Jishin!

I have been informed that since I am no longer sick or particularly tired that my blog is in need of an update.

So...here it is.

A few nights ago, as I was settling into bed (aka, the floor) I felt the entire building rock violently. It was so brief, but so intense, I was certain something had hit the building or that a gas pipe had exploded. After calling Dawn (and waking her up, poor thing) to make sure it wasn't her apartment that had just exploded, I saw an announcement pop up on the TV saying that a 3.2 earthquake had just hit the area.

Hmm, my first earthquake in Japan.

This evening, in my second to last class of the day, as I was drilling my students yet again on the difference between "how much" and "how many" ....I felt the floor begin to shudder. As a resident of Chicago, I'm used to the floor shuddering. If you live near an el or where trucks pass by or where the Blue Angels fly over you, then your floor will occasionally shudder. It wasn't until both my students leapt up, started shouting "JISHIN!" (EARTHQUAKE!) and dove under the table that I realized that it wasn't just a big truck rolling by.

So, there's my update. It's not particularly interesting, but it's what I've got for now.

Christmas is rapidly approaching but in the scope of all that is happening, I can hardly even comprehend its existance. Yet somehow, I've managed to become involved in throwing (hardly "throwing" - we're just going to a local pub) a Christmas party for friends in the area. I'm hoping that taking the time to sit and relax with friends will finally put me in the Christmas spirit.

Then one week later, it's off to Tokyo. I realized a while ago, this will be my second New Years in a row that will be celebrated in some fabulous, foreign city. Last year Athens, this year Tokyo...
Hmmmm, I wonder if I can keep up the tradition.