Happy 2008!

Happy belated 2008! It's hard to believe that in a week, I'll have been in Japan for 6 months. And what a lovely 6 months it has been . I have traveled much more than I imagined, and saved much less money than I had hope d to. I guess traveling is not all that conducive to saving money. :) I am sitting at school, enjoying the half foot of snow that has fallen during the course of the day, and at the same time, I am wondering how I am going to get home on my bicycle . Since coming back to Japan, I think I've realized that life here is full of dualities. Every day is an interesting mix of ups and downs, and my New Year's resolution for 2008 is to look a bit harder for the positives. And what better case study than my winter vacation trip?

The day after Christmas, we headed off to the airport from Yamanashi. It took us 4+ hours to reach Narita, and only 2 hours on the plane to reach Seoul. It's the first time in my life that it took longer to reach the airport than to reach my destination. The plus side? The food. The food was amazing. I was a little distressed because we had only so many days, and so many meals in which to try and eat our way around Seoul. I even made a list before I left, so I wouldn't forget important names or place. How far did I make it down the list? Not even halfway. Am I tired to Korean food? The fact that I am looking at the above picture of the suntubu (spicy tofu soup) and drooling a little bit should tell you the answer. :P
We did many other things besides eat, including an exciting (a truck blew up!) trip to Panmunjom and the DMZ, having our feet nibbled on at the Doctor Fish cafe, and getting baked, boiled and scrubbed at the jjiljimbang (a Korean combination sauna/hot spring, genius!).

While out at the night market at Dongdaemun, I caught a cold. It was so bad that I went back to the hotel early and slept away our last night in Korea. When we arrived back in Tokyo on New Year's eve, which I had originally planned on spending temple hopping and shopping. Instead I spent the majority of the time between the 31st, and the 2nd of January sleeping. I missed the beginning of 2008!
Thank goodness I was well enough to board my flight to Taipei on the 2nd. I was still a bit too tired to take photos, but I rode the Hello Kitty plane :) Nothing like Hello Kitty pink toilet paper and strawberry Hello Kitty lotion in the lavatory to make a girl feel better. Once I arrived in Taipei, I saw some very expensive jade cabbage at the National Palace Museum, ran up the stairs at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial hall, ate stinky tofu and little soup dumplings, and saw Taroko gorge.
Wow, this is turning into a bit of a novel, so I'll wrap it up. Now I am back, safe and somewhat sound (pesky cough still won't go away) in Yamanashi, and already planning my next trip!
Hope your New Year's was just as exciting and full of good times and good food!

明けましておめでとう，今年もよろしく！
-Jun