Hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures of spring soon, too!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Autumn Walk
Well, it's almost spring over here in Japan. The first spring wind blew in today and it was really nice outside! My laundry actually dried in one day! And I didn't have to wear my coat outside. But I realized this morning that I haven't put up pictures from a walk I did through my neighborhood in autumn.
Hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures of spring soon, too!
Hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures of spring soon, too!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Vending Machines
One thing I've noticed about Japan is that vending machines are everywhere. And most of them sell either drinks (hot and cold) or cigarettes. However I HAVE found a couple of more interesting ones.
By the way, someone asked me how much cigarettes are. They generally run at around 310 yen though they can be more expensive depending on what kind and brand you want.
And here we have a beer machine as well as an EGG machine. Weird, huh?
And NO! I have NOT found the vending machine that sells used panties. That's really gross and I seriously doubt it exists.
By the way, someone asked me how much cigarettes are. They generally run at around 310 yen though they can be more expensive depending on what kind and brand you want.
And here we have a beer machine as well as an EGG machine. Weird, huh?
And NO! I have NOT found the vending machine that sells used panties. That's really gross and I seriously doubt it exists.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
International Tea Time
The day after I arrived in Japan, my host-mom's friends came over for a visit after lunch. And since we have tea time between lunch and dinner I was obliged to make an appearance, which was kind of nerve-wracking because I could not for the life of me remember their names.
So instead of the usual rice crackers and cookies for tea time, we had international tea time! One of the ladies brought over these traditional spring Japanese sweets.
It was daifuku stuffed with anko, which is basically sweet red bean paste wrapped in a rice cake. And on top of it was a cherry blossom! And it was salted...ick. They told me that it was supposed to contrast with the sweetness and that it was really good. Usually I don't really like anko or mochi all that much, but this one was pretty good. However, the cherry blossom was icky. It was really, really salty and kinda gross. But the rest of it was delicious.
Then the other lady had brought some sweets back from Egypt with her.
Apparently she'd just gotten back from a trip there. It was really good, too! It was some kind of sweet outside with nuts on the inside.
And then my host-mom pulled out a Thai sweet.
While I was back in Texas my host-parents had gone to Thailand to visit one of their old home-stay students. My host-mom said it was a bit like cotton candy. It looks like thin pieces of frayed rope, but it did melt in your mouth like cotton candy! ^^ Very tasty!
And then we also had strawberries and pineapple. All in all, a very sweet tea time.
And then I noticed that morning that the tree outside of the den was no longer bare! The way the sunlight was shining through them I thought it might have been snow, but it had blossomed. Apparently it's a plum tree.
Beautiful, huh?
So instead of the usual rice crackers and cookies for tea time, we had international tea time! One of the ladies brought over these traditional spring Japanese sweets.
It was daifuku stuffed with anko, which is basically sweet red bean paste wrapped in a rice cake. And on top of it was a cherry blossom! And it was salted...ick. They told me that it was supposed to contrast with the sweetness and that it was really good. Usually I don't really like anko or mochi all that much, but this one was pretty good. However, the cherry blossom was icky. It was really, really salty and kinda gross. But the rest of it was delicious.
Then the other lady had brought some sweets back from Egypt with her.
Apparently she'd just gotten back from a trip there. It was really good, too! It was some kind of sweet outside with nuts on the inside.
And then my host-mom pulled out a Thai sweet.
While I was back in Texas my host-parents had gone to Thailand to visit one of their old home-stay students. My host-mom said it was a bit like cotton candy. It looks like thin pieces of frayed rope, but it did melt in your mouth like cotton candy! ^^ Very tasty!
And then we also had strawberries and pineapple. All in all, a very sweet tea time.
And then I noticed that morning that the tree outside of the den was no longer bare! The way the sunlight was shining through them I thought it might have been snow, but it had blossomed. Apparently it's a plum tree.
Beautiful, huh?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Back in Japan
I'm back! I didn't realize just how much I missed my home away from home until I got back, which is kind of weird, don't you think? My host-dad picked me up from the bus stop and my host-mom had dinner ready when we got to the house. The front door was open when we arrived and my host-mom took out my slippers for me and welcomed me back home. And the house smelled just as it had when I first came here. And my host-brother and his wife were visiting which is always fun. We had sashimi as a celebration of my return. I think the only one not happy to see me was Hachi.
And my flights were ok, thankfully I had an aisle seat on the long one. I breezed through customs and managed to make my way to the bus stop at Sagami-ono all by myself. Here are some pictures from last night's dinner.
Oh and my host-parents converted that little room between my room and the backyard into a little sitting room for me. It's quite cozy!
And my flights were ok, thankfully I had an aisle seat on the long one. I breezed through customs and managed to make my way to the bus stop at Sagami-ono all by myself. Here are some pictures from last night's dinner.
Oh and my host-parents converted that little room between my room and the backyard into a little sitting room for me. It's quite cozy!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
And Back Once More
Hey, Everybody! Well, I'm off to good ol' Japan again in the morning.
I had a wonderful, if a bit too short, time at home. It was nice to see old friends and family again. And just to clarify about that shrimp head in the miso soup...we don't actually eat the head. It's just used for flavoring, we drink the soup around it. The crab was also used for flavoring the rice, though we did eat the leg meat.
And I'm hoping to travel a bit during my Spring Break. I'm planning on going to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Matsuyama and Hakone. Any suggestions on what you guys want to see? Now that I don't have classes I'll be able to spend more time taking pictures, so let me know!
I had a wonderful, if a bit too short, time at home. It was nice to see old friends and family again. And just to clarify about that shrimp head in the miso soup...we don't actually eat the head. It's just used for flavoring, we drink the soup around it. The crab was also used for flavoring the rice, though we did eat the leg meat.
And I'm hoping to travel a bit during my Spring Break. I'm planning on going to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Matsuyama and Hakone. Any suggestions on what you guys want to see? Now that I don't have classes I'll be able to spend more time taking pictures, so let me know!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Back Home
It's so good to be back home.
Thursday, January 31st was the longest day of my life...literally. I got up early, prepared what was left to do so I could leave, ate breakfast and got ready to go. My host parents both drove me to the bus station and I even got hugs from both of them, which is a first. Although, it might have had to do with me getting dumped, too. But anyway, my host mom waited with me until the bus came and we parted ways. The bus left Sagamiono station at 10:00 AM and I arrived at Narita Airport at about 12:15 PM. Unfortunately I get slightly carsick, and my stomach hadn't fully recovered from the sickness I'd had two days before. Fortunately I didn't toss my cookies, which I am always grateful for.
Anyway, I got to the airport and checked in my bags, got my boarding pass and sat around the airport, since my flight wasn't supposed to depart until 5:50 PM. I guess security had gotten a bit suspicious of me because two uniformed men came over and asked to see my passport in halting English. Then they saw my alien registration card and asked me if I could speak Japanese. And so they thought they had gotten a break and proceeded to pepper me with questions about where I was going to school and how I liked Japan and how long I was going to be there and so on. Finally they left me alone and I decided to go ahead and go through security and customs. By the way, you cannot take beef jerky out of Japan, just so you know.
And then I sat around some more waiting for my plane to arrive. I actually ran into one of my Japanese classmates. My flight was to LA and his was to San Francisco I think. Anyway, I did not get an aisle seat this time, unfortunately. And I wasn't on a double-decker plane, either. There were three seats on the right side of the plane, an aisle, five seats, another aisle, and three more seats, I think. I was next to the aisle seat in the group of five. The guy who had the misfortune to be in the exact middle was a very talkative, Russian-born hippie. It was quite interesting. My plane ride TO Japan had been very boring and nobody talked to me. On THIS particular trip I talked to both of the people sitting next to me. The person on the aisle was this really nice Japanese lady who was curious about what I thought of Japan, of course. But her English was really exceptional. She had no accent whatsoever. It was rather difficult to believe that she'd grown up in Japan.
And I didn't get a chance to sleep too much, either. The economy seats are so narrow and kind of uncomfortable. My hippie neighbor told me that every time he woke up I was in a different position. So I cat-napped for about an hour before they started serving breakfast.
So, my plane departed from Narita Airport at 5:50 PM on Thursday, January 31st and it arrived in L.A. at 10:35 AM on Thursday, January 31st. Ugh.
So I went through customs at LAX. That place is kind of a maze. Okay, it isn't kind of a maze, it IS a maze. And the first guy I had to talk to told me that I lived in Japan. Then the second guy I had to talk to said I lived in the U.S. Ugh. Make up your minds!
And so I had to sit and hang out until my plane was scheduled to depart for DFW at 2:30. Unfortunately high head winds in Dallas delayed us for about an hour. We finally took off and I arrived in Dallas sometime, I can't remember now. My parents picked me up and we went home where I proceeded to hand out gifts. And then I couldn't get to sleep. Figures, huh? I'd been up for over 35 hours before I finally forced myself to just lay in bed until I fell asleep. And I didn't wake up until 1:30 the next afternoon! That was a first for me...I'd never slept past 11 before.
And I went down to Austin to look for an apartment with one of my future roommates. That was pretty fun. I didn't realize how hard it was to find a decent apartment. The first one we went to turned out to be section 8 housing. And the second one turned out to have income restrictions. It was rather frustrating.
But I'll be leaving for Japan again on the 21st of this month. Sorry for the lack of updating. It's amazing how much time I have not had to relax since I got home. Oh! And it turns out that I've lost 5 pounds since being in Japan! I can wear smalls now, which is rather nice because it means my waist has slimmed down. Everybody I met with seemed to think that I had gotten skinny. But I think I've definitely been able to come to terms with being dumped, which is great. In a way, my ex had impeccable timing. A change in scenery was exactly what I needed. ^^
Thursday, January 31st was the longest day of my life...literally. I got up early, prepared what was left to do so I could leave, ate breakfast and got ready to go. My host parents both drove me to the bus station and I even got hugs from both of them, which is a first. Although, it might have had to do with me getting dumped, too. But anyway, my host mom waited with me until the bus came and we parted ways. The bus left Sagamiono station at 10:00 AM and I arrived at Narita Airport at about 12:15 PM. Unfortunately I get slightly carsick, and my stomach hadn't fully recovered from the sickness I'd had two days before. Fortunately I didn't toss my cookies, which I am always grateful for.
Anyway, I got to the airport and checked in my bags, got my boarding pass and sat around the airport, since my flight wasn't supposed to depart until 5:50 PM. I guess security had gotten a bit suspicious of me because two uniformed men came over and asked to see my passport in halting English. Then they saw my alien registration card and asked me if I could speak Japanese. And so they thought they had gotten a break and proceeded to pepper me with questions about where I was going to school and how I liked Japan and how long I was going to be there and so on. Finally they left me alone and I decided to go ahead and go through security and customs. By the way, you cannot take beef jerky out of Japan, just so you know.
And then I sat around some more waiting for my plane to arrive. I actually ran into one of my Japanese classmates. My flight was to LA and his was to San Francisco I think. Anyway, I did not get an aisle seat this time, unfortunately. And I wasn't on a double-decker plane, either. There were three seats on the right side of the plane, an aisle, five seats, another aisle, and three more seats, I think. I was next to the aisle seat in the group of five. The guy who had the misfortune to be in the exact middle was a very talkative, Russian-born hippie. It was quite interesting. My plane ride TO Japan had been very boring and nobody talked to me. On THIS particular trip I talked to both of the people sitting next to me. The person on the aisle was this really nice Japanese lady who was curious about what I thought of Japan, of course. But her English was really exceptional. She had no accent whatsoever. It was rather difficult to believe that she'd grown up in Japan.
And I didn't get a chance to sleep too much, either. The economy seats are so narrow and kind of uncomfortable. My hippie neighbor told me that every time he woke up I was in a different position. So I cat-napped for about an hour before they started serving breakfast.
So, my plane departed from Narita Airport at 5:50 PM on Thursday, January 31st and it arrived in L.A. at 10:35 AM on Thursday, January 31st. Ugh.
So I went through customs at LAX. That place is kind of a maze. Okay, it isn't kind of a maze, it IS a maze. And the first guy I had to talk to told me that I lived in Japan. Then the second guy I had to talk to said I lived in the U.S. Ugh. Make up your minds!
And so I had to sit and hang out until my plane was scheduled to depart for DFW at 2:30. Unfortunately high head winds in Dallas delayed us for about an hour. We finally took off and I arrived in Dallas sometime, I can't remember now. My parents picked me up and we went home where I proceeded to hand out gifts. And then I couldn't get to sleep. Figures, huh? I'd been up for over 35 hours before I finally forced myself to just lay in bed until I fell asleep. And I didn't wake up until 1:30 the next afternoon! That was a first for me...I'd never slept past 11 before.
And I went down to Austin to look for an apartment with one of my future roommates. That was pretty fun. I didn't realize how hard it was to find a decent apartment. The first one we went to turned out to be section 8 housing. And the second one turned out to have income restrictions. It was rather frustrating.
But I'll be leaving for Japan again on the 21st of this month. Sorry for the lack of updating. It's amazing how much time I have not had to relax since I got home. Oh! And it turns out that I've lost 5 pounds since being in Japan! I can wear smalls now, which is rather nice because it means my waist has slimmed down. Everybody I met with seemed to think that I had gotten skinny. But I think I've definitely been able to come to terms with being dumped, which is great. In a way, my ex had impeccable timing. A change in scenery was exactly what I needed. ^^
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