The intensive winter semester and AJ’s visit to Japan all ended on the same day. Yesterday, Friday, I saw AJ to the bus stop and gave my Japanese presentation on Milwaukee. I have my final exam on Monday but for all other practical purposes my work is done. Well, I am looking to skip the 301 level class and into 302, so I’ll be studying next week quite a bit, but I will enjoy the next few days of sloth.
AJ arrived on the evening of the 14th (coincidence?) and stayed almost a full two weeks until yesterday, the 27th, when she had to return to Gwangju to run a 10K this weekend and teach for the next few weeks. Then on the 14th of March we will both be going to Key West for her father’s wedding, a week on the beach, and then back to Seoul on the 21st. I’ll be in Seoul for about a week with friends who will have returned from AIU, and then head back to Japan about the 28th. I’m excited for a legitimate vacation.
I haven’t played Futsal, the Japan specific version of indoor soccer, in about a month and its beginning to show, though while it is still winter, that is not such a terrible way to stay insulated.
I had my birthday over a week ago, and while I myself don’t care to make such a huge deal of it, my awesome friends and family both at home and here sent me no small amount of birthday wishes. The Koreans especially have a fondness of birthdays that I’ve come to appreciate, complete with false cakes being brought out, “Happy Birthday” being sung, and then having the cake thrust inton ones face and being wrestled to the ground and playfully beaten. Some people joke that Koreans act like they are all family, and though I don’t like over-generalizations much, I would say that they treat friends like siblings. I had an awesome birthday party with Yong Hyun, who’s birthday was on the 24th, and am really glad that AJ was able to come and meet so many of my friends.
I want apologize to friends, family, and casual readers. I’ve been for the most part absent for the past month, both here and other forms of communication. Please send me a reply, email, letter, postcard, facebook post, whatever you want. It would be great to here from you!
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- Jonahage and AJhage at Akita Station
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- Real Namahage from the Namahage festival in Oga. The put their masks on just after this blessing.
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- Adding rice flour to give some consistancy to the mochi mush
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- AJ eating some sticky mochi
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- Some Minikuras with candles inside
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- Festival food, though not always veg friendly is DELICIOUS!
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- From left to right: Me, Sandy, Yong Tae, and Minhee
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- The shrine in the back, the cooks in winter kimono up front.
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- Like most places in Japan, you take your shoes off to go inside.
AJ arrived late on Saturday night so we took it easy, I gave her a night time tour of the campus and introduced her to a few friends. On Sunday we went on a bus trip to Yokote for their Kamakura festival. A few cities and towns in the area have their own Kamakura festivals but Yokote’s is well reputed. These pictures are mostly from that festival. The Kamakura is northern Japan’s version of an igloo, with a small shrine inside to the Water Spirit, and a small grill for cooking food and making Amazake, a sweet rice drink that is absolutely delicious. Though it was slightly drizzling instead of snowing some of the time, it was still an awesome time, and inspite of the frozen footscicles we food warmth in each friends and hot sake.
Flickr sites are up and running, please look for the links to the left!
