inu wa taberu no ue ni imasu. The dog is on the table!

Well hello there! I am back again yes at the beginning of Marchi as most Japanese speakers might say! YEAH it is March 5th here and wow the time has flown- two weeks  till the rents come and I am getting ready! But the weather didn't look like it Yesterday! It snowed for the second time I have been here- Yeah and it stayed on the ground- WOW! For a whole DAY! Wow unheard of here! It snowed almost all day and left a wonderful spread on the ground! AHH I almost got out my Christmas tree and took pics but I hesitated ( I struggled with my tree always falling down and me throwing it across my apt- out of frustration once) SO I decided to just enjoy the snow and drink some green tea! (which I have become very use to drinking daily- And I choose to!) ahha anyway the snow was delightful and I was so surprise! 

Well I enjoyed it for the day and then... It melted- it was about 55 today and so it all was gone and dry by the end of the day! What a wonderful season change over night! It was winter one day and spring the next! But tomorrow will be 55 again also! It is warming up! They are already forecasting the cherry blossoms and (drum roll please) the guesstimate is March 23-25- Perfect! the rents will be here and we will view some blooms! 

PS Nagisa- my japanese sister here- is in Nepal now and will be going to Krygstan (hard to say and spell) in December through a program like the peace corps to teach textile art and crafts to build the economy- She is a sweet person! Such a servant! 

Talk about blooms! What are these loves in the pic (well other than me and Nagisa- my Japanese sister) they are MOMO no hana- Peach blossoms! I was invited to  MOMO viewing. We went to a green house and sat under the blooms eating and chatting, and enjoying a tea ceremony! A tea ceremony is an art form- the art of making and giving tea. It was beautiful! 

OH look who showed up! Its Flat Stanley! For all those who do not know him- he travels around from Elementary schools all over the world! Then he has many stories to tell! SO I got the privilege to take Flat Stan with me and take pics at the Hanami- MOMO viewing! So I caught him trying to pose with the MOMO and take a pic with the tea ceremony ladies-( I had to tell him he had to stay with me- no he couldn't go home with those ladies- they were pretty but he was with me- seriously some decency- you are in a children's book!) But other than those few instances we had a great time! I was so fun! To sit enjoy the Blooms and enjoy the Japanese culture!

This lady is carefully making the green tea for us and another lady was telling us how to accept the tea- OSAKINI-excuse me I am going to eat my rice cake decorated with sugary flower OSAKINI- sorry I am going to drink my tea OSAKINI this and that! heeh Also seiza-(sitting on your knees) was MUZUKASHI- difficult! WOW 15 mins after we started the ceremony they were not done! I stood only to feel tingles in my legs I almost thought they fell off! Whoo- they are still here!

MOMO no Hana

Meditating and calming ourselves before the tea ceremony- can we all sit like this for a while?? NO it hurts- ITAI!

After the Hanami we went to a sweet little place that has become one of my favorite places to go! It is this little hippie type shop in this Janky building. You see this run down house on the outside and walk in and it is like a log cabin. There are gifts from all over the world and clothes that are very natural everywhere! It is very relaxing! They also make the best chai in Japan (or so my friend Nagisa says!) She was right! the pic above is my sweet set up that they gave me! it was hand ground chai and sweet cookie! It took them probably 15 mins to make and it tasted like Christmas! WOW it was great! If you can see the floating thing in my cup it is this Indian spice called Ka- you can't eat it but it flavors the chai! YUMMMMM! what a great day!

Well the new 7-11 opened across the street kitty corner to my place! So I have been bound to walk over there and take advantage of its convenience. What a convenient convenient store!!!! Any who you can't just walk over there like you rode your bike after work- since it is that close you need to be in your own element and show the people this is your hood right? YEAH so I my goal was to walk over in drab every time- this time I had just run after school and threw on the first flip flops of the season and wondered over to get break and OJ! YEAH so convenient!

I was on a long bike ride last sat just cruising the town and I saw this apt sign! Is this a joke? Well it was fun to see! 

In other news- I have decided to return this year- probably Around July 17-18th for good! This means that I would get a job- well the job that was in the works has slide under the bridge because of the economy so I have been searching! Prayers would be wonderful! God will guide me no doubt but there are not that many jobs either! So we shall see! God is Good! 

Remember: Reading is not overrated- do it and remember what imagination is! Its so fuN!

~MOlly