shoeboxinfukuoka

Yep, I suck. Big time. I knooow...
However I DO have some excuses :S A lot has happened (but then I should have a lot to write about then, hmm...), a new year arrived and everything! So a belated happy new year everyone! :)
As for myself I was working my ass off both christmas eve and new years eve (and overtime as well!!!>_<), and as for new years celebration I fell asleep on my bed after work and woke up ten past midnight D: It didn't seem like I missed something though, no fireworks at all, nothing. Guess they only do it in certain places then..

And so the winter holidays went by fast, and I'm now a skilled sushimaker!! Or I wish at least... But the work was fun, and the old ladies we worked with (that btw I think reached me to my knees. Tops.) were super cute and fed us sushi as soon as the boss weren't around haha. The not so fun parts of the job was that we had to stand in a friggin freezer while doing it!! That's what it felt like anyway, and of course, even after coming home I could feel the distant smell of raw fish coming from an unknown source. Probably myself though...
School has been on again since Thursday. Yay for being back and the temporary job being done and over with!! As a welcoming gift, my class had a big test the following Friday. So there again went the spare-time. But I think I did OK though, I'm more worried over the big kanji-test this coming week. Always a bit concerned about how to get a couple of hundred chinese characters (and of course, their various readings and combinations. Horray) into my head and make them stay there. Oh well, I have something to occupy myself with ;)
Today me and the other swedish girls had been invited out by one of the teachers at the school to come with him to learn some japanese culture, hahaha. It took us two hours by car to reach our destination, which was actually twice as long as it was supposed to.. We apparantly totally got lost on our way, and everyone we asked for directions was like " Huh? No idea, never heard about it". But a few other laughable situations later (including our teacher asking us if we also are growing a rice fields with our families in Sweden) we got there! Out in the coutryside in a small little house, a lot of people had gathered for some new year tradition. It started out -or ratherly they finished off with, since we were so late- with mochi-making! Mochi is a kind of bun made of rice, with a concistence similiar to any kind of stickey dough. It was made in a rather peculiar way of pounding the dough with biiiig wooden clubs, and then, well, ready to eat XD
I actually had heard about these before, and was a bit apprahensive to eat. This is because the ones you make in the new years tradition are so stickey, that they actually are able to get stuck in your throat and choke you to death. Apparently this happens to a few people every year...
It was a lot of chewing to do before you had finished a little piece, but actually it wasn't that bad. But for the following four hours we just sat eating and eating, and I don't think I want to see a mochi again for a while. We ate mochi with soy sauce and daigon, mocci with some strange powder on (this one was a big eeeew. Tasted like bbq spice and sugar), and mochi with sweet bean paste. And before we could leave we got served curry the sri lankan way (have anyone heard me say I'm not too fond of curry..?) and when I tried to eat I think I was starting to see a white light coming for me. Maaaaaan, how can they eat that spicy food?????? My tongue hurt, the back of my throat hurt like a bitch, and after five chews tops my stomach began to hurt. Kind of like 'oooooh, I didn't know you could get gastric ulcers this fast??'. I stopped after those five chews and I'm still -a good few hours later- feeling kind of sick. I don't think I'm too good with curry, neither the one at home or the real deal...

Tomorrow will be interesting as well. Me and two friends will leave for a big cermony thingey held for all those who just have or will soon turn twenty. It will only be for like an hours time at noon, but it supposed to be really fancy dress wice, and they actually wanted us to wear kimonos. But as it is, I probably would look veeeeery awkward in a kimono, plus it would cost me 10 000 yen to rent one for a day. And after that comes the hairdressing and make up that has to go with it, so noo.. I will grab the most dress-up thingey I have in my wardrobe, and they will have to deal with that! Hope it should be OK anyway. And I hope I will be home early after that, because I really REALLY need to start study for the kanji-test.

And I know I have hundreds of mails I need to answer, and hundreds of other things I need to do (like cleaning my room. Ew) and I will try to get the most iportant things done tomorrow after I've gotten back. It's been very busy around here lately, but I'll try to get back to you all as soon as possible. Bad conscience is a great companion of mine right now, trust me!! That's why I even managed to get an update to the blog....

Hugs, hugs, HUGS to you all <3