Trying to keep warm...

Goose Fair 2010 Nottingham

Enjoying with my flatmates

Rossana and I

Beeston Train Station- Going to see Liza

Liza and I

Liza's art work

"So a witch and a vampire walk into a club..."

Totally scared my flatmate with this costume though :)


Bonfire Night!

Ohhh!!! Awww!!

Beeston Black Sheep Knitting Circle

These were so good.

My apologies to anyone who has been following my blog for the severe lack of posting...it has been busy for me this past month. Well, for starters my health has been good aside from some lingering sniffles, but nothing terrible (I am a forever believer in the power of vitamins and tea) :) On that note, I am taking to the British manner of drinking lots of tea...as it is so incredibly cold and I have yet to find any way to warm up faster.

Last month I went to the Goose Fair with some friends and we all found it agreeable. It was very similar to the San Diego County Fair actually...I guess fairs don't differ too much internationally. Then of course I paid a visit to Liza in London. I only stayed a few days, but I did get to see her art exhibit at school and I got to pretend I was an art student at the University of London. In preparing for the winter, we also employed ourselves with vast amounts of shopping around town. I will have to pay her another visit when I get the chance. I have also gone around Nottingham a bit. Mostly shopping, but there are some more historical things...which I will have to explore sometime in the near future. :) I did go with some friends to "supposedly" the oldest pub in England (honestly I do think they all claim that though), called Ye Ol' Trip to Jerusalem...which apparently you can find on Facebook (go figure). A good time was had by all just the same.

So Halloween, while not celebrated so much here, I still managed to take part in it. A friend of mine and I got into our fancy dress outfits (costumes) and went to a club to go dancing...not swing, though that would have been fun. We had a good time, but I think we both had more fun getting dressed up. I was a steampunk vampire, and I promise to be something different next year...I just already had the fangs from last year.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November..." I was surprised to find that it is not really called Guy Fawkes Day, but Bonfire Night mostly by everyone here. The story, if you're not familiar, goes like this: a man named Guy Fawkes in the 1600s tried to blow up the Parliament building and failed. So to remember this, the British people get together, build massive bonfires and shoot off fireworks. Gotta love it! :) One of the members of my church held a Bonfire Night party at his amazing house and it was highly enjoyable. We saw fireworks, ate dinner and watched "The Prince of Persia." I believe there was about 200 people there, and it did not feel crowded at all...like I said it was an amazing house.

Last weekend, I had the first meeting of the Beeston Black Sheep Knitting Circle. That's right I started a knitting circle and six of us took part. I made scones from scratch and we all sat by the fire and did some knitting...it was an extremely pleasant way to spend Sunday afternoon. We are planning to meet again this Sunday as well, but I don't plan on making scones again (only for special occasions, I think).

That will be it for now. Take care and stay warm...as I wish I could :)

More bike stories...

My keys that I have to carry everywhere

Map that I used and got lost using today.

So today I got my bike that I am renting at my university. The whole process was extremely easy and painless...except for when it came to getting back to main campus. I discovered that the bikes were being distributed at one of the smaller campuses, which there was a hopper bus to take to get there (very good), but coming back I would need to ride my bike. Well, I ended up taking a wrong turn and going about five miles in the opposite direction. So once I found someone to ask (since something was clearly wrong) I managed to bike myself back in the right direction and make it back to campus. On the plus side, I didn't lose my shoe in the process :) .

I have made a discovery over the course of the past few weeks. People here are rather obsessive about keys. I have never had so many keys (that I have had to use on a daily basis) in my entire life. I think I spend a good portion of my day, everyday, locking and unlocking various things. I'm aware that it is a safety precaution (who wants to have their stuff stolen?), but it is such a hassle because:

1. the keys are rather heavy (instant 3lbs weight in your pocket)
2. each lock is finicky in different ways, so you have to remember exactly how to lock and unlock each lock (ex: lift handle, push in on door, pull out on door, turn handle once before turning key, etc.)
3. due to the finicky locks, it takes a good deal of time to deal with them (and one has to plan accordingly for this, can't rush out the door so much at this point).

Anyway, I just thought I would share and looking on the bright side...tomorrow I will be attending the Goose Fair with my housemates (not sure what to expect, but it sounds fun) and next week I am planning to visit Liza in London. I am very much looking forward to seeing her art show and catching up. I might even be able to meet up with a friend that's visiting from Japan...

That's it for now. Hope everyone is well and enjoying the Autumn. It certainly is chilly here. Take care!

P.S. Sorry, not many pictures yet...I will try to take more later though.

And so begins another adventure...

Well, a year ago I returned back to California. I stayed with my parents and taught preschool (yes, clearly I live dangerously). After some time I came to the conclusion that it was time to take on a new adventure. Which brings me to now.

Yesterday I arrived at the airport of London, England. Upon my arrival I then took: a metro train, a rail train, and a cab ride. All of which brought me to my new home in Beeston (next to Nottingham). I live in a lovely house with two other girls and will be starting my studies in applied linguistics right away at the University of Nottingham. The master degree should take 12 months to complete. From my past experience I have learned that so much can happen in a year... let the games begin.

Cramming a lot of stuff into one post

The swing scene

Out for dinner...before more dancing

Kampai!

New friends from Seoul...it's a small world, really.

"Hi, Po-zu!"

And so rainy season has begun...

Mother's Day Brunch at church

Sayonara computer! *sniff, sniff*

I finally used those tickets

Ai and I at the marine animal park

Somebody likes Ai a lot.

How to tell the weather in Numazu

Giants baseball game

In Tokyo Dome

Giants won :)

Well, not sure where to begin, but I guess I can start with the reason as to my very long absense from posting anything...my computer died. After six years of loyal service, my computer decided to kick the bucket. So I was without a computer for about three weeks. I do have almost everything backed up though (minus my pictures of Osaka...figures), so I'm not too upset. My new computer (a Macbook) is really great and I've been having fun with it...

I went to Osaka for Golden Week as well as swing dancing (several times) in Tokyo. I went to Osaka Castle and the Municiple Museum of Art for a special kimono exibit that was being held there. The kimonos were truly lovely and the castle was interesting to explore as well. In Tokyo, I did a lot of dancing. One night, instead of leaving to catch the train home, I stayed and danced till 6 in the morning...good times.

A few weeks ago, I finally used those tickets that I won and I went with my friend, Ai, to Awashima Marine Park. The park is small, but we had fun and saw some interesting marine life while there (purple lobsters, anyone?). Mostly, it was just nice to visit with my friend.

Last week I went to a Giants game at Tokyo Dome. The Giants are one of the most popular teams right now, so I was happy that I got to go. They won the game and it was a lot of fun to watch. The fans get really into the game...made me think of Navy football games in the U.S. :)

Well, I guess that is it for now. There is not much more time left for me to be here in Japan, so I am determined to make the most of it. I hope you are all doing well. Have a fantastic summer!

Hanami and Easter

The sakura trees behind my church on Hanami

Numazu Church

Seeing the sakura trees in Fujinomiya with Emi and Kohana

It was a beautiful park...

Easter brunch with Leah

Easter Omedetou!

Beautiful day in Atami

Found these guys inside Atami Castle

...these too

By the sea in Atami

Well, it is really, really Spring, and I'm loving it! In the beginning of April all of the Sakura (cherry) trees bloom and it is quite a sight to see. The Japanese know this, and since it only lasts about a week or so, they have a special day (Hanami) that they go and just enjoy looking at them (with a picnic in hand of course). I met up with Emi and Kohana and we had our own picnic of Fujinomiya Yakisoba under the Sakura trees. It was such a lovely afternoon.

Easter Day was also amazing. I went to church and my friend, Leah, joined me as well. We were given eggs that the kids in the church had decorated (they were so cute) :) After church, we went to brunch at a nearby French restaurant, that was incredibly good...may have to return again soon. Then I headed off to Tokyo for an evening of swing dancing...simply a wonderful Easter, really.

The next day, I met up with Leah and this time we traveled to Atami. The city really reminded me a lot of home...but this was mostly due to the closeness of the ocean and the palm trees I think. We walked along the beach and then took the ropeway up to Atami castle. The castle is sort of like a museum now and we saw a lot of interesting things inside it. Maybe next time I will go check out the art museum that is there.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice weather. Take care!

Swing and Dolls

So this past month has been rather busy. First of all it is the end of the school year here in Japan, so my workload increased a great deal for the month. Second, I found some swing dancing groups to practice and dance with. I was able to go dancing twice this month in Tokyo (both times for many, many hours). It was so much fun and I really enjoyed being with the people there as well. I am planning to keep going as often as my work schedule will allow. Below are some some video clips of the people I met dancing (sorry, I'm not in there...I'm filming it) and a Charleston routine I learned in a class (this is the instructor...from the back). I can't wait to go dancing again! XD

Also this March there was Girls' Day to celebrate all the girls in Japan (they have a Boys' Day too later) and to wish them all happy and healthy lives. I was able to see my friend's Hina-ningyo (doll display) that she had set up for her daughter, Kohana. It is absolutely beautiful and depicts the imperial court of ancient Japan. These displays are set up inside the homes of girls and kept up for the festival/holiday, but are taken down immediately after the day because it's bad luck to have up after the holiday is over.

Well, I guess that is it for now, but I hope you are all doing well and enjoying Spring. I'm looking forward to warmer weather myself...hopefully...maybe someday... :)

Kamakura, Yokohama, and mochi!

Sandy and I begin our tour of Kamakura

The sakura trees were blooming at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

The gardens at Hasedera Temple are beautiful as well

The walkway at Zeniarai Benten Shrine

They really do think of everything here.

Light show at Enoshima Island

It was so lovely to see

Chinatown in Yokohama

They are well known for their Nikkuman (meat buns)

My lunch :)

I found Kitty-chan there as well.

Yokohama's Guardian of Water statue (a gift from San Diego)

At Yokohama harbor

The Little Girl with Red Shoes, Sandy and I

The old red brick warehouse...which has been made into a shopping center

Cosmo World- home of what was at one time the largest Ferris wheel in the world

After church activity...making mochi.

An interesting way to eat rice...it's very sticky

Leftover mochi was used to make daifuku (a desert)...I got to help make some.

So it's been a busy and interesting month. On the 15th and 16th I met up with my friend Sandy for a holiday in Kamakura and Yokohama. We packed in so much site seeing the first day in Kamakura, my poor legs and feet were sore from the vast amounts of walking done. We had a good time though and that evening there was a really cool light show held in the gardens on Enoshima Island (it was for Valentine's Day, but just the same it was so pretty). The next day was in Yokohama, so of course we headed for Chinatown. It was really fun to see with all the pandas, chestnuts and nikkuman being sold everywhere. Afterward we went to Yamashita Park, which is right on the harbor and we saw some famous statues there. Then we went to the red brick building and looked at the shops, which there were tons of. Cosmo World (the local amusement park) wasn't far off so we decided to go there next. We went on a roller coaster (which needed to be longer...it took maybe a minute for the whole ride) and the Ferris wheel (which had a nice view of the city). By that time we were exhausted and decided it was time to go home. However, I am going to try to go back at some time...it was too much fun.

This weekend was more low-key. I went to church, and afterward the church had a mochi making/eating party. It's a tradition here in Japan to make mochi for the New Year, but January is so busy that the church makes it in February. It was interesting to do and watch...it's a group effort really, everyone takes turns pounding the rice until it's like a sticky dough. Then it is portioned off and served on the spot. It tasted good and I'd like to try making it again...but I don't know where I could find a wooden hammer that big again. Oh, well. :) That's it for now. Ja ne!