(Retrospection)
I went to the O-bon festival last night, which is some Buddhist celebration, but it was pretty cool. I went with Ryan (the other JET in my town) and a Welsh JET who has already been in the area for two years now. The Welsh guy was pretty cool actually. I guess at festivals Japanese people like to offer a lot of Sake to the foreign guests and get them really drunk. (I noticed this at the festival I went to on Monday. They were always passing me Sake). So anyway, the Welsh guy brings his own jug of Sake with him and offers it to the Japanese before they can offer it to him. It was pretty funny to see him at work.
Also, there is some sort of big Jamaican Reggae festival in the neighboring town this weekend. I think I'll go check it out.
School hasn’t started yet. I just sit in the office all day and do e-mail or practice Japanese. It’s kind of silly, but I have to show up everyday because of the emphasis here on being part of a team. I don’t mind it too much, although all the free time is a rough change from my workaholic lifestyle back in the United States.
Yesterday I was part of a panel discussion for a coming of age ceremony. Then apparently the footage was broadcast on TV last night all over the prefecture. (I think the Japanese prefectures are like the equivalent of our states). Don’t worry though, my fame hasn’t changed me.
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THE COMPUTER SEEMS TO BE STUCK ON CAPS LOCK HERE, SO I’LL TRY AND KEEP THIS MESSAGE SHORT. (Editors note: Key boards in Japan occasionally function a little different than the US. It turns out, to get the computer off of Caps Lock, you need to hold down the shift key while pressing Caps Lock. You’ll be happy to know I figured it out in the following years). THE APARTMENT IS FINE. ABOUT LIKE ROB’S. (OF COURSE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ROB’S PLACE, BUT THE POINT IS I’M NOT DOING TOO BAD). FOOD IS AN ADVENTURE. I GET TAKEN OUT A LOT SO I HAVEN’T HAD TO BUY MUCH OF MY OWN FOOD, BUT I’VE EATEN A LOT OF STRANGE THINGS. SOME OF IT IS QUITE GOOD ACTUALLY, SOME OF IT LESS SO.
THE PAST COUPLE DAYS HAVE BEEN PRETTY COOL. I WAS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL PANEL FOR THE COMING OF AGE CEREMONY. IT CONSISTED OF ME, RYAN (THE JET FROM NEW ZEALAND) AN INDIAN STUDENT WHO MADE A SPECIAL TRIP OVER FOR THE OCCASION, AND TWO LOCAL JAPANESE GIRLS. WE WERE ON TV ALL OVER THE PREFECTURE. IT WAS KIND OF SILLY, BUT THEY MADE A BIG DEAL OF IT. THEY EVEN TOOK THE FIVE OF US SIGHT SEEING THE DAY BEFORE, AND THEN OUT TO EAT, AND THEN THEY PUT US UP AT A HOTEL, EVEN THOUGH I HAD AN APARTMENT IN THE SAME TOWN. AFTER THE COMING OF AGE CEREMONY, WE GOT OUR PICTURES TAKEN WITH ALL THE COMING OF AGE PEOPLE (THE 20 YEAR OLDS).
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DEAR HANNAKE AND JIM,
THANKS FOR THE E-MAIL. GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU. SORRY WE MISSED YOU CAMPING (editors note: camping trip we went on the Weekend of July 13-15th, shortly before I came to Japan). PLEASE EXCUSE THE CAPITALS. I’M ON A STRANGE COMPUTER HERE AND I CAN’T FIGURE IT OUT. ANYWAY, CAMPING WAS A BLAST. YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED IT. WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY WILD ADVENTURES OR ANYTHING, BUT IT WAS JUST QUALITY HANGING OUT AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL. ROB HAD A WEE BIT TOO MUCH TO DRINK, AND HE HAD A BIT OF A ROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT, BUT IT WAS ALL GOOD.)
ANYWAY, I’M IN JAPAN RIGHT NOW. I’M ON A TEACHING PROGRAM HERE ON A ONE YEAR CONTRACT. IT’S A NICE LITTLE ADVENTURE FOR A WHILE, BUT I’LL BE BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD WHEN I GET HOME.
Useless Wikipedia Fact
In any form, a minute amount of odorant such as t-butyl mercaptan, with a rotting-cabbage-like smell, is added to the otherwise colorless and odorless gas, so that leaks can be detected before a fire or explosion occurs. Sometimes a related compound, thiophane is used, with a rotten-egg smell. Adding odorant to natural gas began in the United States after the 1937 New London School explosion. The buildup of gas in the school went unnoticed, killing three hundred students and faculty when it ignited. Odorants are considered non-toxic in the extremely low concentrations occurring in natural gas delivered to the end user.
---Shortly before I came back to Japan, Brett, Sara and I had a debate about whether the breathing of natural gas by itself was harmful, or if it was just dangerous because of its likeliness to blow up. Thoughts anyone?
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