Kyoto, Otsu, & Tings

So a little update on my last couple of days (including some pictures!)...my little crew (Jaana, Wiktor & Teemu) and I decided to go exploring in Kyoto on Monday. We took the train from here which was about a 20 minute ride and got off at Kyoto station... none of us had a map so we decided to start walking around aimlessly but because it was so hot we quickly agreed that we should go eat and make a plan for the day. We headed to a big mall called Yodobashi right by the station (it had like 6+ floors!) which had a selection of different restaurants. We wandered around to check out all of our options but settled on a ramen place which to my delight had a vegetarian option made from spirulina- the noodles were green. It was interesting because the server doesn't take your order but instead you order from a machine similar to a vending machine where you press a button with your choice of meal and then you get a ticket for it. So you pay before you eat and can just leave after (apparently tipping doesn't really exist in Japan and is actually seen as an insult in many cases) Once you are seated you just give the ticket to your server and then they prepare the meal. My veggie ramen was pretty tasty, maybe a little bland but I fixed that by putting a bunch of seasoning/spices in it... & honestly, I will take the bland option any day if it means a little peace of mind while I am eating. We were lucky enough to get some veggie gyoza as well...those were super delicious! 

My veggie Ramen ;)

Lunch!

After lunch we decided to head in the direction of the river because the rest of the group had some idea where to go from there. The river was beautiful and I felt really happy as we were walking along it. It was one of my favorite times of day, late afternoon when the sun is starting to lower in the sky. It was still super hot in the sun but in the shaded areas, I couldn't have been more content.

Strollin'

Beauty by the Kamo River

We eventually reached a more central part of Kyoto, I don't know if it is considered downtown or not, but it was quite lively and there were tons of tourists/foreigners so we weren't stared at as much as we are in Otsu lol. On the way we walked through some cute little streets / almost like alleyways with restaurants and bars (most of which backed out onto the river - I'd definitely love to go back sometime). We then went and explored some more shops in 2 different malls which were sort of like covered streets with a ton of shops. Eventually we stopped for a drink and relaxed. It was a busy day with alot of walking but it was nice to see Kyoto since I hadn't yet. Getting home was somewhat of a task as the train system here is super confusing if you dont speak or understand Japanese. But we managed to make it with the help of some friendly Japanese people who assisted us in ensuring we got on the right train. By the time we finally made it home I was exhausted and basically went straight to bed :)

Shopping Mall

On Tuesday, the crew went to our favorite sushi restaurant... I am thinking it might be our spot throughout the semester haha. After we finished our delicious meal we went to a mall in Otsu. It has a grocery store on the bottom level and I was so happy because this particular store had much more variety (especially for produce) compared to the other grocery story I went to on my first day here. I was able to buy so much more. I feel like the vegetarian situation is looking up a little bit. Undoubtedly, it is going to be hard but I am feeling more optimistic and not as discouraged. I think it will just be a learning curve and take time to figure out. All part of the adventure ;)

Today will probably be a relaxing day. I am quite tired for some reason, even though I had a good night sleep last night (I slept in until 7AM yay!) I think we might just go explore the lake in Otsu (Lake Biwa, which is the biggest fresh water lake in all of Japan). I love being by water so I am excited to see it. Hopefully I will have some more pictures to post soon <3

Feel Good Saturday

I am currently running on positive energy right now as I don't know how I am not exhausted.. I decided to go out last night (which was fun but I probably went too hard) I didn't get home until after 5am and by the time I went to bed the sun was rising... however I still managed to wake up at 830.. dont ask me why....

MMMM.

Anywho my friend Nicky and I made plans to go shopping downtown so she came and picked me up and we went and ate an awesome vegetarian restaurant and had these delicious little wrap-like tings call "doubles" I guess they are Trini but are so so soooooo good. I am addicted to them already. Then we headed downtown as I was on a mission to find some sandals and a new purse... which I found both.. along with some other nifty items. I loove going downtown. Most people are so shocked when I tell them I've been to downtown Kingston but to me it feels like the real Jamaica.. so busy and so much going on. *Yes I get warned to watch my purse all the time. But yes downtown shopping was a success. Next I met a woman named Roslyn who is actually from Vancouver but is the cofounder/director of a non-profit organization here in Trenchtown called the Trenchtown Reading Centre (check them out on facebook @Friends of the Trenchtown Reading Centre + their website which is http://www.trenchtownreadingcentre.com/ ... anyways I had heard about the organization when I went to a concert in Trenchtown for Bob Marley's birthday and all of the little kiddies from the centre were running around wearing their Trenchtown Reading Centre shirts and handing out pamphlets. I hung out with some of the kids that night and realized kids are the main thing missing in my trip to Jamaica as I always love to get to know the kids of the places I travel. But yeah... I will be volunteering at the centre on Fridays which I am so excited for!! And please dont worry about me I will be extra safe. ( I just got off the teley with Gma Ettie and I could tell she was worried already about this.. so please dont worry about me!!!) But yeah now for the rest of the evening I am probably just going to relax and take it easy. I have a lot of homework to do tomorrow so prob just take it easy to clear my mind into being able to focus for that.

New Kingston

Inkk

My new favorite pass time

p.s. This is what I miss about home... thank you to my beautiful soul sisters for making my day ... probably my weekend. MUCHLOVE xo

Sunday morning.

I figure that I should just start writing as opposed to recapping everything that has been happening for the last month and a half since I have been in Jamaica. I worry that if I keep thinking about a post that will cover everything then I might put off writing until I have "time". Perhaps I will be able to do a summary of my trip so far at the end of February or at the two month point. For the mean time I will attach some pictures of my stay thus far :) Anyways, I feel like I can never complain when  I wake up every morning...it is Sunday morning and already looking like a beautiful day outside. When I am at home in Calgary I always feel a sense of joy during the summertime or when the weather is nice.. especially when I wake up in the morning and see blue skies and the sun. Well that seems to be how I feel everyday in Jamaica and I love love love it. As opposed to being at home right now during the cold month of February where I honestly struggle just to get out of bed in the morning because of the darkness and the bitter coldness. I really think I could get used to life without winter.
My weekend hasn't been very eventful...although on Friday a couple of friends and I went and checked out this yummy crepe place called "Tea Tree Creperie" on Hillcrest Ave. (pretty close to Liguanea, where I do all my shopping). It was definitely a journey trying to locate it but so worth it when we finally found it. The woman who runs the place is such a sweetheart and the food was incredible. I got the crepeMEX and my friend got the smoked marlin .. mmmm just thinking of them is making my mouth water. Oh and I can't forget the frozen mint lemonade.. sososososo GOOD! We will def be going back.
On Saturday morning I got up bright and early to head to the market. I was gonna try and head to the main one which is downtown (Coronation Market) but I had killer cramps so we headed to Papine instead which is much closer to campus. Everyone says that one isn't as good and is more expensive but damn it's still worth it for me, compared to what I get at home and how much I pay. I spent approx $15cad and got tomatoes, Jamaican apples, the best coconut I've had since I have been here (maybe ever), green peppers, bananas, grapefruit, star apple, and probably more that I have forgotten to mention. To give you an idea of how much I paid for each.. the grapefruit which are HUGE were 6 for $100JA.. equivalent to juust over a Canadian dollar. uhhhmmmm what?! It's unreal. Sidenote, the grapefruits are my new favorite.. they're more like some sort of citrus fruit here..so sweet and perfect. mmm I'm gonna go cut one up as soon as I finish this post.
After the market I went exploring in Half Way Tree with my friend from Martinique who wants to locks her hair. She wanted to get it done yesterday and I was eager to watch (I am tempted to get a couple locks myself but currently my hair is twisted and that has been enough for me to try and get used to in itself so I don't feel ready for dreads just yet...) It ended up being more of an informative trip to find out who or where she should go for it and then we just spent the rest of the time doing some shopping. I have been itching for some new shirts as for some reason when I packed I brough more than enough bottoms but lacked the number of tops I should've brought with me  -_- Either way I found quite a few nice ones but they were so expensive.. about what I would pay at home for the shirt or even more.. (around $20cad) so I held back and saved my money. I am sure I can find cheaper stuff.. maybe on my next venture downtown :) The rest of the day wasn't as exciting as I have a ton of homework to do for this upcoming week. It's funny because in the beginning of the semester I couldn't understand how I had so much free time and never had any work to do but I am getting it all now and it seems to just be piling up! It's good though as I am here to be a student and to refresh my desire to learn in the university system.. thats probably another post giving the background on that story. Anyways, I skipped out on a Free concert last night to work on homework and relax my feet. I have a killer blister on the bottom of my heel that may need medical attention soon because it looks like it could be getting infected and I can barely stand! So the idea of going to a concert was not as appealing to me as it normally would've been. It was a reggae artist named Protoje performing and apparently it was amaaaaze though. That is one thing that has really stood out to me here is there are always concerts going on.. so much amazing live music and the majority of the time they are free. I even got invited to another free reggae concert today in Hope Gardens. It's a beautiful thing. We will see how much progress I make on my homework and how the foot is feeling for if I decide to go...
Anyways, I think I have rambled enough and I am getting hungry for some breaky.. pancakes and some of my delicious grapefruits? yuuum.