I am back in Japan from a vacation in Vancouver, Canada. I had a really great time visiting friends and family. I also had a good time eating the food, buying tons of books to take back home and swimming. Here are some of the people I got to see while I was in Van City.

I love my family so much! My dad took me to the hot springs and walking around the sea wall. My mom celebrated her 50th birthday and we watched home movies together. Nancy learned to cook Channa Masala especially for me because she knows I love it. Jack authorized everything. Everyone came to the airport to see me off and I cried on the airplane even though I'm happy in Japan and wouldn't want to live anywhere else at this point.
Jesse. My little brother just got accepted into the job that he has always wanted! He passed the final test while I was there, so I got to congratulate him in person. I am thrilled for him. He is still one of the funniest and most easygoing people I know. I finally got to meet his girlfriend, Anna. She is this pretty Russian girl who was so sweet to me. Here we are playing a card game.Suzie. Probably the biggest news I got when I was visiting is that my sister got engaged! She will get married next summer, so I'll come back to Canada for the wedding next year. Her fiancee is my best friend's cousin (almost...) and a really nice guy. Suzie beat me in an arm wrestling contest at her own engagement party. She is a crazy strong girl. I used to be able to take her, but not anymore. She can even pick me up. I got to see her new house. I wish I lived in a house half as nice as her house. Ryan and Asli Ryan and Asli are family to me, so I was happy I got to spend a day with both of them. These are two people who always seem to grow with me and become more compatible with me as time goes on. That is how I know that they will always be in my life. Often, when people are distant, they grow apart but these two are people I will know very well forever.Saelan. This is my oldest friend! I have known him since I was sixteen. He is the king of choosing good watermelons and always plays good music at his house. This kid can also dance. We watched the movie WestWorld because the main character looks exactly like him.Anna and Meck Some of the first people I saw in Vancouver were Meck and Anna. Meck wouldn't let me take pictures with her in them (because she wasn't wearing makeup), but I promise you that she's as beautiful and lovely as her twin sister. Anna and I went dancing together on Friday and the next day Meck and I went out for lunch and running errands. Both of them always have interesting relationship advice for me. Eve. I got to see Eve again! We went bike riding around the water in Richmond, went shopping for herbal medicine, ate vegetarian sushi and did makeovers with false eyelashes and hair straighteners. She's almost finished her TCM studies and can do acupuncture. I let her stick pins in me even though I am squeamish. Next time, I'll let her put them in deeper. She might move to Taiwan for her studies and if she does, I'll go visit her there. I really want to go to Taiwan. Here is a typical West coast Canadian summer dinner. It looks beautiful and healthy. The corn was amazing. The best meal I had was the Turkish meal Asli's mom made me. I also loved the Thai food I ate with my mom, the hummus and olives I ate with my dad and the artichoke sandwich I ate with Ryan. I hate that I didn't take pictures with Naben or Jason. I thought I'd see them more than once. I especially hate that I missed seeing Kanju, Jamie, Darren Alexis, Jered and Sara Gold. Two weeks sounds like a long time, but it actually isn't. Please everyone come visit me in Japan!

I have never heard of a place where souvenirs are as popular and as big an industry as they are in Japan. They're called Omiyage ( pronounced a bit like Oh-mee-ya-gey) in Japanese, and any time anyone goes anywhere, they bring them back for all of their friends. If you go camping on the long weekend, you're expected to bring back a souvenir. This is what polite people do. So I brought back souvenirs from Canada. Besides the typical maple syrup and salmon, here are two things that Japanese people don't have:

Look at this sign I found at the bus stop in Richmond.
I'll be back in Japan this weekend.
I had a great time visiting my family and friends.

I love the Summertime even though it's crazy hot all day and all night. It's still my favorite season. I always have memorable summers. Last summer I was in LA and Turkey. This summer I have been going to the beach and working a lot. Last week I saw the fireworks and soon I'll go back home for a two week vacation. I love my life so much.Last weekend I went to Tokyo with my friends for the fireworks! I think I mentioned that I got a Yukata as a present. A yukata is little bit like a kimono but it's light and cool for the summer. My friend Namichan tied the back because I couldn't do it by myself. Excuse the cell phone bathroom picture. I actually don't have any other pictures of myself in a Yukata. (I was too busy watching the fireworks and taking pictures!)A yukata is easier to put on than a kimono and easier to wear once it's on. I felt a bit cheesy wearing it because I think that while Japanese girls look elegant and gorgeous in Yukata, Western girls look a bit like tourists. But it was a present and all the girls I went with were wearing one. Once I got to the river, it was so crowded that nobody looked twice at what anyone else was wearing anyway. It was fun. My roommate made my hair into a bun.Going to see the fireworks is a Summer tradition in Japan. In Japanese, they're called Hanabi. Japanese fireworks festivals are huge events and go for a long, long time. This one lasted for about an hour. I thought the finale had come about ten different times. My friend Yosuke knew I was coming, so he did all this research for me about the difference between Japanese fireworks and Western American ones. I didn't know there was a difference, but the ones in the picture above are Japanese. This festival had both American and Japanese fireworks, but the finale was all Japanese. Here's a good Japanese fireworks site. After the fireworks, my friends and everyone else became really funny and crazy. A million picnic baskets came out and everyone ate sushi and chicken and had drinks. There were thousands of people there, no exaggeration. I have really funny friends. A bunch of the guys decided to have a dance contest on the grass.

Yosuke called this playing around "Wabi-Sabi" and it was really difficult to understand what he meant. It's a difficult concept and my Japanese isn't at the level where I can understand unfamiliar explanations like that. He doesn't speak English, so I had to look it up when I got home. That's Yosuke with his girlfriend NaimiChan in the picture. Now I think I know what he meant. From my understanding, "Wabi-Sabi" is a sort of fleeting beauty, a little like a very deep nostalgia. It's a Japanese aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. I learned about "Wabi-Sabi" in a design class I took at university, and we learned that the rough idea of it is fresh, beautiful, simple, natural and imperfect. If you know more about this term, please teach me.I think it's wonderful that there is a term in Japan that encompasses that feeling. For me, that is the feeling I get at the end of every Summer.

Don't open the manhole cover!
Yes, Japan has cockroaches in the summer. They are everywhere. Those of you who know me well will be shocked at my new habits. I vacuum my room every night. I wash all the dishes the minute after I am done with them. I sweep and clean the kitchen floor three times a week. I now keep all my clothes folded and books stored in their proper places. There is nothing I hate more than cockroaches and I don't want them anywhere near me.

I had some goals when I moved here.
-Learn to be a good cook
-Learn to clean my room and house properly
-Learn to speak and read Japanese as well as possible
-Learn more healthy living habits
-Read more about the history of various Asian countries and travel in this part of the world
-Make a lot of money and pay off my student loans / debts to my parents
-Have a lot of fun

The second one was difficult to maintain, but now that there are cockroaches in Japan and I can see them running along the streets, my habits have been forced to change because I am so scared of those animals.

The first one, learning to cook, is coming along well too albeit out of desperation. There is nothing to eat here for me compared to back home, so I am forced to cook and eat what I make. I am learning new recipes and cooking styles all the time and it is a lot of fun for me.

Lately I have been really into reading about the history of Bosnia and Albania, Myanmar/Burma and Cambodia. I can't wait to go home and get some new books.

In case you hate me now for making a whole post about cockroaches, I hope this will make you like me again. It is the cutest child in the whole world. He is this adorable little Korean boy singing "Hey Jude" in a diaper and getting really into it.