I usually am awake to say good morning to friends on the other side of the world :) Deanna says the cloud is actually me. 

I'm listening to Ed's mix while I write this, (((you can download it here!! http://www13.zippyshare.com/v/57082005/file.html  with this cover you can use as well :) ))

This last week I finally got my energy back from taking a few days off from traveling via Tokyo's trains. I slept a lot and was able to save up some money so that I could have fun this week! This seems to be my new pattern- taking days off before continuing the adventure.

To say they least, I feel as though I have finally adjusted to being here. After a month of figuring out my purpose here and realizing various things about my life prior to Japan, I can happily say that I now feel the most like my self  that I have felt in (what feels like) a very long time. It's a very liberating feeling to be honest. I suppose being on your own like this can do that to you. I'm very grateful! 

On to week 5! 

I have a friend who lives here actually, her name is Eriko! We met when I was a freshman in college, and she is going to graduate from Tamagawa University in April! Eriko is a part of a Taiko Japanese Drumming group and Dance group! Together Eriko and her group goes to the U.S once a year to perform for when the cherry blossoms bloom! That's when I got the chance to meet her and we've kept in touch ever since

（*´▽｀*） I am happy my language skills improved enough were we can actually hang out and have fun conversations (even if my Japanese is broken) (^^;)

Eri took me to Sakuragicho! Its a place a few stops away from my host-family's house in Yokohama. When it's warmer people go for the ferris wheel and small amusement park for kids. Sakuragicho also has lots of good food and some small shops! 

we got to eat shabushabu!!! It was my first time trying it and holy shit it was absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!

The place was all you can eat so you could put in noodles or any kind of vegetable you wanted (｡◝‿◜｡)

we ate like 4 boxes of meat ((I wanted 6)))

                         

 The water boils SUPER HOT so the meat cooks really fast! She laughed when I looked surprised that the meat cooked so quickly.

ICE CREAM. The ice cream here was really sweet and delicious! Also Eri taught me that people put cornflakes in their ice cream ?!?!?!?!?! GENIUS. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I will continue to do this when I have the chance in the states ohohoho~

These are the kind of shops I was talking about :) Very cute and full of things you don't normally find at the mall or normal shops! We were just window shopping for the sake of my wallet though. I happily held all the things I wish I could have bought, but alas, my wallet needed a break from the trigger happy tourist ((me))

When it got dark, the whole place was lit up with really pretty illuminations!!! Due to the fact that it was so cold, Eri and I appreciated for a few seconds and then ran to starbucks. I will make sure to come back on a warmer day ( ` w ` )/ 

They drew a bear for my chai latte cries so cute (●｀･(ｴ)･´●)

SPEAKING OF BEARS. As a "welcome to Japan" gift, Eri gave bought me this Rilakkuma mug at a store we passed that was full of Rilakkuma ( ; 0 ; ) <3 !!!! We both love Rilakkuma. I drink my tea with this everyday now! My host family each has their own cups so I use the ones that they have put away, but I enjoy having my own mug like this <3 I had a lot of fun with Eri that day!!! I can't wait till her and the rest of her group finishes job searching (which is a serious thing here) next month! 

On Friday my friends and I went out to our favorite: Kaiten Sushi!!! I love coming to these places, mostly because it's cheap and I really am amazed by how cheap but delicious the sushi is here.

Then of course, we all went out for drinks! The table next to us was drunk and insisted on taking a picture of us we appreciated their happy drunk vibes. 

We ended the night with karaoke!!! This was my first time going to a karaoke place so it was quite interesting. They had new songs as well as really old ones. It's too bad I can't read Japanese that fast or even remember lyrics for American songs :^) That night was our first all-nighter drinking in the city! It was a lot easier than we thought it would be, but at the same time I will not do this ever again. I will pay for a fricken taxi if it means I can sleep under my futon you can't stop me.

The next day (after I woke up from sleeping a lot) EVERYTHING WAS COVERED IN SNOW. This was Tokyo's first big ass snow storm~!! They don't really get this much snow from what everyone has told me. Of course, coming from the east coast this is pretty normal in the states :T None the less, the snow here was very pretty :) I say "was" because it really doesn't last long at all here. The next day it was 50 degrees or so and all the snow that had piled up was disappearing at rapid speed. SO MUCH FOR SNOW DAYS.

I have photos from what has been going on this week, but I'll save that for a separate post (ﾉ´▽｀)ﾉ♪

I am happy that I have finally settled and have made some new friends at school to hang out with my friends from Bryn Mawr ヽ(^o^) I can't wait for it to finally get warmer over here in march. I'm tired of this cold BRING ON THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Mana<3