going back in time-turning japanese

Just thought that I might post some emails I sent people while I was in Japan. It seems so long ago and seems kind of funny to read them now. Here is the first one I found:

Turning Japanese-September 1st, 2002
I've been trying to teach all the british guys in my city (Ise, Japan) about hockey by showing them Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em videos. They think it is a brutal sport. In return, they are teaching me about footie. My new favorite team is Liverpool and my new favorite player is Michael Owen... apparently. It's not as deadly as hockey, no black eye like I sported before, but I did get my finger jammed playing goalie the other day, and man was it hard to use chopsticks after that!

Yeah, the days have been tough here. I worked about 2 hours per day last month in the Board of Education Office, then I just hung out and played footie, went to the gym, went on trips etc., for the rest of my time. I went to Nagashima Spaland, a huge amusement park and waterpark. They have a rollercoaster there called the Steel Dragon that has beaten 3 guiness records. It was great. I've been shopping in Osaka. I've also been on a few big nights out. Man these brits can drink! We did a night out in Nagoya, where we drank till about 6am and then caught the train back home (2 hours). It's fun but too much drinking!

I went camping last weekend and hiking. I climbed the 3rd highest mountain in Japan and camped in one of the volcanic craters on top for a night amongst the clouds. It was freezing but incredible! It was a full moon that night and when the clouds lifted at around midnight, we could see everything. After sunset, my friend Cris and I hiked to the summit (about 20 min. away). It was crazy. The steam from the volcano was rising up from the red rock summit and I was sure Godzilla was going to rise from inside the whiteness. The next day was clear and sunny and we hiked around to some glacier lakes and back down through jungle-ish woods. My legs ached for days. But it was amazing.

Every day in my city we go for a swim in the river. It is crazy hot here still, especially during the day. We swim in the river that comes out of the shrines, so I guess we are swimming in sacred water. I'm now blessed! It is about 35 degrees here and humid like a sauna. I eat about ten litres of icecream a day to stay cold and I drink everything, even cold green tea, to help stay cool. So far so good though. I start actually teaching next week, so things should be a bit busier soon enough.

I am already planning my xmas vacation. I am thinking of heading off to meet my family in Hawaii to do some surfing.