I biked my way over to the home store today to buy a couple of cardboard boxes to send over to my sister Anna. After I went inside and found one of the two boxes I was looking for, I went to my bike to pack everything on. There just happened to be a nice old man who had parked his bike next to mine. I was in his way, so I said excuse me. He said, its okay. Then he started to make small talk. He asked me what I had bought. I showed him my cardboard box, and said that that was it. He proceeded to tell me that I could get them for free at the super market (I got the general gist really – I think I only understood about half of what he was saying). I realized I could have, and I told him I totally forgot. He laughed and then also reminded me I could get boxes at the recycling station where everyone brings their old cardboard boxes too. Oops.

The other day I also had one of those silly moments. I was browsing Amazon.com Japan for a gift, but was kind of having a hard time finding it (its all in Japanese). I ended up seeing a link on the bottom of the page (you know, by where Amazon usually puts suggestions of its own merchandise), and so I clicked it. I found what I was looking for, though it was a little more expensive than I thought it would be. So  I went through the process of trying to figure the page and check out – all in Japanese. Only after I had finished my order and payment, that I realized I was no longer on Amazon’s site. I was on a different one. I have no qualms about it being legit, but once I realized I wasn’t on Amazon, I went back to look for the gift again, but found it about $10 cheaper. I could have tried to call the company to cancel my order, but I felt nervous about actually being able to communicate all of those things in Japanese, and so I didn’t… Perhaps this way its extra special… to me? bleh.

So Will and I went to the mall yesterday to look around and try to find a bookstore. Last month we went on a hiking trip with the Okazaki International Association (or something), and we ended up getting these two 1,000 yen (about $13) gift cards for buying books at a book store. I ended up buying a Japanese cookbook (no English this time). So here’s to taking the plunge! Gotta start sometime. This way I’m studying and coking at the same time. I figure it can’t go wrong. At least not too terribly. lol.

In addition to that I’ve decided it’s about time I change my e-mail and Facebook back into Japanese.  I tried once before, maybe a year ago, but gave up after a little while because there was just so much I didn’t understand.  This time I know a lot more Kanji and feel pretty confident.

I was talking to a Japanese friend the other day who mentioned  that when they were in school they had to write a page of Kanji every day. I think I’ve decided I need to jump on that band wagon. I had been doing it for a little while when I was first studying Kanji, but that slowly faded away. I managed to do it yesterday, so here’s to today and for a while (self-discipline – kick in now!).

Our break from school is half over now. These last two weeks were filled with parties and prep for the parties. We kept pretty busy, but I also easily found myself wasting time, so last night I sat down and wrote a list of things I want to get done before next quarter starts up.  I have the lists, now I just have to be motivated to do it!

I’ve also been really thankful for this vacation time because we’ve had so much more time to hang out with people, especially our Japanese friends. My friend Tomoko and I have gotten together twice. Once at her place, when she showed me how to make roll sushi (or in the states I think we call it California rolls), and then today she came and I showed her how to make tortillas and tortilla chips, and Will showed her how to make taco meat. Its been a lot of fun. I also was able to hang out with my friend Yumi, we had dinner together the other night and had some really good talks about what we believe.

The other day we went to Starbucks to sit and hang out and study, somewhere other than just our house – which sometimes has far too many distractions.  I really like this particular store though – it has these nice arm chairs, and we’ve managed to snag them the last two times we were there. I was pretty pleased, since I love chairs like that. In our apartment we don’t have (or have room for) a sofa or any kind of lounging chair. After three months without a sofa, I’m really starting to miss it. I’m looking forward to some time when we can have room for a couch again!

In the last year or so my husband has been getting more and more into making good coffee. He’s now to the point where he’s roasting his own coffee and experimenting a whole lot. (can you say caffeine high?) I’ve also been experimenting more with cooking and baking. Its been a lot of fun for both of us. Will’s always had a dream of running a coffee shop someday, and the more time passes, I wonder if it isn’t going to be something that we do in the future – I can see all of the different ways we could use that as a way to do ministry here in Japan.  Perhaps its just us, but at the same time, I wonder if it is a seed God has planted in our hearts.

Thinking myself quite clever, I saw an espresso machine at a recycle store in mid November and decided to pick it up for William’s Christmas present. It was perfect, right in my price range, and my friend Cat offered to let me store it at her house until Christmas so William wouldn’t be able to find it. Or so I thought. I took my chance by not having William try it out right away because I wanted it to be a surprise and I didn’t want him to have it until Christmas. Low and behold, Christmas day comes and he tries it out. It was nearly a total bust. The machine worked… kind of. Espresso came out, but not without letting steam out of the top – and something wasn’t quite right. According to William, after he spent about a day researching on the computer, this particular machine wasn’t necessarily a real espresso machine, because it didn’t put out enough pressure.  Sad day.

I figured at least I could try to sell it back to the recycle shop, at least the one I bought it from, but to no avail. I brought it back and they said no – it was too old. So my guess was that it was on their shelf too long, I finally bought it, and they definitely didn’t want it back. I actually tried three other recycle shops – all with the same answer… no thanks.  Thus, I dropped it off at Yamasa today on this shelf in the study lobby – hopefully someone will pick it up and make good use of it.In the meantime, we sold a camera we had to the recycle store and I told William to take the money and buy something, so he went out and got a mocha pot. He’s been making about three pots a day – experimenting. I don’t think he’ll sleep very well. lol.

Christmas has seemed to be continuing on for us. I guess you could say its kind of a party week.  From the 23rd until the 16th, we were busy each day.

On the 24th I started out the day by baking cookies for our church service the next day. It took me about 3 hours to bake all the cookies, because I could only bake 9 cookies at a time (at that point I REALLY wanted an American oven). When I finished I headed back to my house to make tortillas for chips for a party I was attending Christmas night. Then it was time for our Christmas eve party. We had some Japanese friends over along with some other students from Yamasa. Our party was compromised of 1 Canadian, 1 Israeli, 1 German, and 3 Japanese friends. It most certainly made for an interesting night. Before we had dinner together we went to a local public bath house (if you’re unfamiliar – think spa-ish with lots of jacuzzi) which was wonderful to relax, since I had been on my feet since 10am that morning. Then we had dinner together, which William made, and had lots of sweets (thus commenced eating too much for the next four days). Our German friend brought fruit on skewers covered in chocolate. It was delicious. Apparently its her family’s tradition. William and I have decided that we’d like to make a few new traditions of our own, starting with the public bath on Christmas eve, along with chocolate covered fruit. A definite must from now on. I’d like to add making fettuccine alfredo to that list, since its cheap (unlike a turkey or ham around here) and incredibly tasty. Oh, and should I mention that I didn’t have to make it?

Then on Christmas day we went to church with my full grocery bag of cookies in tow. It was a nice service and there were lots of people who came – many newcomers as well. I pray they’ll be back! That evening we went over to our friends’ house for Christmas dinner, complete with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie. Day two of eating more than necessary. Later we skyped with William’s family and opened gifts together (we should have done that before this year – just never thought about it). It was a good day.

The following day we went back down to Nagoya to join the rest of the Nagoya Mustard seed missionaries for a Christmas gathering – this time with Pizza. After that William’s decided he needs a break from all of the running to and fro and said he’s ready for some down time. We don’t start school again until January 13th, so we indeed have some time to rest and study!

Beyond that, we’ve been receiving a few Christmas cards and packages since Christmas – I think almost at least one a day since. Its rather fun, it makes it feel like Christmas isn’t over just yet. That and I keep humming Christmas Carols – and so does William.

Over a week ago I went to the doctor for a cold I had as well as a few other concerns I had. As I arrived at the hospital, I tried to explain that my Japanese wasn’t very good and that someone had told me that there were doctors there who spoke English. They said there weren’t any doctors who spoke English, and asked me if I was a Yamasa student. I said yes, and they　then asked about me bring one of the yamasa staff with me to help translate. I had been quite determined to go on my own, because surely at some point I have to be a big girl and just figure it out on my own (when we were at Meysen, a translator always went with us).  As I left, I started to cry a little – mostly out of frustration, and partly because I felt so terrible physically. I always hate it when that happens. I seem especially susceptible when it involves trying to communicate effectively in Japanese.

I ended up going back to the office and asking one of the customer service staff to come with me, which they did. I was very thankful, but I also felt bad. Since I was a walk in, I had to wait nearly two hours before I could see the doctor, and this (very kind) poor lady had to sit there with me while I waited. So the doctor checked me out and ended up giving me some drugs and took my blood.  I went back this Thursday, determined to go on my own. When I got there, the nurse asked where my translator was. I had to tell her I didn’t have one this week, and that I was going to try to figure it out on my own. She gave me a bit of a disapproving look as she told me the doctor was going to go over my blood test results, and needed to be able to explain them. I felt pretty bad at that moment. But then when I got to the doctor, he started speaking to me in English. Not much, and not great, but my test results all came back normal and he gave me a little more medicine since my cold hadn’t quite fully gone away yet. I felt pretty accomplished at that point, having done it on my own.

After that I went over to the school pub/bar (Zig Zag) and helped William finish with the Turkeys that Declan (one of the staff at Yamasa, who also owns the Bar) had bought and asked WIlliam to prepare (he’s from Ireland and has never roasted a turkey before, so he asked for Will’s help). I ended up making gravy for the first time ever. It was definitely interesting to say the least, and it nearly didn’t start to thicken, until finally it all came together. Though I got quite frustrated in the process!

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. School has been really busy and then I’ve been sick, and for a while I couldn’t figure out how to sign into my account again (our old computer died and we had to buy a new one – another reason this last month was a little nuts)… yada yada. But school is on winter vacation, and I intend to catch up on here.

Could you pray for opportunities to share God’s love with people around here? We’re starting to meet more and more people, and I just pray that God will show us the opportunities to share with all of those people who we are meeting!

So its been a little while since Ive posted anything here. Jo and I have been pretty busy with Language school. We have class from 9 in the morning until about 2:30 in the afternoon with 45 minutes for lunch. All in all its been quite an experience.

Its been a lot of fun being in an academic setting again. I had forgotten all the sitting you do as a student. But I suppose that will just have to spur me on to actually take up running or something. Jo has been going out for runs and I think it would probably make her happy if I came along.

Language study has been really exciting. I feel like I am understanding things a lot better than I had when I studied before and I am really thankful for the amount of Japanese exposure I have everyday. This has all been really trying but its worth it.

On a different note I have taken up roasting my own coffee beans. I did a little research and I discovered that if I roasted my own coffee I would spend about half as much as I would if I just bought coffee in the store. Now of course there is a certain time investment to be made but thats half the fun.

This afternoon I roasted 100 grams of an Ethiopian coffee and we will see how it turns out after it has some time to sit and degas. Odd as it may sound the cheapest way to roast your own coffee is to use a popcorn popper. I bought one off Amazon and after relocating the temperature sensor I think it will work just fine.

In other news our trusty computer seems to have died. This morning I woke up and went to check the weather and was greeted by nothing but a black screen. After some extensive trouble shooting and a little open-heart surgery on our lappy it is safe to say that it was the motherboard that finally gave out. We had had it for about 3 years and it was about a year old when we got it. We have put it through pretty extensive use over the years and I have been pretty happy with it. I think we will be looking for a desktop this time.

Youre thinking, But Will your laptop is shot, how are you typing all this? Well luckily I still have a functioning phone with a bluetooth keyboard so the death of my laptop wasnt a good enough excuse for me not to finally post something.

This weekend looks like it will be really busy. Jo has organized a Thanksgiving Pot-Luck here and then we are also going into Nagoya on Saturday to have a thanksgiving party with people from Church. It should be a lot of fun but still busy.

I know Jo has uploaded some pictures of our apartment on facebook but I will be sure to upload some more once we have a computer again, and I will try and be more frequent with posts here.

If we could ask for prayer it would be for our language study. Pray that we can learn the language well. Also pray that we are able to contribute to the community at the church. But most of all, just pray for Japan.

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When  I was ordering my lunch today at the Indian restaurant, I tried to ask to have my drink (it was a set lunch) with my meal. I tried to say “gohan issho” (Meaning, with my meal), but there was a slight problem. “gohan” means two things – rice and meal. The main problem being that with my curry I could choose to get naan or rice. The waiter was terribly confused. So was my Japanese friend. The waiter thought I wanted rice instead of naan (which I definitely didn’t, because the naan there is AMAZING!).  I then asked him if he spoke English (because he pronounced so many words with a rather good English accent), and he said no. After a good minute of being confused (which felt like five), I finally communicated well enough by saying, “curry issho” (with my curry), but not without being terribly embarrassed first.

Then, at the end of the meal, some of our friends wanted to go, and I tried to tell the waiter we wanted to go, and needed the check, only to find out after he left that he had already left the ticket on our table. I’m pretty sure he must think I am crazy. Sometimes I think I am too.

I have moments like that often. When I get nervous or embarrassed, all of the Japanese in my head flies out the window. I then speak as if I know next to nothing, and my face gets really red. I rather wish I would stop doing that. lol.

This entire weekend has been quite busy. Friday I did some grocery shopping and cleaning, and then our friend Ryan came over for his birthday dinner. After that we headed over to our friends Michael and Cathalain’s apartment to watch TV and hang out. I got no homework done (though I had good intentions to get something done).

Yesterday we went with the Okazaki International Association on a trip to this beautiful mountain in Okazaki.  The original plan was to spend the whole day there hiking, but they had said earlier this week that if it was raining, we’d be going to an art museum instead. When I woke up yesterday it was raining and I assumed we’d just be going to the art museum. Apparently they had other plans, or I just misunderstood what was said in class earlier this week.

First we went hiking in the pouring rain. Having assumed we’d be going to the art museum and NOT hiking, I had worn my leather shoes. I’m thankful that I had at least brought an umbrella.  By the time we had walked up part of the hill and back down, I was soaked from the knees down and rather soggy everywhere else.

Yet, it was a good trip. I met a new friend with whom I had a great conversation about God and the problem of suffering (yes, she spoke English – my Japanese is not that good yet to discuss such things). I invited her to come to church today, and she did. We had a great time and I’m glad to have made a new friend. I also got to know another woman who I discovered has a similar hobby – shopping for cheap prices on groceries and house items. We had a good time chatting about where was good to buy what, and she told me of some new stores I should check out.  She also said she’d show me how to make sushi – which makes me excited.

Today an interesting thing happened. I forgot my water bottle at home when we left for church. I almost always have it with me, and by the time I got to church I was really thirsty. I rather dislike buying drinks from vending machines because they can be so expensive, but I resigned to buying one today. There was a vending machine at church, but my favorite drink was out of stock. So I decided to go outside and try to find a vending machine that had what I wanted. By the time I got back to church, my friend who I met yesterday was just outside of the studio where we have church every Sunday morning. It took us a moment to recognize each other. She was surprised when I said, oh, here’s the church. She had been looking for a building with a cross on top or something.   Its in moments like these when I just love how God works, even in the small things. I didn’t have to be outside when I was, but because I forgot my water bottle, I was.

While I rode the train, I saw a spider descending from the ceiling of the train car. I watched as it landed on a young guy standing next to me. I felt compelled to do something, since if I were him, I would like for someone to get it off me. So… I said “sumimasen” and started swatting his arm. He was very confused and then I pointed to the spider and said.. “spider”. He said “thanks”.  William laughed as I turned really read and embarrassed.  Just after the encounter, I realized he may not have appreciated me killing the spider… as some people have beliefs about reincarnation… and they generally don’t kill little bugs like we Americans do. Oops.

Its been a while since we’ve been students. Over four years really. I’ve forgotten how draining it can be mentally. Sometimes after classes are done for the day – I don’t want to even think about Japanese.  Of course, some days go well, but some days… I just want some chocolate.

Lately I’ve been feeling like my brain is full and I’m not going to be able to add anything new without something falling out the back. I guess that’s why you have to review, right? I need to do more of that.

Today I had my first speaking test. I was really nervous. The first session I was pretty nervous, and I think I made quite a few mistakes, but the second time went a lot better.

We’ve been keeping really busy. Its been a while since I’ve actually been this busy.

We finally figured out how to use the bread maker… hurray! Which means we have half wheat/white bread. It’s not whole wheat, but since I don’t have wheat bread flour, there’s not much I can do. The bread maker makes it really, really easy though. And for that I am very grateful. There’s a whole bunch of interesting recipes in the bread maker manual/cookbook, so I’m excited about trying some of the other ones out. I’m really glad there are pictures along with the directions in a lot of places, otherwise I don’t think I would have been able to figure it out.  It’s amazing how when bread is making, even if you weren’t hungry before, you are now.

When we received our new visas, William was handed a stack of papers that they gave us back. He assumed our marriage certificate and diplomas were in the stack. When he got home and I looked through them, I noticed we hadn’t received our marriage certificate or diplomas back. We thought it strange, but decided perhaps we would receive them back a little later or keep them on file or something. I made a note to call them, but in the midst of school and everything, I kept forgetting.

Today I finally remembered to call (about three weeks after the new visas were granted). I asked if there was anyone there who spoke English, and the gentlemen on the other line said no, and so I tried to ask in Japanese where our documents were. I really wasn’t able to communicate, and finally he asked me to hold and managed to find someone who spoke broken English. I proceeded to explain my problem, and he said that after the visa is granted, they send the documents to Tokyo and that in Tokyo they scan then and them BURN them. At that point I just about lost it.  He asked me if they were originals or copies, and I told him they were originals and that we needed them back. He asked if we could get new ones, and I said I thought so, but I wasn’t sure that I could get them if I wasn’t in the states.  He said he would call the office in Tokyo and see if they still had them so that we could get them back and then call me back.   As of right now, we’re still waiting.

Would you please pray that we could get them back? I’m pretty sure we could get replacements, but those were our originals, and there’s some sentimental value to that…

We’ve been so busy with school lately that I’ve hardly had time to do much else. I often find myself either at school, studying, cooking, cleaning, or grocery shopping. Sometimes I’ve been baking or cooking for fun, and I have to remind myself that even though I enjoy it, I don’t necessarily need to make it, and perhaps I should be studying instead.

We’re really enjoying school though. I feel like I am learning so much, and understanding so much more. I have my moments of success, and then still other moments of failure in trying to communicate with people. Thankfully for almost every time I fail miserably, I have moments when I am actually communicating, which is encouraging.

Today in class we were handed a sheet with groups of verbs, and our teacher told us to find which verb didn’t belong to the group. I had no idea what group she was talking about, and I couldn’t figure anything out. Thankfully I was sitting next to Michael who was able to explain to me what on earth we were doing. Apparently this was something they had learned earlier in other classes. I was surprised, I had never heard anything like it before. I tried to understand why these groups mattered, and when I asked the teacher, she said it pertained to what we would be learning later today in class. Well, I failed to see the connection. I understand the groups, but I don’t know why it matters at all.

We also discussed the issue of “toki” (kinda like “when” in English), which all together can be a bit frustrating, because they make a distinction in what tense they use with “toki” that we really don’t in English, so to use it correctly is rather mind-blowing for me. It takes me half a minute to just sit and think and decide which one I should use. Jeezish!

I just got over a 4 day cold that just about wiped me out. We had friends over to play games on Friday evening, and then I woke up with a wicked cold Saturday morning. It rained all day, so it was a good day to be sick. I stayed home on Sunday and didn’t go anywhere and then went to school on Monday, even though I still felt kind of sick – I just really didn’t want to miss class. Apparently I looked my part because the teacher reassured me that if I wanted to go home, I could.  Thankfully, by Tuesday afternoon I started to feel better. In the mean time I took naps in the afternoon and discovered that our folded up futon and blankets make for a great napping place. Its uber soft.

So my posts are probably going to be relatively far and few between for a while, since Japanese class is kind of kicking my bum… it takes up most of my time. If I’m not in class, making dinner or cleaning, I’m generally studying. Its been a long, long time since I’ve sat in class for 5 hours a day. But it’s really good. I really appreciate their teaching styles and how much we review the new things we learn. It really is a good school.

A bee back in Saku must have told another bee where I live now.  I know they must have been plotting since my last encounter because Saturday afternoon I looked out my window and discovered, to my dismay,bees building a nest outside my front door under the steps to the second floor apartments.

I called William and told him our predicament. Since I was stung in August, any time I hear a buzz, I start to freak out inside.  I felt nervous even leaving the house, but I decided I would sneak out as quietly as I could and go to the store to get bee killer spray. After searching in the store for about 20 minutes, I finally found some (good thing there were pictures!). When I got back I pulled out the spray to be at the ready as I snuck back into the house. I kept my eye on the hive the whole time. As soon as I was safe inside, I had a sudden urge to lock the door; as if the bees could go through an unlocked door.

Later that evening when William came back from Nagano (he was getting our visas), I convinced him to spray the hive that night. So around 10:30 or 11pm, we sprayed the hive… multiple times. (Haha! Revenge!) The next morning I counted 35 bees dead and we then proceeded to knock down the hive. I feel much better now.

Sunday was a good day. We headed into Nagoya from Okazaki (about 30 minutes by train) for church. After church everyone went out to lunch at an Indian restaurant. I had nan and curry, I think for the first time ever. (I don’t recall the last time if there was one) It was AMAZING. And relatively cheap, since it was a part of the lunch special. At lunch I was talking with some new friends, Kenji and Miki. We got to talking about spicy food, and I tried to tell them, in Japanese, that William’s dad likes to make spicy food. Well, apparently I didn’t pronounce it very well and I managed to confuse them. Miki thought I said acquaintance instead of dad, which lead to confusion with her. Then a few moments later, Kenji starts talking about how William’s dad likes the Rodeo, because he thought I said “rodeo” instead of “ryori(food)”. We all had a really good laugh by the time it was figured out.

School has been going well. The first day was really rough, probably in part because I hadn’t reviewed enough, but I also think  it was one of those days where my brain just wasn’t functioning in Japanese.  This week had been good so far though. I’m enjoying my classes and learning a lot. William also likes his classes, though its kinda weird being a student again.

Please pray for our studies – that we would be able to learn all that we can and that we would do our best.