i'm back!!

man ... i wonder if my life here will ever be not busy cuz it's definately been busy the last couple of weeks!

i, like so many before me, failed my first driving test in japan last monday. i have an international drivers license but that expires in july so i need to get this taken care of now. most of the JETs fail their first time and following in suit, i did too. everything was fine except i didnt look over my shoulder enough when turning (or at least didn't make it obvious enough). oye, next time!! have my next test on monday ... lets hope its more successful!

went to onsen with some friends, bought a tennis racket and hung out with a friend from work, had another eikaiwa lesson, and went to TOKYO!!! last saturday, quite a few of us headed down to tokyo for the recontracting conference and just got back a couple of days ago. i think i appreciated the city a lot more than i have on previous trips. did quite a bit of shopping, got to see some SUA friends (including ann, tim, naoko, naomi, rumiko, suh jin, billy, and hiroshi) which was awesome!), stayed at a five star hotel, saw loads of foreigners (some of which i could have been fine not seeing!), and ate MEXICAN food!!!

the amount of foreigners in tokyo is staggering (although having a conference where at least 800 other JETs are attending doesnt help). every time i went into a store, or talked with someone at the hotel, the employees spoke english really well and automatically speak english which was shocking as no one can speak english here. it was getting me really confused as to what language to speak, especially when we went out to eat foreign food (indian, mexican, etc.). i was so happy to have mexican food, although it was way over priced but the atmosphere was cool with a live mariachi band and all.

being in the city also helps u appreciate the nature in the countryside. in the city (especially one like tokyo) u see nothing but buildings and concret and nothing beyond it! however, in the countryside where i live u can see for miles and miles and see nothing but green. both places have their good points, but im really happy i live in the place that i do.

anyways, have had work the last couple of days and then going out this weekend. i went to one of my favorite elementary schools today. the kids there are so loving and give me hugs all of the time! they are soooooo sweet!

i think there was a bunch of other stuff i wanted to blog as well, but i can't remember it now. hopefully later ... until then, enjoy some pictures from tokyo!

here's me in shubuya ... crazy place. went to outback steakhouse here and felt very american!













with some of the locals in shinjuku. i think the 80s are back in japan!












view from the hotel. endless city. those 2 buildings actually had really cool designs, the picture doesnt really do it justice