Konnichi Wa

Still no new camera.

Japan has been ok so far. I haven't really had much of a chance to go out and do anything. The weather here is unbelievably hot. The humidity is enough that I have a dehumidifier in my room with a 1.5 gallon tank and I have to empty it twice a day. My room isn't even that big and I have central air conditioning taking out some of the moisture already.

My roommate from Hawaii picked my up at the airport on Saturday. As we were driving back there was a strange explosion/thud in the van, followed by a lot of lights on the instrument panel lighting up. We pressed on, hoping we could make it home before the van died, but we only made it another ten minutes before the van gave up on itself. The headlights got very dim and eventually went out. We pulled over on an exit ramp and called a tow truck. After about two hours of waiting the tow truck showed up and took the vehicle away. Sayonara, van. It was nice knowing you, even if it was only for an incomplete drive.

I was looking forward to getting out and about this weekend, but there is a typhoon coming our way. It is expected to hit on Friday and last for three days. Talk about a ruined weekend. Hopefully I will have a camera by then so that I can get some sweet pictures. Rumor has it that the people here in Japan build their structures to withstand the frequent storms. The people of Florida should take note. I'm sure it would save a lot on insurance costs, even if the buildings aren't quite as visually appealing.

One really nice thing about Japan is that their "kanji" (system of writing, taken from the Chinese) is mostly readable to me. Even if I don't understand what people are saying, I can understand the signs and it is much easier for me to find my way around due to the Chinese. My education is no longer going to waste! I am actually pretty excited to brush up on my Chinese and maybe take some Japanese classes. About an hour ago I bumped into an old classmate and he was saying that some guys are planning on taking a trip to Taiwan over the Labor Day holiday. I promptly invited myself along and shamelessly threw my Chinese experience on the table. I'm in.