A little more Thanks...

Many things have happened in the past week. Thanksgiving. Clubbing. Badmitton. A New Bike. Appreciation. The week began slower as I will still recovering from this throat/cold issue. Once things started getting better, the adventure continues. I had my first Japanese language lesson since I arrived. Wow, it's amazing how much you lose when you don't use it. Thanksgiving day, I was anticipating Michael to come home at his usual 9:45pm-ish, but he came home a little earlier and we were invited to Matt's place for an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner. Matt made mashed potatoes, stuffing, cornbread, mushrooms with red wine, and a plate of sushi. It was sentimental! Friday, Michael and I went to the Okonomiyaki place by our apartment and it was delicious! Yes, I have said a lot of stuff is "delicious", but I really enjoyed it. I must learn how to make this! Now for the fun. Dinorah and I decided to make a night of it since our significant others has work functions. We ventured to orion dori and had dinner at a yummy udon shop. Dinorah has never tried udon before, but seems like she really enjoyed it! Oishii desu ne. Sigh, so I literally had 3 sips of beer and felt a little buzzed. How sad that I have become such a lightweight. I have heard the beer is stronger here. Yea, that's it...Anyways, Matt and Michael met up with us before hitting the club, BASQ. This place was awesome. We got there kind of early, , but nonetheless it was fun. They play old school hip hop and R&B, it was great. Even though it was kind of slow, I had a blast. I feel like I can be who ever I want to be here! I think Dinorah found us our "spot" in Utsunomiya. Oh, and you buy beer out of a vending machine! How crazy. Saturday afternoon, we were invited to a badminton with some of Michael's co-workers. I would have never guessed in a million years how exhausting badminton could be. Maybe I was out of shape, maybe it was difficult. Whatever the case, it was fun! We did lose all games we played *sad face*. I don't think that will be the last time we play, but note to self: "stretch, stretch a lot". Michael and I decided for dinner we were going to do KFC as our "Thanksgiving" meal. Yes, we've had several Thanksgiving meals. I must say, I was a little disappointed in KFC. It was tender and moist, but not so crispy. The cole slaw tasted the same, but the corn was served cold. It is a luxury here! Michael and I went to kaiten sushi and ate til we were stuffed and it cost about as much as KFC. How crazy! Anyways, somehow I don't think we will venture there again. Pizza Hut is next on the list to try, but I heard it's yummy. Now off to Sunday...waking up a little late because we were super sore from Badminton we went on our way to "Joyful Honda"...the name should be "Overwhelming Honda" if you go on Sundays. It is a superstore that is a mix with Home Depot, Lowes, Michael's Craft, Target, Garden Center, Food Court, Home Furnishings, and Food Court all under the same roof. I have never seen an individual building as big in Columbus. I thought the Japanese were limited on space here?!?! I was overwhelmed!!! I adored the arts and crafts section, but it was so big that I ended up only buying 2 pencils, because I couldn't decide what to buy. There was a lovely scrapbooking section, so I guarantee I will be back, however NOT on a Sunday. I would like it to be "Joyful" Honda. After Joyful Honda, we went to Nitori to buy a coffee table and now our home is 90% complete. Still waiting on the second shipment and then it will be "home". I will have to post new pics as we have changed up the living room quite a bit. Last event of the weekend was...I got a bicycle. It is a traditional Japanese bicycle with a basket in the front, for when I go grocery shopping. It's so cute. I would probably never be caught dead in one back home because it's not really practical. It just makes sense here!

*Photos link updated