ANOTHER present from Ayana!

Konnichiwa!

So you remember my pen-pal Ayana, right? Well she totally surprised me and sent more Christmas presents :D And I mean a LOT. And its all extremely awesome stuff. Even the packing is freaking adorable. I feel really blessed to have her as a friend, and to live in an age of technology where international online correspondence is available. Here are pictures :)

 the gorgeous packaging

 I love seeing all the Japanese characters- its the little things that excite me<3

 extremely soft 'A' bag (A is both my initial and hers)

 strawberry lotion. I actually had put strawberry lotion on my Christmas list, so now I can cross it off :)

 flowers/watermelon bellyband. I've never had one of these before!

 Hi-chew candies! yum yum yum

 again with the authentic Japanese characters

 chopsticks with a holder!

 fake eyelashes. So glad to receive these because I planned on using fake eyelashes for prom

 unique envelope<3

 little Japanese stickers. So kawaii ( ^-^)

 very heartwarming, hand-written letter (Ayana's English is really impressive)

and here they are all together - yay!

I am so absolutely astonished at her generosity, and I have already found a use for every gift. This Christmas season has provided me with a lot of culture and love<3

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

A Day at World Market

Konnichiwa!

If you are an American you know yesterday was the infamous... Black Friday. Getting up extremely early and heading out for good deals is what I was all about. As part of my "holiday" experience, I took a trip to a store called World Market. They have products from around the globe: Italy, Sweden, Germany, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese- you name it. While I enjoyed browsing all of these cultures I mainly, of course, enjoyed the Japan sections. Here are pictures of some goodies I spotted while shopping.

 Hello Panda & other treats

 mochi & other treats

 ramune drinks (I spy a Hello Kitty ramune)

 traditional Japanese teapots with steepers inside (i find their extremely flat and round shape rather intriguing)

 the picture says it all

 teacups with lids

 a kokeshi Christmas ornament- bringing something Japanese into an American tradition. And its adorable!

 and my personal favorite... SUSHI ERASERS. Definitely want for school

 sushi stapler

sushi rolling mat with chopsticks and a rice paddle- perfect dining packer

So if you're looking for a gateway to the rest of the planet, check out World Market. Clearly it has captured other cultures with class! (props for alliteration there hmm?)

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley

A Very "Genki" Birthday

こんにちは 
Hello! As you may know, Genki is the romanized version of the Japanese word meaning both enthusiasm and good health. I thought this was the perfect word to encompass my 17th birthday :) As you can imagine, my friends and family are all very aware of my weird Japanese "fetish", if you will. So i started off the night with a great sushi dinner date at my favorite Japanese steakhouse, Kigoi. (My boyfriend and I waited an HOUR because we are fools and didn't call ahead :P) but seriously, check out that sashimi/nigiri action!

To top all that deliciousness (mm mm ^-^) my mom surprised me with two gifts perfectly suited to me: Human Japanese (a software for learning the Japanese language) and reusuable chopsticks of which I had been desperately in need. There are some pictures below this text of both presents.(One of the pairs of chopsticks has pictures of naked women on it- yikes!) My favorite are the pink ones with the adorable little bunnies. I haven't gotten very far in the Human Japanese program yet, but I can already tell you it is GREAT. It really feels like the teacher is speaking directly to me, and more as a friend than a teacher. And not only does it teach conversational Japanese, but reading/writing as well. I highly recommend it.  So excited to learn! Let me know what you think of these lovely gifts. Also, I do not know why my font is highlighted on my blog post, how can i fix this? It is really frustrating me.

Keep it kawaii folks!

-Ainsley