Mami arrived Wednesday evening... took the limosine bus to KIX and picked her up. Took the limo bus back home... 2 hrs of bus ride in total... haha slept all the way....
It was sooooo great to see mami again... even though we have only been apart for 1.5 months... (plus another month back in the summer when I was in HK)... It's such a different feeling when I see mami this time... it's time for me to take care of her... not just because she's in a country where she doesn't know her way around and that she doesn't speak the language... it's that I am the one having a job now... it's time for me to take care of her... She's been taking care of me for 23 years... and now it's my turn. It's very different. So special, yet strange. But I'm proud of myself being able to take care of mami now... dai gor lui lu... hehe I'm a big girl now =P
Thursday was a national holiday... Autumn Equinox... took mami out to Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture...
We hopped on the JR train... and suddenly I came up with this idea that we should get off at Kobe city so that I can take mami to lunch for Kobe BEEF!!! So, we got off at the station we didn't buy a ticket for... (our destination Himeji station is still an hour away)... and I tried to bargain with the station manager about letting us out the gate for 2 hours and come back without losing the ticket, so that I can take my mami out to try the famous Kobe beef ... I used my broken Japanese at the first place... (they thought I'm Japanese, too.) but they told me that if I use my 1450 yen ticket (originally for Himeji station; the Sannomiya station in which we wanna get off for Kobe beef... only cost a couple hundred yen) to get off at Sannomiya station, I wouldn't get a refund! How ridiculous!!! I was kinda mad.... I walked away... for a minute... then walk back to the station attendant window... and this time... I spoke to the same ppl in ENGLISH... this time they didn't know how to refuse me!!! The 2 attendants blank stared at each other and the station manager was flipping thru his "handbook" searching for the corresponding English phrases... That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in Japan!!! It was difficult for them to refuse me for a second time... in English! SO, at last we agreed on coming back within 1.5 hrs without losing our tickets!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SOOOOOOO happy cuz I finally found out that there're times that English can be realllllly helpful in Japan... you can take advantage of things normally deem impossible in the Japanese society. HAHA.
SO, Kobe beef was just as delicious last year, and Himeji Castle and Ko-koen was beautiful. Bought some local sweets on our way back. Wanted to go to this temple called Engyo-ji on Mt. Shosha... but too bad it was raining and even if we go up the mountain the view wouldn't be nice. Save it for later, I guess. And, did you know that Engyo-ji was where THE LAST SAMURAI was shooted (or parts of it....I haven't seen it yet... so I dunno... maybe you can tell me... haha)? It was written on the tourist guide.. .and my VPrinciple told me so today... so it must be true. Gotta go there when I have time.
Went to buy new stuff for my apartment after work today wtih mami... didn't do much. Sports day tomorrow... so I gotta work on Saturday... luckily I can get Monday off.. .hehe more sightseeing with mami! Hopefully it's gonna be sunny tomorrow... | 
yea... I was surprised to get a b-day gift after a month... so I was extra happy!!! Beautiful crafts from Kyoto and "Happiness" Lion form Okinawa (thanks again Nao!) and bracelet from Thai (thanks Asumi!) THANK YOU GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I should start saving up now......