INTERVIEW FROM HELL

I know a BAD Interview when I see one.
My Interview this morning was BAD!!! In fact ...it wasnt bad. it was DISASTEROUS with a CAPITAL "D"
In my defense:
a) There are some things I cannot explain in English. Answering in Japanese is out of the question.
b) The job I was applying for requires a minimal amount of Japanese. 3 out of 5 interviewers grilling me in Japanese was totally unexpected.

So....in a few short months it looks like I will be homeward bound. There are people I love & will miss terribly.
BUT I have to admit- I LOVE consolation prizes!!! :)

YUKI

The last week has been incredibly difficult. Caused largely by a bout of homesickness, a life like a soap opera & COLD FREEKING WEATHER!
Dont get me wrong. I LOVE Winter. I prefer cold weather to hot, yukky,sticky,sweaty summer. Anytime!
But this is not just winter.
This is like living in the freeking ARCTIC-WITHOUT heating.
Why is a country which is light years ahead technologically & otherwise, in denial about the severity of its winters??
There is NO CENTRAL HEATING in Miyagi.
Instead for protection against this cold I have:
*thermal underwear (am wearing so many layers that I can compete with the Goodyear Blimp)]
* a hot water bottle
* an electric blanket
* a kotatsu (low table with a heater underneath. cover with blankets & popsicle toes defrost!)
* my kerosene heater (which is probably going to complain of overtime to the heaters-union-of-the-world)
* lotsa great friends & hot drinks- without which I DEFINATELY wouldnt survive!!

BUT its not all awful.
this morning, as I walked to school, it started snowing. And now as I sit pounding away at these keys its REALLY REALLY snowing.

And suddenly, its all worth while.

Snow falls in Tagajo
And my thoughts go back again
To a view in the Pilansberg
And the pool after rain,
And England, USA and the Asian sub continent
And the future, and the past:
Muse, my companion smiles
And the snow is falling fast.

Translation Excercise

"Hooters" -on the Dark Continent. May be referred to as "horns" in other parts of the world.
You escaped the the best wine in the word & fabulous blow jobs by leaving Japan.
BUT SA culture & lingo is still a prt of your life!!
Love & miss you lots!
P.S. So what are "hooters" in the New World then?? Or do I need to keep my mind in the gutter to figure that one out?

Vacation Over
Reality SUCKS!!! Im back, sick as a dog (caught a cold somewhere between Hanoi's tropical weather & Sendai's sub zero tempratures). I guess thats 1 advantage of waking up- it makes you REALLY appreciate your dreams!

Vietnam was...INCREDIBLE! Since I dont want to sound like a tourist guide book, Im NOT going to give long drawn out stories about the Mekong Delta, or the Perfume River in Hue, or Ha Long Bay.

I will say that the Cu Chi Tunnels fascinated me. Part of a 250km network of tunnels that the Viet Cong used to fight the USA in the infamous Vietnam War. My take on it is- Im surprised they didnt beat the #rap out of America with a brilliant INGENIUS system like that!

Christmas in Ho Chi Min was interesting- if not wildly scary. Motorbikes are the main mode of transport in the big cities.
And road rules are NON EXISTENT. I mean REALLY. There are NO ROAD RULES!Taxi Drivers in SA would be freaked out!
Traffic lights are just for decoration, motorbikes are everywhere racing along in EVERY direction kind of like bees around a honeycomb only TEN times worse!
And EVERYONE is hooting- constantly. Im sure they use their hooters more that their darn brakes!
And on Christmas Eve, every motorbike in Ho Chi Min took to the streets. Its this non Christian country's Christmas tradition:to ride around the streets in circles, aim-lessly...waiting for Santa.
There were whole families-parents and kids with santa hats ( note-all on 1 bike) riding around the streets with no destination in mind!
Its was certainly a sight to behold. I recommend you do it from the safety of a hotel window!!!

My Birthday was spent in magical mystical Ha Long Bay. It was a really GREAT Day. The night before was rather traumatic- we ended up in an awful hotel. We planned to spend the evening of the 30th on a boat in a harbour on Cat Ba Island- but after one look at the tiny cabin, we changed our minds! Instead we got a hotel room that was marginally better than the previous night- at least the shower was warm!!
So while the accomodation was not up to par- the rest of my birthday was very special in many ways!
AND to make up for it, when we got back to Hanoi on the 31st, we treated ourselves BIGTIME. We checked into a classy expensive hotel & it was silver service all the way for the last few days of our stay in Vietnam!!!

Anyway, Vietnam is certainly a beautiful special country and it will be a long time before my brain returns to reality!