Catching up... Part II!

Hi All,

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Yes yes, I have been falling behind on the updates, but it’s FINALS week! And yes even as easy as I have found the classes here there’s a lot of work to do.

Lots of work and not nearly as much play… kind of… lol. But that’s ok I still have parts II and III to share with you about Christmas break!

Well Here it goes:

PART II: 27 /Dec. to 29 /Dec.

the 27^th : We decided to eat dinner at a Denny's in honor of my birthday; though it was a day early because we thought we might be too busy and tired from traveling to be able to do anything else… can you believe I've never been to a Denny's in America?

I was surprised at midnight with a cake!!! I felt so thought-off and liked and cared for :-)

It was great. I don’t get cakes often and it was just great to have my closest friends in Japan with me. And I got gifts to boot.

They all gave me things to keep warm because it’s not secret that I am constantly and I mean ALWAYS cold!!

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the 28^th: (my birthday) We went to Hakone in the morning of. We took a bus ride from Mishima station that was about 40-50mins.

Hakone: is known for its onsen (hot spring resorts), it’s really popular because it’s not t far from Tokyo and offers a great view of Mount Fuji. Sights include the volcanically active Owakudani geysers and Hakone Shrine on the shore of the lake.

We got a tourist deal for two days at Hakone and it was great! It included unlimited rides on cable cars, Hakone pirate cruise, and discounts on entry fees at different locations . We did quite a bit of sightseeing.

They said that if you eat this black egg you live longer... (it's just a regular egg as far as taste goes. It's apparently boiled with hot spring water though and it turns black...)

huge hotel room!

While you're at the hotel you wear yukatas (a variation of a kimono). I was sung Happy Birthday numerous times (in multiple languages) and it was unforgettable.We played some Jenga and karaoke and ping-pong where included in our hotel fees.

The onsen are incredibly hot (I mean I know they are hot springs) but your skins dies while you’re in there… that might explain why you feel super smooth after lol. It was great once we got a *little over the shyness of having to be naked in front of other people.

All in all it was a great two-day trip.

Phew that was a lot! It was such a great time!! And alright Stay tune for part III and possibly a fourth... no promises on next week, I'm still taking finals!

Later