Today's Recommended Reading.

1) Foreign Studies, by Endo Shusaku, though it might be under Shusaku Endo, you never can tell how they do the names in the states. I think that this book might be the most relevant book to my life that I have ever read.

2) GTO volumes 1-25, by Touzawa Touru, or Touru Touzawa. These are graphic novels. These give you a surprisingly accurate view of Japanese schools and how the Japanese do things. I will admit that when I first read them I was a bit unsure on how accurate they are, but I live here now (and have been to some of the places drawn in the books!) and Japan is quite a bit like that. The pressure on the kids is very similar, and way that kids, especially drop outs and public school kids, are treated I see for myself almost eveyday. I almost got in a fight with one of my classmates today, because we went to a public school bunkasai (his former classmate goes there) and we met the kid, and about 20 minutes after getting there, my classmate said we were leaving. I asked him why and he said that the public school kids' heads were too bad, and he thought they were all stupid and dangerous. My host mom thinks the same way. I hate them, and want very much to meet the public school kids because they are the only people in the country who have indiviuallity. I am almost completely serious!

Today hurt, and I am not talking about the public school kids dumbing me down. I am pretty fucked in the head from this country!

Peter