YEN

Ok so I was able to exchange my money last week. I took in my hard earned US dollars and came out with less money in JP Yen. As you probably know, since the US economy is terrible right now, Americans loose out on exchange rates. Yen sounds like more, but it's not. For example something that is about 10.00 dollars in America is 10,000 Yen in Japan. The reason for this is that they don't break their "dollar" into decimals (cents in America). So one Yen is literately that - just one yen. There is nothing less. Pretty smart if you ask me. They also only have 3 bank notes but have 6 coins. Again, very smart. The life expectancy of a coin is FARRRRRRRRR longer than that of a bill. The US tried to adopt the "dollar" coin, but it never caught, too bad for us - it costs us more in the long run.

These are approximately the same.



Here are all the coins. 1 Yen, 5 Yen, 10 Yen, 50 Yen, 100 Yen, and 500 Yen. Again, this is very rough, but about .01, .05, .10, .50, 1.00, and 5.00 USD.




... and the bills.

STILL SICK

Here are the wrappers of all the cough drops I have eaten.



Here is what I made with them.

LONG WEEKEND

Ok, very long weekend of rehearsal in our little gym in Japan. Two of the American designers were here to help add visual elements to the show. We completed all of the drill and did a complete run through tonight - very physically demanding. I was relieved that I wasn't the only one that was struggling. In the mean time I am still dealing with a cough. There are actually more and more people becoming slightly sick. It is that time of year I suppose.

Here is a photo of everyone eating lunch in the cafeteria on our afternoon break.



Here is a photo of my NEW Aimachi fleece! One of the veteran snare drummers told me I could purchase this from the ensemble and I asked if he was sure (I didn't know if everyone would feel comfortable with an "outsider" owning this and wearing it even once I leave). His reply, "Oh yes, you are Aimachi Marching Band Member now." It was really a ah ha moment. I am in it NOW!



And here is a picture of the 2010 Aimachi tenor section!!!



Names from L to R
Shinohara, Yoshitaka, Michikazu, Yasayuki, Josh

EXIT

In Japan, they drive on the left.
In Japan, you never wear shoes inside.
In Japan, they have a prime minister, not a president.
In Japan, High School students have an English class everyday!
In Japan, there are no fat people.

This is how you exit in Japan.

iPad

On January 27th Apple released its latest product the iPad, not to be confused with iPod. Now most of you devoted apple lovers, such as myself, have probably already seen or heard about this, but for those that haven't (mom and dad) then you want to click on the following links.

The ipad may be Apple's greatest innovation to date, but no one will truly know for at least one year. Much like the iphone, you only interact with the product by touching its surface directly with your fingers; and also like the iphone, designers will start creating apps specifically for this product. What does all this mean? Well, we are probably looking at a new "genre" of technology. You can't compare this to a laptop, or a phone, or a netbook - because it's not any of those things. It's just simple and beautiful - a trademark of Apple and Steve Jobs, the company founder and CEO.

In fact, Fortune magazine named Steve Jobs the CEO of the decade. Why might you ask? Well, he started Apple, then was fired, then created Pixar (the movie animation company responsible for Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Cars, and the lastest movie UP), then when Apple started to tank in the 90's he was rehired, and has since sent the company soaring to forefront of design, technology, and profit all in the worst economical time our country has seen. Side note* Job's sold Pixar to Disney this decade for 7 Billion dollars making himself the single largest shareholder of Disney stock!!! Not to mention the fact that he has reinvented the computer industry many times as well as the movie, music, and telecommunications industries. Think about that for a minute. . . . . who else has forever changed FOUR entire separate business markets?

So if any of you are thinking about a "WELCOME BACK TO AMERICA" gift for me, this is it:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video

and a review from my favorite tech person:

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/the-apple-ipad-first-impressions/#more-1857

Be well all.

KARAOKE

All right boys and girls, long and eventful day today. Here it is:

It began by heading to check out the mall in Nagoya. Here is Michikazu (left) and Kyotaka (right) playing with the GPS.



We stopped for some authentic ramen noodles and fried rice on the way. Absolutely oishi (delicious)!



All in all, the Japanese mall is not very different from our malls in America, surprisingly. All the parking decks and store names are in English. Even the food court has a big sign above it that literately says, "FOOD COURT." I laughed at the irony of it all. Also, the guys treated me to some really, really tasty Japanese deserts (I haven't been able to exchange my dollars for Japanese yen, yet). It was a welcomed slip back into American "snacking". I only brought a few boxes of hot tamales to Japan and left all other snacks and goodies behind - it has been tough Aunt Diane, but I know I am healthier for it!

So once we arrived back to the church I finished up some design work before dinner. And then after dinner, Kyotaka comes in and says, "O.K., time for Karaoke!" Ha, of course I had to go! Now, for those of you that don't know, Karaoke is a huge past time in Japan. I don't know why - it just is. And trust me when I say, "Your truly haven't experienced karaoke, until you have done it with the Japanese! They are professionals"

We headed down to the karoke bar "Voice Cats" (also written in English) at about 8:00 pm tonight. Man it was a blast. You pay for a certain amount of time, you get your own private room to sing complete with flatscreen tv, song book, a booth for six people, telephone to call your waitress when you need something, and any beverage and food item you want! Aaaaannnd... they serve you microphones on a tray. They mean business.



And yes Jake, I sang Michael Jackson's "Don't stop till you get enough" from the movie Rush Hour 2. Everyone was clapping.
Here we are!

SICK

Well, I've come down with some type of bug. Not sure what it is though. Right now, just a sore throat - hopefully it won't become any worse. Please don't worry Mom. Right now I'm secluded in my room trying to refrain from spreading it to anyone else. I actually wear a small paper surgeons mask when in public. Sounds funny right? Well, people wear them in Japan because here they are worried about everyone else (over the sake of appearance) and don't want to spread their germs. I think this might be the defining concept that separates our two cultures.