Hanabi! (fireworks)

So, it is now firework season in Japan. Last night I went to the fireworks in Asakusa, which is one of the largest fireworks displays in the world. There were approximately 20,000 fireworks shot off in the hour and a half long display. Some of them were huge! (oh, that's another thing that's not smaller in Japan, fireworks) I talked to one of the Japanese people next to me, and he said that some of the fireworks weighed almost 300 kilos. That's just a little bit scary.

Anyways, we all dressed up in our yukata or traditional summer dress. I went with a bunch of people from level 3, which meant that their Japanese was often over my head, but it was fun anyway. They dumbed down their Japanese when they actually wanted to talk to me ^_^

Oh, Leona, these big white ones reminded me of you. They were so pretty, they looked like snow when they set off 5 or 6 of them at the same time. I miss all of you, but at least the fireworks are pretty. ^_^

Stupid clouds!

So, today there was supposed to be a solar eclipse... not just any solar eclipse, the longest total eclipse of the century... and I was in a wonderful place to see it too... but at 11 this morning, there were clouds... lots of clouds... and all that really happened is that the cloud cover seemed to get thicker for a minute or two. That's all. I was thoroughly disappointed. The next total eclipse will be on July 11, 2010. Which doesn't sound that bad, except that it will be in the middle of the ocean... *sighs* oh, well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I guess I'll just have to wait for another one. The next one visible from the US is on Aug 21, 2017.

Not EVERYthing's small in Japan

So! For the record, Mt. Fuji is huge. At a wonderful 12,688 ft in height, Fuji stands as the second tallest free-standing mountain in the world (Mt. Kilimanjaro being the tallest).

As for the hike, we did most of our climb in the dark, starting just below the tree line. I think I would have gotten pretty tired of all the red and brown rocks, except that I couldn't see them on our way up. As for the mountain, most of what you could see from the trail were other hikers.

Speaking of other hikers... you would never guess how many people decide that it would be a wonderful idea to climb mt. fuji in the dark, in the rain, with temperatures hovering around zero (celcius), and gale force winds hurling pieces of mountain at their faces... From the 8th station all the way to the top, the trail was packed with people, 4 accross, all going up the mountain. This pic was at 3 in the morning.

Because of the festivals today, we got to see lots of fireworks from the mountain. They were pretty... (ignore the random conversations in the background... and pretend that it's turned 90 degrees clockwise)

Well, the internet is being slow... I'll upload it tomorrow...

All in all, a wonderful hike dispite the weather and traffic. I guess most things don't seem that bad after 39 hours of being awake and 16 hours of hiking. ^_^

Karaoke, kabuki, and birthdays, oh my!

Sorry for the long absence, everyone! I've been working really hard at school to try to compensate for my lack of the appropriate vocabulary. There's a test today, but it's over the grammar which shouldn't be too bad.

As for socializing and exploring, let's see... on Sunday my class went to a kabuki play and during the beginning, we were allowed to take pictures, which was cool! We'll see if this works or not, but here's a clip from the first section:

Kabuki was a lot of fun! If any of you ever get the chance, make sure you go.

Thursday was my dorm friend, Amanda's birthday. We went out to eat and then we went to a karaoke bar. The food was delicious. We ate at a shabushabu place, where you basically cook as much food as you want as you go. The tables are equipped with a stove and a pot of boiling water. Anyway, we stuffed ourselves silly.

After that, we went to karaoke and had a blast. This is Jannice, Michelle, and Amanda (the birthday girl)

As for this weekend, I'm planning on climbing Mt. Fuji with a couple of other students from my class. It should be awesome fun. I'll be sure to give you guys a bunch of pictures on Sunday when I get back.

Class = Evil

So, everything is turning out amazing, so far, except that I seem to know all the ways to say something except for the one that the other students know... OK, probably not all, but enough to make me feel exceptionally stupid. As of now, it looks like I'll have to be memorizing about 25 to 30 kanji per night, along with the rest of my homework, which seems to be taking me a couple of hours... I envy the native speakers who could probably finish it in about 10 minutes... I'll give you another post with some of my pics from Shibuya later (probably tomorrow) ^_^

Pics from Ikebukuro

As for pictures from Tokyo propper, here are some from around Ikebukuro. They're down town and at school. The girl in the fourth one is my friend Jannice. She's really nice and lives upstairs from me. So far, everything's going good... wish me luck when it comes to my classes next week...

Tests of DOOM (and pictures... finally)

OK, so, yesterday fas fun. First, we had our entrance ceremony. It must have taken about 2 hours. This means that it could have been done in around half an hour. First, someone would give a speach in Japanese, then this other guy would translate it into Chinese, then Tanaka-san translated it into English, and then, another lady would translate into Korean. It took for ever. There are apparently a lot of really interesting clubs and extra classes that we can take. I'm really interested in the poetry one and the cooking one. I'm also thinking about joining the soccer club if I have the time.

After the enterence ceremony, we had to take tests and do interviews with the teachers in order to get placed into a class. They basically told me that I could go into the level 3 class if I really wanted to, but that it would be hard for me to get good grades. Thus, I decied that it would probably be best to learn the rest of what I didn't know from level 2, before moving on to level 3 next term. So, level 2 it is!

As for other stuff, I finally got my bag delivered last night, so, I can show you my pictures now!

Here are couple from my flight... you couldn't really see much...

This is above Canada ^_^

This is where I should be able to see Japan, but it's cloudy :( so sad...

OK, this is a view from my hotel room in Narita (about 2 hours from Ikebukuro where I'm staying)... I really like how green all of the plants are here. It makes me happy ^_^

Home sweet home!

Hi, everyone! I made it to my dorm room finally, and it's much larger than I expected. I've got my own bathroom and kitchenette. I didn't write from the hotel because I didn't have a cable to connect to the internet with :(
I would love to show you some pictures of the dorm and of Japan for that matter, but unfortunately, I left my cords in my big suitcase (which is being delivered tomorrow). As for now, I think I need to find a convenience store, because 1. I need toilet paper, and 2. I really want a cup to drink water from :D

P.S. I think I've seen enough trains to last a lifetime! I miss you all.
-Leah