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 It's getting warmer, the cherry blossom front is moving steadily north, and people are getting ready for April 1st - the day spring magically arrives and all the winter clothes get put away (regardless of the actual temperature, mind you). This photo is of the old east gate at the university where I work - pretty, isn't it?
March has been a busy month, and although I had good intentions, I was spending so much time doing stuff that I didn't have much time to sit down, take stock, and write it all down! Here is a rundown of some of the things I've been up to. . .
3/4-13 - THAILAND
Jamie is almost finished his Asia Pacific management course (APMCP) and as the program associates are spread out all over Asia, they held the mid- year conference in Hua Hin, Thailand. I am not in the program, but as I'm always up for a vacation and was in dire need of a solar battery re- charge, I decided to go along too!
A few scattered snowflakes started falling the morning we were to leave, so of course our plane was delayed by more than two hours. When we arrived in the wee hours of the morning, we jumped in a cab, picked a random hotel and asked to be taken there. We were unaware at the time that our driver was suicidal (or at least very unconcerned about things like driving in a certain lane, going slower than a rocket and staying awake!). It was funny that he started acting really strange and snoring while driving at 160km/ hour just as Jamie was telling me this story about the scary taxi ride he'd taken from the Bangkok airport a few years ago!
We made it unscathed and managed to get to the bus station and down to our hotel in Hua Hin, the Casa del Mare, the next day with no problems. It was pretty cool and grey, and we were told that the reason the beach was littered with little blue jellyfish was because of the amazing tropical thunderstorm the day before.
The weather improved, we got to spend two days together before the conference started, eating fantastic curry and seafood, walking on the beach, exploring and reading by the pool. Then Jamie moved over to the super posh Marriott and I got a few days on my own to devour a few books, walk for hours up the beach to the next village and generally be a total sloth.
I met up with the APMCP folks and alumni for Kelly's birthday party, and then for one night Jamie treated us to a night at the Marriott (and an amazing spa experience) and we went out dancing at the only club in town. The Thai group was quite good and surprised us all by doing some pretty good reggae and hip hop (interspersed with square dancing ... hmmm). On the last night there was a big APMCP banquet, followed by a sing-a-long (think campfire in suits and dresses) and a search for "jeans" that was happily successful. Just as things were getting going, we had to jump in a taxi and catch our flight home. Short, sweet, and I got to meet lots of people and relax! The photos below are of a random street in Hua Hin, Kelly and Jamie enjoying port and cigars at the Marriott (that's Kelly's professional face), Amber and I, (a very cool and musically talented APMCP alumna working in Thailand) and a few of the Vietnamese associates and alumni doing a dance (I don't know why, but I think the photo makes it look like they are really tiny and are dancing under a mushroom!?).
   
3/20 - HIKING NEAR MT. FUJI
I think after spending some time in open spaces, we were feeling a bit claustrophobic when we got back to Tokyo, so we decided to take a little train ride to Mt. Fuji, climb the much smaller Mt. Ishiwari nearby and visit the Ishiwari shrine. It was, in hindsight, still a bit early in the year to be climbing, and we spent a lot of time slogging through snow, but it was great fun, and we got to end the day at the Ishiwari no yuu onsen (hotspring)! Here is Jamie climbing the staircase that led to the trailhead, and the view of Fuji from the top (it was a little cloudy!).
 
3/27 - ADAM'S WEDDING
Jamie and I met Adam while we were teachers in Iwate Prefecture (check out the JET Life Album) and all got along really well. While we were back in Canada, he moved down to Ibaraki Prefecture to teach English there, and met Miyuki. They had their wedding in Kairakuen, one of the three most beautiful parks in Japan, famous for its plum blossoms. The super traditional Japanese style wedding, held at a Shinto shrine next to the park, was beautiful, and the international wedding party drew a lot of attention from the locals!
The weather was perfect, Adam looked amazing in his kimono, and you couldn't even tell that he'd been up until after 3am drinking, singing karaoke and wrestling with his brother. A few other people we'd met while last in Japan were there too, and it was cool to have a little reunion of sorts. Natsukashii! Adam, I wish you and Miyuki all the best and am so happy for you ( :
Photos: Miyuki and Adam stepping down from the stage where they posed for photos, a photo of a woman praying that I took from inside the shrine after the wedding, Tatsuya looking at the insanely tall bamboo, ume blossoms, and Tatsuya, me and Jamie all dressed up at the wedding reception, just before we ran back to the hotel, changed back into our jeans and tshirts in the lobby (and bathroom in my case) and ran to catch our bus back to the city.
    
That's what's been going on around here.
NaomiKay
naomikayy at yahoo dot com
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