a word about bugs

Japan has a greater abundance of large insects than any place I have ever been before. Whether it's praying mantises, cacophonous cicadas, poisonous caterpillars, wasps, killer bees, flying ants, mosquitoes, enormous cockroaches, or spiders the size of small cats, none of them seem shy about making their presence known at all hours of the day. And they all seem to have one thing in common: an insatiable appetite for my blood. Though the problem seems to have subsided somewhat since I purchased a spray can of "Mushi Bye-Bye" from the local grocery store, I still have myriad constellations across my legs, arms, and torso displaying the proud handiwork of many a diligent mosquito or biting ant. The predicament leads me to look forward to the colder autumn months when the little biting fiends will go into hibernation.

On another note, today I turned twenty-three years old. I'm usually not a fan of birthdays and the way they make a person the awkward center of attention for no other reason other than having been born (big deal: 6.692 billion other people in the world have achieved this, too, no thanks to any effort or desire on their own part); however, today proved to be very pleasant. After a looooooong first day at school, which consisted entirely of me sitting and observing school rehearsals for Sports Day on Saturday, I met up with my fellow AETs and we went out for dinner at Taj Mahal, the local Indian food restaurant. It was very oishii (delicious), and I'm sure I'll return again to enjoy another helping of spicy vegetable curry and "robstar" (menu's misspelling of Lobster).

Tomorrow will be my first day actually participating in the classroom. Shimowada sensei, my first English teacher, tells me that the students will introduce themselves to me and that, after that, she has a lot of instruction that she has to get through on her own. My other English teacher--Ishikawa sensei--I have still not really spoken with beyond a curt self-introduction he made to me before hurrying off to his homeroom class this morning. They both seem like nice people, but the craziness of preparing for Undokai (Sports Day) has prevented them from having many opportunities to talk with me. This will probably change next week when the school reverts to normal scheduling.

And suddenly I realize how late it is and remember that I have to get up again at six o'clock tomorrow morning and ride my bike three miles to school. It will be a pleasant ride, I'm sure, as it has been the two other times that I have made it. But I will need my energy to make it there on time. That said, goodnight and sayoonara.