November Weather

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November in Japan fluctuates between mildly warm and fantastically freezing. Last night was the coolest we've seen yet. I don't know what the temperature was, but it must have been in the upper thirties. Winter in Kagoshima really starts in December and goes into February. I am comforted in the knowledge that the temperature will never go more than a few degrees below freezing. And once late February/early March roll around things apparently get much warmer in a very short amount of time. I like that I'll only have to worry about Winter for three months or so, whereas back in Cleveland Winter generally goes from early November through early April. I'm looking forward to not seeing snow and to it being guaranteeably warm on my birthday instead of the possibility of four feet of snow dropping in a single night.

Photo courtesy

of Ron

Japanese schools seem strange in Winter. There is no central heating, and so far I haven't seen any heaters in any of the classrooms. The doors to the school still stand wide open, as do most of the windows in the hallways, even though the wind is cold, and seeps mercilessly through the buildings. Teachers wear jackets all day long and the students wear warm clothes under their uniforms. They run around the halls during their breaks shouting "Ahhhhhh! Samui!" Samui means "cold." The teachers whisper it to each other in the offices. Nevertheless, nearly all the students seem to be in a perpetual good mood. I don't remember Memorial being like that.

The apartment at night gets really cold. Like most other buildings in Japan there is no central heating, or insulation for that matter. We have a few heaters, but I'm in the process of figuring out the heated table. That will be awesome when it's set up. Showering this morning was pretty bad. There's nothing like getting out of bed in a room where its 65 degrees Fahrenheit and going into a room that's 20 degrees cooler........ naked. It's like someone slapping you in the face to wake up. The shower room takes a little while to warm up too. So the only part of you that's comfortable is whatever the warm water is hitting at that moment.

I'm glad I'm down here and not in that snowball, Hokkaido.

The things I miss right now are as follows:

Valentino's Pizza

Taco Bell

Chicken Strips

Chick-Fil-A

Burger King

Arby's

Wendy's

The Winking Lizard

The Wild West Burger at the Winking Lizard