Hello everybody - I hope you are doing OK these days. Whats the news from the UK I wonder? If you ever get a spare few minutes, please do drop me a line and say hello. Please use the use the following address if you don`t know my other ones: kevinedwardsjp@yahoo.co.jp

I don`t have so much news this time to be honest, except for the fact that I have finished working at the junior high and elementary schools for now. Last Friday was graduation day (or `sotsugyoushiki` in Japanese) for the third year students at the junior high schools, and they will go to senior high school from this April. Unlike in the UK, the Japanese academic year runs from April to March, so now the students are enjoying a two-week long spring vacation. I very much enjoyed watching the ceremony at the school I was working at, and it was extremely interesting to see a Japanese style graduation ceremony. I don`t remember having such a formal ceremony in England when I graduated from senior school at age 16. Anyway, I really hope I can have another opportunity to work in a school here again because I was able to experience a very comfortable and focused working environment, one which I learned a lot from and enjoyed very much.

I do have a funny (or at the time it happened, `scary`) story to tell you about. One evening last week I was driving home and I had just approached a set of traffic lights when, at exactly the same time, both my contact lenses fell out of my eyes. Without lenses or glasses I am unable to drive a car so needless to say I was in a bit of a panic, plus the fact it was dark and I couldn`t see so much anyway. I managed to pull over to the side of the road (even this was done with a great fear of hitting something as everything is just a big blur without my lenses, especially at night) and then spent a few minutes trying to find the lenses that I thought might have dropped on to the floor. I eventually found one of them after about five minutes of scrambling around (I still don`t know where the other one went) and then put it into my best eye and I figured that one good eye was going to be OK. I then drove the ten minutes or so back to my apartment with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand covering the eye without a lense. Signalling was a bit of a problem although I managed it somehow. Following this experience, I will always keep a spare set of lenses in the glove box of the car. I guess it is true when people say we learn from our experiences.

So this Tuesday I will move out of this apartment, which I have lived in for the past six weeks, and return to live in Gotenba with my host family. I have very much enjoyed living in Shimizu Town. Although it is a fairly small and residential town, it is situated in a beautiful spot just to the north of the Izu Peninsula and is surrounded by hills with Mount Fuji looming to the north. Once again I had a great view of Mount Fuji when I opened my apartment door. I have had some good times and take away some good memories from here although I only stayed for six weeks. Just last week I was grocery shopping in one of the supermarkets when I happened to run into three students (and their mothers) from the elementary school I had worked at the previous week. I didn`t so much as run into them as heard my name being called from behind me. I met a different student in a different aisle three times and I have to say that at the time I thought it was some kind of practical joke although on entering the fourth aisle there was no-one below the age of 20 to be seen. I guess it was nice to be recognised outside of the school and to know the students enjoyed meeting me and had fun in my English classes.

Last night I went to a karaoke party with some friends and coworkers. I think I managed to sing about twelve songs (half English, and half Japanese) and had a really good time. I have to say that `karaoke` is now one of my official hobbies and going there on a regular basis has both helped me to learn to sing better, and to be read Japanese faster. Last night I tried two new Japanese songs for the first time, and did OK - well, I heard many complimentary words from the others after I had finished the songs although sometimes I know people are just being polite. It makes me think back to a couple of weeks ago when I went to a karaoke bar with on of my coworkers from the junior high school. This bar has a small stage where bands sometimes play so when you sing karaoke you have to go to the stage to sing - usually you can sing from the comfort of your seat in most bars but not this one.



Anyway, I chose to sing my favourite Japanese song `Sekkai ni hitotsu dake no hana` (I think is translates as `there`s only one flower in the world`) and was joined on stage by my coworker, the owner of the bar and the owner`s daughter (who also works in the bar). So picture this if you can - a small karaoke stage in a dimly lit bar in Numazu, Japan, with an Englishman singing the lyrics to probably the most well-known (and I imagine somewhat annoying and most overplayed to most people) Japanese song, together with full band support - my coworker on drums, the owner on guitar and his daughter on percussion and doing the occasional backing voice. At the time it seemed so natural, yet at the same time very surreal. I so much wish I had taken my camera and had someone take a picture of such a memorable experience. Since coming to Japan, I haven`t yet heard another foreigner sing a Japanese song. Maybe it does happen and I just don`t see it, or maybe I am different and a novelty. I`m not sure, but I enjoy it so that`s all I really care about.

I will end this entry here I think as I am going to take a bath. For some reason, I have a strong urge to lay in a bath full of hot water and relax so I`d better act on the urge before it wears off. I will try my best to write again soon and let you know what I get up to, although I make no promises as to when that will be.

Until then, sayonara, and take care of yourselves.