Birthday Present

Note that this picture has nothing to do with a birthday present:)

The picture right above here is the one I took in Miyajima(宮島), the place where is regarded as one of world helitages in Japan. To my surprise, hundreds of monkey were goofing around every here and there in the island, taking care of many children and sleeping etc. It looked so cute...that I couldn't help taking pictures of them.

By the way, I heard a pretty good news from Late(my boyfreind in Finland) that my birthday present is comming soon with his friend.

"Hmm??"

there would be someone who wonder what I meant.
Allright, I'll explain about it.

Late's friend is actually visiting Japan next weekend and stay for two and half a week for travelling, and on the way, the friend comes by my place so that I can receive my birthday present from Late through him. That's that:) But it sounds something special for me the fact that a birthday present would arrive into my hand through his close friend.

I'm thinking what I can get as a birthday present.....

豊かさの意味 -the meaning of affluence-

ここ３日程、東京にいた。

久しぶりに友達A（スペイン出身）と再会。先週から卒論のフィールドワークのため緊急来日。
彼とはフィンランドに留学中同じ寮の同じフロアに住んでいて、よく夜中まであーだこーだと、恋愛から社会問題・歴史など様々なトピックについて色々話し込んでた仲間。

教育学専攻で、しかも教師歴５年の彼は、知識の多さもさることながら何といってもバイタリティ＋行動力抜群で、思いっきり馬鹿にもなれる天才だ。

「何をもって国が豊かと言えるのか」

昨日はそんな話に熱が入った。

物質的に豊か＝精神的に豊か　とは必ずしも言えない。
モノが溢れて、安定しきった社会、人々は飽和状態の世界でさ迷う。

確かにインフラが整った、経済的にも成功をおさめた、先進国日本。
いつしか多くの人々は安定を求めるようになり保守的になった。

満たされない心は、モノの消費を助長し、人々のモノに対する執着心は大きくなるばかり。

この国の消費体質が異常だと思えてならないのは私だけだろうか。
本当にこの国は豊かなんだろうか。

[in English]
For last three days, I'd been in Tokyo.

A friend of mine from Spain is comming to Japan in order to do his field work of the thesis, so I dropped by his place besides job-hunting. He has been a close friend since we happened to live in the same floor of the same domitory in Finland, and I do remember well that we used to talk about almost everything, not only private stories but also social problems and world history and so on till the midnight.

His major is high-education in master's degree and also having experiences as a teacher for five years. It always impresses me by his activeness and the fact that he's knowledgeable as well as witty.

Yesterday, the topic we're discussing was "the meaning of affluence in developed countries".

It's hard to say that material fulfillment always leads people psychological contentment.
In a stable society where products are overflowing, people tend to get lost.

Indeed, Japan is considered as a developed country which economically had a big success; however, there is the air drifting which makes the society more conservative for stability.

Nowadays, unsatisfied feeling that people have had furthers product-consumption more and more, don't know the end.

Have you ever thought this country is insane in terms of consuming?

I have.

and I doubt people in Japan is mentally affluent.