I went to Honolulu with Alexis, did you?

Leaving Japan on such short notice after a huge earthquake followed by a huge tsunami by a nuclear crisis = not so easy.

The plane that took me out, therefore, had a full day of layover in Honolulu. Alexis was on the same flight, so we chilled in Hawaii.

I ate this

and it was delicious. Vegan soup pho is totally always the best.

We played here

and it was beautiful, and our hair was crazy.

We forgot that we were in Hawaii and not Japan

and left our stuff hanging out on the beach.
It's okay, though, because we have the coolest stuff evs. :-)

The smart Alexis, who had brought a bathing suit, played in the water

while I sat on the beach getting my pants all wet. Which led me to put on Alexis's shorts, which were all big and fally offy.

Good times were had, and then I got to Colorado, and Kristen wondered why I was so tan.

My day in Honolulu 以上です。

January to March 2011 randomness

So, this updating thing might take a little while, as it has been AGES since I last updated. I'm going to do my best to keep things super brief, though.

So, small summaries - no longer a Minna no Nihongo student but now a New Approach student nearing the end of the blue book.

I went home for Christmas and had a fantabulous time!

Then I went to France for the end of my Christmas vacation, where I got to eat delicious Ethiopian food and do Viet Vo Dao and just generally chill.

Came back to Japan and pretty much immediately got the flu, which put me basically out of commission for a good threeish weeks. Other than that (and the obvious), had a fabulous term.

Went indoor rock climbing.

Went bowling.

Went plum blossom viewing.

Went to some cool festivals (the Takisanji Ogre festival being the coolest!)

These dudes were supposed to be chasing an ogre around the temple with fire. It was super awesome.

Went to the Okazaki Zoo and saw lots of cute animals.

Did lots of other things that I don't really remember (because I didn't take any pictures of them), studied probably much less than I should have but still managed to do well (though my Japanese speaking could use some major work), hung out with friends in Nagoya,. . .

Then the earthquake happened, and I was in Yahagi, and it felt like the building I was in suddenly went to sea, and I'm surprised I didn't throw up. Then I

Went to an okonomiyaki restaurant and didn't eat anything.

Played some cards.

And then I woke up the next morning and inexplicably went to Tokyo.

Saw some beautiful mountains on the way.

Ate lots of DELICIOUS vegan food, including
adorable caramel heart-shaped donuts

and peanut glutinous rice balls and a chocolate shake!

Yummy!

Then I met up with my friend Jonnie who was in Japan for the first time ever.

He still has the coolest bag ever of all time.

It had been ages since I last saw him, and it was super cool to catch up and just get to spend the day together. I seriously had an AWESOME time hanging out with him.

The next day I had a medical visit right in front of Tokyo Tower.

It was my first time to see Tokyo Tower, and it was actually pretty cool.
Then I took the bus home to Okazaki, where I was finally able to talk to my father, who ordered me to evacuate. So I did (I'll admit, it was kinda scary, especially as the night I got back there was a huge aftershock, and while I was in Tokyo the ground never seemed to stop shaking).

And next time (which will hopefully be sooner rather than later), I'll write about my day in Honolulu with Alexis and hanging out in Colorado.

Japan - fleeing, feeling, and donating

I posted this in my book blog, but I know some of the people that read this blog don't read my book blog, so I thought I'd do a double posting, just to be safe.

So, as most of you probably know, I have been living in Japna for the last year. And with all of the things going on in Japan lately, I have received SO many wonderful comments and e-mails from you guys inquiring about my safety. First of all, I just want to say thank you SO much. I really appreciate all of your thoughts and concerns, and I am sure Japan and all of the Japanese people do as well.

Second of all, yes, I am safe. The area I live in was basically unaffected. I felt the quake a little bit (I was actually teaching 2 year olds at the time, and the building we were in shook like we were in a boat for about 4 minutes - the worst we got was some crying two year olds. And me feeling motion sick), but other than that my area was unaffected.

Still, because my family was worrying so much (and let's face it, when it came to radiation, me, too), I have returned to the states. It was a little bit crazy going through everything to get my re-entry permit and a last minute flight and to get myself packed, but now I have safely arrived in Colorado with my sister.

I've been a little bit blah and a little bit depressed about the whole situation, so I've been doing my best to avoid the internet (unfortunately, it's been hard, and I've been watching and reading way too much about Libya and Japan).

Now, I know you all want to help Japan (I know I can't watch the news without crying and feeling sick), and what they need more than anything right now is money. There are lots of great ways to donate, and I hope you will. For a list of donation possibilites, go check out this article.
In the meantime, please keep Japan (and Libya, of course) in your thoughts (and prayers, if you have those).

And, since I know it's been ages since I last updated about anything, I'll do my best to post a real update as soon as I get back to Japan.