Monday, June 18th

I found it rather difficult to get up this morning, but alas, I wanted to make the most of the few hours of sunshine I was supposed to get today. Janice was off to some government offices to take care of some paperwork and business here (after two hours there, she has to go back again because par - for - the course another piece of paperwork was required for her). I decided to go for a bike ride. Yesterday, Max had drawn me a map to show me where some roads near the castle go and he encouraged me to go down to see a dam park (I AM spelling that right. . .not swearing at anyone or the park). I opted to give it a try. So, I biked my way to Nagahama Dam (I think that was the name) only to learn that it didb't open until 8:30. I decided to bike on. I rode on up to cape Maeda and took some beautiful pictures. I was hot, tired, and sweaty when I got back, but it was great. No typhoon strength winds yet! Upon returning to school, I spent about 4 hours at school working on the chapel schedule and program and trying to get things set up in my classroom. We are no in TC - 1 (that means the major winds and typhoon should be hitting in the next 12 hours. . . or before). We were invided up to a "typhoon party" at Hadleys from 4 - 8 this afternoon. Typhoon parties are what I remember most about our typhoons here. We always had lots of food and played a lot of games. Maybe this afternoon will be a walk down memory lane. As of 3 PM, there is a grey overcast sky, but no real sign of the typhoon hitting yet. update -- at 8:40 pm. no typhoon yet. small non-typhoon party with a game of skipbo was fun though.