BOO

I have a cold. I told myself that it was just allergies until my whole head started to fill with goo, now it feels like a leaking balloon. I still managed to walk from temple 28 to temple 30, about 15km, and am now writing this in a cubicle. Japan has these internet cafes where you can rent out the room by the hour or stay the night at a discount price. I think they are made specifically for the hardcore gamer because they also offer food, beverage, showers and restrooms.

I met gaijin henro the other day. The first Ive run into on this trip. He got a grant from his school to study the 88 temple run, speaks great Japanese and was a huge asset for the two days we hiked together. Alas, he is returning home and I am once again without a map or language skills to navigate daily life. Just a couple minutes ago, dribbling snot onto the counter I tried to get the girl behind the counter to let me use the computer without buying a membership card `because,` I said, `I will never come back here again.` She just stared at me, and I at her, until I finally said, Marshmellow pistolwhipping dog muffin and pointed at the card. She took that as confirmation and now I have a membership card to, new new Cafe: for fun relax time.

It was really nice to speak English for awhile, and I think as soon as I started to speak english I became more American. Ill explain. I have to become more Japanese to survive without using language, which means I bow a lot and say the three words I know in Japanese again and again. I hadnt spoken proper English and I hadnt told a joke that anyone understood in two weeks, so as soon as I was understood I unloaded two weeks worth of comedy. Alex was rolling and I again became American. My body language started to loosen up, I nodded up instead of down and started another war in the middle east. It was a breath of fresh air.