs, a cabbage and green pepper salad, mugicha ... I think that's it. So much food again. I ate as much as I could! They told me their normal breakfast (for the parents) is coffee and cheese toast. For Mayu, rice and miso soup. I felt bad they went way out of their way to make a gigantic breakfast. I helped with the dishes and loaded the dishwasher completely wrong. The poor woman felt so bad fixing it and apologized to me. I assured it was completely ok and watched in fascination. I told her I wanted to learn Japanese cooking and she said on New Year's we would cook together! YAY! Oh also they gave me dried sweet seaweed for breakfast. It was delicious.

Afternoon:
- got home
- showered
- read and washed laundry
- made my lunches (all stuff I needed to do yesterday but didn't have time :/)
- made food when I was hungry

Notes: --

Evening:
- finished my book
- ate dinner (I made the same broc and beef from last week)
- caught my blog up

Notes: I am going to have some sort of beef dish each weekend (when I do my grocery shopping). I found out my grocery store ONLY sells that stew meat. That is, it's the only beef product available. There's TONS of fish, pork, a little chicken (way more chicken than beef) and then one selection of beef. I've got to get creative. (If I have the energy - I know how to cook, thank you Maman, I just lack will power on the weekends.) I am hoping tomorrow goes really well. I had a REALLY stressful evening and the week is just looming in front of me now. :/ I have an easy week though, so that helps. There's testing starting Wednesday so I will be super planning (trying to get way ahead in my lessons). Also two of my four classes were cancelled for tomorrow. I've only got 1.6 and 1.4. (1.6 is my toughest class but I have high hopes for tomorrow. I have been blessed, as usual, with ideas for lessons and with a great friend, Limor, who helped me with ideas last weekend.) Hope you're all doing well. All my love, XOXO, A

Mayu, Okaasan, and me

Now you can see the breakfast!

Japanese dishwasher - it's tiny!

Japanese Seventeen magazine

My favorite kimono I saw - I learned longs sleeves means unmarried

The whole magazine was like this until hair and accessories - no stories, nothing!

Tea time with macha!

The Mastumotos

The food and soap they gave me

My purchases from yesterday (cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese crackers)

The cheese senbei bag - artisan place we visited

Heavenly cheese!