It was difficult to wake up on Friday morning. I was exhausted from a late night of homework the previous night. After class, someone even asked me if I was feeling well, I suppose because I seemed tired, sad, or quiet.

I came home in the middle of the afternoon and took a nap. Then, over dinner, I had an interesting conversation with my host mother about dating, significant others, and relationships in Japan. I asked her how girls communicate their feelings for a boy, and vice versa. She believed that since boys and girls normally do not have physical contact as friends in Japan, if a girl were to hug a boy when they were saying goodbye to each other and initiate other physical contact, that could demonstrate the girl's true feelings. I also asked her what happens to a friendship if one person likes another but that person's feelings are not reciprocated. She told me that depending on the people, the friendship could remain intact, so I guess it's similar to the United States.

In the evening I met up with a group of nine or so fellow exchange students from Konan University, and we walked around Sannomiya. Sannomiya is the name of the large, downtown area in Kobe where one can find a plethora of shops, businesses, and bars. We saw many karaoke buildings and pachinko stores, but we did not stop in any. I returned home by midnight, in time to catch the last train home so I would not have to take an expensive taxi ride from the middle of town to my host family's home.