a sunnier outlook

i owe my (more) positive attitude about the last several months in japan to several people/places/things:

• matt && my friends who are also counting down the days
  
• tokyo and arashiyama
• the gym and my love of cheerleading

my friend matt from summer school has been endlessly supportive and helping me to find my motivation again. i've always been in awe of his study habits ~ i still don't think he understands just how much he inspires me :)

my friends who share in my "misery" (you know who you are ^_^) ~ thanks for all the "tollbooths" since october. it's always refreshing to just laugh about how crazy japan can be sometimes :) reminiscing about midd, language school, and everything else in our twenty years of life thus far..... good times <3

despite being a short three-day stay, tokyo with mia and danielle was a breath of fresh air.
day one: shopping (aka, backpacking) in harajuku until late evening.
day two: waseda area with our friend lauren from japanese language school, dinner in shibuya with mia's friend lenna, and lesbian bar with becca and her friend from wellesley in shinjuku
day three: the national diet library with mia to do research for my senior project/thesis

arashiyama on valentine's day. mia and i got away from the shijo/sanjo area and explored a little bit. destination: a little temple/nunnery called gio-ji [google it] we actually made it without getting lost! :)

i've been going to the sports club for about three hours a day ~ i thought i would probably get worn out from strenuous exercise day after day, but so far so good :) it's been a great way for me to relieve the restlessness i often feel here. i also get to work on stunts and becoming even more flexible for next year's cheerleading season. i can't wait =D

[i'll write more about tokyo and arashiyama when i upload the pictures ^_^]