Happy New Year from the future (AKA Japan)! If I did the math right, I lost about 4 hours in 2018 to the time difference. However, this year was packed full of fun and good memories, so Iām not too worried.
Pictured above is me experiencing my first åč©£ć§ Hatsumode or First Shrine Visit of the New Year (but temples are fine as well). During this time, families gather at shrines and temples often well before the New Year has started to make a small offering and prayer as well as purchase ććæćć omikuji - a fortune slip and ćå®ć omamori - a shrine or temple charm often offering good luck or protection in different aspects of life. If you receive a good omikuji, you keep it with you and often leave it in your wallet. However, if you receive a bad one, you tie it to one of the designated areas in the shrine in order to ward off the negativity. Luckily, mine was good this year!
The last picture is the lovely and delicious New Years Eve dinner my host mother made and prepared from scratch. Many of the foods in the background are traditionally eaten on and around New Years and have various meanings behind them. I tried most of them! Since New Years is a very family oriented time of the year in Japan, I felt very special to have been included in my host familyās celebrations - especially the First Shrine visit. We did, however, leave the two little ones in the picture below at home in bed with grandma. Finally, we rung in the New Year with a bowl of hot soba noodles before heading to bed (and a quick dip in the bath for me!).
2018 was a really great year for me! I graduated from Emory University with a double major in Psychology and Japanese, I got my first real world job, and with that job I moved to Japan!
As wonderful as 2018 was, in excited to carry that greatness into 2019 with personal growth, world exploration, and good relationships. As is fitting of this time of year, here are some of my current goals:
- Stop comparing my life to othersā lives
- Keep in touch with family and friends who live far away
- Make time for myself and self care, no matter what that looks like on any given day
- General stuff like taking more photos, eating better, getting in better shape, and being eco-friendly
Hereās to a wonderful 2019!
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