Greetings to you all. Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

And so, another year has begun...and, oddly, here in Kagoshima it began with about three inches of snow falling last weekend. My colleagues at the school board told me that this is the most snow that Kagoshima has had in the last ten years. What was even odder was the fact that for a while, there was more snow on the ground here than in Minnesota. There's something wrong with that, I think....

Christmas was a lot of fun. I visited my college buddy Jonny Rasmussen, up in Tokyo. He and his family basically adopted me for a week. It was a lot of fun, for example, shopping in Akihabara, with my limited knowledge of Japanese. Every once in a while, I found myself interpreting for American tourists:

"Anou, kono furashu kaado wa ikura desuka?"
"He wants to know which one you want."
"Aa, hyaku nijuu hachi MB, onegaishimasu."

But of course, when I wanted something, my Japanese failed me. I was shopping for an electronic dictionary (expensive, but a heck of a lot easier to tote around than my hardcover Kodansha Jisho) and was looking for specific features, but I just couldn't communicate.... Finally, after about 10 minutes of futile gesturing and bad grammar, I told the shopkeeper that I would come back later with a friend who spoke Japanese.

Much to his surprise, I did. However, he was dismayed when he saw Jonny, who looks even more gaijin than I do. The shopkeeper's dismay changed to astonishment as Jonny quickly rattled off what I was looking for, in fluent Japanese. (Did I mention that, although he was born in Iowa, Jonny has lived most of his life in Japan?)

It's kind of funny, but in some ways being in Tokyo doesn't exactly feel like being in Japan. (Remember, I live way out in the sticks.) For example, there is a much higher chance of meeting a store clerk or shopkeeper (or fast-food employee) who actually speaks English. There are a lot more foreigners wandering around, and chances are they aren't even trying to learn Japanese. Of course, sometimes they are fairly desperate to speak to someone in English!

In Harajuku (where all the latest trends for teens are born), I was accosted by a big black guy, asking me if I was out shopping. He felt sure that the hip-hop shop that he worked for was the only place in town where I would find clothes that would fit me. He was probably right, but man, Fubu just ain't my style, dig? Between this and the Japanese teen Goth-wanna-bes, Harajuku was...interesting. I took a few pictures, but my camera was filling up, and I foolishly failed to buy a new flash card at Akihabara....

Speaking of pictures, I only took about 120 of them during my week in Tokyo. What does this mean? Well, I'm finally getting around to updating my web photo album! Really! It should be done by the end of the week! Promise! I'll even throw in a few photos of "Snow Falling on Bamboo".

I have just found out that if I have my air con/heater, kotatsu, and both kerosene space heaters on at the same time, I run the risk of tripping the circuit breakers. I found out last week that in the mornings, the kitchen is colder than the inside of the refrigerator. Of course, it could be worse -- I don't have problems with dampness.

o/\"Always look on the bright side of life..."

The pizza place that delivers to my area seems to have closed. Whether it's temporary or not I can't tell. This is both good and bad. Good, because I won't be eating pizza that often anymore. Bad, because I won't be eating pizza that often anymore....

Today was the first day of work in the new year, and just like last year, we had the big group photo, the (multiple of five equal to or greater than 20) years long-service awards, and the speeches thanking us for last year and exhorting us to work just as hard this year. Also, my supervisor just casually happened to mention that I should be getting to the office maybe five minutes before work starts, instead of the 2 to negative 1 minutes I've been averaging. Oops.

Also, I turned in the form officially stating that I'd like to work here another year.

So....

When are more of you going to come visit me? ( ^_^)

R.