2018年1月26日金曜日

2018年1月26日金曜日 -

Krystal: Learning as I go

I have been in Japan for a few months now and am quickly learning all kinds of new things. I am learning about foods that I have never tried before, the trains and navigating the train stations, as well as the best ways to purchase furniture for our new place.
       Students have been very helpful with teaching me about all of the types of foods I should try while I am living in Japan! My current favorites are ramen, vegetable sushi, sukiyaki, and BBQ pork. I have come to learn that many of these foods differ from prefecture to prefecture and that I should try each dish in different areas of the country! 
       Learning to navigate the trains and stations has been very challenging for me. I have missed my train, gotten on the wrong one, and gotten off of the train at the wrong station. As you can imagine, this has forced me to learn how to read the train station signs very quickly. I am very glad that I have the ability to use the trains instead of driving a car everywhere, but it is a very big change for me and I am still learning.
       Purchasing furniture when you do not have a car is difficult. It is hard to find people selling things in your area so that you do not have to walk very far when taking them back to your home. Also, purchasing larger items is difficult. We are lucky to know someone with a truck, but it is still challenging to arrange a time to use the truck, find our way to the location for pickup, and then to transport it back to our home. Because of these challenges, we have purchased many things online.
       While it has been challenging to learn new ways of accomplishing regular tasks, living in Japan has been very nice so far and we are looking forward to much warmer weather so we can venture further from our home when exploring the country.

navigating:移動する
furniture:家具
helpful:頼りになる
have come to:~するようになる
differ from prefecture to prefecture:都道府県によって違う
challenging:大変
missed:乗りそこなった
accomplishing:遂行する
so far:今のところ
venture:思い切って~に出かける

exploring:探検する

2018年1月19日金曜日

2018年1月19日金曜日 -

John Hommel: My trip to Tottori

For my birthday (November 25th) I took a short trip up to Tottori prefecture to visit a hot spring and climb Mount Daisen. I was really looking forward to this trip because my schedule doesn't allow many chances to travel. I decided on Daisen because it had been recommended to me by several NOVA students. My friend and I rented a car and drove up to Tottori on the 24th November, arriving late at night. The hotel we stayed in was cheap but comfortable. We went to sleep soon after arriving so we could get an early start the next day.
      On the 25th, we drove from the hotel to a nearby hot spring, which I was really excited about since this was my first time visiting a hot spring. However, it wasn’t what I expected. I was expecting something natural, but it felt like a modern facility. Regardless, natural or not, it was nice and relaxing. From the hot spring we went to Mount Daisen. Before making our way up the mountain we stopped by the Milk Farm at the base of the mountain, and I bought water and snacks for the climb.
      I knew Daisen was going to be cold, but I was unprepared for the snow. I was wearing a light down jacket, jeans, and sneakers that I had treated with waterproof spray. All of the other people climbing the mountain had proper snow boots and walking sticks. My friend and I slipped many times on the ice and snow, but we did our best to tread carefully and eventually we made it to the summit. It was clear that day so the view was especially beautiful. Climbing down the mountain was difficult because our shoes had no traction, but after getting back to our car we drove to another hot spring to warm up. This hot spring was a lot better than the first one. It was outdoors and the atmosphere was very relaxing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay another night because both of us had to work the next day. We drove back to Osaka that night.

      Visiting Tottori was a fun adventure and I'd like to go back someday. Until then, I'm looking forward to my next trip, which will be Kinosaki hot spring and Takeda Castle in Hyogo prefecture, on January 28th-29th.

I was expecting:~を期待していた
stopped by:立ち寄った
I was unprepared:準備していなかった
proper:きちんとした
slipped:滑った
tread:強く踏む
eventually:最終的には   

traction:滑り止め機能