Noticing the Differences

     It's been ages since I wrote a post! As many of you know I took a trip to the States. I was there the whole month of February! I visited family, learned about living in the States, discovered some fascinating things about myself, had lots of new experiences, and noticed many differences between Japan and the USA.
     I thought it'd be fun to share a few of the things I noticed. I realized right away that I would quickly get used to thing and stop noticing the differences, so I made it a point to try to consciously note things as I saw them.

      Here are a few differences between Japan and the US that I noticed during my visit.

Probably the most noticeable was the fact that almost everyone spoke English! All of a sudden I could communicate with ease and I found that I loved it! Thankfully the transition back to Japan hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be. We have lots of people at home to speak English to and my Japanese is very functional so even in the Tokyo airport I found myself talking fairly naturally in Japanese. But I loved being able to make little comments, talking to people in the stores, and knowing how to phrase a sentence or  question so that it was softer or more direct according to the situation.

Another thing I noticed right away was the friendliness. People were generally very friendly in the States. I had several random conversations while shopping and I often chatted with the cashier. As soon as I walked into a store, employees would ask, "How are you?" I've found Japanese to be very polite, but I found Americans to be friendly.

The trucks were very different! The American trucks were huge in comparison and had distinct fronts.

The stores were generally so much bigger than Japanese stores! I found it somewhat overwhelming at first. For every item there seemed to be ten different options. Different brand names, different quantities, different qualities, and different sizes. Paper towels alone seemed to take up an entire aisle! There were about twelve different brands of eggs! And a whole row with cases of bottled water. I found myself just picking something, because if I tried to compare prices vs. quantity vs. quality and so on it became far too difficult. I simple had to pick one pack of eggs, any carton of milk, a roll of paper towels and just try it. I had to try to limit my decisions otherwise my brain felt like exploding. 'Just pick one and see' was kind of my motto for this trip. =)

The variety of ice cream at the grocery store was incredible! There was an entire isle of standing freezers full of containers of ice cream! There was chocolate, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with Oreo, chocolate with chocolate pieces and vanilla swirls; there was mint chip, raspberry something, vanilla with all kinds of swirls, chunks, pieces, and toppings! In the Japanese grocery stores there might be two options: vanilla or vanilla with chocolate swirls. Occasionally we find just plain chocolate ice cream. To get the variety we have to get to an ice cream shop like Baskin Robbins. But still there were more ice cream types at the grocery store in America than the 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins in Japan! Wow!

Colorful. That was another thing that stood out to me! Things in the States just tended to be colorful! I walked into a clothing store and right away I noticed all the color! There were bright pink, bright green, brilliant blue, orange, and yellow things hanging here and there all through the store!

When I walked into a grocery store for the first time my first thought was 'big'. It was huge and spacious and colorful. There was an entire corner set aside for fruits and vegetables. At first I was thinking 'Wow! I feel like I could get lost in here!'. But of course I didn't. =)

Another thing that I noticed as soon as I walked into the grocery store was the fact that the apples seemed to glow! (they must shine them) There was something else that was different and it took me a while to figure out what it was. Then I realized that the fruits were all out in the open. There weren't packaged. There were hardly any plastic bags in the whole fruits and vegetables section. In Japan most of the time the fruits and veggies are packaged into groups. I can buy a package of five bananas or ten bananas. In America I could buy just one banana or one apple. It was an interesting observation.

Those were a few things that I noticed while I was in the States. There were lots more! It was really interesting to note the differences and share with friends and family. My trip was fabulous!
 

End of the Year

      With four Christmas parties, numerous English classes, baking cookies, cleaning the house, finishing school, celebrating my birthday, and preparing for Josh and Mara coming it has been a busy December!

      On the first day of the month we had a fun Christmas party with other home-school friends. We enjoyed delicious food, fun games, and terrific company! A few days later Jenny and I baked snickerdoodles together, while listening to Christmas music.

     Throughout the month I taught quite a few English classes, but perhaps the most significant one was teaching at the large preschool near us. I taught there once before in November, so I had some idea of what to expect. But there were a lot of times where I had to spontaneously create lessons or try to figure out how to do what the lady I was helping wanted. My favorite part was when we had them all stand up to sing a song. They giggled and laughed as we danced. Normally the kids have to sit down, be silent, and pay attention. So it was fun to see those tiny kids enjoying themselves and laughing. I will be teaching there one more time next year and I hope I will be able to bless some more kids and release God's presence and grace.
      Tiffy and I worked at FBC and went to their annual Thanksgiving/Christmas party. It was really fun to talk with everyone there. I was glad to work one more time to help wrap that up. This fall was my fourth season to work with FBC. I have grown and learned so much during the time I've been there. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone as I realize that I may not work there for awhile (of course you never know - so I tried not to be too sad =]).

      On the 18th we had a Christmas a party for our English classes. A friend, Nobuko, came and really helped us with it. She was able to read a little Christmas story in Japanese and interact with both the kids and their moms. Tiffy, Dad, and I were really busy for the first 45 minutes organizing games and activities. We started with two Christmas songs, then Nobuko read the story. After that Dad gave a short talk about how God created the earth and the first thing He made was light. The light is like love which God gave to us and which we give to others. We had several lasers which we used to make a miniature light show as he talked. Then Dad lighted one candle and from that candle we lighted everyone else's candles. The room lit up with candle light and we all sat or stood in a moment of silent contemplation before we turned on the lights and had everyone blow out the candles.
From that we went into several fun games. We were kept busy as we organized and directed the games. We had one game where we blindfolded one of the kids and gave them a fruit or vegetable. Without looking they tried to tell us what it was. Another game they speared a marshmallow with a toothpick and had to walk to a table without dropping it. From there they had two options of games. One was a game where they tried to slide poker chips into a box with holes cut out of it. If they got it in they received a chocolate coin. The other game was a box with holes in the top. The kids would take little fishing poles and catch a candy from the bottom of the box. We continued playing games until we stopped to have cake and presents. I felt that our Christmas party may have been one of our best ones so far. It was fun to get to enjoy the kids and play games, but I felt that we were able to introduce the real meaning of Christmas too.

 

       On Thursday we celebrated my birthday since my real birthday was going to busy. On Friday we went to our last Christmas party for the year. I enjoyed seeing everyone and talking to different people. We were also able to get a few pictures which was fun. After the party we went to USJ to see their special Christmas performance. Since it started raining they had to simplify it a lot, but thankfully they didn't cancel it completely. They did a good job with lights and singing.

       Sunday I did my last three English classes and thoroughly enjoyed them. Tuesday was of course Christmas! We had a great day together! In the afternoon we watched Pixar's newest movie Brave, while eating pizza! So fun!

       The day after Christmas we were all busy cleaning the house and getting ready for Josh and Mara. They arrived on Thursday just before noon! Mom and we girls went window shopping with Mara while Josh and Dad filled out legal papers to renew his re-entry permit (and who knows what else). Since then I have been having so much fun! Mara is really nice and fits in with our family perfectly. We have been playing lots of games, opening presents, and talking. Yesterday Josh and Mara went sightseeing in Kyoto. We girls declared it a Lego day and built several space stations, spacecrafts, and a variety of people. I haven't actually played Legos in a long time! It was fun!

     Now it's almost the end of the year and I can hardly believe it! 2013 is almost here! This year has been great and I'm hoping the next one will be even better!

Happy New Year!! =P

Looking Like Christmas

      All around, things are beginning to look like Christmas! The stores are playing Christmas music. There are lights on houses throughout the town. The cold winds and frozen ground outside make it feel as if it could snow any day now. Christmas is almost here!
      We set up our outdoor Christmas displays several weeks ago and finally finished decorating inside the house just last week. I thought you'd enjoy some pictures of this year's Christmas decorations!

Our outdoor nativity display!

 Shepherd and wisemen

Iesu wa ai (desu) - Jesus is love

 

Now we take a look at the inside as we wait for it to get dark outside.

 

 

 Little nativity ornament on the tree!

 

I've enjoyed having the house all decorated! It's amazing how much of 'feeling like Christmas' comes from decorations and atmosphere.

 

What our outdoor scene looks like in the dark:

 

 

 

Pretty cool! Only 13 days till Christmas! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

 

 

Punching Holes and Popping Pimples

    To go somewhere for the purpose of having a hole punched through you, is not necessarily a pleasant thought.  As it was Tiffy and I were actually kind of excited! We have thought about getting our ears pierced for about three years and finally we were going to do it!

 

    On Tuesday the 27th, Tiffy and I drove with Mom to the shopping mall near where we'd get our piercings. Mom gave us the last hug while we still had whole ears, then said goodbye. She left to do some shopping and get a haircut. Tiffy and I walked through the 100 yen shop and bought Dad some cool magnets. Then we wandered through the pet shop. Realizing that it was only 15 minutes till our 11 o'clock appointment, we hurried down the stairs and around the bus turnabout. We checked the time of our departing bus, before walking to the dermatology for our appointment.
    The doors slid open and we entered. The building looked so official, almost intimidating. Behind the front desk were four or five people helping various clients.
    "Now what do we do?" I asked Tiffy, before going up to the desk. I gave them our name and told them we came to get our ears pierced. Since I had already made an appointment over the phone a few days earlier, they knew who we were. Handing us two sheets of paper, they asked us to fill them out. We did our best and they helped us on questions we didn't understand. After completing the form, the lady instructed us to go up to the second floor to the back. We took the elevator up.

      "We're going to get our ears pierced!" Tiffy exclaimed. The elevator doors opened and a lady poked her head out from around the corner. She had been expecting us. She motioned for us to come forward. Then she asked us to sit. In a little bit she brought out three colors of earrings for us to choose from. Pink, blue, and white. Tiffy chose the white diamond looking ones, and I chose blue. Next we had to draw dots on each others ears with green marker pen. It took several tries before we got it looking right. It was about 11:15 by the time we finished that. We sat down again on the seats provided and waited. We looked at the posters on the wall, watched as the staff worked, read the signs near the doors, talked, laughed, snapped some 'before' shots for our before and after pictures, and waited. Every time a nurse opened the doctors door, I wondered if it was our turn. I have to admit I was a little nervous. I wasn't sure how much it would hurt or how long it would take.

Staring down the hallway as we wait tensely...

        Finally just before noon, I was called in. I put my bags in the basket that was provided and sat on the bed. I asked if I should pull my hair back with a hair bow and the assistant said I should. I got off the bed and pulled a hair bow out of my purse. As I was putting my hair into a ponytail, the doctor came in. She was a very pleasant looking lady. She put the earring in a small metal piercing gun and started lining it up with the green dot. Then telling me that she was going to push it, she did and something went slamming into my ear! Kaaaaaaazam! I hadn't expected it to feel like that! She prepared the other earring and my ear throbbed a little. This time knowing what to expect I was much more tense as she lined up the gun.
    "Here we go." she said in Japanese. I tensed as she pulled the gun. WAM! The earring plunged into my ear as I flinched slightly. My ears were tingling and sore. But I had pierced ears finally! The doctor said that she might know me and asked how many siblings I had. I told her there were seven in our family.
     "I think I know your father," she said in English. As we talked we found out that she was the doctor lady who gave us the stone lantern in our yard years ago. We did know her! I was surprised, although I found out later that Dad and Mom had already known that it was her hospital we were going to, so they weren't overly surprised. =)

      I got off the bed, grabbed my stuff and went out of the room into the hallway. Tiffy sat waiting and went in as soon as I was out of the doorway. My ears sore and throbbing as Tiffy was getting her ears pierced. But I was excited! I had pierced ears! I looked in the mirror and snapped a few pictures. They were sensitive so I didn't dare touch them. In a few minutes the door opened again and a nurse asked me to come in so we could hear the explanation together. When I came in, the doctor said,
       "I can give you medicine for acne." I wasn't expecting that. But she said she could also give us treatment for any pimples on our face. We decided to go for it.
      I was brought into another room. I laid on the bed as instructed. The nurse came back and with a needle pricked one of my zits open, then pressed it hard with a round metal tool. Ouch! Thankfully I didn't have too many zits, so I was soon done. She put some medicine on my face and then sent my out to the waiting area, calling Tiffy in. I cautiously snuck a look at myself in my hand mirror to see if the paste she had smeared on my face was noticeable. Thankfully it was clear and could hardly be seen. I sat in the lobby and waited for Tiffy. When she came out it was obvious that hers had hurt more. Poor girl!
      After getting instructions for taking care of our pierced ears and using the medicine for acne, we went down the elevator once again. One of the ladies showed me where the pharmacy was so that we could pick up the medicine. After paying, we walked out the back of the building, around the corner, and across the parking lot to the pharmacy. The cold wind against our ears made them hurt a bit. Filling out another form, we got the acne medicine. It was almost 12:30 and we needed to catch the 1:13 bus back. So we walked to MacDonald's for some lunch. Yum! We had to eat kind of quickly though! After throwing away our garbage, we ran to the bus stop. It was going to be close! I wasn't sure if we would make it! As we arrived at the far end of the bus turnaround, we saw our bus pull up. We ran across the turnaround and boarded the bus. Phew! We made it!

    Riding home we took our 'after' shots. I think people were looking at us strangely as we made weird faces into the camera. Oh well! =)

    We got to our stop. Then began the 30 minute trek up the the hill to our house. It was nice though! Our ears were becoming less sensitive and the day was truly beautiful. Fall trees covered the mountains, while fall leaves coated the road. As we leisurely walked home, we enjoyed the lovely day. We couldn't help saying to each other occasionally,
      "You know what? We have pierced ears!"

 We made it to the top of the hill! Rejoice!

 

      I am so excited to finally have my ears pierced. I'm glad I waited though! I enjoyed having a few more years of totally not worrying about my ears. Now we have to wait one month before we can change our earrings. And that month is going to go by super quickly with all the Christmas events, parties, and the like! It's almost December! Wow! I can't believe that 2012 is almost over!

Who's Thankful?

Who's Thankful?

by Kimberly

With so many blessing,

So many many things,

How can we not be thankful

To the King of Kings?

He’s provided for our clothes,

Our shelter and our food.

He’s given us friends and family,

And He’s always in a good mood!

God’s given so many gifts

But we give back not much.

Doesn’t He deserve the thanks

Of His children and such?

That God loves us,

He chose us to be His,

That He gives us grace,

And His peace there is,

For these things and so much more

Thankful we should be.

I give you thanks, God,

You are so good to me.

Thank you for all you’ve done

For all that you have made

Thank you for your loving voice

That guides us before we’ve strayed.

Thank you for your blessings

Your gifts of toes and noses,

Friends, family, neighbors,

Rocks, dirt, and roses.

Houses trees and pots

Beds, carpets, showers,

Trees, mountains, valleys,

Animals, bugs, and flowers.

Dishes, teeth, and rain,

Laughter, swings, snow,

Butterflies, grass, and leaves,

God made them all, you know.

There’s always so much more

That we fail to think or say.

But we offer a thankful heart,

To you our King, today.

Happy Thanksgiving!