friday photo | omedetou!

You see that goofy guy in the back left on the top photo? He's getting married next weekend. And a great number of the people in both these photos will be there. I'll be in Ecuador - I think en route to or in the Galapagos on the day of his wedding. And let me tell you, there's just about only one thing that could make me want to be anywhere else in the world while I'm laying my eyes on the Galapagos Islands for the first time, and that is Eric - or any of these friends - getting married. Okay, it doesn't even require a wedding. A reunion! A get-together! Any chance to see these friends, and I'd do just about anything to make it happen. But this time I'll settle for nervous, giddy excitement and anticipation for my girlfriends to send me pictures and live updates throughout the wedding. Omedetou (congratulations) to one of my very favorite people in the world and his about-to-be wife. She is one lovely, lucky woman, and I know him well enough to know that whomever he picked? He's a lucky guy, too.

a long weekend in keystone, colorado

Colorado averages almost 250 days of sunshine a year. If it weren't for being landlocked, it would be my favorite state. Even so, I've considered packing up and moving out there. When I was single, I joked I'd move there to find my dream man - a lumberjack, naturally. Now I'd do it for the hiking, rafting, snowboarding, and did I mention hiking, rafting, and snowboarding? 

Callie, my closest girlfriend from my JET days (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) lives in Denver, and her father owns condos in the ski resorts. My new favorite tradition is jumping on a plane out to visit her in the winter and spending a day or two snowboarding (life knows how to make me feel downright charmed sometimes). This year we had a mini-JET reunion. Our friends Hozumi and Ryan came out, too, from North Carolina and Louisiana, respectively, and we all spent a long weekend in Keystone. 

Seeing them again was like coming home. We never tire of talking and laughing, and we definitely never tired of doing all of our talking and laughing in an outdoor hot tub while the snow fell on and melted right off of us. They're family-friends. You know those friends that know you so well and with whom you've been through something so significant and life-changing that friends just doesn't cut it? I could be lost in a desert with them, and it'd be a memory I never want to forget. 

It has been so cold in D.C. this March that it's starting to wear me down. My body and heart and mind are craving sunshine, craving that warmth on my skin and in my bones. But since Spring is playing shy, I figured I'd revisit some of my favorite photos from our reunion in Keystone, Colorado, where the sun shines 250 days a year, and great, old friendships make even the snow feel warm. 

if you go... 

Keystone day lift pass: $80-100

Snow tubing: $31 for an hour

Snowboard/ski gear rental: $30-40/day

We stayed at The Springs: check website for availability and pricing

travel tuesday | cliff jumping in north shore, oahu, hawaii

"Welcome to the United States," the pilot on my flight from Japan boomed as we landed at Oahu International Airport. I welled up with emotion. I'd been gone 365 days, a full year, and I was back in my home country. Without a beat, he continued: "And welcome to Hawaii!" The plane cheered, and I broke into a giant smile that didn't leave my face for days.

After my year in Japan, I came back to the US via Oahu, home of the tanned, laid-back and beautiful Tiffany, one of my closest girlfriends in the JET program. She and her family welcomed me into their home in Waikiki.

Tiff asked me what all I wanted to do while I visited, and I said wanted to experience Hawaii how she does - as a local. So we spent lazy afternoons surfing at her favorite tucked away beach, sang karaoke with her friends, ate mangoes every day from the tree in her front yard, and spent an entire day on the North Shore. My mind is still blown, even typing that.

My favorite part of my visit was undoubtedly seeing North Shore. Legendary for insane surfing in the winter and beautiful beaches, North Shore is breathtaking, relaxing and has a great spot for cliff jumping.

Hi, my name is Cyndi, and I'm a cliff jumping addict. I started in South Africa, where it's called "kloofing." If I know I'm going anywhere near a beach, I research if there are any jumping spots. I'm a total novice.

Tiff took me to "Da big rock" in Waiemea Bay. It's a 30-40 feet jump, and that was the perfect level of gotta-psych-myself-up to do it + thrilling fear. Any more than that, and terror would probably paralyze me. The rock itself is incredibly slippery so it makes for a thrilling climb.

Waiemea Bay is better than any of the Waikiki beaches for relaxing. The crowds look thick on the rock, but we had most of the sand and sunshine to ourselves.

Before I left Japan, I attended lectures and workshops on reverse culture shock. We were reminded of how different it would be to be in our home country after so long away. We were counseled to visualize walking through a grocery store, a bank, and through an average daily routine.

I cheated and went to Hawaii instead. It was the perfect neither here nor there re-entry into the US. Japanese culture is prevalent on the island, so I got my fix of the language, customs and food, while at the same time reintegrating myself into American diet and culture.

The drive out to North Shore stole my heart away, too. I'd go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat. In fact, I think I'd move there. Anyone in Hawaii want to hire me? Special skills: mango devouring, surfboard sitting, sunglasses wearing.

travel further

tofo, mozambique

rehoboth beach, delaware

yamato, hikari, yamaguchi, japan 山口

Morning all (5 of you)! Jeez, I crack myself up, and it only has a little to do with the cold meds I'm hopped up on!

So today's blog post is going to be (kinda) short and sweet (I know, thank god, right? This blabbering fool never shuts up!). I have a presentation to give at a high school in Alexandria today on life and culture and school in Japan, so I have a fast and furious half-work-day before I head out there. Two thoughts, and then some pictures:

1) I don't have to take PTO to give this presentation, and I feel downright blessed (helps that I work in education). My boss was not only open-minded but encouraged me to get more involved with the program. Not to be lame, but, BOSS.

2) I totally forgot what my other thought was. Probably something about pizza.

I taught English in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching program, or, you've you guessed it, JET. As an alumni, I've wanted to give back for years, but I haven't had the flexibility in my work schedule to do so... until now. I'm presenting today through a program called JET ambassadors, an initiative of the Japanese Ambassador to the US (Fujisaki). As an ambassador, we go to high schools in the DC/MD/VA area and tell them all the dirt on Japanese school life.

Today is my first presentation, and I am PRETTY stoked about it. I'm going to wear my karate gi (haha! no, really, I am!) and I brought a yearbook from one of my schools to show them. AND, I'm going to show them a vide of me dancing with some of my students at "sports day." In summary, I'm about to make a FOOL OF MYSELF.

And I can't freaking wait.

In between all that silliness, I'll show them my home in Japan - Yamato, Hikari, Yamaguchi, Japan. (translation: rural town, nowhere, southern, Japan)

Some scenes from one of my very favorite places on the face of this earth, my home sweet home in Japan!

In the kanji (chinese characters) for "Yamaguchi"