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March 10th, 2011
Mar. 10th, 2011 03:24 pmTime feels like it's going slowly and yet it goes quickly. I must be living well.
Somehow because of this I managed to jot down a few thoughts almost a week ago without writing them out.
Almost 100% of our snow deposits have melted. Maybe 97.6% now. The City by the Sea has gotten a few snowstorms in the last few weeks, including one right now, but usually the sun melts the snow by noon the next day. I'm greatly pleased by this! Especially after spending the weekend at the Niseko Ski town where they have 6 feet tall snowbanks. It was super nice and a super relief to come home and see we had even less snow than when I'd left. We're just southerly enough and just close enough to sea level that with a little sun we are closer to spring. The unfortunate thing is that a day or two after real spring begins, the rainy season will begin. The rest of Hokkaido doesn't have a rainy season, so their spring will gradually get warmer and warmer, and more and more beautiful, whereas we'll have cloudy days with rain that will bring the ants and the mold and the gloom. In spite of its early arrival, our spring will fossilize until early August while the rest of the island continues into summer.
One thing I'll miss about Niseko, however, is the lack of stares. They have a lot of foreign ski visiters, which of course means a ridiculous amount of foreign residents and foreign amenities. It doesn't feel like Japan at all. It was a weird feeling while I was there, walking into bars and having them largely full of 40 year old Australian men. It felt so in-your-face! But now, being back in the City by the Sea it didn't take long to once again be put off by the constant stares of people who are surprised to see a foreigner.
Going home for good will be such a strange experience. So unnaturally natural.
Somehow because of this I managed to jot down a few thoughts almost a week ago without writing them out.
Almost 100% of our snow deposits have melted. Maybe 97.6% now. The City by the Sea has gotten a few snowstorms in the last few weeks, including one right now, but usually the sun melts the snow by noon the next day. I'm greatly pleased by this! Especially after spending the weekend at the Niseko Ski town where they have 6 feet tall snowbanks. It was super nice and a super relief to come home and see we had even less snow than when I'd left. We're just southerly enough and just close enough to sea level that with a little sun we are closer to spring. The unfortunate thing is that a day or two after real spring begins, the rainy season will begin. The rest of Hokkaido doesn't have a rainy season, so their spring will gradually get warmer and warmer, and more and more beautiful, whereas we'll have cloudy days with rain that will bring the ants and the mold and the gloom. In spite of its early arrival, our spring will fossilize until early August while the rest of the island continues into summer.
One thing I'll miss about Niseko, however, is the lack of stares. They have a lot of foreign ski visiters, which of course means a ridiculous amount of foreign residents and foreign amenities. It doesn't feel like Japan at all. It was a weird feeling while I was there, walking into bars and having them largely full of 40 year old Australian men. It felt so in-your-face! But now, being back in the City by the Sea it didn't take long to once again be put off by the constant stares of people who are surprised to see a foreigner.
Going home for good will be such a strange experience. So unnaturally natural.
