More good byes a comin'...

Summer break is on the horizon here in Japan, and with that comes another loss. Many of my friends who are in the JET Program are leaving Japan. Some of them I arrived with two years ago, others have been here longer. They are all leaving for various reasons, some want to start their careers, others have been in the JET Program as long as the program allows (five years).

It will be hard for me because my friends are really great people. Of course I am hopeful whoever replaces them will be just as great, but there is something about going through this with the people I came with that is lost upon the newbies. At least I will be here to help them with the transition.

Also, I am just now getting used to the guys being gone, and I will have to go through all of it again. Luckily before they leave we have lots of fun planned. Some of them are even staying with me before they leave. Yay!

So, here's to having a good time. I am thankful I have good friends from all over the world that I can go and visit someday.

Fuji

Today Junpei sent me a photo from the top of Mount Fuji today. How nice!

Safety for YOU!

Last night Cotter, Milada and I went for a walk and and we came across an old condom machine. The photo is kind of bad, but here it is.

The condoms in the machine are not old, and actually they are a bit expensive ($5 to $10). I like running into little things like this in Japan.

Ibo

So, about two years ago I got warts on my fingers. However, I thought they were just dry skin, so for a year I put lotion on them. Then when my brother was here last summer he told me what they were, so I went to the doctor and he gave me some stuff that did nothing. I have spent the past year using over the counter stuff to treat them, but they have only spread (on my feet) or have gotten bigger. So I finally went to another doctor who put nitrogen on it to kill it. I am happy to finally have a treatment that works, however it could take months or even a year for it to work. In the meantime I know whatever treatment that is used in the US probably works faster, but is illegal here in Japan. So I might have to put up with my fingers looking like this for

a year.

Maybe when I go home I will have someone look at them.

I'm comin home!

Hey everyone, I just want to tell you that I finally bought a ticket to come home. By the time I go, it will be over two years since I was home last. I am a bit afraid to return. My ticket is for September 16th-28th. I hope I can see a lot of people while I am home!

Otherwise, things have been going ok. I am getting used to being in Bando without the guys. Of course I still miss them, but I am ok. I had an open house this past Saturday. In total, thirteen people were there. Not a bad turn out! At the last Saturday of every month this summer Bando is having a small festival. Since my party was the day of the festival we all headed down there. It was a nice relax, chill festival. Next we tried to do some bowling, but the league was having a meeting. We went back to my house and then some people started to leave (it was after ten at this point). After they left a small group of us went to watch the South Korea game. All in all it was a good night in my small town. The only thing missing was the guys.

I am sorry I don't have photos of the party. Other people took pictures though, so maybe some day I will put them on. It was nice to have a fun night in my town again, it had been too long.

Ageha

Well, as you can see from the photo on the title picture, I am raising caterpillars again. The one above will be Ageha (swallowtail butterfly-I only now the name in Japanese because there is a club I have been to called Ageha, is that bad?). I found some of these guys before I left for China. Cotter took care of them for me while I was gone. They all changed, so when I got back I went and found new ones. It has been fun having them again. Cotter has photos of what they look like once they emerge, but for now I have to wait until the ones I have even go into chrysalis. Cotter has really gotten into having them as well. It is fun to have something to share together.

China 2010

Hey everyone, sorry for the long time between posts. I haven't really been up to much. Well, that isn't true. I went to China again. This time it was much more of a chill relaxing trip, verses a sightseeing trip. I had fun though! I went to the World Expo in Shanghai. I can't really explain what it is, I guess it is the modern version of the Worlds Fair? I didn't get the chance to go inside any of the pavilions. The lines were over three hours long, and the Chinese have a different concept of space (basically they have no space bubble, so I was always having people cut in front of me because they thought I was letting them go through, but really I was trying to establish some sort of space bubble!). So I just walked around and took photos. I was so tired though, I didn't even see all of them (including America's, sorry!). Everyone said hands down the best pavilion was from the UK.
Basically it is a big spiky building. I heard it lights up at night! So cool!



Back in Qingdao I had a good time with Corey. I didn't really take too many photos, but we went on a hike to this reservoir where they get the water for the famous Tsingtao beer. While resting there a nice family came to talk to me. The little boy told me his English name is Lucky Boy! I wonder if that is what the characters for his name mean?


I finally got a good view of the buildings in Shanghai. Last time the pollution was so bad.




In Beijing I didn't really do much. I did go the Summer Palace. It was burned by the French and the British in the late 1800's I think, but it has been restored. It was built for the royal family to escape the heat of Beijing. But actually it isn't far from Beijing at all (I took the metro to get there!) and I didn't think it was that much cooler.


All and all my trip to China was very good. I can't wait to go back.