end of classes and start of travel

The classes have ended, they were quite intense and there was little time to keep this blog. The food in Greece is delicious, although if Garlic and Cheese are some of the main components of food, it will be hard to make an argument against it.
After the classes, Katelyn and I met up in the airport and took an overnight ferry to the island of Crete, specifically Chania city. there we went on a 6 hour hike in the famous Samaria Gorge. And now we are in one of the main cities of the Island, Hiraklion.

Hello to everyone. I have finally made it to Athens yesterday, local time 12:00 am. Due to the 2 hour delay in NYC, instead of flying out from Warsaw to Athens, I was sent to Munich. I forgot just how widespread mineral water is in Europe. It wasn't too much of a hassle thankfully. So, I am finally here.
I only got into Athens to catch a snooze, but I shall post the first view of Acropolis sometime later.

New trip and new adventures

I know that the name of the blog is NihonGO, but I decided to restart the site as my general blog spot for other programs. :)
Can't wait for Tuesday to come.

The last days in Japan, oh the bittersweet feeling

My last days in Tokyo were spent in hectic running around to try and see everything, after which my feet hurt quite a lot. Saw lots of cool building and cool places. Last day soaked my feet in an onsen/ public bath where they had amazing water-jets and then ate some sushi in a Kaiten sushi place.

Tokyo

Went to see the biggest animation convention in Japan, and thus the world, but was bored out of my mind. The only thing I found interesting were the people who dressed up themselves in anime character costumes. Then went to see a huge Robot model in the area.
Today went to the famous Harajuku, but there were only three girls there. I think most people might have been attending the final day of the convention that I have attended yesterday. Afterward, got a haircut, went to see a Matsuri where people got soaked with water, and ended by walking around the Ginza district.

Today was the reunion of the IS support group. It was pretty cool, although some things in Akihabara were pretty strange.

Last day in Kyoto was hectic, but fun. Went on a tour of imperial palace, did the philosopher's path, and saw Kyoto handicraft center.

Today, ran into some people from Hostel in Nara and traveled with them for a little while. Got mugged by some deer, saw the biggest wood building in Japan, and walked through the Inari tori buildings (where I was bitten to death by mosquitoes).

Kyoto Day 2

Saw some other things. It was fun, but the highlight has to be the 1000 buddhas. That was very impressive.

Kyoto 2

Well, it is only my first full day in Kyoto, and I believe I have already seen two important world heritage places: The Golden Palace and the Mizukyoji?
I also got lucky and directed to a free photo opp. with the Gion maiko. I don't know how Kyoto people so easily spotted me as a tourist (at least 5 times today I was talked to in English without even opening my mouth), but I am not complaining.

Yep, belly dancing in Kyoto's Gion District, famous for its geisha.
How bizzare

Some old photos

The famous nice view of Hakodate。

Kyoto

Well Kyoto is as hot as an underside of a sumo　Wrestler armpit.　But I really like it.　It doesn't have the charm of a Megalopolis　Like　Tokyo, but it has its charm and it is quite pretty.　The hostel is very nice and clean, as well as its location in the center of the city a great place to start excursions.
I have been here but one evening, and already managed to see a Festival, with surprisingly belly dancing

The ending of the program

The ending of the program was quite hectic.
There was the studying for the final test, which I am happy to have behind. I have also been busy with sending my bag over to Narita. Since I am traveling, I decided not to bring my heavy bag but only my small travel one.
I have to say that it is quite sad to be saying good byes to everyone, but I am also looking forward to the rest of the country.
Next time I will post anything will most likely be from Kyoto's Gion District.

The weekend

Well, I should perhaps start with Saturday and the fishing. The day was actually quite windy, so the waves were horrible and I got sick, as well as everybody else besides my host dad. Added to that, squid must have dived down really low, since my host dad only caught one. But besides that, it was actually pretty fun to see the city from the water.
Later on I was a flag-bearer in the parade, where I dressed up as Imperial Russian soldier/flag bearer. This duty also involved taking a ride on a boat, but thankfully no problem this time, mostly because we were constantly moving and were in the harbor.
Sunday was also quite eventful. I got to participate in the Ika Odori, a dancing festival. Overall an interesting and memorable weekend.

This Monday went to the soba and mochi making, which was delicious and also a lot of fun. Today I went to the calligraphy lesson, which was also quite interesting. Looking forward to the ika fishing on Saturday.

Sunday with the host family

This Sunday I made some pasta with my family, when I found that soy sauce does make a good combination with garlic. Then, since me and my host dad are going squid finishing next week, he and my host mom took me to buy a hat, which they bought for me as a gift. Then, host dad taught me how to do hotate (muscle) and ika (squid) sashimi, which by the way is not the walk in the park.
However, the best part of today has to be the fireworks. Since my host dad's company contributed money to the fireworks, we got front row seats, which were so close to the fireworks, it felt like we would get hit any moment.

Exploring Hakodate

This Saturday, my friends and I have went exploring the Hakodate region. Our stops were mostly of the touristy type: the jinjas and the temples. Afterwards got some Italian food, although the Ditallini that I made today with my host mom was much better than the garlic chicken creation in the restaurant.


P.S.Мама, папа, долго от вас ничего не слышала. Как вы поживаете? Чего хотите в гостинцы?

The weekend

This Saturday I went to the cooking class, which was a lot of fun and we learned how to make two types of Japanese sweets: Manju and some other whose name I forgot. Both of them were very sweet, but quite delicious.
The master chef also made some similar sweets, but in much more challenging shapes, like mushroom and a lotus.
In the evening, my host family took me to kaiten sushi for dinner, which was amazing. The favorites of the evening were hotake (muscle) sushi and the salmon. But I have to say that the uni (sea urchin) was also quite good and reminded me of custard. Although it was about 10 times more expensive than any other one there.
Afterwards we went to the onsen (hot spring), which was quite relaxing.