Snow!

It was a cold day today. No, it hasn't snowed in our town yet (we're too close to the coast I think), but I saw my first snow whilst on the 2-hr bus ride travelling to Kanazawa through the mountains. When the bus stopped for toilet break, I just had to check it out. It looked like... crushed ice. A fellow JET said that the snow here is quite wet and not soft and fluffy. I was on a 'business' trip so I didn't bring my camera (the thought of bringing it did cross my mind) and while I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't show Rob anything to make him green with envy that I've experienced snow before him, I remembered my phone camera. Not the best quality, but it was sufficient.

I tried to get a good shot from inside a moving bus and this was the best I could get:


This 'business' trip to the city was to help judge at a Science fair at a fellow ALT's school. This school is the best academic school in the whole of Ishikawa prefecture, and am I impressed. Students had to present their science projects in English! It was amazing - the projects were at a level far higher than high school (wastewater treatment? I didn't study that until I was in 3rd year uni!) and I can't even imagine how hard they would have had to work to present everything in English.

Other updates:
- yep I'm still riding my bicycle to work, although I have a feeling it'll start snowing this week and I'd have to stop unless we get snow tyres for our bikes.
- we joined a Judo class with Kim and Richie a few weeks ago and even have our own Judo gi (uniforms). It is difficult, and I am always sore the following day. I'm glad the instructor is an English teacher.
- whilst everyone is taking the opportunity to go home or travel overseas this winter vacation, we're taking the opportunity to go on a ski trip to Nagano, the town that hosted the '98 Winter Olympics. We'll get to see soft fluffy snow there.

With all this talk about snow, you'd think I have never seen snow before. Oh wait, I haven't!