A few things

Well, it was quite exciting to come in to work this morning, open my homepage, the New York Times, and see smack in the middle of the page a picture of two men kissing in Mexico City, holding up a victorious sign "Gay Marriage Revoluton" (emphasis on the "love"). A brand new day indeed! I thought it was a little funny that the report said people were shouting "Yes, we could!" when Obama has done nothing at all for his own gay community. A failure to be added to the ongoing war and the latest disaster in Copenhagen. Anyway, it was an exciting, if totally unrelated-to-Japan way to start my day.

I got quite a wonderful surprise yesterday at work. The "tea lady" Yoshida-san, one of the teachers, and the sort of jack-of-all trades of the office, Kakinuma-san, got together to get me a Christmas present. They are the ones that I usually help around the office, so this was their way of saying thank you. It as so sweet! The Kakinuma-san handcarved an adorable little owl for me! He said it is supposed to bring happiness. I was so touched. Both he and Yoshida-san don't speak a lick of English, but they are the sweetest people and I often rely heavily on Yoshida-san especially. I thanked them profusely and even gave Kakinuma-san a bow this morning for his efforts. I am so excited! I have a present to open on Christmas! ha ha, it made my week.

In other news, I forgot to mention that I got sick for the first time since I've been here. It was just a cold though, so nothing serious. I found some wonderful drugs at the drugstore (after standing in the drugstore and staring blankly at the wall of boxes for probably 15 minutes) that dried me up almost immediately. Yay~ Unfortunately, perhaps because of this weather and my constant need to be in it, my throat is already starting to feel icky again.

The reason I mention this especially is because I was a good little (resident alien) citizen and wore a mask at work to keep from spreading my germs. It is true what you see on TV, that everyone here wears masks, especially in public places (like on the train). However, they don't actually do anything unless you are already sick.... a minor detail, by most standards.

As an extra tidbit to this mornings report, I have to show you a little something that came in my school lunch:

Yes, my friends, that is a packet of tiny little dried fish, seasoned with sesame seeds, for your snacking pleasure. I try very hard never to appear phased by what is put in front of me, for it would not do to offend my hosts, but every time this comes in my school lunch, I just have to laugh! I think a severed lamb head could not look anymore out of place sitting on my lunch plate. I get a real kick out of thinking what would happen if you tried to feed this to American school kids (or even my mother!). One teacher, who always criticises me whenever I don't like something, asked why I didn't eat it. I told her, "it's a bit too strong a fish taste for me". She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "I don't think this is fishy at all!"
...
They are almost entirely plain, little tiny dead fish! I don't think, by the very definition, you can get anymore fishy than that!

Cheers,

I'll-stick-to-chicken Baer