Cataloging

New Friend Rundown (AKA: That day when I facebook stalked all my friends to find decent representative pictures of them that possibly had me in them as well in an attempt to slightly assuage my guilt at using them).

Paula: I believe the first time we met was on a bus back from the mall, and we got along well enough, but the next day we started talking and realized just how well we work together. Even later we realized we're in the same Japanese class, and so our friendmance began (it's like a romance, except we don't kiss. Except we did kiss that one night at the bar, so really I'm not sure what to call it). We keep accidentally keeping each other up until ungodly hours of the morning simply because neither of us wants to leave the conversation.

Paula and my friend from last semester, Kouta. Also Peter in the background praising something, and presumably someone else behind him. Oh, and me looking slightly more boyish than usual, possibly due to Martin's shirt.

Also, this happens to us ALL THE TIME. Its amusing.

Martin: My extremely liberal, woman's studies friend who hails from Ireland. Really nice guy, and has been letting me teach him acroyoga so that I don't get out of practice. He's also on rugby with me (by the way I joined rugby) and in my sociolinguistics class, so I end up seeing him a fair amount. 

Decent face shots are hard to come by, so instead here's one of us fencing with sticks on the beach in swimsuits. 

Sam: My dance partner. They know Ballroom (and all that that encompasses), West Coast Swing, some Tango, and are currently learning Break Dancing. Our dances are mainly Waltzes, Swings, or some odd sort of fusion-esque combinations reminiscent of Sunday nights at Om in Seattle. They are a very strong lead, and if I ever get confident enough to switch, I believe also a fairly accomplished follow. So far we've agreed to meet on Fridays for an uninterrupted hour or so of dancing, although we tend to run into each other throughout the week and will occasionally do a waltz or two for fun.

Bad, blurry dance picture, but fairly representative of a typical evening in Komachi Lobby.

Hannes: From the same university as my other German friend from last semester, oddly enough. He has a really great tree tattoo on his bicep which never fails to remind me of the one I want to get when I get back. We mainly see each other at parties and the (basically) campus bar, although we do have a class together every Tuesday and Thursday. He led me and our friend Helen on a hike through the woods/swampy area place the second week he was here. And this last weekend he just up and left to take himself on a camping trip into the surrounding hills. Because really, why not?

A picture Helen took from that hike. It has been pointed out to me that the branches behind my head look rather like horns. I am in full support of this idea.

Simon: An extraordinarily cynical and sarcastic British man. Our primary forms of interaction oscillate wildly between flirting and insulting everything the other holds dear. We never really plan to hang out but he tends to be in the general vicinity enough that we've built up a fairly strong friendship on mutual sarcasm and insincerity. He's pretty fun to have around.

  

Edit: A picture was taken! Simon is the one giving me a massage. No idea whose butt that is on the right though.

And that essentially concludes the new friend round up, for the moment. Of course, there are others, and some returning players from last semester that I didn't feel like introducing again, but these are the main people I hang out with. Other names I should mention: Ryoko (the girl who's papers I usually edit), Ryusei (a friend from last semester and also Hannes's roommate), Kouta (who is by anyone's definition certifiably crazy, but a lot of fun to be around) and Hiro (who continues to be a pretty solid friend).

I will doubtlessly meet/become closer to more people throughout the course of the Semester, but for now, I will end this, and get back to letter writing. I have a LOT of letters to write...

Cheers!