Amanda
She is my new best buddy. She weighs more than 300 pounds, and loves the hot spring waters here at Homosasa Springs in Florida.
Any guesses to what kind of animal is she!
Good guess!
She is a Florida Manatee and as I said before she makes her home at the lovely state park in Homosassa Springs along with some of the other laid back residents there.
Meet Lou for example the 48 year old Hippo.He enjoys making a splash with all the visitors here.
Even though things are gradually changing, most of my friends and students are not big American football fans. 
They remain hardcore soccer or baseball fans.I was pretty hardcore about American football growing up back in the states. 
It wasn't uncommon for me to spend countless hours in front of the tube watching millionaires subject themselves to immense bodily injury chasing after the oval shaped pigskin. 
Now I have scaled back my TV viewing time but do still like to follow the sport.
Until recently I had never been a big Karaoke fan.
Something , although I can't quite put my finger on it, has changed inside of me. I think I finally get it. Maybe it comes from having witnessed the magic of karaoke. I saw first hand how the right song coupled with the right group of folks can transcend the atmosphere into something filled with extreme possibility.
Magical karaoke moment
Chanson Cafe teacher and two of her students
Depending on the regions of the world's waters they're churning through, they are sometimes called typhoons, cyclones, or Hurricanes.
Unlike Japan, in other regions of the world hurricanes get names.
Growing up in Florida it was only girls names at first but now it's both girls and boys as boys are getting into the act as well.
After 16 days of non-stop Olympic coverage on the TV things felt pretty quiet today. I almost didn't know what to do with my self. No medal standings to check in the morning newspaper, no reruns of the highlights to watch and no settings for the DVD recorder. Basically it's all about trying to find my normal life again that I had before the Olympics started. I'm somewhat relieved that summer Olympics happens only every four years, but then again
wouldn't it be kind of cool to try to attend the games at least once in my lifetime.
Hiroshi is 20 years old and a third year student at a University in Hyogo
He boarded the ferry from Maizuru and arrived in Otaru on July30th to begin his month long cycling adventure around Hokkaido.
He will finish on August 30th also in Otaru.
We met him in front of convenience store in Hiro which is on the way to Erimo Misaki.(Cape Erimo)
We chatted about his experiences so far.
I find this young man to be extremely inspiring!
His efforts should definitely be applauded!
I found his budget for the trip to be especially interesting.
Having majored in Criminology at University I have always been interested in the field of corrections. So of course I was filled enormous excitement during my visit to the Abashiri prison Museum a couple of days ago. The Japanese approach to rehabilitation included a lot of hard labor and reflection. Walking around the grounds and seeing all the exhibits of this open air museum, it was clear that prisoners who served time here had plenty of opportunity for both.
Abahiri Prison museum: The main gate
Things can get really interesting on the road. There have been so many kinds of various accommodations for us. Take for example the youth hostel we stayed at yesterday in Shireteko national park.
Iwaobetsu Youth Hostel: Located in the World heritage national park
What an amazing place to walk around! It is definitely a natural treasure considering that it was a vast sea only 20,000 years ago.
If you're lucky, you might be able to see some of the 1000 Red-crowned cranes that live there. Mio and I decided to take the two kilo course into the park.
We crossed a suspension bridge before arriving at the spectacular view that I will not forget anytime soon
Kushiro Marsh National Park
