Schweaty Balls

Japan has redefined my idea of what it means to be sweaty. I sweat
just walking around. I sweat when I cook. I sweat when I`m sitting
on the couch if I don`t point the fan right at me. I sweat after
showers (which is why I switched to cold). I sweat for like 30
minutes after riding my bike to school. Hong noticed that I sweated
even sitting in a restaurant after eating some hot soup. I`m telling
you, it`s hot here.

But now I appreciate the little things, like a breeze that I might not
previously have considered cool. Now, it is two seconds of sweet
relief.

Also, the food. Though I didn`t really do much in terms of exercise,
I used to eat a lot of food. I just love to eat. Here, the food has
been fantastic, but unless you`re prepared to finance it, you`re just
not gonna get a lot of it. It`s too expensive. I`m okay with that,
although I wish it was cheaper. My idea of full now is not being
gorged, but rather the absence of hunger. I had similiar experiences
when vacationing in Europe on a tight budget. Nick knows about this.

Last week I had my first "teaching" experience, running a little
lesson/game about California at a summer english workshop held in a
nearby town. The first one was absolutely terrible, but each time I
did it it got a little better and a little easier. By the end, I was
really enjoying myself, telling them such hard-hitting news as people
in California like to eat sashimi, udon, AND tempura. The answer was
D, "All of these."

Today I went hiking with a man from my school up on the Nakasendo
("Middle Mountain Passage"), the old old road between Kyoto and Tokyo
used by the shogun and samurai. We walked through old post towns with
crazy-looking wooden buildings and sweated our brains off crossing
over the mountain. I personally crossed the border between Gifu and
Nagano prefectures, which was very exciting to me.

The landscapes here are just beautiful. Everywhere you look looks
like a painting you`ve seen at some point, with green fields, tidy
houses, and layers of mountains receding softly into the distance. It
really is beautiful. Sometimes, just driving around, I can`t believe
I live here.

There`s a million more things I could say, but I`ll save those for
another day. I hope everyone is doing well, except Nick Hertz.