I just realized today that I’m leaving for the US in 3 weeks. I’m glad I bought my shindaisha ticket the other day–it’s so much closer than I realized! I think the shinkansen for the trip back may win out–it’s expensive but it’s the easiest and most cost-effective way (ferry = 24 hours and a nuisance and possibly not doable due to the cold weather, overnight bus = cheap but uncomfortable to sleep on, especially for people with long legs, domestic flight = expensive), and if I buy a ticket for the day I land in Tokyo (and I’m almost certain I’m staying in a hotel there that night, to sleep off the first wave of jetlag ASAP), it can be used up to 2 days later, I believe.
So, yeah, trip coming up soon. I already know I’m hanging out with Hamza at some point on the 31st. How about the rest of you?
I need to go to the grocery store, and I need to make dinner. I think dinner may win out–I have this all-purpose mix my mom gave me a year ago that I still haven’t used, so I’d really like to try that out if it’s still good. Mmm, dosas. Jennifer wrote recently about what a homebody she feels like in terms of how much cooking she does. I know I’m not as accomplished in the kitchen as she is now, but I definitely have cooked a lot more and been a lot more original (and successful!) with the recipes I’ve tried in the last year than I ever did while in college. This is out of necessity, as a vegetarian in one of the more veggie-unfriendly countries in the world…but it’s definitely been eye-opening, and actually pretty fun.
December starts Friday*. That’s really disconcerting. It’s been almost exactly a year since I went to India–one of my teachers mentioned today that the first major freeze last year was December 5th. Normally I’d never remember a date like that, but once he mentioned that, I realized that I remembered it after all, because it was the day I headed to Osaka in order to catch my flight into Hyderabad on the following day, and there was a period of 6 very, very eventful hours that unfolded like one big chain reaction as soon as my workday ended. I don’t mean to build up any suspense–it’s just amusing to look back on.
Anyway, I’ll write about it later; my stomach is beckoning me to the kitchen to start dinner.
*Not only does December start Friday, but November ends tomorrow! It’s been fun. I like forcing myself to write daily, so I don’t just recount the day’s events, and can focus on smaller happenings as well.