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I saw Air Force One tonight. It was the first movie I've seen in a theatre in months. It was half price day, so it was only 1,000 yen. I think it was worth it because the movie was good, and it was 2 hours in a heated environment. It also made me think about my psychological growth. I think I have changed a bit since I came. I have found that things that interested me back home don't so much anymore. I have found this especially evident with comedies. Japanese humour is very different, and I think I am ,making a transition of some sort. The movie I saw tonight was so patriotic in many respects, and sometimes it made me want to laugh. I just can't accept that the president is "the most powerful man in the world." There were so many things like that. I wonder what other nationalities think of this. Today my kyoto-sensei was so nice. He seemed surprised that I brought him and koch omiyage in addition to the office omiyage (gifts). Suggested I go see a movie tonight and showed me which movies were playing and at what times. He also gave me omiyage he'd picked up from a weekend business trip to Tokyo. Granted it might have been something he was given, and wanted to get rid of, but I still appreciate it. He calls me his daughter, and treats me like it. He takes good care of me, and all of his staff and students. On a different note, let's talk about human nature. People are greedy no matter where they are from. One the ALTs in Ota got in a scooter accident. He is still in the negotiations over the amount of compensation. A price was quoted, but he thinks he "deserves" more. He has been talking with one of his student's mother and she has been giving him advice. Apparently she has been in many accidents and knows how to work the system. So she recommended a doctor he can go to 2 or 3 times a week to get treatment. The treatment sounds like it will be very similar to theraputic messages, and are supposed to be given in 15 min sessions. The beauty of this is that He will be compensated for every doctor visit. So he has learned from a Japanese lady how to rape the system. On another unrelated note, I missed a pretty exciting earthquake Sat morning. It was 3 on the Japanese scale, so I don't know what that is on the Richter. But it was the biggest one since I've been here. There were no injuries and no structural damage as far as I know, but it lasted a while and one of the AETs said it felt like waves. I think there were aftershocks too. But I am not sure, because I was on a train to Tokyo, and the earthquake was centered in the Tochigi-Saitama region, which includes Ota because we are in the eastern Gunma geographic ganglion. Not to worry, everything is fine. (Daijyobu) Valerie
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