mass update

So evidently it's been quite a while since I last posted here, but it's not because I haven't been doing anything! Quite the opposite, in fact - if you follow my travel blog, you might have some idea what I've been up to (updating the other blog is partly why this one has fallen a bit to the wayside, unfortunately). But here's a quick rundown of some fun stuff I've been up to outside of travel/Chiba-kun Ambassador stuff:


-practicing for and performing in a dance flashmob in Tokyo! The flashmobs were organized as part of an art festival taking place in Tokyo this month and I've only participated once so far, but it was really fun and hopefully will do it a couple of more times. The dance is super silly, but we've had quite a few people jump in on the spot, too, which is awesome. :D
- swing dancing in a Pooh bear onesie for Halloween and going on an overnight swing dance trip to an onsen in Kanagawa
- interpreting for the people like the deputy mayor (whose name I only just learned, embarrassingly; also fun fact, Chiba City can have up to three deputy mayors but currently only has two), the Omani counselor, South African ambassador, and a tourism director from one of our sister cities
- meeting and reuniting with CIR friends from all over the country at our annual CIR mid-year conference, which was much more fun than last year now that I actually know people
- eating the appropriate amount of (read: too much) food at Chiba AJET's annual Thanksgiving dinner
- story time, a school visit, a frisbee tournament, and more

Exciting things coming up:
- giving a lunchtime lecture at Keiai University to try and encourage the students to study abroad
- spending a week in Shiga Prefecture at the training session for the translation & interpretation course I'm taking (and playing around the Kyoto/Osaka area the weekend after)
- going back to the USA for the first time since I came to Japan! I've been looking forward to this since long before I bought my tickets (which was several months ago) and can hardly wait to see my family and friends and home country again. Hopefully they're just as excited to see me! :)