[steven]

About Spanish in Japan-- I wonder if it isn't like 2nd as far as recent popularity gain goes. I've heard quite a few people talking about it recently. I met a woman recently who actually married into a Spanish speaking family! As far as "Spanish being far" goes, on the contrary, I never imagined I'd meet as many Filipinos in Japan! I know it may not be their first language, but a lot of the ones I've met can speak a fair amount of Spanish (and really decent English).