bring on the year of the dragon!

hello!!!!

seems the time here is going by sooo quickly! today was little miss beka's birthday and it was the first time i wasn't there to celebrate it with her! it was a bit sad for me but i look forward to many more birthdays with her. =)

as for life here, i am settling in fairly easily. i guess i should say "settled". i know where to buy everything i need now. i know which stores have the lowest priced items and im starting to recognize more easily prices in terms of yen, instead of trying to convert things to dollar. today i switched my phone bill to my new japanese bank account, finally registered for the national health insurance, and signed up for online banking. i also bought hair dye and cleaned my house for the new year. being able to accomplish the big things and little things around here feels great.

like ive mentioned, ive yet to really have a bad experience here. even my bad days arent really that bad. im starting to make a list of my likes/dislikes about living in japan. i love so many things about this place, but like any place, there are some drawbacks. like slurpees. there are no slurpees here and theres pretty much no way anyone back home can mail them to me... thankfully its still freezing cold here... so i havent felt the pain of slurpee withdrawals yet. also, i dont like that you can smoke in most restaurants. i dont go out that often, so it doesnt really get to bother me that much... but when i do, i notice it quite quickly. also, flaming hot cheetos. i guess its a good thing i dont have access to them because i can never eat just one anyway... as soon as i open the bag, i eat the whole thing... sah!

this week i had a conversation with a fairly high level student about the difference between nationalism and patriotism. he asked me if we stood during the national anthem. i told him that i did, and that from a young age, we are taught to do so. mostly at sporting events and such, but its fairly common. he said that the older people in japan dont stand for the national anthem because its a reminder of the war. he said his friend told him that when he hears the national anthem, he sees the faces of all of his friends that died during the war... and is reminded of the dangers of nationalism. japan was quite a nationalistic country pre wwii... and now, he says, japanese people try to pay more attention to the difference between nationalism and patriotism- both of which can lead you down the wrong path... its interesting to hear the japanese speak about the war. ive only heard it from a few older people and i almost never ask questions... as my family was obviously fighting on the other side of that war... but the loss is deep, especially among the older generation. it makes me uncomfortable really. so his point was that now, schools are starting to teach children to stand during the national anthem and some of the other generation is still very uncomfortable with the whole idea. it was an interesting conversation. its left me thinking about it since last week... i can definitely see the difference and the problem within people i know... *shrug*

also, its FREEZING HERE! currently, its 32 degrees. tomorrow its supposed to snow. the thought of me in a place that snows sounds like some sort of cruel, sick, joke... but seeing as how every other place in japan already has snow... i cant complain too much. id look forward to the next season... but the next season is rain... haha... so i think ill stick with this for now... at least im experiencing all the seasons? ive never had to do this before so its interesting! lol. having my face freeze... my earrings painfully freeze my ear... all new experiences!
honestly though... ive been staying warm in most places (as most places have the heat on 85 degrees - which coincidently smacks you in the face when you walk in that cold...). the trains all have heat and the underground subways are super awesome so... i dont have to be above ground in the elements too much.

i finally purchased a digital converter for the tv in my apartment. i am not a huge fan of tv but i figure at this point its actually studying/helping my japanese... so i keep it on for background noise. who knows! maybe when i get back ill even be a fan of television? ok, thats probably a stretch. what watching japanese television has taught me thus far: the japanese loveeee love love love food. yep. almost every channel has something on about food ALL THE TIME. lol. once in a while, you have news... in the evening there are a fair share of dramas... and there are a lot of game shows. funny, amusing, crazy, very japanese, game shows. today i was watching this show with a guy in a hamster ball rolling around in a safari trying to get near big, scary wildlife. an elephant poked him with his tusk and the guy went rolling around. it was rather amusing... lol. there was also a segment about robots... there was a robot that looked like r2d2 pulling a rickshaw. how cool would that be? id totally give up my car. well, i dont really have a car right now... lol. hrm...

what else... oh! i had my date with yousuke! i had a really good time. his english is better than he lets on, as he lived in australia for 2 years... hes also been to 30 countries! im sooo jealous! he's a music teacher... and also composes music... from mie prefecture, the next town over. hes about 6 ft... and way cooler than me. lol. we have tentative plans for dinner at some point this week... we'll see!

oh, i emailed a bunch of people offering classes in the area. im super excited! the classes i emailed about are: ikebana (flower arranging), calligraphy, japanese cooking, spanish cooking, japanese conversation, tea ceremony, french conversation, yoga, and the local social Klub. yep, klub with a k "cause its cool that way." soooo cheesy i had to email them too! hehe.

also, i am going strawberry picking with mandy in a couple of weeks! strawberries are sooooo expensive here.... they come in packs of 12 and cost maybe... $13? yea. f* that! strawberry picking is like $20 and all you can eat strawberries for one hour... plus you can bring some home! i am excited about this! ^__^!!!

i am eating way too much taiyaki...

theyre so freaking good! basically, its like a waffle filled with custard inside, served hot! soooooo tasty! i think theyd taste better with vanilla ice cream, but its currently waaaayyy too cold to eat them with ice cream... but when the time comes...!!

and lastly, when i move back i will have no real belongings, so i can actually work on getting the things i really want in a place... like a kohatsu. after getting to use ariels... i am in love. (although i am also in love with her bathroom...)

things to look forward to this year of the dragon: cindy le will be in korea starting feb. 2, which pretty much assures my near future trip to korea, steve is getting married in june, in thailand... and nancy in taiwan.

things to look forward to now: JENNIFER IS MOVING TO JAPAN!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! SHE WILL BE HERE SOON EVEN!!!!!!!!!! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!! i was soooo happy i teared up when i heard! ok, not big tears, but a slight water for sure! ^________^ ureshiiiiiiii!!!!! with ariel and jennifer close by... how could life ever be bad??? if only my sister lived in japan.... lol.

ok. long blog. tired of writing. by the time ya'll read this itll be morning... so have a great day minna (everyone)!