Chillin' Out Relaxing and Actin' All Kewl

This weekend I took a break from tons of fun and knocked it down a notch to just fun. A well needed vacation spent at home in Arai. Thursday we had a regional ALT meeting in which we praised and griped about our situations here. We also took much needed advice from the people who have been here for a while. An example of a big question like this is "Where do you get your hair done?" And the answer is always- i don't have a place/ person yet, because most people are always dissatisfied with the outcome. We also discussed things like where to buy normal peanut butter, coldcuts (I haven't really seen any but maybe they do exist here) and other various items that would make you feel at least a little normal. Another big topic...THE WINTER! and how to survive. Basically it won't be pleasant from the sounds of it- but there will be a lot of hitting the slopes. I still haven't gotten a good answer to the question of why are the houses not insulated? (especially when we live in a place that gets so much snow) I only get the answer "to make us tough!" The key advice on this point (the cold that is) is to invest in things that will keep you warm. I already have a kerosene heater- and a kotatsu (a table you plug in that has a little heater in it and then you sit under it with blankets). The other things you can invest in are heated toilet seats. People are crazy about the things- especially since there is no way to keep your bathroom warm (my bathroom window doesn't even really close- it is just vents (I do not think I will need to get a heated toilet seat though) You can also buy heated rugs- and heated shoes. Luckily I am prepared, I have an electric blanket on the way! I cannot wait. yippyfreakindee.
On that note. The tempature has already dropped a lot. I am going to tough it out as long as I can to not use my heater. Because I know once it starts there will be no way to catch up with my acclimation to this weather. It is so crazy- the weather is drastic! Last week no one wanted to leave the A/C and then this week I am running around with sweaters on. All these typhoons have really cooled down the town.
Well back to what I spend my time doing. Thursday after the meeting we went to an itakaya for beverages and then we went and did karaoke accompanied with more beverages (that is one way to keep warm). So Friday I just took it easy because I had crashed at my friend Tiffany's house in Takada and taken the train home at 6 a.m. and then I went straight to school.
But Saturday felt like my days back at SLU. A group of us met up and tossed the 'bee around. Then we had a game of Ultimate in the pouring rain. I got a couple points but was not as good as I liked. It was tough being all drenched and it made the disc harder to catch. There were a few good sidetackles though (more like slipping and sliding into eachother) but good rough fun nonetheless. After the game Karmen and I cleaned our muddy selves up over at the Joetsu public bath. There was even a collagen tub- the water was red- I don't ask. (well I can't ask even if I wanted to) Then we all went to dinner. Okinomiyaki. It is a bunch of shiz that you mix together and grill like a pancake. The real test is flipping the fish, cabbage, cheese, and mystery filling concocotion. I did ok. Then we looked at the movie theater- seeing that there really were no options (and it costs nearly 18$) we played arcade games, pool, pirikura, and bowling to fill the rest of the evening.
Sunday was the Sabbath. So I rest.