Bravery & Cheese

On Friday, I was on my way home when I spotted a tall, Caucasian, super curly red-headed kid. He asked someone a question in super broken Japanese, and hopped on my train just as the doors closed. He was standing right beside me, so as a part of my resolution to be more outgoing, I smiled and said, "English?!" He looked really flustered, and said..."yeah..." We talked for a few minutes. Every time I looked at him or smiled at him, he answered, but got really flustered. I think he just got out of highschool, because he said that he had just finished a Socials exam before he came to Japan. He told me that he had just come to Japan to 'check it out'. I asked if he was alone, and he said he was. In all honesty, I was a little shocked! I said, "You just came to Japan - by yourself - to check it out?!?!" He said, "Uh...yeah." Me: "Wow! That's insane. I don't think I could be that brave!"

Oh, the irony? I realized, just after I said that, that I came to Japan - by myself - to live here. By myself. But I was still so shocked that he would do that - and my initial reaction was shock at his bravery.

On a cheesier note...(hehe)

My boss invited me to join him for dinner this evening; he was meeting an old friend at the company and the friend's assistant. We met them in a beautiful little area around Osaka Station that I had never seen! The wall in the courtyard was stone and flowing water. The walk and patio was all cobblestone - it seemed like it should be out of old Europe, or something.

We had a lovely dinner of cheese fondue, salad, and a few other things. I had a glass of wine, and dessert was some delicious yoghurt with fruit cubes on top. I practiced my Japanese a bit, but still spent quite a bit of dinner just listening to them.

It was a nice evening, and delicious!

On another note...I am currently obsessed with raisins. They're soo yummy!