The good and the bad

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Updates, updates...

So the good news is that I have:

1) A subletter
2) A visa

The lease is on the way, and all I have to do is pack and take my exams.

Well, almost.

So, here's a small problem I have recently discovered. My visa is a 3 month visa, but my flight dates are May 18-August 21. See the problem? So when I spoke to my boss, I discovered that even the 3 day discrepancy could cause me to be barred from re-entry for a number of years if I overstay my visa. Big problem if I wanna get a job in Japan, right? So Keiko is hopefully going to be calling the immigration office to see if I can get an extension, but if not I will have to re-schedule my flight, which they charge a $300 fee for. I'm going to try and call the airline directly instead of going through the travel agency if this is the case, and hopefully I can avoid paying the fee. If anyone has any tips on this I would greatly appreciate some advice.

In other good news I won my trial, and a very narrow victory it was at that. Quite frankly we made a huge mistake in the middle of it, and were pretty much saved by the skin of our teeth. Well, I'll spare you all the boring details but needless to say it was a good lesson in court procedure. I'm just glad we won, which means we got the 'A', making it my first solid 'A' in law school!!

Monday starts my exams, and I kick it all off with Wills, Estates and Trusts, with one of the most difficult professors in the school. He is rumored to fail graduating 3rd years, so I'm just praying to pass the exam.

Although I have been up to my eyeballs in outlines and study aids, I have had a bit of time to relax, which is exactly what I did last night. I went out to dinner with my friend Wendy to this amazing restaurant here in Boston called "Addis Red Sea". It's an Ethiopian place, and was my first experience with Ethiopian food. All I can say is...wow. The restaurant itself was an experience--thick red velvet curtains, brightly colored tables made of wood and leather in the shape of drums, various African art and memorabilia adorning the walls, and the thick scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, and other exotic spices hung in the air. It felt as if I had been transported to another world, and Ethiopia now has a spot on my list of places to see on my dream tour of the world (^_~) And then the food...I can't even describe it. Wendy was vegetarian so we had the vegetarian platter. We chose four dishes which were served in small portions on a light, airy, soft, bread very similar to that of a crumpet. You ate everything with the bread (which served as the plate) and your hands. It was heaven, and the chocolate mousse cake and strong Ethiopian coffee was the perfect end to a perfect dinner. The wait staff were great as well, and their friendliness and hospitality (something not often found in Boston) made this restaurant somewhere I will definitely be going back to as often as I can afford it (^_^)

After dinner, Wendy and I went back to her house where we spent the evening with her husband, who is Chilean, and has the kind of joi de vivre possessed in such abundance only by South Americans. It's a contagious energy and soon we were all laughing and talking, and the lethargy which had set in from the massive amounts of food we had consumed seem to disappear in an instant. With all out newfound energy we decided to take their dog, Cali, for a walk in the arboretum, which was beautiful even in the darkness, and the air was filled with the scent of magnolia and cherry blossoms.

It truly was a wonderful evening, and made even better for Maraou's promise to cook an authentic Chilean dinner for me before I leave.

Anyway, that's all the news for now, from tomorrow it's back to studying, wish me luck!!

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Photos

Don't feed the coyotes
Apparently, there has been a recent influx of coyotes in the Boston area lately. Wendy says she's seen them hanging around her neighborhood quite a bit. This follows the moose and the 2 gorillas which escaped from the zoo in the past few years...