Trip to Kyoto/first day of classes

So I'm still not being very good about posting, but it's very busy.  This last weekend our wonderful RAs organized a trip to Kyoto for the seminar house since the school trip ended up cancelled because of the typhoon.  It was a lot of fun and I got some really good pictures in the end.  We visited Kiyomizu dera which was so beautiful and had a long line (really, really long) of tiny stands lining up to it, selling ice cream and souvenirs and fans and clothes (there was even a place selling kimono).  The view of the surrounding forest is one of the most famous in Japan, I was told.  Apparently people used to leap off the balcony to their deaths a lot, which made it a little morbid but still incredibly beautiful.  At the end of the visit there was a fountain that poured out three streams of water, and if you lined up (I did) you could get a metal ladle and fill it from one of the fountains and drink from it.  The first was supposed to bring you love, the second prosperity and the third wisdom (I think).  There was also a place to get your fortune told but I didn't.  I had a little disaster with the atms not accepting my card, which freaked me out because I thought it might be locked.  A friend was nice enough to lend me the money for dinner later on (I paid her back the next day) and the atms at school ended up working fine, but it was still a bit nerve racking. 

Anyway, after visiting Kiyomizu dera everyone shopped around at the stands a little before we headed to the Ninja Cafe, which is a touristy buffet-style place where the staff all dress like Ninja.  One of the ninjas put on a magic-show type of performance for us during dinner (stuff like card tricks and rope tricks, etc.).  The food was amazing and I tried cold udon noodles and matcha (a thick, foamy green tea) for the first time.  Eating them was a little strange because they're very very long.  I would pick up a piece of one with my chopsticks and then I'd be slurping it for ages (luckily this is ok in Japan).  The train ride was quite long and afterwards I was pretty exhausted but I did have a lot of fun.  <3

This is me in front of Kiyomizu-dera.  I've realized that ever since we came to Japan, everyone makes the "Peace" sign when they pose.

Here are some more pics of Kiyomizu because it was so gorgeous:

This is the view I was talking about.  It was taken from the balcony where people supposedly used to jump to their deaths.

This is a picture of me wafting the incense towards my face.  It's supposed to make you smarter I think.

This is a picture of the three streams that you can drink from.

The tallest wooden tower in Japan seen from a distance.  This is one of my favorite pictures from Kyoto.

Tommy and Sophia also trying the incense.

This is me and Sophia looking fierce while trying to figure out how to properly make a prayer at a shrine.

Yesterday was the first official day of classes and it was a bit of an adventure.  I thought my first class, Japanese, started at 10:30 ish but it turns out it actually started at 10, so when I sat down at the computer at 9:56 to double check my schedule I had a nasty surprise.  I wasn't done brushing my hair or anything, I had to just drop everything and bolt for the door (Kansai Gaidai's campus is about a 20-minute walk).  I got there very late which I don't think is good (the teacher was very displeased).  I'm hoping I made a better impression today.  I was also late for my next class, which was my first sumi-e class, because I hadn't had time to double check the schedule and had to run to the computer room to do it.  It was all very chaotic and confusing.

Sumi-e was very cool though, even though we haven't done any actual paintings yet.  We learned how to grind ink with our inkstones and how to make a few basic brush strokes but that is it.

So tomorrow is my first ever test here at Kansai Gaidai.  It's a review test in Japanese that will help make sure if I'm in the right class.  I'm a bit nervous even though I've been studying just because I don't want to drop down and end up repeating the same material all over again.  Wish me luck! Ganbarou~