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Published: January 30th 2007
My crazy roomie Dawn
Lunch at Macaou;s bagels on Gofukocho, the main street in downtown Shizuoka.I have been in Shizuoka for about 5 days now and this morning on my new favorite run up to the Sengen Shrine I got my first glimpse of Mt. Fuji!!!!! It is beautiful!!!! It stopped me dead in my tracks and I just stared for about 10 minutes!!!
I have about a million things to share and unfortunatelly just a few minutes before my second day of training at NOVA. Luckily I just had a big cup of coffee so I am on turbo mode right now and should be able to blab a whole bunch in the next few minutes, although I am warning you now, none of this is going to be gramatically correct and a lot of it might not make sense so bear with me 😊.
I do not know much of Japan but I honestly do not think I could be in a more perfect place. SHizuoka has a population of about 750,000 people (thank you Joe for filling me in on that important statistic )), it is the perfect size, not too big and crazy like TOkyo, but not too small and rural. The main street is Gofukocho is chalk full of
My room in my apartment
It is a work in progress... TONS of great shopping, restaurants and Japanese specialty stores and is practically right outside my front door!!! There is a great park called Sumpo Park about 5 minutes away from my house which is the site of an old castle and there is an amazing Shrine called the Sengen shrine just up the street where you can climb a few hundred stairs to get an incredible view of the entire city of Shizuoka and Mt. Fuji.
I am completely impressed with how clean and safe everything is here!!! I also can:t believe how fashionable the men and women are in Japan!!! Everything is so well kept and organized and efficient and if you know how anal I am about organization, you can understand when I tell you I am in heaven!!!!!
My apartment is small and old but I have an incredible roommate who is crazy and wonderful and has already made me multiple miso soup breakfasts, curry dinners, taken me out kareoking and to a couple of local watering holes, and to a SUnday market in a small town nearby called Mariko(my middle name!!!)--fulll of tea fields and traditional Japanese goods and pointed me in the right
direction for just about everything that I could possibly need!!!! Her name is Dawn Collins, she is 26 and from Canada and I could not have asked for a better roommate!!!! She just bought me a katakana tracing book and so I have begun what I know will be a long journey to attempting to learn some of the language here.
I am beyond excited about living on my own again, no offense mom and dad, but it feels wonderful!!!!! And I am so excited to be traveling again, there is something so life and mind opening for me in traveling and being completely out of my element!!!! There are few things that make me feel as alive as traveling and experiencing different cultures!!!
Here are some of the words I have learned so far....
Ohayo gozaimasu - good morning
Genki - crazy
Sagoi - cool, wonderful
Daijo - you know?
hi - yes
Daijo boo-- are you okay?
sumisen - excuse me
tomarimas - stop
shimpai shinaide - don:t worry
gambatte - go for it!!!
I am hoping the list will extend quickly!!!
Okay, I would love to write and write and write, but
I have to get to training. Thanks for all the emails in the past few days, I am thinking always of everyone at home!!!
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Kristen
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Love the pictures!
So glad to see what it's like out there! You must be having so much fun learning about the culture... and trying all that crazy food! Those tea fields look amazing by the way!! Can't wait to hear more about your adventures! :)