A quick recap of my weekend (including pictures!) :
-I got to spend some time exploring more of Otsu...lovely. I am feeling blessed to live in such a beautiful city and more specifically, I am so thankful to be a 5 minute walk to the lake; which I have already fallen a little bit in love with...
-I got a bicycle.. yay! The process (all in Japanese) was quite frustrating and it involved registering and getting insurance for the bike but luckily our tutor Tomo was there to help us with that. Now, it will be so much more convenient to get around and do more adventuring and exploring.
-I also went to a little pub/bar on Saturday night called Popeye which was alot of fun - although the inevitable happened and I had my first accident with eating what I believed to be meat...I ordered Tofu Lasagna which through the language barrier I understood did not have any meat in it (unlike the tofu pizza I wanted, that I was told had bacon in it). Anyways, it was very small amounts and once I realized, I passed the rest of the dish onto my friend Teemu. I was upset at the time but I guess given the circumstances, it was bound to happen and probably will again until I can develop a basic Japanese vocabulary. All the more motivation to learn!
-Sunday evening the group and I watched the sunset at the lake which was spectacular... I included the most pictures from that :)
-This morning (Monday) we decided to also watch the sunrise. We woke up early and left our dorms by 5am to bike across the lake to nice spot to watch the new day greet us. It was a little cloudy, but that was fine with me. Every sunrise is a gift in my eyes. & with the clouds, it almost made the whole thing more special.. the reality of how fleeting these moments are becomes even more apparent because after the sun was at its brightest point of breaking through to bring about a new day, it was quickly engulfed by the clouds. We stayed and watched the sky for a bit and then explored this other side of the lake.
-I made it back to my room by about 8am and spent the rest of the day relaxing and preparing for my upcoming week. I am happy to finally be starting school here. I've realized that with the places I travel, I feel much more comfortable when I have a sense of purpose. I was starting to feel a little bit like that was lacking here, since I've spent the last two weeks free to roam and do my own thing..Not that I am complaining- it's been nice, but I think studying and being part of the university community will benefit me greatly!
 |
| My new set of wheels ;) |
 |
| Francesco, Jaana, myself & Teemu @ Popeye bar |
 |
| 琵琶湖 |
 |
| Sunset <3 |
 |
| Painted sky |
 |
| Rowin' |
 |
| Night, falling. |
 |
| Daybreak - the camera on my phone definitely didn't do this justice... |
 |
| Sunrise |
 |
| New findings |
 |
| I wish I knew the meaning of this statue with the bird & baby..beautiful. |
