weekend.

I hosted another couchsurfer this weekend, a Parisian named Jay who is considering a move to Japan sometime around September. He was really mellow and we had some good conversations about language and the difficulties of learning a new one. He was impressed with my Japanese, but that doesn't mean much. I get excited when Japanese people are impressed with my Japanese, which is pretty rare if I talk to them for more than 5 minutes. Baby steps, though.

Last night I went to a birthday party in Shimokitazawa, a small, hip enclave where I'd previously had a pretty terrible time. I think I mentioned it in one of my earlier blog posts, actually. This particular trip more than made up for the last one...it was my friend's birthday party. Incidentally, it turns out that gay people are a blast in virtually every culture. Who knew? In any case, it's pretty close to my new job, so there's a decent chance that I'll start looking around for a new place somewhere in the neighborhood. Probably have to wait another month or two to move, though.

Tomorrow I start the new job, so today I went out and picked up some things that I will need for the job, and just for general use. I'll be at my junior high school for 3 days, and then the elementary for 2. I'll have a desk at the junior high, but it's looking like I'll only have a locker at the elementary school. The junior high is looking way more organized, which is good, since I'll be spending most of my time there.

Anyway. I'm going to do a few chores, now, and relax for a while. More later.