HI AGAIN EVERYONE!
I HAVE NOW MOVED ON FROM TOKYO TO THE NOT SO BRIGHT LIGHTS OF IIYAMA, NAGANO. WHAT CAN I SAY...IT IS SO VERY DIFFERENT FROM TOKYO. I LIVE IN A TINY 2 ROOM APPARTMENT WITH A BALCONY OVERLOOKING THE HILLS...ABSOLUTLEY BEAUTIFUL SCENERY! ONLY DOWNSIDE TO THE HILL`S IS I HAVE TO CYCLE UP THEM TO GET TO SCHOOL. RED FACE, FRZZY HAIR AND A RATHER DAMP FOREHAD IS SO NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR SCHOOL. ALL THE JAPANESE ARE SO COOL, CALM AND COLLECTED SO I`M SURE YOU CAN IMAGINE THEIR FACES WHEN I STUMBLE INTO THE OFFICE, MUTTER SOMETHING IN JAPANESE (WHICH IS PROBABLY INSULTING ALL OF THEIR MOTHERS BECAUSE THE ALTITUDE HAS AFFECTED MY BRAIN) AND COLLAPSE ON MY OFFICE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE FAN!

ＢＹ THE WAY APOLOGIES IF THIS DOES NOT COME OUT PROPERLY - I HAVE TRIED TO EMAIL MOST OF YOU BUT FEEDBACK IN GENERAL IS "STOP WRITING IN JAPANESE"! AND I CAN ASSURE YOU I HAVE NOT ADVANCED TO 9TH LEVEL JAPANESE IN 7 DAYS, I JUST HAVEN`T QUITE WORKED OUT THE KEYBOARD. ITS ALL IN HIRIGANA/KATAKANA AND TOTALLY DIFFERENT TO NAVIGATE!

ANYWAY, I DON`T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS IN MY APPARTMENT YET BUT WHEN I DO I PROMISE YOU`LL GET SOME EMAILS SENT OUT AND ASK HOW YOU ARE ALL GETTING ON.
SO, IIYAMA - BASICALLY A LITTLE MOUNTAIN TOWN WITH HONDA GARAGES, MCDONALDS AND TESCO-LIKE ＳＴＯＲＥＳ ON ONE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEN RICE PADDY`S WITH TINY LITTLE HOUSES THAT LOOK LIKE THEY WOULD FALL DOWN IF YOU EVEN MUTTER THE WORD EARTHQUAKE! MY FIRST 24 HOURS HERE WAS VERY SURREAL AND WAS DESPERATE FOR SOMEONE TO TALK TO IN ENGLISH! ALTHOUGH SLOWLY I`M STARTING TO GET MY BEARINGS AND THE TOWN FOLK ARE GETTING USED TO THE GAIJIIN THAT`S CYCLING AROUND IN CIRCLES. I EVEN MANAGED TO GET THE TRAIN TO THE NEXT BIG CITY (A MINI KYOTO I`VE BEEN TOLD) WHICH HAS A STARBUCKS AND A BODY SHOP (YAY I`M SAVED) ALTHOUGH I`VE YET TO FIND BOTH OF THEM.

I HAVE LOADS MORE TO FILL IN BUT THE KEYBOARD IS STARTING TO GET ON MY NERVES...THIS HAS JUST TAKEN ME THE BEST PART OF ＡＮ　ＨＯＵＲ！　Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＯＦＦ　ＴＯ　ＭＹ　ＦＩＲＳＴ TEACHERS CONFERENCE TOMORROW BUT HOPE TO BE BACK IN SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY TO UPDATE YOU ALL.

HOPE YOU ARE WELL , PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH YOUR UPDATES OR SEND ME SOME TRASHY MAGAZINES TO...

MADELEINE EASSON
450-1-204
SHIZUMA
IIYAMA-SHI
NAGANO
389-2255
JAPAN!!!

JAPADZ XXXXXXXXXXX