Surprised by Cinnamon
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: Kosheen - Hide U
Well this one`s been a long time coming, and sorry for that, but I suppose it`s a good thing that I`ve been so busy!!

I think it`s a good few weeks since I let you know what I`ve been doing. I finally got my phone line sorted out, and indeed I have had broadband connected to my room, so I am officially techno-fabulous. Hurrah! Now all I need is people to email/chat to me! (Hint hint...)

I`ve been hanging around a lot with Cortney (the Hawaiian with the dirty mouth) and indeed she is responsible for getting me through the various sign-up processes and other frightening events (like buying an electronic dictionary) that should not be attempted alone.

We found a fantastic Chinese restaurant in Shinjuku, where I had the best sweet&sour pork I`ve ever had, complete with sweet potato and lotus root. Afterwards we went for coffee, and were unpleasantly surprised at the amount of cinnamon that was dusted over our cake(s). This was worsened by the cinnamon dusted over our hot chocolate. Although we were horrified by this overkill, it did open our eyes to the unselfconscious abuse made of this spice all over the city. It`s as if Starbucks sent a memo ("Christmas + Winter = CINNAMON") and now the whole place is riddled with it.

Christmas is certainly on its way here. There are different "Christmas Illumination" festivals everywhere, although Jesus has yet to make an appearance anywhere. Were I more naive I might suggest that he`ll only make it into the decorations on December 25th. I doubt it though - I made a joke in class the other day that Christmas celebrated the birth of Santa Claus, and a Chinese girl in my class said "Isn`t it?" I kid you not...

Wednesday was pretty unpleasant for me - well, until 9am anyway. I was nearly run over by a crazy driver (landed on my ass in front of the station) and no sooner had I calmed down and gotten my starbucks, when a bird decided that it had to GO at the exact moment that I and my expensive latte were directly in its line of fire. That bird was SICK. During the day, however, various Greeks reassured me that this is a sign of great luck and that financial renumeration will be here soon. Sure it will - my scholarship is paid on Monday!!

Far funnier was the incident last week on the train. Japanese old ladies are particularly obnoxious when on the move. It`s as if they`ve given up the obsequious good manners that they used to have, and they`ve all read "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple" and they have some kind of entitlement thing going on. I was in the train as usual, when this pushy lady stood directly under my arm. (I was holding the rail.) She had about 14 bags, and wasn`t in control of any of them, and she jostled and jolted like it was going out of fashion. THe most striking thing about her was her hair - striped black and white, kinda like Mary J Blige. I only found out that it wasn`t real as I was leaving the train. I accidentally (and gently) hit her head as I moved away, slightly dislodging her wig... I didn`t have the heart (or the guts) to say anything...!!!

I finally saw Fuji the other day, when Ruben (the Spanish architect) and I went to Shinjuku to buy his family`s Christmas presents. He bought his siblings iPods. (Aidan, take note...) Afterwards we went to the Shinjuku city hall to climb the tower there. From the 48th floor, the view is amazing. We went at sunset, just as the sky was going through a spectacular colour change, and there it was, floating mysteriously over the clouds on the horizon. I now fully understand how and why this mountain means so much to and has inspired so many Japanese people. And why you have to see it to believe it! Ruben and I stayed for a good while, watching the lights of the city flicker on. It`s brilliant!!

Anyway, I`d better go - we`re doing Secret Santa in class (not that the Chinese students will have gotten the point...)

Talk to you soon!