Summer is upon us in Japan these days and the heat just keeps coming in stronger with each day. It's not so much the heat that is a killer, as they always say, it's the humidity. No joke. Especially when you are stuck wearing a suit to work everyday. WHOO it's HOT!
With the warmer weather comes other great things as well. For one, my mom and younger brother will be on their way over to Japan in less than three weeks. I CAN'T WAIT to have family close again. What a blessing that will be. Not just for the sake of having them here, but also because I will get to share a portion of my life here in Japan with them. How exciting!
We have been spending a lot more time at the beach, which is great. I also recently came down with a strange summer fever/flu (which my students only understand as influenza hah. Flu is some foreign word. I actually wrote Influenza on the board and erased letters until they understood why we say 'flu'). The flu put me out of commission for a couple of weekends it seemed and on top of that we are just rounding out the rainy season here. Thank goodness for that. While I was sick I made the mistake of getting hooked on Law and Order: SVU mostly because I have been watching a lot of movies and Law and Order is an old University vice of mine. Oh well. But I also have gotten my British boyfriend hooked on the goodness that is the American TV drama.
The Fourth of July in Japan, as you probably know, is not Independence Day. But, Meredith and I, being the foreigners that we are, ignored this simple fact and with the help of some friends, we threw together a big BBQ on the beach.
As we arrived there we realized the beach was really crowded and Mere, Gordon ( my boyfriend) and I all set up camp under some trees and attempted to get the coal burning for the BBQ. We had brought all of our vegetables and steak and pork with us to throw on the grill (sorry for all of you Americans out there reading this, we don't BBQ hot dogs and Hamburgers here, mostly because we can't find good hot dogs and if we can they are brutally expensive). Then our friend Miho came and led our Canadian and British friend to our spot along with a new friend from Finland. We spend the day drinking, BBQing, and playing football with another International group near us of mostly people from the Philippines. At one point, one of the women actually came over with a big tote bag and told us she had special meat from her country for us. She took our BBQ tongs and pulled out a steak and two sausages along with two nice big rolls/breads. 'Nice' you might think, and it was, not to mention delicious. But it was also probably the highlight of the day due to the fact that they were not wrapped, were already cooked and came out of her canvas tote bag. IT WAS Hilarious!
Today I am heading to Suma beach for a HUGE international beach party with many friends to celebrate the summer. Also, Tarumi is having their summer festival, so I will probably stop by there for some special and unique treats! I can't wait. Photos and blog to follow tomorrow.
PS- I realized I have been slacking on this here blog, which is not just a disappointment for me, but also for you all. I promise to write at least a post a week. If you are family, I miss you more than you know. Friends, I hope to see you soon; GET OVER HERE. and if you are just other readers from the world...enjoy. :)
