お久しぶりですね！

Life on the island has been quite hectic these last few weeks as I have been busily adjusting to my new schools and learning the names of about 300 new faces. Fortunately, today is the first day of Golden Week which means I am finally able to catch up on everything I have been meaning to do these last couple of weeks.


Last week we celebrated Curtis’s 23rd birthday with a barbeque party and good times were had by all. His gift was a Nintendo DS and a copy of Super Mario Brothers. The best part about his present was that everyone chipped in to help cover the cost. I had the idea to get Curtis a Nintendo DS because he always asked to play Koko’s when she visited Nagashima. I put together a little fundraising campaign and within a matter of days 23 people eagerly donated towards the cause. Now Curtis has his own DS and it’s from everyone.

The next night was another lively evening as our office had a party to welcome new office workers Tabuchi San and Kojo San to the team. What began as a leisurely dinner after work quickly picked up as the Karaoke was turned on. I was already tired from the night before so by the 5th hour of singing and dancing I was ready to call it a night. I found a nice corner and tried to sleep, but within a matter of minutes I was being forced to sing along to some Japanese song that I had never heard before. Afterwards, I sang an excellent rendition of Hey Jude and Curtis closed with his signature song I’ll Have it my Way by Frank Sinatra.



I’ve managed to keep all my vegetable plants alive in the garden, even the cucumbers, and I’ve recently added a net to keep out the crows. In the mornings before work I look forward to watering the plants and checking on their progress. Actually, about this time last week I actually picked something from the garden – a leafy thing that’s in the spinach family. However, after picking the leaves I forgot about them and I left them on the kitchen counter for two days, which was more than enough time for them to wilt away to nothing. It truly was a tragedy! The good news is that by the time I realized my mistake one more leaf was ready to be picked from the garden so I picked it, cooked it, and together Curtis and I split one really small leaf from the plant.




Last night was yet another night out after work. I was introduced to a new restaurant on the other side of the island that I had never been to. The food was good and as always the drinking pressure was on. A general rule in Japan is that while drinking one should refrain from pouring their own drink. Instead, everyone pours everyone else’s drink and because cups are tiny drinks are constantly being refilled. Within an hour one glass can potentially be refilled four or five times. Additionally, there is always someone who is responsible for adding the ice and water to the drinks. Whenever possible I like to be this guy because it allows me full access to the water. This means that I can keep my glass full of water instead of shochu for those times that I have to be at work party, but don’t want to drink. I did this last night.

It’s getting late so I’m off to bed. Have a nice weekend and I’ll be sure to post again soon. Take care and I’ll see many of you in just a few weeks.

best,
Spencer