On The Slopes

Still proving that a black man can ski, here I am on my fourth ski trip ever, in Niigata Prefecture in December 2007. I have to admit, I'm starting to get used to this thing we call "skiing".

Letting Off Some Steam

One of the highlights of any visit to Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is a tour of the several jigoku, very hot springs with certain "themes" to them. Take this blue one in the picture above; they call it umi ("sea") jigoku.

The Japanese name for this jigoku escapes me, but it means "blood jigoku".

This one looks like concrete oozing out of the earth.

And this one is something like a clay hot spring. Definitely not for bathing, unless you want nicer skin or something.

Long Time No See... Again

Hmmm... it seems I'm never going to catch up here.

Anyway, things have been going well so far. A few weeks ago I started working a few days a week at a fine private junior high school in southern Osaka Prefecture. After four years of problematic students at public schools who do not care about school, working at this school, where students regularly go on to some of Japan's top universities, is a blessing.

In addition to that top school, I also work at a small private senior high school in the city two days a week. So far, so good. Life seems to be on cruise control right now.