All that talk about the different stages in the study abroad program, the honeymoon period, the culture shock period, and the depression period, I was hoping it was all baloney, but it seems to be turning out to be true. I feel so unhappy right now. Not about anything in particular. Well, maybe all these things seem to be piling up, and then I just end up feeling like I want to cry sometimes. And today I actually did cry in the middle of Japanese class.

It's not even that I'm crying about something that's worth crying over, I just became easily frustrated today when I couldn't write a kanji correctly. When I talked to one of my friends after class, he said to relax because he's studied Japanese for five or six years, so why should I compare myself to him when I have studied for a much shorter time? All my friends from E class were worried about me yesterday, and they said I just drew more attention to myself by leaving class, so next time I should just stay in class, even if I'm upset. But when I left, a stranger came up to me and asked me if I was okay, and we had a really fun conversation about Japan. He didn't ask me for a name or phone number, he just talked with me and distracted me from my own thoughts, and it was really nice of him.

At least I'm getting along well with Yoko now. We walked to the local movie and CD store, Tsutaya, which seems to be a chain store in the area, and looked for Miley Cyrus music (she really likes Hannah Montana) and then watched Confessions of a Shopaholic late into the night. Of course I felt really guilty the entire time because I knew I should be studying and I would just be tired and grumpy the next day from lack of sleep, but at the same time, I need some bonding time with Yoko, and I had a lot of fun.