Up
Summer '02
Autumn '02
Winter '02
Spring '03
Summer '03

January 2003

I start the new year by climbing to the top of mount Onidake to watch the sunrise.  It's cool, they have Taiko drummers there.  It snows, a huge blanket of it which nobody expects.  I do some Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) and drive (Pilot?) a boat.

Mike, Midori and Jen all have their birthdays.  Jens birthday present haul shows why its better to have a birthday 6 months into the Jet program rather than in the first week.  I win another pair of socks in a badminton tournament.

There is also the January conference for Jets.  Man they complain a lot, ok some Jets get a raw deal compared with others, but they're still some of the luckiest people on earth.  On the 31st, I sign the contract keeping me here for the next 18 months.

February 2003

I fall off my scooter and fracture my left foot.  DAMN! 

This month is pretty slow since I can't walk for most of it, but I do teach at some new schools so check out the photos.  I write an essay about teaching which you can find on the teaching page.

March 2003

My 3rd year students graduate and go off to high school.  I help out at a St. Patrick's day party for some primary school kids, and we do a play.  All of the teachers change schools once every few years here, so I get a new Boss - Oosumi sensei.  Funny guy.

Most of the month is about getting ready for the holidays though:  I'm going to Shanghai for a week, and three friends from Uni are flying here at the start of April.  Shanghai is wicked - check the photo section for the stories.  Its very developed, check out the photo, it looks like something out of Simcity.  5 days is good amount of time to spend there, and the language is well hard.