Comics Are Back!

Well I haven't done comics in a while. This sheet was actually started nearly two months ago and I just finished it today. I know a lot more Japanese now so hopefully I can start doing these more.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

おたんじょび？：your birthday? (or something like that)
ごはん：rice
CL おんがくビヂオ： CL music video
くつ下：socks
チョコラート：chocolate
When asked what I wanted for my birthday and what I was looking forward to I said I wanted rice, chocolate, and socks and that I was looking forward to being able to watch the music video for CL's "Hello Bitches" because it was age restricted. I got all of these things (and the awesome ninja candles I didn't know I needed in my life) and got to watch the music video, which by the way is just like normal American music videos.

"Kpop dance club"

ヤー and ヒェー: screaming noises
なにですか？：what?
わかりません：I don't understand/I don't know
ダンスクラブ： dance club
So I'm in a kpop dance club at my college and for some reason or another we scream a lot while dancing, especially when dancing "Oh NaNa" by KARD. One day a new girl showed up and was wondering why everyone was screaming and to be honest I don't really know either. It's just fun. There are seven girls in the group but a new girl joined after I drew the comic so I put her in the title panel because she is awesome.

"Amazing bookstore"

本やすごいです！：amazing bookstore!
私は本やに行きたい: I want to go to the bookstore.
In the roommate search process for my university, I met a Japanese girl and have been emailing her. She sent me a picture of an amazing bookstore near her house with very tall bookshelves and a plant running along some shelves and it was very すごい and made me want to go there.

"Good at bad at"

私はりょりすることが上手です。： I am good at cooking.
私は車をちゅしゃすることが下手です。： I am bad at parking the car.
This is just me practicing what we learned in class. We are starting to learn more complex sentences so I've been trying to use them. Not necessarily the most interesting comics, but they are fun to write and draw.

Gathering Supplies

So I went to Office Depot the other day to pick up some supplies for my Japan trip. There are a ton more things to get and I need to start doing that so things that need to be shipped have time to get here. Anyway, this is what I got.

As you an see, I got a small whiteboard. I really like whiteboards for studying Japanese and since I can't bring my big one I had to get a small one. For some reason the colorful whiteboards were considerably cheaper than the plain white ones so since colorful stuff is cool I got a blue one. It's magnetic too but I'm not sure how much that will help me. It came with a pretty nice whiteboard marker and I wrote a bunch of random stuff in Japanese on it.

The next thing I got was a notepad pen combo for making lists. It's memo pad style so it flips up but instead of being a normal memo pad it's extra long so I can fit more stuff in. I liked the size of it and it actually has my university on it, so that's kinda cool.

And the last thing isn't exactly related to my Japan trip but it is an aux cord because my old one is breaking and headphones are necessary for me to live (I have them on probably 70% of the time I am at home). There were normal headphone cords there but they cost $15 and since my currently one was only just starting to break I decided I would wait to get one but while waiting in line I noticed there were aux cords on one of those little bargain displays stores have. It was only $5, but the catch is that it is ten feet (3 meters) long. It isn't super high quality but it is long enough that I don't think I have to worry about it being jostled around too much (but I do usually have it mostly coiled up). It's kind of fun to have a stupidly long cord because you can mess around and do stuff like put your phone on your desk and then dance in the center of the room.

If anyone who can't read Japanese is curious what I wrote on the whiteboard, I'll put up the translations tomorrow. It's nothing that interesting, just me saying random stuff in my limited Japanese because I can.

Soooooooo here's what I tried to write: Hello! My name is Juno. This board is cheap, but I like the board. Next month I go to Japan. I speak a little Japanese. I love pickles.

Also, I was given a bunch of stuff by my orthodontist because I have to go two months without an appointment. It's been nearly three years and I still have braces. Anyway, I do need this stuff to properly take care of my braces while overseas.

Travel Tips from a Barely Adult Part Two

And I am back with more travel tips! These are things I have discovered while taking a more active role in packing and traveling and when traveling alone. Many times while traveling I got TSAPre at the airport because I was under 18 and very non threatening or something. TSAPre allowed me to get through security in as little as five minutes and not have to remove shoes or coolers or anything. Now that I'm 18, it's quite unlikely I'll be getting that for a while. I say this because my sister isn't that much older than me and as soon as she turned 18 all the times we have flown she never gets TSAPre anymore. Even when we travel in groups either just I will get TSAPre or everyone but my sister will get it. I've gotten rather used to TSAPre but I guess I'll have to get used to regular security again.

1. Check in at the airport!

This is just personal preference but I prefer to check in at the airport because it's really easy and you get a very conveniently sized boarding pass. Just walk into the airport and look for the little check in kiosks and enter in your confirmation number then *poof* out pops a lovely boarding pass. Bit easier to deal with than a giant piece of paper from your home printer that may or may not decide to work (is that just our printer? Well, the thing is 15 years old).

2. Stash your boarding pass somewhere easy to get at!

This can be an outside pocket on your bag or somewhere on your person. Pockets are useful for this but make sure the pocket is big enough and that your boarding pass won't fall out. Another thing I have done multiple times is fold the boarding pass into quarters and then stick it under my bra strap because I didn't have pockets (women's clothing doesn't have pockets sometimes and it's annoying). Also, if you do lose your boarding pass you can get a new one at the gate or something. My sister lost her boarding pass once and they just pulled us aside and got her information then printed her a new boarding pass.

3. Look up what you can and can't bring!

People have a general idea of what you can and can't bring on airplanes but sometimes you have a specific thing you are wondering about such as frozen steak, avocados, knitting needles, or rechargeable batteries (all real things I have looked up). Since I am going to a different country, I'm having to look up the regulations for what is allowed through airports in that country because it may be more strict than American airports. The TSA website is here and the website for a Japanese airline is here.

4. Make a universal packing list!

One time before a trip I made a packing list on my whiteboard and since it was a pretty good list I took a picture of it and now use that as my universal packing list. It is recommended you make these well before the time you have to actually pack because for some reason it's difficult to figure out what you need when you actually have to pack. I found a universal packing list online that I think is pretty good so you can check that out if you need ideas for what to put on your universal packing list.

5. When you land in an airport, get your bearings as quickly as possible!

If you have a connecting flight, this is very important. Figure out what gate you are at and what gate you need to get to as quickly as possible. Once you know that, figure out how you are going to get there. How are the concourses set up? Which direction do you need to walk? Some places have trains along the concourses or between concourses so if you need to use one of those figure out which train gets you to were you need to be as quickly as possible. Once you find your gate, you are free to shop around or get food or go to the bathroom or refill your water bottle. Don't try to do all that on the way there. Simply note where anything interesting is and go back there after you find your gate. Don't want to be trying to find your gate at the last minute. If you landed at your destination airport, don't wait around! Follow the crowd so you can find the baggage claim and exit. There will be signs too of course but it's easier to follow a crowd of people than it is to follow signs.

6. Get ready to go through security while in line!

Lines for regular security are usually long so use that time to get your boarding pass and ID out, drink what is left in your water bottle, consolidate luggage, and remove jackets, belts, and hats. When it's your turn to go through security, simply get your shoes off, throw your bags onto the scanner, put your stuff in one of those bins, and wait to go through the scanner. When you get out the other side, grab your bags and move, don't stand there putting everything back on. You block up the whole process for everyone if you do that. If your bag gets searched, just walk over there and talk with the TSA agent searching your bag. They are often surprisingly nice and it can be fun to talk about the stuff in your bag. One time my bag got searched and the TSA agent kept getting distracted by the cute stuff in my bag and liked how I had so many bags within my larger bag.

7. Put everything in its own bag!

Organize everything in your bag as much as you can so it doesn't just become a giant mess of random items in your bag. You an either use clear ziplock bags or more sturdy ones that you get as hand outs. I don't know if guys have an abundance of these but basically they are these sturdy bags you use for makeup or other beauty products and you often get them as freebies. I knit a lot of bags too so I have a variety of bags to organize my stuff in (well, at least I try to).

Small Thing Number Twenty One: Make Online Lists!

Twenty one posts in the Small Things series! すごいです！

Also thank you to my amazing Japanese friend for showing me the adorableness of すごいです. The reason this is adorable and cute is because すごい means "wow" and です makes things polite and you don't usually see です after すごい. Or maybe you do. I had never seen it before so when I saw it in an email I melted from the cuteness.

Anyway, I'm leaving for Japan in less than four weeks and I have a lot of stuff to organize (also finals...ugh don't remind me). To help organize everything, I have been using that lovely function that has been added to websites just in my lifetime and that is the list making function. Back when I first started using the internet much and having accounts you couldn't really be specific about lists beyond favorites, but nowadays most sites have the option for you to create custom lists. So I've been doing that. And naming all the lists Japan Things because that is how I roll.

First things first I made a list in my email that has all my flight itineraries, directions, and instructions for all my travel. Don't want to have to dig through a ton of emails to be able to find directions. Also, yeah, I still get tons of college emails. Welcome to being a high school student.

I also made a list of things on Amazon that I should get before I go but Amazon can ship some stuff to Japan so that is an option as well. This is mostly for things like power adapters and clothes drying hangers. Just general things that you might need.

And I also made a list on Etsy for more artistic things I could want like a proper wallet, face masks, and luggage tags. You can actually see some of the stuff I'm looking at in this one.

Lastly I have a list on iHerb. iHerb is nice because they can ship some stuff to Japan so if you can't get something there that you really want you can probably order it. Shipping isn't too bad but I'm not sure how long it will take.

And yes that is cereal because cereal is important. Anyway, make all the lists, both online and on paper. Lists are very important to travel. I've been making so many lists I'm starting to feel like Jane Villanueva from Jane the Virgin.

Stories from Japanese Class Part Two

Because sitting in a classroom full of young adults will always be entertaining, I have more stories.

As a quick reminder, here is where my classmates sit and what I call them:

So for some reason or another during break Bulbasaur-san was showing Squirtle-san how to balance a pen on his finger. Charmander-san and I joined in for a bit before I decided that I should balance stuff on my head instead since I'm quite good at it. I took my textbook, workbook, and notebook and put them on my head. Charmander-san did the same. I then proceeded to put a worksheet then a piece of paper and possibly something else on my head before sitting there to show off my skill. Charmander-san had a similar amount of stuff on his head so we just sat there with books and stuff on our heads. Bulbasaur-san thought this was hilarious so he took a picture. While we were still sitting there with all the random stuff on our heads, the break ended and the teacher started talking again. We started rushing to get the random stuff off our heads but not before the teacher noticed and stopped talking for a second confused as to what we were doing. Shortly after we got the books off our heads and I hid my face in embarrassment but was also laughing because of how ridiculous it was.

In class we were learning how to say what we do and don't like doing. The workbook assignment gave us a variety of activities to put in and one of them was doing laundry. We were discussing what we thought of doing laundry and whether or not we liked it. The general consensus was we didn't care either way but Squirtle-san apparently really likes doing laundry and started describing what doing the laundry is like. Now mind you this is an international student explaining it so while his English is really good it's not perfect all the time. While explaining doing laundry, he said "and you put in the sauce" which made the rest of the table bust up laughing. He didn't exactly seem to notice that he used the wrong word (sauce instead of laundry detergent). However, that was probably one of the funniest word switches I have ever heard. I'll probably do this a lot trying to speak Japanese. I already mix up the words for dictionary and ceiling.

Small Thing Number Twenty: Make a List of Things You Want to Get in Japan!

This applies to things you don't want to lug across the ocean, souvenirs for yourself, and souvenirs for others.

For things I don't want to lug across the ocean, there isn't really a lot right now besides things that just sound fun to get in Japan such as hand towels, reuseable grocery bags, and notebooks. Basically just things I would want to get anyway. If I were actually moving to Japan for a decent amount of time there are a lot of things that I would get there but since I'm only going for two months it makes sense for everything I'm bringing and getting to be able to fit in my suitcase/bags.

As for gifts for others, I have been asking family and friends if they have any specific requests for things they want me to bring back. I have gotten a couple requests so far, such as something from a gashapon machine, something Japanesey, an umbrella, and some clothes.

All of these things will be written down on a piece of paper or in a file on my computer because I am sure to forget them in the packing process or when I get to Japan. Make plans and lists whenever traveling, especially lists. You would be amazed how much falls out of your head during the packing and traveling process.

Let's Cook: Azuki Ice Cream!

Given the name of the blog and the fact that I know how to make ice cream, this just had to happen. Making ice cream is a lot simpler than you would think. This is quite useful when you want ice cream in the middle of the night and can't get to the store (the closest store to my house that sells ice cream is 20 minutes away so it's not exactly easy to get ice cream in the middle of the night). In case you are wondering, yes I have made ice cream at midnight before.

Step One: Gather Ingredients!

First of all you need to make the ice cream. The recipe I use is just a can of coconut milk, 1/4-1/2 cup of maple syrup, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can use whatever recipe you like but I use this one because it is simple and is something my sister who has allergies to both eggs and dairy, common ice cream ingredients, can have.

Step Two: Mix Ingredients Together!

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Whisking is useful because it gets more air into the ice cream mixture, and believe it or not air is a key ingredient to ice cream. Learned that from the Ben and Jerry's ice cream recipe book we have.

Step Three: Put the Mixture in the Ice Cream Maker!

Or not if you don't have an ice cream maker. Ice cream makers aren't exactly common devices but we have one and a really nice one at that because I literally live on a dairy farm so there is tons of ice cream to be made. If you have an ice cream maker, just put in the mixture and follow the instructions. If you don't have one, this wikihow article has some options for you to try. I have another method I heard about which I guess I could make a tutorial on at some point if that interests people.

Putting the mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker (the mixy bit is in there too).

And the noisy behemoth of an ice cream maker on the floor in my room. Normally we shut it in the laundry room or something because the thing is super noisy but this time I just put it on the floor of my room and wore headphones.

Step Four: Finish Ice Cream!

The ice cream should look something like this when finished. Or, ya know, ice creamy.

Next put it into bowls and get out a can of sweetened azuki beans. It actually took us quite a while to find the sweet azuki beans in the store and now I don't remember what section they were in so I can't give you advice on where to find them 😆. Unless of course we happen to be going to the same store in which case hit me up and let's take a field trip.

Step Five: Mix in Azuki Beans!

You can either leave them as a topping or mix them in. Both ways are good.

Enjoy your homemade azuki ice cream! 😁