(photos coming soon)
Wednesday June 23 (Day 21)
This morning we managed to get up early and finally run. And, although there was a mist-like rain we welcomed its cool presence. Feeling full of happy endorphins, we preceded to have one of the most productive work days everrrr. Going through Sam's needed bullet points gave Bean and I some consistent things to do and new websites to explore. Drinking green tea and feeling the after effects of running, I felt more awake this morning than I had in a very long time. Soon we were rescued from the glow of the computer screen by lunch, our savior, and decided to splurge and BUY lunch. So, naturally, we walked to Lawsons (a convenience store similar to 7/11) for a cheap meal. We both got different types of rice bowls that tempted all my senses...just like food should! Delighted, both of our convenience store meal did not disappoint, and it made our college student wallets/stomachs pleased . During lunch, in line with our normal shenanigans, we spent the entire time writing on the board in the empty meeting room. The only failure was that, unknown to us, Yama-san had a meeting during the end part of our break and opened the door to us trying to print our hilarious board picture. We were slightly startled and laughed until we saw a stranger, probably a customer, walk through to door after him. Slightly panicked and embarassed we erased the board and left the room with our lunch trash in hand. HAH. Despite our startled hearts, we finished out the day with diligence and in good humor. Work soon ended and we headed back to our hotel. Feeling extra and abnormally productive today, Bean and I did our laundry. So many amazing successes of the day. As we were waiting for our laundry to dry, Koji-san called us to see what we were doing for dinner. We all decided to go to Mexican, which we were definitely craving, and Koji-san took us to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants. Later we realized it was his favorite not only because of the food, but because he confessed to a girl that he liked her at this restaurant when he was young. Above ground the restaurant looked like a small, somewhat run-down building, but as soon as we opened the door we were met with old, cool brick stairs leading down to an unknown destination. After taking at least 3 downward stair cases through decorative hallways, we finally reached the dining room. This was one of the best Mexican restaurants I had ever been to and it happened to be in Japan! All the food was equally satisfying.
As we finished dinner the only thing on our mind was reaching the sports bar to watch the USA vs Algeria FIFA game. It was not hard to identify the sports bar from the familiar sounds and cheering people from America and England. Koji, slightly overwhelmed in the situation, just smiled at us while we tried to make our way closer to see the TV. Walking through the crowd we occassionally were drawn into a conversation about our reasons for being in Japan and it was truly mind-blowing, after so many weeks, to hear English everywhere. We met an Australian and hung out with a group of guys from California and one from GEORGIA! They had been living and working in Tokyo for at least 7 years. With "England Till I Die" and USA chants being yelled, Bean and I excitingly watched the games. There is nothing more bonding than being in a foreign country and randomly watching a national game with people from your country ha. After the USA scored the goal we were drenched with beer that had been thrown from who knows where and soon we found Koji, who had disappeared in the excitement for a smoke break (he must have been stressed by the outgoing crowd). Heading back to the hotel I decided that each and every part of the night was so great, especially since it was the first night we managed to stay out with a crowd of strangers. I can't wait to watch the Japan World Cup game tomorrow night!
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