Well, had an interesting Golden Week, I suppose.  The first half was sunny and beautiful, and the second half was rainy and cold.  It was fun, though.  On Friday, my friends and I went to a really nice Karaoke bar.  You get your own private soundproof room and a selection of drinks and food.  We also found an actual Mexican restaurant!!  I had a taco, it was wonderful! On Monday I went to Shin Sapporo, Thursday I went to Susukino(the nightlife district of Sapporo) to shop.  The night time is full of bars, clubs, and karaoke, but in the daytime it is a good place for shopping and eating.  I found a Hello Kitty doll there for Jessie, so that search is finally over.  Then on Friday we went to Otaru, the historic glass making town we went to before.  Apparently, its name means "little barrel", which is kinda cute. We took a train out there this time, so we were able to see the sea of Japan, which was nice.  Also, for lunch we stopped at this interesting restaurant.  The food was Italian, but the theme was Southwestern.  They even sold southwestern jewelry.  I have noticed though that southwestern style seems to be popular here.  I have seen more than a few guys sporting a Texas bow tie! The pizza was delicious though.  It was a decent sized Margarita pizza that was only 900 yen(much cheaper than pizza hut's prices, which is 1100 yen for a small pizza).  Sadly, the welcome barbecue that my host family was going to throw for me was canceled due to weather and the flu, but instead they gave me a sushi dinner instead, which was good too!  Afterwards we played card games, so it was a pretty fun evening.  Their daughter from Canada is staying with us for a month, and it has been really nice talking to her, as she is fluent in English and can clear up any translation issues that may occur.  So that was my Golden week.  It's technically not over, as it is still Saturday, but  I am not planning on going anywhere else, as I have my first big exam on Monday, and I have to study :(  Oh well.  Here are some pictures:
The mythical Japanese-Mexican restaurant. 

 Karaoke!  The people pictured are my friend Lexi and Shuhei. 

 Found some fishy cat treats!  If I bought these for comet, do you think he would forgive me for being away for four months?

 Random Jesus and Mary pens found in a department store.  They also had some Anubis pens in the mix, as those two religions go so well together!

 Susukino in the daytime (pretty sakura!)

 Sushi dinner (I bet I am making my family sooo jealous right now!)

 The family playing card games.

 My hello kitty quest is finally over!

 Went back to mister donut, had to try the strawberry version.  Apparently the doughnuts all have different facial expressions.  I almost felt guilty eating something so cute. 

 The sea of Japan as seen from the train. 

 Otaru mall.  Everywhere we went, there was fishy stuff.  I was in heaven!

 Row of restaurants.

 Shrine shop. 

 Gotta love the cherry blossoms!

 mmm, sushi!

I'm back!  Finally got my pocket wifi today, so yay, I have internet again!  Not that there is too much to blog about right now.  Mostly I am getting used to classes and life in Sapporo.  Although next week everyone gets some time off due to a Japanese holiday known as Golden Week.  My host family is throwing a welcome barbecue for me in the early part of the week, and then I will probably travel somewhere around Hokkaido for the rest of the holiday.  Two kids in my group are even going to Korea, but that would be a little too much for my budget!  I am still trying to get used to how much I stand out here.  Two little kids on the street once played rock, paper, scissors to decide who would go up to me and tell me their name in English! I have even caught a girl in the cafeteria trying to take a photo of me and my friend, that was really weird.  However, to tell the truth I kinda want to take pictures of some of them, because of the really bizarre and interesting fashions I keep seeing.  It's like I stepped into a world of fashion models and lady gaga.  I went to one store the other day called "Donkihote".  It was an interesting experience.  It was like Vegas and Walmart combined into one store.  For the fashion section of the store, let me put it this way: It was like stepping into the Capital of Panem from the Hunger Games.  I saw eyelash extensions with large pink feathers and glitter, nails(spelled neils) with cameos, jewels, and glitter, hair dyes of all colors, and colored contacts that make your eyes look rounder(put them on me and I would look like my fish!). I was having a bit of sensory overload!  In other news, I went to Shin Sapporo the other day, had my first Japanese doughnut, went to the aquarium(kinda sad), and shopped at a huge shopping center.  My friend and I actually got lost at one point!  The group and our host families spent the day in the nearby town of Otaru, that was fun. We finally received our cell phones, which are flip phones.  Everyone here has flip phones and phone charms are incredibly popular!  I bought a hello kitty one for mine.  Also, I have also been to Odori twice now(downtown Sapporo) and I will be going there for Karaoke tomorrow!  I hope to be updating and blogging more frequently now that I have internet. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures:
Easter Morning

It says Easter in Katakana. 

We finally got cell phones!

Worlds cutest doughnut!

Maid Cafe!

Otaru, a coastal city near Sapporo known for its canals and historical buildings. 

Kitty!

I wish I could have bought these, but they were a bit out of my price range.

When you come to Japan, the last thing you really expect to see is an exhibit on Venetian art. 

The Sapporo TV tower in Odori

Harry Potter!

Proof that Japan is not perfect.

Green Chapel

Im dreaming of a white Easter...

Well, Easter was very interesting this sunday.  Not only was there a foot of snow outside my bedroom, but I also got to experience a Japanese church service at the Green Chapel.  It was interesting to hear traditional easter songs that are sung in my church being sung in Japanese!  The sermon was the hardest to get through though.  It was an hour long and I couldnt understand any of it!  The people at the church were pretty nice though, and invited me to lunch and tea.  Afterwards I took the bus for the first time, and went shopping at Oyachi station.  I found out that my shoe size is the largest in Japan, a LL.  apparently anything over 8 is considered to be an extra large shoe size, so I had trouble finding any boots.  Oh well.  The people here are pretty nice, although some of the older people have glared at me for some reason, while others simply stare.  Some students will approach me simply because I am a foreigner, which is a strange feeling.  The children at the church especially are fascinated by how I look.  I dont think they have seen many blue eyes, because they kept saying that my eyes were really beautiful.  Very sweet, but I am not used to that kind of attention.  It makes me much more conscious about my actions, because of how much I stand out.  My host family is really sweet.  Okaasan (host mom) calls me Abby-chan and is more motherly than my actual mother.  When she found out that I didnt have any gloves, she went out and bought me some and insisted that I wear them.  She has me take out the trash in the morning, but gives me little else to do.  I have offered to do laundry and the dishes, but she refuses.  They started out with making me American type food, like pancakes and corn, but have gradually eased me into Japanese dishes.  Although yesterday morning I was offered toast, yogurt, salmon, and fried chicken for breakfast!  They are really sweet though, and I get along with them well.  Finally, this is my first week of classes and they are pretty interesting but also overwhelming.  I had to buy 5 different Japanese books and I have quizzes everyday.  If homework is incomplete(such as a blank answer), the entire homework is rejected.  They are strict, but I am hoping that my Japanese becomes better because of it.  My other class is American Culture, which should be pretty easy.  Today we learned about George Washington!  Sorry that this blog is so long, but I have been having trouble finding internet, as the campus is no longer wireless.  I found a school computer I can use though, and I hope to update more regularly.  またね！

Arrived in Sapporo

Finally made it to Sapporo after spending a night in the airport.  It wasn't too bad, as the airline gave us sleeping bags, water, and ritz crackers.  Our flight the next day was almost canceled due to a snowstorm, but the plane landed safely in Chitose airport.  The last couple of days have been really awesome and stressful at the same time.  I have been in situations before where no one spoke English, but never where I had to remember so much etiquette.  For example, we have to wear special slippers in the bathroom, but nowhere else.  I have to hand money over with both hands. I can't pour my own drink, I have to give it to someone else to do it for me. Even with so much to remember, it has been really cool to experience everything.  By the way, I have pictures:
Here is the gorgeous weather waiting for us when we arrived:

 These are Alaskan Mountains, so pretty:

 Display of yummy foods at Oyachi Station:

 Dear Lord, the cuteness!!!

 I thought the English was pretty funny:

 Cute socks:

 This reminded me of Levi ;)

 This was a DVD of Napolean Dynamite, or in Japanese: Busboy.  Don't know where they got that from.

 Harry Potter!  I love the katakana lighting bolt

 Anpanman car!

 Coolish ice cream in a bag. 

 Cherry Beer:

 Soba:

 Mmmm, coffee in a can....

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, much more to come!

First Night.

Well, I made it!! sort of.  The plane ride was pretty long and turbulent but I got to see some beautiful Alaskan mountains.  Unfortunately, when I finally arrived in Tokyo, I found out my flight to Sapporo was canceled due to strong wind.  The airline has scheduled us to fly out tomorrow at 10, but we have to spend the night at the airport.  Not going to be fun.  Still, I am here and this is a unique way of starting this adventure!