最近マイブームは浴衣です。
Saikin maibuumu wa yukata desu.
My recent obsession (or "my boom") is yukata.


Yukata are cotton kimonos worn in the summertime, usually when going to festivals or going to see fireworks. I have two yukatas, the strawberry one shown in the photo, and I recently got a sky blue yukata with a hydrangea and dragonfly design. I really like my silver obi with a floral design, so I wore it with both yukatas. I wore my yukata to see fireworks in Ise city 2 weeks ago, and to the Tourou (lantern) Festival in Kii Nagashima last weekend.
Because I've been kind of obsessed, I've been looking up yukatas online and reading webpages in Japanese and English about how to properly wear yukatas. It's somewhat challenging for me, because my body is not a good shape for yukatas (in other words, I have curves), but I am trying my best to achieve a nice look. I can put on my yukata and tie my obi (the long sash worn around the waist) by myself now, which seems to surprise the Japanese people I've told! I definitely need more practice though. I got a komono set (accessories), which includes a yukata obi ita (a board worn in the front, beneath the obi), and the obi ita helps the look of the obi a lot! It's kind of a complicated dressing process, definitely more so than you can tell by looking at someone who looks carefree in their pretty yukata! I am really interested in learning about kitsuke (wearing kimono), but perhaps I should wait until it gets cooler outside! It's too hot really for yukata even, I don't want to think about all the layers involved in wearing a kimono!

July has been so busy. My quiet, Japanese life isn't seeming so quiet anymore.
Last weekend I went "camping" in Miyama. Camping could also be described as sleeping on a futon in a luxury cabin where the floors are covered in drunk, sprawled out foreigners.

We are not the drunk, sprawled out foreigners I was referring to!


I drank too many chu-hais on Friday night, and on Saturday my head was none too happy about it. Can you say "hangover plus migraine"? However, I did get breakfast cooked for me by some nice boys.
I got to go swimming in the Miyama river. The swimming hole is one of the prettiest places that I've ever been. The water is blue and clear, and there are boulders like you've never seen before! The water was so cold, but it felt really good on my aching head. I kept going beneath the surface, because it kind of had a numbing effect!

On Saturday night we had a barbeque where I ate lots of yummy veggies with Katie, Julia, and Lolly. The barbeques are right inside the tables, so you can sit and chat and eat all at the same time! We could barely walk after and hour of barbequeing!

Here I am with Katie and Heidi.

Everyone started drinking again at dinner. I didn't drink much on Saturday night, because I was getting up and going to church the next morning. Yes, people, God saved me from a hangover! I did, however, go skinny-dipping. It was the most futile attempt at skinny-dipping ever though! The spot where we went in the river, was only about knee deep, so we were all sitting or squatting in the freezing river with our bums on slimy rocks! Oh, well. I guess I can add "Skinny-dipped in Japan" to my resume.

Today I will be going to see the massive (2 hour long!!!) firework display in Ise city. I am hoping that Karly can help me to get into my strawberry yukata (summer kimono) for the fireworks. Then tomorrow I am heading up to Nagoya with Karly, Katie, and Eva. I am going to get my haircolor touched-up and then we're going to see sumo wrestling on Monday! I am so excited to see sumo!!! It's gonna be a long weekend. Good thing Monday is a holiday!