(pending)

This last batch of pictures turned out pretty bad, but I'm gonna leave them up anyway.  I need to learn a bit about photography, I suppose.

I wish I could be home for Christmas, but since I'm stuck in Japan I've been enjoying their wonderful Christmas tradtitions.  We had fried chicken for lunch today (we couldn't reserve any for Christmas...seriously).  We also made a Christmas cake with whipped cream and lots of fruits.   Tomorrow we'll go to church and exchange presents.   

I saw a lot of old friends on Friday.  We went bowling and ate at some old haunts.  The ramen guy even remembered Sergio.  We even ran into Fujimaru-san, the former director of the international program at Seinan. 

Have a Merry Christmas and I'll try to update again soon.

 I'm thankful for C.S. Lewis' wonderful imagination and that he had enough sense to write it down.
I'm thankful for a wonderful job and fun students.
I'm thankful I got today off even though it's not actually a holiday in Japan. 
I'm thankful for a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent girlfriend.
I'm thankful that the Filipino girl who won last year's national championship didn't flip out on me when I accidentally punched her in the face today.
I'm thankful that Sumo was on TV today. *It makes an excellent substitute for Thanksgiving Day football...either way it's a bunch of fat guys throwing themselves at each other.
I'm thankful that Mos Burger is quite awesome.
I'm thankful for my family who is quite forgiving of me even though I never write or call.
I'm thankful for all my wonderful friends in America.  I only wish we were closer.

God bless.

Well, yesterday was the typhoon.  Some flooding in the town, but not too bad.  Anyway, what I REALLY want to tell you about is what I saw in my neighborhood.  I was driving home from work/school and I look out my window and see a monkey.  I couldn't believe it at first, but there was definitely a real monkey roaming the streets of Inukai, less than a minute from my apartment.  I took a picture, because I figured some people wouldn't believe me and well, let's face it, what's cooler than monkey pictures?  I was gonna take a bunch of pics, but he looked pretty angry and I don't wanna have to go to the doctor and explain "monkey attack" in Japanese.

I love how just living a normal life in Japan is somehow educational.  For instance, reading omic books is language study.  Festivals are cultural immersion.  Eating at a restaurant or talking to strangers is conversation practice.  Anyway, I've had a lot of fun this weekend.  The festival (matsuri) in Usuki was a blast and it was good seeing a few fellow JETs.  Usuki is kind of a tourist town, so their festival was kind of a big deal.  The lit lanterns in the field surrounding the stone Buddhas that the town is famous for.  It was really something.  Their was also some traditional singing and dancing, which reminded me a lot of the American Indian reservation in New Mexico that I went to as a kid.  The food there was also great...you can never go wrong with festival food. 

Lucky for me, Inukai's festival was the day after Usuki's.  Our festival isn't as big a deal, but it was still fun.  The yakisoba was incredible and all the food was a lot cheaper.  My landlord was the one in charge of the fireworks, and they were pretty great.  You can see a few pictures in my picture section.

Tomorrow I'm making Mexican food and reading the manga (comics) that I bought on Friday.  I know what you're thinking...Japanese comics are seriously nerdy.  And you're right...but I'm reading some really old school comics. I bought the original Gundam and Astro Boy.  Hopefully it will help my Japanese.