fukui <3

going to fukui with mia for the second half of spring break was one of the best experiences i've ever had in japan =)

i don't have the energy to write the long post those four days warrant, so i'll be even more lazy and just echo mia for now XD
http://miamonnier.blogspot.com/2009/03/fukui.html

i'll get my pictures up soon, but mia's pictures are better anyway =]
http://picasaweb.google.com/mgnm9195/HoyaHoya#

egrets!

today was a brilliant day :)
it was POURING all morning [read: miserable weather], but my heart was bursting inside with joy. i'm not sure why, but i was all smiles on the train this morning. it was packed with people too---but i remember thinking about buddhism, and how everything is in a "constant" state of impermanence. the gross humidity, unwanted body contact, etc. ~ all of it will eventually pass. [as will the intense happiness i was feeling---but as long as i live in the moment, that doesn't even matter =)]

despite going into reading class not having done the readings, and then sitting through an hour-long linguistics experiment listening to the same sixteen words over and over ~ i was in such high spirits ^_^

one, i got to talk to a really good friend [who better come to japan asap]
and two, bird watching during ecology class!
^_^

we walked down to demachiyanagi and bird-watched by the kamogawa [river]. i got crazy excited about the great and little egret for whatever reason. they are beautiful birds, and i fell in love with them. both are white with long necks and long black legs, but i love the distinctions between them. besides the obvious difference in size, the great egret has a yellow bill in winter (black bill in summer), and the little egret has a black bill that doesn't change color with the seasons. The other distinction that I went nuts over is that the little egret has yellow feet ~ SO adorable =D
[i can be such a nerd, lol]

i didn't rest much last night, and i'm feeling the effects of sleep-deprivation.
so.....nap time!
=)