wow

i was just reading some old blog entries and its so strange to read about when i first moved to france. i remember everyhting like it was yesterday, and now its over a year later and so much has changed. i get caught up in the present, and its strange for me to think of the past...what ive done in the past 2 years even. there have been some moments i never want to forget, that are almost impossible to describe... like when i first moved to france and walking along my road and just realizing that it was my home for the next 8 months or so. part of me wants to go back to that. i want to return to france. i love it there... but here is good too. its a lot different... its like comparing apples and oranges... i think back almost 9 months ago to when i moved here. i didnt have the same excitement of that when i moved to france, but this move was so much more intense and stress inducing. i came to japan not knowing any japanese. i came here not knowing what to expect....and looking back i cant beleive how much i have learned and changed in those 9 months.

i am so thankful for the experiences i have and had in the past few years. they are experiences that not everyone gets to experience. its strange to come to the conclusion that i can live in 3 different countries and be happy. be able to survive.

i love the people i have meet here in japan. some of my good friends are people i met here. even if they come and go... sometimes its nice to spend time with people who understand this (moving around the world) part of my life.

i also want to take the time to tell all my friends that im sorry about my slacking in emailing and letters and calls. please be patient with me. do know that i love you all. i miss you and theres not a day that goes by that i dont think about the "good old days" or random times we had together. i like when i randomly remember something and it puts a smile on my face thinking about that and part of me longs to go back to that moment...

wow this is a serious blog. i better but some entertainment in it....

bike riding laws in japan /les lois du velo au japon

i read the other day that it is illegal to: jai lu l'autre jour que c'est interdit de faire:

ride a bike at night with no light - $200 fine faire le velo le soir sans lumiere
ride a bike in the rain while holding an umbrella- $200 faire le velo dans la pluie avec un parapluie
ride a bike and talk on a cell phone- $200 faire le velo et parler au portable
cross the when when the walk sign is red -$500 traverser la rue quand le pieton feu? est rouge

having 2 people ride on a bike together (unless they are a baby or kid in the special chair) 2 personnes au velo, sauf les enfants

drunk riding - i think it was like $2000 or $5000 i forgot... either way, a ton of money faire le velo apres avoir trop bu


i am guilty of the first 4...uh oh.... however, in my defense, everyone else does the fist 3 things, so i didnt know that it was illegal... je suis coupable des premiers 4....mais, tout le monde fait les premiers 3, je savais pas que c t interdit..

after living in athens, actually waiting at the red light for the walker light to come on is horrible... everyone waits...noone crosses till the little man is green...sometimes i just want to go...but i dont want people to look at me and think the foreigner doesnt respect our rules....so i wait...with no cars coming...even when im late..


ok im out.