No way, you're kidding!

So AKP is officially over. Unfortunately my lack of updates in the past few months is directly related to my lack of enthusiasm for the program, but I am finally and officially on the home stretch.

In some ways I can't believe how short this year has been, but at the same time I'm not even sure I remember what America looks like anymore. It's been a year of tough times, of good times, and of times that have yet to be decided as to which side of the spectrum they'll end up on. I've learned a lot about the world, a lot about myself, and a lot about fish.

I have absolutely no plans for my last two weeks here, but I'm sure the time will fill up quickly (starting with a long-deserved trip to the metal bar tonight), and I'm really looking forward to takin it easy from now on.

Unfortunately, it's pouring right now. So fun might have to start tomorrow...

The most important thing I want to say, is that I miss you all so much and I will see you all in just a short time. For those of you I won't be seeing in the immediate future, let's make it as soon as possible.

Unless something moves me in the last 15 days or so, I suppose this is my last blog post. Thanks for checking up on me, and sorry there's about a 2 month gap! Can't wait to see you all!

Guacamole

My host dad loves salsa, and makes his own every once in a while. It's probably not quite what an American would think of as "Salsa," it's more tomato sauce with veggies in it, but we'd been talking for a while about me making guacamole to go with it. I had never made it before, but obviously understood the main ingredients and the idea.

So today I made guacamole. My first solo foray into the cooking world past a PB&J. It's sitting in the fridge right now, we're waiting for my host bro to come home with the Tostitos, but the whole family is really excited. I'm glad I could introduce them to a little American (or at least foreign) culture besides my poor Japanese accent.

I also recently started training in Aikido, which I've been doing in America for about 2 years but hadn't gotten around to in Japan until now. I've only been to two practices but they've been really awesome, and everyone's been much nicer and more welcoming than I anticipated.

I have Monday through Wednesday off from school this week, so my host family is taking me skiing on Tuesday. I don't remember the name of the mountain, but apparently it's close. So, while I hit the slopes my host mom and host dad are going to sit in the hot springs. Apparently my host mom used to ski a lot (she grew up right around where I went skiing in December) but doesn't any more for fear of injury. She is 60, so I can forgive her for that. Host dad skied a few times, but has long since retired to the hot baths.

Other than that it's been business as usual lately. I'm healthy, and enjoying classes, though they have returned a bit to the boring side, but at least my teachers display some air of professionalism.

Hope you're all doing well! Every day I inch a little closer to getting to see you all again, and I'm looking forward to it.

Looking back so far...

I've come to realize that the most interesting experiences I've had in this country... somehow end up involving food. Tonight was no different.

I went downstairs after finishing my homework and chatted with my host family. My second host brother who lives in Hokkaido (the northern-most island in Japan) is here for 2 weeks because he has an art exhibition in Osaka (he's an artist and his stuff is really awesome. Here's his blog where you can see some pictures, although it's in Japanese, so try just clicking random stuff: http://www6.plala.or.jp/seiji_honda2008/)

Anyway, whenever he comes down he brings lots of... interesting snacks. Today my host father issued me a challenge (he even used the English word "challenge" to dare me to do it) and put a small plate of brown liquid with small black things floating in it. I tasted it, and it was absolutely delicious. My host mom and dad then gave me the Japanese word for it, of which I understood a few words here and there and put together that it was some time of squid. I was wrong.

They looked up the word in the dictionary which gave the following description: "fish guts pickled in squid ink." Whoa. With this information in mind I tried another bite. Somehow not quite as appetizing as the first one, and when my host mom asked me some question I can't remember, I gagged a little bit in the middle of my answer, although she didn't seem to notice.

I went for a third go, and, in the end, it was pretty good. The texture is like eating a slug with a thick rubber band inside it, and it stuck in my teeth like a bear in a trap, but, somehow, it was good.

I honestly think that if I had tried this before coming to Japan, though, I most likely would have ejected it from my mouth at high velocity the second it hit my tongue, but I'm just so used to eating weird variations of sea food that I almost feel like no food from this country can phase me anymore.

I told my host family that it was delicious (honestly because there is no word for just "good" in Japanese, it's either delicious or it's so-so or it's horrible) at which they offered me another challenge for the future: Natto. A.K.A. rotten soybeans. Oh boy.

This semester

Well, I won't beat around the bush. Last semester my classes were awful. My Japanese teacher was Satan realized in Japanese Person form, my electives were on par with a community college course on spirituality, and the only Japanese I learned all semester was slang from my Japanese friends.

This semester, however, looks awesome.

My Japanese teacher tells jokes in class, there is laughing, there is discussion and conversation, in just a few days I can already tell my Japanese has gotten better.

I'm also taking Japanese religion, which seems like it's going to be pretty dry. Straight up info, most of which I know already, and a teacher who drones on and on. But, it's good stuff to know in light of the culture, and it seems like, at the very least, it'll be like any normal (boring?) lecture class at Middlebury.

My translation class, on the other hand, is going to be awesome. The teacher is lively, funny, and really really really knows her stuff (from what I gather she's a rather famous interpreter...) Our homework is actually fun and engaging, and besides getting a little practice for a possible career path, it's really interesting to investigate exactly how English and Japanese differ, what makes them unique languages, and how not just to convey information from one to the other, but ideas.

That's all I have to say at the moment, that things are looking good for the next four months.

P.S. with Obama's inauguration in 5 days (6 for you guys, I guess) it's just so awesome to know that America elected a president with integrity, who we can trust in to solve our current problems (Guantanamo closed in the first few days of office? I'm sold). It's good to be proud to be American.

Mo' Pictures

So these ones include pictures from when I went skiing in Nagano at a place called Nozawaonsen, as well as a day trip to the city of Nara that I just returned from.

In other news, it snowed last night!

Pictures!

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...