From Buenos Aires

After a long day of flying on airplanes, waiting in airports and riding buses, I finally made it to Argentina. Its sunny and warm here. If youre wondering, I cant figure out how to use the apostrophe. I stayed at Hostel Estoril. I was cute and clean. They had a little outdoor patio. I was on the 6th floor. Im not sure if the one on the 6th floor does also. People are friendly. My roommate was from Ireland and she was staying for two nights. Then she was heading to an apartment she rented and is planning to learn Spanish for two months. Shes then planning to travel throughout South America. I checked into my hotel, Hotel Waldorf, no affilication to the one in NY. Its dark as the reviews say but I guess the room is decent. Im about to go find out how much it will cost me to change my flight to an earlier day. I also saw a pilates studio so I might take a class if it works out. Im so sore from sleeping in strange positions on the plane. The tour group is meeting at 7.30p tonight to discuss the itinerary, meet one another and pay the local payment. Im was nervous about the trip but I think Im excited now. Looking forward to seeing the glaciers, penguins and fjords.

Ironic

A friend just came back from Taiwan and brought me back some cigs for my collection. Does anyone else find it ironic that these cigs are named Long Life?

Buenos Aires

I have a day to kill in Buenos Aires. Misunderstood the itinerary for the tour and booked my plane ticket to arrive a day earlier than I needed. At least it's not a day later. Knowing me, it wouldn't be something unheard of. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? I done the major site already. I'm thinking of hitting the street fair/flea market. I think it's in San Telmo. Other than that, I'm not sure what I should do. I was thinking of going to Colonia but I don't know how long that ferry ride takes. Anyone have any friends out there willing to hang out for one day?

NYE Run

I signed up for the Emerald Run on New Year's Eve. Who's down to freezing their ass off?

http://www.nyrr.org/races/2007/r1231x00.asp

Performance on 12/2

I'm performing a few pieces on 12/2 at Queens College if anyone is interested in attending. It will start around 1pm in the Music Building, Room 226. It's free so drop by.

http://www.qc.cuny.edu/calendars/eventdetails.php?cid=8&catid=1&eid=6287&d=12&m=12&y=2007&s=;

I will be playing a traditional Japanese intrument called the Koto with my mother who will play the Koto as well. This is a recital for the Shakuhachi students (bamboo flute) students so you will have an opportunity to hear them as well as a Shamisen.

Kiku... and other random thoughts

Last weekend I went to the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It turned out to be really nice. It was my first time there and I really enjoyed it. The reason 4 Japanese ladies ventured out into the Bronx was to see the Kiku (Chrystanthemum) exhibition. It always impresses me how Japanese will take something ordinary and will keep refining it until it's perfect. There were different types but the type I liked was called Ogiku or big kiku. They were about 2-3" in diameter as seen to the left. If you looked at an individual flower, the arrangement of the petals looked like someone with bedhead.

This need to seek perfection, is also apparent in other areas - food, clothes, art, etc. I just read an article saying that there are now microbreweries popping up in Japan. Although this is new territory, the article mentioned that there are already some really good beers that can compete with countries which have been producing beer for generations. Being Japanese, this is definitely something I can appreciate and be proud of.

Having been raised in the US, I feel a need to explore this phenomenon as well as other aspects of Japan. I want to know more about the country's history, culture and people.

Patagonia

I'm so excited. I've decided to go to Patagonia at the end of January. It's so vast and all the sights are challenging to travel to, I decided to go with a packaged tour. My goal is to get to the glaciers at Glacier National in El Calafate. Plus, I get to see penguins at Terra del Fuego. Torres del Paine is supposed to be beautiful as well with water falls and fjords. Yay. Anyone interested in joining me? Trip is from Jan 19th to Feb 2nd. The tour is through GAP Adventures. Anyone know if there will be a futbol game in Buenos Aires?