Unfortunately, the only pictures are in my brain

おはようございます
translated: ohayou gozaimasu
meaning: good morning (polite)

First, I want to apologize for not updating sooner. spent much of last week up in the mountains and unfortunately, my camera spent its time in Tokyo, so I have no pictures to share with you of the splendor that is Nagano Prefecture. I taught an English class, went sledding, taught some people how to ice skate, and played 3 hours of soccer and basketball in an old pair of Chuck's, so I managed to go home with some pretty intense blisters. That made the soccer game I played on Saturday even more fun (the blisters got much bigger then). Lesson for the day: "make sure you wear the right shoes for the right activity, and if you have blisters, don't try to play soccer for 2 hours b/c it will hurt."

Last week was spring break here at CAJ, so I spent most of the first part of the week, and last weekend, just kinda hanging out in different areas of Tokyo. I would go to the Eki (train station) and just pick a direction, and then when I got to that stop, I would get out and walk around and see what kinds of things I could find. I found a jacket, a new umbrella, a place that has really good lamb-kabobs, more ramen shops, a coffee shop in Ikebukuro that I like a little more than the starbucks nearby (its cheaper and is less crowded) and a lot of other random little shops that I found quite enjoyable.

I'm not going to lie, there have definitely been some difficulties in adjusting to the culture here. it helps that i do know some people, but it has been very hard to depend on my friends here b/c they all have their own lives and careers as well. i'm almost done filling out my application to potentially teach here at CAJ for the next year or 2, and i'm praying that if that happens, i meet some more people so that i dont have to spend every evening studying alone at the coffee shop near the HigashiKurume station.

peace and prosperity to you all