My goodness, am I behind. I am going to skip ahead in the next post to my most recent trip--to THAILAND! It was wonderful! However, I will gradually fill in the events of January and February where I left off, just after New Year's. Until I do so completely, I will list a few of the major events. After New Year's, I had a few more days of winter break. On New Year's Day, I visited a group of Japanese friends who had prepared traditional new year's foods. These were scrumptious! They included sweet potatoes and chestnuts, many sweet beans, lots of fish and meat dishes that I could not eat as a vegetarian but looked quite good, and all sorts of other things. Kotaro and Eguchi, to Japanese friends, had spent at least twenty hours preparing it all together.
After New Years, I had a few more days of winter break which I enjoyed leisurely. On one of these days, I attempted to run all the way to the ocean coast. I failed, not because I became tired (surprisingly) but because I froze. I made it about half way before the cold temperatures really started to sting, so I hoped on the subway line I had been following and made my way back into Sapporo. But I had made it quite a long ways, run for about an hour and a half, and given myself a boost of confidence that I could run the distance. After the warm temperatures in Tokyo, I began to long for a trip to someplace warm! I regret not traveling during this time! But it did give me a last chance to polish up my final graduate school applications. I attended Mao-san's PHD defense, which she passed brilliantly and to the joy of my advisor, Professor Koike. The break ended, and it was back to early morning Japanese classes. January seemed to whiz by in this time. I may be forgetting some events, so I will have to add on to this as I remember. Of course, Becca also returned to Sapporo after her surgery. I was very impressed by her fast progress! February sped along as well, particularly occupied by track practices and then on the 12th and 15th, my Japanese final exams. I also reattempted my run to the ocean, and made it all the way there, though I arrived sweaty, covered in snow, and freezing just as the sun began to set. I felt triumphant and proud, though chilled to the bone because I got lost and ended up running part way up a mountain (which added unexpected time to my run as I tried to re-route myself). Furthermore, I finished my illustrations! I was so happy. You can see a peek of them here on my website. I have felt so bad to have taken so long on them, but in the end I am very pleased with how they have turned out and even happier to know that the authors are enjoying them. They are two of the most supportive and patient people I have had the privilege to work with! Please look out for more on the book as we put it together.
On the 15th, I received some of the most joyous and unexpected news I could imagine. I had marked on my calendar that I needed to be certain to have submitted my Yale financial aid application by the 15th. I had finished this a few days prior, and so there was no worry. On the evening of the 15th, while sitting in bed idly checking my email before I planned to settle down for the night, I received a message from Yale that there had been an update to my application, and that I should follow the link to view the update. I assumed this was simply updating to say that financial aid submissions were closed, and that mine had been submitted. To my immense shock and surprise, upon clicking my application, I started reading the message and blinked when I read "Congratulations! You have been admitted into Yale Forestry and Envi...ALJ:KN:KJCEH:EHGSY!" (That is a synopsis of what occurred. Yale did not have any such typos!) I re-read it again and again, wondering if I had fallen asleep at some point, and was dreaming or that I had read it incorrectly. I was astounded by the unexpected good news. I could hardly sleep at all that night.
The next day (the weekend of the 16th and 17th), I went on a trip with Becca, Kotaro, and Zenta to see the sea ice on the northeast coast of Hokkaido -- at the sea of Ohotsk. We met early Saturday morning at Sapporo station and took a loooong tour bus ride, then spent the night at a ryoukan, saw the ice from a boat the next day, and returned by Sunday night. Becca greeted me that morning with a huge hug, and everyone gave me congratulations. On the bus ride on Saturday morning, I shared the good news via email and facebook with others. I nearly started to cry on the bus, because I felt so shocked and for lack of better word...blessed. I never ever imagined such amazing things would happen to me. I could not believe the situation I was in at that moment. I was receiving such kind and warm congratulations and the support of so many. I was on a bus in Japan, driving through beautiful mountains. And I had accomplished a dream of mine, which was to be accepted into Yale's program. I will write more in depth about this whole experience, certainly. Needless to say, I am humbled and immensely grateful. The moral of the story, is to always keep working, do your best, and absolutely do not give up.
Very early in the morning on Monday, I was off for my adventure to Thailand, already with a smile and so many good things to be thankful for.
P.S. I have a ridiculous amount of pictures to share. I will add them soon! Thank you everyone for all your patience. I appreciate it so much that so many people read and are interested in what I am up to!
After New Years, I had a few more days of winter break which I enjoyed leisurely. On one of these days, I attempted to run all the way to the ocean coast. I failed, not because I became tired (surprisingly) but because I froze. I made it about half way before the cold temperatures really started to sting, so I hoped on the subway line I had been following and made my way back into Sapporo. But I had made it quite a long ways, run for about an hour and a half, and given myself a boost of confidence that I could run the distance. After the warm temperatures in Tokyo, I began to long for a trip to someplace warm! I regret not traveling during this time! But it did give me a last chance to polish up my final graduate school applications. I attended Mao-san's PHD defense, which she passed brilliantly and to the joy of my advisor, Professor Koike. The break ended, and it was back to early morning Japanese classes. January seemed to whiz by in this time. I may be forgetting some events, so I will have to add on to this as I remember. Of course, Becca also returned to Sapporo after her surgery. I was very impressed by her fast progress! February sped along as well, particularly occupied by track practices and then on the 12th and 15th, my Japanese final exams. I also reattempted my run to the ocean, and made it all the way there, though I arrived sweaty, covered in snow, and freezing just as the sun began to set. I felt triumphant and proud, though chilled to the bone because I got lost and ended up running part way up a mountain (which added unexpected time to my run as I tried to re-route myself). Furthermore, I finished my illustrations! I was so happy. You can see a peek of them here on my website. I have felt so bad to have taken so long on them, but in the end I am very pleased with how they have turned out and even happier to know that the authors are enjoying them. They are two of the most supportive and patient people I have had the privilege to work with! Please look out for more on the book as we put it together.
On the 15th, I received some of the most joyous and unexpected news I could imagine. I had marked on my calendar that I needed to be certain to have submitted my Yale financial aid application by the 15th. I had finished this a few days prior, and so there was no worry. On the evening of the 15th, while sitting in bed idly checking my email before I planned to settle down for the night, I received a message from Yale that there had been an update to my application, and that I should follow the link to view the update. I assumed this was simply updating to say that financial aid submissions were closed, and that mine had been submitted. To my immense shock and surprise, upon clicking my application, I started reading the message and blinked when I read "Congratulations! You have been admitted into Yale Forestry and Envi...ALJ:KN:KJCEH:EHGSY!" (That is a synopsis of what occurred. Yale did not have any such typos!) I re-read it again and again, wondering if I had fallen asleep at some point, and was dreaming or that I had read it incorrectly. I was astounded by the unexpected good news. I could hardly sleep at all that night.
The next day (the weekend of the 16th and 17th), I went on a trip with Becca, Kotaro, and Zenta to see the sea ice on the northeast coast of Hokkaido -- at the sea of Ohotsk. We met early Saturday morning at Sapporo station and took a loooong tour bus ride, then spent the night at a ryoukan, saw the ice from a boat the next day, and returned by Sunday night. Becca greeted me that morning with a huge hug, and everyone gave me congratulations. On the bus ride on Saturday morning, I shared the good news via email and facebook with others. I nearly started to cry on the bus, because I felt so shocked and for lack of better word...blessed. I never ever imagined such amazing things would happen to me. I could not believe the situation I was in at that moment. I was receiving such kind and warm congratulations and the support of so many. I was on a bus in Japan, driving through beautiful mountains. And I had accomplished a dream of mine, which was to be accepted into Yale's program. I will write more in depth about this whole experience, certainly. Needless to say, I am humbled and immensely grateful. The moral of the story, is to always keep working, do your best, and absolutely do not give up.
Very early in the morning on Monday, I was off for my adventure to Thailand, already with a smile and so many good things to be thankful for.
P.S. I have a ridiculous amount of pictures to share. I will add them soon! Thank you everyone for all your patience. I appreciate it so much that so many people read and are interested in what I am up to!
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