Cherry Blossom Adventures

Amanda tagged me for this meme…I have seen it doing the rounds on the Internet a lot lately and am happy to join in!

Eight Things I am passionate about

• My Family: Things in my little family unit have changed a lot in the last few years but I am still passionate about my family. If anything happened to any of them I would be devastated. Even though I am not much for homesickness, every time I go back to Australia it is always so good to see all three of them. I am proud of them all for the little things they do (and the big things). We are a close family I think and I hope that one day if I get married and have children that they will be able to grow up in a loving family just as I did.
• Shumpei: We met three years ago now and I can not imagine my life without him. I think I would be lost…While meeting Shun has taken my life on a bit of an unexpected turn I suppose you could say, I woudn`t have it any other way.
• Friends: I have friends all over the place. Literally! And each of them as impacted on my life in someway. I got to spend a lot of time with a close friend while I was in Australia recently and I had forgotten how much fun we have together. Plus I have my friends here in Japan, who without I would also be lost. I also have friends via the Internet and friends in other countries that I don`t get to see very often but who still play large roles in my life. Earlier this week I met up with two friends I had not seen for three years…they were visiting Japan. They all really do make my world go around!
• Travel: Oh travel, how I love thee! If I could travel every second week I would. I love the packing, the plane rides (or long car rides!), the accents, the food, the culture, the new experiences. What isn`t there to love about it?! There is just so much more travel I wish to do in my lifetime that sometimes I wonder where I will fit it all in (and where I will get the money). Of course in my journeys I have been to places I probably wouldn`t necessarily want to go again but that doesn`t mean that I regret going because each and every place I visit has left a mark in my mind and heart.
• Creativity: I love creativity, I love writing and making stuff even if I am not very good and I love creative people and creative things whether it is art, photography, music, clothes, jewelery, a great blog or website or something completely different. I think though without the other passions I think a life without creativity would not be worth living!
• Music: I have always had a passion for music. I have always loved to sing and play instruments. In Australia recently I sat down at the piano and played for a couple of hours and couldn`t believe how much I had forgotten but that doesn`t mean I didn`t still love it. I am planning on taking piano back up when I am in Australia later in the year. I couldn`t imagine a world without music. My father taught my brother and I old songs before we would go to sleep when we were younger and as a result I new several John Lennon songs and Hermans Hermits songs before I knew the most popular kids songs and nursery rhymes. Now hearing and old song and thinking about the memories or discovering a new band or song that I fall in love with at first sight (heard?!?) impacts on my life in someway every time.
• Japan: I came to Japan the first time on a whim…well sort of. I applied to go on exchange thinking nothing would come of it and I got in and off I went for a year. It was the best year or my life. The things I learnt, the things I saw, the people I met and the memories I made are what make me me. Going to Japan made me grow up and i will forever be drawn to it I think. Now it is my home, so how could I not be passionate about it?!
• Books and reading: I could not live without books I don`t think. I mean I couldn`t live without most of the things on my list so far but books and reading have been a life long passion. I started reading young and never looked back. There are photos of me at a year old pouring through my parents old set of Funken Wagnall Encyclopedias…I still have piles of books I read as a child packed up in boxes in Australia. I have an overflowing bookshelves here in Tokyo. I am happier surrounded by books. Doesn`t matter if they are self-help books, trashy novels, classics, recipe books, Japanese books or what not. As long as they are there, and I can read them, I am satisfied.

(Other that almost made the top 8: Blogging, Writing, Food, Internet, Shopping….)

Eight Things I want to do before I die

• Get married
• Have a child or two
• Travel to all the places on my list including all of the Australian states, Egypt, Korea, South America, NY, Vietnam, Prague and many more
• Learn as much as I can about everything
• Make a difference in somebody`s life
• Find a job that I love
• Conquer the Japanese language completely
• Complete all the things on my life list

Eight things I say often

In English

• Ok
• Sure
• Crap
• Thanks
• I love you
• Please
• What?
• Nooooooooooo!

In Japanese

• Dame (means no or no don`t do that)
• Shumpei! (In an exasperated voice)
• Samui zo (means It`s bloody cold)
• Daijyoubu da yo! (means It`s ok or I`m ok)
• Wakanai (means I don`t know or I don`t understand)
• Itai or Itte (Means ouch!)
• ottototo (Means…um, like if something is falling or your struggling to get up…It is just a noise that people make in Japanese…I tend to do it If I am picking up one of the kids at school)
• Iii yo (Means sure or ok…Usually in response to a question asking if they can have permission to do something)

Eight books I have read recently

• Skinny Bitch- by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman
• The Snow Country- Yasunari Kawabata
• Kitchen- Banana Yoshimoto
• The Mother Tongue- Bill Byson
• The bells of Nagasaki- Takashi Nagai
• Lean Mean Thirteen- Janet Evanovich
• Kira-Kira- Cynthia Kadohata
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder- Joanne Fluke (Reading now)

All of the above books are pretty good. If you like easy to read books and have never read Janet Evanovich before pick up her first book in that series One for the Money and get cracking. The Snow Country, Kitchen and The Bells of Nagasaki are the three books by Japanese authors I read for the Japanese literature challenge! I need to do a post to say I have finished that actually!!! I liked Kitchen the best I think…I think I need to read Snow Country again because I got a little lost…Beautiful books though. Skinny Bitch has had some rave reviews but I know I could never do it….although it has made me try to eat more raw food and cut back on my coffee! I liked the book though!

Eight Songs I could listen to over and over

• Imagine -John Lennon
• These Days- Powderfinger
• Jack and Dianne- John cougar Melloncamp
• Hotel California- The Eagles
• Days like these- The Cat Empire
• Let it be- The Beatles
• For Once in my life- Stevie Wonder
• Don`t Speak- No Doubt

But if I was making a triple CD (3×8) then I would include

• Tangled up in Blue- The Whitlams
• Brick- Ben Folds Five
• Rita- Powderfinger
• My Kind of Scene- Powderfinger
• Weather with you- Crowded House
• Little Sister- Jewel
• Over my head- The Fray
• London Still- The Waifs
• Losing help- Jack Johnson
• Fast Car- Tracy Chapman
• Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
• Holy Grail- Hunters and Collectors
• In the Summertime- Thirsty Merc
• Otherside- Red Hot Chilli Peppers
• Standing Still- Jewel
• Grave Digger - Dave Matthews

It is seriously hard to only pick 24 songs…I could never put these cd`s on the one cd either because they don`t mesh. My taste in music is too eclectic….

Eight Movies I have seen eight times

• The Sound of Music
• Empire Records
• My Best Friend`s Wedding
• Grease
• The Lion King
• Mighty Ducks 1 and 2 (My brother watched it over and over again)
• Free Willy (Same as above)
• Sandalot Kids (Same as above)

Eight people I am tagging to do this meme (Even though I am pretty sure they won`t do it)

• Jen
• Nay
• Sara
• Sushizume (Masao should do it too Deanne!)
• Laura
• Suzy
• stasielynn320
• Kokochi

Oh and anyone else that wants to do it should! Just leave me a comment so I know to check out your answers too!

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