Well, July is finally here. The one year mark of my arrival in Japan is fast approaching. I should take this opportunity to write a thoughtful reflection on the events of the past year…but that isn’t going to happen, and besides my entries are too long as is.
Summer has arrived. Really it came a few weeks ago. I didn’t mark it by the distance from the sun, but rather from the bloody temperature here. A few weeks ago was the first time we had a 30+ degree day. Since then there have been many…but it’s not the heat that gets you, it’s the humidity. Some days have been so humid and hazy that I couldn’t see the mountains (and trust me the valley I live in is not THAT big). Luckily for me I get to miss 3 weeks of the nasty weather here…but the other side of the coin is that I get to return just in time for the nastiest of it all, August. Yokoso Summer (Welcome summer).
Typhoon 3 is on its way. It seems that Japan is the land of natural disasters. There was a small earthquake near Nagano a few weeks ago. About a month ago, Okinawa and the southern islands were hit by the average monthly rainfall (and this is the rainy season) in just over 2 days. There were landslides, and some people were washed away in swollen rivers. And now for Typhoon 3. It appears to be a decent sized Typhoon. It’s been moving nice and slow, aiming straight for Honshu. That means it will be nice and strong. The prediction is that it will be here on the weekend or early next week. They usually stick to the Pacific coast, which means the waves on the Sea of Japan side, are bigger, but not dangerous. I might strap my board to the roof and head out to the surf. Yokoso Typhoon 3.
Canada Day has come and gone. While some of you were out partying, and others just kicking back, I was recovering. You see, Canada Day came for me roughly 16 hours before it came for you. Being a proud Canuck in exile, I did what any other poutine loving SOB would do. I threw a party. And not just any party a kick ass party. There were over 20 people in my backyard. I bought a pop-up tent, and we BBQed and lit of fireworks, and caused general mayhem. The party was great…it was a good mix of my Gaijin friends and my Japanese friends. Most conversations were taking place in a mix of both English and Japanese. The coolest part (other than the flag on a hockey stick) was that most of the Japanese people who were here had been to Canada for Working Holidays. The second best part, was that since Canada Day was a weekend, and the 4th of July was a Tuesday, the Americans had to come to a Canada Day party! In the end there was a big bag of cans and two bags of glass bottles. Two of the red wine bottles were mine. Surprisingly I wasn’t sick, and I wasn’t even hungover the next day. I just sweat it all out as I cleaned the yard. I have to say, I was really hoping to be home in Canada by Canada Day, but I am actually really happy that I wasn’t; the party was a true success! Yokoso internationalization.
July has arrived. That means that in a little over a week, I will be setting foot on Canadian soil again (not just in my living room, which I have unofficially deemed Canadian soil, or was that soiled by a Canadian…). I am pretty excited to get to see everyone again, and to kick back and relax Vancouver style. Oh, and how can I forget, good dark beer. Japanese beer is a nice treat when you live in Canada, but if that is the only stuff you can get your hands on then the fruity taste starts to get really crappy really quick. Anyway, I am really pumped for my trip home. I have a fair amount of prep to do for my trip, and even more to prepare for when I am back here in Japan. The biggest one was scheduling my appointment to get a Japanese Drivers Licence. I won’t bore you with any of the details though.
Well that’s the update for now. I hope everyone is well, and for those readers of you in Vancouver, I am looking forward to seeing you all real soon. Take care and enjoy summer time.
