An Early End

It's only March 20th, but I write from South Dakota. If you have the internet or a television with basic, cable, or satellite service, then you know of the heartache that the people of Japan are experiencing. An 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck of the northeast coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. This triggered a massive tsunami which hit a part of the northeast coast and devastated the city of Sendai and surrounding areas. Aftershocks continue to shake Tokyo, some 200 miles south of the epicenter of the original quake. Experts are saying it's the 5th strongest quake in recorded history.

Otaru, my home in Japan, felt only a few small tremors from the 8.9 quake. I was in Taiwan at the time, from March 8th through the 15th, so I quickly made contact with my friends in Otaru to make sure they were okay. It was quite stressful to be in Taiwan and not know the exact status of Otaru, whether or not it was affected by the quake or subsequent tsunami. We had a break between semesters so many of the exchange students were out exploring Japan and other countries at the time the quake struck. Thankfully everyone was accounted for but understandable shaken from the unpredictable events.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has complicated things more. At this point, the news media is saying that potentially three of the nuclear reactors are in meltdown. Because of this, my home university is requested that I return home. It is a sad way to end what was supposed to be a year in Japan but I am thankfully for the amazing, unforgettable experience I had for seven months. The people of Japan have been amazing hosts and I will return again one day.

Seven Days in Taiwan

"Great Uncle" and "Auntie," my hosts in Taichung City, Taiwan

I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Taiwan from March 8th through the 15th, sightseeing in both Taipei and Taichung City while staying with relatives of my Aunt Lisa. A little background on how I am connected with Great Uncle and Auntie in Taiwan... my Aunt Lisa, whose mother is Taiwanese, married my uncle and her mother's side of the family still reside in Taiwan. While in Japan, I mentioned my interest in visiting Taiwan to Aunt Lisa and she connected me to Great Uncle and Auntie (her Aunt and Uncle) and the rest is history. Needless to say, this connection lent itself to a very unique experience. For the first half of my stay, Great Uncle and Auntie (pictured above) hosted me at their home in Taichung City. As a side note, they visited South Dakota at the time my aunt Lisa married my uncle. I was 10 years old then but remember them vividly as we took a road trip to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Being from a town of 500 people, it was pretty cool to meet and spend time with foreigners. Great Uncle picked me up from the airport on March 8th and said he recognized me from his visit to South Dakota. Something tells me being the only Caucasian in the airport gave it away!

Taiwan is quite a busy place. Only 3 weeks before visiting Taiwan, I spent 4 days touring Tokyo. The best way I can describe Taipei and Taichung City is Tokyo on steroids. Before visiting these places, it seems Tokyo gets stereotyped as a crazy busy city but really, Tokyo seemed quite tame in comparison to the two major metropolitan cities of Taiwan. I reason that a potential explanation is that the streets of Taichung City and Taipei were jam packed with cars, buses, taxis, and motor scooters. It's no secret that Tokyo has a very well developed subway system while all the transportation in Taiwan seems to take place on the ground level. So I'm going to hypothesize that good deal of the action and commotion in Tokyo takes place in the subway and underground shopping malls that accompany it. Taipei and Taichung city, on the other hand, rely more on above ground transportation. BOOM. How's that for a Tokyo-Taiwan comparison?

Milk Tea with Tapioca Balls

I don't talk a whole lot about food and beverage but I did in fact find a new favorite non-alcoholic beverage in Taiwan. The ingredients are milk tea with tapioca balls at the bottom. The straw is especially designed to suck up the tapioca balls as you slurp on the milk tea. After returning to Japan from Taiwan, I did notice a few shops in Japan selling something similar to the Taiwanese treat, but my friends in Taiwan assured me that this drink is a Taiwan exclusive! I may have to introduce this to Denver...

Hawaii 5-0

Luau with my Bro Jordan and sis Tiff 

This is supposed to be Jake in Japan, right? Well I flew the coop for a while to meet my family in Hawaii! With my first semester at Otaru University of Commerce wrapping up February 11^th, I was able to convince my mother and sister that it would be a good idea for us to meet in Hawaii sometime before my second semester began in March. With a little planning, the three of us as well as my younger brother Jordan and both my sister and mom’s boyfriends were able to meet in Hawaii from February 23^rd through March 3^rd. I set out on February 23^rd flying from the Sapporo Airport connecting in Tokyo, followed by an 8 hour flight to Honolulu.

Preparing to jump out of plane

We stayed on the North Shore at Turtle Bay Resort, the filming location for Saving Sarah Marshall. While beautiful and quiet, the North Shore is a bit removed from the nightlife and shopping of downtown Honolulu. We opted to stay along the Waikiki beach for one night of the trip to soak up the city sounds. Rolling out of plane at 10,000 feet was by far the highlight of the trip. Again, I convinced my mom and sister that skydiving would be an unforgettable experience. It's amazing the leverage you can get by living overseas for a year! I think I probably would have chickened out if it wasn't my own idea. Tiff and I agreed that our mom kept her composure the best of all of us before and during the descent. I'll return to Otaru on March 4th, have a few days to unpack and repack for a week in Taiwan! This is by far the best Spring break to date!