japan

hey guys
is fatima here
today was packed with stuff. my personal favorite was the golden temple. it was absolutely amazing. pics will be up soon. we learned about how the temple was constructed. for example when we walked on the floor they were squeaking we assumed that it was old and built incorrectly,however to our surprise it was purposefully done so that the people could hear if there were any intruders! (first security system to date ;D ) also they had very thin rice paper (i believe) walls so that they could see the shadow of any intruders.
also we went to a puppet/geisha show- they picked volunteers for the tea ceremony and yours truly got chosen. it was fun we went up and had tea with THE geisha and thats were i meet gustav- he is from mexico! we both were kinda scared considering the audience was starring at us and we had to do things in a specific order... thank God they gave us a cheat sheet for all the steps
a little funny story- i bought some souvenirs at the temples and then for dinner , me and some of the other participants went to this restaurant, because we were on a time crunch we were eating while paying and leaving ;) so of course i ran out without anything in my hand. when we got to the bus station i noticed that i had nothing in my hand and it was soo late to go back. i was mad at first but realized cant do anything now. we went to the puppet/geisha show and we were going back to that place. me and monzir ran to the restaurant and it was there... thank god. we ran back trying to meet the other students and we kinda got lost. i was freaking out because if we miss this one we will have to wait for another 30 minutes and essentially holding up all the other students. we finally found them and had 2 minutes to get to the platform and get onto the train. we ran--- like bob said-- we felt like we were in the movie home alone-- we ran down the stairs and made it. i got on a seat and passed out! the night still was not done. we had to take our bikes back to the JCMU. it was like 1030pm and in Hikone there are no street lights. my light on my bike wasnt working so i had to make sure i was by someone who had there's on. it was soo scary and i felt like any second i would flip off. ;D fortunately i didnt
also our trip to osaka is cancelled due to a outbreak of the swine flu!
(thanks gustav!)
alright bye for now!!
also my japanese is improving ..........

fatima