Hi, its mary. this is pretty cool mom, high tech. life in japan is good. we had a holiday yesterday so i was working at the bar 3 nights in a row. im having a lot of fun with that job and meeting a lot of really cool people. after work we have a staff meeting until 6 or so and then we usually just hang around the bar and have a beer together and talk or else we go out to another club that stays open until 8 and then usually have ramen for breakfast! its been a really great time so far, and its nice to have a way to get out and meet lots of people. classes are still a little boring, im trying to come up with new ideas for them, but our curriculum is pretty dull. its still really cold here, but i think the winter will come to an end soon. yesterday i was driving to my gym, which is right downtown, and i couldnt find parking and all the traffic was irritating me and i just wanted to get away from everyone so the only peaceful place i could think of to go was the beach! i was right, no one was there. i sat out on the rocks for a while and watched the waves crash and felt all the tension disappear. then it started to snow. and i understood why the beach was empty. so i went home :) miss you all and hope you put some messages up here, i feel out of touch with everybody. love you.