久しぶり

internet at the homestay house has not been working well with my computer. (It's a Mac and also seems like Airport has been acting up)

I'm going into the final days of the internship and while I'm ready to get back to life in America, I'm kind of sad to go. I feel like I just finally got used to my internship routine, and getting to know people around the company. Too bad.

Also, I need suggestions for where to go on a trip from Tokyo. Dad and I are staying in Tokyo for a while, but I have about 4 days I don't know what to do with. Something with bicycling like the Shimanami Kaido Cycling Route, but closer to Tokyo (i.e. NOT a $130/one-way shinkansen ticket away) would be nice. I'm thinking we might go to Nikko or Kamakura, but other than that I'm at a loss for what to do since a trip to Hokkaido or southern Japan is not in the budget. Advice for future travel to Japan: fly into the Chubu region of Japan and leave from Tokyo (or vice versa).

A kind of weird, but not unwelcome situation came up today. Because my homestay family has to go to a wake (   :(   ), I'm going to be on my own tonight for transportation home and dinner. The president asked me this morning if there were people at the company I wanted to eat dinner with, and while I could easily think of a few, I know these people have lives and probably plans for their Friday nights, and tried to tell him that I could get dinner on my own.

The people who are in charge of me usually don't like the "I'll do it on my own" answers, and seem to get nervous when I suggest them, even if it's as simple as using the bus to get home. For example, I wanted to ship some books home and asked for a box. Now the people I asked are trying to take care of the whole process. I really really promise I can function in Japan, guys. I like getting help, but I know how busy Japanese workers are without helping me take care of my business too. ANYWAY, even though I tried to assure the president I'd be just fine, Tobisawa-san told me later in the morning that we'd be going to dinner after we got back from my newspaper visit. I don't mind spending time with people from the company at all, and I'm used to the forced interaction that usually comes from studying abroad in Japan, but I never get a say in my company plans. EVER. I try to suggest something that seems simple enough in my American mind, and then I'm told, no, we really want you to do it our way. Thankfully at lunch I was told a few other people are joining, which should tone down the awkwardness a little bit. We're going for my favorite food, okonomiyaki, too, so I'm really happy. But yiiiiiiikes, talk about "you will go to dinner and like it".