Japan | Ryoajin and Sushi

11:00 AM Ally M.G. 0 Comments

The quiz came and went....and I don't think I did well. At least I don't think I did. I felt confident on the kanji and some conjugation. Everything else? Not so much....it left me really bummed out for the rest of the day. Thankfully hearing my parent's voice during one of my 10 minute breaks made me feel a bit better, I really happy to hear from them that it was okay to not do so well on quiz, especially when I was at a disadvantage. Doing bad on the quiz made feel like I was letting them down. (Doing bad on any form of examination makes me feel that way. Especially after my catastrophic SAT score...)

Everyone knew something was up, my aura gave it away. Even the sushi maker at the sushi place asked me if I was okay. I get really stressed out over exams, and it got 10x worse during college. I've been told that I am too hard on myself, but I believe anything lower than a A is pretty much failing. I also forgot to take a picture of my lunch....again..

Since my bento box is so tiny I am always still hungry after I eat, but I usually go buy dessert to sastify myself. ( not today though...I didn't feel like doing much...). The world knew I was still hungry and sent me gifts. During Komura-sensei's class, Komura-sensei brought us snacks. She brought various Japanese rice crackers. 2/3 tasted really odd, but I still ate them. 

Today's class sucked a bit...sensei made us interview random strangers and it was not fun at all. I tried to convince Mika to pretend to be a stranger when I had to go to the main courtyard. She, unfortunately, was in class and could not come to my rescue.

When class was finally over we, FIU kids, decided to visit Ryoajin. Ryoajin is famous for its rock garden, which was really pretty! Unfortunately, we got there two minutes after the stamp place...so Chess and I couldn't get out stamps (damn those punctual Japanese )

After Ryoajin Franz, Chess and I walked down the street all away to Kinkankuji, because Chess wanted to to buy some hair piece souvenirs. I gave in and bought some as well. My mom and Aymara are going to love them so much. They are traditional handmade hairpins from Kyoto and they are so beautiful. And the store was filled with so many beautiful hair pieces it was really hard choosing which ones to buy!

Once we finished shopping, we all returned to the accomdations where I did my homework for about an hour. And once I finished I decided to go out and eat sushi rather than stay in and be sad over my failure. The original place I wanted to eat at was closed when I arrived, in Sanjo Market, so I had to go up Sanjo Street in search of some place to eat. I found a sushi place called Sushi Tomo. I entered at a whim because I saw a picture of a platter of sushi for ¥980 (later I find out it is the lunch special). There I had my FIRST Japanese sushi. And it was one of the best things I've ever had. I mentally slapped myself for waiting so long to eat sushi in Japan!

The waiter and the sushi marker must have felt my depressing aura because 1) I was by myself 2) I oozed out sadness. They were both really sweet, they tried to make small talk with me. They asked where I was from, how long I was staying in Japan, what I had done, if I needed anything, what's my favorite fish. They made me feel a lot very. I wish I could speak fluent Japanese like some people in the program cause it would have been nice to continue on the conversation. 

Once I ate my fill I returned back to my room, and Mitch came over to visit me once he found his way back to Sanjo Street (he was suppose to have dinner with me but he somehow manage to get lost). It was nice to have company, and he helped me cook my bento for tomorrow. Tomorrow I might go Kareoke again, or maybe amiibos hunting. I am not exactly sure yet. We will see.

P.S. I bought ice cream.