I Love my Library

No, I am not a total geek, but the Ichinohe Toshokan is by far the coolest place in Ichinohe. Obviously you can borrow books. As many as you like for 2 weeks at a time. You can use Internet for free here. Yay! Since I have none at home. You can rent tapes and Dvds, which is way cool since I would rather watch English movies in Japanese than watch public tv. Although NHK isn't that bad, no matter how depressing Alex claims it to be. The cool thing about iit though is that I can find a ridiculous range. Movies that came out last year, back to Casablanca. Since I came to Japan, I watched West Side Story, which I had never seen and would probably never find in Barbados. Today I am taking home Wizard of Oz. I also found Ben Hur and Dream Girls. I think that's what I'll get next week.　Damn the 2 tape/ DVD limit.

Random Japanese madness

You hear and see the strangest things in Japan. I got a note yesterday from my Deputy Head at School. My English Activity Coordinator has wondered off on study leave and left the staff room at a loss about how to communicate with me. Now the Deputy head seems to speak the 3rd least English in the office, behind him are only the Headmaster and the Gardener/ food putter outter (I don't know his official piost, but that's what he does). Anyhow, the note read 'Please end the start at about 9.45 in the class of the first grader of the second hour at about 10.10' which in normal English might read ' Please end the first graders' second period class at 10.10'. I strongly believe he used an online translator since he printed it. Online translators are bad in any language, but translating from Japanese they are disastrous. The verbs are at the end of the sentence in Japanese and there is no singular and plural, which means translation requires a brain, which machines don't have.

The next really funny thing I saw today was this woman driving with a baby in one of those backpack carry things attached to her back. I had to laugh. But when I though about it, There is a large possibilith that isn't illegal. The law probably says that the baby has to be restrained in an approved child carrier. And it is. And she had on a seatbelt. Thinking about it, he might be safer there than in a carseat! Lol!