Merry Christmas!

Hello, all, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

I got back this morning from a 4 day ski trip to Nozawaonsen, which was a blast. There wasn't a whole lot of snow the first day, but my friend Nestor and I gave it our best shot (he had never skied or snowboarded before, he tried snowboarding and did great), and the second day the mountain did not open because of strong winds. Surprisingly, we got a full refund for our lift ticket that day, which just goes to show how much Japan really is dedicated to service.

That night, though, the mountain got about a foot of snow, and the next day was great, although apparently when snow falls in Japan, instead of letting you ski the freshies, they groom it. Go figure. Either way, more of the mountain was open for us to explore and we took advantage of it. The final day we went with some friends who were also in the area to a monkey park where the monkies actually have their own outdoor hotspring. There are tons of awesome pictures of that excursion and they are coming soon.

Tonight I ate dinner with my host family, but before it started they brought me into the living room where they have their Christmas "tree" set up (it's plastic, but they decorate it and friggen love it), and presented me with my Christmas gift: 3 bottles of wine.

My host mom's words were the best part though:

"Gooraygoo, (my name pronounced in Japanese) happy birthday! Oh, I mean, Mayree Kooreesoomahsu!"

The whole family has work tomorrow, so we're not actually celebrating Christmas traditionally, but I'll be thinking about all of you! Have a great holiday!

Update!

I don't have much in the way of Japanese cultural experiences this time. I did go to my first onsen (public bath) with my host family recently, and that was very relaxing, but filled with naked.

I've got finals this week, just two, on tuesday and wednesday, and after that I'm pretty much free. I'm leaving friday night for a hard earned 4 days of skiing, which I'm looking forward to with my entire being. This year is going to be the least skiing I've done since I was 5 years old, and that means I gotta cherish every moment of it. For those interested, there's some information about the mountain here:

http://www.vill.nozawaonsen.nagano.jp/info/english/start.htm

It's called Nozawa Onsen (the town is also filled with onsen, the public baths, including one that only monkeys, not humans, may enter) or for those more hip to the Japanese language, 野沢温泉。

The snow conditions are not looking great at the moment, unfortunately, but I'll take what I can get. Perhaps now would be a good time to try some telli, I'll see how that goes. I promise to take lots of pictures, too.

That's it, for now. I hope you're all doing well! It sounds like Vermont is getting a bit of snow. Lucky...

More Photos!

Took me long enough...

More Japan!

Most of these pictures are from Tokyo, when it starts getting green again, it's back in Kyoto.