Yenta was sharing around chocolate and candy of every description, which was so delicious I couldn't resist. A few wouldn't hurt, right? After that we went to have lunch. I had bento (yummy yummy). When I opened it, everyone envied me. There was an amazing amount of delicious food. A whole lunchbox full of sandwiches, which I didn't discover until it was time to get on the bus and go! So I bided my time. It was 1 PM, and the weather was looking a bit dodgy. We got off the bus at the Himeji Museum of Japanese Literature. It was so boring! Everything was written in Japanese, so we had to walk around, looking at the pictures and pretending to be interested.

When we left the Center, it was raining. None of us had brought our umbrellas from the bus. So we had to run down three streets to get to the buses. When we got there, the buses were nowhere to be seen. We all tried to huddle under eaves (two buses worth of people). I was getting very impatient, complaining about the lack of organization and how cold and wet I was getting. The buses finally arrived, and we drove to a mountain hideaway that was 30 minutes away. On the way, Yenta insisted on sharing her candy, even though I was on a very strict diet!!!!! I was so unimpressed with my lack of willpower. Maybe the diet would have to start on Monday. 

On arrival at the dorms where we would be spending the night, there were the most attractive pairs of brown slippers I had ever seen. Only about 3 people had remembered to bring their own slippers (including me). So everyone went around in university insignia slippers over the next two days. Lillian, Yenta and I were in the same dorm room, with five other girls. So we did our introductions, and I shared my sandwiches around. No one refused. There were eight sandwiches and eight people who couldn't wait to eat them. We also ate MORE candy and chips. We took some group photos by precariously balancing cameras in the linen cupboard and setting the timers. 

When it was time to prepare the food, we were waiting for the fires to be lit in the barbeques (Southern Hospitality restaurant) when we realized that if we wanted anything to happen, we would have to do it ourselves. So I set about gathering the necessary materials, such as newspaper, coals and firewood. After fanning the fire with a paper Japanese fan for about 15 minutes, my lungs were full of ash and my eyes were watering. So I went off to help Noguchi-Sensei carry the drink bottles. We distributed them between the sets of barbeques. Lillian, Yenta and I had been allocated separate barbeques, but we just ignored the instructions. We had lit the fire ourselves, and we were going to stand by our own fire! 

We used wooden chopsticks to place meat and veggies on the teppanyaki tray to cook. People were passing around miso flavored sauce to fill our bowls with. By the end of the session, I had eaten countless bowlfuls of barbequed food as well as rice and about 5 glasses of water and CC Lemon (lemonade). So of course, I was ready for dessert. I asked Noguchi sensei about dessert, and he laughed. So we went back to our rooms to prepare for the bath. The public bath. Even the showers were in the main room. I couldn't bring myself to disrobe. So I didn't. I just brushed my teeth and went back to my room. I had brought body refresher towelettes, so I just used one of them. I couldn't believe that all the other Australian girls had gone in. I guess I was brought up conservatively! Well, modesty is in the Bible, right?