終わった

owatta- Over, done.

Well…my program is finally over and now it is time for me to enjoy the rest of my stay out here with my parents. They will be coming out here on Friday, and I’m really looking forward to it. But I guess that also means that my blog readership is probably going down by about 50%.

Anyway, yesterday I had a big presentation about my internship experience. I did it in Japanese, and the CEO of Co-Op Tokyo was there. He asked me a few questions, which I was successfully able to understand and respond to. In fact, I’m pretty pleased with how my Japanese has progressed since being out here. After the presentations, I was presented with a little certificate from Co-Op Tokyo congratulating me on completion. After this, everyone went to Tsukishima to have monja yaki, which is pretty tough to explain. Basically a bunch of meat and veggies mixed together into an omelet like food. It was delicious. And it was really fun because everyone’s host families also came out, so I got to see the Kin family again!

Today the other three interns are going home, so last night was our last night to hang out. You can probably guess what we did. We went to Shinjuku, found the nearest convenience store, bought drinks, and roamed the streets of Shinjuku. I guess these types of stories are getting a bit old now. Haha

Anyway…now that I’ve officially spent two months in Japan, I’ve decided to recap on different things about Japan that are a bit different.

These are a few of my favorite thiiiiiings….
-Ramen- I seriously cannot eat enough ramen. In the span of two days, I once ate four different bowls of ramen. I’m going to miss how easy and inexpensive it is to get ramen out here.

-The train- The train really does make everything much easier. Its relatively inexpensive when compared with a taxi.

-No open container laws- That one more or less explains itself

-On a related note, Izakayas. Japanese restaurant bars. They’re so fun and inexpensive and the food is great. If I could, I really would like to open one in Los Angeles (like Honda-ya).

-Urinals- Ok I know this one is kinda weird…but seriously the urinals are great. Right when you step up to them, they flush automatically and usually flush the whole time so that there won’t be any splash.

-Engrish- Its always great to find a random shirt or sign that has awkward English on it. For example, I found a sign for tool to take care of your foot. But it said “For maintenance of the horny”.

-Telling people I go to UCLA. Everyone knows what UCLA. The typical reaction is to tell me I must be smart. HOWEVER, if I mention USC….they have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about! Take that Trojans.

Things that I won’t miss so much:
-No trashcans- When walking around the city, it is usually really really hard to find trashcans. They hate trash so much that they just don’t let you throw it away.

-Japanese pizza- I actually haven’t really eaten pizza at all out here. But get this…a Domino’s medium sized pizza is $20 out here! DOMINO’S! I can pay less than that for a meatball pizza at Casa Bianca and be waaaay more satisfied.

-Pace of life- Inside the home, life is really pretty leisurely and pleasant. But once you step out into the big city, it’s so crowded and everyone is going to and from work, so it gets a little stressful. I miss my peaceful walks to class at UCLA.

-Cicaidas- These bugs are so stinkin loud. They chirp up in the trees all day…especially on hot days. Which means lately they just chirp aaalll the time. LA doesn’t have them. We should be glad. Cuz they also die after one week of life so you occasionally find their dead body lying around.

Things that are just kind of weird:
-The Japanese are the only people I know who put shoes ON to take a poo. No joke…a lot of Japanese homes have little sandals that you put on when you use the toilet.

Profound…yes I know.