Wednesday - Finals Week

Slept all afternoon (slowly recovering from my stubborn cold*) and then went to dinner at an extremely nice restaurant in Kitano, a trendy area in the hills of Kobe. The club we went to was members only until about 5 years ago, but one of the people in my party was a friend of the manager and a longtime patron. The food was impressive and a nice change from the normal Japanese palette I have become accustomed to. The food here is wonderful, but I appreciate mixing it up a bit once in a while. We enjoyed the ambiance over a glass of wine and good conversation. I am really greatful for some of the wonderful people I have met so far. While I independantly only understand about 7.2% of what is going on most of the time (pushing the Japanese, here, folks!), I am really lucky to have been shown so many sides of both Japanese life and of the different cultures in my area. All in all... Great night!

*Thought I should mention one thing about the cold here (in case it sounds strange that I keep bringing it up). You see, at first I thought it was really strange that everyone got really, really excited about a common cold. They go to the doctor at the first SIGN of a cold. However, as it has been getting more chilly outside, I am starting to understand why. We have no central heat or insulation in most buildings on the main island. With the drastic changes in temperaure from building to building, a cold can quickly develop into something more serious if you are not careful. I have heard a lot of Japanese medicines just mask the symptoms of an illness, without actually working to fix it as well, so it is important for us to be responsible in maintaining our health. The cotton face masks people wear in public are yet another example of this.