May 30 , 2003

Turning 20 in Japan
This past week I ended an era in my life; my teenage years are now over, as I turned 20. My birthday, May 25th, was also the same date that my senior friends said their final goodbyes to good ole Centre C. I felt bad about not being there to see some of my closest friends in their shining moment, but I didn’t let it ruin my day. I admit that I was concerned about having my birthday party in a foreign country; I’d be away from my family and friends. But little did I know that this birthday would be one of the best, if not the best, I’ve ever had.

The Friday before my birthday my friends and I journeyed to nearby Narutaki waterfall. I had actually never been to such a large waterfall before, so I really enjoyed the experience. I don’t know if it’s customary to do so, but we had the opportunity to climb the waterfall and were able to sit right next to the rushing water. I was feeling a bit adventurous and tried to walk out into the water, but the terrain was much too slippery and I quickly found myself falling. No need to worry; no injuries were sustained. I had a great time at the waterfall, and before we left we posed for some photos.

Next up was the Mount Otodoiyama Forest Park where we were to go hiking and take photos from the peak. The park was gorgeous, and I found our hike to be very relaxing even though it was rather steep. But our trip in the forest park ended on a sour note when we discovered the trail was closed just few hundred meters before reaching the peak. Hiking all that way and not being able to reach the top was obviously disappointing, but we did eat some delicious wild strawberries along the way, and all was not lost.