After a relatively uneventful October, the month of November had it's share of moments. First, a friend from Ayashichuo Christ Church, Pastor Hisashi and Junko's son Hajime, had gotten engaged. I met his fiancé last year during their family party. She was very cute and sweet. The Sasakis invited us to their engagement ceremony (a tradition done in Japan) at a local church in Izumi, and we agreed to go.
Aaron and I rented the van and drove to the church. Luckily, it was held in a church that was much closer to us than Ayashi, so we didn't have to drive so long. Unfortunately, we weren't really sure where the building was and arrived about 10 minutes late. When we entered he building, we heard a loud voice echoing from a microphone. Unfortunately, the no people were to be seen. We wandered cluelessly for about a minute, fumbling around wondering where the sanctuary was at. Finally we figured it out and sat in the back.
Of course, the service was all in Japanese. It was also very silent and all the songs sung were hymns. Very old fashioned. I didn't have an idea what was going on, so I decided to take some pictures of the couple. Fortunately, the service was really short. Immediately afterwards, we went up to the couple to say hi, congratulations, and hand them a present we got for them (it was a big picture frame!). We went up to them and It was like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie standing before a wall of paparazzi. Crazy. Somehow, Aaron and I got caught in the fray and ended up smiling for a bunch of pictures we were sure we weren't supposed to be in, but couldn't escape from. After a few awkward minutes, we finally left the couple and started chatting with some of the other church members who we hadn't seen in a while. It was especially nice to see Yoshi, who had been my translator when I attended Ayashi.
After some time snacking on some fruits and tourist the church, we finally said goodbye to everyone and left. It was nice to see everyone and made me miss all the familiar and friendly faces. The wedding isn't until next summer, so maybe we'll be seeing them again sometime.
Since returning to Japan from our honeymoon in Germany, Aaron and I have had to ask ourselves some serious questions. What does God want us to do here? How long are we going to be here? What are our longterm goals? What church should we immerse ourselves in?
I've engaged myself in some deep prayer and fasting, as has Aaron and we've slowly been getting answers here and there. We know that God does want us here in Japan for the time being. We don't know how long, but it seems that God doesn't really want to focus on that. Instead, He just wants us to be here. As for ministry and longterm goals... before we could do anything we had to tie up some loose ends.
It was pretty hard and sad for me to do. First, I had to say goodbye to Ayashichuo Christ Church for good. We'd been in touch with them ever since I left, and I had been regularly attending the hula ministry that I helped to start there. Unfortunately, God has been clear that he wants me to cut ties there. That meant quitting the hula class rather abruptly and dropping out of the hula performance the very next day. And not even showing up to support them. It had to be a clear cut. Very hard for me to do, but I had to do it and trust that everything was in God's hands.
Now that I've done that Aaron and I are free to dive deep into another mission. We've decided to go with Arise Sendai, a branch off of a church in Sano, where we have some Bluewater friends living there. In a way, it's nice that somehow we are still all connected. What God has in store for us there is still a mystery as we haven't yet dove in. One thing God has been certain about is that he wants me to be involved supernaturally. Something that I haven't really done in Japan yet. We will see...
As for work, I've put myself out there as a private English teacher, but we'll see how everything unravels over time.
For one weekend, Aaron and I took Melissa down to Tokyo to experience the craziness that we really can't get in Sendai. I wrote a short entry with some pictures in my "Around the World" page. But I wanted to journal some of the more in depth details of our trip.
We took a commercial bus down to Tokyo rather than the Shinkansen. We were really glad we did. It was way, way cheaper and much more comfortable. We got to sit back, relax, and eat snacks along the way. It was pretty fun. When we finally reached Tokyo, we walked around Shinjuku. I'd only been to Shinjuku once and it was my first week in Japan for my JET orientation and training. It'd been so long ago that I'd forgotten a lot about it.
Melissa had several things on her list that she wanted to check out. One thing was a Doctor Fish Pedicure. I'd done some research and found a place that offered it. The three of us all did it together. It was something I'd heard about but never thought I'd ever do. Particularly because I really can't stand fish, whether they are alive or dead. But somehow I ended up doing it. I documented it in a couple of somewhat funny videos.
We sat in the spa for about 15 minutes while the little fishies nibbled at our feet. At first it was freaky. Several times it was so ticklish that it was unbearable. But after it was over, our feet were soft and smooth. In fact, my left big toe had been bothering me for some time because of some skin and callouses that had grown there. It was actually kind of painful for me to walk with my shoes on. But after 15 minutes with the Dr. Fish, my feet were baby smooth and the skin that had developed was gone. Walking with shoes wasn't a problem after that anymore.
The next day we woke up early to visit Shibuya. Once there we had to take a picture of Hachiko the dog. The famous story was turned into a Hollywood movie called Hachi starring Richard Gere. The dog waited every day at the train station waiting for his owner to come home even long after the owner had died of a heart attack. The story actually took place in Japan instead of America. In the place where the real dog used to wait is a statue in its memory. Aaron never saw the movie so he didn't get the significance of it. But me and Melissa took a picture on behalf of our Mom, who would've appreciated it.
Then we took pictures in front of Shibuya Crossing. I wanted a picture because it was the spot featured in Lost in Translation. I had to channel my inner indie Scarlett Johansson. Except not as well as she did. And there were no giant dinosaurs walking onto the mega-screens on any of the buildings. We did, however, see lots of Transformers trailers and advertisements all over the place.
From there we headed for Shibuya 109. It wasn't a place I knew about, but Melissa sure did. It was basically a shopping mall with lots of floors. With stores that looked like the picture on the left. Pretty interesting. Pretty crazy. Pretty exhausting. I'm not a shopper. I have a 3 store maximum before I start to lose my mind. This was hours of walking around in circles buying nothing. But hey, anything to please the sister on her last day in Japan. Poor Aaron must've been bored out of his mind. Like me.
After shopping, we headed back to Shinjuku for the Robot Restaurant. Another thing off of Melissa's to do list. It was definitely a spectacle. As soon as we walked in, everything was neon lights, mirrors, girls in skimpy costumes, robots, and so many strange and loud things. The show was pretty long and they had boxing robots, girls dancing in furry outfits, a Chinese lion, a Kung-Fu Panda riding a cow, and so many other bizarre things I can't comprehend.
Here's a band dressed in shiny costumes performing Lady Gaga's "Telephone" song. Were they good? Eh... the keyboardist was good, I'll give him that! Having to play an instrument with flashing lights and a helmet that covers his entire head has got to be a feat. Although there's no way to know if he was actually playing live or if it was just a recording. The singers were singing live though.
After the robots, we decided to head to Harajuku real quick. By the time we got there it was already night time and things were closing down. We managed to walk though some weird looking shops before having to turn around. Not before I saw a candy shop playing Avril Lavigne's "Hello Kitty" song on repeat... that was not a sight or sound I wanted to experience.
It was pretty much a whirlwind and I was a little sad that Melissa didn't get a chance to experience more of Japan since her time was limited. But maybe one day she'll come back and we can take her to a real crazy place - Osaka!
Aaron had heard from a coworker about a new sushi restaurant that opened called Uobei Sushi, located in the Musashi parking lot. We'd driven past there before and since Melissa was in town, we figured we'd check it out.
When we got there, we saw on the sign that it was actually a Genki Sushi restaurant, but for some reason the name is Uobei. When we were seated, we were surprised by how everything worked. The restaurant was mostly tables and not so much counters like a lot of the conveyer belt sushi places. Also, there were no conveyer belts. Instead, there were bullet trains and race cars and space shuttles delivering our sushi orders for us. We were so entertained by them! I had to video them.
The quality of the sushi wasn't bad either. So far we've eaten at Hama Zushi, Umai Sushikan, and Sendai Heiroku. Sendai Heiroku and Hama Zushi are all cheap in price and quality. We end up going to Hama Zushi when we're hungry late at night and there's nothing else open. Umai Sushikan's sushi is much better in quality, but pretty pricey. Well, Uobei seems to be the perfect medium. The prices are cheap, but the quality is much better than Hama and Sendai Heiroku. On top of that, it stays open until 11pm! Awesome!
What I like about Uobei, is there's more variety just like Genki Sushi. It's kind of weird to be excited about Genki Sushi, since in Hawaii it's not that great. But in Japan, the variety (and space shuttles) is welcomed! Here we ordered basil french fries. Seems weird, but not bad!
We were so excited about this place that we ended up returning two more times in the next two weeks. By then I was pretty sick of sushi! But not a bad place to go to, especially if you've got kids.
Early August was the Tanabata Festival. I'd gone once before, but this was Melissa's chance to try on a yukata. We had arranged for some of the Japanese ladies from Meysen to help her put it on, but at the last second they fell through. We had planned to go to Tanabata with Janele, an employee and coworker of Melissa's, so we walked to her apartment where we tried to put it on together.
It was definitely a puzzle trying to put it on right. Janele and I both reviewed youtube videos on how to do it. We managed to put on the yukata okay enough, but when it came to the obi we had serious problems. Turns out, Melissa's obi wasn't a traditional obi (which is what I'm used to using). Instead, it was an obi with a clip on bow. Something I'd never used before. It took me and Janele forever to try to figure out how the bow was was supposed to stay on. Unfortunately, Melissa was so skinny that the bow wouldn't stay on tight enough and it kept slipping. Oh well.
Melissa in her yukata.
By the time we finished, there wasn't enough time for Janele to put hers on. We had to run out the door and catch the bus. When we got to downtown Sendai, it was already super croweded. We found a spot on the road near the back. It probably wasn't the best spot, but we were pretty tired from rushing and we just settled on that spot. Melissa and I walked around the vendors looking for dinner. Everything was ridiculously overpriced. We had passed by a McDonald's on the way and I knew we should've gotten something from there. It would've been way cheaper and much more filling. But oh well. Melissa seemed to enjoy the fireworks display, which lasted 90 minutes straight. When it was all over, the three of us stopped at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. The line was really long, but it was well worth it! That ice cream was probably the best part of it all!
Later that week, I took Melissa to see the Jogi Temple. We took the bus from Sendai Station, because we weren't sure of any other ways to get there. We caught the bus and it took us through my old town of Ayashi (where I realized we could've caught the train for much cheaper) and after about 90 minutes, we were at the Jogi Temple. It was a long bus ride, but it was nice because we got to see the country side and the dam.
When we got there, it was super hot and muggy. I immediately went for some kakigori (shave ice). Melissa got one too. When we were done, we walked through the main gate and started looking around. We took lots of pictures. Mostly me taking pictures of Melissa on her phone/camera. We went to all the usual spots. All the temple and shrines. We went into the newest temple and I was surprised you could actually walk in it. I've been there about 3 times previously, and I had no idea you could step inside. We did and we walked around and found that there was a school or a little play area for kids. It was air conditioned too and it made me want to stay there all day.
After that, we headed to the pagoda and tea house. We took pics of the pagoda but when we went to the tea house it was closed. We couldn't figure out why because it was still early. Finally, we read on a sign that it was open every day EXCEPT for Wednesdays. It was a Wednesday. I was super annoyed and Melissa was bummed because that's the thing we wanted to do the most. Melissa was a pretty good sport about it though and she was content with sipping tea at the tea house in Matsushima.
After that there was little to do, so we went back to Sendai. It was another 90 minutes - 2 hours on the bus, but it was a nice ride since we had been walking around in the sun all afternoon.
When we got back into town, we saw that there were a bunch of festivities going on and we realized that the Tanabata Festival was still going on. So we jumped off the bus and started wandering through the crowd. We ate snacks and walked through all the streamers hanging from the bamboo sticks in the shopping plaza. It was insane. I actually recorded some video footage of what it's like to walk through there and it's crazy. It's down below!
My sister, Melissa, had some days off and we decided to take advantage of that by going to all the tourist sites around Miyagi. First stop, Matsushima!
I wasn't sure if Melissa would like Matsushima. She's definitely a city girl, and Matsushima is a coastal fishing town. Very small. Fortunately, I think she liked it. We first stopped at a green tea shop. I don't know if Melissa liked it. She seems to take her green tea with sugar, and this place was very old-school, very traditional. But I think she enjoyed the novelty of drinking in an old green teahouse.
Afterwards, we walked around the temples. It was nice and hot and scenic. I took lots of pictures of Melissa walking around the pathways and gardens. Unfortunately, I didn't take any for myself. After the temples, we took the boat tour of all the islands and it was long and boring. But it was a chance to sit down.
After the boat tour, Melissa and I checked out Godaido, a little island connected by a red bridge. There Melissa saw one of her students. She was so shocked to see the little boy who seemed to be in love with her on her one day off miles away from Sendai. The boy seemed shy, but said hi.
Next, we walked to Fukuura Island. I managed to snap a really nice shot of Melissa crossing the bridge. (see above). We walked around the small island for a bit and turned around to go home. Along the way, we stopped at a kokeshi store where we watched an old man make the wooden dolls by hand. There Melissa picked a couple up for her and my mom for souvenirs. There were really nice.
The next week we took the Loople around Sendai. Our first stop was Zuihoden Mausoleum. I'd never been there before but it was really nice. I took a lot of pictures of Melissa wandering around the place. We didn't have a tour guide so we didn't really learn about the history. There was, however, a small museum, which was really nice because it was air conditioned. There I learned that Date Masamune was only about 5'2". Super short. We walked around and it was a nice place. It did creep me out slightly that we were basically walking around a gravesite.
After that we went to the Botanical Gardens. From the picture on the brochure, we thought it was going to be a greenhouse with flowers. Instead, we found ourselves in the middle of a gorge, hiking our way back into civilization. It was something we were not prepared for. After about an hour of wandering lost in the forest, we made our way back to the loople bus. Since we were hot and tired, we made our way to the Art Museum. A building with air conditioning. Unfortunately, when we got there, the only way we could get in was if we paid a fee. A very high fee considering that Melissa wasn't interested in seeing any of the art they had displayed. So we walked out.
After that, we went to the Osaki Hachimangu Shrine. Something I'd been wanting to see for a while but never was able to. It's the probably the most famous shrine in Sendai. Unfortunately, by the time we got there our loople pass was almost up. We had just enough time to walk up the stairs, take a few pictures, and walk down again.
When we did, we managed to catch the last loople bus and boy, was it crowded! Good thing we decided to get off at the Mediateque instead of Sendai Station. From there we checked out the glass building and walked around Ichibancho. I couldn't believe it when Melissa actually wanted to go shopping! I was so freaking tired from all the walking, hiking, hot sun, and overcrowded buses. But we went.
At the end of the day, I was so happy just to sit on my couch and watch an episode of Chuck.
It's been several weeks since my sister Melissa has moved to Sendai. It seems that she's gotten the hang of things. She goes to work and walks to the mall by herself. Over the past few weeks, Aaron and I have taken around to do some different things.
Out of everything, she's enjoyed the shopping the most. Ever since she got here, she'd been talking about a store called Cecil McBee. I never heard of it, but she saw someone coming out of the Parco department store with a bag and was determined to find the store. Aaron and I searched through the Parco directory all written in Japanese until we finally found it listed under 4th floor. We took her up there and she had a heyday. She and her roommate Olivia spent I-don't-even-know-how-long in that store. Aaron and I walked around the entire floor, perused several different shops, and came back and still ended up waiting forever for them to get out. Finally, she bought a wallet and a bag for herself. It was her birthday, so I guess it was a nice birthday present to herself. She was super happy after that.
After Cecil McBee, we had some purikura fun. We made two different sets of purikura. It was an adventure and probably my favorite part of the day because it requires some sort of creativity. I don't know if Olivia enjoyed it, but I know Melissa loved it.
We took her to Don Quijote. Another field day in there. We spent several hours there as she went through EVERYTHING. Groceries, shoes, and especially cosmetics. It wasn't a total waste of time for me and Aaron either. We found a set of pretty good hangers for cheap. Something we really needed.
Finally, since it was her birthday, we took her out to dinner. It took us a long time to find a place we really wanted to go to. We specifically wanted to take her to eat some okonomiyaki. The problem was that the best okonomiyaki shop that I knew of was very far away and we were without a car. So we had to find a different place nearby. We ended up going to Kita-Sendai, the only place I knew of. It wasn't as good as the other place I wanted, but Melissa and Olivia seemed to both enjoy it. We did too! It was good.
Recently Melissa expressed a desire to try an onsen and to check out some temples. Aaron was feeling burnt out from work, so he took the day off yesterday. We decided to make a trip to Akiu onsen and we wanted to check out the Jogi temple. Well, halfway there it began to rain really hard so we decided to scrap the trip to the temple, which was very far away. Instead, we went straight to Akiu. When we got there, it was miraculously sunny. The clouds didn't reach that part of Sendai. We went into the Zuiho Onsen. There Melissa and I went into the women's side and Aaron went into the men's side.
When it was time to undress, Melissa didn't realize that we had to get naked. She adjusted pretty well to the environment but commented that it was wasn't prepared for this much sisterly bonding. I didn't care, haha. I had no problem walking around naked. We washed off and went straight outside to the outdoor baths. It was pretty nice and relaxing. But Melissa was disappointed it wasn't a wild pond out in the mountains with steam and monkeys. She said it was basically a naked jacuzzi. Which it pretty much is. After about 20 minutes, Melissa was bored. So we left.
Aaron still took another 30 minutes in his side, so we had some time to spare waiting for him. I went to get some ice cream from a vending machine. When I came back, an old man had given Melissa a bowl of fish food to feed the koi in the fish ponds. Sad to say, it was probably her favorite part of the onsen.
Afterwards, we did more shopping. We took her to Birthday bakery in Kuriu. She liked it there, the bread was good, and it's a cute shop too. After that, we took her to Seria. She loved Daiso (the dollar store), so I thought she would like Seria (another dollar store) more. I do anyway. I think their stuff is cuter and better quality than Daiso. I was right. She spent a good amount of time looking at all the cute stuff. Aaron and I bought some stuff too. I found a measuring cup that measured actual cups. And some measuring spoons.
Finally, we ate some dinner. Melissa had been nagging forever about wanting some tonkatsu and miso soup. The only place I knew of off the top of my head that served that stuff was Kadoya in Ayashi. So we headed there. She liked the ambiance. Definitely the nicest atmosphere of all the restaurants we've taken her. And finally, she was satisfied with her dinner. She loved the tonkatsu. She said the miso soup was too fishy and so was the sashimi. Luckily, she's not a big eater so that tonkatsu was a enough for her.
We're getting the hang of what places to take her too and what kind of food she'll like, so she's been enjoying our outings a lot more now. That's the good thing. The bad thing is that Sendai is not a really busy city, so we're running out of shopping places to take her too! We still have to take her to a temple though. We'll see if she appreciates that when we come to it... Overall, I think when she goes back to AZ, she'll realize she enjoyed Japan! ;)
Melissa and her roommate, Olivia, over our meal at Namaskar.
My sister Melissa came back to Sendai with me at the end of May. She's interning at MeySen Academy for the summer. So far she's been working mostly non-stop, though she seems fine with the pace so far.
Aaron and I have been playing tour guide. We've taken her and her roommate to various places around Sendai. We first took them to our favorite sushi place, Umai Sushi Kan. It was pretty disappointing when the roommate only ordered a cucumber handroll and Melissa said she liked Arizona sushi better. And I know for a fact that Arizona fish does not compare to the quality to Japan's fish. But Arizona has a wide variety of creative rolls, with avocado, cream cheese, and jalapeno peppers. Japan is traditional and kind of boring compared to that. Still, that meal was not cheap.
Look how yummy it looks!
Next we took them for Indian food at Namaskar. Thankfully, they seemed to enjoy it that time around. Afterwards, we took them to Yodobashi Camera, the biggest electronics store in Sendai. Usually, that's the place that most internationals are excited to see and are most impressed with. But I guess the girls weren't really into electronics. We got what we needed and left. Next was a series of clothing stores, an arcade, the Pokemon store, the taiyaki shop, and Daiso the 100 yen store.
I guess in my head this was going to be a lot more fun. Like I'd take lots of pictures and stuff. But the girls reactions haven't been largely underwhelmed. They mostly seemed to like the kiddie stuff. They'd probably be more impressed with someplace like Tokyo or Osaka, but there's no chance we'll ever have to go there.
Due to the busy work schedule of the summer, we don't know if we'll be able to take them to the better places like Yamadera or Matsushima. Maybe one day we'll make that happen.
In the month of May, I flew back to Arizona for my brother's college graduation. Since my sister was also planning to come to Sendai for an internship at MeySen, I ended up staying for two weeks and flying back with her.
Those two weeks were pretty good. I went to my brother's graduation at Arizona State University Polytechnic. It was a really small graduation. Smaller than a high school graduation. My brother majored in Mechanical Engineering and his campus is separate from the main campus so it's a smaller school. But it was a very nice graduation. At the end, we all got free ice cream and cake. Something I'd never seen before at a graduation ceremony. What was nice was that my whole family was there. Me and my dad. Usually one of us is missing. But this time we were all there.
We spent most of my two weeks there eating. And most of that eating took place at Denny's. I've never eaten so much Denny's in all my life. But it was great to eat real American food again. We ate so much food, so much dense food, that by the end of the two weeks I was really for the lighter Japanese cuisine. And now I'm on a diet! I gained a gut while I was in AZ. I don't know how they can do it.
While there, one of my mom's good friends' son graduated from high school. At the time my mom and dad were in Vegas to visit my mom's cousin. Erik, Kayla, and I went for her instead. My mom was adamant that we make a money lei for this kid. We spent the whole day frantically folding 10 one dollar bills and attaching them onto a bead necklace. It was a little weird when we got there. For one thing, I haven't been at a high school in over 10 years. It was so weird to see how kids dress these days. Also, Erik just graduated college, so even he was old. Weird. What was also weird was that this was a high school in our district, so they were kind of our rivals in high school. But the weirdest thing of all was that I was the one who presented the lei to this kid, and the last time I saw him, he was maybe 7. He probably had no memory of me. I didn't even know what he looked like. But his mom is a good friend to our family and we were there to support her, just like she was there to support me at my wedding.
My two weeks also included lots of shopping. I bought two new pairs of shoes that altogether cost me half of what I would've spent on just one pair in Japan. I also bought 4 dresses. Two I bought for only $10. Deals! And probably the most exciting thing was that Erik and I watched Godzilla together. Not the best movie in the world. But what was cool was seeing a Bluewater member IN the movie! I was so excited about it that I facebooked it right away. Very fun.
At the end, Melissa and I left for Sendai. We had a LONG journey of layovers, 3 flights, and 2 train rides. We made a stop in Portland, OR on the way over and we saw a really cool piece of art.
Now I'm back in Sendai again after a nice two weeks back in USA. And this time Melissa is with me (some of the time), but that's another blog entry.
Cake cutting ceremony. That's my lil bro to the left!
Wedding week in Hawaii was something I never want to live through again! Of course the wedding turned out great. But man, so not worth the drama. Deep down I wanted a small, private beach wedding. But how those things morph into something else! Still, I was really, really happy to see my family again. Not just my immediate family (especially, my dad who came in from work on his ship to walk me down the aisle), but a handful of my aunties and uncles and cousins. It was like a really tiny family reunion. I was really happy that Aaron could finally meet them. I wish that more of them could've came, but it was a lot to ask for them to fly in from whatever part of the country they live in.
Immediately after the wedding, we had a mini-staycation in Koolina, the west side of Oahu. My uncle works at one of the resorts there and he got us a great deal. We had only four days, and we were still so busy with post-wedding stuff that we didn't really get to enjoy the hotel all that much. Still we made the best with what we could. We went to Roy's, our favorite restaurant, and swam in the pool and the lagoons. There are four lagoons at Koolina. Most people stay in the lagoon in front of their hotel. We were smart enough to do some walking and we found one that was much cleaner and less crowded. I wish I took more pictures! But it was exactly what we needed after a really stressful and exhausting week!
The view from our hotel lobby.
After all the chaos was over, Aaron and I finally flew back to Sendai and moved into our new apartment. Unfortunately, Aaron had to leave immediately the next morning for a work trip. I didn't see him again for another two days! What a way to start married life! Our new apartment is small, but nice. We didn't have much furniture at all. We've been here now for about two weeks and I still haven't unpacked everything. I still have an entire suitcase of clothes that needs to be put away, but I have nowhere to put them! More than half the closet is already filled with all of Aaron's jackets, coats, and work shirts. He had an entire large suitcase of nothing but t-shirts! I'm waiting to buy either some storage bins or another dresser to put it all in. And more hangers.
We spent all of last weekend shopping for used furniture. We were mostly unsuccessful. We found a used recliner chair for $40 that we thought about using as a makeshift couch, but I realized immediately after purchasing it that it would not do. We were stuck with it though and tried to look for other couches. We found some nice ones at Hard Off (a used furniture store), but they were either out of our price range or too big for our apartment. The few that we could afford were too small or too dingy looking. Finally, we went to a real home store and found a new loveseat for under $200. It was the best deal we could find and it was the right size too. We took it! Unfortunately, it won't be delivered to our home for another week! Until then I'm sitting on the floor. Aaron can have the recliner.
Since we have a really small space with two people living in it, I've been spending my days trying to create systems for each room in order to maximize our space. I'm finding ways to rearrange the furniture so we have much more room to move around and more places to store stuff without making everything look so cluttered. Still, we've got lots of clutter! No where to put stuff, ugh!!
I'm just waiting for the day our couch comes in and when we finally get my dresser. Then I'll feel like I can do something with this place! But I'm enjoying the challenge. It's kind of nice to play house, or Extreme Home Makeover: Japan Edition.
*~*~*
This Wednesday, a group of Aaron's coworkers and the two of us went to a place called Ogawara. It's outside of Sendai and is famous for it's cherry blossoms. I'd been there once before with Nobuko many years ago. But after a really disappointing cherry blossom season last year, I was really looking forward to some hanami. After we all hopped into a few cars and carpooled there, we all walked through the trees and took pictures.
Cherry Tree Lane?
On the plane coming back to Japan I watched Saving Mr. Banks about how Disney acquired the rights to Mary Poppins to turn into a movie. In it, the author lived on a street that was lined with cherry trees and Cherry Tree Lane is mentioned in her books. Well, walking down the row of sakura trees made me think that this was the REAL Cherry Tree Lane!
There were about a thousand sakura trees lining the river. Aaron and I walked about halfway before turning around. We got hungry. There were food vendors at the site, similar to a carnival, so we walked down the line of vendors looking for something good to eat. Aaron got a yakisoba. I bought some yakitori. It was tasty, but not filling enough. Not long after, the whole group moved on to a Chinese ramen shop nearby. There I ordered something adventurous. I don't know the name, but it was Chinese, with thick noodles and very little broth and came with a small bowl of rice. (I should've took a picture.)
All this took place on a Wednesday morning before Aaron had to start his day of work. After the drive back, we parted our ways. He went to work and I took a nap. Haha! But after my nap, I was very productive in continuing my quest to turn our apartment into a real home.
This upcoming weekend is another eventful one that I'm looking forward to. More shopping for furniture, but also Easter Sunday and Captain America 2 finally comes out here! It's going to be fun.
My last few weeks at Ayashichuo Christ Church was a whirlwind! I was so busy cleaning, packing, teaching, and preparing for the wedding, it was hard for me to keep track of everything.
Our new teacher, Ryan Munchinsky, came in just in the knick of time! After a lot of issues trying to get his visa, he finally got it and hopped on a plane from Canada. We showed him around a bit and introduced him to everyone. He's eager to learn about the culture and the language. I think he's going to do a great job! Hopefully, much better than I did!
Ryan at Thursday Bible Study.
I spent the last week saying goodbye to everyone. I gave my farewell speech at the Sunday church service and some students showed up to give me some presents. I received many cups.
My students, Isa-san and Mayumi, presented me with a bouquet of flowers.
Some kiddos wrote me cute letters in English. One of my student's mothers made me some towels. On Wednesday night, we had a mini-dinner party. Kyoko made quiche and triange spring rolls. They were so delicious! Manami Sato made a dessert with custard. Also very yum!
We took one last photo together!
It was a really crazy week of hellos and goodbyes. Somehow, miraculously, I was able to finish it all. Praise be to God! I was surprisingly very sad to say goodbye to the students. But I know I will see them again. I am still living in Sendai, after all. But now I'm off to a new adventure!
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug movie came out here in Japan. I had already seen it back in America during Christmas, but Aaron hadn't seen it. I enjoyed it a lot the first time and was willing to see it again, so we decided to check it out together. It was a really good movie. I really like J.R.R. Tolkien's stories (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) because you can see imagery and symbols that are very similar, if not the same, to what is written in the Bible. The language is also similar. There were a handful of scenes that stood out to me, but one in particular stays in my mind.
This scene is of Gandalf going into an old, abandoned tower. It looks empty and normal. But actually, there are hundreds of evil creatures hiding in the shadow. When he unveils the truth, he is faced and attacked by the darkness. He uses light to fight it.
On a spiritual level, this is what it feels like to be a missionary. In any country, I imagine. You go about your days and everything seems ordinary. But you're aware of an emptiness and an unseen darkness. When you pray and actively live in the light and try to bring that light to others, you're met with spiritual attack. And often it feels like you're one small person facing something much bigger than yourself. But seeing the light come from Gandalf, it's a reminder that God's light is inside of us. And how great is that light! I mean, He did create the sun.
The clip also reveals the character of the enemy. Evil is not brave, but cowardly. It hides and does not want to be exposed. It deceives and cheats. Gandalf goes into the darkness knowing he will be outnumbered, but he believes that good and light and truth have more authority.
In the end Gandalf is overpowered by the darkness, but in reality, darkness always flees from the light. It's physics. The yin-yang is bogus. Light and dark are not equal. God's light and power and goodness is ALWAYS stronger than evil and darkness. Sometimes we may get a little bruised up or fall on our face, but God will always win. And good will win in the end of this movie trilogy. Hooray for the little guys!
Don't see a connection between my geeky obsession with The Hobbit and the spiritual battles we face? Here are some of many Bible references to prove it:
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." -- John 3:19-21 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -- John 1:5 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." -- Ephesians 6:12 "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." -- Ephesians 5:11 "I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness." -- Ecclesiastes 2:13 "You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." -- Proverbs 4:19-20 'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."' -- John 8:12
I thought last weekend was a lot of snow, but I was wrong. This weekend the snow came down harder and higher than the week before! When I stepped outside of my apartment Saturday morning, this is what I saw. And it didn't stop there. It continued to snow throughout the weekend. I woke up each morning to the sound of neighbors shoveling snow, their poor cars trapped and buried alive.
Snowed in!
One minor plus of all this snow, is that none of my students have been able to come to my Saturday night class. That means for the past two Saturdays, I've had the day off. It's like a real weekend! Aaron and I had made plans for this Saturday night, but the snow was so bad and the roads were so dangerous. Despite whatever proper judgment we might've had, Aaron decided to make the drive anyway! He left his apartment at around 5:30pm, but his car was stuck in the snow. Nearly an hour later, he finally called me to let me know he was on his way. Then 30 minutes later another phone call. The roads are nothing but ice. Traffic is at gridlock. Several cars are stuck in the snow ahead of him. He saw a car do a 180. He has to somehow drive up a hill covered in ice in a really crappy rental car. He doesn't think he can do it. Inside, I'm accepting the fact that our Saturday plans are going to be canceled. I'm also praying that my fiancee doesn't die out there. Somehow, and probably very stupidly, he pushes on anyway and finds his way to Ayashi. When I see him it's about 9:00pm.
After a really stressful drive and, you know, risking his life just to see me, Aaron wanted some burgers and fries. We drove over to McDonalds, which was another nightmare due to the horrible conditions of the roads. We drove in circles until we could make our turn in the ice. When we got there, the place was CLOSED!! WHAT?! What McDonald's closes down due to snow?! Normally, this McD's has a 24 hour drive-thru, which we were counting on. Aaron drove all way to Ayashi for a cheap, $1 burger and this is what happens! We were pretty disgusted at how this night was going and I was going to faint from starving all day. We settled for a restaurant not too far away and gorged ourselves on a $50 feast of tonkatsu, agedashi tofu, sashimi, fried shrimp, pickled cucumbers, miso soup, and chawan mushi. I was supposed to be on a diet, but I starved myself waiting for a high calorie fast food meal. I was willing to binge for one disastrously snowy night. The meal was expensive and it was the most I'd eaten in weeks, but it was worth it.
The next day was church. Originally, Aaron had planned to drive back to Takamori and then drive back again in the morning. Well, no way was that gonna happen! When we got back to my place, there was nowhere to park due to the parking lot being snowed in. Aaron had to park at the church, but once he made the turn in, he was stuck. Again. Not only that, there was a huge mountain of snow blocking the driveway and we couldn't get through. It was pretty late at night, so we didn't wanna bug anyone. I got out and went around the other way to see if there was another way out. When I got back, Aaron had resorted to kicking the mountain of snow out of the way. (Not very effective.) Luckily, there were shovels that the church had left out, so I grabbed a pair and we spent the late evening shoveling snow away. It was my first time shoveling snow in about 4 years. Aaron was exhausted because he had spent the entire day shoveling snow at his work and now here he was again, shoveling even more snow! Finally, we cleared enough snow away to get the car unstuck and in the parking lot. We were both tired. But I actually thought it was exciting. It was an adventure!
I've come to realize that snow, a LOT of snow, is exhausting. Last year this time, I blamed my exhaustion on traveling and adjusting to Japan. Now, I know the weather is also a big part too. After all the excitement from the night before and just snow period, I was so exhausted. I spent the entire morning sleeping. The entire morning. I missed church! When I woke up, I was just in time to make it for lunch. We had sandwiches. It was nice and light.
Afterwards, I wanted redemption. I wanted my McD's, darn it! So we made our way back to McD's, which was open. Thank the Lord! We got there, I ordered my meal, and Aaron says he's not hungry. WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT HUNGRY?! But I got him to eat. Mwahaha. I gave him the last bite of my burger and he got in line to get his own. Hehehhee.
After McDonald's I was still exhausted. I spent the entire afternoon sleeping again. When I woke up, it was time for Night Service. It was my turn to share my "treasure." Each month, a member of church has a show-n-tell of their most prized possession. Up until now, I had nothing to share. I didn't bring anything of value to Japan. But thanks to last week, I now had the perfect thing. My engagement ring. Of course, everybody knew what it was and we probably didn't even need to have them guess. But I also shared a story with them.
When I got the ring, I was in the middle of a depression. That night, I asked God, "Who am I?" He then gave me the song "Treasure" by Bruno Mars. The lyrics go like this: Pretty girl, pretty girl, you should be smiling. A girl like you should never look so blue... Treasure! That is what you are. Honey, you are my golden star. You can make my wish come true, if you let me treasure you. If you let me treasure you... You are my treasure. You are my treasure. You are my treasure. You. You. You. You are.
It was a fitting song. I asked God, "How can I remember this? How can I know this is true?" Then He said, "Look at your finger." That's where my ring was. Aaron had said that the diamond was nearly flawless, a really good quality diamond. It's not the biggest, but it's nearly perfect. God was saying that the ring is not just a symbol of Aaron's love to me, but also who I AM in Christ! Who I am to God!
Anyways, I shared this with the church and it really fit in well with the message that Pastor Hisashi shared. I think it all came together well, even if it wasn't surprising. When God speaks, it's wonderful and it's always a great story.
Bruno Mars is a Hawaii boy. Represent!
To top it all off, I got a surprise Valentine! Ryu-kun!
The Friday before this crazy weekend was Valentine's Day. Normally, in Japan, the girls give chocolates to the boys on Valentine's Day. But I was pleasantly surprised. Ryu-kun came to class with a bouquet of pink roses and heart chocolates for me! It was so cute and sweet. I had to take a picture of him. I'm really thankful (mainly to his mom because I know this was her doing!) and it was a nice Valentine's Day gift.
The last two weeks at church have been a nice change of pace. Two weeks ago, two girls from Taiwan came to visit and they had lunch with us. It was during the Chinese New Year weekend, so we got to talk about food. While eating food. They were very nice and it was a shame that that was their last day in Sendai. It would've been nice to get to know them a little more.
Aaron, me, and Sandy from Taiwan
We also had a nice talk with Maitta afterwards. Aaron and I really appreciate him. Even though he has a lot of trouble getting his words out and social interaction makes him very uncomfortable and tired (due to having Asperger's syndrome), he still opens up to us in a very honest and sincere way. It's very refreshing and it gives us the opportunity to pray for him, which we are always happy to do. When we do pray for him, we always see immediate results. His speech becomes clearer, he's able to sit at the lunch table with others, or he just seems less anxious. It's a real testimony to see God's power flowing in him, and it's a blessing. He also shared about how he's started a new goal for himself. Blogging. In English. He writes every day and it's his desire to share his story with others. His English isn't perfect and his entries are brief. But him expressing his story is something that I respect about him and I hope that others can check out his blog too some day.
Can you see the fourth car?
Last weekend, we had a lot of snowfall. According to the report, it was the most snow Sendai has seen in 78 years or so. It sure was a lot! As soon as I stepped outside my apartment, I was knee deep in snow. The poor cars were trapped. We saw so many people shoveling away and it took them hours just to clean out their driveway.
While we were in church, the boys and Joshua were having the time of their lives playing in the snow and building some really awesome igloos. I'd seen snowmen before, but I'd never seen an igloo before. I had to hop in! And the boys climbed to the top. It's amazing how it was able to support their weight without crashing down on me. It was too good of a photo op to pass. The pic below is probably my favorite since coming to Japan. They boys' faces are cute.
The igloos were the fun part of the snow. The bad part was the roads! Sendai doesn't clean the roads when it snows. Walking to and from my apartment is always scary. I live at the bottom of a slope and it's pretty scary to walk down ice while going downhill. Luckily I haven't fallen yet (this year). Aaron and I also spent the 11th together. It was a holiday (don't ask me which one), so we decided to make it our Valentine's Day. Aaron drove to downtown Sendai and I was shocked. I thought they would've at least cleaned the roads in the busy city, but it was even worse. The roads were covered in ice and we had some close calls! We slid a couple times in the middle of the city, going really slow, with pedestrians crossing all over the place. I've been told that all of Japan is not like this, that only Sendai doesn't clean their roads because there isn't much snow in Sendai. Maybe that's true in downtown Sendai, but every year that I've lived in Kuriu or Ayashi or worked in Osawa, I've seen a lot of snow. I think the city would definitely benefit from some snow plows! It's just too scary without proper road cleanage.
We spent the day going bowling. It was pretty fun. I actually won. And I actually sort of bowled how I used to back in the day. Like above average. The bowling alley we went to was pretty small and they had a lot of business that day. There was a young Japanese couple bowling in the lane next to us. The girl kept stealing my ball (the only one with the holes that fit my fingers), so I blame any bad frames I had on her. We bowled three games and I was already tired after the second. I'm paying the price today because I'm a little sore of doing those lunges!
After bowling, we headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner. We ordered a spicy seafood soup and pad thai. Two pad thais. We really should've only ordered one. After our meals, the owner gave us tapioca on the house. It was really delicious and I ate Aaron's too. After our long day in town, we finally drove back. That's when Aaron finally gave me this:
Finally!
It's been an exciting weekend. Next weekend is also expected to snow. Hopefully, not as much as this weekend. Even though the snow was fun, I really would like spring to come soon. Sunshine and flowers I like much better!
