happy turkey day

This year, our school had a Thanksgiving potluck the day before Thanksgiving break. Since we were traveling to Tokyo on Thanksgiving... this was my Thanksgiving meal. It was semi-tradition in that we had turkey and a lot of the typical American Thanksgiving foods... but we also had a lot of Japanese dishes that parents brought in. Before we ate, the Pre-3rd grades put on a little show for the parents. Each class did a few songs/skits... they were super cute and it was a lot of fun.

preschoolers checking out the turkey before the program

in awe of the massive turkey

our brave turkey carvers

Rocky carving the biggest turkey

getting ready for the potluck

some of the moms - the two on the right also work at the school

lots and lots and lots of food.

Noan, one of the little Indians

1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians...

they were all trying to get in the picture...

cute kindergartners!

Mr. Elofson and Tomiko welcoming the parents and introducing the Thanksgiving program.

cute preschool turkey song

1st and 2nd grade - the pilgrims

3rd Grade - they put on a little skit including the pilgrims and the indians.

the preschoolers didn't want to miss out on the program after they were done with their part... they were so cute just hanging out in the hallway.

preschoolers waiting for their turkey!

the parents... the entry way was full... wonder if this would have violated some sort of fire code in the States.

Ziplining

The last weekend that Kristen's friend Rachel was here in November, we went up to a place called Forest Adventure and went zip-lining. It was a ton of fun and it is definitely something I want to do again. There isn't too much to say about it... but a picture is worth a thousand words right? So here are some pics:

buckling into the harness

look of concentration as I make sure I'm clipping in right.

One of the first "obstacles"... it ended up being pretty boring

half-way through the course break

pretty crazy... so fun though

Kristen and Rachel

on one of the highest platforms, it was super windy but the view was beautiful

kristen in the net after doing the "Tarzan Jump"

you can see some of the different obstacles in this picture

the view was beautiful

Rachel's signature way of stopping after the zip-line

yay! we made it all the way through!

We stopped at the beach afterwards, the water was really choppy but it made for some cool pictures of the waves. The wind actually knocked my camera off a pole and I now have no lens cover on my camera... I'm just thankful it didn't break all the way.

Nakajin Youth Retreat with Koza

This past weekend, I went as a leader/worship leader to the youth retreat at my church. It was a lot of fun and I got to know some of the students better. I love being a youth leader and am so glad that I get to help with the youth group here.

driving up... cool picture taken with my new cell phone

driving up a day late with Kenny and Clark

driving... nice drive, pretty clouds

our view of the sunset while driving... living on an island has its perks!

first night I was there - 2am move to the cafeteria because of the mouse in our cabin. Every time we'd fall back to sleep it would make a ton of noise again... and we were on the floor and freaked out. so we carried our air mattresses to the cafeteria and finally conked out!

Gretchen and I during some free time.

oh camp pranks. :)

Ok this next one is a video... the kids at the youth retreat asked me to write a song about the Swine Flu... this was what Jenni and I came up with, in the 5 minutes we had to write it. Fun times. :)

beautiful path the the beach.

yes the water is that blue and yes you can see the drop off... cool huh?

our private beach at the camp.

beach. :)

Jenni and I enjoying some beach time.

leaders around the campfire, we got the prime spot.

bonfire on the beach, always a great way to end a retreat.

"Traditional" Eisa Drum Performance

I was at American Village one Sunday after church and there was an Eisa drum team in the square. I just assumed they were going to play to something traditional but when the song started it was "Who Let the Dogs Out." It was pretty funny and quite impressive.

I thought I'd share the video. :) Enjoy.

Japanese Cell Phone!

So after being here for 2 1/2 months I was sick of having to tell people that I didn't have a cell phone and that they'd have to call me at home or email me. So I bought a Japanese cell phone. It is a Softbank prepaid cell phone which means that I have a certain amount of minutes that I pay for in advance. In Japan, for the most part, all incoming calls are free, you only have to pay minutes on outgoing calls. So having a prepaid phone works out great for me because most of my friends have Softbank plans so they can call me without it costing them any extra. Basically the phone is just for emergencies and receiving calls because the rate for making calls is very expensive, about the equivalence of $1 a minute. It has been great though, because I can give the number out and people can call me... if you know me at all, you know I hate feeling disconnected so this is a huge help in making me feel like I'm more connected, both in Japan and back home. I also pay $3 every 30 days for unlimited SMS text messaging (within Japan) and unlimited emailing. What is nice is that instead of paying $3 extra, it just comes out of the balance I've already paid for the prepaid minutes. And because I'm me and always try to find easy, cheap (or free) ways to stay connected... I've figured out a system. I can actually send text messages to my friends and family in the states through my cell phone because I have the unlimited email... so if you have Verizon, for example, i would just send an email to (yourtendigetnumber)@vtext.com. It goes to your phone and you can text me back. It is great! I kind of had a texting thing on my iPod touch but I have to be connected to wifi to use it, so now I can text from almost anywhere. I can also upload pictures from my phone to facebook and twitter... and even my blog. I'll be uploading some from my phone, kind of mini-blogging so that everyone can see more of what I actually see on a daily basis instead of just the tourist stuff I do. When I see something funny, or culturally interesting, I'll text it from my phone. Very cool right? Well, me and my need-to-stay-connected-self think so.