It has been a hot minute since I sat down and wove a tale of my life in Japan!
In the words of Mandy Patinkin:
…
OCTOBER:
My October was full of ups and downs, including going to Tokyo to interpret for the Mayor of Nagano at the Danish Embassy, participating in a CIR conference, experiencing Shibuya on Halloween, and witnessing the catastrophe of Typhoon Hagibis.
NOVEMBER:
In November, I enjoyed the gorgeous autumn colors out in nature, volunteered for post-Typhoon disaster relief, visited Matsumoto Castle, and had great times with friends!
DECEMBER:
December was full of good food and good people. I helped put on a Christmas Carol event in the city, then returned home to Kyoto after 5 long years! I couldn’t believe how nostalgic it felt, and I visited my old dorm to talk with the ladies who run the place–they actually remembered me! Turns out I’m on one of their promotional booklets xD Attended a Translation and Interpretation seminar in Shiga, near the gorgeous Lake Biwa. Then flew off for an American Christmas! Was so grateful to spend time with family and friends while I was home, and to enjoy the lovely snow!
JANUARY:
2020 Started off with a lot of excitement! Took part in two fire festivals, went skiing, attended the Tomyo Matsuri, or lantern festival, helped run a cultural event in Matsushiro where I got to dress up as a samurai, and met the famous monkeys of Yamanouchi!
FEBRUARY
In early February, I took a trip north to reunite with my dear friends Heather and Isel in Sapporo. We braved the bitter cold to see fantastic snow and ice carvings, enjoyed hot food, and got to catch up for the first time in five years! (I also got attacked by crows, but it turned out fine in the end haha) While in Sapporo, I also had the opportunity to visit the Sapporo Olympic Museum and to see some of the kind people I had worked with at the Olympic Museum Network Meeting last September.
MARCH
In March, I visited the Kiso area of Nagano for the first time to celebrate our friend Julie’s birthday. It is a gorgeous part of the prefecture, and we got to relax in a foot bath π Then, in mid-March my friends and I decided to go to Kansai for a week. I achieved a goal of mine, pictured in the gif above: crawling through the Buddha’s nostril hole! Any chance I get to return to Kyoto is a happy one! We enjoyed our time there immensely, though we did start hearing about worries regarding the spread of Corona while we were there. We tried to be as careful as we could, and made sure to monitor our health for weeks after we returned home.
That’s all for the summary! I’ll wrap up April in another post β€
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I'm an expat living and working in Nagano City, Japan. I'm here to share my experiences with you so you can learn from my mistakes, enjoy pictures of cool scenery and delicious food, or just keep up with my shenanigans while I'm abroad.
I'll be discussing things like JET Program life, my daily struggles, kanji battles, language barriers, and so much more!
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Xan in Japan 