Matthew's company hired Aussie Andrew out of a gazillion applicants for the position of sales representative in Japan. He has lived here for 11 years, been married to Hiroe (pronounced "Hi-ro-way" and maybe spelled that way for all I know) for two. They are a hoot, and go out of their way to make us feel at home.

Matthew was a little concerned that Takahashi might resent the presence of yet another foreigner in the office, especially one who will be there long after we have left. But by happy coincidence he spent 5 years living in Melbourne just half an hour from where Andrew grew up, and the two are already fast friends. Takahashi is especially pleased because he understands Australian English much better than American English. For that reason Matthew is working on his Aussie accent. I like it!


Andrew plays on an Australian Footy team here (a rougher sport than the name suggests, cross between soccer and football with no protective gear whatsoever), we joined them at their sponsor's pub for a raucous afternoon of Footy on the telly yesterday.



Hiroe being Mt Fuji. Notice the merchandise packed to the rafters behind her. This particular store has 6 floors jam-crammed with stuff, I haven't quite gotten used to the sheer volume of it. I read the words "rampant consumerism" in the paper this morning and wondered where does all this stuff go if the living spaces are so tiny? I have to think twice about about whether we have room for an extra coffee mug--what would I have to get rid of to make room for a Mt Fuji hat?