aloha

so sorry everyone, if any of you still check this (i would be surprised)... anyway, no good news here- my blog has kinda fallen asleep as you may notice, but with school and all, weekend just aren't quite blogging the adventures i'd hoped they'd be.
just know that i've eaten way, way too much food, have gotten into some shennanigans, and am really starting to get comfortable with my life here in Japan. i've got a trip coming up to tokyo in about a week, and aside from that, not quite sure what to say.
sorry to say, i think i will be discontinuing this blog, although not with the shorter, noted journal i am keeping on the side- so please check in with me for my adventures when we next meet up, i'd be glad to fill you all in then :). arigato gozaimas!

more pics from the magic castle

Sugoi (awesome/amazing)!

Later during orientation week, we had the chance to take a field trip… slash we were automatically signed up for it (which was a good thing). We went to some volcanically heated rivers- which had a hot spring for your feet- SWEET, and some amazingly beautiful nature… it felt like I was in a scene from Jurassic park, I kept expecting to see some pterodactyl flying down the gorge, or some long neck grazing in the background ☺.
Then we went to this “magic trick castle”- which I will let the pictures speak for themselves… just know, it was the craziest castle I’ve ever been in (despite the fact that I haven’t exactly been in a ton of castles ;). There were optical illusions, and amazing picture opportunities! Anyway, it also had some of those coin machines… which of course resulted in matching pokemon watches for everyone… sigh. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

kitinai!!!

Sept 1
Kitinai- dirty… guess how I learned what this word meant! Shunsuke (roommate) comes out of the bathroom, and he’s learning English, and I’m learning Japanese… so he comes out and says, “problem”! “flooding”! turns out our drain was blocked with hair and moldy gunk… which we then spent the next 10-bonding filled minutes cleaning and laughing over. Gross. So, I learned, “kitinai”, and he learned “moldy”, and “crap”!

it's like kindergarten all over again

play nice and make friends...

First day of orientation… lots of waiting, but got moved in, roommate MIA, but all his stuff is here. And all my stuff fits!!! All worth it! Anyway, went for a nice run with charnelle, got to see a ton of the campus, found a huge bridge, crossed it onto a bike path, walked it for a bit decided to turn around (a great decision as it turns out). It was an adventure! And spent the night down at the mall- a 10/15 minute bus ride away… about a buck fifty! Anyway, I met a bunch of really cool people; (spelling is my best guess)- Ahtium from germany/russia; charles from the states; geoff from Taiwan/school in Colorado; tso goo from Mongolia; david from paris france; and jake from victoria Canada! It’s been a busy day, full of paper work and lines, but now I’m ready… I suppose… maybe ☺

irashaimase (welcome)

We made it! Refer to the last entry of Korean blog for the highlights of today… but for now, we are in the Toyoko Hotel, tiny, makes you feel claustrophobic rooms, with a well thought out, totally effectient little bathroom that connects the shower to the sink- amazing. I LOVE JAPAN!!! And aside from the whole walking around, not sure where to go, carrying close to 200lbs of luggage, it’s been a fun adventure. Also, discovered my first new drink, Gokuri, a grapefruit drink- pulpy and delicious. Also, had some qoo in the airport (apple juice, may pay for that one in a few hours), and saw a mr. doughnut downstairs… but didn’t get to go on account of the many many lbs. of baggage! Anyway, now I’m laying here on the substantially hard bed, trying to catch up on paperwork before my battery dies because smart me, I didn’t buy a converter at the PX on base like I should have, or a shaver for that matter… I remember looking at it, physically picking up the package, then putting it down, saying I’ll get one later… oi!