It was very foggy, somewhere between mist and rain actually, at the top of the mountain, and your author forgot his umbrella. Retouched photo:
Unretouched photo:
Here is Kevin hitting a bell.
Here is a picture of Fang yu L. and Alex-Ko Y.R., just to prove to you that I haven't absconded with them. I had lunch with them the other day. It was a nerdfest.
Today we had Yuko Hagiwara come and talk to us about using meditation and mindfulness practice in hospitals. I took a moment to relax and I realized that living in Japan has actually been really stressful for me, even with all the wonderful things I've done. Everyday life is difficult here, and it's been a harsh adjustment from what I'm used to at Carleton. She gave us an object to focus on-- a sweet picked plum from Akita. I think my grandmother would have liked this plum, as it tasted like a baby gherkin.
When I focused on the plum I thought about all the people who helped to create it and bring it to me. The disturbing thought occurred to me that maybe the work stressed them out, in which case they were stressing themselves on my behalf. I tried to forget about that one.
