Aar, nothing particularly interesting happened to day, so normally I just wouldn't post, but last time I didn't post I got scolded, so I guess there's nothing I can do.
I just had a really great two-hour long conversation about the war in Iraq with a Chinese friend of mine. We were walking back from bowling when he casually asked what I and the other Americans, who were there as well, thought about Bush. Normally I would just stay silent here, but because he asked directly I gave him my honest reply, and what followed developed into the kind of long and evolving debate that I love more than my three meals a day, to use the Japanese expression. It was pretty amusing to have a prolonged debate in Japanese between a Chinese and an American, or at least the Japanese friend who came and went during it thought so. Regardless, I am just thrilled to have been able to have a real conversation for once. After the debate the guy said that in his experience he's never met a Japanese who would be willing to have that kind of prolonged debate, and that certainly jives with my experience. I don't understand how people can be friends if they can't have honest and forthright debates with each other, but I guess that the vast majority of Japanese do not understand that you can express strong disagreement with someone and still be good friends. It is just so refreshing to be able to have an involved and challenging debate again, "like cool, cool water running down my back" as the Jayhawks say.
Because I didn't have any classes today, I got to play the best game in the world. It is played like this:
1. Sell your alarm clock to Polynesian Alarm Clock Pirates, or use some other equally effective method to silence it.
2. Go to sleep with the express intention of allowing yourself to sleep as late as possible, on into ze night if necessary.
3. Do so.
4. Upon waking, try to assess what time it is by all methods that don't involve moving or opening your eyes, i.e. room temperature, street noise, strength of bodily odor, etc.
5. This is a bad idea.
Today I lost because I couldn't guess, but the best part of the game is that because I slept until 1:30, I was still a winner.
Wow, that's one heck of a game, I tell you what. I should win a Nobel - I mean, if Yasser Arafat can win one for a peace agreement he broke within the week, I don't see why can't I get one for doing nothing, but doing it peacefully. At the very least I should get a Pulit Surprise, since they hand those things out like candy.
- Gyaa! I'm give up
