October 19, 2004 - Welcome Party
	Tim's studio-mates threw us a rippin' welcome party last night. I think Tim and I were the most sober ones there. The teacher and a majority of the class was completely schnockered. The students cooked us savory cabbage pancakes (okonomiyaki) and squid balls (no, not the real thing). They also brought out two beautiful cakes. one chocolate and one vanilla, each with fancy fruit on top. They sang happy birthday to me and to the professor (Shiozaki-sensei) whose birthday is the day before mine. It was a blast. After the party, the professor rode his scooter (without the motor running) all the way down to the station (about 15 minutes with us walking next to him.) He claims that driving with the engine on while drunk comes with a very stiff penalty. I could not quite understand why he went cruising down the wrong side of the street in the middle of the night, right past the police station. Granted, the motor was not running. Go figure...
There are some pretty funny expressions that pass for English over here. The craziest thing I have heard so far was from a student from Yemen who lives in our dorm. He told me "If you are not with Tim, he will find another wife." Ya, thanks. I think he was trying to flirt, since he later told me he is looking for a second wife! But you can never really be too sure, eh? Today I had lunch at a little restaurant on our block called Totori. You know, the type with no English on the menu and no plastic food samples in the window. Since it was not crowded, I decided to try out my little conversation book. It turns out, they not only make okonomiyaki, but also some righteous vegetable/squid/bacon dishes and they serve an amazing little nori snack. And, they have Kirin on tap. It is a husband and wife team who appear to be about my age and seem very much like Tim and I in personality and disposition. They have a 12-year-old daughter who may need some English lessons. We'll see how that develops in subsequent visits. They speak minimal English, which allowed me to try out some Japanese phrases. It made me want to be able to speak more so I can communicate with them. In the next 30-40 hours, Tim and I will experience our first typhoon. Are 34-foot high waves very dangerous? I guess it depends on where you are in relation to them. SOME people we know are accustomed to them (Roger). How about gusts up to 115 mph? Hold on to your hats, your laundry, and everything else in sight. Not only that, but large-scale earthquakes (over 5.0) seem to be fairly common as well. We just missed one right before we got here. As for today, I am still figuring out the dynamics of which direction to hold my umbrella in the changing wind so I don't get soaking wet and my umbrella doesn't turn itself inside out.

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