Skijam!

I went skiing last weekend. It was so great. I went to Skijam in Fukui Prefecture. I’m glad I got a chance to go skiing because I guess that’s going to be my last time this winter. It’s almost Cherry Blossom season again. I can’t believe how fast time is flying!

Skijam was really awesome. The snow was great, and the weather was amazing. It was really warm! I guess the good weather brought lots of people to the hill last weekend, because at first it was really crowded. Sometimes as I was going down the hill, I had to play “dodge the fallen snowboarder”. I couldn’t believe how many really bad snowboarders there were everywhere. It was kind of dangerous! My friend and I would be going up the chairlift, and we would count all of the fallen snowboarders lying in the snow. You never saw skiers sprawled in the snow like the snowboarders. I wonder if they were having fun . . . the funny thing was that even though they were all sprawled out in the snow, they all had really, really expensive snowboarding clothes and equipment. I guess it takes more than expensive goggles to be a good snowboarder!

Anyway, I had fun. I also got to stay in a hundred year old Japanese house. I went to Fukui Prefecture with my friend Taka and his parents, and we stayed at his Grandmother’s house. His Grandmother is in the hospital now, so the house is empty. It was a very traditional Japanese house, with sliding doors and tatami mats. There was also a Buddhist alter. It was really interesting exploring the house and the storage house next door to it. The house itself was originally built with mud, wood and straw. Because of that, it was a little bit cold in the house, but luckily we had a kotatsu to keep us warm, and at night we slept in very warm futons. I’m really lucky that I got to visit this house. I feel like I had a really good Japanese experience!

One more week until I go to the big English teacher’s conference in Texas – wish me luck!