Does anything look out of place in the picture? If you look closely enough, you'll notice that the figure in the cyan uniform is actually a male, and yes, he was enthusiastically shaking his tushies as I snapped the shot.

Some normal pictures of my friends and I:

After we'd eaten, a whole bunch of people got up from the mats and disappeared, some to play ball, others to, well, I don't know. I was feeling too full and bloated, definitely not up to running all around kicking a ball, catching a ball, or throwing a frisbee. I wanted to see what parks in Japan are like, so we decided to take a stroll. It was much, much bigger than I expected, and there were so many people picnicking, playing games, walking their dogs... Parks are very well utilised in Japan, it seems. Or maybe it was simply because it's the weekend and Monday's a holiday as well. I saw this pretty mural on a wall:

When we returned, Rachel and I decided to join the frisbee game that was in session. I figured that I could do with some exercise... Playing frisbee in a large group is fun, because you get to throw the frisbee far, far away! Soon, players dropped out one by one, claiming to be tired, although I didn't find it very tiring to throw and catch a frisbee. Rachel dropped out soon too, and I was tempted to follow suit, because it felt a bit weird playing with people I didn't know at all. Then again, going back to sit on the mat to twiddle my thumbs didn't appeal to me, so I hung in there and played for a few hours. In the day it was really bright and sunny, so I think I actually got a little burnt. Anyhow, James, someone from my Japanese class, asked if I play frisbee often, because he was rather impressed. Amazingly, my throwing skills improved without practice, even though the last time I played I was horrible. Twas fun, really, and I learnt to catch with one hand instead of using the pancake catch method. I also met a probable eye candy. =p

I like how people in Japan are prepared for a picnic, with the food, drinks and games, and they make do with whatever they have, and have fun. It's not a sit-around-and-look-at-each-other-not-knowing-what-to-do affair. So I enjoyed myself loads, and it was great meeting so many new people, some of whom are Japanese. Rainbow Club members are rather friendly, so they're easy to chat with. Me, I don't like talking to those 'cool' people who only grunt a response. I like lots of friendly chatter, and laughter, and avid responses. It's hard trying to talk to a wall, I think.

Nothing much to say about dinner, except that I liked the place, it was so stone-y, it made me think of The Flintstones. Followed by drinks at a pub.

You know one of the most common generalisations/misconceptions about the Japanese people is that they have small eyes? From the above picture, you will realise that Chiaki-san has the biggest eyes among us three Asians. If I don't smile so wide, or if I don't smile at all, my eyes will be bigger. Yes.

One of the best things is that I've started to get accustomed to carrying on a conversation in Japanese. Maybe my vocabulary and grammar knowledge is rather limited, but hand gestures and broken Japanese work well enough that they know what I'm getting at, so I'm feeling rather accomplished!

As an aside, I like meeting lots of people, getting to know them better before I realise who's more suited to my personality, who I can get along with. I don't particularly want anyone sticking to me prematurely, and I'm a liiiiittle worried that it's happening.

Nonetheless, I had a most wonderful day, I can't wait to go to more parks when the leaves start turning yellow and orange! Momiji! That is my favourite part of autumn. :D