We're not going to the town; we're going to the city

I'm back in Tokyo for the weekend staying at Akari's apartment. It's kind of a culture shock to go from quiet Sendai to loud and insane Tokyo, and thought I've only been here 2 days, I already want to go back home. I can see why people from Sendai say they don't like Tokyo - it's crowded, expensive, and exhausting.

I came down to go to ICU's gakusai (school festival), strangely skipping most of my own school's gakusai in the process. I got here Friday, spent Saturday visiting my old homestay family and eating dinner with my work sempai from last year Shinji. It was crazy seeing the Kita family after time has passed because the kids have gotten so much older, especially their daughter who is on the brink of teenagehood. They fed me and their other guests (people from the father's job) massive amounts of food. It was awesome, especially since Mrs. Kita is such a great cook. Shinji took me out to an izakaya (japanese bar) to eat and drink over good conversation.

Today I met up with some of the kids who graduated or studied abroad at Penn at the ICU bunkasai, along with some old ICU friends. We ate food and watched the performances, which included yet another long performance of Samba. The second samba performance I've seen (1) this week and (2) in my life. This one was more entertaining though. After the festivities, we all went out to eat in Musashisakai at another izakaya, and I had a little bit too much to drink. But I'm fine after some rest.

Tomorrow, yet another gakusai: Jyouchi Daigaku (sophia). And then shopping in Harajuku, and return to Sendai.