There are 4 new members in my extended family: nieces from Ethiopia adopted by my sister and her husband last November. I was lucky to be able to spend a week with them just one month after they arrived, and again a couple of months later. They are loving, funny, intelligent, beautiful girls, and it's a joy to watch each of them adjusting to her new life in a unique way, while still hanging on to and sharing with us memories of the joys and sorrows of her old one.

The local newspaper recently produced two audio slideshows telling the story of their arrival, and here are the links:

http://www.roanoke.com/multimedia/soundslides/openarms1/gallery.html
http://www.roanoke.com/multimedia/soundslides/openarms2/gallery.html

How to Type in Japanese

Satomi is here and wants to know how to type in Japanese on the computer. I'm showing her how to go to the language icon on the toolbar, select Japanese, then hit the "~" and "alt" keys together to switch to Japanese. それで日本語になるはず。

教えてもらってよかった。さとみ

By Cage

I am an eight-year-old boy. I like scorpions, bald eagles, and falcons. My favorite foods are pasta, tomatoes, pizza, and natto maki. I don't like peppers, broccoli, and shrimp.

I hope you read this Bennett and Jasper.

3-Day Monk

There's a Japanese expression "mikka bouzu", which translates to the title above: "three-day monk". It refers to people's tendency not to stick with things even after they've resolved to do them. I kept thinking of this in the WHOLE month that has passed since I made my first three entries on this blog.

I finally decided to end the streak of inactivity with this short commentary. Japan has some of the most disciplined people in the world, but even they have issues.