Explore. Dream. Discover.: Sunset

Showing posts with label Sunset. Show all posts

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Ryukoku!

So this past week has felt quite long and exhausting but it was rather productive and I did quite a few things... I guess that is why I have not written on the blog for about a week. The highlights from the previous week include completing orientation week for school and having my first course (Japanese language) as well as getting to spend more time in Kyoto. Ryukoku University has three different campuses, two of which are in Kyoto (Fukakusa and Omiya) and then Seta, the one I will be attending here in Otsu. Orientation lasted three days and began at Seta campus. Over the course of the three days we learned about the classes offered to us, how to use the university computer system, daily life in Japan, traffic rules and also had a formal entrance ceremony. The orientation itself felt quite long and I am glad that it is over haha. The entrance ceremony was interesting because it was all in Japanese, I was little disappointed there was zero translation because it would've been nice to have an idea of what was going on or who some of the important people were who talked/ played a role in the ceremony ...but oh well. Over the weekend I spent some time at PopEye ( the local bar here in Otsu that we like) and I had a really great time. I got to drink Meyers Rum (Jamaican rum I always had in my fridge when I lived in Jamaica) and they even played reggae music. It felt a little like home. The staff there is awesome and remembers all of our names. They are talkative and love to joke around. On Saturday I went to Kyoto with Jaana and Mii. We had planned to go to the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-ji) but unfortunately we were too late to reach there in time for the last tour. Instead we went to Gion which is a district in Kyoto well-known for Geisha. We wandered around and got to explore some shrines around the area and also enjoyed the sunset. Eventually, we got hungry so we decided to try and find a Ramen restaurant that Jaana had heard about. Although it was a bit of a struggle trying to find it, once we finally did it was well worth it. They had a vegetarian ramen and it was definitely the best meal I have had in Japan so far, hands down! I cannot wait to go back :) After dinner we went down by Kamo River and met up with the boys (Teemu, Wiktor and Francesco) we got some drinks and watched fire dancers perform-- so amazing! It was a man and a woman who had their faces painted along with a woman who played some sort of flute and also dj'd some music (all with a sleeping baby on her back) & there were also two little kids running around the whole time! A little unsettling at first because of how dangerous it seemed for these children to be running through their parents fire dancing but they definitely added to the show. After the performance ended, we headed to a pub in Kyoto and had some more drinks before finally returning to Otsu via the last train of the night.Today, I had planned to be a little bit more productive but have only gotten out of my place to do a bit of shopping and other than that I have been having a pretty lazy day. Hopefully, preparing me for school tomorrow and allowing me to be well rested. Its nice to be getting into a bit of a groove here so I am looking forward to this upcoming week of classes and to see what they'll be like!

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Okonomiyaki - crepe-like deliciousness

Kyoto Tower from Kyoto Station Skywalk

Kyoto Station @ Night - this building is unreal.
(15 stories, has restauants, malls, and a ton of other amenities)

In Kyoto Station

Ryukoku's Formal Entrance Ceremony

JAS

Temple

Gardens

Simplicity

Shrine

Gion

Sunset

Shrine

Lanterns

Bad Fortunes

Best Ramen !!!!

Kyoto

Tower Beer!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Weekend Recap

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!