Happy 4th of July, with love, from North Korea

July 3rd Kunisaki was host to an epic storm. It was pouring rain, there was thunder and lightning a plenty, and it was nice and windy. It reminded me of that storm at the end of "The Shawshank Redemption" when Andy finally busts out of jail. 

July 4th the sun was shining, and everything smelled like the ocean. That's what I love about summer storms in Kunisaki, they make everything smell like the ocean, which sort of smells like salami, but in a good way (bizarre I know, I can't stand meat). 

So I woke up around 8 am on July 4th to sunshine and the smell of MSG, which put me in a pretty good mood. I opted for a morning jog.  Of course it was so muggy I was practically breathing water, AND since I'm not a fish that was rather uncomfortable. After a cold shower I threw on some shorts and a tank-top (my summer uniform) and drove to Hiji (a few towns over) to have dinner with one of my old teachers. 

Kawatani-sensei was one of my favorite teachers last year, but in accordance with Japanese bureaucratic rules she was transfered to another school. Lame. She's also friends with Betsy and Darin, so she invited the 3 of us to her house for 4th of July dinner. 

Kawatani-sensei is the most American Japanese person I've ever met. She loves beer, her and her husband love basketball, they live in a beach house, and they have the coolest toilet I have ever seen. The seat has a motion sensor, and it lifts automatically when you open the door. There's also a nightlight in the bowl, for midnight potty missions. Sweet. 

Once it got dark, we lit up some sparklers and sang America a Happy Birthday song. Well, Bets, Darin, and I did... Kawatani-sensei and her husband just sort of hummed along.  "A" for effort though

Kawatani-sensei and her husband

Sparklers IGNITE! 

...and the rockets' red glare

the bombs bursting in air...

so pretty 

We were all having a good time, and after driving Bets and Darin to a train station I headed home around 11, Brooks and Dunn blaring. There was a 4th of July bonfire in Kunisaki that I'd planned on attending. However, I assume all my friends were a little too "patriotic" to answer their phones. So I went for a late night walk on the beach hoping that I'd be able to hear them. But no luck, so I headed home and watched "Independence Day" all by my lonesome. Nothing says FREEDOM like Will Smith sucker-punching an alien hell bent on mayhem and destruction of the human race.

So today, July 5th, I woke up at 9 to the sound of rain and a buzz saw. Damn buzz saw, buzz saws are worse than alarms, because buzz saws don't have snooze buttons. So I decided to check the news. After filtering through all the Michael Jackson related articles I stumbled upon a few about North Korea. EVIDENTLY North Korea celebrated the 4th of July too, with missiles, in the water between Korea and Japan. Yeppers, I'm now feeling a bit nervous in my current country of residence, because missiles are unsettling. 

Happy 4th, keep it safe...