So, I`ve actually made a few blogspot blogs, usually when I was frustrated with blog.com. Now, again, it`s been really annoying, so here I am, making a new blog. The reason I waited was that I like blog.com`s picture album option, but I don`t like how they`re doing that anymore, so here we are in our new home! We have some work to do to feel at `home` here, but I will be working on it this week when I have time.

Ok, and Universal Studios was a lot of fun. It was strange as it was very much like the American ones, but with Hello Kitty, and all the rides spoke in Japanese. The spiderman ride was my favourite-we sat in a `news vehicle` and chased the bad guys (octopus man, electric man, hydro man, and two more-correct me `cause I don`t know their real names) around while they sprayed us with water and heat and jumped onto the hood of the car (3D). So great. My other highlight was the `build your own burger` resteraunt that had banana peppers and salsa for the burgers! that made it worth the 14 bucks for a burger, small drink and a few fries!

I had the Canadian cooking class on sunday. The fridge in the place wasn`t working, so our Nanaimo bars were pretty soggy. Funny, `nanamo` means `7 potatoes` in Japanese, so some of them thought we were making some kind of potato desert! I did a little geography lesson so they would know that Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island. The burritos were great, and there was lots of salsa, so they got to take some home and introduce their families to salsa for dinner! I would say it was a success














Lastly, we were woken up this morning by a earthquake at 5am. We`ve had one at night before, but it was over before we could get up, but this went on for long enough we finally got out of bed and got under the doorframe. (which, I`ve been informed may not be the best place to be.. comments on this?) It was in the news this morning. It sure woke us up fast, but at 5am, there was still another 1.5 hours before we needed to be up, and getting up when the alarm went off was a lot harder than when the house is swaying back and forth!!

(edited to add interesting/useless information)

The Japanese scale for earthquakes is different from the Richter scale and goes as follows. (We had a 3 where we were, the centre was a 5, just under the quake that recently hit Indonesia)

The JMA Scale runs from 0 to 7, with 7 being the strongest. Sometimes roman numerals are used, as in the Mercalli Intensity Scale; however this is not the usual practice in Japan. The real-time reports are calculated automatically from measurements of ground acceleration. The JMA reports the shindo based on the ground acceleration, which can be written in the SI metric units meters per second squared (m/s²).

7: In most buildings, wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged and fall. In some cases, reinforced concrete-block walls collapse. Peak ground acceleration greater than 4 m/s²6+: In many buildings, wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged and fall. Most unreinforced concrete-block walls collapse. 3.15–4.00 m/s²

6−: In some buildings, wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged and fall. 2.50–3.15 m/s²5+: In many cases, unreinforced concrete-block walls collapse and tombstones overturn. Many automobiles stop due to difficulty in driving. Occasionally, poorly installed vending machines fall. (only in Japan is this a determining factor of the earthquake intensity!) 1.40–2.50 m/s²

5−: Most people try to escape from danger, some finding it difficult to move. 0.80–1.40 m/s²

4: Many people are frightened. Some people try to escape from danger. Most sleeping people awake. 0.25–0.80 m/s²

3: Felt by most people in the building. Some people are frightened. 0.08–0.25 m/s²

2: Felt by many people in the building. Some sleeping people awake. 0.025–0.08 m/s²

1: Felt by only some people in the building. 0.008–0.025 m/s²

0: Imperceptible to people. Less than 0.008 m/s²