My town is famous for a few things: jumbo watermelon, seaweed, rice, delicious water, and tulips! In late spring, you can see fields of Tulips everywhere! With the snow covered mountains in the background, it's easy to forget how miserable the winter was! And seeing the fields always reminds me of my grandmother, whose was Dutch and loved Tulips. And driving by always brings a smile to my face!
Last winter I started snowboarding!! You need to do a winter sport in this part of Japan, if you don't, you suffocate of boredom and freeze from the cold on the weekends! It was so fun, and I can't wait to do more of it in 2006! 
I enjoyed hanami, eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms! A very very Japanese thing to do! There were more people outside, enjoying parks & rivers, than I have EVER seen at any other time of year! The cities, towns, and villages were ALIVE!
My sister, her friend and I visited Nagasaki! It's impossible not to be touched by the beauty and radiance of a city that was flattened by a nuclear bomb and now promotes world peace and a nuclear free world! The cranes are a reminder of all the people that were killed that day!
Spring in the Japanese countryside is spectacular. All the rice paddies are full of water, the skies are crystal clear and the combination makes for some amazing sun sets over the Japan Sea!
When my sister visited Japan she attened all my classes with me. One day we ate lunch with an 8th grade class, 2-2, and I took this photo. I submitted it to the CLAIR/JET Calendar and it was chosen for the desktop calendar! Yippee! I can't wait to see it in print!
This summer I made it back to India, my fourth trip, with a group of JET's and some American friends! We spent most of our time at the SEED Center, an afterschool/weekend program in a city slum. The kids and volunteers there are some of the most amazing people I have ever met! It's impossible not to love each and every one of them! I can't wait to go back!
I live in the country and after the harvest, a lot of fruits and vegetables are hung for drying! I LOVE seeing this! It's one of my favorite things! Seeing onions, persimmons or daikon hanging in front of someone's house makes me so happy! I can't explain it!
My schools don't have metal dectectors or locker checks! Instead we plant rice, feed the chickens, keep rabbits and grow vegetables! Living in the country is a real education!
In May, some Toyama ALT's and I took a 2-day ferry to Amami Oshima, an island just north of Okinawa! I found this scene near our campsite! Luckily it was just warm enough that we could swim in the ocean and do a little snorkling!
In September, three friends and I climbed Tsurugi-Dake (2998m)! Japanese climbers refer to it as one of the most difficult (aka dangerous) mountains in Japan. You don't need equipment, but there are chains, ladders and bridges to help you navigate across, up, down and over cliffs, drops, ledges, etc! It was one of the most amazing physcial adventures I've done!!
2005---See You!!
And so, these are a few of my favorite things from 2005! Of course there are more, but I'll spare you the details and keep it at this. I'm looking forward to 2006 and seeing more of Toyama, Japan and the world! I don't know where I'll be in 12 months, but I know I'll be having adventures and loving life! I hope the same for all of you!!!
Happy New Year!
2 comments:
Your talent to capture the moment continues to awe me. Glad I could share some of the year with you!
Again - your comments & photos are just fascinating & delightful - it is quite a gift to participate in your experience thru this medium - so much better than the BEST world class coffee-table book. You are an awesome daughter!
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