Sendai is the place to be

Last night, Hyunjoo and I stayed up all night talking so that I wouldn't miss my flight back to Japan early in the morning. Once I got back, I talked to Mom on the phone and met with Takako and Mayumi to do an English lesson. Strangely, just being away from Japan for 5 days made my Japanese very sluggish at first (and also having not slept for a day probably didn't help), which just goes to show how quickly language skills come and go. Meeting with Takako and Mayumi was a little strange and not fun like usual, partially because we didn't have a lot to talk about, partially because it was FREEZING in my apartment, and partially because I was in a pretty quiet mood. And then there was a short scare where I thought my water had been shut off because I didn't pay my bill (which is supposed to be paid automatically every month), but it just turns out that for some reason, my water line can randomly shut itself off for no reason.

I took a short nap and my conversation partner Taiga came over. We just hung around my apartment more, and then went to grab a bite and do some karaoke.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving for my nine-day New Years trek around Japan, taking me from Tokyo, through Kyoto, down to Wakayama, and back through Tokyo up to Sendai. But I'm just really tired and not in the mood and would rather stay in Sendai for awhile before having to move around a lot and interact with lots of people.

What a way to end the year.