reflections on 2013

As it seems I didn't write a yearly reflection post last year and haven't posted since November (in my defense, December was crazy busy), I've decided I should! The omikuji fortune from my first shrine visit of 2013 predicted I would have the best luck for the year, and all things considered, I think it turned out to be pretty accurate (despite the fact that I promptly lost the paper with the fortune on it...oops)!

In 2013, I:
- went skiing and snowboarding in Nagano Prefecture
- went to Disney Sea for the first time with my friend Ella
- took lessons to learn how to put on a kimono
- helped welcome a delegation of 12 guests from our sister city of Houston and acted as their primary interpreter for four days
- swing danced under the cherry blossoms
- moved to a different building for work
- volunteered as an interpreter at an international triathlon in Ishigaki, Okinawa and experienced scuba diving for the first time
- saw my Carleton linguistics professor and later agreed to give a talk to the study abroad group coming from there this April
- became a Chiba-kun Ambassador 
- held an English conversation class for city hall workers
- volunteered at an organic cotton farm in Fukushima Prefecture
- stayed out all night swing dancing during Golden Week
- passed the JLPT N1
- welcomed new JETs and gave a presentation as a TOA for Tokyo Orientation
- interpreted via Skype for people in North Vancouver and Houston
- went paragliding in Shizuoka Prefecture
- went to Nagoya to see my host family and study abroad friends
- went to Korea to see my friend Kellianne
- interpreted for the ambassador of South Africa
- gave a 'lunchtime lecture' about study abroad to students at Keai University
- danced in a flashmob in Tokyo
- went squid fishing and caught three tiny squid
- spent an amazing week in Shiga Prefecture for training for CLAIR's Translation & Interpretation course
- came back to the US for the first time in almost a year and a half


2013 in Numbers
- 2 Analogfish concerts
- 4 Chiba AJET events (YETI ski trip, ice skating, camping, Thanksgiving)
- 4 frisbee tournaments (Shonan Beach, Sugadaira, OVNI spring and fall)
- 5 school visits
- 11 interpreting gigs
- 24 photo albums on Facebook
- 54 blog posts (combined)
- 12 overnight trips outside of Chiba
- 8 prefectures visited (Nagano, Okinawa, Kanagawa, Fukushima, Nagoya, Tochigi, Shiga, Kyoto)

Too many to count: swing dance events, salsa parties, frisbee practices, good movies watched, new/fun/exciting experiences, new people met, unfamiliar places, meals and trips and good times with friends (and more)

For me, 2012 meant a lot of big changes, but I think 2013 was more about subtle developments: getting more comfortable at work and gaining confidence in my translation & interpretation skills, making new connections and becoming more active in the JET/Chiba/dance/ultimate communities, improving my Japanese, slowly but surely filling my apartment with more and more junk...

At any rate, I've thoroughly enjoyed the last twelve months and expect to do the same for the next twelve (and more, hopefully). Here's to not getting complacent or too settled and to more travel, challenges, and new experiences. :D