yes, i'm still alive!

goodness ... i havent gone this long without blogging for a while now, eh? hmmm ... updates from last week: played my last game of volleyball with the towns people until next year (because the floor of the gym gets too cold? thats what i understood anyways :P), for the first time, made a few recipes from my japanese cook book with a friend - wasnt too bad ~post pictures later, hit someone on the head with a kendo stick for the first time and it's a frightening thing but somehow relaxing, made japanese mochi out of flour, and played the tsugaru shamisen but out of tune, or maybe it was in tune and i just cant tell the difference! and i know there was a bunch more i was going to blog about, but alas, i have forgotten.

update on my weekend ... finally made it back to sapporo and it was a kick ass visit!! left aomori city at aroun 11 pm and slept in a bed on the train. didnt really sleep well, kept having dreams that my car was going to get towed and i was worried i wouldnt wake up in time for my stop. arrived at my station at 5 till 6 (am) and my host mom was waiting for me at the gate. headed back to the house, and man did i suffer from nostalgia!! it was great though. my family took me the curry shop i frequented with my school friends and the head chef remembered me! then went to a movie with my host sister-in-law. dinner with the host family and the usual friends. very nice to see everyone and nice to finally be able to understand japanese! next day, went to the zoo with host brother and sister-in-law, then out for sushi with the family. the entire time i was really treated like a daughter, instead of some student coming back for a visit. i tried to pay for my food and the movies and the zoo, but they insisted i put my wallet away. even at the zoo i failed because i guess my host mom gave them money for all of us to go! anyways, it was just an awesome visit. they said that anytime i come i definately will always have a place to stay (even at their new house outside of the city, the said one of the rooms would be mine :P). the only bad part of the trip was that i realized how much i miss sapporo and everyone there. and jess, there were definate moments when i would get the urge to want to email u random stuff! and when i drove by the school, it was just weird to think u guys aren't there and there's a whole new group of kids. i like aomori, but it still hasnt turned into my comfort zone like sapporo.

oh yeah, banked on a tempurpedic pillow! i mentioned that they must have got a new pillow in my room, said it was comfortable and my host mom said, "oh you should take it! i hardly use it" and i said no, no, no, i couldnt ... but she insisted and so i went home with a tempurpedic pillow! good thing too because the train back from sapporo was so slow (because of broken traffic lights or something) that we missed the train back to aomori and i had to sleep on the floor of the station until 3 am, the next train, but i got to use my new pillow! :) my host mom reminds me of my mom ... always asking, so do u need anything? do u have this, do u have that? we can go get it, or i can send it to u ... :P im one lucky girl that's for sure!

hehe, anyways, i have more to blog and many pictures to upload but im so tired i need to go to bed! sorry ... stay tuned ...