Rude boys live on.

Well, I moved out of my host family house. I'm in an apartment now that's much closer to school. I'm going to buy a cheap bike today and I won't even have to use the train except for on rainy days. There are many reasons as to why I moved, but it's a bit hard to explain, and probably rather boring, so I won't go into details. However, I will say that I really like my apartment and it's location. It's very small, but it's bigger than some of the other apartments that Japanese people live in around here. Also, I'm forcing myself to learn how to cook. We'll see how that turns out.
Well, let's talk about an average day here in Fukuoka, shall we? Well, mazu, I wake up, turn on the tv, and I shower. I leave the tv going for listening practice. There's a terribly deep bathtub that looks really inviting in the bathroom, but I'm too lazy and I don't want to have to clean it, so I don't use it. Yep, I might eventually, but we'll see. It's a super small bathroom, and the toilet is right where the shower head is, so I have to put the toilet paper outside the room every time I take a shower so that it won't get wet. I have a breakfast of a ham and cheese sandwich thing, yogurt, and I go back and forth between orange juice and apple juice. Then I'm off to Ijiri Station. It's just a few minutes walk, and I usually don't have to wait long for the next train. The train is always packed, so I can't really study on the trip, but no problem. Also, I try to keep both of my hands on the ring above me for fear of being called a "chikan," in which case I'm in trouble. A chikan is what people call perverts, and on the trains they usually touch girls (and sometimes guys) in ways that aren't so acceptable by today's standards. I haven't seen in happen yet, but apparently it does happen on the train I take from time to time. The girl will reach around, grab the hand of the guy she thinks it is, and will often threaten to report the man unless he pays a certain amount of money. A Japanese friend told me that the best thing to do is to keep both hands on the ring above you so that they can't accuse you while riding in a super packed train.
After the train ride it's a short walk from the Tenjin Station to the school. Tenjin is the popular business/bar/nightlife area. They also have some huge game centers ^^. I go to school for 4 hours. 2 hours are for conversation, and 2 hours are for grammar. We have short 10 minute breaks in between classes and I go grab a snack at the nearest AmPm convenient store (conbini), or a cheap bento and have my lunch before the next class starts. After classes I usually find a nice little coffee shop to sit and study at. There are tons of coffee places, and about 7 starbucks within 20 minutes walking distance. Oh, and they're opening two more. Crazy. After studying for a few hours I go with my classmates or any of my Japanese friends that aren't busy and we go out for supper, etc. I go home, shower again, study more, watch tv a bit, and sleep. There ya go! That's a normal day. There's always something else I'm doing from day to day, but that's a generic day for you. ii ne?

Oh, a couple of random things. The other day I went over to my friend James' house, and he cooked me and Don some traditional Chinese food. It was super yummy. Mostly veggies, because in class that day we were talking about all of the fish we eat and how little veggies we eat. James is a citizen of Hong Kong, Britain, and Canada. It's a very interesting story. Also, the old lady I met is kind of an ongoing joke right now, with everyone, even the teachers, asking me about my "grandma girlfriend." Haha, good times. By the way, never eat Ika tentacle sushi. Ika is squid, and it's bad. Me and my pal Ryan both tried one because we're stupid. Yep, that's about the only reason someone would eat something like that. Also he payed for it, so... We both had a hard time getting it down, and we both almost lost all of the sushi we had eaten so far. Amazing. And.... END!

- Derek

p.s. Also, for those of you who are praying folks, say a prayer for the family of my classmate, Robbie. Robbie is a mate of mine from England who has been studying here at Genki Jacs. We hung out a bit, and he was a really great guy. However, last week he was flirting with some girls outside of a bar and collapsed. He was taken to a hospital and he was there all last week and this week for some form of cancer of the heart. When I got to school today the receptionist, Kinoko, told me that he passed away yesterday. They were about to do surgery and he died before they could operate. His father, mother, and brother are here. Anyway, say a prayer for them if you will, and also for his close friends here at Genki Jacs. He was close with another British guy and an Australian fellow here. Thanks guys!