Wednesday, August 16, 2006
O Saka!!!
Kristen and I took a trip to Osaka one weekend to see a Coldplay concert, but took in the sights during the day. We went shopping at a huge a mall there and bought matching skirts. We also went on the Ferris wheel they had on the top of the mall to see the whole city. We then headed off of Osaka Jo (castle), one of the most famous castles in Japan. It was beautiful. It was extremely
hot that day though with a record high of 35 degrees celcius. It was fun to go to Osaka though and 
add that to our list of fun places we have visited in Japan. Yeah for Osaka!!
Happy Hiking!!
I am going to try and update you on the last month that has happened in my life. I know it is a lot, so bear with me. This blog was a day off, where Jonas, Kristen and I took a nice little hike through the jungle down to the coast. It was a nice hike and I even did a little rock climbing (okay. so just climbing down rocks with no ropes isn't really rock climbing, but I did climb down rocks). The view was beautiful and it was lovely day. Enjoy the great pics.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Fukuoka Fotos
Sometimes blog won't let me post all the pictures I want to, so here are the other pictures that wouldn't go on my other blog. Enjoy. 
A couple of cool temple enterances!!
Another one of those peeing boys. Only this time it is a fountain!! What is it with Japanese people and peeing boys?!
A random sign we saw in the subway!!! For those who can't decide where they want to go!!
Fantastic Fukuoka
The day after Kristen and I went to Tokuyama, we decided that since we were almost to the island of Kyushu, we should just hop on a train and go to Fukuoka, especially since Kristen has never been there. It was soo fun!! They are having a big festival on the 15th of July, where they parade all these floats around town. We of course weren't there for the actual festival, but they had a bunch of the cool floats just sitting on street corners for us to see. They were HUGE and soo beautiful!! They have all these intricate designs and paper mache people and buildings on them, and like everything else they have in Japan, they were BRIGHT!! It was amazing. We also went to a few really cool temples. There were all these men dressed in Jimbes (a traditional mens outfit) at this one temple. It was really cool to see. I don't know why. At another temple there was this cute old man that was soo excited that we were there and kept trying to take us around the temple and tell us things in his broken English. We also made it to the temple with the largest wooden Buddha in Japan. We of course couldn't take pictures, but we bought cool postcards to commemorate. We then headed to the local Asian Art Museum for the benefit of Kristen, who loves art.
Before we got there we had the best Tangarine ice cream drink thing I have ever had. The museum was pretty cool. My favorite art were the wooden carvings that looked like those pictures you make as a kid where you color a bunch of colors on a piece of paper and then color over it in black and then take a pin and draw a picture so the colors underneath show. It was beautiful. The only thing I didn't like was the body/performing art stuff. It was weird and most of it was pornographic. Not my idea of art. Kristen didn't even understand it. It was fun to go to an art museum again though. It was a great day and lots of fun to get out and see somethings we don't get to see on a regular basis.Thursday, July 06, 2006
Fourth of July Pictures!!
Oh Say can you see?!
Happy Fourth of July!!!! Celebrating Independence day in Japan is a little different since they don't have the holiday here. I did try to wear red and white and blue all day to celebrate. Then that night Kristen and I had bought fireworks and invited Jonas and Jason over to do them. In Japan it is illegal to do fireworks anywhere, but on the beach, so at 10 pm we traveled to ichinomiya park to light off fireworks. Too bad it started to rain so we had to hold our umbrellas over out head in order to light the fireworks. It was also like 10:30 at night, so it was
really dark and hard to see. The fireworks ended up all being kind of stupid. They were all the same color and type. We did have fun with all the sparklers though and even wrote our names with them. I have fun videos of the whole thing and a few cute pictures. I did make a Fourth of July cake with my kids in Homestay the next day as well as Fourth of July hats. They called it the birthday of America. I guess that is the easiest way to explain it to them. We also did sparklers with them at a local park. The kids loved it and I got some really cool pictures. So I guess I figured out a way to celebrate in my own way!! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!Tripping in Tokuyama
I have to write in a fun color to let you know how fun my trip to Tokuyama was. I went to Tokuyama, in Yamaguchi-ken, last Friday because one the missionaries that used to be in my branch here in Marugame, called me and asked me to come teach a discussion in Spanish out there!! I was way excited to go. So I was a bad girl and called in sick with my roommate to go out to see him and teach a discussion. We didn't feel bad about missing work since we were just recording that day, so we took a 4 hour train trip out there!! It was soo fun to see our friend again and meet his ever so cool companion. Their names are Elder Wengel and Elder Warner. We hung out with them all afternoon and even got to see them in 
action, contacting people on the street. The discussion went really well, although I was nervous beyond belief beacause it has been such a long time since I taught a lesson and I was the only one talking for like an hour and half!! But it was still good to be speaking in Spanish and teaching the gospel as well. Also, I was the spotlight at the Young Men's activity that night as they had me tell all about my mission in Argentina and about Argenintian people. We spent the night with an English teacher in Wengel and Warner's branch. She was really nice. We didn't sleep well as we were on the floor, but it was still fun to be there. We then left the next morning to go to Fukuoka. It was a short trip, but well worth it to travel there. It was way, way, WAY fun!! 
Monday, June 26, 2006
Konquering Konpirasan
So I know that I have already climbed up Konpirasan, but little did I know that I had only made it like half way!!! Louise and I decided to go to Konpirasan (mainly so I could buy soveigners for my family, which I didn't get by the way!!! Poop), and we decided to go all the way to the top!! So beyond the intial 5,000 steps, there are like 10,000 more after that!! So, after about dying from lack of oxygen, and collapsing from muscles giving out, we made it to the ever so unimpressive top!!!
The middle area is 2 times cooler than the top!! All there is at the top is a little orange shrine, a book to sign saying you made it to 
the top, and a little better view than the middle area, but really not that well worth it!! There was this cool little tractor thing on the top, connected to track, that looked like it would collapse at any moment, but it did take a little Japanese man down to the bottom!! It was fun to spend the day with Louise and we even went out to eat at Yakiniku afterwards and we got to know each other really well!!!
She is way awesome and an amazing person!! It was a good exercise day though and boy did I have sore calf muscles for 2 days straight!!! 
Monday, June 19, 2006
Happy Birthday to Me!!!
Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday dear ME!! Happy Birthday to me!! Okay. Do you think I am a little excited about it being my birthday last Tuesday!!! I am now officially 26 years old! Wow!! I remember when my sisters were 26. It makes me feel soo old!! I did having fun in my classes aksing my students how old I am!! They just got used to saying I was 25. I love teasing them and having them looked confused when I tell them I am now 26!!! It's great!!!
My roommate was the cutest!! She decorated the house for me and everything!! Then she talked to Meme (the best person ever to work at GEM School) and they got me some cake that night and invited everyone over!!! 
It sure made for a lot of fun!!! And of course who could forget the ever famous seiance picture!!!
It was a great birthday!!!! (Do you think I could have used any more exclamation points in this blog. If you can count them and tell me how many there are you win a prize. I am not sure what yet, but it will be great!!!)!!!!Monday, June 12, 2006
Bowling for Soup
Okay, so just bowling for fun!!! Kristen and I ended up stuck in our house for 2 days straight due to schedules that left us with no car. So when we got one back on Saturday night, we were more than ready to get out of the house. We went out for Okonomiyaki again and then hit up the local bowling alley. They have great things there like an auto shoeser, where you put money in a slot and shoes come spitting out the bottom.
The shoes are way cuter than in America being pink and purple and velcro. No strings attached. 
We had fun bowling next to a group of drunk guys that said "YEAH!!" everytime we did something good. I won with 111, but Kristen came in a close second with 67. We really enjoyed the cute pirate dude they had everywhere and what he would tell us when we did bad!!
It was way fun and well worth it!! 
The shoes are way cuter than in America being pink and purple and velcro. No strings attached. We had fun bowling next to a group of drunk guys that said "YEAH!!" everytime we did something good. I won with 111, but Kristen came in a close second with 67. We really enjoyed the cute pirate dude they had everywhere and what he would tell us when we did bad!! It was way fun and well worth it!! Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Hungry Hungry Hippo
Here are some more pictures of fun food that I get to eat here in Japan.
Okonomiayaki, my favorite japanese food, before it is cooked. It is a japanese style pancake, but so much better.
Our okonomiyaki cooking.
The finished product!! It's oishi, as Callan (the son of another couple in our branch who teach English at another school), would say!!
And of course you can't forget the japanese version of American pizza complete with tuna fish and corn. Yumi!!
Stupid Blog!! Pictures are for posting!!
So here are the rest of the pictures that my last blog would not let me put on.
Me in the cool seat carriage they used to carry the royals in.
If you think I was turning Japanese before, what do you think of this picture?!
Beautiful Korakuen Garden!!! You can tell why it is one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan!
And we can't forget my animal friend, the crane!!
Me in the cool seat carriage they used to carry the royals in.
If you think I was turning Japanese before, what do you think of this picture?!
Beautiful Korakuen Garden!!! You can tell why it is one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan!And we can't forget my animal friend, the crane!!
