Tomoko and Uwe Visit Sendai

This weekend we were so happy to have our friends Tomoko and her fiance, Uwe, visit us in Sendai. They were here all day Saturday and part of Sunday. We took lots of pictures and had a blast together. It was one of the most fun weekends we've had!!. On Saturday morning we took the Loople Bus (tour bus) around Sendai and visited some of the famous sites.

We were walking through a temple gate and Dan and Uwe were too tall!! It was really funny.
This is Uwe being a HUGE dare devil and catching eel with his bare hands. There was a lot of fun stuff going on in Sendai when were there. One of the events was trying to catch eel for Y300 ($3.00). It was sooooo worth it! I was digusted, but it was a great memory.

Tomoko and I were cooking dinner together....she was cooking eel and I was cooking meatloaf. What a difference in food preference between cultures! We didn't end up eating the eel, only meatloaf.

On Sunday morning after church the four of us took a ferry to Matsushima. On the ferry, one of the funnest things to do is feed the seagulls! After the ferry ride we all agreed Uwe found his new favorite animal....seagulls. He was enthralled with them and could have cared less about the mystery of the pine islands. It was great!!

Dan's Goodbye Party

On Saturday evening Dan had his going away party with his students. This is a picture of his students Kumiko, Akira, Hiroko, Kenji, Hideko, Dan and Naoko. Here's Dan receiving his gifts from Hideko.
Very happy Dan!!!! This is a curtain that you can hang in your doorway. The kanji writing means wind.
Here's Dan trying on one of the other presents that he received. It's actually a large beautiful decorative cloth that is used to carry containers of food to different places. (i.e Potluck or church).

Magic Farewell

My students came over to my apartment today for a small party and one of my students (the one on the right) did some magic tricks at the end of class. The sign she is holding was one of the propers in her magic tricks. This group of ladies are wonderful!!

Goodbye Luncheon

This morning my Tuesday morning class came over to our new apartment for class and a small goodbye party for me. It was really fun and we had lots of good laughs! I will really miss this class because of all the wisdom that they have shared with me this past year. This is a very diverse class, each student comes from a different backgrounds, so it's been quite interesting.

Earthquake; don't worry

We just wanted to let everyone know we are 100% safe and fine.

There was a rather strong Earthquake yesterday on the WEST COAST of Japan in Nagano and Nigata Prefectures. We live on the EAST COAST of Japan in Miyagi Prefecture. That damage seems to be pretty bad many houses and bulidings have collapsed (about 500 buildings in all) and a train was derailed. 700 people were injured and so far, 9 people died from the earthquakes already. It registered as high as 6.8 and there have been 67 reported aftershocks (and they are expecting more aftershocks) It seems that we will not have any effects from this earthquake here in Sendai but please pray for those people who live in Nagano and Nigata. Many are injured and many more have moved into Emergency Shelters. Pray that the Earthquakes will not continue or at least not be severe. Pray for those who have been injured and the families of those who have lost their lives. Also pray that they will have enough water and food for those in shelters.

Feel free to email us back, and please let friends and families know about this information and ask for their prayers as well. Let anyone who asks know that we are fine as well, and there is no need to worry about us.

Murata town

Today we visited the small town called Murata, a town I had been dreading to visit because I thought it was going to be really boring. I WAS TOTALLY WRONG!!! I had one of the best sightseeing days in Japan that I've ever had. On our way to Murata we stopped at this big water-wheel. It's used to help in the process of making soba japanese noodles. Next to the big wheel was an old straw-roofed Japanese style house.

After seeing the water-wheel and straw house we went into Murata town. One of the first things to impress me was the small alley's, doorways and OLD houses. I rarely see that in Sendai city. One interesting thing was that this town was one of the first few places to get telephones long ago. We saw numbers on the outside of houses like #10. #25, meaning that house was the tenth or twenty-fifth house to get a telephone in all of Japan. It was so cool! Also, this town of Murata, now has one of the largest populations of artists in the area because the mayor is making it so easy for artist to have exhibitions and to move into the area.

One of the most stunning places we visited was a huge old Japanese house that used to be own by a very wealthy family. The home and property was modeled after the homes built in Kyoto, so when we were walking through, our friends kept on saying, "Oh, it's just like Kyoto!" The house and property has since been donated to the city because the family all lives in Tokyo. The pit in the middle of the floor was litterally the kitchen stove. The room on the bottom right was really interesting, it was used as a birthing room for women. The doors were made out of stone, so no one could hear anything. Crazy! And the picture on the bottom right was the staircase that went to the second floor. The staircase had drawers in it. Cool idea!

The last thing we did was get lunch at this great family owned resturant. The women who owns it is a great fan of Yumiko's paintings (the lady in pink). These three people have become really good friends of ours.

Sayonara Party

Today was the first of my Farewell parties with my Enlgish students. We have 33 days left here in Japan, then we will be on our way back to America. WoW! Time has flown by! My morning ladies class took me out to a beautiful traditional Japanese style resturant. The lunch was beautifully presented, so I had to take a picture. We had a very nice time together! Towards the end of our lunch, they presented me with a Japanese Teapot as a going away gift. It was so nice of them to do that! I really liked it.

Successful Pot Roast

This is for you newlywed wives (under 5 years). Tonight I decided to be daring and tried making a pot roast. The last time I attempted it, it turned out horrible. Well, tonight, I made it again and it was awesome! It's actually possible to make something Betty Crocker wrote without burning it. I had to take a picture because I was so happy! So, for those of you that are newlyweds, don't be afraid to try something again that you burnt the first time. It usually comes out good the second time....if you actually follow a reciepe (very carefully, in my case!)



P.S Another good way to make a good dinner is to get the reciepe from your mother, they always seem to know everything!

Food for thought....

The worst job in the world has got to be a telecommunicator. Today I was on the telephone with America trying to get some things corrected with my student loans. After waiting 20 minutes for someone to take my call, I had to give them lots of information, then was put on hold. You can imagine that sitting on the line for almost a 1/2 hour can make a person a little frusterated, but I tried to be pleasant because the girl I was talking to had 5 minutes left on her 8 a.m.-8 p.m. shift. Can you imagine having to accomodate irritated people on the phone all day. I would definately loose my cool...more than once. Anyhow, next time you are on the phone waiting for a telecommunicator, just try to think about how their difficult their job would be if you were irritated and force a smile when talking to them.

Pottery Studio

After going to the coffee/pottery shop last week, one of my students heard about about my goal and asked me if I wanted to visit a potter and his studio near my city. I said absolutely! Here are some pictures I snapped of Karo-san and his pottery. He had just finished a show, so I was really lucky to be able to see all of his best work. I have never seen such perfect work. His technique was down pact after 20 years of making pottery. He studied under a master potter in Kyoto for 5 years, then moved to Sendai to begin making a name for himself. Now he does shows and sells his work. The picture of the small lantern you see, he sells for more than $500.00. It's about 10 inches high and is detailed with precision. It was my favorite piece of his. He was incredibly inspiring to talk to him and hear his story. I had translation of course!!

I saw my Dream in REAL LIFE

This afternoon we stopped at this place that was supposed to be just a pottery gallery that turned out to be WAY better!!! As some of you may know I am an artist and my specialty is in pottery, well my goal in life is to someday own my own studio, teach classes and have a coffee shop attached. I have worked in a coffee shop for a lot of my working life so far and LOVE waking up at 6 a.m. to brew coffee and open up shop. More than that, I love teaching and making pottery, so why not combine the two. Well, today, we visited my DREAM in person. It was awesome and inspiring, just what I needed to keep my goal in mind.

One side is the gallery and the other is the coffee shop, connected with wooden pillars. VERY cozy!

Church BBQ

Today, Sunday, was full of stuff going on. This morning after the church service we had a church BBQ. It was really fun! There were lots of people and cute kids running around and enjoying the food.

After the BBQ we scooted off to congratulate on of our friends/pastor/English student and his new bride at their church reception. Dan and I attend two churches on a regular basis, alternating weeks, so we can keep up good relationships with both places we teach at. Anyhow, this reception was at the second church we attend. Our friends are Kouki and Keiko Zenniya. They were married yesterday near Tokyo and rushed back this morning to have another celebration with Kouki's home congregation (P.S. He's the assistant pastor).

Alpha Day!

On Saturday we had Alpha Day. Usually a weekend away is held during the 12 week course of Alpha, but it didn't work for our church to do that, so we had an Alpha Day instead. It was filled with lots of fun, encouraging talks and fellowship. The place we went to was awesome! Near Sendai there is a place called Akiu and you can rent cabins along the river there to camp or have retreats like we did. It was a great location and very rustic. There were all kinds of trails and paths, a foot pool, parks, a coffee shop and pottery store. All around, it was a wonderful day!

Here's the cabin we had and the view of the river out the front door.

Dan and Manami, one of the church members, watched all the kids of those attending Alpha Day. They kept them busy with lots of frog searching (encouaged by Dan, of course!) and playing while the adults watched and participated in the Alpha sessions.

The adults were able to use the upstairs room to watch the videos and have some disscussion time with the kids used the main floor to run in and out of.

Here we are all together at lunch.

House Warming Party

Last evening we had some friends over for a house warming party. Our American friend, Maya came too which was nice. All the ladies in this picture (except the young one in the back right) are my English students; they brought along their husbands. We ate lots of food like pizza and garlic toast.

Yesterday I got to try on my silk kimono for the first time. The kimono was given to me by one of my former student. I didn't know how to put in on (and still don't) because there are so many steps.

Soaked to the Bone!!

Well it is rainy season here in Japan! I guess I needed to be reminded of that today because the weather has been so beautiful during the day and raining only at night. Well I (Dan) got my reminder in a big way today.

We have a day off today, so some of Christine's students set up a fun party that is kind of a first going away party/ Dress Christine up in her new Kimono party. Since we both had the day off i was invited too. Christine was out at the doctor this morning to get checked out so we were going to meet a few towns over. So, it was my job to get her Kimono among other things to bring over and take a train to where we are to meet.

Well the train staition is about a mile away, it is pouring and of course I have no car. So i get the Kimono in a big plastic bag to keep it dry, and throw on sandals and a hat (my rain gear) since I don't want to ruin any shoes in the rain (of course no umbrella or rain coat, why would i bring those???) anyway I hopped on my bike and rode off to the station. Within seconds I was all wet, but it was nothing compared to what was to come. Riding my bike around a corner I see a car coming from the other direction and before I know it, the car drives through a huge puddle and I got hit by a WAVE of water. I felt like I was in the ocean. It hit me from head to toe, nowhere on my body was spared. Being a trooper I decide I will just tough it out and go to the station. We as I go to cross the train tracks on my way there another train was coming into the station so I was stopped at the tracks... needless to say this caused me to miss my train. I didn't have the phone number to call people to let them know i wasn't going to be there on time so:

I turned around and went home, tail between my legs. The rainy season had defeated me.

Jane!

This is my younger sister Jane at Bethel church, my home church in Fergus Falls. She got to meet my pastor's wife, Junko (on the right) and Manami, a really good friend of ours (on the left). Jane is 5'9 and she is towering over them. I think it's kinda funny. I don't realize how tall I am over here anymore because I am so used to being around shorter people. It was soooo fun to see Jane!!

IGUANA needs temporary home

Anyone out there possibly interested in temporarily taking care of our Iguana? This past year a friend of Dan's has been kind enough to take care of our Iguana, but not he is moving to a different place and can't take him with him. We are coming home August 18th, so we're hoping to find someone who could keep him for about 7 weeks. He's very low maintence and can stay in his cage the whole summer. He just needs to be fed and watered. I thought I would put a note out there and see if anyone might be able to help us out. If you can, let us know, we would REALLY appreciate it!!