#3.20.18

10am: meeting M at a coffee shop in midtown. she's got an advisement mtg at 11:30 but we'll hang out until 11:15

11am: I'm skipping physics class. I only ever go to get attendance credit, as I don't ever pay attention and I just read the text book on my own time (and do JUST FINE). I always have a better day when I DON'T go to physics. Someone who's in my next class is going to pick up my test for me.

12pm/12:20: mtg M again and then S will join us after his 11am class. I'll get lunch with them ideally.

1pm: Modern Algebra. If I'm in a good mood, I love this class. I'm hoping I'll be in a good mood. If I pick out my color scheme for my notes ahead of time, it'll be even more engaging.

2:50pm: I have an SI session, but nobody ever comes to my Tuesday SI sessions, so it's essentially chill time, and I think M might come hang out with me during this time (shes on break).

4pm: Combinatorics class—always super engaging. I love this class. It's super easy, but also really fun. It does take critical thinking, but it's a 3000 level math instead of 4 so it's graded ALOT easier than my other math classes, bcos it's primarily computational, and their idea of a "proof" is.... not very formal.

5:15pm: S and I are hanging out after class!!! We'll go back to my house, and we'll eat dinner with my family, probably fall asleep tbh we tend to take a lot of naps. If not, we'll just snuggle and watch TV—which is always a really really good stress reliever. He knows I've been really struggling, so he's been super sweet.

I don't have anything due tomorrow, so I can just relax. I may or may not have a Combinatorics test due Thursday, but it's nothing to worry about. I also might have Combinatorics homework due Thursday, but I've done all of it except the last two already anyways. And Thursday I'm going to M's house to have a sleepover!!! I've never met her family before or been to her house, so I'm excited and a little nervous.

Astrophysics T/Th 12:45-2

(French) Adv Grammar Review M/W 12:15-1:45

(French) Adv Conv & Comp T/Th 2:15-3:30

College Geometry T/Th 7:15-8:30

Optimization M/W 2-3:15

Partial Differential Equations T/Th 2:15-3:30

(from here on referred to by the number above) I am only going to take four classes total. I definitely want to take (1) and at least one French class. I would really like to take (4) , but I also don't want to be on campus so late. (Also note 3&6 conflict.)

So if I do (4) (and (1) and a French class), my options would be:

1425 (2 math classes)

1426 (2 math classes)

1435 (2 math classes)

1423 (2 French classes)

If I don't do (4) (but still do (1) and a French class), my options would be:

1235 (2 French classes)

1256 (2 math classes)

on the morning of our third day in okinawa, shannon & i headed up north to アメリカ村 (american village). Trying to get there and back was a bit of a to-do, since okinawa’s public bus routes aren’t linked to many common map databases, but after a bit of searching we found a bus that would take us there.

the ‘village’ was really quite cute. most of the shops in the area were pretty cheesy and geared towards tourists, so we didn’t do too much shopping (although i did find a pretty cute t-shirt with ‘enjoy the taste of cokinawa’ written in the coca cola font and couldn’t pass that one up).

after tasty (if a little pricey) teriyaki veggie burgies at a local vegan restaurant, we set off on a trek up the hill just outside the main touristy neighbourhood and headed up to body decoration studio truth. i’d wanted another ear piercing for a while, read up on some research regarding the potential benefits of rook & daith piercings for people with frequent migraines, and thought it’d be pretty neat to get it done while in japan, so when i found a semi-convenient, reasonably priced piercing parlour with nothing but positive reviews from locals and foreigners i figured i’d check it out.

the piercing process was super easy-breezy, the staff were awesome, and i’m really pleased with how it turned out. i’ll write a separate post on the experience after i go to a different store in osaka to get the jewelry changed out (the current bar is on the longer side to allow for any initial swelling etc).

afterwards, we went back into the village, puttered around and took some photos, rode the ferris wheel, and headed back to naha city for the night.

the next morning, i woke up bright and early, hella hype to go scuba diving with whale sharks only to receive a call from the dive organization saying the water conditions were too rough so they would have to cancel the dive. i was pretty bummed out about it, but i ended up heading back to the local markets, eating lots of good street food, and speding the evening out with shannon and kerrin. all in all, not a bad day, despite the initial disappointment.

the final day, i woke up early enough to check out and head back to the market one last time to stock up on that delicious mochi and pick up some おみやげ for my friends back in residence. a quick stop for brunch at a local cafe, then it was back on the monorail to the airport. i made it to the airport pretty early, so i wound up sitting around for a while, but the flight was right on time and super short, so i didn’t mind much. the commute from the airport to residence felt like it took three times as long as the flight though. in reality it was probably only about the same about of time, but by the evening after a flight at the end of a week of excitement, i was just ready to get home and crash.

when i finally made it back to yui, that’s exactly what i did.

the trip only lasted the first half of spring break, but it was super fun, relaxing, and refreshing and i was glad to spend the last few days of the break just chilling around hirakata and preparing for my next midterms.