Has it really been a week already? Well, almost a week. Close enough for government work.

Not a whole lot has happened really in the last week. We had class 4 days this week, though I only had it 3 because of the way my schedule works out. No classes on Friday is pretty nice, I have to say. The biggest news was the election. It caused some tempers to flare amongst the more outspoken members of the group. I kept my mouth shut because it's really no business of mine what others believe in. Tuesday (for you, I guess, because it was already Wednesday afternoon when we heard the news) sparked an e-mail from our guy here in Japan. He's been doing this study abroad program for 16 years, so he knows quite a bit about group dynamics. He basically told us to shut out pie-holes and mind our own damn business. I thought it was good advice. As I said previously, our group is beginning to fracture a little bit, with everyone wearing on everyone elses nerves. However, some good has come of this. A few of us have reached across the aisle, as it were, to make friends with the WVU guys, who, despite being akin to retarded monkeys, aren't all that bad.

Friday I went to Nagoya on my own. My first totally solo train ride. It went well, with only a moment of hesitation at the end. I purchased a set of speakers for my computer. They're pretty nice and would have cost me 2980 yen, but I had enough points on my rewards card that I got them for free. So really, they only cost me the 1200 yen to and from Nagoya, which is something I can live with. Friday night we snuck a few Japanese into the dorm and had a little party in the second floor lounge.

I finally pulled my sorry ass out of bed around 10 on both Saturday and today. Saturday I did nothing for the whole day. It was a wonderful feeling. My roommate and I just listened to music and sat around. I got caught up with some people, did a little reading, etc. That evening a large group of Americans and Japanese went out to shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu consists of a pot of boiling liquid into which is thrown various varieties of vegetables, and sundry meats. It was fantastic.

The homesickness has been getting pretty bad lately. I find myself missing a lot more things and wishing for such and such to happen. It's tough. I have a little more than a month left, and still so much to do. This next weekend is the homestay, the weekend after is another school trip; this time to a pottery factory where we will make our own piece of pottery. I will probably make a tea bowl. Not too long after that school trip is another one, this time our Shogakkohomon. Our elementary school visit. It's the big thing, the thing I've been dreading for quite some time. Will I be able to memorize my speech? Will the kids think it's interesting? What if I forget everything? The typical pre-performance jitters most likely. I hope. Sincerely hope. But I miss simple things: french fries, my own bed. Speaking of my own bed, I've been waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where I am. It's strange. Beer. I also miss good beer. Japanese beer is different, sure, but the novelty has worn off. I finally found a "stout" last night. It was lackluster at best.

It's finally getting cooler here. I've broken out my colder weather gear. Finally. Though, the trees here might be retarded. Some of them are already bare, some in various stages of color, and some still green and clinging to their leaves. I miss proper trees. The ones that all turn at the same time, in a brief flash of glory before turning brown and dropping off and causing that wonderful smell of wet leaf mold that so characterizes fall in Ohio. Perhaps that's what bothers me the most. The lack of familiar smells. I rely very much on my nose for cues. There is nothing here that smells like home. Sure, seperate smells are familiar, but nothing really smells like fall or smells like home, and so on. The slow trickle of changing leaves, coupled with the Japanese obsession with landscaping leaves very little oppurtunity for the leaves on the ground to rot.

On the lighter side, I have a shedding problem. My hair is all over the linoleum floor of my room. I know it's mine because my roommate doesn't have that much on his entire body. It's kind of funny.

Love you all,