It begins

We got our first snow last night. There was a tiny layer on my car when I left for school and as I drove inland the snow got thicker. Supposedly this area only receives light snowfall from late November to late December, but near the end of the year we can expect 10 feet or more. Here is a shot from my drive this morning.

I found this picture while uploading photos from my phone. Anyone care for a $60 cantaloupe? I've heard that value in Japan is determined by how much something costs... not by how much something is worth. So designer fruit makes for a very thoughtful and valuable gift.   

Recently I switched from playing basketball to volleyball during lunch recess. I became aware of an interesting trend when I saw cute little 13-year-old girls repeatedly performing face plants into the gym floor in order to keep a volley going. Then each time they would sit up and laugh hysterically. Subsequently looking around the gym I saw many interesting things. Like a group of boys that were playing volleyball with modified rules; the new object being to spike the ball into another player's face or groin. At one point, a 9th grade boy walked up behind a 7th grade boy and slapped him in the middle of the back... instantly bringing him into his knees. And another boy attempted a front flip in the gym but only managed 3/4 of a flip. That stunt even made one of the Japanese teachers shake his head. 

I know that America has it's fare share of sadistic/masochistic sports, and I've observed that many Koreans can play rough, but now it comes as little surprise to me that Japanese culture was responsible for the creation of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (please see exhibits A and B).