Thoughts on Japan...

I am often asked about how life in Japan is going. Life in Japan is actually great – it's pretty neat to live in a different culture and the people are all nice. I can get over any of the oddball pet peeves because the experience in its totality makes up for inconveniences. Strolling through miles of "sakura" (cherry blossoms) on a spring day will enlighten the darkest of any. A couple fun points:

• Its fun to surprise the locals when they see a "gaijin" (foreigner) say something in Japanese. Actually, they are probably surprised because I am saying something totally off point (i.e. "Your melons are nice" instead of an intended "Nice to meet you").
• Bowing often (for hello, hi, thank you, nice to meet you, your welcome, bowing when you don't know why you are bowing) works out the lower back and preemptively targets any forming muffin top.
• Everyone in uniform is just plain cute – even the old dudes who carry the orange traffic signals. Sure, you probably moonlight by tweaking women's bums on crowded trains, but you sure do look cute in that little blue jumper number you've got on. And a reflective sash?! Piece de resistance!
• The use of cartoons and animated characters to explain everything is just plain endearing. There is nothing like a smiley aluminum can to remind you to recycle or a frowning barrel of oil to remind you to not light a cigarette nearby. All warnings should be delivered with a cartoon.
• The nearby lights of the tennis court and the repeated shouts of "hai!" are quite bright and loud at 10pm, yes, but the super watt 5000 bulbs make for good reading light while lying in bed.

Well, that's the start of a list that will grow over the next couple years. That's not to say I don't have pet peeves of living here, too, but that is for another list for another time. Overall, its gravy and I'm looking forward to learning more…