Just recently, Chet sent me an email inquiring about the Japanese social taboo of blowing one’s nose in public. Yes, Chet, it truly is frowned upon. That and sticking one’s chopsticks vertically into rice (a funeral ritual of sorts, apparently) are some of the most clearly stated faux paus here. Instead of blowing, there’s a lot of dabbing, wiping, picking and sniffing. Funny, isn’t it, that these actions are considered more socially acceptable than a nice trumpeting, satisfying expellation of snot (just try to click on East Asia)? Oh Japan, you and your cultural anomalies never cease to amaze.

Other than the tacit continuation of 11/15's Death to Chivalry, things have been good. I won’t let these unpleasantries skew my whole experience, but I they do bother me sometimes. Yarr.

I finally hung out with some guys from work, which was a lot of fun, minus the evening's aftereffects. There was a gathering at “the HUB,” an English-style pub in Kichi, where I ordered a house beer upon enterting. A few minutes later a coworker commented, “Notre Dame, eh? Be glad you didn’t order a bigger beer . . the stuff here gives you the runs.” Thanks, Ken. I promptly switched to G&T’s, but even my single pithy pint had an effect. Ew.

LASTLY, I had the funniest student in voice the other day -- an old man who had a thousand questions about Michigan and the USA (I am getting really good at drawing freehand maps of the midwest). He told me that the Sapporo beer brewery (Sapporo is standard Japanese house beer) is on the same latitude as Milwaukee, WI, thereby making 43.05 and 43.04 degrees North, respectively, some sort of a Zion or Mecca or whatever for beer production. In Michigan-speak, then, I guess that makes Flint the next hot spot for all those home-brewing pilgrims out there. Check it out!