I have done quite a few things recently, which is the reason the report has come earlier than usual. I find it so much easier and worthwhile to write when I have something to actually report. This may be the reason I find it difficult (if not impossible) to write a report when not much had happened since my last report. I think that trying to make my days (which would seem redundant after a while) seem interesting to someone else, when they would truly only be interesting to me. I have always hated (perhaps abhorred) writing something boring, when I myself detest reading boring material. This report however has come on the heels of the last one due to the fact that many events have happened since it, which makes this report a pleasure to write (and hopefully to read).

This month I went on a sky trip for the first time, though I opted for the snowboard instead of the traditional skis for my transportation to the land of pain and one interesting Anatomy lesson. Up until that day I had never gone skiing/snowboarding before being from Miami, and everyone (including my Northern European self-titled friends) were expecting to see some interesting meetings between my spiky head and a tree, bank of snow, and/or a post. Unfortunate for them (and fortunate for my pride) they were not allowed the pleasures of seeing any of this occur, not to say that none of this happened however. I have always been considered very sure of myself (�gdamn cocky�h, I believe is the term usually used in regards to me) and of course I figured I would be able to just hop on the snowboard and �ggo�h. In fact, during the explanation to those new to snowboarding I asked if I could just �ggo�h they said, �gsure I guess. Go ahead.�h So I did. Luckily my recent skateboarding provided enough experience to maintain balance and stay erect, but I had no idea I was supposed to �gcarve�h into the snow in order to not go at blinding speeds. At this point I figured I should have stayed and listened to the lesson, but too late now. As usual my luck held out and I made it to the bottom of the hill without killing others or myself. I fell in love with it and began to practice turning and the like; most people were impressed by how quickly I picked up the necessary skills. I spent most of the time by myself in order to be alone in my successes and failures. I had a few accidents, but nothing broken or fractured (in snow sports not a bad outcome). My biggest accident involved my body folding over me and my head a foot in the snow and my nose touching my the front of my jacket (from the outside). I learned just how much a neck could stretch without breaking. So everything I ever learned in my High School was affected on that day, but in the end I was ok. I only had a stiff neck and one horrid headache. I spent three days snowboarding in Nagano and was surprised by how warm it was during the day, but not at all by the intense cold at night. Once again I survived, though I could not find two friends of mine for a couple of days following the trip (if anyone gets my obscure message here, feel free to e-mail me).

Another interesting place I visited was a Buddhist temple and participated in Za-Zen meditation. It is a very famous form of meditation here in Japan. It involves your back aligned perfectly straight and your hands making a circle by your lower stomach, your legs are crossed and eyes are closed. This doesn�ft sound to hard, but there is a Buddhist monk who whips (beats is the word that went through my head) you on the back with a stick if you get out of Za-Zen position or fall asleep (at all). We did this for about an hour. I was able to maintain the position for the entire hour and hence avoided the corrective actions in the form of a long bamboo stick. The rest of the people around me were not so fortunate, in fact the man next to me was �gdisciplined�h five times in the hour. We were supposed to connect better with nature after the meditation, but all I found was that I was incredibly hungry. At the same temple we also had a tea ceremony where we drank green tea, which coincidently, I hate. Most people who were there knew I hate green tea, so they took the opportunity to take many pictures of me drinking the tea. Afterwards I observed the pictures and I saw just how many facial expressions I am truly capable of.  

This month also had many cherry blossoms blooming. It was very beautiful to see all of the petals falling off the trees. They covered the ground and the air at times. They are so light that they float easily on the wind and at times it seemed as if it were snowing cherry blossom petals. I stood under the cherry blossom trees and felt just like an anime character, and with my spiky hair I fit right in. The only thing missing was a sword, but that would be illegal. I found it sad that the cherry blossom blooming only lasts a couple of weeks, but truly worth it while it lasted. 

At the beginning of this month I saw many of my Japanese friends leave to go to Universities in other cities, and I had to say good-bye. I can honestly say that I did not see this coming at all. I guess I figured I had said my last good-byes when I left Miami, but I guess you never stop saying goodbye because you never know when people will leave. It was pretty sad to see my friends leave because they were the ones that made my year easier by having friends. Even if they are just in another part of Japan, I do not see them because five hours away is five hours away. Either way, we maintain e-mail contact, but it shows how the Internet can unite people five minutes away of five continents away. I hope to see my friends when they come back at the beginning of May for a week of vacation. I find it hard to try and make new friends like I did at the beginning of the year, because I had already made such a good connection with my other friends. I guess you must always be ready to restart, because you never know when you might lose everything. To not end on such a down note I want to say that I still have many friends, I just lost the ones I liked best.

Well, that is pretty much everything that has happened recently, though I feel like I am leaving something out, if I did I will include it the next report. 

Here as always (until August 14),

Rol

Chronos

P.S. I really do not want to go home, but it is another of the inevitable events to come. I guess it is a double-edge sword, but perhaps