Itte-kimasu!

Goodbye Japan!

You were awesome! I will miss you SO much! And everyone that I got to know here.

This was, without question, a well spent year of my life.　　I'm so happy I got to do this. I'd do it again in a heart beat if I could.

And one day, somehow, I will come back.

So, じゃまったねえ！！

Moving Troubles

I have been in the process of moving twice. Once from my home of about 11 months to a new apartment in another town (which we just finished yesterday) and now, from one country to another.

Oh, and I have to fit in work, plus all the errands needed to settle everything here in Japan so I get no nasty surprises in the mail a few months later...

O_o

So, updates will probably be non-existent until I arrive home in a few days.

Let's See Where This Road Goes...

So, my roommate and I decided we'd use our last day of vacation and go see the cool and old vine bridges in the Iya Valley.

Now, Iya Valley is in the middle Shikoku, and the middle of Shikoku is practically all mountains and hills, and very few big roads cross those mountains. Most roads are small that wind around the mountains sides, and very few of them have signs, let alone signs in English.

So, in short, Iya Valley was in the middle of nowhere, and we had no maps, or guide, or any prior knowledge except the general area of where this valley was...

Suffice to say, we got really, really lost. But we got some awesome pictures!! ^_^

Oh, and 5 hours and many roads later, plus a few mountain tops and one odd pond, we did end up finding Iya Valley at long last. Yay!

Will add a pic once I download it from off my camera (and after I get some sleep)

Korean Fan to the Rescue!

The Incheon Airport (Seoul, South Korea) is cool. I've had many lay overs at that airport by now and wouldn't mind doing another one there again. Even though it's a small airport, they have a lot of little knick/knacks and stuff you can do to whittle away the time.

For example, painting a Korean fan! ^_^

Mine is not the way the lady advised me to do it, nor does it look like a traditional fan. But I like it anyway. ^_^

Sayonara and Guten Tag

Ha. I can't believe I've forgotten to post this up on this blog.

So, to the point: I'm leaving Japan. :( *sniff* In a week and a day, actually. Sad, isn't it? My year here has ended and I'm off to newer and brighter places...

Like Germany! ^_^

Yep, I'm moving to Germany after a brief stint back in the States. It's insane, really, how this all worked out, but I'm way excited. ^_^

And don't worry. I'll keep this blog going. It shall just encompass more of the world instead of just Japan. ~_^

In fact, I'll probably start posting up some pics I took while I was in Italy 2 years ago. And I'll start tagging the pics according to which country they're in, to keep them in order. And I'll probably get quite a list of countries, since I'm hoping to tour quite a bit of Europe while I'm in Germany. Whee!

Isn't life grand??

^_^

Metal and Heat

During my China trip, there were a few snags and I ended up spending a night in Seoul, South Korea.

It was late when my friend and I got out of the airport, and we were both starving. So, we hit the first restaurant looking store on our route - a tiny little hole in the wall with a delightful 'homey' atmosphere - and decided to feast.

Except neither of us could speak a lick of Korean and none of the workers could understand any English.

So, I pulled off my best trick: point at a random entry and hope for the best.

The following pic was my result.

Twas quite yummy - at least I believe it was since it was so spiced that I could barely even taste my tongue!

I had heard many stories that the Koreans like their food hot, but I never really understood how HOT they meant until I started digging into that bowl.

It's too bad I didn't have a cold at the time, since I'm sure it would have been cured by the time I finished that bowl.

An interesting culture note, though: If you'll notice the chopsticks - they are completely metal. The Japanese never have metal chopsticks; they always have wooden ones. Yet the Koreans always seem to have metal.

I can always tell I've stepped into a Korean restaurant here in Japan, because they're handing me metal chopsticks instead of wooden ones.

I wonder why their chopsticks became metal and why Japanese's chopsticks remained wooden?


Oh, and those yellow things are pickled ginger - they're everywhere in Korea and are usually always included in a meal.

Green Day - Pancake Style

Pancakes (or as the Japanese would say it, pankehki) are a favorite treat here in Japan. They eat it as a snack or as a desert, depending on the time of day (though never in the morning - too sweet for them).

For the fun of it (and because my Dad used to do it to my family), way back in March, I decided to make green pancakes in celebration of St Patrick's Day for my 3 hour class.

I let them help me make the pancake batter (and they were so excited to be getting pancakes) and then, while they set the table, I snuck some green dye into the batter.

When I then placed down the plate full of green pancakes, they all gasped (Japanese way => Rehhh????), and thought I had done magic.

It was awesome. ^_^

I also snuck dye in the milk and they were totally grossed out when I started pouring green milk into their glasses.

I'm afraid, though, that the only thing they really understood about St Patrick's Day was that it's another way to say "Green Day".