Young Writers Society

Yah I have been mentioned in this thread.
but seriously don't bother asking me anything, I'm only 4-kyu in the Japanese language right now.

Sorry about the lack of post again yesterday, I had some important post office stuff to do. And the fact that my "to-be-home" curfew is 6:00 doesn't help matters.

Anyway, last time I spoke to my consular she told me everyone was worried about my weight. Tell me, is it normal to be 6-foot-2 and weight 60 kilos? I don't pay attention to that kind of stuff so I wouldn't know. She also said I have to start enjoying myself more during the rest of my time in Japan. She said that if I don't start eating more to get my weight back up and if I don't start enjoying myself more by visiting different places in Tokyo she'd send me back to Canada early. Now, eat more and have fun or go back home. All I had to say at the time was, "This is the best punishment I ever had!"

Oh yeah, everything's OK now by the way.

I decided that, because I miss my family and that I'm afraid to bankrupt them anymore through this program, I am going to go back to Canada early. The 26th of this month actually. So after this I will do 2 more submitments of this journal and then I'll stop. It's about time too. I'm getting tired of writing this journal every week... err, not that I don't like doing it or anything, eh heh...

So, in response to my counsular's [s]demands[/s] wishes, I spent the rest of Golden Week doing fun stuff. On Thursday I went to Tokyo Tower and bought a snow globe. A word of advice for anyone who wants to got to Tokyo Tower in the future. be prepared for a long wait in a big ass line. I swear, I had to wait for almost two hours in a line made up of about 1000 people. Good thing I had my DS with me. On Friday I went back to Ueno Zoo to see some stuff I missed last time. That day was some sort of holiday dedicated to children, I'm not sure what's it's called though, so admission was free! On Saturday I went to an open grill meat restaurant. I keep forgetting what it's really name is. I told you all about me going to one of these restaurants with my host family during New Year's. You're given a plate of meat and a small fire-pit and you get to cook your food yourself, so you get to choose just how rare or well-done you want your meat. I tried liver for the first time in this restaurant. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Liver? YUCK!!!" But let me tell you, when you dip your liver into the sauce they give you and sprinkle it with a bit of salt and let it simmer on your grill, it's the best thing you'll ever taste. When I tried it I actually wasn't quite sure what I ordered, but once I cooked it and started to eat I was all, "Oh god, this is sooooooooo good!" Me and Achitaka were supposed to go see the new Spiderman movie on Sunday but the ATM machines were closed, we rescheduled for this Sunday. To sum up last week, I started out with $100 and ended up with $10.

Alright, the day has fInally come. I will Be going back home On the 22nd. Since I'm going home that early this will be my last post in this thread. I may post one last sUbmitment after I Get back Home buT I can't promise anything, jet lag is a very FormItable eNemy. Here is how I feel After 7 Long months in Japan: tired. Tired and poor.

OK, I've got a lot oF things I need to sAy for this last post. Last Thursday was my last day at KeNdo. They suited me up in Armor and I got to Spar with the other students. I thought it was prettY cool, and I walked away wiTh one large bruise on my Wrist.

During my stay in Japan I've lEarned something. I hate ceLl phones and banks.

Cell phones: I had to buy a cell phone a few months ago for seVenty bucks so my parEnts could stay in contact with me. I have to buy cards For the phOne in oRder To use it. EacH card costs 3000 yEn. The last time I haD to activate a new card I kept having... problemS. I activated it 3 times, each time the phone told me that my card was activated. When I tested it it told me I had to buy a new card. I had to get my councilor to help me activate it. Don't even get me started with incoming calls! I can't even count how many times that damn thing woke me up at 2 in the morning.

Banks: Last week my parents sent me money for souvenirs by Western Union. Wesnday, I go to the bank after school at 5:00 and it's closed. Thursday I go to the bank after school at 3:15 and it's closed. it was then I found out the bank closes at 3:00 everyday and is closed on the weekend. My school let's us out at 2:30 and it takes me 45 minutes just to get there if I run from station to station. Friday, I requested to be let out of school early and got to the bank at 12:30. It was open but I had to wait an hour and a half before my number is called.

My mom says I'm going to get a driver's license once I get home, but with everything that's been happening here I'm probably going to hate cars too.

While I was at the bank I was able to watch CNN. After watching several reports about the war in Afghanistan and what Bush is trying to do about it I realized something. Because I'm Canadian I'm allowed to laugh at America's troubles! Isn't that something?

Even though Japan is the hub of electronics in the world my host family didn't have much more than a TV in their house. If it wasn't for my DS I would have gone insane months ago.

I can't think of anything else important to talk about so I'll wrap up with some random facts.

I've seen a dog with three legs.

It seems that throwing a pie in someone's face is a Japanese birthday tradition.

The only thing that costs less than 100 yen in Japan are train tickets for children.

You know what's cool? Remote controlled toilets.

Some bikes in Japan have very small wheels.

The homeless in Japan are very hard workers. While the bums in Canada and America are begging for money they'll use for beer, the homeless in Japan are pushing around carts that are filled to the brim with pop cans. Some of the bags they fill are big enough to fit a dead body inside.

In America Mega Man is called, well, Mega Man. But in Japan his name is actually Rock Man. That explains why his sister is named Roll.

*gasps* I want to get Final Fantasy Twelve too! Except... they all say "only for Japan" so I don't know if they'd work in the UK.

Also...

"The only thing that costs less than 100 yen in Japan are train tickets for children."

Are you exaggerating, or is it just that Tokyo prices are that much more than Hiroshima ones? Also, what are you including in this statement? For example, you can get チョコボーロ (possible spelled wrong - can't find empty container so I don't know...) for 60 yen here, and I've seen drinks, sweets, doughnuts etc. for less than 100 yen too.

*realises the name of the thread is Dynamo's Japan Journal...*

Can I help too?

Final Fantasy Twelve? What are you talking about? I don't have that game! I most definitely did not buy another video game after my mom told me not to and then wrote a secret message in my last submitment so I could tell you all without her finding out! (OK, I think that fooled em'.)

By the way, Final Fantasy Twelve is for the DS. Cartrage bassed video games and music CDs can work on their respective machines all around the world. Anything else like CD video games and DVDs are blocked by the reginal code. You can get a chip removed from your system to get rid of the rigenal code but you my break it in the process.

Well, let's not forget that I spent my exchange student program in Tokyo. Everything is more expenseive there than any other part of Japan. The cheapest you can buy a can of pop from a vending machine is 100 yen, which roughly calculates to one dollar American or Canadian.

One last thing for the guys who read this journal. If someone asks if you're a cherry-boy, it means they're asking if you're a virgin.

I'm back in Canada, FINALLY! The flight was 11 hours long, not too back considering it was 13 hours going to Japan. When I got home the first thing I did was give my PS2 a hug and kiss and tell it how much I've missed it.

Well, I don't really have anything else to say. I'm back home, there's nothing else to write. So all I have to say is thank you for reading.