Lost in Ogawa

Ahh……Spring is finally here!! I’ve been waiting for a long time! It’s a little warmer now and the breeze is nice and refreshing but the weather is still a little weird. One day it may be bright and sunny at 23 degrees, the next two days it’s raining and cold at 15 degrees. The Japanese word “Shoganai!” meaning there’s nothing you can do about it, pretty much says it all. I would have to say so far, Spring is my favorite season in Japan. One, the weather is not too hot and not too cold and two, Spring in Japan is probably renowned for it’s beautiful CHERRY BLOSSOMS! Yes, “Sakura” !!! Have you ever seen them before? I’ve never had, it was my first time, they’re BEAUTIFUL! In the States, I’ve heard of cherry blossoms but never actually seen them. Actually, I’ve seen a line of Cherry trees in Washington D.C. by the Jefferson Memorial. Those of you who’s familiar with D.C. should know where I’m talking about. However, at the time the trees were bare because it was Winter but I heard it is beautiful in the Spring when it blooms. Anybody seen the cherry blossom in D.C. before? Anyway, the Japanese makes a big deal during cherry blossom time in Japan. They even have treats with Sakura flavors! (expensive of course, it’s Japan!) I didn’t get why it was such a big deal until I found out that cherry blossoms only last for about a little over a week, two weeks at most! That was something new I did not know. They even predicate when it’ll start and when it’ll end. I’m guessing they base it on the warming trend of the weather. Actually, the prediction this year was that it would blossom around March 31st and it would last for about a week but this would mean that I would have missed it because I was still on vacation in Taiwan!! Nevertheless, once I got back to Japan and turned on my cell phone, my friend already left me a message saying I’m very lucky because the cherry blossom was a little late and I came back just in time to see it in full bloom, yay me!! Anyway, to celebrate the event in Japan, the Japanese people do a very cool thing called “Hanami,” “hana” meaning flower and “mi” means look or see. Hanami is when you go look at cherry blossoms while you’re having a picnic or getting yourself butt drunk or both, having a picnic to get yourself drunk! This is a family event, a group of friend event and in my opinion, a very romantic event for lovebirds!

I was invited by a group of my Japanese friends to Hanami in some park in Tokyo where you had to pay $5 bucks to get in. It was worth it though because we had a picnic in the park surrounded by cherry blossoms and the best part was, my friend brought all the food for the picnic. A lot was homemade sushi which was absolutely delicious. There was beer too =) It was really a beautiful sight and with a little wind, little Sakura petals were floating in air. Heard of the phrase/movie para para sakura?!

The cherry blossom also marks the beginning of the school year. It’s a nice feeling coming back to school seeing the pretty cherry trees on school grounds. As there was a ceremony when school ended, there is another ceremony for the start of a new school year. The setup looks pretty much the same to me as it did for graduation two weeks prior. Only this time, the new first year students were sitting where the graduates were sitting. There was also an unusual occurrence where a female parent was stumbling to the door as she fainted halfway there. While the ceremony continued on, most of the teacher rushed over to help her. She was carried out on stretchers =(

Sakura Pictures
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tonykao0627/album?.dir=bfe0&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

My students are on Spring Break and so am I!! Therefore, I’m back in Taiwan for a week. My purpose for this trip is 3 things: Sleep, Relax, and Eat LOTS! I’m currently in Taipei at my uncle and aunt’s new apartment so it’s nice and comfy. Everything is new. It’s really a nice feeling to be in a new house with my aunt, uncles, and my two cousins. They’re my second family particularly in Taiwan because I always stay with them. My two cousins (one female, one male) are both a little older than me. They are my big bro and sis when I’m in Taiwan and they take great care of me. Even though it’s great to be living on my own, once in awhile, it’s nice to be pampered again being the youngest. So far the highlight of this trip has been the food and the endless eating marathon. I haven’t missed a meal since I’ve got here. I’ve had full breakfast, lunch, and dinner with snacking in between. Food has been awesome so far and especially WAY cheaper than Japan. I have been feasting on all my favorite Taiwanese dishes and snacks. I’ve also been drinking watermelon juice practically everyday and resulting in waking up at least every night in the middle of the night to empty my bladder. I’ve also been eating a lot more meat trying to make up for all the meat that I’m NOT eating in Japan.

Highlights so far:
1) Rode a relatively new AirBus airplane with personal TV and movie selection to Taipei.

2)At the gate where the “Nothing to declare sign” was, a Taiwanese customs officer asked for my passport, looked at it without opening it and asked me, “YOU’RE AMERICAN?” At first, I said “Yes” in Chinese and then he asked me the same question again and the second time I responded “Yes” in English and then he handed back my passport without ever looking inside and said to me, “YOU GO TO WAR!” I smiled, and said “No” and quickly walked out the gate.

3)Relaxed with my aunt, uncle, and cousin at a hotel resort outside of Taipei(Hualian). It’s in Taiwan but we took an airplane to get there and the flight was only about 30 minutes.

4)Went to Taipei 101, the tallest building/skyscraper in the World. It just opened its 89th floor observatory a few months ago. It only took 35 seconds to go from floor 3 to floor 89! Nice view of Taipei but it seemed a little dark.

5)Lastly, ate and ate and ate………..

Okay, going to bed now, I’m still on vacation. Back to work on Friday!