Home. Day 4.
It's late here, around 2am. I just got back from Canteburry Racetracks (horse racing). We had a wedding event tonight and I met some of the other members of the wedding party for the first time, including Luke's twin. I also hadn't seen Kristin's fam for a year, so it was nice to see them (especially her sisters), too.
The racetracks are a lot of fun, it's hard to believe I had never been before. A lot of high school guy friends were there, so I am obviously a littel on the slow side with this trip, but it'll always be there if I want to go back.
I sort of waited and watched, figuring out what to do while talking to people for a while before I decided to go bet. I ended up taking a chance on a horse named Virgini to win, but to my surprise (and against the stats), I tripled my money on the first try. Too bad I only bet $2 :( Kristin's little sister, who is only 17, was somehow betting all night, too, though... and winning. Kristin herself walked away with $174 in profit!
I also had a sort of funny experience at Target earlier today. I was wandering around, just picking up stuff from my Japan wishlist (Colgate toothpaste, American stick deodarant, mouthwash with flouride, Trident gum...) and ran into a Japanese couple when I was looking for my razor blades and shaving cream. The couple looked really American, but they were speaking Japanese, and the woman was really frusterated because she couldn't find the small razors that you can buy in Japan (literally half-size... women use them for shaving their eyebrows and face). I listened to them for a second, realizing pretty fast what they needed, before deciding to step in. I just sort of excused myself and explained in Japanese that we don't really use the type of razors they were looking for, showed them a few things that we use instead and then told them my recommendation of what I use. The couple was really shocked and had a few questions for me about how I know Japanese (well, I'd add some Japanese...) and then ended up going with my recommendation. Very random experience, but also pretty cool. I guess there really isn't that large of an asian community in Minnesota (at least compared to other areas of America) so finding a Japanese-speaker who is familiar with the culture was really surprising for them. All that being said, a lot of Americans do have a connection to Japan (many through the war, modern military bases like the one on Okinawa and there are many who have gone there on vacation), but it seems pretty hard to get certain asian things here as well.
Alright, I need to get to bed. It's going to be a full day tomorrow. I'm meeting my friend Amy downtown in the morning, am going to get my hair cut (want to add some layers - like my new straight perm, apparently known in the states as a Japanese Straight Perm and different from a relaxer... fyi) and will take Kristin to get a manicure for the wedding. All that comes before the rehearsal, groom's dinner and hopefully a packing sessions, so I definitely need some sleep. I had to run out to Walgreens the other night to get some Sleep Aid (jetlag takes about a week to get over coming back in this direction), but the jetlag hasn't been too bad... it's just a late night.
The wedding madness has begun, however... and I can't wait. The week is flying by, but I am so satisfied with my trip so far. Even the cat is walking on the keyboard right now, which I think is a cue... more soon :)
The racetracks are a lot of fun, it's hard to believe I had never been before. A lot of high school guy friends were there, so I am obviously a littel on the slow side with this trip, but it'll always be there if I want to go back.
I sort of waited and watched, figuring out what to do while talking to people for a while before I decided to go bet. I ended up taking a chance on a horse named Virgini to win, but to my surprise (and against the stats), I tripled my money on the first try. Too bad I only bet $2 :( Kristin's little sister, who is only 17, was somehow betting all night, too, though... and winning. Kristin herself walked away with $174 in profit!
I also had a sort of funny experience at Target earlier today. I was wandering around, just picking up stuff from my Japan wishlist (Colgate toothpaste, American stick deodarant, mouthwash with flouride, Trident gum...) and ran into a Japanese couple when I was looking for my razor blades and shaving cream. The couple looked really American, but they were speaking Japanese, and the woman was really frusterated because she couldn't find the small razors that you can buy in Japan (literally half-size... women use them for shaving their eyebrows and face). I listened to them for a second, realizing pretty fast what they needed, before deciding to step in. I just sort of excused myself and explained in Japanese that we don't really use the type of razors they were looking for, showed them a few things that we use instead and then told them my recommendation of what I use. The couple was really shocked and had a few questions for me about how I know Japanese (well, I'd add some Japanese...) and then ended up going with my recommendation. Very random experience, but also pretty cool. I guess there really isn't that large of an asian community in Minnesota (at least compared to other areas of America) so finding a Japanese-speaker who is familiar with the culture was really surprising for them. All that being said, a lot of Americans do have a connection to Japan (many through the war, modern military bases like the one on Okinawa and there are many who have gone there on vacation), but it seems pretty hard to get certain asian things here as well.
Alright, I need to get to bed. It's going to be a full day tomorrow. I'm meeting my friend Amy downtown in the morning, am going to get my hair cut (want to add some layers - like my new straight perm, apparently known in the states as a Japanese Straight Perm and different from a relaxer... fyi) and will take Kristin to get a manicure for the wedding. All that comes before the rehearsal, groom's dinner and hopefully a packing sessions, so I definitely need some sleep. I had to run out to Walgreens the other night to get some Sleep Aid (jetlag takes about a week to get over coming back in this direction), but the jetlag hasn't been too bad... it's just a late night.
The wedding madness has begun, however... and I can't wait. The week is flying by, but I am so satisfied with my trip so far. Even the cat is walking on the keyboard right now, which I think is a cue... more soon :)
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 9:24 PM
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