Dayoff

It's been 1 week in Kyoto now, and it's been a long week. Good, but long. We've been able to meet lots of new students and invite them to bowling last night, which was a blast. I'm excited to keep meeting with them throughout this trip. But today was our day off *phew*. Finally got to sleep in and catch up on some rest, so nice. I also went running today....in Japan weather, crazy? maybe a little. But I had to do it. It's been two week since I've exercised and I felt pretty gross. I think people who don't run don't really understand runners. To them it doesn't really make sense, who wants to run in 80 degree weather? But to runners it's an opportunity to think, be alone, and to be with God. How can we think and hear God when we're always with people? Maybe that's my introverted side talking. Anyways, it was nice and it was worth the sweat.

I heard about Michael Jackson's death a few days ago while I was here in Kyoto. My heart goes out to him and his family, he's lived a hard life. I find myself strongly sympathizing with his life. Since his youth he's been in the spot light and in a way he didn't really have any choice in that. I saw an interview with him and Oprah a while back of him saying when he was little, he wished he had been able to play like normal kids. What is it like to bypass your adolescence and head straight to adulthood? So much is missed and so much is lost. I think about how much he's given to the world and still how the world wants so much more of him. Not to say he's lived a perfect life or even acceptable in certain areas but how cruel to we have to be to drive MJ out of the US? This is a sad thing. And now after his death, I'm forced to wonder if we, as media and America, had anything to do with his death. We've lost a great and possibly the world's greatest performer. Keep on rockin' Michael.