Category: Japan (Page 6 of 11)

Happy New Year everyone. I can’t believe that it’s already 2012. The last year has been very eventful (especially starting around March 11).

I’ve returned to Koriyama from Seoul in one piece. Don’t worry, the transition in North Korea had no effect on my merrymaking in the south.

I’ll give more info about my travels later, and I’ll update my photo gallery (I have loads of pictures to sort through) soon.

As for now, I want to welcome everyone to the new year, and I hope that it will be better than the last… for everyone!!!

おやすみなさい

Sooooooo…. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I’m currently sitting in Narita airport waiting for my flight to South Korea.  I’m so tired. I took the 2:00am bus from Koriyama, and have only had about 2 hours of sleep. I’m definitely planning on catching some Zzz’s when I get to Korea.

I’ll definitely post pics later. I’m not sure if my hotel will have internet access, but if it does, perhaps the pics will come sooner rather than later.

Anyway, the intention of the post was simply to wish everyone happy holidays =)

Its been a few months. Things are going well.
A lot has happened since the last time I posted, but I think I’ll get to the most pertinent news first:
Im coming back for a long overdue, yet too short visit. I’ll be flying into Tulsa on October 23, and I’ll be staying for one week. Id love to stay longer, but considering my available vacation, I just couldn’t pull it off.

I’ve been able to talk to many of you on the phone, so you’ve already heard most of the news, but for those who haven’t, here’s a brief summary.

I moved again. This will probably be my last move in Koriyama. The other apartment I had moved into was just too loud, and I could never get any sleep. This place is much quieter, although a bit smaller.
I only got to spend one day at the lake this summer.  I wish I could have gone more, but the weather just didn’t permit it.
I bought a new computer. The old college lappy just didn’t cut it anymore. It was definitely time. I decided on a Japanese Sony Vaio. I love it. It’s pretty amazing. However, trying to change the system language in Windows is almost as painful as getting all your teeth pulled (believe me, I know).
I recently took a trip to Disney Tokyo. It was pretty awesome. I wish they had more roller coasters though. Pictures will be coming later.
We moved to a new office. Is is a very nice office, and since moving, we’ve gotten so many new students.  My work schedule has gotten pretty busy because of it.

Speaking of pictures, I just want to let you know that I’ll be making some changes to my website. Currently I’m using an add on to import photos from my Facebook account, but do to some of the recent changes on Facebook, I plan on getting rid of most of the info on the site, photos included. I’ll be hosting my own photo albums now, so I’m currently experimenting with addons and designs.  I won’t delete anything from Facebook that I haven’t already backed up, so if there are any photos you want, you can copy them from FB, or you can ask me for the full size images.

To fill my social networking void, I’m currently using Google Plus. You can look me up with my name or email addy if you have a G+ account, or I can invite you if you want one.

That’s it for now. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks.

Time flies when you’re having fun.  I’ve been here for ten months now. I still love it. My job is very rewarding.  I never realzed how much I would love teaching before I came to Japan. The culture is vibrant. Even though Koriyama is a little town, I get to see many beautiful festivals and events.

I srptill can’t get used to the earthquakes, though.  We get some small ones everyday, and occasionally the big-ish one.  We haven’t had anything like the one on March 11 though.

So I just finished moving into the new apartments, and finally away from the old one.  One of the reasons I left is because the owner hadn’t done any repairs to the building since the big earthquake, and the building looked like it was about to fall down. Just my luck, they start to repair the place the day after I finish moving.

I’ve also recently taken up Java programming, or rather, studying Java.  I figure it will be an easy way to supplement my income, and help pay my student loans.  It will be a while before I can start putting the skills in action. First, Java, then I have to learn the Android system. Maybe a couple months before I know enough to publish a simple app.

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know I’m still doing well, and I still miss everyone.  Im looking for wad to my visit later in the year.

So, it’s been a while since I posted.

So much has happened.

As you probably already know, there was a big earthquake on March 11 followed by some pretty crazy reactor problems about 40 miles away. I spent some time in other places (Niigata and Tokyo), then came back to Koriyama.

I got everything cleaned up at the apartment, but the damage was still pretty crazy. I’ve also been following the news very closely to make sure that Koriyama is actually safe for living. So far, everything looks good.

So, the last month, in short:

Been working like crazy. One of my coworkers went to Canada for a month, so we had to cover for her, and then another quit. We also had two part timers that went back to the states.

Started researching programming in Java. The reason I want to do this is because if I can figure out how to do it, I may be able to make a few extra bucks designing apps for Android.

Went to the colored ponds here (they’re mostly green and blue, but they’re really beautiful). It was an awesome trip, and for a nice day of hiking, the cost to travel was really cheap.

Went skydiving. My friend had his 30th birthday party, and decided to do a week of festivities. Since I have to work, I was only able to go skydiving with him, but this summer, I’m hoping to do many more crazy things.

Moved to a new apartment. The old one was a wreck. I’m sure it was structurally sound… but I still didn’t want to trust it. Plus, now I’m going to be able to save a lot more money =)

So, when I type it out in short, it doesn’t look like a lot, but it really has been keeping me busy…

FYI – Since I just moved, I don’t have a reliable internet connection. I had to jailbreak my iPhone so that I can tether it to my compy. It’s really slow though. I should be getting fiber in a couple weeks, so I’ll be able to make any phone calls or whatever then.

[Pictures Added]