Homework for the Overactive Brain

Today's Quote--"Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me..."

Sunday, October 26, 2003

 

I know, I know, another quote from the same person two days in a row...how awful. ;) Okay, I think this might be a little bit of a long blog, so please prepare yourself...make some time, grab a snack, and pull up a comfy chair...;) Nope, nothing bad, just went to the Onsen this weekend and thought ya'll might like to hear some of the details. Hee hee hee.

First a quick check up on my life...School--doing well, I guess...took a huge kanji test and got A's on it, so I think I'm doing okay. Studying sometimes gets to me, but hey, that's life. Did a lot last week on Halloween for the Japanese students, so that was fun, but made me miss home a little bit. Home--Getting along well with my host family (met my host father again this morning...even said good morning. Seems like he lives in a separate demension though. I think I'm at four meetings now.). Enjoy my host mother a lot. Everything else--Cramps are evil no matter where you live. No matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. No colds (knock on wood) and feeling good, despite all the little complaints my body gives me. Need to actually try and do this workout thing more than just once a week...but enjoy doing it when I do do it, which is important. Nothing from SGI lately...little worried on that account. They were supposed to be part of my Japanese practice regimen. ;) OY! Miss home A LOT! And can't get my mind off of Christmas. Maybe 'cause I'll be home then. *shrug* Dunno. Nice to hear from my friends...you know who you are:) And I miss everyone too, even if I don't hear from them. I know people are busy. :) On the whole, enjoying Japan. Scared of going back to SUA. Why? Lots of reasons, but I don't think I'll go into them right now. This blog is going to be long as it is, I think. Later then. Hmmm...Ah yes, my English is going...I'm having a hard time remembering what's English and what's Japanese. It's all just kind of jumbled inside my head right now, so if I lapse into romanized Japanese, sorry! Find a translator...or email me. And on that note, let's move right on into the fun stuff, shall we?

Onsen: Japanese Hot Spring.
Well, where to begin. Hmmm...maybe I should explain Onsen a little bit before I go into actual trip stuff...just for those of you who don't know already. If you do, too bad, read anyway. ;) Of course, being a hotspring, Onsen are usually located out in the boonies near large mountains, especially volcanos. There are usually resorts or hotels built around the hotsprings. In Japan they're set up like public baths, men and women separated by tall walls (oy!) and everybody Naked! Fun. You wash up before hand and jump on in to the hot mineral water. Most Onsen usually have two "bath"s. One inside one outside. So, now that you know everything there is to know about Onsen, I'll tell you about my trip.

Soooooooo...Showed up at school by noon Saturday to meet up with the group. There were about 60 people on this trip. Ryugakusei-tachi (you remember that word? I told you there would be a quiz) included students from America, England, Korea, China, and Taiwan. There was a group of about 15 students on a two week study abroad (hint, hint) from Korea, China, and Taiwan, plus our normal group of about 15 students. Then there were several members of HI-C, the English club on campus and the Kokusai-center (international center) staff. Lots of people, 2 buses. So...Head out from Hokusei at about 12:50 in the afternoon. Japanese charter buses all come equipped with tour guides, apparently, so we listened to ours blabber on and on in Japanese for about 45 minutes until we reached the mountain pass, our first stop. Yeah for snow! Just a quick bathroom break, pick up some food, etc., and off again to Niseko, the Onsen. The trip took about 2 hours, and we got in at 4 pm. It was raining, but there was a nice wood park next to the hotel, so some of us went for a walk. Just a note...don't try and play Gazebo Volleyball with a large pond down the hill next to the Gazebo...especially when it's raining. We spent about half our time trying to fish the ball back out. ;) But walked around and around until after it got dark, enjoying the fall environment. Hee hee! That was great. At 6 we sat down to a large, expensive dinner. To which K replied, "There are three things on this plate staring at me. I don't know..." But we ate and it was good! Afterwards we played the human knot game and musical chairs...all 60 of us. That was a ton of fun, especially since half of us speak Japanese as our second (or third...or fourth) language. ;) Then it was time for the Onsen.

Somehow four of the five American girls managed to go at the same time. The hardest part had to be getting undressed...by the time I had washed off, I felt more comfortable, and the hot spring was just wonderful...especially outside, with the beautiful night sky, fall foliage, and a little rain and cool breeze. Very relaxing....minus some noisy Gaijin. ;) Stayed in for about an hour...little bit too warm for much else. Afterwards, went to one of the many drinking rooms, filled out a questionairre on Japanese Female bathroom culture, and promptly went about enjoying myself. So what if I had four glasses of Japense sake...which is about 30% alcohol....And yeah, I was a little bit tipsy there...but I stayed up late enough that I was sober again. (how scary is that?) Went to bed at 4 (AM) and was woken up at least twice by people wandering in and out of my room (there were 7 people supposedly staying there). But I enjoyed sleeping on a bed...;) Woke up at 8. Don't really know why, but decided breakfast was a good thing, so I got dressed, packed, and went to eat.

Walked around the wooded area a bit after breakfast, played on the playground with E. That was fun! The weather had cleared up and so the sun was really pretty on the trees and pond. We left at about 10:15 and made our way to Lake Toyo. Very pretty...four islands in the middle, and all the trees so many pretty colors...and the water was sooo blue! Ahhh...Then made our way to two active volcanos...one which was made in 1949. Very cool...lots of steam and sulfer smell...hee hee. Went to the top of the older, parent volcano via a ropeway (just checking, yep, still scared of heights). Then walked the rest of the way up....not to the actual warm spot, just a hill with a good view...could see the Pacific Ocean and all kinds of cool volcano stuff. Enjoyed it a lot. Ate lunch there and left around 2 pm. Got back to Hokusei around 4, got home around 5. Okaasan made an early dinner and I went to bed early...8pm. 6:30 in the morning comes pretty quick! *sigh* All in all, it was an excellent trip! I love fall, and I really got to enjoy it all. I also love road trips...crocheted and listened to a lot of music.

Still a little tired today, but just as much as usual. Well, I've got a ton of homework today (probably to make up for not having any this weekend), so I better get on home and start on it. :) Other interesting Japanese facts will have to wait until later. ;)

GL 8:55 PM