i will never get sick of this.....

its true!!

a) i love this song (artisan guns - autumn)
b) i dont think i will ever get sick of snow and all of its beauty

at this point in time,
my biggest decision to make is whether to go to sleep now ready for my early rise.
or write a blog entry.....

i am completely exhausted. but i shall write.

i realise now that i have been shitty with updating. and my posts contain no real information about what im doing.
so, i have created a seperate blog. for me.
and made this one about my trip. as it was originally created for.

so, japan.
well, nagano more specifically.
its pretty amazing here!
im on the sanosaka resort. which is 1 of 3, over looking a lake.
and they are all san alpina ones.
sanosaka is the only one in hakuba (the town im in). although, its the smallest one in hakuba. and the most far from civilisation.
all the others are massive. and have heaps of foreigners. and are close to the town center.
we are a 2hour walk away! quite ridic.
last night me, rose and our new english friend hiromi, went for a walk. it was really fun. we found a vending machine half covered in snow and ice and managed to dig our way through to it, and get a hot can of tea out.
hot beverages in vending machines are quite amazing.
although, too much sugar. blah.

today was our first day off. so we tried to get a ride in to town with the shuttle bus. but that failed. then we were trying to get a taxi (glad we didnt, so so expensive!!! like 60$!!).
and then the shacho (company president) offered to take us down in his car.
we were very shocked, but he insisted. so we went. he even took us in to the city hall to help us get our gaijin cards (cards to show you are a foreigner).
and then when it was time to leave, he was very concerned how we would get home later in the day, so he gave me his cell phone number. just incase we couldnt contact him via the resort!
he is so lovely! and really concerned for the well being of us.
which is nice. (more on this later).
so we explore town (all of 6 shops). and there was nothing we wanted. we found this amazing cafe. called gravity works. it makes its own stuff. like grows all its own ingredients and sauces and everything is made there.
the outside is picture perfect. and was covered in snow. the inside was wooden. and really homely.there was some really good live japanese music on tv. and she turned it over to put transformers on for us. rose and hiromi kept watching the freaking film. so we asked her if we could listen to music instead. and she put some englsh music on. probably thinking we spoke no japanese. as her english was A++. we asked her about where things were. and she was very helpful. and told us we needed to go to a bigger city center. so we caught the train to matsumoto. (there was NO snow!! and i felt like a fool in my horry snowboots)
the train ride took 2hours. and on the way we drove past the lake that our resort overlooks. it is an AMAZING lake.
like actually. we couldnt believe it. and it was nice to see the other san alpina resorts.
we did various things in matsumoto. electronic store (i WANT an slr!!!!!), supermarket, starbucks(ick),we got purikura(sticker photos), purchased some local produce, went to a sports shop. and i had to buy a ski/snowboard jacket. because i couldnt go to snow without...booo!!!
it cost me a boooomb! well 500ish dollars. for me this is tres expensive, as i pretty much spent the last of my freaking money! damnit. but i did meet a really cool sales assistant. who had been to nz, snowboarding in queenstown. and he gave me his card. and said to come back for a chat.
two cards in one day, what a rarity.
ha.
anyways. the jacket is bright blue. which is amazing. but has little skulls on it. not so amazing. its the only bright one they had. and i wanted a bright one, beacuse when im working, i can only see the bright ones. and they look amazing!
we almost missed our freaking train transfer on the way back. we went to the wrong platform, we were on one. and i asked the station attendant where the hakuba train was. and and he said platform four. so we sprinted up and down the stairs, trying to get for it in time. because there was NO time!! but luckily we just made it!!!
we were also planning on going to izakaya when we got back to hakuba. but we were so tired that we decided to get off the train at the station closest to the resort, so that we wouldnt have to back track.
we forgot that you cant get off the train at anydoor at a small stop. you have to go to the front carraige and give your ticket. so we almost missed our stop. we had a few drinks on the train ride. so outside wasnt so chilly.
our showers are communal. with the other females in the dorm. which at this stage, there arent very many. thankgoodness. because communal bathing means a room, with 6 shower heads and a bath. and everyone is naked!!! ahhh. i did not know about this! so was slightly freaking out. i have yet to shower with another. and i am dreading this day. alot.
i actually contimplated going 3months without a shower.
obviously this is not feasable! but luckily we take turns at the moment.
dorm life isnt what i expected. at the moment, i am in a four bunk room alone. rose and hiromi both have japanese room mates. which is lame. because my japanese is the worst, and i feel having a japanese room mate would be very benificial to my learning. but appaerntly there is one coming tomorrow for me!!! yay! i hope she is nice :D
there is not really any interaction with the males in the dorm. as there are massive doors seperating the male rooms and female rooms. and the only comunal place, is the dining hall, which is open from 6.15-8am and 5-8pm. and because the girls and guys do different jobs, we start and finish at different times. so we dont even get to eat together!!!
hopefully this will change. as there is a very good looking guy within the same walls!!! gasssp.
today we were so shacked/excited everytime we saw a foreigner or young person.
two things we are missing here at sanosaka.
hakuba has seven ski resorts. we are the smallest and furthest away from life (ahhh, i dont know if i have talked about this yet, because i just wrote an email to a girl in a different part of nagano, and cant be bothered scrolling up to check). so, all the other resorts are massive! have lots of people and AND and they have better ski slopes. BOOOO. haha.
obviously this cant be changed now. so i should shut up about it. i feel jipped!!
but obviously there isnt anything i can do about it, so i should stop complaining.....

today is a new day. i feel asleep last night...so i shall write more now...

i got a room mate! called yuki. she is cute!!!
she also doesnt drink. neither does tomo. the other who is coming to my room.
they worked together last season. so they are tight. i hope that im not left out when she does arrive.
working in the resturant is fun! people there are generally nice.
although, on some levels i wish i was doing a seperate job to rose. because our constant english talking is not improving my japanese.
hopefully now, i can study lots and lots and get my japanese up.
tomorrow. and the day after i have another holiday (after that, none till mid jan. GAAASP) not christmas not new years.... booooo.
but its a ok.
tomorrow i am going to start my journey to becoming a pro snowborder!!!
wheeeeeeeee. wish me well. i shall probably need it! haha.
i have decided to get lessons! maybe. if i can afford it.

food is a major here. they were shocked to find out i was a vegetarian. they dont like this. well, they dont like the fact that i dont eat the same lunch as them.
upon getting this job, i knew that they cant cater for vegos. so i knew i had to bring my own lunch. and i do. but to them its not lunch. just a snack. and because the bento that is made for us is 99% meat. the bachans i eat lunch with keep telling the boss that they are concerned about me.
i get asked many many times a day if i can eat certain foods. everytime i tell them, anything but meat and fish. and seafood.
today i find out that they have cancelled my bento everyday, and i can order from the kitchen everyday. every dish has meat in it but udon. so i plan to eat alot of the salad. (which is actually just shredded cabbage....). which is fine. because its delicious.
pretty much every night i eat rice, with soysauce and salad.
there is alot of meat. i like my dinner. but feel so bad for wasting the food!!! tonight was crumbed fish, and fish pasta.so i couldnt eat it. sometimes there are vego side dishes. so i dont want to cancel my dinners, because sometimes i can eat it....
breakfast, again, i have rice. and everyday i have a slice of toast and glass of juice. the other food is all dinner type things. which is too weird to eat that early.
tomorrow i plan to wake really early, so i can eat with all the guys! ha. my plan is fullproof.
there is one guy, who is great. and i plan on befriending him. hahahaha.
its something to do. i sound crazy. (its pretty much because i am....), but there is actually nothing to do here.
yesterday, every time we saw a gaijin, we wanted to hug them!!
ha! we live sad lives.

well, i shall go now. and i will try to update frequently.
tell me whats up with you!!! i love to hear!!!
x