Well, damn. I am so far behind in this thing that it's sad. I have done a hell of a lot of stuff in the last couple months and there is no way I will be able to catch up and tell you, my loyal readers--HELLO! ARE YOU STILL HERE?!--everything that has been going on. Well, not in the detail I'd like to anyway. Perhaps I can just summerize a few things.

On April 29 I ventured the three hours over to Narita airport to welcome my aunt and uncle to the country and show them the way back to Kofu. And with that began the great Japanese trip of Ray and Judy (I'm still working out the official name of their visit).
Those two did more in two weeks in Japan than I imagine many of the people who were born in this country will do in their lifetimes. And I mean that.
Me--Sato-sensei, have you climbed Mt Fuji?
Sato--No.
Me--Well, have you ever been to see sumo?
Sato--No.
Me--What about Hokkaido? Been there?
Sato--No. I've never been.
Etc etc etc.
I don't mean to disrespect anyone, but many Japanese people I've met have not done the things I think they should have done by now. But hell, I guess I'm just the result of a military family. We did things. When I think about certain family members I have in places without a coast, I have to admit that there are plenty of Americans who don't get out much either. I guess I've been blessed.
But anyway, Ray and Judy and Amy and I did a lot. The list looks something like this: a Yamashita Yamanashi tour with an evening of dinner, drinks, and the boys at his place, a trip to Kyoto and Hiroshima, a Yomiuri Giants game at the Tokyo Dome, sumo (of course), a day at the Yamanashi high school sports festival, a day at my Friday school, karaoke with three of my Japanese friends (Tatsumi-san, Kaz, and his wife, Yasue) lots of good food, even more drinks, and a lot of laughter. It was damn fun and I was glad to be able to show them a little bit about how life is for a foreigner in this country. Perhaps I'll write a few of the better stories from their trip soon (I know I know, perhaps not, but I'll try to keep it in mind and do it).

As for me, well, I've got about 6 weeks left in Japan. Can you believe it? I sure as hell can't. But that's the way it goes.
Amy and I are currently targeting July 19th as the day but it's not quite final yet. I have to run a few things by the kencho regarding flights and prices (they pay for it) and the language is once again proving to be a hurdle to get over (in some ways I will not miss that). But by this time next week I should know for sure.
I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that I am, in fact, leaving, but it still bothers me at times. Take last Wednesday, for example. I went to Yuda (girls) high for my afternoon session of effortful conversation and one of the girls (the very cute one) had made me some cookies. She struggled to tell me that she had made them and the slid them over to me a little embarrased and I thought to myself, "Ok, you fool, now remind me why you are leaving this place again."
I can't say that I want to stay in my current situation for another year--it is time to move on--but there are certain perks I will really miss. Gonna be hard in some ways to be back in the States and just be another Joe-Smoe. Sure it will be nice in some ways to get back but I think overall the first few months will be tough. I honestly think that moving back will be harder, culture shock-wise, than moving here was. See, when you move to a foreign country you expect changes, you expect things to be different and perhaps a little difficult, but in moving back to your homeland, I imagine, you expect everything to be as you know it and expect that it will be easy and familiar. But I don't think it will be all that easy. Perhaps because I am aware of this it will be easier but then again maybe not. I'll be more of an authority on this in a few months. But for now I am leaving here and returning to America with a lot of apprehension. Perhaps some of you think I am just be dramatic. Maybe. We'll see.

Last weekend I took what will most likely be my last trip in Japan for a while. Amy, Dilek, Mat and I went over to Yokohama. Was a good time where I got to hear Amy scream in terror for the first time since I've known her. I had no idea she could scream like that.
It started out harmlessly enough. We were walking towards a very small ammusement park by the harbor and Dilek pointed to a couple rides and indicated that we should all ride one or two (it's a pay-by-ride sort of place). So she and Mat found the ticket machine while Amy contemplated her fate and I rolled my eyes. Had they asked Amy if they should have bought her a ticket, I imagine she would have turned them down. But the beauty is that they didn't ask, they just bought, and Amy felt a little obligated to go.
As we walked towards the thing, Amy could be heard to say such things as, "This doesn't look like a good idea," and "I hope I don't hurl." All this while she eyed the big pink contraption with a very worried look on her face--have I mentioned that Amy's sense of adventure falls well short of things like sky-diving, bungee-jumping, and racecar driving?
Anyway, we boarded the thing after giving the two cuties manning the machine our tickets and strapped ourselves in. The ride was a simple one, the sort you're more likely to encounter at a state fair rather than a proper ammusement park. It was just a big circle that spun like a top at high speed. During the ride, though, the great arm that this thing sat on tilted up so that at first you are spinning parallel to the ground but within a few minutes are spinning at about an 80 degree angle and you see sky, then ground, then sky, then ground over and over and and at a pretty fast clip. So Amy screamed like a girl being murdered and the rest of us laughed at her obvious terror. It was great fun.
So after that and for the remainder of the weekend, we walked around, ate good food, drank a few drinks, and took in the sights. China town was kinda cool but my favorite park was the short boat ride we took.
It was only a twenty minute ride to get us somewhere we probably could have walked in about half that time, but it was nice to be on the open seas with whiskey in hand and the salty spray in my face. Ok, really we didn't quite make it out to the "open" seas and there was no salty spray in my face, but hey, I did have a whiskey in hand as we cruised along.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope all is well for all of you (or is there anyone left reading this thing?).