Colorful End

I'm currently vegetating at home on day 4 of wisdom-removal recovery aka the beginning of the cheek-deflation-period that commonly follows the chipmunk stage.  So far I haven't really done much at home, only slept, watched videos, and eaten at a pace slower than a sloth. It's a little frustrating to only drink smoothies and eat (drink?) soup all day, so I started eating solid food with my front teeth. It's painfully slow, but the flavor is so rewarding @__@ 

Of course this also means that Junior year is over. (err mostly at least. I still have an overdue essay lol) The last three weeks were crazy hectic! First there was DT prod week which ended with FIVE shows (honestly why is there five.) Then ADT prod week with three shows. And finally Finals week. Somewhere in between all that, throw in two final projects, final papers, outings with friends, two tons of stress, and an apartment party (where the only casualty was one of our futon.) A colorful and exciting end to a colorful and exciting semester!

Now looking forward to an adventure-filled summer :) (which can begin as soon as I finish this essay...)

Hello Kitty curry that me and eunice made for randi! Breakfast for EDSM girls. Found these weird octopus-like balloons and decided to take them to our apartment. Yummy brunch topped with avocado. PINKBERRY. And selfies in the mirror above the carousal at the Boston Japan Festival! 

DT friends :) Sonya's first contemp experience. Dinner with Vic, Herman, and Randi at Thelonius. Custom shoes that I painted for Vic's dance's choreographer gift (we all signed a triangle!)

LIONKINGZ. Our first choreographed DT hiphop piece! It was awesome watching it on stage with the lights and everything (borderline magical, I mean come on, look at that first pic). There was just so much life to be had. We also got some pretty great feedback on it! Our dance got us Lion King sweaters :) Also check out those boss tanks - guess who designed them? :^) 

A wonderful 5th semester of ADT with old and new friends <3 I choreographed an all-guys piece this semester which was really frustrating, but in the end super rewarding (haha in the end, isn't everything always? #nostalgia) But man, I really can't believe I only have two semesters of ADT left @__@ where has the time gone?

With the boo :) ADT - ZBT semi - and our last day together before he had to fly home. We walked about 10 miles around Boston that day, just talking and casually shopping. It was a really relaxing day that we wrapped up with honey milk tea, Liar's Dice, and Smash. Lol how romantic <3 

Homemade french toast topped with fresh berries from the market (and a dash of aesthetic powdered sugar) by Nathaniel aka Nate made me brunch weeee~ Caught up with him and found out that he's biking from Boston to Los Angeles this summer! Also found out that he often makes fresh toast on saturdays, bikes to the bakery and market early in the morning, and plans to teach math and do some waiter-work in Cali. I am baffled why no one has made an indie film about him yet. Karaoke for Sally's 22nd! Had fun unwinding with ADT friends after a stressful finals week. Also the Collier memorial opened recently around the time of the 2 year anniversary of the Boston bombings. A beautiful memorial and space. Lastly, a "fossilized phone" that I found absolutely genius and humorously quirky. 

Golden Boston

Only two more weeks until my junior year comes to an end....where did all that time go? Another semester has flown by, bringing with it good times and bad, rest and stress, and a lot of dance. I feel like I've been generally happier lately, but also slightly neurotic. It's a pretty weird combination.  Relationship problems and worrying about my future are slowly eating away at me, but I'm simultaneously (and strangely) optimistic and calm about everything (for the most part).  Again, a pretty weird combination. 

This past weekend marked the start of DT prod week! This semester Randi and I choreographed a dance together based on the Lion King. Hoho I'm so excited to see it on stage with costumes and lights! Our bbs have really come a long way over the course of the semester and have made me soso proud @__@. I've also realized this semester how much of an asian mom I am. I'm strict and cold but have so many feelings inside. Oh man. 

The weather lately has been so beautiful, but almost too hot. I'm so used to the cold now! (That sounds metaphoric lol)  It's funny that it's been so nice outside recently, just as we are all locking ourselves into libraries for the next two weeks. Good one environment, good one. 

That's all I'm going to post for now! Will post more in the coming days cuz I'm trying to get back into blogging (just realized that this is literally my first post of 2015. so sad). Enjoy the pictures :)

I thought I was being so funny with this collage because the columns are so similar. Har de har.

I had to. 

December fun times :) Half from end of the semester, other half from going home. My friends and family are so goofy hehe

Crazy holiday window displays in NYC when I went to hang with Weiwei over the break.  I was so in love with these, and I think the theme was "The Arts".  These two were Architecture and Painting.

Here are Theater and Music.

Michael and I built Minerva a bed! I was so proud of us lol. Really sick booth in Bryant Park that sold (overpriced) jewelry made from reclaimed vinyl records. So expensive, but I was obsessed with them. Little rug coasters at the Met store. Old photography exhibit at New York Public Library. Metal gloves on the escalators in Porter Square. Fancy dinner at ZBT cooked by John and Charles. 

Winter break family fun time! Making dumplings, ice skating, touristing in NYC, eating hotpot, and watching movies (Big Hero 6...it changed my life) And yes that's me holding my family in the palm of my hand. 

Delicious home cooking (moooooom <3) and delicious restaurant food. I love Chinese food.

Homemade guac and birthday flowers from parents. Eunice and Yuta being really cute. A picture I took during diffeq that I found to be practically genius: Reflection of the exit sign next to my notes? Real-life symbolism. Me and Randi during Mocha Show 2015: MoMA in our spongebob get-up. Baymax curry @__@. My two birthday cakes that were both very delicious. My first legal alcoholic drink in the states (it's umeshuu) pre-valentines dinner date pic. Lunch with the boys after ADT practice!

More glorious food - from restaurant week, random food adventures, and visiting home!

Went to a Japanese festival in Boston Commons and found the gorilla man from GoGoCurry. Hotpot with family :) After watching 50 Shades of Grey with EDSM lol. Family shenanigans. Won first place with Eunice for a film hackathon! And the giant picture is everyone in Mamma Mia and Boys Medley during an external performance ^^ 

Some art that I found very inspiring on a trip to the Met over spring break!

John frantically taking pictures because the sunset was doing amazing things.  Everything was gloomy and dark except for the banks of the river and the building that were lit up like gold. Most of the asian mocha crew after performing at Footwork. With Eric at Mistral (fancy french place) during Restaurant week. Chilling after an ADT external performance.  With the apartment girls + Yuta after Eunice cut off all of my hair and minerva painted all of our nails (including Yuta's lol)

Found Home

Oh man, a whole semester has come and gone - and it sure has been a pretty crazy semester.  I honestly don't even know where to begin @__@

The start of the semester was exciting - moving into my first apartment and getting to live with Eunice and Minerva! I had a lot of fun arranging and decorating our new space (and I was particularly excited about our wonderfully carpeted floor.) Our apartment saw some pretty good times with friends, both old and new, but our couch didn't have such a good time (it got puked on lol).  I really enjoyed roomie bonding time- whether it was grocery shopping, cooking, guacamole night, or mask day (lol even after the 5th time we did it I still can't get over how ridiculous we look). Near the end of the semester we all got really pretty busy and overwhelmed with other things, and roomie bonding time was cut pretty intensely :\ Hopefully without the stress of the semester, we'll spend some quality time together in January ^^ I'm so happy we made the decision to move into the apartment though- so far during my time at MIT I never felt at home in any of my living spaces, but I feel like I finally found a place I feel really secure and relaxed in <3

Another huge part of my semester was dance- This year I auditioned and finally got into Mocha! Waaaahh I was so excited I could hardly believe it!  It was really intimidating and challenging, but I had a blast dancing with them. After the first couple practices, I actually injured my knee and was out of commission for a few weeks, which was ridiculously frustrating. I literally couldn't even walk for a couple days and which completely pissed me off. But eventually I could lightly dance with my brace on and I even got to dance at World of Dance Boston @__@.  Literally danced on the same stage as Poreotics holy shiiiiit dream come true.  Then later in the semester, I performed at Mocha's annual dance competition Ring the Alarm both with them and with constructs/immobilare (MIT's popping and breaking groups)! We did a pokemon themed set xD. Dancing at RTA was CRAZZZYY. The room was just full of pure hype and energy and dancing in front of such an audience was absolutely incredible to say the least.  I feel like I'm not doing it justice through my shitty writing skills lol.  Anyway, in addition to Mocha, I did another wonderful semester of ADT :). This semester I was allowed to choreograph BTS (my beautiful bbs <3) and even though it was challenging and frustrating at first, I was really proud of what we were able to do at showcase. I also was in charge of the guy choreo (Minerva did girl choreo) for a duet piece (Troublemaker's Now) and had a blast working with them. At first they were p bad not gonna lie lol, but by the end my boys were so hot and wonderful and I literally could cry tears while thinking about their success stories. So yeah - a great semester of dance! Can't wait to push even harder after the break >:D

Another big change in my life this semester was getting into my first relationship! Literally what. I honestly don't know what to write right now (I literally just typed and deleted things for an hour),  so for now I'll just say that I like him a lot and that being with him has taught me some important lessons about how to really take someone else into consideration- things that I thought I already knew but didn't truly understand. Looking forward to spending time together and growing more in the new year :) LOL OKAY NOW ON TO PICTURES. @__@

  

Yay roomies! Home sweet home :) 

Went to check out the galleries at the Institute of Contemporary Art on a class trip! My favorite was definitely this dark room that was completely bare except for a rectangle of projected light on the ground in one corner. You can stand their and cast a shadow while stuff is happening in the background (ex. people and objects are falling from the sky) It's the top, middle one! I stood there for a good 10 minutes probably haha

Weee food @_@ Ate at Yume Wo Katare ("Tell me your dream") for the first time! It's a pretty famous ramen shop and after you finish eating you stand up and tell everyone your dream. It's kind of cheesy but kind of beautiful at the same time. Blackberry and raspberry fro-yo from cafe 472 with Minerva, classic.  Breakfast and milk tea at the apartment <3 Berry french toast at Cafe Luna aka my first date with Eric @_@. Chicken katsu curry at GoGoCurry with Eunice~ Toto ramennn. First time eating at BONCHON YEAH. Padthai at Wagamama with Randi ^^ And last but not least...Thanksgiving asian food waoowww

Top half is Eunice's birthday! We went out for some good ol' hotpot buffet with the boys in suits and Eunice wearing the birthday tiara.  As for cake....we didn't have candles so we threw 21 plastic knives into the fruit tart instead lol. Bottom is BTS bonding dinner + karaoke afterwards! And there's me and Eric the first night we actually talked...I think I just sat there trolling everyone all night. Was a good time. 

Time with friends :) Nate came over and cooked us a delicious salmon alfredo fettacine dinner! Eating at Tatte with Kiaraaa my wonderful co-sales and media for ADT, Yuta the big yellow lump, Weiwei with his new ink (it actually looked p legit for a day), Eric looking like a goober.

Had a blast performing with my BTS bbs <3 Also check out our hot shirts aaayyyyy

MOCHA! I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such kind, inspirational dancers! I felt like I've grown a bit this semester thanks to them.  Had so much fun dancing with them and Imobstructs <33 Also WOD .__. Still can't believe.

Another great semester with my ADT family <3

Looking Up

Ah, time has a funny way of sneaking up on you and then sprinting past before you notice. It's been over two months since I've gotten home from Japan and now I am already more than halfway through my junior fall. I guess before I blog about my semester so far, I want to wrap up the end of my summer, especially since the last few weeks were probably some of the best few weeks of my time there. 

Asakusa and Skytree outing with Kristin and her host family~ The two girls were so cute and the family was so nice!  For dinner they took us out to a famous okonomiyaki place where I learned how to make monjayaki (a more liquid dough than okonomiyaki). Then we chilled and walked around at the base of the Skytree which was super lively - especially at the outside terrace which was filled with people lounging around with the Skytree towering above us.  

Eggplant, how could i not? Fruit tart from Sign to celebrate Tozawa-san's birthday at the office. The boss was out and we spent a good 2 hours sitting around chatting. They talked about marriage/relationships/future family things which was p interesting for me especially since it's not something i usually talk to my friends about. More delicious work day tempura lunches + making monjayaki with Kristin's host family!

Lol more food. Conveyor belt sushi in Shinjuku for Austin's send off.  Eating ramen with Cat before her flight to Cali T_T.  Karaage with the office. This really weird eggplant peach stuff...that was surprising also really good.  More office lunches. MORE EGGPLANT. Ichiran Ramen! Delicious curry. And last but not least, my last lunch before leaving Japan! I thought tsukemen was a very suitable send off meal @_@

Looking up amidst the buildings of Roppongi Hills. Ueno station at night all lit up! Between the enormous skyscrapers in downtown Shinjuku - my friend told me about the place and urged me to go- at night that open area is filled with a bunch of dancers. It took me forever to work up the courage, but I eventually approached a couple of amazing poppers training in the corner. They were really nice and taught me some useful techniques. Also I got to hear their stories! One of them had momentarily paused college to come to Tokyo in order to try to make it in dance. I was really touched haha

Food with friends, drinks with friends, landmarks with friends. 

Lol went on a lunch date with a random guy I met on Tinder. We went to Omotesando aka Beverly Hills of Tokyo. The residential area of Omotesando is beautiful with some really nice architecture+interior/exterior design. We ate at a famous Katsu shop (definitely lives up to its name) and then stopped by a really cute one-man coffee shop. You basically enter a garden entry-way, into a minimalist medium sized room filled with people waiting to get expensive coffee from this suave dude who mans the whole thing by himself. I think he lives upstairs.  Sounds like the life haha

Tokyo tower with Matsui-san and Nouguchi-san after work! Unfortunately the steps were closed off so we couldn't climb hundreds of steps, but I guess the elevator was aight :) It was beautiful!! The inside of the tower is filled with gorgeous blue lights, and when you look out you can see Tokyo all lit up. I think the most interesting thing though was the blinking red lights installed at the top of all of the buildings. You can sort of see them in the bottom picture! So even when the buildings are too far too make out, all you get is a floating layer of blinking red. Some people think it's really ugly, but I found it to be kind of beautiful haha 

I met a caricature artist named Uno-sam in Ueno park one day.  He drew my portrait and I attempted to draw his as well (and failed miserably...) Turns out he was currently unemployed and drawing portraits for free in the park to practice with a bunch of people in the same situation, so I went back a few times to draw with them! We also went to this really hipster cafe and an art exhibit that had some really cool stuff. I even got to ride on his motorcycle lol...definitely the most random encounter I had this summer. He was such a character, a bit strange, but very kind!

The weekend before I left Kristin and I went to a day of dance camp at En Studio! HOLY JESUS was it amazing. We took 4 workshops - Mari, Keone, Mari&Keone, and Jillian Meyers. People were there from other countries just to take these workshops, and after just a few minutes I could tell why. If I thought these people were amazing on video, it was nothing compared to seeing them in person.  I'm just amazed that people can move that way - with so much power, precision, nuance, and feeling at the same time. I was almost moved to tears...but some people were actually moved to tears hahaha. Damn what an experience @__@. Later that week we went to a few more classes, and the last day actually got a bit emotional when we said goodbye to the staff :(  But speaking of emotional...I actually cried when I said goodbye to my co-workers...super embarrassing since I never even got that close to them. But suddenly they were all getting teary-eyed and hugging me D: Weird how connections can be made without us even noticing. On my last night we went to oedo monogatari onsen! It was extremely relaxing and wonderful - soaking in the hot onsen with friends and just breathing slowly while thinking back on my whole summer.  It was calm and refreshing and I couldn't ask for a better last night in Tokyo!

And that's how my wonderful summer came to a wonderful conclusion. I had ups and downs during my three months in Japan, but I think I grew a lot during that time. I became more confident and comfortable with both myself and other people. I learned to be a little more responsible and self-sufficient.  I even went from being terrified of spiders to only mildly terrified. Along the way I met so many inspirational people, and made a lot of great friends I'm really going to miss. Thank you Japan for this learning experience! Until next time ♥

Meat the Coast

Wow what a cringeworthy title.

This beautiful meat is from this heavenly place, a yakiniku place in Ginza. Cat said this was the best meal she had last summer in Japan, so we decided to go have a nice dinner after work one day! Our waitress was able to explain the whole menu in English which was kind of awesome but kind of annoying because she assumed we knew zero Japanese.  Even when I asked her questions in Japanese, she'd respond with English. Then I just felt stupid. But all feelings of linguistic inferiority aside, man that was an absolutely delicious meal.  We many different cuts of meat, but I honestly couldn't keep track of what was what. Cat and I grilled each piece one by one and ate so slowly relishing each slice that our waitress even commented on it lol.  It was pretty beautiful watching the fat melt and cook the meat, so beautiful in fact, that we were mesmerized and didn't realize that it was on fire. Apparently you're supposed to put the meat on the side of the grill so it can cook slowly. We figured that out when another waiter suddenly appeared, turned our fire down, moved our meat to the side, and promptly left without a word.  We had literally been sitting there staring at the fire and taking pictures like idiots (photographic proof found below). But even though our first few pieces were slightly burned, they were nevertheless juicy (crispy) and delicious. Our meal concluded with delicious mochi-like desserts wrapped in fragrant leaves. We spent a good minute or two smelling the leaves while eating our dessert, raving like lunatics about the fresh mountain air... I hope they didn't see us again. I left feeling full, but not too full, and very very satisfied. 満足 - satisfaction AKA my word of the summer.

Beautiful beautiful meat T_T

Us watching our meal getting engulfed by flames and doing nothing about it lol. The lanterns are a random street in Ginza we passed on our way home.

The second half of this post is about Izu! The weekend following this wonderful dining experience, we headed south to the Izu Peninsula to stay at a ryokan and see the coastline. Unfortunately on our way there we were too busy playing word games to notice that we had been on the wrong train for more than an hour. So we got off, switched trains and was delayed by two hours lol. Luckily we made it to our ryokan shortly before the typhoon was scheduled to hit.  We arrived to a wonderfully elaborate meal made up of a billion little things (included a sketchy snail thing) and knocked it back with some chilled sake and hot tea. After spending some time digesting, we donned our yukata and made our way to the outdoor bathes. They overlooked the coastline which was black and ominous at night, but the outdoor deck was cozy and decorated with rocks and fake plants. It was very relaxing sans the moment when Kristin spotted a gigantic spider and we freaked out and jumped into the bath. After our bath we relaxed in our room, playing contact (another word game lol so nerdy) and knocking back a few drinks. I also got my hair braided haha - it felt like middle school all over again.  The next morning we had another beautiful meal and I took a walk with the two Cats (two people named Catherine) while the other two took a quick nap.  The air was humid like no other but I enjoyed the beautiful wild flowers, rice fields, and rocky coastline. By the time we arrived back at the ryokan, we were very damp. However, turns out the bathes were closed in the morning! So we quickly packed up and walked to the train station, still very damp.  We stopped somewhere along the way to see the cliffs and waves, and I was being a grouch about walking so much until we reached the coast and I was blown away by the view. The water was a bright aqua, and it gleamed and shimmered as it broke on the rocks even though it was an overcast day.  Just imagine it on a bright clear day! It was if someone was photoshopping my vision in real time. Crazy. We spent the next few hours exploring the coastline and climbing rocks. The wind was amazing! We sat on the edge of a cliff for a while, watching the waves crash on the neighboring cliffs and being enveloped by the wind.      

The Izu crew! 

The beautiful scenery of Izu- Just look at that water!

たのしかっ「たね」！

Last weekend I went to Tane, a small village in Shiga prefecture, and participated in a bunch of workshops that aimed at revitalizing the community there. College students from many places in Japan gathered at the village and together we designed an iconic bento of Tane, made scarecrows with local children, created play spaces, and tackled issues of animal crop damage. I also participated in a workshop with Keio University students where we paired together with local high school students to design and build easily assemble-able furniture! I forgot to take pictures, but in a few hours we designed, cut, and constructed a chair! That night we had an outdoor barbecue party where I got to talk with my cool coworker and her very attractive friend. I also got stuck talking to my boss at one point, and it definitely made me like him a lot better than before, maybe because it wasn't in a business setting. Then I milled around talking to people here and there while devouring three strawberry shaved ices...

Afterwards I watched 4 hours of TV with my host sister, Haruka-san, while talking about random things (mostly boys lol). I really liked her! She was honest and goofy, and I appreciated her laid back personality. I also really enjoy Japanese commercials, and it amused my host family when I kept chuckling to myself during commercial breaks like an idiot. #foreigner 

At this balln' restaurant in Meguro where I had super delicious curry with Jason and Kristin before going to Tane. Kristin at Ebisu Matsuri right before catching my bus to Fukui lol. Coworkers at lunch smiling for once in a picture because he was trying to mess up my food picture. Food at Tsukiji Matsuri with Korean Sam. Beautiful decorations in Shibuya! 

Liu in the middle looking DAF at lunch. Surrounded by many delicious foods that I'm too lazy to talk about.

Remen (cold ramen) at Fukui! Chicken at Liu's farewell party. Best chicken ever at a place we frequent for lunch in Daikanyama. Tsukemen in Ebisu the night I almost got stood up twice .__. Rockin' vegetable sandwich from this hip new sandwich place! Too bad it took them an hour to make it....Curry at Tane! Green curry from Unice. More curry from the wonderful-interiorally-decorated restaurant in Meguro (Those carrots and potatoes were so soft @__@) and last but certainly not least, AFURI TSUKEMEN from a delicious godsend ramen joint near ebisu station. 

In beautiful Tane! Riding in the back of a truck past fields and fields of rice paddies with a bunch of people who I don't even know the names of. Plopping down our adorable scarecrow. With Hikari-san and Scarecrow-chan! Selfies with Mariko-san (my coworker). Host family's house. Delicious first dinner at Tane! Haruka has a younger brother and twin younger sisters! They were such a lively bunch haha

Top half- fireworks in Yokohama with new and old friends! The guy all the way on the left introduced himself as Mr. Muscle...I wonder if he actually goes by that. But either way, he is super dedicated to his muscles and it shows.  The fireworks were beautiful! There were some pretty cool ones I hadn't seen before, and the show went on for over an hour. Also there were thousands upon thousands of people! The sea of humans was crazy @_@ 

At a hipster little restaurant near work- creamy cheesy orange sauce with bits of ham topped with super soft pumpkin and oranges.  Sounds sort of strange, but they were owning that combo @__@ Probably my favorite of the lot. Also the little salad on the bottom middle was really good! I had it in fukui and the ingredients were super fresh and included sweet yellow kiwis!

Over a month ago now, we spent the weekend at Kichijoji and Shimokitazawa! Pretty boats and sexy stuffed bears at Kichijoji where we enjoyed the Boho shopping scene and the park.  Color-coded boy group performing on the street. Thrifting at Shimokitazawa! The whole place has a nice relaxed atmosphere and if I were to sum it up in one stereotype, it'd be hipster.

Check out that parallel mealage at the bottom. I had Omu-rice two nights in a row, followed by similar-looking desserts. Top was a place in Ikebukuro, and Bottom was at a cute place in Shimokitazawa... spoiler the bottom one wins @__@ Just look at that pan-fried french toast topped with ice cream, banana slices, almonds, chocolate, and powdered sugar. Oh man. 

Man I love the matsuri atmosphere. Beautiful lanterns, dancing people, street food, mixed with the sound of laughter, speech, and music is so wonderful ^^

Chasing Fireworks

I’m currently sitting on an overnight bus, only half an hour away from Fukui.  Watching the outside scenery pass by is calming and exciting at the same time: Traditional architecture with their slanted shingled roofs make up small towns that give way to bright green fields and lush forests.  The whole scene is framed by an endless row of large mountains, dwarfing the already small clusters of houses.  We just entered the city so the buildings are getting larger and larger, but the houses stay the same. It’s super interesting to me to see the juxtaposition of old rustic structures housing beautiful sleek Porsches. Like seriously, what?

Now I am sitting in the dark in the kitchen (it’s 1am and this is the only room I get wifi) thinking back on the day!  It was such a nice break from the city. Driving in the mountains and along the sea, smelling fresh air, and being able to see stars! (Haha do I sound poetic enough yet?) But in all seriousness, it really was a wonderful experience. I arrived at Fukui station looking like a piece of sweat-covered-shit before Shizuka-san and Akari-san immediately showed me to the car, and before long we were headed to Toujinbou! On the way there, I realized they were the famous suicide cliffs we learned about in class….And once we arrived I could see why it is so popular, as dark as that sounds. It’s both scary and beautiful, terrifyingly scenic – but maybe that’s because it was introduced to me within the context of suicide(?). Either way, we trudged around enjoying the view but melting from the sun (high of 97, I kid you not) before driving a little while away for Oshima Island, a small mysterious island where compasses don’t work…(jk, I just googled it and it says that it’s due to the magnetism in the rocks. Sorry to ruin the mystery.) We hiked through the island, which is super steep at first, but gives way to a slightly leveled forest. There really isn’t a better way to describe it than as a “Totoro forest” with little paths, large blue-accented black butterflies fluttering everywhere, and deafening cicadas. Afterwards we stopped at Awara spa, a nearby onsen, basically experienced a rebirth, and journeyed onward to an adorable craft shop/café in a slightly secluded (but also very scenic) area for a delicious curry lunch. Another car ride, several grocery stops, and one ice cream break later, we arrived at home! It was so nostalgic seeing the old shrine almost two and a half years later. Okaasan was the same as I remembered her, slightly goofy and very hardworking and honest. Obaachan was also the same, getting flustered when she didn’t remember my name. I helped out with some preparations (tomorrow there is a summer camp at the shrine for the local kids) and enjoyed a pretty good talk with Shizuka over iced coffee at a nearby café while gazing out at the sea. Before long, it was time for a local summer festival, so we suited up in yukata and hobbled over in our shoes. There were many children and old people, but not many young adults- probably away at school. Either way, I enjoyed learning how to dance bondori and eating yakitori. Then we drove up to another café high in the mountains to watch the fireworks while munching on snacks. It soon became clear that the café was actually really far away from the fireworks, so okaasan loaded us into the car and we literally chased the fireworks. It was pretty awesome, looping in and out of view, as they loomed larger and larger. We were practically under them when the final round went off. With the windows rolled down and the night breeze whipping at my face, we drove along the ocean, homebound. I felt absolutely rejuvenated! When we got back, Obaachan went to go watch a drama, but the rest of us sat around the kitchen table eating fried matsuri food and drinking beer while listening to Akari-san’s bargaining tips (according to her, she’s a pro). After a while, we said our goodnights and headed off to bed. Or atleast I was supposed to go sleep haha.

Reunited at long last :) Toujinbou cliffs and jumping on the bridge to Oshima!

More scenic shots of Toujinbou and Oshima, and of course a few obligatory selfies. See those cool jack-like structures? They are for breaking up waves during storms! 

The local summer matsuri with the beautiful Fukui scenery.  Suited up in our yukata! Beer and fried matsuri food with Akari, Shizuka, and Okaasan. Delicious breakfast of bread, jam, fried hot peppers, omelette, tomatoes, ham, peaches, and plums. @__@ Karaoke before I left! Akari and Shizuka both have really strong voices, and I enjoyed listening to them while Okaasan enthusiastically shook her maracas and cheered. She kind of reminds me of my mom actually haha 

I'm really glad I made the trip to Fukui that weekend. It felt so nice to get away from the city, and I finally got to see my old host family again! I missed their goofy antics and straightforwardness. When I asked them if there was anything they wanted from America, Okaasan simply said "letters".  What an answer! I will definitely write to them when I return home ^^