just to clear up

any confusion/bitterness from `shibuya party`:

i) i LOVE japan. i`d stay for a few more years if i could experience it with family and friends from back home. (housing really is ridiculous though)

ii) that alum was actually very nice, helpful even. and, except for the girlfriend situation of course, since when is trying to be liked a crime? i just made the mistake of immediately comparing him to other men ive known. and maybe i was a little disappointed because of the dearth of good black men, especially as leaders and mentors and fathers so we can have more good black men, and you cant do much mentoring when you dont even plan on returning to the country. almost as bad as the black middle class who get up, get out, and rarely look back other than to say `look i did it why cant you?`

except in this case after dealing with the long embedded racism in the u.s., japan really is like paradise. sometimes i do feel like i`m baldwin`s stranger in the village, but it`s mostly admiration and praise and genuine interest. strangers love to start conversations with me and always want to make sure im having the best experience in japan as possible (whether im in the supermarket, waiting for the train, or confused in akihabara). and theyre very impressed that i took time to learn some of the language and culture. no one`s ever associated my successes/failures with my skin color: here im western, im american (at hitachi im their wonderful MIT grad ;), and being black just makes me even more interesting, not less. so i cant blame him for not wanting to leave im just disappointed.

but anyway, if i dont head up north for snowboarding (imagine me on a snowboard!) and traditional winter festivals, ill probably end up going down to where else but kyushuu :) with him and a few other mit people next month and i`m sure we`ll have a blast.

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2 more updates:

i found some really great christmas decorations for really cheap including a 2 foot tall beautifully decorated artificial tree, wreath, and grass reindeers etc. with my holiday cards (i love them! thanks!!) im all set.

yatta! (i did it!) i finally rode that bike. it took me a while to find it amongst the 50 others because i hadnt seen it since i locked it away 2 months ago but then i remembered its funny-looking kick stand. and then more importantly i remembered how to ride it ;)