This weekend I:

*ate Nepalese food, which is kind of like Indian food (i.e. DELICIOUS).
*went to my first Japanese festival, the Miyada GION Festival. There were shrines being carried through the street, traditional Japanese clothes, music, and dancing, fireworks, and lots of chaos. I had a great time!
*won some goldfish at the festival. Zack and I are now the proud caretakers of five fish friends.
*drank a lot of Asahi, "the beer for all seasons."
*spent time with my favorite Japanese family, Tetsuya's.
*sang at my first Japanese karaoke. It was awesome! You get a little party room all to yourself.
*ate at Kappa Zushi, where you pick up little plates of sushi from a conveyor belt. They have all different kind of sushi, even hamburger sushi!
*took funny pictures in a photo booth.
*started re-watching all the Harry Potter movies with Zack. Whenever I have a job absolutely secured, we're going to celebrate by coughing up the cash to see the new one. Movies here are very expensive; I think almost $20 for an adult ticket.
*really wanted a $5 veggie delight from Subway. *sigh*

I realized over the last few days that I'll always be an outsider here, no matter how long I stay. I'm gaining a lot of perspective on what it is to be a foreigner. Zack, me, and a couple guys from the JET Program were discussing the "specialness" factor the other day. You don't realize how different you are until you see another foreigner. Being an outsider here is like wearing a big sign that says "I'm special. Look at me." In a place like America, where the culture is a big melting pot, standing out feels really good. Here, I just want to blend into the crowd some days.