I found out yesterday that an old acquaintance of mine had just died in a motorcycle accident in Chaing Mai Thailand. I wasn't best friends with this kid, but he was a pretty good guy. I worked with him at Clevelands House, and also went to the same university as him. I found out through facebook that he had died. There was also a link to his blog page.
http://lifeofbeatty.blogspot.comIn his blog he talks all about how fast he rides on his motorcycle, and how it is uncool it is to wear a helmet. Here is a quote "I admit that I probably drive too fast on the thing. Generally I drive faster than most Thais do on their own motorbikes .... One wrong turn, one abnormal bump, one collision with one of the multitude of animals which inhabit the maze of streets in Chiang Mai could drastically shorten my motorcycling campaign. Really it's just a bit of luck with a bit of defensive driving, but in retrospect, likely more luck"(CB, 2007)
And now he is gone, the luck ran out. It was like he almost foreshadowed his death my discussing it so much. Now he's tickets, no more life to explore, to live. He was the same age as me, 23. I'm very troubled by this. And by experiencing a death so close to home always causes one to question ones own mortality and the lives of the people they love. I think about my friends and family often, as traveling alone will do that to a person. But seriously, to all those (and you know who you are), i couldn't have been luckier in this lifetime to have met you.
On a brighter and completely different note. Things in my life are going swimmingly great. Work has been going smoothly since returning in January from my mini break. The classes and students are the same each week. I have never had a full time job for this long before, and have discovered that banal repetition is not my best friend, although not an enemy either. The weather is really cold at the moment. Usually i am unaffected by this, unless it starts to snow heavily and i have trouble riding my bike to the gym. I am going to the gym almost everyday. The strange horse riding saddle and vibrating machines that puzzled me before have become slightly less puzzling. I once asked a girl what muscles the saddle machine actually worked. She had no idea. I told her in Canada they did not have such machines. Her response was that Cameron Dias rode a mechanical bull in Charlies Angels 2, so therefore all foreigners must ride them. Hmmmmmmmmm, Japanese people often take the movies literally. I haven't been able to nab a picture yet, as i would feel strange violating some sort of unspoken rule, but i will soon. It is too funny watching them ride. I have also been swimming at the gym. Again an odd occurrence. The pool has a window leading out to an eating area. Yes that's right, someone sipping there latte can watch you walk by in a bikini, seriously people... And you have to wear a swim cap.
I've also been to a couple Yoga classes this month. I love them. Of course i don't understand a word the instructor says, except 'cobra' and 'jump' (apparently those two translate into Japanese), i just follow what everyone else is doing. The yoga is held on the pool deck where you can hear the water trickle into the pool and look out to the mini jungle. Did i mention the man made jungle on the pool deck? However the downside is that i pulled a leg muscle at the end of last class and have been in pain ever since.
I am also on a mission to make new Gaigin friends. I had coffee with my friend Meena at Doutour. She is a JET (meaning she works for the government of Japan). The other day she invited me to go to a hip hop class with her. And of course i jumped at the chance. And it was.......amazzzzzzzzzzzziing. I am sooooooooo gangster. The instructor is a really talented dancer, and the class moved quickly, but i caught on soon enough. The class is half Japanese people, and half foreigners. The teacher is also Japanese, so i didn't understand him, but again, just followed along. I am very excited for the next class. Although this time I won’t have pre-game drinks with Meena and eat a large bowl of pasta. I thought two advil and a rum and coke before the class would improve my performance and help my pulled leg muscle. It did neither.
This weekend i am going to a Valentines party where we are going to make chocolate, and apparently eat it all :), you know, a girls only type of thing.
That's all for now.
The shrine at the technical university close to me.
We also went to a Fire Festival in Katsuyama, a town 40 minutes from my city. We went too early for the large fire aspect, but got to see some traditional 'Taiko' drumming, and singing. That day was super snowy, and there were many the wet feet walking around. We bought umbrellas just to stay dry. We also ate delishious and fatty crepes, yum!
Japanese people are very serious about New Years traditions. They always put up good luck charms on there doors or garages to ward off evil spirts etc. BUT they can't just throw them away after, Or reuse them the next year. The decorations must always be burned in a spiritual way. Hence the matsuri festival. The picture below is a man adding his stuff to the big pile that will be in flames later on that night. 
