A beautiful sunny windy day here in Tokushima-- I started the day by sleeping in for a disgustingly long time, which was truly a great pleasure. Then to work I went; washing windows, washing bedding and hanging it on the line, beating the hell out of my futon, washing dishes and the like. I bought a new cell phone a few days ago and so talked to Corrin for a bit, and my grandparents, and Sarah-- then my new phone went dead... just when I was getting all the latest 'Survivor' news. That show is like crack I tell you! And it sounds like this season they've spiced it up with innumerable twists and turns. Oh well. I'll have to satisfy myself with some of Japan's great shows, such as "The XL Files" -- it follows a fat guy who travels from one four-star eatery to the next, exclaiming "Maru!" (I think it means 'tasty' or something) as he samples the fresh sashimi or a 9000 yen piece of Kobe beef. Sometime's he'll bring along another fat guy, maybe a sumo wrestler. Sometimes I'll just flip channels, looking for the funny commercials-- my current favorite starts with a view of two teenagers from the back, sitting side-by-side very close at a desk. You assume they are studying. They are making little proclamations of happiness as they lean against each other. All of a sudden, the camera switches to a front view, and you can see that they both have a finger lodged firmly up a nostril, and they are happy because the nostril cream they are using feels s-o-o-o-o good!

I got back from Matsuyama yesterday-- I was there for just wednesday and thursday, doing my Kid's Class training and a help-shift teaching adults. It was an OK trip, but to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of being shipped from place to place. It's enough to be faced with all the new rules and regulations of a new job-- never mind the new language, new food, new friends... it's all a little tiring. Which is probably why I don't regret having a good lay-in this morning!

After cleaning, I rode my bike through the bright and shining streets to the city office to pick up my Gaijin card, which I got without any hassle. As I sat down in the waiting area to tuck it safely into my wallet the blonde fellow who was napping in front of me suddenly turned around and exclaimed, "You're not Japanese!" Uh, yeah. Surprise... Anyway, his name was Kristian, and he's a German working as a chemist at the University of Shikoku here in town. He's been here for a year, and still hasn't learned any Japanese, which is probably why he was so pleased to spot another blonde. We had a bit of a chat, and as I left I started to realize why I'm not much of a head-turner here in Tokushima-- foreigners are everywhere! For such a 'small' city, it's very metropolitan. About the only people who get exited when they spot a gaijin are other gaijin!

Anyway, I'm off to grocery shop, and maybe have a bit of a ride through Tokushima Central Park-- supposedly there's a castle in there, but it must be very small, because you certainly can't see it from the edges of the park. Until next time, keep well, have fun...