I finally went to sleep at a reasonable hour last night, and it really made a difference in my emotions today. I feel much better. I'll have to keep up with this good routine. I also did go on a run this morning (my first run since I've arrived over two weeks ago), so maybe those endorphins helped me as well. The hills in Kobe are killer - definitely not what I'm used to in flat Illinois.

I also began my studying at a reasonable hour today, unlike the past few days, and I'm glad I did so. However, I had to forfeit going to downtown Kobe this afternoon with some other international students in exchange for studying, which disappoints me, because I wish to have fun with everyone, get to know the students better, and experience more of Japan, but I also wish to get good grades. Normally I'd have time to spend a few hours downtown and then study later in the day, but tomorrow everyone has a big chapter examination in Japanese language class, the first one of the semester, so I'd like to be well prepared. However, next week there is a three-day holiday, so I suppose I will have time to have fun then.

I have already studied for a few hours for this test, but I feel like I should study more. I definitely have not yet retained all the information I need to know. We did not cover that much this week, just a week's worth of grammar, vocabulary, and kanji. But I guess since I did not study hard at the beginning of the week, I now must make up for it by studying extra. However, I'm having trouble concentrating on my studies because I keep becoming hungry every few hours. I'm eating little snacks every few hours, and my host family provides me with good breakfasts and dinners just as they're required to do by the program, but I'm still feeling hungry all the time. I have enough money to buy snacks and food, so I am able to try new Japanese fruits and sweets since I'm eating so frequently. I learned that in Japan, people peel the skin off most fruits, such as persimmons, pears, and apples, while in the United States, we tend to eat the fruit peels. I got Ryosuke to try a Japanese pear with the peel still on. He said he liked it. But I do not see people eating bananas here, which is quite a change from home, where I eat a banana almost every day.