From the Midwest and Around the World

   I recently realized that I do not deal with really big cities very well. Crowds annoy me I don't like to fight through them and I don't like to even see them. I learned this in Tokyo this past weekend. I, of course, really enjoyed Tokyo overall. I just didn't like that except for in my dorm at the hostel, there was no escape from people. The first day, I arrived from Hiroshima in Tokyo in the afternoon and went to Harajuku and Shinkjuku (the major fashion districts). Because it was the weekend, there were just so many people and my feet were hurting, so after walking up and down the main street, I had to leave. I felt suffocated, annoyed, and slightly guilt-tripped by the panhandlers, salespeople, and general crowdedness. There were literally people packing the sidewalk as far as the eye could see. However, despite that, I saw some of the interesting fashions that are popular in Japan. After being wiped by the crowds, I hopped on a train and arrived at my hostel which wa...

   Tomorrow, I know that I will wake up and feel like an old lady...in fact, I all ready feel like an old lady! I hiked up Mt. Rokko today and it was tough!! I started at about 8:30 AM in the morning and was hiking until about 2:30 PM (up and down very steep hills and with many short breaks). Even in that amount of time, I did not reach the top of Mt. Rokko. This link describes the course I took well. The only inaccuracy is that this course is described as "easy." If this course is easy, I would hate to be the poor souls who are climbing the medium or even difficult courses! I am certainly not in athletic body shape, but when a course is listed as "easy" I do not expect to be constantly huffing and puffing and taking many (and more) breaks. Therefore, this course, in my opinion was medium-difficult.     The first part was through a residential district up hill, then the path led into the woods and towards a waterfall and shrine area. There was an entrance are...

   Hello everyone! It gets harder and harder to update, especially since I've fallen behind a bit in my posts as well as I've had a few busy weeks recently.    About three weeks ago, I visited Kyoto with some of the Japanese students who were studying English here at JCMU. We visited Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. Because much of Japan is very open (and semi-secular) about religion, but their faith is based in polytheism, there are many shrines (both large and small) and a lot of temples. It is not uncommon to see a very small shrine squeezed in the alley between two houses. As a Christian, I also have not gotten a chance to see inside another religion's house of worship.    Yasaka Shrine has a large white and bright orange gate. When you walk inside, there are food-booths and a lot of mini shrines. There is also a place where one can buy protective charms (usually about $10 or more), "mikuji" (which are fortune sheets...I will talk about t...

   I cooked a whole fish for the first time on Sunday evening and here are the results! It was actually edible and it really tasted good. Here are the pictures:

   I hope everyone enjoyed not having to read my blog during my brief hiatus. Well, I'm back to bother you all again. It is Sunday evening after an interesting, restful, and spontaneous weekend. First off, let me tell you about the rest of my week. Before I started class in level two Japanese, I took a lot of walks outside on Monday and Tuesday...and I have not posted the pictures yet...so here they are: This is the road outside JCMU.  This is a view of the beach from a roadside park just between Hikone and Maibara (the next town over) <---- Another view of the mountains across the lake Obligatory picture of waves---> <-----It was really windy this morning and these poor ducks were just riding the waves. Here is a rock that is considered holy or attached to a diety  (forgive the Wikipedia explanation)---> The town you see here is Maibara and the Mountain behind it is Mount Ibuki---> <---Another look at Maibara <-...

   Today was my first full day in Japan. I had a fairly restless sleep the night I got there, probably due to the time difference and jet lag. However, I forced myself to stay in bed until 6 AM. Then, I ate the bean bun I had bought the night before, which was very tasty. I also got some hot chocolate from the vending machine so I had a warm beverage. Then, I watched the sun rise and went for a walk with a bottle of hot green tea (again, from the vending machine). This is the view across the lake from the sidewalk outside the academic building. Here is the sidewalk. To the left is a Japanese-style garden outside the academic building.  <---Another view of the lake <---Here is the view outside my window. If I look to the right, I can see the castle in the distance    I had wanted to bike to the grocery store later that day, but since it is the weekend and tomorrow (Monday) is a national holiday, the person who is in charge of the bi...

Sunday: I woke up early and with my family drove from Indianapolis to Grand Rapids. I got all moved in to my single room and watched "Serenity" with a few friends in their apartment. Overall a nice, relaxing day Monday: Labor Day. Again, just relaxed, and mentally prepared myself for the beginning of classes on Tuesday. Bought a few decorating items for my room and went to Starbucks with a friend. Tuesday: First day of classes. Quite a busy day! I had three classes (two of which are 300-level classes). From 8:35-9:50, I had The President and Congress (POLS-314) which seems like it will be a very entertaining class. From 12:05-1:20, I had International Organizations and Law (POLS-309) which also appears to be interesting. After that, I had Oral Rhetoric (CAS-101) from 1:30-2:45. Seems like it will be a fairly easy, relaxing class. It was really nice being able to bike to and from classes. A lot easier on the feet and definitely faster! Wednesday: I only have two clas...