Week 2 in Fujisaki

Well hello there! It`s so nice to hear from you. I`m here in a nice little Japanese Internet Cafe where everyone smokes and plays games like World of Warcraft. Yep. If I come home smelling like smoke, please realize that I wasn`t smoking for 15 months straight, okay? Also, this keyboard is the tiniest bit different. It`s throwing off my typing groove. If I want a ` I have to do shift and then the button to the right of "P". Haha, I didn`t realize how often I use that button, you know?

I forgot my adapter to send pictures. I don't remember a rule about not sending pictures through email...I'll double check the white handbook of the zillion and a half rules I have to follow.

Also, my brownies were a success. ;) Thanks for the recipe. Now my native companion will continue to think that all Americans know how to make brownies. ;)

And Mom, at least your favorite daughter remembered to send you a card on Mother's Day, right? You should see how few Mother`s Day cards there were at the MTC - it was like a disaster struck the card aisle.

I don't know if I:ve mentioned this, but there are these 100 yen stores. It's the equivalent of a 1 dollar store, only about a zillion times better. Yep. It is my Japanese addiction, and I`ve only been here for 2 weeks.

So Kappa is a rainsuit that missionaries in Japan wear when it rains. It is steki janai (not stylish). It is in fact the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life. The one I got is this green turquoise color that matches my trainers (boots). Nihonjin are all about being the same - with their school uniforms and such. So if you are in Japan, and you see two young guys on bikes, with white helmets, and ugly rainsuits on, they are probably Mormon missionaries. Yep.

But, the best part is, Kappa is also the name of a Japanese monster. Let me explain this Japanese monster to you. In America, we have the boogey man that lives under your bed, or comes out of your closet like in the movie Monsters Inc. But in Japan, their monsters are just plain crazy. Kappa is a turtle like creature with a bird beak that lives in the water. Yep. This monster comes up to the side of the bridges and grabs little children by the ankle and pulls them into the water. I thought that Kappa would then eat the children or something like that, but he lets them go because he`s a vegetarian. Yep. So he always holds a cucumber in one hand. Yes, a cucumber. And he has a dirty plate over his head, with seaweed poking out. I'm actually a little disappointed, because I wanted Kappa to eat the children. I guess that:s the American in me... So when I put on my rainsuit, which is green, I like to pretend that am friends with Kappa and he won`t grab me at the end of the bridge when I cross it.

As far as Japanese goes, it's coming along. See, it took about a week for me to adjust to the speed that people talk in. I will forever speak slower English now to help those people who are learning English. So now that I'm to the point where I can hear the different sounds that they are making, and usually repeat them back, I'm just working on expanding my vocabulary. I will just continue to work on that. If you think about it, you only use a few different vocabulary words in English everyday.

Did I forget anything? I hope not, because I'm out of time. I will try to mail you some pictures next week. Thanks!

Sister Lemmon