(One of) The Best for Last

July 11
I woke up this morning a little earlier than I had wanted (I had wanted to sleep in till about 7 or 7:30 so I could have a late breakfast, get ready and go without lolly-gagging too much), so I kind of paced around my room for a little before going out and eating, and then getting everything together to go.
The Kontas were a little late in picking me up, but that was fine because they are awesome. The mom, Eriko, and two daughters, Misaki (who's 18) and Misato (who's 14) came to get me and take me to the Ajisai Festival ("ajisai" are hydrangeas).

Misato is kind of quiet but nice, but Misaki was really super excited to meet me and even came up all the way from Yamagata  City to see me (she's a first year student at the university there). She's interested in foreign countries and cultures like I am, so we walked around the festival and ate some more of that light ice cream-esque stuff that Higuchi-tou-san bought me a few weeks ago, and talked about all sorts of stuff. We even got to sit down under a tent and have some matcha tea and a sweet that was sugar and umeboshi.
Eriko and Misato left us to it, so Misaki and I walked back to the house, and she helped me carry my luggage upstairs to her room, where I'll be staying till I leave to come back to the States, since she pretty much lives in Yamagata 'cause of school.
After that we had some tea, and then had lunch. It turns out how I like to slash try to eat is the same style as Misaki, which is a great relief for me since I can get back to a lifestyle that's more fitting for me. By that I mean no meat, lots of raw or grilled veggies, fish, and hardly any oil used in the food. Eriko and the father, who's name I haven't learned yet, also both enjoy jogging, so I'm going to re-start my jogging with them in the evenings, which is good since I haven't jogged at all since the Higuchis'.
Anyway, after lunch Misaki and I went for some light shopping. We went to Yoku Benimaru, a supermarket I've been to several times, and then to Daiso, a 100 yen shop, where I bought an onigiri-shaped bento (lunch box), a matching bento strap (to keep it closed), and some Chip'n'Dale chopsticks and a matching holder.
We also did purikura at Daiso, which didn't turn out too well in my opinion because it  was cheap, being at a 100 yen shop and all, but it was fun! I really like Misaki. She's easy to get along with and really cheerful; we hit it off right away. It makes me sad she's not going to be around on a daily basis, but she said she's coming back next Sunday, so that'll be fun!
We went home when it started to drizzle a bit, then she helped me get set up in her room, and we talked and had some apples for a snack that obaa-san brought us, and she practiced some English and also helped me figure out some Yamagata-ben for the folk tales I'm translating for my thesis.
I showed her some pictures on my Facebook, since she wanted to know what American parties were like. She explained a lot of the images she had of America to me, like that everyone eats fast food, hamburgers and hot dogs, and that parties are like really fancy soirée affairs, and also that New York is really glamorous. I couldn't help her with the New York one since I've never been there and so kind of share the same image as her, but I showed her pictures and kind of helped her get a better idea of daily life. Or, at least, my daily life.
We went back downstairs and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire while she got ready to go back to Yamagata City. We had dinner early, around 6ish, and then I walked Misaki outside to where her friend was waiting in his car to drive her to the train station and said good-bye. I'm really looking forward to seeing her again!
I came back inside and finished dinner, then sat around for a little and watched some TV with obaa-san, ojii-san, Eriko and Misato, then showered and came upstairs and started uploading some pictures. I've got about a month's worth to upload, but thankfully I have access to wireless here so I can basically get back to my normal internet usage, so I should have them all uploaded soon.
I do find it ironic that I finally get steady internet access on my own computer, and no one is on MSN or Facebook for me to talk to. But hey, I'm grateful to have access at least.
I have to admit I'm pretty relieved and insanely optimistic about the next (last) two weeks here. I feel like this host family is probably the one that matches my lifestyle the best (even though I loved the Higuchis and the Nishidas), so it's like it came at just the right time to ease me into coming back to the States and my normal life there; not to mention I've been feeling insanely homesick recently, since I pretty much avoided interacting with the kids at the Tamiyas' after the first week because they were getting on my nerves, so it was pretty lonely (my own fault, but still), so it's nice to be reconnected and make the last two weeks a good time.