Miracles do happen....even in Japan!

KONICHIWA!

Time is flying by! Before you know it I'll be home and we can chat in person - ohhh am soooo looking forward to seeing everybody!!!

Specially all you preggy people! It's like an epidemic I tell you! Is there something in the water over there?! Has the plot on Shortland Street got even worse? Do they even sell TV's there anymore I wonder?

Seriously I'm telling ya it really does seem like as soon as I left the country everyone was emailing with joyous news!....hmm actually come to think of it maybe it's a good thing I left when I did eh - eek! :)

SO how have you all been then hmmm? I wouldve thought with the weather warming up (it pains me to hear about the BBQs oh how I miss them!) that your fingers are unfrosted enough to be able to type wee Fern an email people.

I guess you think if you're not pregnant then you've not much news, but I can't say anything too exciting has been happening here either.

Oh there was a bit of drama and celebration last week though...

It started as a rather traumatic morning. I'd finished my last tube of vegemite - the salty grail! Nooooooooo! There I was standing under our kitchen cupboards fingers desperately patting away at the empty shelf above me....yes even in JAPAN I am short!....when I started to suspect the worst...

So being the incredibly intelligent person that I am I manouvered one of our kitchen chairs across the floor and climbed up to discover the awful truth....(cue screechy startled horror movie sounds "eeh eeh eeh eeh eeh!") .....Horror of horrors the cupboard was bare!

And still 21 weeks to go mother hubbard! How would a young kiwi survive that long without the black gold, the salty spread of the gods I wondered??

So there I was, lost in an asian wilderness, with only raw fish and rice for comfort, contemplating my fate when suddenly I came across an oasis in the department store desert....

There, as if bathed in glowing golden light upon the foreign food store shelf sat ONE jar of vegemite. Count with me people, ONE I tell you.

ONE jar of salvation... And I swear I heard angels singing :)

Honestly, I truly believe I experienced a miracle that day, a work of true divine intervention, as NEVER before have I EVER seen vegemite in that shop before and for there to be only ONE jar left (and a proper glass jar too mind, not one of those chepo plasticy ones, nooo)...well I think someone was looking out for me that day :)

So there you go people miracles DO happen - keep the faith I tell you and maybe the Black Caps will actually win a match this season :)

Life here has been pretty quiet since then though - well it's pretty hard to compete with a miracle now isn't it - I mean can't go having them everyday now can we, people might come to expect things!

No, no, just your everyday run of the mill stuff like my flatmate getting engaged to a guy from Ireland whom she met here and has known for two months!... and (just between you and me) who ironically looks very much like a potato!

Oh and I"M GOING TO VIETNAM NEXT WEEK - Yahooooooo!

Most of my other news is just small tidbits of observations, like at the park today - winter has arrived and with it so has the rain, and this morning I saw the most astrocious act of animal cruelty...

A woman was walking her dog....which was not only wearing a fully buttoned down rain coat....but BOOTIES as well!!!!

I mean can you imagine, there are two things dogs live for in life: food and walkies....especially in the rain. They LOVE it!

A dog in the rain is thinking "oh rain, oh boy, oh rain, oh boy oh yeah, oh mud YAY! oh rain, oh boy!"

If a dog were thinking "iiiiick ugggh water, oh GROSS! Oh it's on my paws, eeeewww..."

Then that people, would be a cat.

I might start a new campaign of my own - you know with one of those trendy little rubber plastic bangles that everyone's wearing these days and a catchy slogan like Dogs not Dolls or something. Who knows - I could make my fortune in Japan yet I tell you!

So stayed tuned for more riveting indpeth reports from life around the world in the future!

Smiles and GREAT BIG HUMUNGOUS HUGS to everyone,
Love Always,
your wee Fernleaf in Japan.

p.s. Does anyone know if they have Vegemite in England????