Osaka and why I never want to work for the government

I'm exhausted to the point that I'm having trouble staying conscious, so this might be a bit shorter than usual. Still, I'm writing something, and that's good, right?

So we had class in the morning today, and then we all took the train to Osaka (which was about an hour ride). Once we got to Osaka (which, by the way, all the rumors are true about: people really do cross against the light), we headed over to the American Consulate, where they proceeded to take away all our electronics. Yes, all of them. Including our electronic dictionaries. I'm okay with giving up my camera. I'm okay with giving up my cell phone. But you do not take away my denshi jisho. It is my love and my life, okay? How would you feel if they said to you, "Sorry, but we're gonna have to take away your wife and lock her in this closet over here for a little while"? Well, anyway, I had to give it up, and that did not make me happy in the slightest. Then we went upstairs and waited in this big room while a certain member of the consulate staff made sweeping generalizations about Americans, Japanese people, Osakans, Tokyo-ites, Virgianians, and pretty much anyone else he could. This did not particularly endear him to me, because anytime anyone starts a sentence with "all [type of people]" and doesn't end it with "need to eat" or "like to breathe," a small part of my soul dies.

So then we had our "security briefing," which was basically the exact same one we had in Washington, D.C. (don't stab anyone, don't do drugs, don't start riots) and then listened as the members of the consulate staff waxed poetic about the foreign service. And while I'm sure that the foreign service is a wonderful experience for some people, every time I hear about it, I want to do it less. Part of the reason for my total aversion to the foreign service is that every time we get the The Foreign Service Is Awesome Sauce Spiel (tm), the driving argument behind joining the foreign service is not "it's a wonderful job" or "I feel like my work is really benefiting my country" or "everyday I am excited to go into work" (all of which, I feel, would be entirely reasonable reasons to join the foreign service), but "it's really easy to get in and they pay you a lot." And while money is pretty important, I think that doing a job I, yanno, care about that doesn't involve my moving every three years on the whim of someone in some office somewhere is also pretty important. (Yes, I just used a Hanna-ism. Sorry about that.)

But I digress.

Anyway, after the security briefing, some people went to karaoke, and the rest of us decided to go "shopping." Now if you know anything about me, you know that I hate shopping with a burning, fiery passion, so I, of course, made a beeline to the nearest bookstore (as did two other people). And at the bookstore I found a copy of Durarara!! (the light novel). Guess who owns a copy of Durarara!! now. (And, yes, Opal, I picked you up a copy. Think of it as an early birthday present. Also, I flipped the book open to a random page and the first thing I saw was 「いーざーやーくーん。」I may or may not have started giggling like the fangirl I am.)

Anyway, the three of us wandered around the bookstore for a good long time and were intensely amused by the Japanese translations of English book titles. (My absolute favorite has to be No Country for Old Men becoming 「血と暴力の国」(Blood and Violence Country).) And then we met up with one of the dudes' friends (who was really nice and is studying lolita fashion and working at Baby the Stars Shine Bright, which if you've ever watched Kamikaze Girls you know is a big, honking deal in the lolita world), and we went over to Shinsaibashi, which is a popular district of Osaka among young people. We wandered around there for a little bit, somehow wound up going into a punk-visual-kei-lolita fashion store (long story), and then went to get okonomiyaki for dinner, which was pretty much delicious. (Although by that point I was so hungry that I probably would have eaten the ridiculously buckle-heavy shoes in the punk-visual-kei-lolita fashion store.) And then we hopped on a train and came back to Kyoto. And now I am typing this.

I have probably forgotten all sorts of important things, but it is late and I am tired and I need to get up early tomorrow morning so I can go to Nara.

(Oh, one more thing! There was a little sign up advertising the Durarara!! light novels with each of the main characters saying something about the story, and Izaya's said, 「私は人間が好きだよ。この本を買ってくれる君もよ。」さいかだよ！彼はさいか！)