In exactly twenty-four hours we'll be on our way back home, somewhere over the Pacific sipping apple cider--cheap airplane beer for me--and wishing that we had more leg room (actually, I'm the one that needs the space, not Farah). Yes, we're going home tomorrow. How time has just flown by. We've checked off our list of things to do (Mount Fuji, Disneyland, etc.) before leaving Japan and now we're in our last day. We've had a lot of good times in the last couple of weeks and have been thoroughly reminded of how many good people there are around us. It's been really hard to say good-bye to our friends here in Japan. We've met so many good people and Farah has shed some tears when it came time to say good-bye, whereas I, something just keeps getting in my eyes and... okay! Me, too! We are really going to miss our life in Japan, and at the same time, we're really excited to go back home and start something new. It's been a great, long honeymoon and we'll always remember this great experience we've had in Japan--our dear friends and precious memories. It'll be a little while before we get settled back home but once we get things worked out--place to live, work, and everything else--we'll post more photos, etc.

To all of those who have been a big part of our lives the last two years, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We will never forget you and we hope that you will always be a part of our lives. May our paths cross again someday soon. Until then, take care and keep in touch! :)

We're doing it today! Ready or not, Mt Fuji, here we come!!! Wish us luck, everybody!

Two weeks from today and we`re back home!!!

Time is flying by and we are left with only sixteen days to go until we go back to the US!! I can hardly believe that we are almost home! So these are the things that we must do before leaving, and the reason why you might not be hearing much from us until then:

1. Climb Mt. Fuji! So long as it doesn`t rain this weekend, which could mean snow on top of Mt. Fuji and the reason why we have to go when it`s sunny down below, we`ll make our climbing attempt on Saturday and Sunday. We`ll climb all night to be the first to see the sunrise at the highest point in Japan and then make our way down the next day... I don`t know if we are ready for this or not but here we come!

2. Go to Tokyo Disneyland and bid farewell to Mickey and Minnie (Farah REALLY wants to go... and so do I).

3. This goes without saying but seeing all of our friends... There are a lot of people that we are really going to miss!

4. Things to eat just one last time: sushi, tonkatsu, ramen, yakiniku, curry, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, izakaya stuff, yakitori, and the list goes on and on.

5. Check out the beach! I`d really like Farah to see what the beach is like during the summertime in Japan.

6. It would be really nice if we could see a fireworks festival. I don`t know if we are leaving too early for that but if it works out that would be great!

There is so much that we`ld like to do and so much that we have to do. Right now, we`re trying our best to finish all of our packing and cleaning up so that we`ll have more time to play in the end. Ah! Wish us luck, okay! For now, it`s back to work and then home to do some more packing! Have a nice day, everyone! :)

Never say never because you never know when it's going to be one of your co-workers that borrows your phone for a couple of days and then gives it back to you by saying, "I didn't realize that I had it until just this morning... I opened my bag and there were two cell phones, mine and yours!" Well, it's a little late for that, Mister I-can't-really-say-his-name-online! I hear what you're saying but your story just doesn't line up! First of all, you claim that you were not wearing glasses while on the computer and that because of this, when finished with your work on the computer--only god knows what you could have accomplished without your glasses on--you picked up your papers and with it, somehow happened to scoop up my cell phone at the same time; my desk is right next to the computer desk in the staff room and it seems that this teacher was using part of my desk, or so he says. And your claim that your cell phone and my cell phone are so alike that you made the mistake of picking up mine is simply not true. (I will try to take a picture of the phones side-by-side so that you can see for yourself how unalike they are) Question: for a person who does not open his bag from Monday afternoon to Wednesday morning to check his cell phone for messages and so on, why would it be necessary to have the cell phone out while on the computer at school? It doesn't sound like you use it all that much so why would you need to have it on top of my desk? Hmm... And for a grown man to be not able to identify his stuff from other peoples' stuff, it just doesn't add up! No person in their right mind would make such an error. By the way, this teacher is not just some teacher. He is the guy that I blew the whistle on a couple of months back for hitting a female student five or six times. Yes, you heard me right. I'm not sure that I ever talked about that but it was a really ugly situation, especially once I got involved. Is it a coincidence that he was the one to have picked up my cell phone by accident, or did he have something else in mind? I don't know. But it is a relief to have my phone back, and most importantly, knowing that it was not one of my students who did this. I'm so glad that it wasn't a student!!! Lessons to be learned from this: one, be careful where you keep your cell phone, two, back up all of your contact information just in case, three, when you blow the whistle be prepared for anything, and four, consider all possibilities before making up your mind about something and always hope for the best! :)

With only thirty days left to go, the countdown to our departure began yesterday, and it began with a big bang, the next unforecasted event in Japan: my missing cell phone! My trusty Vodafone that houses all of my friends` contact info and serves as the only connection between many of my friends and I, has mysteriously disappeared from on top of my desk in the staff room. In other words, it was stolen. Talk about bad timing. We have less than a month to go in Japan and some student who thought it would be a good idea to invade my personal life by stealing my cell phone has now cut all lines of communication between me and about 150 people. Thanks to my dear student, I can no longer say good-bye to so many of my friends here in Japan, and I am yet again faced with the challenge to somehow think positively about my experience in Japan and feelings toward the Japanese. I am well beyond anger and frustration. At this point, the only thing that can save me is my flight home.

It's time to play tour guide! Farah's mother and aunt--I'll say it again, and aunt--are here in Japan. I didn't mention anything about the aunt coming before and this is because we had no idea that she was coming until just a few days ago!!! It's a real long story and I think it's best if I don't go into it right now. Let's just say that she came to the party and her name wasn't on the guest list! :) Don't get me wrong, she's a lovely lady and all but we just had no idea that she would be coming, and since we were never really asked if it would be okay with us if she came... OKAY! It's time to stop! What I was trying to say is that we are going to have lots of fun together over the next week! This should be interesting. ;) Wish us luck, okay!

What`s been going on?

An old friend from my days in Nagasaki visited us over the weekend and it was really nice to catch up! Thanks for coming all the way to Kasukabe, Yuji! It was really nice to see you!

Our family of three--me, Farah, and our beloved iPod, Fuzzy--grew by one, with the pink and lovely addition, Foca, Farah`s new iPod mini!

Work is work; there`s not much to be said here, but just one more month of teaching the ABCs. Finally!

We are starting to pack our things. We have only five weeks left to go!

Farah`s mom will be visiting us for a week starting this Thursday. Should be fun!

It`s super hot!

We`re just trying to enjoy ourselves in the little time that we have in Japan! We`re sad to leave but glad to be going back home! :)

Other than Michael being innocent, which I think came as a shock to us all, the good news on our side of the globe is that Farah got her visa! Four months of hard work has paid off big and now we are ready and able to go home. It's been an incredibly long process and it's nearly impossible to describe how good it is to be done with all of the paperwork and the visits to the embassy, etc! As I told some of you already, we'll be coming home on the 28th of next month, so get ready!!!

Only six more weeks until we go home!!!

It was a yellow card instead of a green card! And to spread the cheese a little more, fortunately, not a red card!! Yes! Yesterday, we had our long-awaited immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo! After four solid months of work, gathering document after document, translating, organizing, and doing everything that they asked us to do, we thought that we would be home free and on our way back to Saitama with a visa in hand. But things never go as planned, do they?! It was the one thing that we were told that we didn`t need, in both a letter and in a phone conversation, that remains the final thing standing between us and the visa. Oh, how things are much greener on the other side! (Bad green card joke... Sorry) So here`s the deal: we have to get a Japanese police report to show the embassy that Farah is not a criminal in Japan! And once we do this, we will get the visa! It was kind of frustrating to be rejected because of misinformation on their behalf but at the same time, we are so relieved that we can get the visa. They told us that all we need to do is bring in the police report and that we will get the visa for sure; we don`t even need an appointment! So, it`ll be another week or so before we get the visa and can officially pain the town green--the second bad green card joke--but not to worry because it is ours!!! Yeah!!!!!!

Shocking and painful, what happened on Tuesday will not be easily forgotten. Farah, Sharon, and Steven went out shopping to Omiya while I was at work; it was their last day visiting us in Japan. And while on their last outing and sitting down on a bench in a department store, doing nothing more than enjoying an ice cream and having friendly conversation, their only mistake was their choice of language: Chinese. What happened next is unbelievable. Good times were interrupted. Farah was bumped into from behind and told, "Go home, you Chinese!" It was a Japanese man who appeared to be in his forties that made this foolish claim; he walked away citing more bigoted, partisan-bullshit, but only under his breath. How unjustified he was in saying this, in his great misrepresentation of the Japanese, and how dare he bump into my wife! Farah, Sharon, and Steven were left in a state of shock, just as any of us would be. And if the story only ended here, somehow we would be able to more easily forget about it and move on, but that is not the case. The man came back and tells them again that the Chinese need to leave Japan, but this time in broken English because he realized that the three understood very little Japanese--gotta get that message across! They tell him, "Look. We're not even Chinese so why don't you just back off? We're American! But if we were Chinese, so what?" The man then apologizes to them by saying that if they really are American that he is truly sorry, but he reiterates that the Chinese must leave Japan.

There's nothing like a good reason to go home, and this is what surely brought the three of them back so soon. They bought their tickets and hopped on the train, and twenty-three minutes later they would arrive in Kasukabe. But before that, of all people who they could have run into (or have been followed by), who do you think shows up? The man makes his entrance and says, "I thought you said you were American. If that's true, then why the hell are you speaking Chinese?" He tells them that he doesn't want to hear them speak Chinese in his country and that all Japanese hate the Chinese. He points to an old man amongst the many people on the train who were simply listening to the yelling match--sadly, nobody moves an inch to help Farah, Sharon or Steven--and he says, "You see this man, he hates you, too!" Pleading with this man to just stop the with the nonsense and go away did nothing and ignoring him was just as ineffective. He was persistent and mad. With the entire train listening and doing absolutely nothing to defend the blatant misrepresentation of the Japanese, the man then blames Farah, Sharon, and Steven for what happened to the Japanese embassy in China. Give me a f*ckin' break--as if they had anything to do with it!!! So after a good ten minute yelling match and being cursed at for being something that they are not--Chinese--the man exits the train and leaves three innocent victims feeling violated, helpless (unhelped), and angered beyond words.

Farah came back home in tears and we rushed to the police station to make right of this wrong; however, to our dismay, the police did not display even a scent of sympathy and would not admit to the fact that some Japanese discriminate against the Chinese. We explained the incident and discussed matters for over an hour, but it ended with, "I'm sorry if that's the way you feel about what happened today, but the Japanese simply are not prejudice against the Chinese." Astonished, speechless, and bewildered, I didn't know what else I could say to this man. We were all puzzled as to why he could not sympathize with us. One of the last things that I told him was, "Please make record of what was said, and more importantly, what was not said today. You should be ashamed of yourself not only as a police officer--one who is responsible for upholding the law--but as a Japanese man, you should have offered some kind of apology to bring justice and relief to these three who were deeply hurt today. You haven't bothered to consider their feelings at all, have you? You are pathetic. Shame on you!" I said much more than this but I think that you get the picture. He went back to work and the four of us stood and wondered what work that might be. What could be more important than standing up for what is right?

There was little else that we could do or say. So we sucked it up and went out for our last meal together in Japan; needless to say, it didn't taste very good! A couple of days have passed since the incident and as for us, I'd say that we are doing much better, but I don't know about Sharon and Steven. They went back home to the US the following day and I can only imagine how they are feeling. I hope that they are okay. Farah and I spent a lot of time crying together and comforting each other. I am trying to help her through this as best as I can. What a shocking and unfortunate thing to have happen, yet another opportunity for us to become better people. We have to stay positive. Love and peace to you all.

Farah is back in Japan and in the last week alone has managed to travel to Hakone, Nagoya, Hiroshima, back to Nagoya for some more, and then swing back to our home away from home, Kasukabe. And fortunately I got to accompany her on the last leg of the trip over the weekend--she can't have all the fun--and spend time with our friends: Mizuha, Asako, and her husband, Takeshi. It was an incredibly long way to go in a very short amount of time, especially for Farah, but it was so worth it. This past weekend was one of the best we have had in a very long time. We are so appreciative of Asako and Takeshi for allowing us to stay with them and then for taking us to so many places, for the exquisite meals, and for being such wonderful friends/ hosts! And you, too, Mizuha!! :) Thank you so much!!!!!

And as soon as you thought that things couldn't get any busier, let's think again because tomorrow Sharon and Steven (Farah's sister and her husband) are arriving in Japan for a one-week stay! Farah's week-long vacation in Taiwan has somehow stretched itself into a one-week visit home, a week of travel in Japan, and then a week of fun with Sharon and Steven! It's all good though... We're really excited to see S&S tomorrow and spend some good time with them all week long. I'm thinking that we'll both go missing in action again until at least they go back home, so I do apologize to all of you who have been neglected. I will be in touch soon though...

I am missing the two loves of my life: my wife and my camera! Without them, I feel as if I have nothing to do. The weather is icky and I couldn't be any more unmotivated to leave the house today. I'm so bored!!!!! Farah, come home! And please bring back my camera, too! haha Oh, I miss you so much, baby. It's just not the same without you... I'll be looking forward to seeing you on Monday! Have a great weekend, okay! :)

Yesterday, I was showing my third year students pictures of Taiwan and telling them all about my experiences in the three times that I`ve been there. In the beginning, I told them that if they were good listeners and asked questions in the end that I would show them a picture of Farah. Naturally, this kept them quiet and got them asking loads of questions when it came time for that. So anyway, when the kids asked me questions, I invited them to the front of class to individually take a look at Farah`s picture. Most kids responded with a big grin or said things like, "Berii kyu-to (very cute)," "Kawaii (cute)," or my absolute favorite, "Yabai (`Oh, my god,` or something like that)!" But this one f*cker (please excuse my poor choice of words) comes up to the front and has the nerve to say, "Futsuu dane," which would be like saying, "Yeah, she`s okay," or, "She`s just average." Can you believe that? I sort of had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn`t dreaming, and after I realized that I was in fact awake and that this kid just gave my wife the grade of "she`s all right," I was quick to give him a piece of my mind. A deep breath and a lengthy glare later, I said to him in my best mad voice in Japanese, "Sonna koto itte OMAE wa heiki nanoka?" Translation: "How can you even say something like that?" He answered in `inchiki keigo` by saying, "Heiki ssu," in other words, "I have no trouble in saying something like this." So I repeated the question and then told him that he should just insulted my wife. And then he says that he didn`t know that it was my wife; he must have thought that he was critiquing just some girl!! Hello! Konnichiwa! Bonjour! Amigo, I just finished telling the entire class that it was my wife! I guess that after announcing it at least ten times--literally--and the fact that he didn`t get it can mean only one thing: He is a stupid, inconsiderate-f*ck!!!!! (Sorry again) But even if he didn`t know, he should have wondered why I was making such a big deal about showing the picture and whose family it was (Farah`s family) hanging up on the chalkboard right in front of his face. To say the least, I was furious and ready to kill anyone with a Japanese passport! haha :) Not really. But I did need some time to cool off. The lesson at the end of the day is this: it`s fine if somebody thinks that Farah is not cute (although she is and you are totally wrong if you think otherwise!!! Haha) or if she is not their type, but don`t you dare tell it to my face!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) The End.

Farah left for Taiwan less than an hour ago. She`s probably being fed peanuts about now and is absorbed in the in-flight movie; either that, or she`s fast asleep because we stayed up so late last night!! At any rate, I hope that she`s having a good flight. She`ll be visiting her family for just a week this time and will be back next Monday night! Have a great time, baby! We`ll talk to you in a couple of hours, OK! :)

Golden Week has been awesome with Mizuha visiting (she's been here all week!), and I think that it's safe to say that we've finally gotten some good rest! But I do have to tell about an unfortunate incident that I witnessed at school on Monday of this week, in which a male teacher used violence against a female student (fourteen years old) to "teach her a lesson." To say the least, it was absolutely shocking to see and even more shocking was the reaction I received from the faculty after I stood up for this girl. I will talk more about this very soon. But for now, it's back to enjoying our last two days of Golden Week! Mizuha decided to stay another day so we're going to go have some more fun today...

Golden Week has arrived at last! I`m not really sure what stretch of holidays it is that makes GW a week off of work, but one thing is for sure, it sure is golden; hence, "Golden Week." I don`t know if it`s clever of the Japanese to give their precious week off an English name such as Golden Week but then again, who cares!! We all get time off of work--this is all that matters! So it`s Friday of this week and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week that Farah and I will be catching up on sleep, fun, and whatever else waits for us! Our friend Mizuha is coming up from Nagoya and will be staying with us for a couple of days or so, so we`re really looking forward to that. And on another happy note, today is a hot day! I think that spring is finally here. And while it`s still hot, somebody please knock on wood for us (please, no more cold!!!)! :) Everybody, have a golden week!

Time has just flown by lately. The last couple of weeks are but a blur and pictures have taken place of my words on this site. Stress has taken over and is guiding me through the weeks. Everything always happens at once, which is nice when everything is not happening because there is peace and quiet--however, these times are few and far between and the existence is definitely questionable--but the during part is an uphill battle of it's own kind! At the top of the list lays the paperwork and all that comes with the process of applying for Farah's immigrant visa to the US, and the one-hundred and one other things that are waiting to be done, not to mention that I will be jobless/ homeless come August of this year. It's no mystery to why I have not been sleeping very well lately! But in the midst of this pure madness, there is much to be happy about! Farah and I are more in love than we ever have been and we are truly happily married! I couldn't ask for more. :) And on that note, I think that it's time to call it a night. Farah is playing her killing game on Play Station (she's totally addicted to it) and I'm on the computer--we both need to take a break from technology for the night! Good night!!! :)

One more day until the start of another beautiful weekend and one more day of the principal and vice principal starting conversation with me while I brush my teeth (after lunch)! I kid you not. The brush your teeth/ clean your hands area, in other words, as normal people would say, the sink--further evidence that my English is suffering--is right next to their desks in the faculty room, and they have made it a habit to talk to me about various things while cleaning my choppers. Today, the topic at hand, while toothbrush in mouth, of course, was the anti-Japanese demonstrations in China! Come on, guys! I`m a little busy right now, or so I thought so. Foaming Colgate at the mouth and muffled, in-the-middle-of-brushing-your-teeth Japanese wasn`t enough to clue in the vice principal that `now is not the time.` But I guess that I have to be glad that he is even approaching me in the first place. It`s really nice to talk with the both of them, but I`d prefer doing so when I wasn`t in the middle of brushing my teeth! :)

If I had a nickel for every time that I scratched my head in awe of some of the whacked things that happen to me in Japan, I would not be a rich man, but I`d probably be very bald! Okay. That`s not very funny. So the story goes a little something like this: yesterday, Farah and I went to Tokyo to take care of some medical stuff and being that it was our first time to see this doctor, I called the doctor`s office for directions after arriving at the station; it`s sometimes very difficult to find places in Japan because everything is so cluttered and so on. So I was told as I am always told, "Walk straight for a couple of minutes and turn at the big intersection," and then in even more in-detail and helpful instructions, "Then walk straight again for a couple of minutes and you will see a brown building." It was this brown building that we had to find and we thought that surely there had to be some landmarks that she could have spoken of to help guide us along the way--a furniture store, 7-11, Yoshinoya, or anything to make this not such a vague search. I was hesitant but what could I do? The lady just wasn`t helping me out. So we sought out the big intersection and proceeded to turn, all the way wondering if we were travelling in the right direction. Then, after a couple of minutes of walking, to the receptionists credit, we saw the brown building. And what major landmark is it that stands accross the street from the brown building, literally, in the throwing distance of any two pebbles? At no more than 333 meters high and the second tallest landmark in all of Japan, next to Mt Fuji, the Tokyo Tower demands the skyline of the city and prevails right next to this office building! Do you think that she could have bothered mentioning this to us? Would this have helped us find our way? Oh, you mean it`s right next to the big, orange tower? Oh, I see! Thanks a lot, lady! And thanks for hassling us about not bringing a pen with us either! She actually lectured us for not having a pen but later was more than happy to accept our $400 bill (too expensive) with delight. People like this drive me crazy!!!

Farah doesn't care much for my hair when it's buzzed (because she says that I don't look like a gentleman) and lately I have been telling her that I want to shave my head again. It's just that time of year, I guess; it's getting hot and it's time for a change! So she has made it quite clear that she wishes that I do not shave my head again for some time, at least until summer when it's hot and sensible to do so, and being the defiant, bad boy that I am, while she was at the store yesterday afternoon, I did it! I shaved my head!!! Sorry, Farah! :) And to take away some of the initial shock and a poor attempt at making light of a hairy situation--no pun intended here, of course--I stuffed my fallen hair into a plastic bag, attached to it an apologetic note and hung it on the doorknob. She came home to the bag of hair and the 'Please don't be mad at me' note and laughed but then frowned when she saw my head. But it's okay! We laughed together and I think that she'll forgive me in time...

PS: I'll post pics of my parent's visit to Japan soon and tell some of the stories of the ultimate clash of cultures! :) We had a great time together and saw so much in so little time! There will be more coming soon...