year of the ram

Wow, can you believe it is 2003...the year of the Ram (or sheep or goat or whatever) over here, don`t forget. It is a good year to be born in the Year of the Horse apparently, since the Ram and Horse are friends...at least that was what I was told...hopefully that will help counteract the fact that I'm 24 years old this year (I have been told that it is a dangerous age to be and you must be protected by wearing something red at all times, remember that).

According to my Japanese friends, I have survived my first Japanese winter. Despite the arctic winds that continue to plague my bike ride to school, Spring arrived on February 3rd. As is custom in Japan, the first day of Spring is celebrated by chosen people dressing as Devils and other people throwing beans (yep, beans) at them and at loved ones to bring happiness. As they keep telling me, "Devil out, happiness in." I thought this was a strange tradition until I had to explain that we acknowledge spring by the shadow of a large rodent-type animal appearing from a hole....guess how difficult that was to justify.

However, when I thought I could not surivive the winter and the lack of central heating finally caused me to put three blankets on my triple-decker futon, I had to get away to a more tropical climate. So, I went to Hawaii for Christmas. It was a well-deserved treat. I spent a week or so hanging out with my family (yep the whole family) and with my friends Nick and Jen who bravely decided to spend Xmas with The Hansens et al. I did heaps of surfing and spent lots of time in the sun eating all the food I can only remember the taste of over here, like real cheese....and tortillas, peaunutbutter, pizza...and sigh...never mind...Then after ten days of family bliss, I was on my own in Hawaii for a week, so I moved from the posh digs of our hotel to the more economical hostel, where I actually had a pretty good time and met some crazy-life altered people. I still went surfing regularly, watched movies on the beach, and even drank Singapore Slings on a sunset cruise my last night there. But best of all, I can now claim to have surfed the North Shore...and I have the scar to prove it.

One of the dudes in my hostel room, and I really mean dude, was a 20 yr. old from California, who was a pro on the surf curcuit there and had moved to Hawaii to "study" at the Hawaii University. Two other girls had learned surfing in Florida and had a car, so they invited me to go surfing with them. The guy at the rental shop told us the North Shore was calm that day (no 20 footers) and encouraged us to try it out. He said four foot waves, but they were more like seven foot waves measured in Hawaiian feet which must be different because when I paddled out into them I felt immensely insignificant and I truly thought at some moments that I was going to die. The surferdude from our hostel was great and helped us out, but when I wiped out, I really did think that I was never going to make it back to shore before I swallowed the whole ocean. We kept drifting and I got "reef rash" as I was pummelled by the waves. I now have a new respect for the guys that are big wave riders. I can only imagine what facing a 20 foot wave must feel like.

Back in Japan, after a ten hour flight and a ten hour overnight bus ride, I headed straight for the snow in Akakura (near Nagano). It is a totally different experience snowboarding here. First off, it was the best snow I have ever seen. The amount of powder there is breathtaking. Second, there is nothing in the world like sliding into a hot "onsen" (like a turkish bath house maybe?) to soothe the aches away after carving all day on the slopes. I spent three days up there and had to go back again for another three days at the end of the month. I just love it. I`ll try to go again before the season ends.

I arrived back at school to start teaching again smack in the middle of flu season. The Flu over here is a pretty mean variety and in fact hospitalizes lots of its victims. Of course, being around snotty-nosed kids all day didn`t help me avoid it and I was pretty ill for a few weeks, inlcuding one whole week with no school for me or some kids. (Whole grades are cancelled in school for weeks at a time in winter because of illness). However, the fact that I was bedridden helped me experience my first earthquake in Japan. It shook my whole building and the mirror on my wall was moving back and forth. It really freaked me out, especially since I was sick. But I knew I was not hallucinating from fever, since my teachers also talked about it when I returned to school. They say we are expecting a big one in this region, but they said that in Victoria too, so I try not to worry.

I regained my strength in time to take another week of holiday and a short flight to Hong Kong to hang out with my friend Mike. I really liked Hong Kong. It is busy and dirty and some people are there just to rip you off, but it also has some amazing scenery, cool Chinese cultural mixes...and it was warm. The temperature was 20-24 C when we were there and the humidity was at 89%. Needless to say, the guidebooks were not talking about Japan cold when they mentioned a cold wind and I packed for the wrong sort of winter. But I wasn`t complaining. We ate loads of Dim Sum and toured the city by every mode of transportation. We spent one morning relaxing on a beach and the afternoon hiking to a temple. Afterwards my face was as red as a tomatoe, and I spent the rest of the visit wishing for aloe vera relief. My favorite parts of the trip included the urban lantern festival (although the screeching Peking Opera we saw was not something I`d repeat), throwing wishes tied to oranges into the wishing tree in Tai Po (sorry about your wish Mike), and walking around the island of Cheung Chau to find the pirate caves (we should have brought a flashlight, they were caves afterall). We packed in an amazing amount of sightseeing and shopping for souvenirs into the trip and despite the fact that Mike caught a bad cold after his first few days there, he gamely let me drag him hiking and walking all over the islands with a pocketful of tissues.

This weekend my friend Dale from Austrlalia is flying to Japan to be my first (and hopefully not last) visitor. He is staying for 2 1/2 weeks (yikes!!) and I have to think of Japanese-y stuff to entertain him for his stay. Maybe I can take him to school for show and tell. Although, everyone would stare at him anyways, despite the dread-lockedhair, because this is Japan after all.

Finally, my friend Abi and I have booked a ticket from March 19th-31st to LA (time may be increased if we are lucky). We are staying with a friend in San Diego for a six days, then I am heading up to the West Coast of Canada for a 6 day visit (approx). Anyways, this has gone on way too long and it is now way past my bedtime. Goodnight!