I had a big moustache

Summer Rain

I've been thinking back on my time in Japan recently. Maybe it's the Japanese books I'm reading. Maybe it's my Japanese students and getting the chance to speak the language again. When I arrived in Japan the summers were unbearably hot and sticky. Too many bugs, too much iced green tea, and consequently too much lying awake at night listening to the too many cicadas hollering outside my window.
By the time I left though, that was summer. The heat, the tea, the bugs, the chorus in every tree and bush.

Despite promises of 'a BBQ summer', England has been decidedly cool. A couple of beautiful weeks in June and then a month of cold rain throughout July; depressing my students little by little. "Jonathan, why London rain all time?!"

It was a beautiful hot day today and I spent it reading in the sunshine, putting off my lesson planning until way too late. Then watching Totoro to put it off some more.










I've decided to stick around in London. Even with the crappy weather, it's a real nice place to be right now. Not sure if I'll still hae a job in a few weeks time... but for now... it's all good.



'Summer Night' - Ryokan

Late at night, the sound of someone pounding rice.
Dew drips from the bamboo onto the firewood pile
And the plants along the garden are also moist.
Frogs croak in the distance but then seem very close.
Fireflies light low, then high.
Wide awake; sleep is far off.
Smoothing out the pillow, I let my thoughts drift.

If I had a big moustache...

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