The semester is finally over, and as I say bye to a lot of students who will not be returning to AIU (either for their own study-abroad experiences, or they are returning to their home institutions) I'd like to take some time and reflect on all my experiences in the last 4 months, especially now during the holiday season.
It has been an interesting experience being away from home this long. It is the first time I will not be home for the holidays-- in my life.. Wow, I definitely had to take a step back and examine this past year. Right after my sophomore year's second semester I was in Japan for a month, then went to Chicago and spent an awesome summer working at Neuberger Berman, and hanging out with the Taylor family. Then I went back home for about a week and was soon off to Japan again, this time for a full year-- literally I'll be here until August. Six more days and it's 2014-- how the time has flown by.
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| Thanksgiving Dinner at AIU |
Let's begin with Thanksgiving. This was my first reality check-- I thought to myself "That's strange.. I'm not home..." I couldn't help but get a little emotional-- I mean this is huge! To me a birthday is not a big deal, but thanksgiving? How could it not be?? Being with family and friends feasting on amazing, home cooked meals for days and days. Yeah, that much food. It was surely a different scene spending Thanksgiving in Japan, but I was with Fabian and some other friends that I met here, making it a little better. We went around and said what we were thankful for-- just like I would if was at home. The dinner for that night was not bad-- I was actually pleasantly surprised, but it's just was not the same.
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| View of the campus from the main entrance |
Soon after we got the first, heavy, snowfall of the year. It was amazing! I've never seen so much white snow, and apparently this was only the beginning! The snow is so different here; from the very first snowfall people were making snowmen and having snowball fights everywhere. One morning I woke up and decided that I would take a walk around campus and enjoy the breathtaking views. I was really surprised to see how beautiful and white the snow was. I know I'm wiring that over and over again, but maybe that can help you understand how shocked I was-- and it isn't even my first snowfall! Please enjoy the pictures!
My friend Yui joined me on my walk and we came across a somewhat hidden path right behind my apartment building. We crossed a bridge and ended up inside a forest! We followed the path found a staircase and ended up in a park of some sort. When we got back we made snow angels, and I made my first snowman-- it was dope!
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| First Snowman...Ever |
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| Mysterious bridge behind University Village |
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| Mysterious staircase leading into the woods |
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| Panorama of the forest area behind the Sakura apartments |
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| Tazawako Station |
A couple of weeks ago Fabian, Skylar, Yu, and I all went to 乳頭 温泉(Nyuto Onsen), literally Nipple Hot Spring. It is famous in Akita for its milky bath water, located in the mountains. There are about 6 other onsen in the area, but we only went to that one. The trip was really long! It was about a 2- hour car ride to the Tazawako bus station where we got on two more buses to get to the onsen.
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| View from Tazawako Station |
At Tazawako station we ate lunch at a nice small ramen restaurant, enjoyed some of the views, and then we were soon on our way. You can also look at what we looked at through this video! I regrettably forgot my video camera, so I was limited to my cell-phone to take videos and pictures, sorry for the low quality!
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| At Nyuto Onsen |
Again, sorry for the low quality but you can watch a clip of the first bus ride. It was cool, but the second bus ride was much better! The views were amazing, the snow was unbelievable; I was in a winter wonderland. This video's a bit longer but check it out. It was freezing cold when we got to the onsen, but we had to take a bunch of pictures (and a short video that you can also watch). I was in awe the entire time, I was so happy we were able to enjoy it.
What made it even more amazing was that it began snowing while we were in the bath (for a brief moment). I wish I could have taken a picture or something, but you know, I'm not 100% positive a bunch of naked bros would have appreciated their photos on the internet. You can look at images of the actual bath on Google images, but here is the link to the website just in case you were interested.
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| Stream at Nyuto Onsen |
These past couple of days I did a few more COS events, giving me the chance to dress up as Santa Claus for babies, pretty much. It was a fun and interesting experience, kids are really something. I got everything from really excited to absolutely miserable reactions from the kids. I mean, I don't blame them-- sometimes Santa can be a scary dude. (I'll put pictures up when I get 'em). It was the perfect way to spend Christmas eve.
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| From left to right: Lewis, Callum, Lizzie, Elena |
Yesterday was Christmas and I can't believe I am not home to spend it with my family, but I know they will have a good time and enjoy the holiday season. I spent it with some new (and may I add incredibly chill) friends. First Elena and Lizzie made stuffing, custard, and an apple crumble. What's Christmas without some drinks, though? We had 熱燗(Atsukan) hot sake, and hot buttered apple juice with rum. I definitely recommend both these drinks. Later we went to an お好み焼き(Okonomiyaki) (which is like an omelette pancake of flour and various meats, cabbage, scallions and probably other stuff) all you can eat, all you can drink (yea) restaurant. It was really cool because each table had its own grill, and we had to cook the Okonomiyaki ourselves. After a couple of hours, it got pretty hard to make the okonomiyaki, check out Callum's iron chef skills.
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| Our first Okonomiyaki creation |
I'm looking forward to the new year and the winter semester, I hope it brings new adventures and friends. I don't have any New Year's plans, but I'll most likely be hanging with the crew and cooking some more.
I won't be traveling this vacation, but I did book a ticket to Sapporo, Hokkaido for the 雪祭 (Yuki Matsuri) Snow Festival in February. I'll be there for 4 days with two of my friends. It's gonna be an amazing time.
Have safe and happy holidays, everyone! Until 2014, じゃまたね！
