One more year...

I finally finished the Twilight series, my new amazing obsession, so now i am able to function again on my semi-normal level! seriously those books were so addicting, i could do nothing but read them! so clearly i survived snowboarding, but barely. it was not a pleasant experience for me and i doubt i will give it a go ever again, so done and done. i enjoyed the Gero trip tho, it was so nice to actually see snow and i had a lot of fun meeting people from Gifu. it was an enjoyable weekend getaway. next year i think ill hit up an onsen way up in the mountains and stay away from the winter sports! the weekend after the ski trip, the last weekend in january, maria and i went to toyohashi to visit Nozomi and her family. i met her parents and her mom taught us how to make the special, declicious kind of green tea used for tea ceremonies and cooked us the most amazing sukiyaki, its like a sweet stew that uses lots of soy sauce and brown sugar. i only stayed the day and then i had to go back to Handa for Sunday because i went to a shrine with kawai-sensei and her twin daughters for the mochi throwing. this is an event where people stand on a platform and chuck rock hard mochi at you, a lil dangerous and the people literally get crazy, i dont understand its just a rice cake, chill people. anyways, that was fun to take part in despite the bruises i received from the tall man jumping on me to steal the mochi. then that night my friend hanako took me to a sushi restaurant, not the fancy kind but the kind where it comes around and around and you can pick the ones you want. not really a big fan of sushi but i tried some and found i like most salmon sushi, esp yaki cheese salmon, and yellowtail. hanako has fallen in love with sushi boy so i forsee many trips there in the near future, we went back already on v-day to give him chocolate! the first week of february was busy, and i think february is going to be a busy month for me. on the 5th i made the big decision to stay another year in Japan! yea so ill be here until july 2010 at least which give ya`ll more time to visit me and me lots more time to figure what i will do after jet, scary. then on that friday the 6th i went to my first concert in jpan, Fall Out Boy! it was amazinggggg, i have never been to a crazier concert before. we figured it would all be gaijin there but we were like the only 4 there and when the music started the japanese just jumped and pushed and were all up in our grill, it was madness. they love to jump and pump their hands in the air, unfortunately most do not have any rhythm and could not understand the songs but it was still amusing nonetheless. i loved it and being so close to pete was wonderful, the venue was pretty small so i got to see him up close and scream inappropriate things at him cuz i was the only one who could speak english ha! then on saturday was the Hadaka Matsuri, better known as the Naked Man Festival and what a treat it was. we went with a big ole group of foreigners and watched as the men wearing white loin cloths paraded through the streets. all of them were so drunk off sake and chanting, and i saw way too many butts for my liking, and not nice ones either. all in all it was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and something truly unique to this country. it is actually quite a religious festival...what happens is there is one naked man and he is in the temple so we dont see him and all the other men chase him and touch him to give him their bad luck and all the men pass out ribbons, etc to people for good luck. i got nothing else from it than butt so the religious effect was lost on me. on sunday it was our friend yuka`s birthday so we went out for lunch in nagoya to an eel restaurant and i gotta say i love grilled eel, its delicious. after lunch we shopped around and went to an aussie bar, red rock, for drinks and dinner. all in all a festive weekend, one of the best thus far in nagoya. the next week we had wednesday off but on tuesday i came down with a mean cold and didnt go into work! i had a fever of 103, highest ive ever had...good thing i went to the doc and got some meds and got a sick day, in japan they like to make you use your paid vacation if you are sick, lame. so on tuesday night i was feeling better and went with maria, briana, and annie to osaka and stayed in a little hotel with a bed, tv, and kleenex...you put it together...and then on wed we went to spa world all day and enjoyed the asian baths and got swedish massages, i love japanese onsens! it was nice to have a day off, although for the next couple weeks i will have nothing to do at school, no teaching cuz the year is ending and there are tests, graduations, etc. this last weekend everyone finally came down to handa to visit hanako and me. we went to a yakitori, chicken restaurant, and ate and drank, then karaoke, and then everyone stayed at my tiny apartment but we all fit! then on valentines we hit up the sushi-ya for lunch and then went out to dinner at a fondue restaurant in nagoya called switch. we had scallops, soup, shrimp, rice balls, cheese and chocolate fondue, oh it was soooo sooo good, no melting pot, but still oishiiiii! after dinner we went to the hub and ended up staying out all night, go figure and took the train home in the morning. then i slept for 5 hrs got up and went back into nagoya for some sunday ice skating...the rink was small and i can skate suprisingly better than i thought (andy can attest to how much i usually suck at skating) but there was no music on the rink and no nachos, pretzels with cheese and all the deliciousness of the pettit, sad. then we shopped around osu, ate turkish kebabs, and called it a day. another crazy busy weekend! today i am buying my plane tickets for thailand for the end of march, 8 days, 7 nights! im really looking forward to it! the rest of this week is quite calm, few classes, and next weekend is busy again with dinners and drinking and on sunday we are doing a practice hanami party (the cherry blossom sake parties in april) under the plum trees that are starting to bloom! part of my fun has been overshadowed by the departure of one mr.favre, the love of my life, but i think i will survive, but it may be touch and go for a while. i love japan, but i still miss my sportscenter and chipotle. hopefully no one is too devastated by my decision to stay another year and let me know if you wanna come over a visit, my cousin meghan is coming at the end of june so im looking forward to showing her my other country for a while and you are all welcome! oh next month in nagoya is the penis festival so be ready for some more interesting stories coming your way, japan never ceases to surprise me! also if you are bored there is a website called something like japanese people will sleep anywhere, its hilarious and so, so true. much love xxxxxx