Poo

Well its a week to go to christmas!!!

I still dont feel very christmassy but will have to get in the groove soon as i am having to dress up as father christmas for a kids party next week and need to look jolly and festive...

bah humbug.....

other than that i am still stupefied by the mildness of the weather here in Kumamoto, its definitely more a med winter than a british one.
Have just been to Yamaga and got a dose of real traditional Japanese culture. Visited a Buddhist shrine (1st time) and had tea with the caretaker type person, much bowing and nodding was enjoyed.

By the way cant seem to read the posts from the last blog so could the people who wrote them try and repost on this one?

I have at last relented and am enjoying the delights of reading manga (which for a long time i have poopooed but now really into) Am reading bilingual versions of Doraemon, the time travelling cat with a 4 dimensional stomach. The english translation is a bit wooden but its still good fun to read.

Other than that just contuing life as normal and enjoying the incredible friendliness and warmth of the kumamoto people. The acts of genorisity I have met have been awesome and often overwhelming

There is still many a time when I still think oh my gosh im in japan! , the surrealness of being here hasnt worn off yet, maybe it never will. Still adjusting to the japanese way, it takes a while.... particularly the whole tatemae/honne thing with the people over here (see previous posts.) Especially having lived in the med and in arabic environment before I still find it difficult at times to understand why... it seems like such an awful burden that im not surprised why Japanese people I knew in England didnt go back.

Toddler/Gaijin Japan is a completely different place, its a playground, a soft cosy bubble where you are lauded like a god, misdemeanours are generally ignored and where you are the continuous recipient of peoples affections.

Its also a place where random shit comes out on a frequent basis....