Everything's coming up tofu...

So...here I am huddled in the lobby of the San Francisco Sheraton, working frantically to get my update done before the shuttle to the airport comes. Officially, I'll be leaving today at 1:38 (or some equally random hour.) I won't be landing, however, until 4:30 tomorrow (so basically, I lose a day...a difficult concept to wrap my mind around.) I must say, despite the fact I'm painfully aware that the flight is going to be cramped and long, I'm super excited! Just a few more hours (ummm...like 12) and I'll be in Japan! :)

I spent most of the day yesterday either traveling or sitting in seminars, but last night, we had dinner at the residence of the Japanese Consul General, Yasumase Nagamine. There was an impressive view of the San Francisco bay (as might be expected...he IS the Consul General, after all), and lots of...ummmm...exotic looking foods. Nothing was labeled (and actually, that's probably better), so I tested a number of sushi-type items. My favorite dish was the Sesame Tofu...not quite as delicious as Benihana's Teriyaki Tofu, but then, what is? ;)

Oh! Here comes the bus!

Ja mata! (which we're gonna pretend means "Talk to you soon", even though technically, it doesn't :p )

It's about time...

What a summer it has been! Between traveling back and forth to visit my mom in Austin, various vacations and school assignments, I haven't really had time to set up my official JFMF website and blog...until now, that is. :) While I haven't yet set foot in Japan, I'm busy working towards my follow-on plan goals. First, and perhaps most important (at least at this particular moment), is learning a little piece of the language. To that end, I purchased some of those cheesy "Learn Japanese While You Drive/Shower/Sleep/Watch Your Favorite Show on T.V." CD's. Needless to say, things are progressing rather slowly. So far, I've gotten basic greetings (and forgive the spelling on these...unfortunately, the CD's don't include any sort of written guide to help me out)...

Kon ichiwa! (Hello!)
Ohayo gozaimas! (Good morning!)
Konbanwah! (Good evening!)
Ogenki deska? (How are you?)
Genki desu. (Fine.)
Ja mata! (See you later!)
Watashi wa Higgs-san. (My name is Ms. Higgs.)

So basically, I'm currently equipped (linguistically speaking) to have the following conversation:

Hello! My name is Ms. Higgs. How are you? See you later! (And I'm wondering whether the question is really appropriate here. Unless they say "fine", I'm pretty much out of luck!) :)

Oh well. Guess I'll just keep plugging away at it. And maybe after another month, I'll actually be able to ask about something useful...like how to get my shoe out of the pit toilet. :)

Ja mata, y'all! :)