Today was a fairly busy day. Since I woke up kind of early, I did some laundry and went grocery shopping at Saty. I was a little worried that I might not know how to get to Saty since I have only been there once and I was in a car, but it turned out to be right where I thought it was. Shopping there is a little overwhelming because it is reasonably large (maybe the size of Albertson's) and there are many people there. I found what I was looking for, and a few other things such as chocolate eclairs, haha.
After lunch, Elizabeth led Nelson and I to Aeon Mall. It's about 20 minutes from our apartment if you're riding your bike at a brisk pace. It's a pretty good sized mall, maybe about the same size as the Boise Towne Square Mall. It feels big because there are lots of shops, though some of them are pretty small. Elizabeth showed me a few accessory stores and I bought a hair decoration to wear for Yosakoi. Yosakoi is serious business; the more intense groups schedule their hair appointments way in advance. One of my teammates said that she tried to get an appointment, but everything was booked. I'm probably just going to put my hair in a ponytail so I don't die of heat stroke.
After we got back, I ate a little bit and left again for Yosakoi practice. When I arrived, I discovered that none of my teammates were there, and there was a group of people playing ping pong instead. I guess there wasn't a practice tonight. So, I made my way back home. I know that there's practice tomorrow, and it's somewhere new, so the group leader is coming to pick me up. I guess that was simpler than trying to explain to me how to get there, haha.
Tomorrow I'm planning to head down to Obiyamachi to buy a pair or two of naruko. I'd kind of like to get a plain wood pair and a pair painted red, yellow and black. Our team is using unpainted ones. I may also see if I can find my way back to Aeon Mall; there's a kimono and yukata store I'd like to look at. I think it might be one where you pick the fabric and they actually make it for you. It might be expensive, so I'll probably only buy one there if I find a fabric that I really love. Otherwise, they sell pre-made ones at Jusco for 7,800 to 11,000 yen. I saw some that I like fairly well. I seem to prefer the brightly colored ones, or the ones with goldfish on them. Now is a good time to buy yukata because they are on sale.
Ok Andrea you did good with Boise related places but I need some translations. What is yukata, naruko, and exactly what kind of dance are you doing? We miss you and I LOVE reading your posts. I check every day. Thank you! Love you tons. Christina
ReplyDeleteYukata are traditional dresses. They look like kimono, but they are cheaper and lighter in weight. Naruko are the wooden clackers we used for the Yosakoi dance. The dance itself is sort of a marching dance with a lot of arm movements. Every team danced differently; some had all kinds of jumping and spinning moves, but ours was a little calmer.
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