Christmas in February

ALTs can be surprisingly difficult to assemble in one place. As a result, we lucky residents of the Sanjo/Tsubame area held our regional Christmas party yesterday, only two months late. Anyway, about 15 of us got together at an okonomiyaki restaurant in Sanjo. Okonomiyaki is a specialty of the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, etc) and is essentially a pancake consisting of, well, whatever one wants it to. Stable ingredients are usually cabbage, veggies, seafood (or some type of meat), and an egg to help things stick together. Anyway, a good time was had by all (except maybe the unfortunate Japanese people seated next to us). A few visual representations, some courtesy of the lovely Nuria (more here):


Because normal pictures are no fun.
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kristi & Grace (From Above)
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

The Table
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Looks like fun, huh?

And Cornell says... Admitted!!!

The verdict is in for Cornell - I'm in!!!

Dear Kristi,

Congratulations! We are pleased to announce that you have been admitted to graduate study in the Department of Government at Cornell University for the Fall 2006 academic term. You will soon receive a formal letter describing your financial award along with other details.

Wowsers. Thank God someone got back to me - I was starting to go a little bit nuts with all the waiting. *big smile* Off to work!

You know it's been a bad winter when...

The government wants to give it a name. The number of snow-related deaths (134) this season is the second-highest in the post-war era. Although I personally think that "Heisei 18 (2006) Heavy Snow" isn't nearly exciting enough - how about "winter of death" or "the time when the killer snow attacked"?

Had dinner with Aaron and Nuria last night. Aaron cooked enough pasta to feed a small army, and in the end, the spaghetti defeated the three of us. We didn't go down without a fight though. Anyway, we got to talk a bit about our upcoming weekend in South Korea, which looks to be quite a good time. Can't wait - things have been so exciting lately!

Today I'm living in the land of a thousand speaking tests. Or so it seems. Kinda like it though - it's a rare chance to interact with the students on an individual basis. They're ever so much more cooperative that way, not surprisingly.

Back to the grind. My base school is switching to a new (and much better) textbook next year, so they've given me the task of basically determing the new curriculum. Kinda tough though. Ah well, I have two to three months to do it. ;)

Nagano Roadtrip

So, it was another amazing weekend of sightseeing. This time the destination was Nagano, our neighbor to the west, best known as the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Saturday morning, I took the train out to Tokamachi to meet Ros and Grace, who had been soaking up the sights of the Tokamachi Snow Festival, reportedly Japan's second-best snow festival (after Sapporo). If Niigata is famous for snow in Japan, it really says something that Tokamachi is famous for snow within Niigata itself. Anyway, they met me at the train station and we immediately set off for Nagano-ken.


En route to Nagano
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

After a relatively short drive, we found ourself in Nagano and shortly thereafter in Yudanaka, a small town famous for hot springs and monkeys (monkeys!). We stayed in a traditional Japanese-style ryokan. The owner of the place was kind enough to chaffeur us practically everywhere, starting with a fabulous onsen (hot spring) up in the mountains - which would have had a *fantastic* view if not for the four feet of snow around the outdoor baths. Still, there's something indescribably wonderful about bathing in an outdoor hot spring, surrounded by snow and a starry sky. Very Japanese. Very wonderful. The onsen was followed by dinner at a cute little establishment near our ryokan and then an early bedtime. Wonderfully relaxing.

Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early and (again, accompanied by our friend the hotel owner) went to Jigokudani Monkey Park, home of the onsen-bathing snow monkeys. We trekked around an area known as "Hell's Valley" for about 20 minutes with not another person in sight, and suddenly we were in another world. It was *amazing* - monkeys roaming free, frollicking and feeding and bathing and jumping, unphased by the small number of tourists who had awoken early to observe them. I loved the place for the same reason I loved the deer in Nara - it's thrilling to be able to just wander around together with wildlife, without the bars (and rather dubious caretaking) of a zoo. You'd be taking pictures of one cute fellow and suddenly someone would whisper "Look down" and you'd see a monkey sitting on your foot. Amazing, amazing, amazing. Five stars. A must-see for Japan. I took a ridiculous number of pictures, but here are a few highlights:


Onsen time!
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Just out of the bath
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Too cute for words
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

After the Monkey Park, we checked out of our hotel and proceeded on to Obuse, a cute little traditional town where we had an amazing lunch. Rosalind pretty much sums it all up for us in this one:


Food = Happiness
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

And then it was just a quick jaunt south to see Matsumoto Castle, one of only four castles in Japan to be declared a National Treasure. It's reportedly the second-best one, after Himeji Castle and the second-oldest, after Inuyama Castle (what did I tell you about all the ranking?). I visited Osaka Castle in October, but Matsumoto was *totally* different. Whereas Osaka Castle had been last rebuilt in 1931, Matsumoto dates from 1504. Visitors took off their shoes and proceeded up steep wooden stairs and dark castle halls, viewing relics from its heyday. Walking through the castle, I could totally imagine what it must have been like to fight a battle there - amazing. Another must-see.


Kristi, Matsumoto Castle
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Matsumoto Castle
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I just taught two amazing lessons at school too, so life is looking good.

UW-Madison: The verdict is in!

Accepted, with five years of guaranteed financial support and a nomination for their "most prestigious and most competitive fellowship"! Not doing too bad so far.

Heading off to Nagano with Grace and Rosalind this weekend to see the famed monkey park and perhaps a few other sights. Full report to come, rest assured.

Sapporo Snow Festival

So, despite a long workweek, Rosalind and I flew off to Sapporo on Friday for the 57th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival. The flight from Niigata to Hokkaido took a mere hour and after a subsequent train and bus, we met up with Johanna, Beth, and Joel at our hotel. Friday night was quiet, with a little strolling around Sapporo and a surprisingly nice Italian dinner. Sapporo seems like a really fun city, with almost 2 million people and a lot of neat attractions to its name. I'm not sure if I could deal with the cold there though. Hokkaido is colder than Niigata (but gets less snow for the same reason) - and wow does a degree or two make a difference when you're already below freezing. Brrr.

So, I'm not going to say a lot, except that it was *awesome* and *amazing* and totally worth the time/money/shivering. The snow and ice sculptures were truly astounding, both in quality and quantity. We saw giant replicas of buildings, a massive Buddha, several Totoros, Pikachu, Domo-kun, R2-D2, Wallace and Gromit, the Chronicles of Narnia, a Bailey's bar and a karaoke booth made of solid ice, fish encased in an ice palace, dragons, mermaids, phoenixes, and God knows what else. I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. I took over 200 and posted around 140, so definitely check out my Flickr set to see more, if you're interested.


Horyu-ji Temple, Odori Park
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Ice Sculptures, Susukino
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Fight-o!
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Happy Taiwan, Odori Park
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Doin' the Domo-kun
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Monkey Business
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Sapporo Smiles
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

We Heart Hokkaido
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kristi goes manga...

So, the Japanese academic year begins in April and ends in March, which means that third-year junior high students are currently taking high school entrance exams and preparing for the exciting world of high school. They're also putting together their yearbooks, for which all of the teachers have to write a little something. I was handed a draft of my entry today to proofread, complete with a drawing of me done by one of my students:


Kristi's Yearbook Entry
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

The resemblance isn't that strong, but the glasses are right on. ;) I seriously wonder what would happen if I ever stopped being lazy and actually wore my contacts to school. I'm sure some of the kids would be like "Umm... who are you?" Anyway, I thought it was cute. Sometimes they really make me feel all warm and fuzzy, those little imps...

Ok, bedtime. I managed to watch an entire DVD of The Simpsons while printing photos, doing laundry, and otherwise wasting time this evening. And no, I didn't pack for Sapporo. Argh. Ah well, that's what tomorrow afternoon is for, right? ;)

Tokyo Reunions

Donning Ears
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, I spent the weekend traipsing about Tokyo. Took the highway bus down on Friday afternoon and got to Tokyo around 7:30 pm on Friday night. The verdict on the highway bus? It was really nice - charter-style, generously reclining seats and a lot of leg room - but it wasn't the shinkansen (duh). I managed to located Star at Ikebukuro, the second busiest station in Tokyo, and we belatedly celebrated her arrival in Japan over yakiniku. It's been a crazy six months since graduation for both of us, so we had a lot of catching up to do! We were both pretty tired from a long week of work though, so we headed back to her apartment in Asagaya to finish chatting under the warmth of her kotatsu table.

On Saturday, we met up with Star's friend Daisuke (who was an exchange student in Seattle) for Indian food in Shinjuku (yum). Then, the three of us went to Odaiba to check out some of the exhibits that had migrated there from last year's Aichi Expo. It was so cold! The wind was really kicking up near the sea. On the train ride there, I got a chance to see a few of the Tokyo sights that had previously slipped through the cracks, such as the Rainbow Bridge and the mini Statue of Liberty. We saw the Mammoth Museum, which centered around a huge (and fairly freaky-looking) mammoth skull - pretty cool. On our way to VenusFort to check out the crazy variable-lighting, sky-like ceiling, we ran into a Toyota car show and frollicked accordingly. Odaiba is known as a place for couples, and there were quite a lot out and about, despite the chilly weather. Quite a romantic atmosphere overall.


Mammoth Museum, Odaiba, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Toyota Odaiba Showroom, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

After Odaiba, we met up with Tina, Chan, and a couple of Tina's friends for sushi in Shimokitazawa. Shibuya was next on the list, with its usual Saturday night insanity. And of course, we had to make a purikura stop to commemorate the occasion - Tina is going back to Seattle in a couple of weeks, so it was the last time the four of us would be in the same place for a long while. The night finished out with some late night ramen in Shinjuku before catching the train back to the suburbs. Oddly enough, Tina, Chan and Star all live on the same line, west of Shinjuku - and Tina and Star are actually only one stop away from each other. What a small world.


Sushi, Shimokitazawa, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Late Night Snackage, Shibuya, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Kawaii x 2
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Sunday morning demanded some sleeping in before venturing out to Harajuku for some people-watching. I cannot express how much I adore Harajuku on Sundays. Tina and a friend of hers dressed up, so we had an extra treat - and we even ran into Drew, who I guess is quite the Harajuku regular. Btw, when/if you look at those Harajuku pics, you've gotta keep in mind that [despite the lack of Niigata-like perma-snow] it was *cold* - these people are dedicated to their cause. If I lived in Tokyo, I think I'd totally become one of the hobby photographers who hang around - what better material for practicing your photography? Anyway, much picture-taking and people-watching ensued before snacks at Harvest and some random shopping in the area. And then I took the [wonderful wonderful] shinkansen home to find that [wonderful wonderful wonderful] email from Berkeley.


Harajuku, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

Tina & Em, Harajuku, Tokyo
Originally uploaded by kristi-san.

But yeah, it was a good time. And I'm still tired. :) Time for bed!!!

Good news from Berkeley!!!

I've been accepted.

"Dear Kristi,

Please accept our warmest congratulations! This is an informal note to let you know that the our Admissions Committee is delighted to recommend you to the University of California’s Graduate Division for admittance to the Department of Political Science. Official notification of your admission will come from the Dean of the Graduate Division.

Each year, we receive a staggering number of applications from a remarkably accomplished and impressive pool of candidates. Yours was among the best of the best, and we are very excited by the prospects that you will join our community here at Berkeley. We do recognize, however, that you are likely to face a choice between universities and are eager to turn to the task of recruiting you to come to Berkeley..."

Yay!!!!!!!