Last month Sapporo hosted it's most famous event, the Sapporo Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri in Japanese). We had lots of snow this year (the second largest snowfall on record, according to my host mom) so it was a great event. The other rotary students and I were also lucky enough to get a tour of the site during preparation, making seeing the finished product even cooler. I could say lots about it, but it's easier just to show you. More information on the event and pictures of the sculptures can be found on the festival's english website here.
The group on top of one the sculptures during preparation. From left to right: Tyler (Australia) (he doesn't much like heights), Me (Canada), Josh (Australia), Dylan (Australia originally, but moved to Japan a few years after his exchange here. He often participates in rotary events with us), Alicia (America), and Hannah (America)
Me in front of one of the sculptures
Some of the incredibly well done details on the sculptures
More detailing
The sculptures are lit up as night falls
In more recent events, last weekend sponsored another trip for us inbounds (current exchangers), the outbounds (the students who will be starting their exchanges come summer), and the rotex (last year's students) in which we went to Niseko, one of Hokkaido's most famous ski resorts. The event served as both an orientation weekend for the outbounds (similar to the one I attended way back around this time last year) as well as a chance for all of us to bond and hit the slopes. Despite some bad weather on the drive out, the snow was good on the hill and it was a lot of fun. We also attended a joint rotary meeting and gave short speeches.
And that brings me back to this weekend. On friday my host family and I enjoyed our last night together by going to the Sapporo Beer Museum and eating Genghis Kahn (lamb and vegtables that you grill yourself on the small grills at every table), one of my favourite Japanese dishes. Being below the drinking age, I did not try the beer, but I hear it's very good. Yesterday I made the move from the Miyazawa's to the Dekura's. Though I will definitely miss my old family who I was very close to, I think living here will be an amazing experience.
The Dekura family runs and lives in a Buddhist temple here in Sapporo, which I was given a brief tour of yesterday. It's an incredibly beautiful place and I feel very, very lucky to be able to live here. It's also a taste of traditional Japanese life as I'm staying in a tatami mat room and sleeping on a futon. It's a really great place to live, and I think I'll learn lots. I'll try and have pictures of the temple up soon, thanks for reading!
