Merry Christmas

Or "Mele Kalikimaka" as they say here in Hawaii. Christmas festivities began last night with a couple Christmas Eve dinners. I swear I ate so much food! But I guess that's just part of the holiday season. The night sky was clear with an infinite number of stars. Accompied by wonderful people and delicious food it was a fun night.

That being said I went to bed late and couldn't sleep past 7am so this post is really the last thing before I get to bed. I wasn't able to nap like the rest of the household so I'm pretty exhausted.

After waking, I made coffee and waited for the others to wake up. We ended opening stockings and gifts around 9am. I felt like it was the latest Christmas morning ever! Anyway, I didn't get anything super exciting. My gift was already given to me as I am so happy and grateful to be home for te holidays. I've never been so happy to be on Maui than I am now. Strange what distance does to your feelings. I did like some comfy, soft socks I got. My feet I always cold and it doesn't bother me but I know it isn't a good thing:/

After that we had breakfast. Later we tried to go to the beach but it was fairly windy and beaches are crowded here on Christmas. Surprising as I haven't been around on Christmas foe awhile. But the weather was gorgeous so why not? So I didn't get to dip in te ocean but it was nice being out and about.

Gave up on the beach so we got food and goodies and came home. Enjoyed a drink and relaxed here. In the evening I made eggnog and a simple dinner. The day wasn't fancy or particularly exciting but I was so happy:)

Alright, I'm off to bed. Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!!!

Beauty of this island

Gosh I'm so bad at updating! I kept thinking to myself "I need to update my blog" but would procrastinate with excuses like not having enough pictures. Now I do.

I'm so happy to be here for the holidays. I haven't taken many Christmasy photos but I will.

For now I just wanted to share the beauty of this island Maui. The weather has been more rainy which makes for gorgeous rainbows and lush greenery. The ocean is so blue as is the sky when it isn't raining.

Enjoy:)

ブログをぜんぜんupdateしてなくってすみません！最近少し忙しくなって来たのでブログに書こうと思ってもなかなか行動には出ません(>_<) 後写真をもっと取りたくって、何日か前にやっとなんまえかいいのが取れたら"やった！やっとブログに乗せる事が出来る"。

マウイ島の美しいさを皆さんに伝えたくって写真をのせます。冬のハワイは雨も多くふり、そのおかげで自然はもっと緑色になり、虹も毎日のように見れます。良いでしょ？雨が降らない日は太陽と青い海が気持ちがいい！

皆さんはハワイに来た事がありますか？無ければ、是非来て下さい！！ぜったいすばらしい旅になります(^-^)

では写真をエンジョイして下さい。

Maui mornings

Recently I've been in the habit of waking up fairly early. Some days like today I'm up before its light out. On these days I like to capture the very early light. I've always loved mornings, even cold winter mornings in Upstate NY where you really don't want to get out of bed but once you do it isn't bad. I liked getting up early enough before classes where I could finish assignments/reading, check the hourly weather(vital to preparing for a winter day), check email, browse the news, get ready and eat breakfast. I figured if I was up long enough before classes I would have be more attentive and focused.

Although I no longer had or have classes, I kept this routine as much as possible while I lived in Japan. Ideally it'd be best when included with some exercise. Something I managed on occasion last summer when temperatures were too hot that the only manageable time to walk was in the early morning. Then I would go through my morning routine and take the morning slow. When you wake up early the morning goes by slowly and I seem to get a lot more accomplished.

Recently I started a job where I have to wakeup quite early. I've done it in the past and like when you start early and finish early and still have most of the day to enjoy.

Anyway, mornings on Maui are simply gorgeous. I've taken some pictures and wanted to share them. Here they are!

First bilingual post

Hey there! So like I mentioned before, I wanted to start writing my blog in English and Japanese in order to reach a greater variety of readers.

はじめまして。今日からいままでと違い英語と日本語でブログを書きたいと思います。なぜながらと言うと私は日本とアメリカのハーフで小さい時から二つの言葉がとても大事に思ってます。私はハワイのマウイ島出身です。４月までは日本に２年半住んでいました。それまでは毎年夏休みに遊び行っていました。今はマウイに帰って来てすごく幸せです。日本の都会が恋しい時もありますが、マウイやハワイの美しい海と空に癒され、マイホームにいてる事を感謝しています。

今後からはここでの生活や出来事を皆さんにshareしたいと思ってます。私のお母さんが日本人ですが教育は全部アメリカで受けましたので。、もし日本語（漢字のど）が間違えているならすみません。

今日は乗せる写真がないですが、今までのエントリーを見て下さい。きっと私がこの一年以上の出来事がわかります。質問があればコメント書いて下さい！よろしくお願いします。

Sちゃん

Many blogs I follow are bilingual and I thougth why shouldn't I do the same? In my everyday usage, I mix English and Japanese together. Though this does depend on whom I'm speaking with. But many of my friends, especially while I was in Japan, are bilingual. Mixing the languages is a very easy way to speak that when we have to speak just English or Japanese it requires more thought! Ironic right? Anyhow, I know I haven't been the best at keeping up with this but I think that being able to express myself in two ways will help. Since I'll be here at home for the coming months I will post a lot about Hawaii.

Hope everyone's well. And if you're American perhaps you're looking forward to Thanksgiving like I am;)

Back from Japan

So sorry that I didn't post again while I was there. Between staying with friends and getting thins done I didn't have much downtime.

Also, as bad as it is I didn't take very many more pictures.

I'm thinking about writing my blog in Japanese and English starting from my next entry. This way I can share my upcoming adventures with more people. These adventures will likely be on Maui ( possibly other islands) because I have to stay put for some time to work and save for my next bug step- a plan that hasn't become clear yet.

Just a few more pictures! Including: an apartment up in smoke ( something like the 22nd floor); a cute Italian place and the lunch I had; beautiful Kobe sunset; my favorite coffee chain when I'm in Japan: Tully's; and my last meal before my flight- kitsune udon:)

This trip so far

Sorry it's been awhile. I really meant to update while I've been here in Japan but I really didn't have too much downtime to do so.

Last weekend I attended a wedding in Tokyo and although it was Halloween weekend I didn't have the energy or ability really( I mean I went to bed before 11pm most nights at home so how could I stay up past 11pm?). It's probably the first Halloween I can remember that I haven't done anything but oh well.

The wedding was so lovely and fun. Japanese weddings really are different because guests have no plus one, give gifts of money instead of items, the reception is for close friends and family and then there are sometimes one, two even three parties the rest of the night for just the couple and their friends. Generally it includes lots of drinking and maybe karaoke. It was my fourth time attending a wedding (third for the actual ceremony) but they never cease to make me cry- for happy reasons of course.

I'll include a couple pictures but I haven't been taking many pictures as though I've been back in Kobe I've been hanging out with friends which hasn't led to much picture taking. I'll be sure to take more in the days I have left.

Back in Japan!

For a visit anyway. I arrived yesterday evening. The main reason for my visit is to attend a wedding. I'm in Kobe but I leave for Tokyo tonight and the wedding is Saturday.

Coincidentally it's also Halloween weekend but I'm not sure if I'll have the energy/time to dress up and attend any parties. But it's Tokyo so you never know.

I'll be here two weeks so I'll try to post pictures during my time here. I'm excited to be back. Can't wait to see my friends and eat some delicious food!

London + the Cotswolds

London was the second city I visited this time in Europe. Well technically I was to visit a couple places in Belgium but plans got rearranged so I wasn't able to go:( After arriving in London I visited the Cotswolds. I took a bus into the countryside to stay one night in a cute village.

It was my third time in London and I absolutely loved being there. It's different from Paris (obviously) and what I find that draws me to it are the people. It's supposedly Europe's largest city and it is so cosmopolitan. Yes, I've been to other cities that were international but not quite like London. I swear the most English I heard was the announcements on the Tube. Plus, I have a few close friends that are living in London versus the almost non-existent social network I have in Paris.

I guess it's wonderful that Paris as a city draws you in because even if you don't know anyone you are perfectly content wandering around on your own. Not that exploring isn't fun in London but knowing people adds to it's experience. But hey I'm an only child so getting around on my own hasn't ever been an issue.

Anyway, the more time I spend in London the more I enjoy it. There are so many areas to explore, cuisines to try and markets to walk around. I truly sensed that it is someplace I could live. It's a large, diverse city where I have friends and in terms of work there are opportunities in the field I want to pursue.

Okay, stop with my babbling. Time for pictures!