Whenever I go to my grandparents' house, my grandmother seems very eager to wait on me hand and foot, and ply me with an endless supply of food and drinks. She's always asking me if I want to eat this, or to eat more, drink more... Not only that, she always drags out stuff from her doraemon pouch and wants me to bring it back to my dorm. That night, she was a little tipsy (although I didn't notice her drinking), and she was telling me she has 5 grandchildren, but I'm her only granddaughter, and she was very happy when she heard I was coming to Japan. She repeatedly told me to visit whenever I have time, and I thought it was scary because she kept sniffling, and I wasn't sure if her nose was runny or if she was teary. I have no idea what to do with a teary and drunk old lady. =x

The next day we went shopping at Yokohama for my phone! That place was huge, and there was an eye-popping variety of phones to look at. Actually, Japanese phones by and large aren't very sleek, but they are so much more colourful. Most students buy Au or SoftBank phones, but my mom and aunt, being Japanese, prefer the most established DoCoMo. So I didn't get a chance to peruse the other phones. Anyhow, here's a look at my kickass new phone (I can watch tv on it!):

After rushing here and there, I went to send my parents off at the airport. The one week they were here flew by so quickly. Although I didn't see them everyday, there was comfort in the knowledge that they were only an hour or so away. I felt damn sad when they went through the departure gates, like I was left all alone in Japan, which is absolute nonsense because I've so many relatives here. My mom told me to be good, my dad just waved very enthusiastically.

My uncle then sent me all the way back to my dorm, where he helped me unload my numerous bags of clothes (I brought some of my mom's old clothes back from my grandma's place. My mom had a really small waist last time, and I got fatter recently, so some stuff are a bit tight, and they all told me not to eat for a day or something to lose weight so the clothes would fit more comfortably >.<) and they followed me up to my room. Somehow I have the feeling that he does feel some responsibility for me, because he kept telling me to call him if I have any problems, and that because he works nearby in Shibuya, he'll come and look in on me and call me sometimes. Likewise, my grandparents tell me to call them, and to visit occasionally if I've the time, and to study hard and take care of myself. It's weird how my grandfather seems a little distant at times, like he doesn't care very much about me. I'd mentioned it to my mom, but she said he's a little old-fashioned and behaves as though he doesn't care when he does. When I called him ojiichan on the phone apparently he was really happy, and he wanted to give my mom money to pass to me, which she made him do so personally. So... It's heartwarming to know I've got relatives who're not so far away who'll help me along if I meet any difficulties. I know, I know, I'm not exactly being very independent this way, but hey, at least I'm away from my parents. (Although my grandmother seems determined to mollycoddle me and bring me shopping and give me whatever I want.) It's rather tiring trying to fend off her advances when she approaches me with a packet of juice, or insists that I bring some bun back to my room, or deodorant... She has a whole lot of stuff in that house! Thing is, I don't need that many stuff. Then again, it's hard to complain when people care.