Hello and peace to everyone, here is another update from Japan.

The past few weeks have in general been more settling into my routine for the semester: working out class schedules, figuring out which end of the subway to sit at so I`m closest to my exit, getting to know my host family better, etc.  The weather here has just within the past few days begun to cool off, yesterday was beautiful, about 70 degrees, and clear, but soon I think it will get down into the 50s and 40s and I`m not looking forward to my twice daily bike rides in the cold.  Nagoya doesn`t get much snow though, I`m told, so it wont be too bad.

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I would like to first say that I have decided to dedicate my studies this semester to the vibrancy and far too short life of Lise Waxer.  Lise was one of my favorite professors and inspiration to many.  She was someone that I wanted to know my entire life, and I celebrate her memory every day.

That said, this has been a great two weeks.  I arrived in Japan with about 15 other students in the IES program.  We spent a week in Ishikawa prefecture, which is a peninsula on the Northwestern side of the main island of Honshu.  There I stayed with my first host family.  They were very nice and although they could speak no English at all save a few words, we communicated effectively, and by the end of the week I felt very comfortable living with them.  That week we spent mostly in orientation and review classes in the mornings, and the afternoons were spent walking around the city of Kanazawa.  The weather is quite hot here and humid, just like home. 

Some of the more interesting things that happened included trying to order food with no meat in it (in Japan people don`t seem to have as developed conception of what a vegetarian is), and trying to communicate in English/Japanese/hand gestures/nodding and perpetually agreeing to everything. On the weekend my host mother took me to the beach, and the next day to this crazy mountain cave museum.  The cave started innocently enough, various statues of Buddha and whatnot, but then it turned into this House of Horrors with all these recently constructed scenes of violence, corporate slavery, prostitution, etc.  There was even a depicton of Bin Laden.  While the museum itself wasn`t terribly interesting, it made me think as to how different things will be here in relation to the view I get from within the US.  Another example is that the news very often plays video of the WTC attacks, something that seemed to never happen in the states.  Do we tend to view violence as more palatable if it`s in a different country?  Anyhow, we then went to a mountain gorge with a gigantic waterfall and cliff jumping.  It was incredible.

But alas Kanazawa had to end, and a week ago today (Monday) I met my permanent host family, the Yamamotos, and moved into their house near the city of Nagoya.  My commute to school includes a ten minute bike ride to the train station, 15 minutes or so on the train, and a twenty minute walk (uphill) to Nanzan University.  I began to meet the 120 other international students who, other than the group I was with in Kanazawa, had just arrived a day or two ago.  It`s a pretty diverse group, from all over the world.  I`ve mostly spent the last week in more orientations, most of which I already knew, but soon I will have a bank account and health insurance.

Since my host family is a tad on the older side, they aren`t especially active, but this weekend my host mother connected me with a group of 50+ year olds to climb a mountain about two hours away from Nagoya.  It was quite an experience, not being able to really understand 12 adults you`ve never met, but it all turned out very well, and I think that they were charmed to have a young `un along with them.  Of course there`s so much more to tell but so little time.  Below I will try to write a sentence or two to everyone.  Peace to all.

 My address in Japan is:  Nisshin-shi, Aichi-ken Japan.  Please send yourselves ASAP.  My kei tai denwa (cell phone) is in the works . . . it has a digital camera, mp3 player, email, web, and phone functions, but I need a bank account before I can get a plan.  (Oh and it will be free for me if I get called, hint hint.)  Stay tuned.

Ok heres the shouts:

Family:  The food is great, the weather is just like home (save the occasional typhoon rainshowers), you would all love it here.  Abby I loved the pics form Korea and whats the status with me coming?  is november 1-5 ok?

Katz and rico:  train travel just aint the same without ya

beth:  good to hear from you, i hope boston works out for ya

all friends under 5ft 6in:  oompa loompa doompity do . . .

ela:  i miss you too, dont corrupt your pride students!!

void heads:  the man is stong here too.  i skateboard, he says no.  solidarity.

marissa:  hey can you give me the update with the OV?  i want to be the japan correspondent.  karaoke issue?

nigel:  tokyo wa doo desu ka?

robby, tommy, sammy:  burn one down for me mmkay?

trinity kids:  hahaha you spent this weekend at pike, i spent it in japan ;p

home headz:  fear not, beantown is represented to the fullest.

matt:  you would definitely have been deported by now for your sushi eating habits.

everyone else:  peace, love, write me.