amidst confusion about gifts, a bounty of warm winter things

The weather.com report for Kasugai, Japan says the low is somewhere around 50 degrees Fareinheit every night.

However, I know that to be a lie because I had to sleep in two shirts and sweatpants (with socks) underneath a comforter and another warm comfy blanket. And the dorm parents haven't turned on the heater yet.

So I was joining all of the other the American students who were getting dinner, and I notice two red coats hanging up on the far side of the room. Still groggy from a nap, I go pick up my dinner and then find myself in a flurry of Japanese as the lunch ladies goad me towards one of the coats, telling me to try one on. I understand, but I pretend like I don't to see if I can get out of the embarrassment of trying on the coat in front of everyone else. No dice. I have the coat on, and they say "kawaii" ("how cute") a few times, but then I hear the verb "ageru"--to give.

I consult the other ryuugakusei, "Are they trying to give me the coat?"

The general response is no and that they probably just want me to use it for dinner to keep warm. I'm still really confused and still sleepy, so I just take off the coat, telling the lunch ladies I don't want to get food on it. (I have never known myself to be a graceful eater of any sort)

I attempt dinner, the main course of which was a hamburger patty and a few fatty pieces of chicken because the Japanese do believe in serving chicken "parts," and then go to rinse off my dishes at the lunch counter. Before I can say the expected "Ogochisousamadeshita, arigatou gozaimasu" (It was a really good meal, thank you very, very much) and skidaddle out of the cafeteria, all four of the cafeteria ladies cluster around. The one who had me try on the coat before says a phrase with a verb I've never heard before, and then I hear it again--the "ageru"/to give verb. I try to politely decline, but they call over a Chinese girl, who literally grabs me by the hand and takes me over to the coat, and clarifies yes, it is a present.

It is a nice coat, but I feel bad for accepting it for some reason. And now I feel like I should give them a little something in return, but am afraid of the never-ending cycle of Japanese gift-giving that could be perpetuated.

Anyway, I have a new second-hand coat! It's a little big, but it looks pretty warm and goes nicely with the black-and-white scarf I bought in Osu this weekend. Thank you lunch ladies! (I'll remember your names someday, after I hear them more than once, I promise!!!)

the red coat in question.

Oy, vey, Japan. So very confusing. All the time.

But, as far as Japan hating heaters, there is a bright side to that frigid situation: I now have an excuse to buy all kinds of warm, cute accessories and clothing from Japan! (or just wait for the lunch ladies to give me matching scarves and gloves with this jacket, whichever comes first ^_~)

I went to Osu with two Japanese friends this weekend. It was really fun, and now I know some of the cheaper clothing stores in that area! I'm always interested to see what new words I'll pick up just by hanging out. Like this weekend, I learned "niau," or it fits you well, or it suits you very nicely. It's a good word to know, especially when you're shopping with your girl friends and want to tell them something really looks good on them. (We spent forever trying to figure out the best color of scarves for each other XD).

Here are the scarves I picked up. The black and white (made in China*) one was about $9.80 and the blue and black one was $10. The lighter blue one on the far right was one I brought over.
I also got a super-cute, super-expensive pair of fingerless gloves (made in Vietnam*).

to lazy to rotate these, sorry ^^;;
I really like the zipper/pocket detail on these

Never thought I would drop $26 on gloves, but lucky the rebate from my cell phone covered about $20 of that. And because I didn't have the remaining $6 in coins, I had to pay with the paper bills I had. I used this:
The elusive 2,000 yen bill that is somewhat of an oddity in Japan. When I presented this to the cashier, both my friends and the cashier did the Japanese "rehhhhhhhhhh?" confusion/surprise gasp. Of course, this sometimes mean you did something "dame" (bad; essentially a taboo), but my friends reassured me it was just a little weird to see those bills. If I understood correctly, Japan printed these bills for the year 2000, and so in that year, people used them all the time. However, because they were only used in that one year, none of the vending machines, ticket machines, etc. used in daily life here accept them. So they're a little inconvenient. And no one has really seen them a lot since 2000, so the Japanese are surprised when they see them. It's like the $2.00 bill in the States, except not as rare and not as valuable as a collectible kind of thing. But when I go to change money, I get these 2,000 yen bills all the time. My friends said this was probably because I was a foreigner. I seem to get that a lot here though.

Another long post ^_^ I really need to stop putting off work. I've done my fair share of relaxing so far today: a scavenger hunt contest on Kotaku.com for a chance at a free DSi (because there is NO WAY I'm paying for a region-locked Japanese one--puh-leaze, Nintendo) and reading an English-language book until I fell asleep. Back to the grindstone!

p.s. I really need to post pictures from the daigakusai (university festival). That was way too much fun.

*I remember you were wondering about this, Mom; so far it seems like a lot of the littler accessories here aren't actually made in Japan.