mt. hiei

the trip to mt. hiei turned out a lot better than i had expected.

i avoided the people i didn't like as much as i could. separation into smaller groups did happen, but i made sure i was with my friends. there were several times when i missed out on what my professor was saying, but staying close to her helped a lot with that. the weather also took a turn for the better. it was even snowing a little on the mountain!
:)

i'll put up some pictures soon, but i already know they won't do much justice to the beauty of the landscapes and the antiquity of the temples.

we went up by cable car for part of the way and hiked everywhere else from there on out. i didn't take notes, so i don't know the names of the places and halls we visited. (i'll ask prof. ludvik for the details of the trip.)

there's no way i can easily explain what i saw and felt yesterday. many buddhist practices are simply mind-blowing. i can't even begin to imagine the pain, exhaustion, and trials that some monks put themselves through. (again, more details on this later.)

i realized a couple things from being on mt. hiei. i love the mountains. i like snow. the cold doesn't really bother me. i only had on a tank top layered with a long-sleeved shirt and a light hoodie all day. my point is, i felt freedom on that mountain. i was away from all the stupid girls on shijo dori, away from the suffocation of the host family system, and (somewhat) away from the smothering of akp. it's not necessarily japan that i dislike. if i had money to travel around the country, i'd be much happier. i'll come back to this later.

i'm still exhausted from last night.
=)