And here I go again!

Yes! It's been a year. It's hard to say whether it has been fast or slow. I'm sure for some of the people that wish I was back home, perhaps it seems like it's been a while.

Many of the yearly events are happening again. So whereas last year, I was doing almost everything for the first time, now I will have some familiarity with many of the things going on. Not to mention having deeper relationships, being more confident in Japanese, and hopefully less general frustration.

So, the semester has started again, and I can already say that things are looking really great. I now have an English class with a lot of my close friends. This semester, we will be reading, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". This, of course leaves, room for lots of discussion, and the students are looking forward to it. There are also a lot of students in this years freshman Bible discussion too. So, it's quite an exciting start to this year, and there is a lot to look forward to.

In the near future there is the Young Laborers conference, which is a conference for the Japanese Christians in the various BEST clubs. It's a good chance for them to meet and build community and grow together.

As for me, I actually hurt my ankle two weeks ago. I couldn't walk for a day, but it didn't seem so serious, and seemed to be better a few days later. So if you had asked me last week, I would have told you it was ok. However, this week, after playing soccer, something happened and my ankle got all swollen. I think I got bitten by a buy on top of my already swollen ankle, but I don't really know. It was strange because it did not hurt at all. Soooo, now my foot seems to be better again, but I think I'm going to avoid sports for a while and make sure.

As for everything else, I am fine. The temperature is lowering, which means were headed back for the cold winters again. I'm sure some of you remember me complaining about that last year. And if it wasn't for the economy, I'd have no problems; perhaps the only bad change from last year. The exchange rate is now 100 yen to the dollar, which is down from the comfortable 110 it's been at for a while, which is down from the 120 it was at when I first got here. It feels like a 10% salary decrease... Oh well, I suppose I can't complain too much. I guess we all have our economical problems.

Speaking of economy, which is now related to politics, which is now related to the presidential election, a lot of people really like Obama here in Japan. Some not for any real informed reason. Mostly, because there is a citiy in Japan called Obama city. Everyone in that city loves him. I think it's funny.

I haven't taken any pictures recently, so my apologies for a text wall.