Piece of s*%# bike

Okay, so everything isn’t picture perfect here. I hate my bike. Not that I don’t like riding bikes, I just hate this bike. Ever since I got here (Amber left it), it consistently gets a flat tire. I have tried taking it to a bike repair shop, and they fill the tire with air, and they tell me (in Japanese so I’m guessing here) “Look, the tire is fine!” And they won’t change it. I try to tell them it will go flat again when I ride it, so I want a new one. But they just tell me that the air is in the tire now, so it’s ok. Anyways, on to today. I met my supervisor at his office in City Hall. We had to go to the immigration office., which he said was 15-20 min away. He has a scooter, so I usually just follow him on my (stupid) bike. Well, today, the tire would not hold air. After going about a 1/4 mile, up and down a hill, I told him we had to stop so I could put air in the tire. That lasted about 1/2 a block, then flat again. At the second bike shop we went to (first one was closed), the mechanic told me the same thing, “Look air, all fixed.” My supervisor agreed, so scowling and trying to not be a bossy American, I got back on the bike. A couple blocks later it was flat again. I ended up riding on a flat, then stopping every so often to put in air. So on the way back from the immigration office, we stopped in again to the bike shop, and they FINALLY fixed the TWO gaping holes in my tire. Riding a bike with a flat tire in the high heat and humidity that we have was almost too much. There was one point I almost gave up, I was so tired and hot. I can’t believe how much I sweat! I bet I could’ve filled a bathtub. So here are the pictures* of my piece of crap bike, my supervisor Kasumi Sensei (who really has been very helpful), and the pigeons that tried to eat me at the park. This bike really has been the only bad thing here. But hey, it just makes another interesting story right? And now I have quads of steel!
*Now, I've tried 15 million times to upload the pictures, but appently this site doesn't like my new camera. I'll keep trying. In the meantime, use you imagination.