President Obama if you please

Wow. I don't know what else to say. Within the last three days I have watched "The Hurricane" and "Remember The Titans". Two movies set in a racially charged U.S. within the last 50 years. I know this isn't the best example, but just watching these movies with the knowledge that we have, as of now, elected the first black president is amazing to me. It has charged me up. I have been telling my students, who don't really get it, how significant this is all week. I have high hopes for Obama, hopes that he will have to be amazing to live up to, but that is what he has been promising, hope and change, and I am ready for it.

The biker

Have you ever had one of those days when you thought you were going to just hit something? I don't mean punch something or karate chop something I mean hit something, like crash into it on a bicycle. Now, don't get me wrong this is not an aggressive state I was in. It was more like fear. All day, unavoidably people vehicles and parts of buildings have been throwing themselves in front of my bicycle. Mostly this is due to the elderly, who are at any moment prone to stop and radically change directions at speeds that would belie their age. I lost count how many times this happened today, but it was a lot. I will quickly recount the top three. I am riding my bike and old lady in front of me is walking hers. At the exact second that I went to pass her, she performed a maneuver that was similar to something you would expect from a Argentinian bolero mounting his horse, and kicked her basketed bicycle to life. I had no choice but to screech to a grinding halt. The other options were no good. One would have been to crash into the old lady, which I was unprepared to do, and the other would have been to dive head first through a plate glass door, which also seemed undesirable. The second near miss was an old man that, no matter how far I swung out to the right, was determined that he was going to go farther, forcing me to swoop dangerously in front of him at the last second while swearing. Last but not least, on my way home from work I came to an intersection and saw headlights coming, despite the fact that this street requires drivers to stop, I decided to yield my right of way. It was a good decision because just as I came to rest, a city bus came barreling to a stop a good ten feet beyond the line and definitely across my sidewalk pass. I gave the driver a dirty look, and he gave me an apologetic wave, which I appreciated until I realized that this little incident made me miss one of the longest lights in Fukuyama. I try to stay good natured, because this happens frequently, but today was one for the records, and I hope that it stays that way.

Thursday

Hello again dear readers...wait, what has happened to all my post from the last 9 months??? Did you ever see them?? My god, have I been typing to myself this whole time? Man, how unfortunate, most of you probably thought that I just wasn't updating my blog, when actually it was this highly unlikely internet glitch that deleted my blogs as I posted them. Wow, I am glad that I was gifted with the mental prowess and logical capability to figure this all out as I am typing this. Well, here is a quick rundown of the last 9 months, that would have been yours to enjoy if only it wasn't for this nigh impossible glitch that some how destroyed all of my dedicated posting...

January, it was cold. I drank a lot at local bars.

Febuary, met a girl, started hanging out. Went to Fukuoka (big city) for a party, fought a penguin. Lost.

March,...can't remember, maybe I was drinking a lot.

April, ah spring, started warming up. Drinking.

May, went on vacation to Mt. Aso (see photos on facebook). Camped. Tent was freezing at night, and burning hot in the morning. No screens. Rode a cable car to the top of the volcano, crater smelled like a park bathroom. Beautiful place. Big crater.

June, broke.

July, travelled to Osaka to meet my old crew at a friends wedding. Spent $700. Great time. Broke up with girlfriend, great decision. Travelled to Colorado for my cousin Carrie's wedding. Beautiful place. Beautiful wedding.

August, broke.

September, bought a bicycle called "Vegas", spent more time at the beach (all summer, even the broke times). Decided to update my blog under the weak pretense that it had somehow been deleted.

October, the future.

Thats about it. I mean, a lot more happened in there, but those are the highlights. There is an outside chance that I will be home for about two weeks in December and January, but it is still questionable. For more info, please comment...


Peace.

Christmas in Fukuyama

There really isn't much to say about Christmas in Fukuyama, it felt more like Tuesday. I did try, however, to take a picture of this inflatable Santa Claus that they had set up on the second floor of my building. He looked so worried. Actually, his expression was something like "my god! I'll never get out of that 747's way in time!" I thought it was hilarious, but for some reason the picture didn't save and now he is gone. I guess you will just have to take my word for it.

Frog legs

I ate frog legs tonight. I always heard they taste like chicken. I guess they kind of tasted like chicken, but they looked the the back half of a frog.

The arrival.

So this guy picks me up at my hotel after I have been walking around all day in Fukuoka. My feet really hurt because I have been walking around all day in my dress shoes and they don't fit very well. We go to the station. He is a very nice guy who basically does my job but isn't a native English speaker. We get on the Shinkansen (bullet train) for Fukuyama, although he is only going so far as Hiroshima. It is while we are on the train that he asks me if I would like to go to the Christmas party that they are throwing for our students in Fukuyama. I say "sure, when is it." "6pm," he replies. My train arrives at 5:30. So I go to this party in the same clothes I have been wearing for the last two days to meet my students for the very first time. All at once. The party turned out to be a blast. Oddly, I enjoyed being the center of attention at the party. I don't remember any names. The party started at one bar and moved to another, then another, then another. Good times. I got in at 4am. I think it was the first time I have ever gone out drinking without knowing where I live. Score.

One night in Fukuoka.

I have officially arrived in Japan.

That said it is time to get this bloggy started. After a short week in Vancouver I am glad to be out of there. I am sure that there are many interesting and fun things to do in this city, but given our work schedule while we were there, I am glad that it is over. The only thing I really had time to take in were all of the homeless people who were all very interested in selling me some pot. As I write this I am in Fukuoka Japan, chillin in my tiny hotel room. So far so good. I had some excellent beef at an Izakaya across the street. The beef was tender, delicious, and drenched in a wonderful sweet sauce. It was also a nice chance of pace after the appetizer that, from what I could tell, consisted mainly of octopus skin and cucumbers. Throw in two beers and a lot of attention from the staff and the $20 price tag doesn't sound too bad. Now if you will excuse me I need to get some sleep. Who knows what adventures tomorrow holds.