The last day before I face my doom, erm, tests

Well, today we had our last day of real classes. It was very sad. We had the last two student-taught classes today (one was about overly helpful bosses and the other was about transgender people) and then grammar (because we are all about grammar ALL THE TIME), and then I had my meeting with my sensei about my final presentation, which he said is looking good. WHOO. Now to just manage to recite 3 pages in front of a bazillion people! That'll be fun (not).

Also, today I had my second to last meeting with my conversation partner, and she taught me the Chinese Dynasties sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." I'm not kidding; it was possibly the most epic thing ever. And then we wound up talking about Chinese schools of thought and I swooned a little. Have I mentioned my minor obsession with East Asian schools of thought/religions/popular beliefs? I have a minor obsession with them.

In any case, I am having my last meeting with my conversation partner on Wednesday (and it will be the saddest thing ever, because she is awesome, but she's leaving on Thursday morning to study abroad in Sweden). We are going to go out to lunch. It will be epic.

Our oral examination is tomorrow morning, Thursday is our final examination, and then Friday is our final presentation. And then we're done with classes!

Just a head's up: I'm going to be traveling with the rest of the group for the last week of the program. Monday and Tuesday I'll be in Miyajima/Hiroshima, Wednesday I'll be in Yokohama, and Thursday and Friday I'll be in Tokyo (read: Akihabara). I have no idea what my internet situation will be like, so there is a possibility that I will suddenly stop posting. (My guess is that I'll have internet in Tokyo, though. Even if the hotel doesn't have it, I will probably be able to easily find an internet cafe.) So if next week I suddenly go silent, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm dead. It could also mean that I'm just off doing things that are too awesome for comprehension.

Oh, speaking of Akihabara, today's awkward conversation during lunch:

Male classmate: Where are you going to go when we go to Tokyo?

Me: AKIHABARA. (And also Ikebukuro. And maybe Shibuya.)

Male classmate: Oh, hey, want to come to a maid cafe with me?

Me: WHAT? NO THANK YOU.

Male classmate: What? Why not?

Me: I don't really have an interest in maids.

Male classmate: What? Everyone has an interest in maids! It will be a good experience for you!

Me: I'm a girl.

Male classmate: So?

Female classmate: Oh, are you going to a maid cafe? I want to go!

Male classmate: Awesome! Let's go together!

Female classmate: Alright! [to me] Why don't you want to go?

Me: They're kind of...gross. With mirrors on the floors and girls who aren't allowed to wear underwear.

[This is actually true. There was a maid cafe in Tokyo which put mirrors on their floors and wouldn't let any of their maids wear underwear. They wound up getting closed down, but still. EW.]

Male classmate: Yeah, but you won't be a maid so you'll be fine.

Female classmate: Speaking of which, are you allowed to touch them?

Me and male classmate: ...

Female classmate: I don't know if you're allowed to touch them or not.

Me: Do you...want to touch them?

Female classmate: No, no, I'm just curious! I wonder if you can touch them...

Male classmate: [scoots his chair away]

Also, today's hilarious random fact:

In Japanese, the word for "exercise" and the word for "protest" are EXACTLY THE SAME (運動). WHAT THE HECK, JAPAN?

(Also, in my extremely unbiased opinion, my class was the best of the student-taught classes. Jus' sayin'.)