Friday, October 1, 2010

My Summer


I had a fantastic summer break! Since my family and I just moved to Nishinomiya this year, we decided to stay close to our new home, explore the area, and enjoy catching up with old friends. My daughers, Erika (on the right) and Alina (on the left) had a great time playing inside and out, making lots of new friends at their kindergarten and in our neighborhood. Their favorite activity seems to be role playing, with Erika as "mama" and Alina as "babu-chan" or sometimes "Ojii-san".
Pretty funny to see.



We had a bunch of barbecues over the summer, and I tried to improve my grilling technique. The highlights included spicy pork ribs, sirloin steaks, and chicken shish kebabs. I learned that the key is preparing the meat and using the right amount of heat for what you are cooking. A nice cold beer helps, too.





We did get away for a couple of short trips, including a great weekend camping in Shiga at Lake Biwako. The kids played outside all day and then the adults got to spend some quality time drinking and talking after the kids were in bed.

(the person taking this picture was in a tree :)



The next day my friend and I made our way to the top of the climbing wall. It was great fun!













The best part of my summer, though, had to be swimming at the waterfall near my house. Whenever I had a chance, I hiked there with some friends and we took a dip in the clear, cool water. I was so happy to find such a beautiful, peaceful place right here in Nishinomiya.








Monday, September 27, 2010

Fall Semester: 1st post

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a great summer. I spent most of mine exploring my new hometown and catching up with old friends. Nishinomiya is really fantastic - lots of good nature spots plus plenty of cool bars and restaurants to keep you busy. I'll post some pictures this week.

How about your summer? Some of you posted over the summer, but most took a blog break. Give us an overview or pick one particular person or place from your summer to tell us about.

This semester we'll be continuing our blogging activity, so try to post at least 10-12 sentences each week. More is even better!

I'm looking forward to seeing your posts.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

12th topic

How was your first semester of university?

(This is our last topic of the Spring semester, but I encourage you to keep blogging over the summer!)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

11th topic

What are your plans for this summer?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

10th topic

Most of you will be going abroad next year. What would you like to bring with you to show your host family or new friends about Japan? Why?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

8th topic

Who's your favorite celebrity or other well-known person? What do you like about her or him? Include a photo if you can find one.