Tonight is my last night in Japan.
I am staying at a hostel in Nagoya so I can make my flight in the morning.
Apparently there is a typhoon coming in (bad enough so that the students at D'Arcy's school don't have class tomorrow) and I am worried about my flight being delayed or canceled. Blech.
Here's hoping I will be back in Shanghai before noon tomorrow, safe and sound.
Then I can tell you all about my trip!
Much love,
Stephanie
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Friday, 2 October 2009
I`ve Arrived!
In Japan.
Been on trains a lot.
Pet some deer.
Saw a giant buddha.
Going to Kyoto today.
OMG JAPAN.
Much love,
Stephanie
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Pre-Japan Checklist!
-Find suitcase that is about 2" bigger on all dimensions from my smallest suitcase so that I can do the amazing one suitcase going there, two suitcases come back trick.....CHECK
-Pack probably too much since I will only be there a week....CHECK
-Pack book (Dark Tower), notebook and sudoku for the flight....CHECK
-Buy new umbrella and disposable ponchos since the weather says it will rain all this week (bummer)....CHECK
-Exchange Chinese yuan for Japanese yen (and consequently get free gift of plug adapter...cool!)....CHECK
-Wash dishes/empty trash/sweep floor/do laundry, so as to not have a gross apartment when I get back....CHECK
-Buy snacks for the plane ride (a plane ride that is LESS than 12 hours? what is this nonsense)....CHECK
-Have confusing chat with gate guard about getting a taxi to the airport....CHECK
-Panic about flight, passport, tickets, weather, clothes, taxis, delays, traffic, my apartment, customs, how expensive Japan is, looking like an idiot, not being able to speak Japanese, getting lost, having a good time, being a good guest, bringing too much/not enough money, bringing too much/not enough stuff, buying too much/not enough souvenirs.....CHECK
Looks like I'm ready to go!
I'm going to take a shower, have some lunch and then watch Friends until it's time to go. I will also try to calm down, but I can't promise anything.
Much love!
Stephanie
P.S. OMG I'M GOING TO JAPAN!!!!!!
-Pack probably too much since I will only be there a week....CHECK
-Pack book (Dark Tower), notebook and sudoku for the flight....CHECK
-Buy new umbrella and disposable ponchos since the weather says it will rain all this week (bummer)....CHECK
-Exchange Chinese yuan for Japanese yen (and consequently get free gift of plug adapter...cool!)....CHECK
-Wash dishes/empty trash/sweep floor/do laundry, so as to not have a gross apartment when I get back....CHECK
-Buy snacks for the plane ride (a plane ride that is LESS than 12 hours? what is this nonsense)....CHECK
-Have confusing chat with gate guard about getting a taxi to the airport....CHECK
-Panic about flight, passport, tickets, weather, clothes, taxis, delays, traffic, my apartment, customs, how expensive Japan is, looking like an idiot, not being able to speak Japanese, getting lost, having a good time, being a good guest, bringing too much/not enough money, bringing too much/not enough stuff, buying too much/not enough souvenirs.....CHECK
Looks like I'm ready to go!
I'm going to take a shower, have some lunch and then watch Friends until it's time to go. I will also try to calm down, but I can't promise anything.
Much love!
Stephanie
P.S. OMG I'M GOING TO JAPAN!!!!!!
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Salsa!
So last night I went with Lotus to a free salsa dance lesson. It was a lot of fun.
Lucy keeps trying to get me to go salsa dancing with her, but I didn't want to go without at least one lesson under my belt. When Lotus also expressed interest and mentioned a place where we could do a free trial lesson, I was game. The place was called Tango Bang, and it was actually a restaurant/bar/dance studio...which is a very weird and very cool mix. There were 5 students there, including me and Lotus. It was an hour long and we learned a bunch of the basics. I like that the instructor didn't go too slowly.
All I can think is that my friend Carolyn would laugh at me telling about the class because I picked it up rather quickly. I can't help it. After 9 years of dance classes and a semester of ballroom dance lessons, picking up a simple 8 step routine is pretty easy. When I got partnered up with the instructor, I think she realized I had done ballroom dancing before and started to lead me through the dance steps, signaling me with her hands instead of saying the next step. Now that I understand the basics I'd love to go out with Lucy and her friends sometime.
Lotus seems interested in taking some classes there. I'd love to as well, but my priority right now is to start my Chinese lessons. After taking my Chinese classes for a while, I'll see if I can squeeze some dance lessons in too. Could be fun!
Tonight I am getting some last minute things for my trip to JAPAN! I leave tomorrow and I am excited and nervous and in disbelief. There was almost a bit of a disaster. I was chatting with D'Arcy about details yesterday and she happened to say "See you Thursday!" at the end of the conversation. I said "Wait...WHAT!? My flight is Wednesday!". Oh dear oh dear. Good thing we noticed before I ended up at the airport lost and confused.
Wish me happy travels and I will hopefully have lots of fun Japan stories next time I post!
Much love,
Stephanie
Lucy keeps trying to get me to go salsa dancing with her, but I didn't want to go without at least one lesson under my belt. When Lotus also expressed interest and mentioned a place where we could do a free trial lesson, I was game. The place was called Tango Bang, and it was actually a restaurant/bar/dance studio...which is a very weird and very cool mix. There were 5 students there, including me and Lotus. It was an hour long and we learned a bunch of the basics. I like that the instructor didn't go too slowly.
All I can think is that my friend Carolyn would laugh at me telling about the class because I picked it up rather quickly. I can't help it. After 9 years of dance classes and a semester of ballroom dance lessons, picking up a simple 8 step routine is pretty easy. When I got partnered up with the instructor, I think she realized I had done ballroom dancing before and started to lead me through the dance steps, signaling me with her hands instead of saying the next step. Now that I understand the basics I'd love to go out with Lucy and her friends sometime.
Lotus seems interested in taking some classes there. I'd love to as well, but my priority right now is to start my Chinese lessons. After taking my Chinese classes for a while, I'll see if I can squeeze some dance lessons in too. Could be fun!
Tonight I am getting some last minute things for my trip to JAPAN! I leave tomorrow and I am excited and nervous and in disbelief. There was almost a bit of a disaster. I was chatting with D'Arcy about details yesterday and she happened to say "See you Thursday!" at the end of the conversation. I said "Wait...WHAT!? My flight is Wednesday!". Oh dear oh dear. Good thing we noticed before I ended up at the airport lost and confused.
Wish me happy travels and I will hopefully have lots of fun Japan stories next time I post!
Much love,
Stephanie
Friday, 25 September 2009
Blanket Pictures...For Real
Anyway, this should work. Blanket picture with names written in and one without.
(Mostly) Finished Blanket Pictures!
So I think I figured out how to edit my text around my pictures. If so, I've found a surefire way to post in my blog, with pictures, once again. Fingers crossed!
Finally I am ready to reveal my Lizard Ridge blanket.
I have been saying for a bit I was going to put op my blanket pictures. Well...here you go! I say mostly finished because I still plan on crocheting a nice border around the edges. But all the squares are blocked and sewn together. I love the invisible seam sewing technique I learned so that if you look at the verticle seams you cannot see a single stitch. And I sewed this baby up with black yarn! The finished blanket is a pretty nice size. About 6 feet by 5, if I remember correctly. Of course this is just guessing.
And for added fun I finally took a picture and inserted the names on the square everyone gave me. If you click on it, the picture should get bigger so you can see it better. If you are wondering about the 9 squares without names, I can explain. I wanted to make a blanket with one square from each person who gave me yarn, but the dimensions didn't work out quite right. I was aiming for a 5x7 square blanket, so I needed two more. When I made two more I realized that a 5x7 blanket looked really stupid. Too thin for how wide it was, so I knitted up 7 more squares. The yarn is all from the names on the blanket, but I thought it would be unfair to keep track of who got more than one square on the blanket. I honestly don't remember who the yarn for those extra 9 squares is from.
Anyway, hope it was worth the wait. I love how it came out. I finished it in August and I was still wearing it around the house...sweating. It's super comfy and so beautiful and full of happy thoughts.
Thanks again to everyone who gave me yarn. I love my blanket and every time I use it I will think of all of you!
Much love,
Stephanie
Finally I am ready to reveal my Lizard Ridge blanket.
I have been saying for a bit I was going to put op my blanket pictures. Well...here you go! I say mostly finished because I still plan on crocheting a nice border around the edges. But all the squares are blocked and sewn together. I love the invisible seam sewing technique I learned so that if you look at the verticle seams you cannot see a single stitch. And I sewed this baby up with black yarn! The finished blanket is a pretty nice size. About 6 feet by 5, if I remember correctly. Of course this is just guessing.
And for added fun I finally took a picture and inserted the names on the square everyone gave me. If you click on it, the picture should get bigger so you can see it better. If you are wondering about the 9 squares without names, I can explain. I wanted to make a blanket with one square from each person who gave me yarn, but the dimensions didn't work out quite right. I was aiming for a 5x7 square blanket, so I needed two more. When I made two more I realized that a 5x7 blanket looked really stupid. Too thin for how wide it was, so I knitted up 7 more squares. The yarn is all from the names on the blanket, but I thought it would be unfair to keep track of who got more than one square on the blanket. I honestly don't remember who the yarn for those extra 9 squares is from.
Anyway, hope it was worth the wait. I love how it came out. I finished it in August and I was still wearing it around the house...sweating. It's super comfy and so beautiful and full of happy thoughts.
Thanks again to everyone who gave me yarn. I love my blanket and every time I use it I will think of all of you!
Much love,
Stephanie
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Yellow Mountain Pictures
I can't figure out how to format my blog posts in e-mail yet. Like...put the pictures in between the text. I promise I will try to figure that out later. For now though, here are just some of my favorite pictures from Yellow Mountain.
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