All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!

A shrine that is less than a five minute walk from my school.

Really steep stairs.

This week was a bit of a struggle bus. I had an almost melt down mid-week because I was getting frustrated with my language class and a little homesick. In case you were wondering Japanese is kind of hard to learn. At least for me it is. However, the week did end on a high note with my professor telling me she was impressed with how much my Japanese has improved.

Friday was also fun because we got to do interviews with Japanese people from Hikone or near by towns. I was nervous going into it because I was afraid they wouldn't understand my questions or I wouldn't be able to comprehend their answers, but thankfully it went well. The first hour I practice my Japanese and the second hour they practice their English. It was difficult and there was quite a few times I had to turn to my partner to confirm or ask what it was they said, but I overall it was fun. I was surprise by how many people came out for it and the age range. There were some younger people but most of people were housewives with ages ranging from 40 to 70. My favorite was talking to man who is now retired. We talk about our love of travel and beer. He has been all over the world.

Saturday I spent the day by myself which was pretty much a first since I've been in Japan. I don't mean I just went to the shrine by myself but there was no else there. It was a really cool place and I enjoyed wandering through the hillside. There were a couple different pathways you could go explore. It was fun though my legs were tired by the end. Japan never seems to have a lack of stairs.