DearScotty

For thanksgiving Theresa and I went to the big sumo tournament in Fukuoka. Just to let you know, sumo isn’t any more exciting in real life. The best part of the event was throwing the seat cushions like frisbees at the end of the match. I hit a few people in the head and at that moment felt I got my value out of the ticket. For dinner we went for tacos on ice again, only this time they had a microwave! I was also able to feast on crab legs this time around. I’ll take crab legs over dried turkey breast any day of the week, including holidays.

In sadder news, last week one of my students committed suicide. I was surprised to learn who the boy was because I thought he was a decent kid. Apparently he didn’t have many friends, and living in a collective culture that depends on the group mentality, being lonely can be torture. Things have calmed down here considerably. The counselors are gone, and the kids are back to being little shit heads.

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After a brief four day stay back home that seems to have passed like a Dumbo acid trip, I’m back at my desk fearing what will be on today’s lunch menu. I barely remember what happened back home. The jet lag, the reality of having to return to Japan, and the gorging on good American food made the entire trip go by in a snap of a finger. I will always cherish my evening at Islands as I stuffed my face with buffalo wings and my private trip to visit an old friend, Taco Bell.

So my sister finally married and so there is one less Robertson in the world. The wedding was actually really beautiful and you can see for yourself on my flickr site. Devin was definitely the most pimp 3 year old I’d ever seen; even more pimp after putting on his superman outfit. Well the rest is a blur but I think I enjoyed seeing my family and having real Mexican food even if the servers and mariachi band had fake accents. Maybe I’ll post a wedding video soon. It’s time for my head to hit the desk and hopefully wake up in time for lunch.

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I’m back at school after an amazing 3-day weekend in Kyoto. Sights were seen, towns were painted and my legs were destroyed. Now I’m back at school slowly regaining my insanity. How ’bout a funny story?

Last week I was asked by one of the secretaries to pay an extra ten bucks on top of the school lunch fee. Instead of spending an hour trying to find out why, I handed over the money. A few days later one of the teacher gives me some cookie cigars wrapped in clear plastic with blue stripes. I realize I have no clue how to say congratulations, shrug and say thanks. I figured blue must be universal for boy, and usually in Asian cultures having a boy is the preferred outcome. Later, during lunch another secretary handed me even more cigars and said they were from Whoever-Sensei. She speaks a little English so I responded, “Wow, he must really be excited.” She shot a confused stare at me, “eh?” Trying to end the confusion I asked her, “What are these for?” she explained, “Remember the money you gave this week? That was for Mr. Whoever-sensei. His wife’s father died.” So apparently everyone paid up some money and gave it to him as a gift. The cigars were a thank you for the consolation gift. Thank Moses I didn’t jump up, hi-five him, and give him a giant bear hug “Congratulations!!”