3 years in Fukushima ( English )

Hey! First I want to say thank you to all the people who wrote and commented on my blogs (blog posts?) ! I have really had a great experience with this IchatI site so far. Many of the people I am talking to are studying English, so I thought it would be nice to write something easy in English for you to read and maybe this could create topics for discussion later.

Today I wanted to write about living in Fukushima. August 1st 2011 marked my 3rd year living in Fukushima! It is amazing how fast the time has passed! I have really learned and done a lot since I have been here. Here is a quick summary of some of the things I have done in these last 3 years.

---I have….

Traveled all over Japan. Sapporo, almost all Tohoku prefectures, Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Hachi-Jojima, and many more places.

Traveled to Taiwan and Korea. 

Passed the level 2 Japanese language proficiency test (JPLT, Level 1 is the most difficult) Learned a bit of Chinese too.

Had Laser Eye Surgery (Lasik). I can see almost perfectly now!

Made 3 radio comericals, and was on a TV show about foreigners learning Japanese story telling ( link to youtube later ). 

Bought a drum set, and played lots of music!

Snowboarded on many mountains, been to many beaches, climbed many mountains (Fuji, Zao, Adatara, and some others). Partied at many parties and saw many matsuris, ate many strange foods, saw many strange things.

Made and sold my first computer program!

ALMOST paid for all my school loans. Paid for my sister to come and tour Japan for 3 weeks.

Built a skate ramp in Nihonmatsu.

Met friends from all over the world.

Experienced a the huge earthquake, cleaned up in the Tsunami areas (Maybe that doesn’t seem like a good thing but it was quite an experience).
---

There are a lot of other things I have done as well. I suppose those are the highlights though. I’ve been really really lucky to do all the things. It's amazing how good life can be sometimes.
That’s why I’ve decided to stay here a fourth year, even though it may not be such a good idea to be so close to the Fukushima Nuclear power plant and the radiation that it has spread everywhere…

It has been 3 great years! This year I’ve got a lot of things planned, and lots of goals to accomplish. The best part is that I have the time and money to do them! Thank you god! Thank you Fukushima!