I am one lucky girl.  I happen to have a certain awesome friend who sold me her JP region 3DS!  It arrived in the mail on Friday evening, along with some other goodies.  I don’t think I can EVER collect enough Pokemon stickers!!  Thanks Jenn, you are the absolute best!!  🙂

Why the Japanese 3DS?  It should be obvious.  So I can FINALLY play Animal Crossing: New Leaf!  It doesn’t matter that I don’t speak the language.  As it is sung in the Disney film Pocahontas, “Listen with your heart, you will understand…”  (If it worked for John Smith, why not me too?)  So without further ado, I shall begin my ACNL journal.  It’s going to be a bit backlogged but I’ll try to keep it as up to date as possible.  Keep checking back!

Mayor’s Log

1/11/13

I have a friend named King Squirt of Shaolin, who is very well connected.  He heard through the grapevine that there was a HUGE job opportunity for someone with “leadership qualities” available in a far away land.  I was told to board a train and I’d find out more when I got there.  While on board, I was questioned by a strange looking dog who began asking me a million questions.  Unfortunately, I had no idea what he was saying, because he was speaking Japanese.  All I told him was, “ねこ (Neko) is my name.  I’m on my way to わさび (Wasabi).”

It was late in the evening when the train pulled into a station and I was greeted by a small reception.

An adorable Shih-tzu began talking to me.  I just tried to smile and nod.  She directed me around town for a bit, and helped me find the real estate agent, Tom Nook.  It occurred to me that there might have been some kind of misunderstanding.  I thought I was going on a job interview, meanwhile these friendly yet incomprehensible animals are setting me up to move into town!  Not wanting to seem rude, I agreed that Tom Nook could set up a tent for me to live in temporarily.  Maybe I’d straighten all this out in the morning.

Or so I thought.  After pitching the tent, I began to wander around the quaint village.  There wasn’t much to speak of, only a Recycling Shop and a Town Hall were set up, with a run-down strip mall at the north side of town, past the train tracks.  The Shih-tzu convinced me to sign some forms that I didn’t understand, and we were whisked off to the town plaza, where she handed me a tree sapling.  Everyone was crowded around us, again I didn’t want to seem rude… so I just went with it.

Turns out I was being sworn in as Mayor of Wasabi!  Well, I guess this is where I’m going to be for a while!  I wanted the job – well I sure got it!  Hopefully I’ll serve as Mayor well enough, despite the language barrier.  My friend King Squirt had mentioned that he had a distant cousin ユミ (Yumi) who lived in the town of かせん (Kasen) not too far from Wasabi, and she too was the Mayor of her town.  I thought maybe I should turn to her for some advice.  Just my luck – the gates of Kasen were open, and I was able to take a train straight there!

Meeting Yumi was a great relief!  She speaks my language, and her town is well developed already!  Yumi had a slew of presents for me, some baskets of peaches, and also was kind enough to give a monetary donation for Wasabi while it’s in this state of transition.  I was so thankful!  She gave me some very useful tools: a silver fishing rod and a silver slingshot!  After we finished the formalities, Yumi showed me to where her house was, greeting her animal townies along the way.  I was amazed by the size of her house!  She had a very large main room, as well as side rooms, an upstairs and a basement!  Thinking back to the measly tent that was waiting for me back in Wasabi, I toyed with the idea of asking her to let me sleep in her exquisite Mermaid Room for a few nights.

After visiting Yumi’s estate, we met up with her husband こくと (Kokuto).  Sorry I don’t know if I spelled his name right, and I can’t remember the name of his town… I forgot to add him as a friend.  Oops – rookie Mayor mistake!  Anyway, we thought we might head over to Club 444, which was featuring a doggy DJ named K.K. Slider spinning house music with a light show.  Honestly, it was amazing – I was in a trance as soon as I walked in.  The music was pumping and my head began to automatically nod to the music.  We all started busting out our best dance moves!

Our next stop was a tropical island to the south of Kasen.  We were escorted by a singing frog.  The music seemed nice enough, but even though I couldn’t understand the song, I got a funny feeling that something wasn’t right with him.  I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any strange behavior.  The island, on the other hand, seemed like a paradise awaiting me.  I heard that the currency on the island was different from what we used in our villages, and so I’d have to complete some Island Tours to earn medals if I wanted to make any purchases.  I was excited for the challenge.

And a challenge it was!

We tried a lot of games, more than I can explain tonight.  But there were a lot of different Island Tours and I can’t wait to try them all.  Balloon popping was my favorite so far.  I hope to somehow convince the singing frog, Kapp’n, to make stops at the dock in Wasabi too.  Add that to my “Mayor’s To Do List.”  We completed so many tours that I was able to purchase a diving suit, which I am very thankful for!  I suspect that most Mayors don’t get to try out diving on their first day!  When we returned to Kasen, we stopped at the coffee shop.  I hear that Yumi occasionally works as a barista there part-time.  I think that sounds fun, it could be a good way to get to know the residents of my town.  I hope I can open a coffee shop in Wasabi someday soon.

It was getting late so I decided I should get back to Wasabi and continue settling in.  When I took another look at my tiny tent, I had second thoughts (and feelings of claustrophobia) and decided to wander around town again.  As I wove through the cherry trees, I noticed a large ball of snow.  I started rolling it around until I spotted another one – aha!  Time to make a snowman!  When I finished constructing the snowman, I was surprised – the snowman shouted [something] out at me!

Hopefully it means something good!  Something about the snowman made me feel more comfortable here in Wasabi.  I’m a little nervous about taking on the role of Mayor of Wasabi, since I don’t know what these cute little animals are saying to me, but I think with a little help I can do it.  As soon as I move out of this tent.  Tomorrow I’ll have a talk with that Tom Nook fellow again and see if I can get him to build an actual house for me.  I’ll be staying here a while.  This Mayor needs an actual roof over her head!  I’ll try to do a better survey of the town tomorrow, and get more familiar with the villagers.

–  Mayor Neko