お正月~Japanese New Year

Well this year started off looking like it was going to be a good one. That is until I got this notification from PSU that I owed them $1,600+ for unpaid tuition this term. Can you say, F*cked. Well, not entirely but it still shocked the hell outta me. I knew that this was going to happen because I knew that I wasn't going to get enough financial aid to cover the international study abroad fees. This is why I was so desperate for the Scholarship from the Japanese government (which I do receive) so that I could save up and pay off what was left. Well, for some reason I forgot that this was what I had planned on doing (i'm so used to my tuition being taken care of) and I went ahead and planned a trip to Thailand with another girl, bought the tickets and everything. Going to have to cancel and hope that they give me at least a portion of my money back. Oh well, Thailand isn't going anywhere, i'll be able to go there some other day. The most stressful part of this ordeal is figuring out how i'm going to get the money to PSU because the money I have is in a Japanese bank account that I'm not able to just transfer money around like that. I have to fill out a form, physically turn it into the bank then wait for however long it takes them to process it, then transfer money from here to my bank account in America so that then I can pay with my credit  card and in turn pay my credit card off with my American bank account. It'll all work out. It always does. Right? *nervous laugh* T.T I've applied for some more teaching positions so hopefully someone will get back to me.


To top it all off, I have gained 15 lbs since I've been here. 15 FREAKING pounds. I've been wondering though, why have I gained this much? I mean, my eating habits haven't changed that dramatically...I am eating regularly and getting the required amount of nutrients which is more than I can say I got when I was living in the states. So why have I gained this much??

Well, let me tell ya my theory.
Before I came here I changed my birth control prescription. a couple weeks after I arrived here is when I started on the new prescription so I have this feeling that this is partially to blame for this unexpected (and unwelcome weight gain). Another part might be stress because lets face it, living abroad is stressful no matter how much you think you're used to a certain culture (that and things like unexpected money issues popping up on you!). Long story short I've stopped taking the BC and we'll see what happens from here. Starting tomorrow i'm going on a strict diet (whether my host sister thinks I'm able to do it or not! She laughed at me when I told her my plan. I'll show her!!) and hope that my waist line beings to decrease (already can't fit into some of my pants...oh how depressing).

How about something happy?

JAPANESE NEW YEARS!
Completely different from how we celebrate it in the States. It has more of a Xmas feeling to it, with all the family gathered, great food, TV programs and movies on all day, lamentations/recollections from the previous year and hopes and dreams for the year to come.

My host mom spent practically all day in the kitchen New Years Eve creating one hell of a dinner consisting of crab, tempura, shashimi and a whole lotta alcohol.

Isn't he beautiful! And so tasty...XD

Tempura

She's drinking sake out of the crab skull!
HARD CORE OKAA-SAN!

He tired to kiss her

And she disapproved 

My host sister is so pretty! XD 

Sake I bought in Kyoto for just
such an occasion  

He loves his Sake and Nihonshu

mm,mm quail eggs and salt!

That New years thing I talked about

Not bad wine from France

How I love you shrimp

I didn't realize it was a bunny until they pointed it out to me,
almost too late 

We started eating at about 6:00 and continued until 12:00, switching between drinking and eating, drinking and eating. I was so full and drunk that I fell asleep on the couch at around 11pm with instructions to wake me up 10 minutes till. Then we partook in another Japanese New Years tradition of eating Udon/Soba noddles at midnight. 

Me and Miyuki went for udon

Oton, and Okan went for the Soba

But I was so full I could only eat a couple bites before giving up and going to bed (And you're wondering why you gain so much weight?! Geez! But then again, they say never try to diet during the holidays, and I took their advice to heart ;P). 

New Years Day woke up to even more amazing food!

And of course more alcohol, and this time with
gold flecks in it!

"it's okay to drink this early in the morning
cuz it's new years!" 

Even though we were all still full from the previous night, we tucked in while watching the Mummy Three (which SUCKED!). 

Then came dinner at around 5pm 

Suki yaki baby! XD

You dip the cooked meat and veggies into the raw
egg and eat it. I don't know either but it tastes good.

dried persimmon. Yum!

New Years soup with mochi!! XD 

Another tradition of New Years is to give young people money! I received about $100 from my host parents (despite much protesting) and from my host sister I got a Vivienne Westwood towel! I didn't even tell her I liked Vivienne Westwood, don't even have anything Vivienne Westwood but she choose well! She also gave me a Vivienne Westwood scarf and another towel for Xmas. And my Okan gave me a cat purse for Xmas as well (she really loves cats and wants me to love them too). 

Ugh, next to her I look even worse! T.T 

Now i'm going to crawl into bed and watch The Lord of the Rings. Tomorrow i'm going to wake up early, do some over due yoga then head off to a US Navy base in Kanagawa to hang out with Natsuyo and her boyfriend.

Good night y'all and hope you wake up to a better new years than I did! The rest of this year is going to be better! Off to a bad start but it'll look up! It has too!!! T____T