Well folks things are going pretty well.Ý  In this episode I will attempt to explain some of the Japanese language, which I  am teaching myself as of late.Ý First of all let me tell ya that my subject  in the last email was phrased backwards on purpose...for all you Wayne's World  fans it is Party time, Excellent...well this is Japan and things are done a  little backwards...so there you have it.Ý Okay, in this email the language  and how I got my name, and some other stuff. ÝÝÝ ----->Okay, the  language.Ý It consists of sounds that when written in our alphabet would be  the vowels (a,e,i,o,u...hope you knew that) and the letters k, s, t, m, h, r  (the sound is pronounced between a d and l), g, d, p, b, and z ...with an n  sound.Ý Every letter is combined with a vowel (you may call it a syllabary)  ...so the first symbols are Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko...the majority of all Japanese  words end in a vowel except when they end in that "n" sound...This  makes it difficult to teach English words that end in a consonant, such as my  name...Jeff...so here it becomes Jefu...you too can have fun with the Japanese  name game when you add the fact that our "r" sound becomes an  "L", our "th" sound becomes a z, "v" becomes  "b", and I am sure there are a few others I forgot.Ý So here  goes...Heather is Heza, Ivan is Iban, Rafi is Lafi (he hates that), and Purmont  has so many sounds Japanese can't say that I won't even venture. So I am Jefu or  Mr. Jefu; a name I have grown to...put up with. ------>Insulation....a word quite foreign to  Japan...not only in language, but also in practice.Ý The winters where I  live are pretty cold.Ý So with no central heating kerosine heaters are the  thing.Ý The trick is leaving it on the whole time (which really isn't a  trick) because as soon as you turn it off cold air comes right through the  walls.Ý I really don't know why things aren't insulated...then again I  don't know "why" about many things here.ÝÝ ÝÝÝ ------>Here's an  interesting question I came up with as I laid freezing in my bed one night...why  do we call this place Japan when they call it Nihon?Ý They call America  America...call England England so why does America make a new name for this  place?Ý By the way, the direct translation of Nihon is 2 books...though I  am told it really doesn't mean that...the only conclusion I can come up with is  that there are 2 main islands here...then again my logic is not their  logic.ÝÝ ----> I have 2 jr highs and at cleaning time  one school plays The Beatles "Help" over and over on the sound system,  while the other school plays the "Star Wars" theme.Ý ---->Okay, so there is  pressure on women to marry here by 25.Ý After that age for a joke they get  a "wedding cake" around Christmas time to remind them that they are  like old wedding cake...how lovely huh?Ý  Ý ----> I was at the Jr High whose principal  said I played basketball like Michael Jackson, and when it was brought up again  I said I played like Michael Jodan (notice not Jordan but "jodan"  which means "joke" here...thanks Rafi for that info).  Ý Well that pretty much sums it up here...I am  thinking my funny experiences are slowing down a bit so I warn you that these  updates from now on are probably going to be EXTREMELY boring...but oh  well.ÝÝ