I went on a walk up this steep mountain road, not a soul in sight.
途中に学校を始めたから、結構心配していたが、9月の期末試験を合格して、N1文法の授業に入った！12月に日本語能力試験のN1レベルを受けるつもりだから、その授業に入れてよかった。これからも、日本語のレベルを上達するのを頑張ります！
新学期が始まる前に2週間の休みがあって、徳島県(四国）に行ってきた。前回日本に来たときの友達が徳島県で働いているから、彼女を会いに行った。東京を出って、田舎の生活ですっきりした。もともとは田舎派、実家はスコットランドの超田舎だから、東京の生活はどうのぐらい気に入っても、田舎のとのほうが私と合うと思う。都会でみんながいつも急いでいて、話しかけないけど、そこの人たちは東京に住んでいる人との態度が違うで、生活はもうちょっとゆっくりで進んでいて、知らない人。。話しかけて、会話してた。それとも、すぐに誰もいない、自然で参歩できるのがすごく好き。自分が悩んでいるときとか、心配しているときなどに自然で散歩したら、頭の中を整理することができる。そして、そこで散歩したり、花火を見たり、ウサギの島に行ったりしてよかった。ちょー楽しかった！
富士山
ホストファミリーと1泊2日の旅行で富士山あたりフジヤマというジェットコースターを乗った!その日の天気はめちゃくちゃスコットランドっぽかったから、ライドの乗る時は寒かった。それでも、テンションが上がって、ドキドキした。
その後、近くの鳴沢氷穴を見に行った!ヘルメットを被って、中に入った。氷穴の中は狭くて、天井がよく低くて、石の上に登らないといけないところもあったから、まるで冒険するのようだった。氷の湖があって、ブルー電気でキラキラしてて、きれいだった。
Me feeding the rabbits on Okunoshima, in Hiroshima Prefecture. They were really tame, even though they were wild.
それなのに、旅行のハイライトはホテルだった。部屋は思ったより大きい畳のスイートで、ゆかた（薄い着物みたいな和服）もホテルからもらって、ホテルの中で温泉があった。温泉というのは日本式のお風呂だ。温泉は、シャワーで体を洗ってから入るものだ。それに、外国人に驚きさせることはみんなと一緒に入るでも（性別は別れてるけど）、プールのように水着を着るじゃなくて、何も着ないで入ることだ。最初これするのは少し恥ずかしいけど、すぐに慣れると思う。このホテルで中の風呂は2つあって、外の風呂は1つあった。私の初外の風呂!空気が涼しくて、お風呂が温かくて、気分が良くなって、最高だった!3回入って、食事の前、寝る前、と出かける前、毎回長く入って全然出たくなかった。
Looking towards the peak of Mt.fuji, hiding behind the clouds.
そういえば、食事もすごかった！夕飯は和食のコースで、色なものが出てきて、たくさん美味しいものを食べれた。量はちょっと多すぎたけど、頑張って全部食べて（うまかったから）お腹が大きくなって赤ちゃんができた気がした。朝ごはんはバイキングでまた、全部美味しそうだったから、食べすぎてまた赤ちゃんができた。
日曜日にせっかく富士山あたりに来たから、富士山五合目まで登った（車で）。雲の上に登って、きれいな紅葉を見えたけど、富士山は雲のせいではっきり見えなかった。富士山五合目で山梨県のほうとうを昼ごはんとして食べて、神社を見に行った。そこで、おみくじをやってみた。おみくじ結構好きだよ。宝くじみたいに一つの紙をもらって、自分の将来、恋愛、仕事、ラッキーアイテムなどについて色なものが書いてある。いいものも悪いものも両方あるが、私はいいものしかもらったことない。もし悪いやつもらったら、神社でおみくじ結び所で結んで、吉になるように。別に書いたとおりに起こると思わないけど、何が書いてあるを読んでみるのは楽しいと思う。
それで、また東京に帰ってきて、いつもの通り授業に通ってる。
Posing on a cliff on Okunoshima (better known as rabbit island)
I was quite worried about how my end of term exams went, because I started the class half way through the semester, but I managed to pass them and enter the N1 level class! Because I am planning to take the JLPT (Japanese language proficiency test) N1 in December, I am glad I made it into the N1 class. I will continue to do my best to improve my Japanese.
I had a 2 week break before the new semester started, so I went to Tokushima-ken (in Shikoku). One of my friends from the last time I was in Japan is currently working there, so I went to visit her. By leaving Tokyo and going to the countryside, I was able to relax. I am very much a countryside girl, maybe because I grew up in the countryside, so no matter how much I enjoy my life in Tokyo, I feel like the countryside always suits me better. In the city everyone is always busy, and no one chats with each other. However, people in the countryside have a different attitude, life moves at a slower pace, and people are happy to talk to strangers. Also, I like how easy it is to walk in nature with no people around. When I am worrying about something, or unable to decide about something, I find going for a walk in nature helps me clear my mind. Therefore, being able to go there and talk walks, see fireworks and visit the rabbit island was great. I had so much fun!
Another photo of the fireworks,
Mt.Fuji
I also went on a 2 day, 1 night trip with my host family to the Mt. Fuji area. We went in a rental car that could fit 10 people, it was super fun!
On Saturday, first we went to Fuji Q Highland, a theme park, and rode the fujiyama roller-coaster. The weather that day was really reminiscent of Scotland, so it was pretty cold on the ride. Even so, we all got very excited and had a good time.
Then we went to the nearby Narusawa ice cave. We wore helmets to enter the cave, and once inside it was really tight, the ceiling was often really low and we had to climb over lots of rocks, so it really seemed like an adventure. There was an ice pond in the cave that was lit up with blue lights so it sparkled prettily.
A small part of the room we stayed in, looking out over the lake
Despite this, the highlight of the trip was the hotel we stayed at. The “room” was a tatami suite and was bigger than I thought it would be. The hotel provided Yukata (a kind of thin Kimono type Japanese style of clothing). And there was an Onsen inside the hotel. Onsen is a Japanese style of Bath. You have to shower before entering, and unlike a swimming pool, everyone enters naked (the sexes are separated though) which often surprises foreigners. While it’s a little embarrassing at first, you get used to it quickly. This hotel had two inside baths, and one outside bath. It was my first outside bath! It was the best! The hot bath and the cool air, felt really good. I went in it three times, before dinner, before sleeping and before heading out in the morning, each time I never wanted to get out.
Houtou, a speciality of Yamanashi Prefecture, it was a kind of thick flat noodle with vegetables and chicken in a miso broth.
Saying that, the food was also amazing! Dinner was a Japanese style course meal, lots of different foods came out and I got to try lots of delicious foods. There was a little bit too much food, but because it was so good I tried my best to eat it all, and gained a food baby. Breakfast was buffet style, and again everything looked so good that I ate too much and made another food baby.
On Sunday, because we had specially come to the Mt. Fuji we climbed up to the fifth step (in the car). We went above some of the clouds, and saw some beautiful autumn leaves, but due to the clouds we couldn’t ever clearly see Mt. Fuji. At the fifth step we ate Yamanashi-ken’s houtou for lunch, then went to a shrine. There we did Omikuji. I quite like Omikuji. It’s similar to a lottery, where you receive a piece of paper with various things about your future, love life, job and lucky item, among other others. There’s both good ones and bad ones. If you get a bad fortune you have to tie it to a special place at the shrine so you don’t take the bad luck with you. I don’t really believe that the future will happen as it’s written, but I think it is fun to see what is written.
The fireworks here were different from the usual kind, rather than being fired into the air they fell down like rain. The one looked like an apocalypse to me,
Now I have returned to Tokyo, and am going to class as normal.