It's Getting Cold in Here, So Put on All Your Clothes!

So I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog, and since it is close to freezing almost everyday here in Japan, I am sure you are wondering what in the world could I be doing with my time.  That, my friends, is a very good question actually.  Here, with the cold that I am not 100% acclimated to, I find it easy to just go home, put on the ugliest/warmest clothes, and watch a movie.  I mean, as I sit here and write this I am donning leggings, sweater, scarf, and scrunched socks (yes I know it’s not the 80s, but desperate times call for desperate measures).  Did I mention that I am in fact, writing this inside and not outside?!?! Due to the cold I have managed to watch Sex and The City from the very first episode to the last (thank God Big finally got it together) in a matter of months.  This is what the cold does to you.  

But, to answer your question, I have been busy during this winter including a little rendezvous to Thailand.  And boy is it easy to forget how cold a country is when you are vacationing in the very definition of temperate weather.  Anyways, after Thailand I easily slipped back into the scrunched sock mentality UNTIL I found out that my parents and very close family friend, Corinne, will come and visit at the end of March.  All of a sudden it was as if I had a new outlook on Japan; like I was a traveler again and not just a person who lives here.  

So between eating various kinds of soups, and if you have been to Japan you know that everything in winter is a soup, I found time to visit some amazing spots in Japan and was reminded how lucky I am to be living here.  

Let me start with a few pictures from Thailand.  Coming from Japan, one of the most expensive countries, to Thailand, one of the not-most-expensive  countries, was amazing!  I ate and drank like a Queen and I am proud of it!!!  What I think I loved was just the mentality of the country.  In Japan there is a formality in everything...Thailand is the exact opposite.  Ill share the important pictures with out giving you a scrapbook of my trip.

Dumbo

Be jealous...be very jealous!

Like a true colonial, ex-pat having afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel

He Tuk-tuk my heart (too cheesy...o well)

Here is various proof that it is EFF-ING cold here...

No I can tell my children and grandchildren and basically anyone who will listen, that I walked to school in the snow!

My School

So now you know how cold it is here, I think I have been ranting about it this entire blog, but on one very sunny and beautiful day when the Gods decided to bring heat to this ice box, I went to a temple in Omiya.  It was beautiful and I even stumbled across a wedding taking place which made the day even more special.

Going to the Shrine and I'm gonna get married!

One day this month I also went to a Japanese style garden in Tokyo (I already had one friend point out how redundant this sounds but o well), called Koishikawa Korakuen.  Beautiful and a must see for all who come, actually I will be taking my parents and friend here when they come because it was so inspiring.  And as Aaron and I walked through the garden we were surprised by little pink buds on the tree, the first signs of cherry blossoms this year.

Cherry Blossoms

I hope you enjoyed the update and I will leave you with these words, I did not write them since I am neither a Saint nor a poet.  And to those visiting me in Japan (Kim, John, Corinne, Emily)  I cannot wait to share this country with you.  

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine