Happy New Year, The weirdness never ends

Greetings to one and all.
Another year has come and gone and left us (hopefully) a bit wiser. 2008 was a really busy year for me. In addition to my normal 3 jobs, I also (successfully) completed 5 graduate courses toward my masters in Education. I now have just 2 more to go and I should graduate in May of this year! . HOORAY!!
Last year I was able to visit North Vietnam (Hanoi, Hue and Ninh Binh) and also spend about a month visiting friends in the US. Many thanks to them for their impeccable hospitality. Pablo and Z, Randy and Mag, Ron and El and Doug and Deb: you are all great hosts in your own unique way. If you can make over here to Osaka (again, for some of you) I promise to return the favor.

This year promises to be a bit less hectic, once my grad classes are done. I hope to get out to do more photography and visit more places.
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the weird English that I see on a daily basis. It's enough to make an English teacher cry.

Let's start with a funny one: this is the label of a "bento box" (lunch box). I mean, I know everyone likes to eat, but this is just a bit over the top. The text below the title is a bit too small to read so I will print it here;
"The simple form makes a beautiful and practical lunch box.You can have full realization of its high quality. use by use"
(Please let me know if you can figure out what they're saying.)




















Now let's look at one that's just kinda strange:



I don't know about you, but the last thing I am thinking about when I go to a restaurant is a "naked" fish, whatever that is.






And finally here is my nomination for the "Stupid things we do for money" job. If that was me I would ask them to put some pretty heavy pancake makeup on my face so nobody would recognize me. This is a photo of a poster hanging in a subway car:


Makes you appreciate your job now, doesn't it?



Finally, I thought I would end my first blog of the new year on a more pleasant note. Here is a photo from my trip to Vietnam:




This was taken during a boat trip to Kenh Gaa. It was early morning and I was the only passenger on a what was perhaps a 30 foot boat. It's a very rural area and it wasquite the change from incessant din of honking horns and yelling that is Hanoi.


Well that about does it for this time. Check back again for more fun and games.

Steve

What a long strange trip it's been

Wow! Last week I had to renew my visa, which is something that us expats here in Japan always approach with a bit of trepidation. No matter how long you've been here, you never really know how the folks at immigration are going to respond to your request to be allowed to stay a bit longer.
Thankfully, over the past few years, the government employees staffing the immigration and visa counters have become noticeably more friendly and accommodating. Plus, much to my amazement, my Japanese has actually improved! That being the case, the process went fairly smoothly, with only a few minor glitches. So after a bit of fuddling around I got my visa renewed. I have learned that the secret is to give them as little information as possible. Too much data and their mental processes lock up like an old Windows NT program.

Can you say BSOD?

Just give them a little bit and everyone is happy. So I got my visa and am safe for a bit longer! However it made me think about the passage of time. I came here in 2001 with the intention of staying 2 years. It has now been almost 7 years!! But I can't really complain. I enjoy my work. I get to take about 5 weeks of vacation a year and I am still managing to save some money. I feel pretty lucky compared with some of my brethren back in the states who are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Amazing as it may seem, I think that I enjoy more personal freedoms here in Japan than I would in the US. Mostly due to the incompetence and apathy of the police/government employees and the like. Like they say, 'tis an ill wind that blows no good...
Next week it's off to Northern Vietnam to explore Hanoi, Hue, Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay and try to explore as many of the culinary delights as my stomach can handle. Check back for updates and possibly photos.
In the meantime, the plum blossoms are out and spring is peeking warily around the corner.


Life is good.