it turns out that shoveling snow is not one of those things that a half decade hiatus can bring about a renewed appreciation for. lately, it’s been snowing like all hell out here in the nagano mountains. when i first arrived last year i remember asking about winters, specifically, the snow. oh don’t worry, they told me, it rarely snows here, and when it does, it’s just a few inches. hmm, i thought, that sounds nice. 

turns out they were lying. big, fat, snow-white lies.

older kids outside the school currently scrape ice from the walkways with metal shovels. the younger ones sled down a half decent hill and occasionally slam into the trunk of the only tree around laughing hysterically. the snow hasn’t stopped falling for more than a few hours at a time since thursday night and i’m wondering when the hell all this freezing inside my own house is going to pay off and they’ll cancel school. they won’t, i’ve heard, and though it’s difficult to discern the truth rating of statements these days, this i believe.

the good news is that weekends still exist and now that i’ve begged and borrowed enough bits and pieces of equipment from pretty much everyone i know out here to put together a full snowboard set (boots, goggles, gloves, pants, jacket, bindings, board - seriously the only thing i personally own is a beanie (my mom sent it from america)), the snow is a lot more appealing when riding down the side of a mountain than walking to work in. considering it’s the first time i’ve strapped in for about three years, the results weren’t too surprising. suffice to say that around 5pm on saturday afternoon i found myself 50% sure i had broken my ass, wearing sweatpants, eating a corn dog, and sitting in front of a liquor store in an especially heavy bit of snow.

i know, i know, but it really only gets worse. i spent the rest of the night sitting on a couch drinking budweiser mixed with butterscotch schnaps and rum while watching harry potter. ahem. and while i can halfway exculpate myself by affirming that it totally wasn’t my idea, i’m certainly more than fully condemned by not resisting even in the least bit. like, not at all. i let the entire thing wash over me. also, people were wearing pajamas.