Thought I'd share postcards from Japan...

I really want to write something really, really good, but I'm afraid that my brain may have atrophied slightly from watching too many movies this past holiday season (Oh god, Red Dawn. Why, oh WHY???) So, I thought I'd send you some postcards of my life here in Japan. I've been taking crazy pictures so you all get to reap the rewards of my efforts...

This is my kochou sensei (principal) at the elementary school hamming it up for the camera. He loves the taste of sake and proceeded to get supa drunk at our year end party in December.

He showed me the correct way to indicate that you have finished with your sake bottles.

My eikaiwa (English conversation) ladies and I made soba (buckwheat noodles) in my apartment. I love soba and it was pretty easy to make. You mix soba flour and water and beat the dough until it's at the right consistency. Then you have to knead then flatten it with a long stick. This is back-breaking. After the dough is spread thin, you cut it really thin.

Since we were novices, our noodles came out a bit thicker, but it tasted good nonetheless.

This is a handmade hanging scroll Dave gave me for our anniversary. I love, love, love autumn and now I have something to always remind me of the autumn beauty of Japan. If you look closely, you'll see a blue bird on a branch.

This is a geisha doll I made a couple of months ago. In the background is a picture of my godson.

Here is a famous Japanese toilet complete with bidet, spray, flushing sound and a hot seat. I took this pic at the movie theatre because I thought it might make some of you jealous. Going to the bathroom in Japan is a sheer pleasure. A lot of washrooms have disinfectant for the toilet which you hardly need to use. And let me tell you, when it's 2 degrees in the school's washroom, a heated toilet is a LUXURY. Now, if I only I could buy one outside of Japan...I do believe it's possible...

Close up of the command station.

While many toilets have the tradtional handle or automatic flush, this particular toilet has a sensor that you wave your hand in front of to get the toilet to flush. Genius.

For some reason I can't load any more pics right now, but I'll post more pics soon...