this past week has been crazy!

So, to follow up on my last entry...a story from our trip to Asakusa. My sister and father and I were eating ice cream in Ueno, and I had been writing in a notebook. We left the restaurant and had traveled a few blocks when we heard someone shouting 'excuse me!!' We turned around and there was a man from the restaurant running after us. He looked at us and asked 'did you forget this?', bowed, and held out his hands. Apparently, I had forgotten my pen in the restaurant. We were shocked that he went out of his way to return something as trivial as a pen! It was an interesting insight into the Japanese way of treating customers. (The motto of workers is 'The customer is God' 客様は神様)
Today, I went with my mother to Harajuku. It was overwhelming. We're going again (yay!) and I'm looking forward to it immensely. The clothing was very good quality and surprisingly inexpensive (after hearing over and over 'Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world!!') There were people wearing clothes of all kinds. It was mind blowing to see the wide variety of fashions that people wore. It's so freaking humid here that just looking at the young people wearing long dresses and black outfits makes me ridiculously hot. I don't know how they do it. Apparently if you go on Sunday to Harajuku, it's so crowded you can't move. I'm glad we went on Saturday instead.
The next few weeks are only going to be more hectic. This coming week, I won't be going to language school, but rather taking classes at a Japanese university (Gakushuin Daigaku, if you're interested. It's where the royal family went to school) It was all pretty last minute and was just thrust upon me this past week. I'll be joining a group of 12 Korean college students who are studying Japanese at a high level, and will be taking Japanese classes with them. It promises to be an interesting experience, and I'll be sure to learn a lot. There's a lot of 'teaching through pop culture' as well as seeing the Japanese language from a Korean speakers perspective. Yes, I know I don't speak Korean, but the types of things we'll learn really appeal to me. For example, there will be comparisons of Korean-ized and Japan-ized English words. I'm looking forward to it. It's sure to be challenging and I must admit I'm a bit nervous.
The next week, I'll be doing language school as well as joining a nearby high school's badminton club. (Doesn't sound very educational, huh? It's so I can practice speaking Japanese with people my age :P Not all fun and games.) I'm sure to be busy these next few weeks, and I will try my hardest to keep you updated.
Tokyo is amazing, by the way. It astounds me every day. Everywhere you go, it's different. I'm really happy here. :)