Thursday, September 2, 2010

Things I Love Thursday

My neighborhood - the wall in the lower left-hand corner is for my host-mom's old restaurant.

The mall my host parents took me to. Familiar much?

Me and my tomato ice-cream.

First day of school!



THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY - JAPAN VERSION

(let’s all ignore the fact that it’s actually Friday here)


This week I love:


Japanese food (!!!!!!); my host family (Yuki-chan, Ojii-san, Mayu-chan, Shoko-chan, and Tomo-kun); my room and my Marie comforter; the fact that my ‘commute’ to school is less than five minutes; being in a Japanese class with one other student and having a TA regardless (!!!); the JSP Peer Assistants; the TIU campus; my Japanese pop culture class (anime-madness abounds - I need to work on my manga-reading if I’m going to fit in); my aircon (it is soooo hot here!); having host-mom walk me step-by-step through daily life in Japanese; my host siblings, who are adorable; my fellow JSP students; tomato ice-cream (which is way better than one would guess, and worth eating just for the weird factor); Japanese malls, because they are so familiar; being complemented on my mad chopstick skills; being praised for my ability to eat anything (!!); hearing (in Japanese!) that I look like a doll/anime character (!!!!!!!!!!); JAPAN.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

In Photos


Japan in pictures.


So far, all is awesome. Maybe too awesome - I am eating a ton, and am speaking mostly English. But I am not complaining.



Japanese Family, in part. Yuki-chan, Ojii-san, BaBa, and JiJi. They are all awesome. Yuki-chan & Ojii-san speak English, and BaBa and JiJi don't mind when all I can do is not and smile with an, "Hai" or "Ariagto" every now and then.


Japanese food. That is eel. And noodles. And other stuff. It was good.


Japanese toilet. AKA: spaceship. See all those buttons? And the instructions? Awkward photo taken at the movie theater.


Japanese welcome note. Note the Kitty Marie sticker.

Two-thirds of Japanese siblings. Shoko and Tomoya. They are pretty dang cute. They also speak more English than I speak Japanese.


Japanese bed. See the comforter? THAT IS MARIE FROM 'THE ARISTOCATS.' On my bed. Amazing.


Japanese room.

Japanese hotel room.

Japanese buildings outside of hotel room.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

IN JAPAN.

Let the fun begin.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Marie's Guide to London Good Times

London was fabulous. Even though I am currently exhausted from the deadly combination of too little sleep and too many days of go-go-go, I am not regretting a single moment of action. In three weeks, I saw more than I ever imagined I could. But of the countless sights seen and the numerous adventures had, I do have my favorites. Next time you’re in London (invite me!), make sure to try to get the following done:


Chichester:

Because it is totally adorable - quaint and picturesque and so full of history it will blow your mind. The wall running down certain roads? Is 1,00 years old. And you can touch it. Think on that for a minute. The shopping is awesome, the food delicious. Added bonus: The train ride from London will take you through green country side and by castles!



A Market:

Personally, I am a fan of Cambden Market. Portebllo is supposed to be pretty awesome too. The point is that while in London, you must go to a market. They take up entire streets, are crowded and diverse and there is this energy in the air that - I swear - makes you giddy. The food is amazing, and the selection makes you dizzy, because everything looks good but there are simply too many choices. They are also an awesome souvenir stop. I love going to the markets.



Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross:

My inner Harry Potter nerd died and went to heaven when we finally found the platform they have erected in honor of Harry. There is a trolley tuck in the wall, a sign that says ‘Platform 9 3/4’ and a feeling of incredible joy all around. Angels sing in the background. Seriously. Just know that you want to heads past the sign that directs you to Platforms nine and up and keeping heading towards 0-8. This makes no sense, but it is The Way. So do it.



Stonehenge:

I repeat myself. But. Still - DO IT.




Windsor:

And rent a motor boat to ride around the Thames. Seriously, one of my favorite half hours of the whole entire trip. The area is gorgeous - there are willows and rolling hills, a castle and ferris wheel in the backdrop. Because it near the palace, there are swans (one of the royal animals) everywhere. The town is sweet and small, perfectly adorable. Windsor Palace is insanely regal, and the employees some of the nicest I have ever met.



Science Museum Adult Night:

Two words: Silent disco.

(Picture 100+ adults with headphones on. Everyone is dancing, a few are singing - no one is doing the same thing, no one is singing the same song. It was fabulous.) (And, ok, there was other stuff too: comedians and actors and food and art projects and trivia and contests and it’s a museum, for crying out loud. But. Seriously. The silent disco.)



Harrod’s:

Now, I only got to spend about two hours here, and let me tell you - that was not nearly enough time. While there, I only saw about three floors, two toy stores, a pet store, a furniture department, and the women’s shoes. And the chocolate bar. That too. Which I highly, highly recommend. But from my limited experience, Harrod’s is amazing. Of course, everything is about 8,0000 times too expensive for me, but its still fun to look at the pretty stuff.



British Science Museum:

Again, I did not get to spend enough time here. Forty-five minutes is pretty much just enough to make you realize that you really, really wish you didn’t have to go to group presentation and could instead spend oh, about 8 hours looking at all the old, cool stuff. I did get to see the Egyptian section, though. So interesting! So amazing! That thing? Is 4,000 years old! What? If (when) I go back to London, I will devote a whole entire day to the museum, for sure.


Ireland:

Does this count? It should. Because if you’re in London, you are an hour away from Dublin, and you should make the trip. It will be worth it. I promise. I only spent one night there, but I can already say that Ireland is awesome and I will be visiting again.


____________________


There are, of course, many other fun times to have. I am sure I am forgetting something super important ad super fun, but I cannot think of what it might be...




Thursday, July 29, 2010

Things I love Thursday

This week I love:

Platform 9 ¾ : Because it is real! I was previously mistaken, and this is wonderful. And I have a fabulous video of me attempting to break into Hogwarts. Ten points, Britain, for erecting a monument to the franchise that made me love you.

Windsor: The castle and the town. The castle, because it was beautiful and incredible and huge. Plus, the employees there were some of the nicest I have ever met. They were smiley and helpful and went out of their way to be accommodating. The town was awesome too, because the Thames ran through it and for 22 pounds, five people could rent a motor boat for half and hour and cruise around. The experience was one of my favorite.

Silent Discos: Headphones with multiple channels. Hundreds of people dancing and singing to music only they hear. Pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Honorable Mentions:

Julia’s Bulgarian food; carrot cake; Temple Church; Westminster Palace; chocolate covered strawberries; looking out over Big Ben and the London Eye from a penthouse club; chugging mango/apple/orange smoothies; talking springs in really, really uncomfortable beds; realizing that your head/arm/backpack has finally been released by the angry tube doors.

(I do not love fire alarms. Third one in two weeks. What the heck?)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Things I Love Thursday


This week I love:


Harry Potter - Which is, of course, obvious. But I am talking more specifically about the Harry Potter locations which I have visited. Platform 9 3/4, disappointing as it may have been, was worth going too. And I am in London, where Harry spends much time. And even if it doesn’t really count, Oxford was full of movie filming sights. I have stood on the same staircase the line them up for sorting on, I have walked through the Great Hall, gazed in on the Infirmary, and looked up at the owlery. This all makes me and my not-so-inner dork insanely gleeful. My heart gets all happy. You can see this plainly in my pictures.


This is the Great Hall.


Oxford - And not only because it is so beautiful to my Potter-nerd self. Nope. It is beautiful all on its own. The colleges are of course stunning (and I really, really, really want to go there), and the town is adorable. Plus, I had the most delicious chicken pesto panini. Like, I am hungry just thinking about it. Good school + fun town + yumyum food = I could so live there.


At Oxford.

Stonehenge - Which I have already flailed about, but which still deserves mention. Things do not become one of The Seven Wonder of the Medieval World for nothing now, do they?


Leaping for joy.

The Tube System - Because I have finally figured it out and it saves my feet. Plus, I still don’t like or clearly understand the bus system.


Thai food - I am about to go eat my leftovers from yesterday’s lunch. Excitement is me.


There are, of course, many other things I could list. But these are the creme of the crop, so they get the attention. One week left! I am looking forward to the remainder of my adventures, but I am also looking forward to seeing my family and friends for more than a week!

Monday, July 19, 2010

don't drink the water (STONEHENGE!)

7/19/10


Today, we went to Stonehenge!


It was insanely cool. Totally worth the 2.5 hour bus drive. I will show you pictures (of which I took a ton), but know this: It really is as amazing as everyone says.


Afterwards, we headed to the old Roman Baths. They were also pretty insanely awesome. Being somewhere with that much history, that is so unfathomably old is pretty intense. Again, the pictures are pretty good at illustrating this.


One bad thing: When we had finished walking around, I went to buy a glass of the water, which the pump up from the natural hot spring and will sell you in a glass to drink for about the equivalent of USD75 cents. I figured, hey! It’s history. Sure, I’ll drink it.


Bad choice.


It tasted like blood. That’s about the most accurate description I have for it. It was hot, smelled like rotten eggs, and was disgustingly metallic. But did I drink it? YES. I paid for it, afterall.


In conclusion: Go to Stonehenge. Go to the Baths. But don’t drink the water.