Geisha-san and Kado and whatnot

So last night was the Rotary beginning of the year party.
There were three geishas that performed. They were all in their 70s and just looked like normal women. As geishas rise in rank, they put on less and less makeup and whatnot. Anyway, they played the samisen and "sang" and danced. Then after they went and performed the greatest of all geisha arts, the art of conversation. One sat between me and Wang-san, and told us how she came to Hamamatsu from Hokkaido when she was 16 because she didn't have money, so that's why she became a geisha. (She never was even trained in Kyoto, I don' think.) Everyone has this image of geishas being very delicate, graceful people, but she was one of the most racous people I've ever met. But, of course, it was only one and she wasn't even a true Kyoto geisha. She kept telling me that I should wolf down my rice because it tastes better like that.
Today I went to school! In Home Economics class, we watched this video about Japanese table manners. Of course, they're all very traditional manners and none of us knew about most of them. Ah, well.
Um. Then after school I went to kado club, which is Japanese flower arrangement. Natsumi and I made ours together. We worked so hard and then the teacher took it apart because it wasn't perfect or whatever. But it was a good time. Natsumi took pictures and she's gonna e-mail them to me and I'll try to post them here. Then Natsumi and I took the bus downtown and she had to go home, but I met Sakiko and later on, Shaki, from Austria. We kinda just wandered around for a while. Then I went home.
Tomorrow, is Max's and Josefa's going-away party! Ahhh! I'm gonna miss them so much. Oh, well, I'll just have to go to France and Chile to see them. It's kinda funny, the exchange student lifestyle. You end up going to Japan, meet people from all around the world, and then try to figure out how you can get to their country to see them again, plus, of course, you have to come back to Japan to see all the friends you've made there. So Laurent wants to study abroad in the USA, I want to study abroad in France or Chile, blah blah blah. It's so difficult, our cosmopolitan lifestyle!
Then Sunday I'm off to KYOTO!!!!!!! To see Dylan and Annalisa. They are two Rotary exchange students; I met Dylan during my outbound year at orientations and I sat next to Annalisa on the plane. I'm really excited because it's like, hisashiburi! (Long time, no see).
Then next weekend is some Rotary orientation at Mount Fuji. Haha, I'm always around Mount Fuji but I don't mind. IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! It's so, like, perfect and symmetrical and it's so hard to believe I was at the top back in September. That was when I knew hardly any Japanese, I had barely any Japanese friends, I knew nothing about anything... I cant believe how far I've come, how many obstacles I've overcome, how amazingly FUN and ADVENTUROUS these past (almost) 5 months have been. And it's amazing to think just what will come next: my kendo exam, skiing in Naeba, possibly seeing the spring geisha dances in Kyoto, spring break in Tokyo with Shiori, the cherry blossom festival, the absolutely WILD Hamamatsu City Festival. And all those things will happen in just the next three months. And who can say what will happen in between those events? :D

Well, anyway, take care of y'all selves.