spent most of today doing two things:

1) listening to each of the 10 groups that went to different places throughout Japan tell the rest of us what they did and who they met. it was pretty cool. many of the groups had a spokesperson (i was ours) and almost every group made a slide show (we did too) and some sang songs (we did that too) or presented funny skits ( i thought ours was THE funniest). it was interesting to see how different our experiences were, but also how much all of us were made to feel important and welcomed by the people of this generous country.

and 2) walking and (thinking about) shopping. i still have about Y3500 in my wallet and i would like to spend it before i get to the airport tomorrow. i didn't find anything to buy today (almost bought some art from a guy selling prints on the sidewalk in omote-sando, but i decided not to) so i just walked and walked, then rode the subway back to the hotel. tomorrow i am here until about 1pm and then i go to the airport where i have to sit until 7pm and then i get to start coming home... i am torn about how to spend my money... if i buy food i have nothing to show about my trip but if i buy stuff i have to find a place to put it and i am all packed and ready to go... so: i will probably end up eating some of my yen and cashing in the rest at the airport where i am sure to loose money in the deal... oh well...

i am ready to come home, but i am leaving japan with a bit of sadness too. this is a fascinating place and i don't really feel like i've had enough time here to really understand it or appreciate it. i would like to come back someday and work on understanding it more (with lisa of course). i would like to learn to speak the language a littl better or at least learn to read it a little. not knowing the language AND not knowing how to even sound-out words began to really wear me out after a while...

there are so many interesting things to talk about while we prepare for our project. i hope you are as excited as i am about it!

it seems like forever since i've seen you all... it's with great excitement that i can say: SEE YOU ON MONDAY.

until then: this is john coe, reporting live from tokyo... and now, back to you.