Today, as I was sitting, naked, on a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean and resting in the soothing waters of the Japanese public bath, I said, "You know, if you'd told me two years ago that I'd be sitting here, naked, on a rock and looking out over the Pacific Ocean in Japan, I don't think I'd have believed you." I don't know which part was the most unbelievable.
As I was sitting, naked, on a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean and resting in the soothing waters of the Japanese public bath, about twenty yards away a woman walked by. And, oddly, I wasn't really bothered by it.
There are things you think about while sitting, naked, on a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The key one today was, again, missions in Japan. A popular topic for us Japanese missionaries. I thought about several other things too:
1. When I was younger, I remember a joke that I thought was very, very funny: "How do Chinese people name their children? They throw silverware down the stairs." I was maybe eight or nine when I heard this joke and always remember thinking it was hilarious. Now, it doesn't seem so funny to me.
2. Several of our new students on Friday night were talking about living in Vancouver this last year. "Oh," I said, "Aren't there a lot of Japanese people there?"
"Oh yeah," one of them said, "Too many. And Koreans too."
And I thought that if anyone else had complained about there being too many Japanese in Vancouver, I would have been mortified.
3. I'm going to stay in Japan for a while.
Things I didn't think about while sitting, naked, on a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean:
1. The Presidential race is going to be dumb. You think there's really any difference between John Kerry and George Bush? I'm sorry. There's not. It's like Algore/ Bush II.
I apologize for getting political there. What I meant to say was: the next time you come and visit, we should stop by the Japanese public bath and sit together, naked, on a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean and talk about stuff. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal here.