Free Internet Blues

Hello All,

We've been without Internet off and on for the last few weeks. We know this has deeply pained each and every one of you who religiously check our blog. How can life go on when we are not posting? It simply cannot.

We are currently in the process of actually setting up and, gasp, paying for our own Internet. We hope that once this happens, our Internet will work on a regular basis and Jake will not have to miss out on his favorite pastime- espn.com

Sadly, we do not have much to report. We've turned into semi-hermits, and have watched maybe a few too many HBO series. Jake's new favorite is about a serial killer. It gives me nightmares. I check the locks on our doors even more than before. Paranoid? Maybe just a little.

In other news...

**It is bitterly cold here. This makes all four of my twenty minute walks a really fun time, and keeps Jake trapped in our cell. We have not changed out of our long underwear in weeks.

**Last weekend, we saw a larger Japanese man dressed as a woman. I caught Jake staring a few too many times. I think he was pondering whether or not he could pull off the teal colored pea coat as well as this man did.


We hope all is well!

Long Teacher Holidays

Hello, everyone!

We've just completed our three week Christmas holiday here in Japan. Thanks to everyone who sent out peanut butter, and teriyaki sauce, and University of Oregon pajama pants.

Jill and I brought in the new year at a closet-sized bar while listening to deafening techno beats. Apparently I felt compelled to put on my jeri-curl wig. It is a strong tradition here to take in the sunrise on New Year's day, however Jill and I took in the sunrise with our eyelids shut, in our beds.

We also were able to travel to the hot tourist destinations of Nara and Kyoto. Jill and I saw many amazing temples, including the prize-winning 2000 ton Bronze and Gold Buddha statue in Nara. In Nara, there are thousands of people friendly deer. The deer is a sacred animal here, so I felt it necessary to take a cheesy posed picture with one old deer who was more than likely immobile and tired of idiots like me.

There were enough Japanese tourists that Jill and I could have walked upon their heads and never slipped through any cracks. Despite the tourists, there were many peaceful moments, and we felt relieved to be out of the city atmosphere.

One sidenote. The man wearing pink, who is posed to kiss me is a heterosexual despite the evidence against. He was told to pose like that by someone for some unknown reason.