I went here a couple weeks ago (when I met the goats.) I'm on to cold #2 of the winter season. Maybe I'll try yet another doctor to try out some new placebos.

On Sunday I coerced Hiroshi into coming with me to Miyajima, even though there's a local superstition about the place. Supposedly if you go to Miyajima with your boyfriend (or girlfriend), you will break up. Hiroshi happens to be a very supersitious kinda guy, so I wasn't allowed to hold his hand from the moment we got off the ferry. Actually, I was surprised I talked him into coming. I really wanted to paint the leaves there, being that it is my last fall in Japan. Unfortunately, maybe I should have listened to Hiroshi. Almost all the leaves had already fallen. We did find one tree I tried to paint, but, well, I'd rather not share the results with you all if that's okay.

I heard that it has already snowed in Ohio. Really? Today was the first day I saw a heater in a classroom, but it wasn't turned on. My body is REALLY not enjoying the whole Japanese philosophy on colds: If you are too warm, then you'll catch a cold. I'm sorry, I phrased that wrong. If you sweat, then you'll catch a cold. I've already griped way too much to put any comment attached to that wonderful bit of advice.

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Hello, all. I'm nibbling on my mixed dinner right now. Pizza, plain tofu, and plum soda. Mmmm.... Don't you all wish you had such a wonderful chef as me in your house. (...Yeah, I didn't think so, either.) A pottery show was keeping me company. Looked fun. I've only gotten to do coil pottery so far, which is okay, but I'd like to try some more adventuresome things. Then again, I still have sketches to get done before Dec. 15th, when my joint "show" is... eek. Now I'm watching Romeo & Juliet, from my rather meek video library. Of course, all of you have probably already graduated to DVD. There's not much point in me having a DVD player, though. Japan and U.S. DVDs are not compatible. It's okay. I like staying behind on the times.

One of the things that really bugged me for awhile after I got to Japan was that I couldn't tell what people really thought. I am still having problems with that. For example, a nice lady that I went to her jazz performance with came over tonight to tape my voice. We chatted for a little while, but it hurt a little bit when I realized her hasty escape was due to ...

I'm happy when I'm all nice and toasty, inside, and not sneezing. It's not that I have a cold. I don't. I just sneeze a heck of a lot when I'm cold, which is every day at school 'cuz they DON'T heat the darn buildings. I mean, why would they? There aren't walls to keep any heat in anyway. Silly, that.

Well, I should take off. I need to study Japanese at least a little bit today. I'm reviewing easy kanji and grammar that I don't remember or know. I'm going to meet Elisa and her daughter Megumi for lunch at a new Peruvian restaurant. Elisa knows the owner. Should be good! So hard to pull myself away from this internet cafe, though...:) Internet radio is wonderful...*happy sigh*

Tomorrow I'm going to Miyajima to paint. Miyajima is an island famous for red maple leaves and many shrines as well. There is supposed to be a martial arts performance tomorrow from 9 - 3. I hope it doesn't rain. Oh! Pictures of the jazz night will be up next week. I might even try to include a little video, but the file might be too big. We'll see...

Tomorrow I am going to watch the jazz performance of one of the members of the English Conversation group. She might sing an Ella Fitzgerald song. I think it should be a good time. Thursday I am trekking off to Onomichi for an English teachers' conference the next day. Oh, shoot. I need to pick up some digital pics I had printed today. I guess I'll do that during lunch break. I don't want to think about this weekend's schedule yet. A good friend of mine sent me an e-mail with very good advice: that I should stop and take note of what I'm doing to fill my remaining time in Japan, and then fill it with what I really want to do. It's good advice. I've realized that my weekends are not really for relaxing, or much for me anymore. To study. To catch up with aquaintences. Hiroshi. Actually, Hiroshi told me I should go to Fukuoka, where they are holding a sumo tournament right now, next weekend. (He knows I really want to go to one, and now there should be cheap tickets.) ...BUT, as usual, I have it booked.

THUR: travel to Onomichi by train
FRI: Teacher's Conference
SAT: go to an oyster farm with Monica
SAT night: watch Harry Potter with Livia? dinner with Hiroshi? Catch up with Elisa's family?
SUN: paint at Miyajima?

I have been dying to learn about all those floating rafts making up oyster farms that surround Etajima and exactly what part of them the little green plastic tubes that litter the beaches come from, so I am looking forward to this opportunity. And, I have been looking forward to seeing the new Harry Potter movie ever since I finished book #4. I've read that book #5's new release date is June 2003. We shall see... In the next web entry I'll include pictures of goats I met on Sunday. (heehee hee...)

Well, it's the end of yet another weekend. I finally broke down and am using my kerosene heater at home now. It's nice and warm and snuggly now. I'm happy. And, I think that my body is much happier, too. Hopefully I won't have this never-ending cold after tomorrow. My apartment is in such a lovely state right now I don't want to mess it up. It's not only inhabitable, but, dare I say it: cozy. Yea! As for other side projects, I still have loads of sketching to get done, and will attempt a bit of Japanese study tonight. I'm fully on the curry rice I made tonight all by myself. I'm so happy with myself. I made curry! And it tasted okay! (Can you say "curry rice" in English, or just "curry and rice"?) Anyway, now I can make salad, sandwiches, french toast, toast, scrambled eggs, curry rice, and spaghetti without a frozen package or looking at a recipe. On the other hand, I'm turning 26(?) next month and being that that's all I can make without cheating...well, it's a bit pathetic.

(HINT HINT: if you have any REALLY EASY recipes, send 'em my way, please!) wbaldwin76@yahoo.com

With that bit of pleading out of the way, the rest of my weekend was a pretty nice one. Oh yeah, excluding half of Saturday when I didn't even feel like trying to go into Hiroshima to study or meet people I promised I would because I couldn't stop sneezing. Cold? Allergy? I don't know. It just wasn't fun. But, what was fun was Saturday morning. We had "India Day" for some elementary kids on the island. We cooked nann, curry (hmm...), and lassie (a delicious milk-yogurt drink). We also played Kabbadi, a really fun kids game from India similar to tag.

Next weekend I hope to go to Miyajima Island to paint maple leaves. Miyajima is famous for those maple leaves and even has a special cake in the shape of a maple leaf with all sorts of yummy fillings you can take home and share with the people near and dear to you (like co-workers) that didn't get to go. On Saturday, my friend Monica invited me to visit an oyster farm, which means skipping Japanese class for more than 2 weeks. Eeek. Oh well. Must study.

I'm freezing. I'm wearing a warm sweater and my winter coat, and I'm still cold. Perhaps it's due to the LACK OF HEAT in the school? Acutally, I shouldn't complain. The teachers' room has at least an attempt at heating now. Why haven't they started heating the classrooms as well? Now, that's a good question, isn't it... But right now I'm going to see if the school's library has any origami information I can share with Aurora Middle School students (in Ohio). My schools have a joint website with them. Check it out, but please don't "answer a question" unless you're a middle schooler! www.oocities.org/etajimaurora

Day 9 of The Cold. Today I stopped taking the placebos. Today I got better. (Coincidence?) The 7th graders really got into Jack-O-Lantern making today. More than a few of them begged me to let them take their newly-carved Jack-O-Lanterns home. What their mothers thought of their child bringing home a non-edible vegetable about 3 times the size of a normal pumpkin and orange...well, I'm sure it was an amusing site. I also met a new friend near my neighbor's apartment door tonight. A gecko? or lizard? I don't know which, but he was really soft and didn't bite hard. I thought he was really cute; now he's out playing with my not-so-growing attempt at a watermelon.

Day 8 of The Cold. Whee...what fun. A week of Halloween lessons is in front of me. A little bit of Nightmare Before Christmas's "This is Halloween" song and trick or treating. I'll need a bit of luck to explain Halloween's history with my lack of voice, but I'll try anyway.

Oh! I know this isn't earth-shattering to anyone but my mom, but my apartment has managed to stay in a lovely state of cleanliness for almost 2 weeks now. I'm very happy about this...it's good karma for the soul. I also managed to get a couple sketches completed this weekend. Yea!

I went into Kure for a little bit today. This is Kure City Port. Kure is famous for shipbuilding, as is Sasebo, where my Grandfather Baldwin once visited. However, Sasebo is further southwest, on Kyushu Island, which is perhaps about the size of Texas?

I took a couple pics while riding the ferry from Etajima. The insland sea really is beautiful, especially near sunset.

Day 7 of The Cold. Today I ventured off to the doctors again because I love going to the doctor.

Presently, I am on drugs. Perscribed by the local Etajima doctor, that is. I'm still trying to get rid of that nasty cold I caught about a week ago. I hope the drugs work better than I think they will. Most of the time they just seem like prescribed placebos. I am also stuffed from the welcome party dinner we had for our new neighbor. I have included a couple pics from our adventures tonight. Unfortunately for everyone else, the less hungry I got, the more I played with my food. (And you know how bad I can get Mom and Dad.) I mixed wasabi into my peach ice cream and then proceeded to turn a string of cut radish into a daisy. It is a sign of creativity I tell you! ...Well, I was going to do a bit of sketching tonight, but I think I'm just going to crash.

2 weeks ago I went with Nathan, who kindly interpreted for me. When Nathan left for the waiting room, the nurse talked to me like a 2-year-old. The dentist decided to take an x-ray, and as my usual doctor visits go, I was basically thrown in a small room, my body shifted by the nurse, and then left while someone snapped an x-ray without warning me (in English or Japanese). That is always fun. After being ushered back to the dentist chair, I was told that I didn't have a cavity and that I don't brush enough. After having a short conversation about Texas (the only state the dentist has been to), I went back to the small waiting room. But worse than the smell that accompanies all doctors offices, was a man who would win first prize in any poll of the person you'd least like to share dental instruments with. (The following is an accurate analysis of this man by Nathan.)

The man sitting across from us had quivering, slavering lips framed by droopy, stray-strands-of-facial-hair-gone-wild cheeks, with (a particularly nice touch, this) little flecks of concealed food in the hairs. On top of everything, every now and again he would completely un-self-consciously stick out a flabby, furry-white tongue out, to reveal a dentists' nightmare of yellowing, rotten teeth.

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Today was my day off from school. It was a nice day. I got 2 phone calls, one from my sister. She's so nice. ^_^ I slept in till 1:00, which was very nice because I caught a nasty cold yesterday due to the LACK OF HEATING in the gym I spent nearly all day in. (grumble grumble grumble...) Tonight I went to the monthly international club meeting and shared some "american" cheesecake with the members that I made (from a lovely package mix!). We went to a yakiniku restaurant afterwards. It was the same place I took my mom to in the Spring. They put a little grill in the middle of your table and you grill the raw meat that you order. It was pretty nice considering I was sick and didn't feel like cooking anyway. ^_^ But tomorrow morning it's back to school.

This past weekend in addition to bunkasai, Hiroshi and I had our 2nd year anniversary. We went hiking recently at Sandankyo and I saw my first tree all in fall colors. It was a beautiful place; it reminded me of the Cuyahoga Falls park areas and walking the narrows of Zion Nat. Park. On Saturday, Hiroshi also made dinner reservations at a rather exclusive restaurant. There was a night view from the 30th floor of Hiroshima City all lit up, and it was quite beautiful. The dinner was "European"-style and had several courses. (It also tested my ability to eat like a lady.) I'm not sure what the dessert we had was, but it had a delicious lemon flavor with a rich caramel sauce at the bottom. It was a wonderful night.

Today was bunkasai (school festival) at both schools. After singing 3 English songs horribly, watching very ka-kkoi (cool) breakdancing, and listening to countless choir/band songs, I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and relaxing. It's over!! Now I have to try to remember all the little things I need to do...like updating/uploading pictures to this website!

Well, the school festivals are almost upon me. I have stopped worrying about the English songs the oldest class at Etajima JHS are performing because, well, I donft have much to say about it. I've pushed for practices after school that no one seems interested in except for 4 students, so to heck with it. If it sounds horrid, it sounds horrid. Speaking of horrid, I have a solo in gWe are the World", and right now I'm just about the worst part in the song. Yeek. Oh well. It's short. :)

I am trying to get my apartment in good shape as well trying to figure out something nice to do for Hiroshi on our 2-yr anniversary this weekend. I was thinking elaborate thoughts like candle-lit dinner made by me (i can't cook decently--a problem), or something equally romantic, and, well, I'm coming up with nada.

I'm going to another pottery lesson tomorrow as well as some Japanese study (ha ha...once a week isn't nearly enough.) What else do I have to do now that Bunkasai (school festival) is almost over? I think I've already forgotten.