uh...everything on my blog page is in japanese...that's cool.

today i started my first day of two weeks at elementary school. maybe i shouldn't have danced all night in tokyo saturday? you only live once though, right? anyway, i'm currently making some kimchi eggs and toast. "breakfast for dinner" is perhaps one of the greatest things in life. thank you mom and dad for introducing me, at a young age, to belgian waffles and french toast for sunday night dinner. i'm also diggin' the musical stylings of ms. lily allen. if you have any good sense you will go out and purchase it whether it's via itunes, Tower Records, or the local Sam Goody (like the one at Marshalltown Center Mall). or if you really don't feel like spending the money, and you are a good enough friend i will make you a cd free of charge. as aformentioned i went to tokyo for one night strictly for dancing this weekend. i also visited my landlord's (the sekiguchi's) house to view her hina matsuri doll collection. shane accompanied me and we scored a delicious japanese lunch of tempura and udon as well as a good time complete with picture-taking, dancing, and hanten (japanese house coats). shane looked like a regular tom cruise in his. mrs. sekiguchi is actually a model for older women's clothes so she already knows how to "work it."
last week i was invited to my ni nensei's cooking class specifically just to eat...that's right, my job that day was to eat and mingle. they made kinako dango (it's like mochi sprinkled with soy flour) and custard pudding. kengo was really proud of his creation...it was the worst looking pudding in the whole class, thus, he had good reason to be proud. i've been writing this post for about four hours whilst talking to molly woods, eating hot tamales (thanks mom) and drawing "body part" cards for the 4th graders tomorrow. i drew this picture for "tooth" and think it's about the funniest thing ever. need i remind you that i was an art major. hope everyone else had a nice monday evening. enjoy the photos. i've been in japan too long because i say "enjoy" A LOT. and "see you!"

ain't nothin' better...

than the serenitity felt upon waking up to fresh snow outside. it's like that old folger's coffee commercial when peter comes home for christmas. just lovely. i didn't even know i missed it until i saw it--snow, that is. this weekend a group of friends and i set out to the slopes of hakuba, nagano (yes, the home of the 1998 winter olympics). we started our journey friday evening after a rigorous week at school, ha.

we rolled into the hostel, yamago's snow lover's clubhouse (yes brad, that is the name), around midnight to find our mohawked roomie catching his zzzz's.

we were a motley crew of varying skill levels so we eventually split up into three's, then two's, then individually. i found myself alone on hakuba 47 in the middle of the woods. it was extremely peaceful. just the sound of my skiis swooshing through the snow and the silence of snow falling. i don't know how this happens, but everytime i rent ski gear i end up getting whatever hot pink or purple 'dynastar' equipment they have left over from the 80's. i'm not complaining, it's just...well, not cool?



on sunday morning we awoke to a blizzard. it was so cozy in the hostel's dining room, sipping on coffee and laughing about last night's shinnanigans. we had spent saturday evening eating to our heart's content (pizza, fried chicken, fried tofu, etc., etc.--it was delicious) in the upstairs room of an izakaya in what looked like a western child's bedroom. everyone was extremely tired, but we still managed to bring out the old mario kart and play a few rounds.

skiing on sunday was a little more difficult with the blizzard-like conditions which throughout the day turned to extremely dense fog. erin and i went up to the top and on our way down lost each other (and the trail) several times. after erin and i split up i heard my name being called through the fog by lisa and john. i have no idea how they saw me considering visibility was less than a few meters. anyway, we got down and thus ended our last run at hakuba. i wish we could've stayed longer...like a week or month, but duty calls and someone has to teach these japanese kids proper english.

brad, who was "skiing for two"

at the top: erin, john, me, and brad

bridget, the first-time skier

brad and i, no doubt chuckling about something funny and/or mean i said about brad

the lunchtime crew

matty, his hobby is eating ramen

john's rental board was named 'woody'--i don't get the joke

when bad clothes happen to good people...

or in actuality, when japanese sizes happen to foreigners. this top looked cute until it sucked the life out of me. i would have never survived the corsets of the 1800s...i almost hyperventilated wearing this for less than 5 minutes.

recently i've been karaokeing like it's my job. i've also been busy teaching the kiddies and playing soccer with them when the mood strikes me. i promise to write more when i do something "blog-worthy." ha.