2 months!

Hello! Sorry its been so late. I have been really busy lately. I am trying to find a new job and that is keeping me quite busy! I am coming home for a visit at the end of July and I will be there for about a month! I am so excited to come home! It will be so weird to be there after over 2 years. I am also keeping busy watching the world cup. I was so mad last night because the USA game was not on basic cable here in Japan. So I missed it! But I read the live updates on Yahoo....it was kinda weird "watching" a game that way! I must cut this short because I have to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a good day! See yall soon!

The 10K Marathon...

I did it! I ran in a 10 K marathon. My personal goal was just to run and not stop. I did it! I didn't slow down to a walk once! I continued running the whole time! I just made it to the start of the race too! There was a long line for the shuttle bus from the station to the start. They had to get extra buses in order to shuttle everyone! As soon as I pinned my number on my shirt, the race started. I made it just in the nick of time. Therefore, I didn't really get to stretch as much as I wanted to. Now my back hurts a little bit but I will get through it. It feels really good to accomplish that little goal...now next year will be 22 K and then I will run a full marathon! Maybe...! I want to run in the Honolulu Marathon some day. And I want it to be a full marathon. I think I can do it! 10 K down, it is the first step! Yay! Well, I am going to relax a little now and then I am gonna go shopping for a frame for my certificate!

Oh yeah, my stats and the weather conditions:

Time: 58 minutes 20 seconds
Place: 199 out of 277 for my age group (Under 39)
Temperature: 10 Degrees Celsius (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit)
Humidity: 40%
It was very cloudy today and the sun never broke through!

Gyoda Marathon

Well, I am training hard for my 10 k marathon...but now I am getting really nervous about it. It is on this coming Sunday and I don't think I can run that whole distance. Oh well, I will give it my best and see what it gets me. I went to Tokyo today and did some birthday shopping for my favorite niece. Hopefully she will like it. Other than that, there has not been much going on here. I have been over the job ads with a comb lately, hoping to find something that starts in September! Keep your fingers crossed for that! The cherry blossoms should start blooming soon, but we have recently had a cold snap and it is not warming up at all right now! All this hot and cold is giving me a headache, probably due to allergies...gotta love that! Well, I know it is early, but I need to get to bed, I am tired and want to go running in the morning! Have a wonderful day in the US!

Sorry for the delay

I am so sorry for the 3 month leave of absence! I just didn't realize time was passing so quickly! Especially when life here feels much more normal. Things are not as shiny and new as they once were for me. Life has been fun though.

I went snowboarding for the first time about 3 weeks ago...and man did it hurt, especially my arms! I didn't know snowboarding could hurt my arms so much! But it did! It's like you have to do a backwards push-up in order to get on the snowboard. I did it...kinda. It was disappointing to see such young kids just flying by me! It was hilarious!

I also went to Osaka and Kyoto last weekend. That was awesome! Osaka and Kyoto each have some of the best food and cultural items in Japan. I would definitely suggest going there to anyone who visits Japan. One of my friends now lives in Osaka so it was nice visiting her and her family. The food in Osaka is the most amazing! They have this thing called kuidaore...and it means you live to eat food! LOVED IT!!! The food in Osaka was incredible. I went with Ryuta. We were smart though in leaving early, because it snowed soooooo much here in the north! If we would have waited to come up more than likely our flight would have been canceled. Thankfully it all worked out. It snowed so much, trains stopped and Saitama prefecture came to a stop!

I heard my mom has given this address to some young people interested in studying Japanese and Japanese culture, please feel free to contact me with any questions!

イーメルが大丈夫です！！よろしくおねがいしま！日本語をべんきょうしてがんばってね！

i-meru ga daijoubu desu! yoroshiku onegaishimasu! nihongo wo benkyoushite ganbatte ne!

Happy New Year!

しんねん、あけましておめでとうございます!
(Shinen, akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!)
aka Happy New Year!

Wow, another year has come and gone. Hello 2010! I can't believe it! I have been in Japan for 20 months now, in fact exactly 20 months tomorrow. My life here is great. Let me catch you up on my life for the past month.

I went to Nagasaki with Ryuta to visit his family. Nagasaki is a beautiful city. It reminded me much more of America than Tokyo or even Kumagaya does! You can be in downtown and still see the hills covered in trees! The first thing we did was watch people make mochi. Mochi is a rice paste kind of thing. You put rice in a ceramic bowl and repeatedly pound it with a mallet. This eventually makes a paste like substance that is delicious! It is one of my favorite foods here so it was really cool to see it made.

After that we went to Peace Park, where the A-bomb was dropped. It was a very humbling experience and I felt so sad! The horror of what happened that day is burned into my memory. The pictures from the museum will never be forgotten. Everyone should visit Peace Park. I can't write more about it, you just have to experience it.

Later that night we went to the harbor and also to Glover Garden. The harbour is beautiful! It was the only harbour open to international trade when Japan was in isolation. Glover Garden is an extraordinary garden area. There are many old homes from the late 1800's and of course, lots of plants. It is on top of a hill and there is an exceptional view of the city below.

We went to China town for dinner and it was wonderful. Local Nagasaki food is delicious!

The next day was a little calmer. We visited his grandma and she was a lot of fun to talk to. I could understand her Japanese a little bit better because she talked a little slower for me.

We were only there for 2 days but it was wonderful! I can't wait to go back there again!

For New Years I went to Mama san's house. She made an exceptional New Year's meal with lots of traditional Japanese food. We watched a singing competition that has the men versus women. It is an annual competition and it was fun to watch. This year the men won, but I think the women were actually better.

That catches you up on my life. I hope everyone had a good holiday back in America. All my love!

Hello all! Another boring week. Nothing out of the ordinary. I did see the movie New Moon on Sunday with another foreign friend, Margo. She is a teacher for the same company but at another school. It was great fun! I also went Christmas shopping on Monday...Hiroko!!! I need to know any information about lacrosse stores you heard about here. I can't do any good research and my friends do not play lacrosse so they do not know where to find any gear. Well, I need to get ready for bed. Love to all!

Hello America!

This weekend I had a nasty cold. I had a fever and sore throat and everything. Luckily the doctor said it was only a cold and nothing more. If I have a fever tomorrow then I have to go back and get more medicine. I have started reading Lord of the Rings this week. I love the movie and so far the book is even better. I was so sick this weekend I did not even want to read the book! I have drank lots of tea, if you see blueberry/raspberry tea, please drink it! Well, I am gonna head off to bed soon. Nite!