I can't believe it is already November 18th. It absolutely doesn't seem possible. The past two weeks have been so busy that I forgot to think about the dates. I have only three weeks left of classes, one week of finals, and one week of saying my goodbyes to Japan for good. Unreal.

Once upon a time I was being carried through a crosswalk in Umeda (Osaka's northern downtown) by the bustle of youthful nightlife, and I laughed and thought I could never imagine my parents in Japan. Nothing against my parents, or Japan, but I knew it was a place they would likely never go had I not had the unreasoning to come here myself. Yet they came and they conquered, McClain/Dennis Rodman in tow.

Despite my dad's constant struggle with the pronounciation of "arigatoo gozaimasu", I think they fared pretty well and hopefully took some of the experience home with them. I will also take some of the experience home with me in the form of a nice new coat. Thanks Mommy, I've gotten many compliments.

My 3 favorite dudes.

So now it is autumn in Japanland. Yesterday several of us went to the Ginkakuji (Silver) Temple in Kyoto to witness the land's changing colors. The weather was gorgeous and almost warm on our trek down the Philosopher's Walk, and right before sunset we reached the tree mountains surrounding the temple and got a view of the city below. We later met up with Japanese friends and Corey had a blast teaching them even more party games that somehow work cross-culturally (Umbrella, i.e.). They're particularly fond of Kemps, a card game, so I ended my night by winning the last match with my partner Nagi, who calls me Andy.


Classes are becoming more demanding, as is always the end-of-the-year trend. Especially in my Japanese language classes, grammar and kanji are becoming more complicated but they're moving us just as fast. I have enjoyed learning Japanese but I know I'll discontinue my studies of it once I return to the states. I can only handle one long-distance relationship anyway.


I just received a call from Andrew Sartorius on my computer. If you're interested in his own story of Japan, visit his blog by clicking here.