It’s looking pretty grey these days but that’s the rainy season for you. That’s ok though because we aren’t getting the crazily hot temperatures I hear are happening in Canada. I am starting to get my self together to come home and to have my mom visit. There are a load of things going on right now. I am as always trying to clean the house but not trying too hard really. Weeding the garden and that kind of thing. As I mentioned last time, I am in the midst of organizing a clothing drive for South Africa. It is the winter there now and although it doesn’t get as cold as it does here or at home there is a definite need for warm clothing. JETs finish their contracts at the end of July and so lots of people are trying to get rid of stuff now anyways. There is no system for recycling clothing here like the Goodwill or Salvation Army so we just throw are clothes in the garbage. I think this is a little crazy. I know it will probably cost more to send the stuff than to just send money but I want to teach the kids a bit about ecology too. Everyone is so into recycling here but not into reusing. They do it in a lot of little ways but often the bigger ways are overlooked. I think it is because so few people live below the poverty line in Japan. Poor children are not as evident here where everyone wears the same clothes to school, has the same back pack and eats the same lunch. I’m not saying that everyone is equal but physical appearances go along way sometimes to making you think that everyone has the same as the next guy. This is less true in elementary school where kids can wear what they like sometimes but it’s still pretty even. I became interested in doing this clothing drive after talking with friends Gisela and Rachael. Gisela is from Cape Town. She had a great deal to say about the needs of South Africa. I think we must seem like these extreme do gooders in the community because we are always out for some cause, trying to raise money for this or that. When I tell people about the project, some of my teachers have told me “You are so young”. I don’t know if that means idealistic or that I have the energy to pursue these things and they don’t. At any rate, I have been researching the effects of AIDS in South Africa right now and how it is affecting the people there. I was honestly shocked at the statistics. One report stated that people have spent more time in the last year going to funerals than they have getting their hair cut, having barbeques or shopping. That may be a strange way to compare time spent but you get the idea. There are also close to 1.2 million kids who have been orphaned by AIDS deaths.
We will also be skimming some clothes for the local orphanage, namely pajamas. It has been suggested that we not advertise that fact but I don’t know why. I agree with them but I can’t quite say why. It just doesn’t sound like the type of thing that local people would want to support. We went down and visited the kids in Agematsu last night which was fun. I practiced reading a kids book in Japanese so it didn’t sound so terrible this time. I read the story of Wani Wani the alligator. It is an epic tale of one alligator’s quest to enjoy a bath with his toy robot. It is a classic I assure you. When it came time to read it though, the girls wanted to play with my glasses so I had a hard time reading it to my full capability. Not that I am making excuses for the job I did. There was also some marathon ping pong played on the dining hall tables with rackets and slippers.
This weekend I am going white water rafting with some friends. I have already warned them that I am not the most athletic girl on the planet but Dave has assured me that we will wear helmets. An example of this would be the third year class that I taught the other day. I just fell on the floor while walking into the class. My socks were too slippery on the wood floors. You can’t wear shoes in the language lab so I had just taken them off and was heading into the class. I sat in the hall for a second to understand what had just happened. I had to explain it to the class as well for those few kids who didn’t actually see me do it. I had a big scrap on my arm and generally felt ridiculous.
The real reason I want to go rafting is to use my tent for the first time. I bought a five man tent second hand and I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I was hoping to use it for Fuji Rock but the tickets are sold out. I am still hoping to get some from someone selling them on ebay but I am sure it will be at a much inflated price. On Sunday, I am heading up to Nagano City to pick up clothes for the clothing drive and to visit our homestay family. They are having a good bye party for an AET who has been staying with them. It is being held in a traditional samurai house which should be cool. They will be giving garden tours and showing a historical movie as well. I am hoping to borrow a digital camera from someone so I can show you all how the weekend turned out. The pictures today are from the truck stop across form my school. These pictures are old but I am still struggling with the scanner at school. I took pictures with my action sampler camera that are pretty fun and will try and post them soon. I think I may wait until I get home to buy a new digital camera. In closing I would like to send out a belated Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and a Happy Anniversary to my parents who celebrated their 31st anniversary. I will be home in just over a month and we can all celebrate together then!