New Favorite

Hey everyone,

It is Sunday here again, so I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to tell you about my new favorite Jello. Yesterday Abi saved my afternoon by bringing a Jello cup for me from the 7-11. It was not a flavor I had ever tasted, but it was great! I had coffee Jello with cream on top. You all can make it yourself. All you have to do is make strong coffee, stir gelatin into it, and let it get hard. Then you can serve it with whipped cream on a hot day. :) It was very caffeinated, and saved my afternoon from a nap. I needed all the time I had, though. I left at 5:00 PM for Honda, and arrived at 6:45. I was traveling by myself. I arrived in Honda and spent the night there. This morning I left Honda (which, by the way, is near Chiba) around 8:30, and I just arrived here at the apartment. It is nearly 10:00 AM.

Anyway, I will have to tell you later what I was doing in Honda, but I just wanted to tell you about the Coffee Jello. It was SOOOO good! :)

Love to you all,

Hannah

Fun, Fun, Fun...

Ahhh. It's good to taste some good old southern food (southern Mexico that is). Yes my friends... today I had tacos for dinner! :) I won't tell you how many I ate because it is of no importance, but they were extremely delicious. Last night I had tako salad, and tonight I had taco salad. :P Just so you know, tako is octopus. The salad included tako, cucumber, and cabbage, and was better than I thought it was going to be. Last night we had an entirely Japanese menu. I liked it all. We also had miso soup. Miso is basically soybean paste... much like hummus, but very strong and salty. In addition, the soup had clams in it. We boiled live clams, added water, and then miso. I loved the tofu with miso sauce too. Anyway, I just wanted to share that little bit of my past two delicious dinners with you, since you didn't get to taste it.

While I am thinking about food... I will now randomly change the topic! :) During the short time I have been in Japan, I have made several decisions about how America should be. First of all, I think that everyone should use hashi for meals. They are very practical, and also much easier to wash than a fork. In Japan, if you cannot pick it up with your hashi, you drink it. I have learned that the proper way to eat spaghetti varies greatly here from in America.

Yesterday was my first time to go to the park. Aidan got a bike for his birthday, and has been practically begging to go to the park and ride it. Unfortunately it has been raining almost every afternoon since his birthday. So yesterday I took Aidan, Eastin, and the bike to the park for about an hour. I took some cute pictures of Eastin, and some of the park as well. The picture I posted is of the park. I have learned: whither soever I am, therewith to have my camera. I really enjoyed the park, the walk, and the cool weather. Yes, I said cool weather. The weather right now is mostly cloudy and around 64 degrees. :) I hear that in Mississippi it's in the 90's. I really don't know which I prefer...

Today was the first joint English lesson with Eastin and an adorable little girl named Hinako-Chan. She lived in America for three years (she's 4 now) and wants to keep up her English. I really had a good time with both of them. My working at the Preschool last year helped too, although these two 4 year olds are way beyond the 4 year olds I was working with there. Hinako-Chan and Eastin are already learning to read three letter words! I am going to have lessons with both of them on Tuesdays and Fridays, and with just Eastin all other days... I think it will be fun.

Well, I think that is all I have to tell for right now... I am off to follow the adventures of Scarlet and a culture that is Gone With the Wind! :) Yes, I'm watching Gone With the Wind!!!

Day...(I'm not sure)

Well, We have had a good start to our Tuesday morning here. Not much has happened here this morning that would be worth noting... I did sleep until 6:00, went back to sleep until 6:30, and finally got up at 7:00. I was so tired. I have gotten up between 5:30 and 6:30 everyday (except one) for the past week and a half... Honestly, I am not used to that. I usually get up at 6:30 three days a week, and the others I sleep until 7:00... Pray that I will have the energy I need.

Yesterday we had lots of fun. The Belhaven group was here from 10:30-1:00 doing something like a debrief meeting. Then they broke into two groups and went shopping. Ellie offered to stay here and watch the boys since she doesn't like shopping, so I was able to go with them. We had a lot of fun. We went to two different places. My favorite was the first, but I got some pictures of the second. It was more like a street mall, with lots of little stores off to the side. We also passed a piano store. There were two incredible pianos on display in the window. I still haven't decided which was my favorite... :) Let me know which one all of you like best. :)

Last night Ellie, Alicia, Alex and I stayed here with the boys while Roger and Abi were gone. I made spaghetti and meat sauce, and boiled some soy beans, (which I don't remember the name for). I don't really like them... Everyone here loves them....but I don't care for them that much. I want some good old string beans!

Pray for Aidan, Eastin and Coen... All three have been acting funny today and last night, so I hope they're not coming down with the cold that has been going around. Also pray for the Belhaven team. Two of them were not feeling well yesterday, and it will be a miserable ride home if they're sick....

Well, my love to you all!!!

Hannah

Sunday

Here we are at the end of the beginning...The end of the beginning of a new week. This morning we celebrated Aidan's birthday. Last night I made the cake and this morning Abi iced it and Roger decorated it. I thought it was kind of cute... :) The plan was to take several of the boys' friends to the park.... but since it was raining...they all came over to the apartment. They really had fun.

After we ate a lunch of spaghetti and meat sauce made by me, we left for church. The church service went really well too. I met a lot more people this week....

Let's see... I met three of Pastor Fukuda's children... They are all around my age. One is 18 (I think) one is 16, and one is 14.

Roger and Alex drove the van home with the boys and Carl (for those of you who remember him, he is staying here again.) Ok... I just think this is too funny. Especially remembering my family's reaction when I told them this.... One of the members of the Belhaven team plays the double bass. They have left the bass here most of the time they have been here. And it stays...in my room... We decided that to have an almost 6' tall thing standing in my room all the time was...well anyway... we named it Carl. :) Speaking of the van... I told you that I rode in the front seat of a car, but riding in the very back seat of a mini-van is a totally different feeling. Not a fun one! It was really weird!!! Abi and I took the train on the way home, since the van was packed.

After we got back to Tsukishima (pronounced ski-sheemu) we went to the 7-11 to get box-dinners for Alex and myself. The musicians from church came here also to practice for next Sunday's service. As I looked around while I was eating, I noticed that the two of us, one from Dallas and the other from south MS, were eating Japanese dinners using hashi. All of the Japanese people had gone to McDonalds and were eating hamburgers and french-fries. I thought that was a little funny.

I don't know... I think that since I've come here I think a lot to myself. I did it at home but just didn't realize it... I even think about how much I'm thinking. It just seems that I am one thought ahead of most everyone else. For instance, I realize something but don't say it (which is not uncommon for me as I think a lot more things than I actually say), and then 5 min. later someone will go "Oh y'all, I just realized..."

Oh, I also posted the picture of Tokyo Tower that I was going to post.

Well, please still pray for my throat, as it now just feels like there is something stuck in it. It still hurts, and I feel like I need to cough...which just hurts more. At least I have my energy back...

Well, my love to you all!!!

Love,

Hannah

Another Full Day

Well, Here I am at the end of yet another full day here in Tokyo. This afternoon we had another concert, and all day people were at the apartment. I was able to sleep until 6:30 this morning, and then didn't get up until almost 7:00. Not long after I finished breakfast Alex came for breakfast. The Belhaven team didn't get here until nearly 10:00 A.M. They practiced all morning, and left for the concert hall at 12:15. There was a 'sports day' called an 'undokai' at the elementary school today, so I only had Eastin and Coen from 12:15 to 2:00 when I met another family downstairs. Then we went to the concert together. It was really a great time, and I heard that the turn-out was better than expected. After that, Alex came here and had dinner with us. He, Roger and I had 'yakitori'. It is basically meat on a stick. My favorite one was the chicken. I also tasted the pork. Roger and Alex said that the chicken wings were the best, but I didn't get one of those... Only the three of us ate them because they have gluten in them. You can of course look these things up on Wikipedia to find out more about them. Anyway, rather than bore you with details of today, I wanted to share with you the two main remarks I get when people find out how old I am, and where I'm from.

When I tell people how old I am, the main response is "Oh, I would have thought you much older" Which...I really don't know how to take that.... :P

Lots of people ask where I'm from as well. I have met several Americans who have told me that I don't sound like I'm from Mississippi or have lived in MS all my life (my host included). They say I don't have a 'mississippian' accent.

So those are just two patterns I have noticed since I have been here that I found interesting.

Well, I probably should get to bed now as it is nearly 10:00, and tomorrow is another long and full day!

Oh, I also learned how to say 'thank you' in Japanese: "arigatou". In Japanese, the R is pronounced the same as the letter L in English and "tou" is pronounced like the "ta" in "tall", but it's rather rounder...

Love to you all!

Hannah

Up and At 'Em... Almost

Hey everyone...

I just wanted to tell you all that I am feeling much better than I was this morning. I took two ibuprofens soon after I updated my blog, and felt well enough to bake the pound cake, wash the dishes, go to the 7-11 for an ice-cream cone, and make some southern style sweet tea. I don't know... I think other things besides the meds have made me start feeling a little better. I read some of the letters people sent with me, I started thinking about Brer Rabbit, and then finally got a chance to sit and listen to my oldies. That always makes me happy. :D I love classical music, and especially piano, which I have heard much of today, but the oldies just make me smile. Speaking of the classical piano... I don't think I told you about Alex. Alex arrived from Dallas from FL, from NY last night. He is the student from Julliard who plays the piano. He is playing a concert here tonight with some of the other group. He, Josh (a new short term member of the Chiba team), and Isaac (a long term intern with the Chiba team who is leaving soon for seminary) came last night after they picked up Alex from the airport. Alex came early this morning and had three eggs and several pieces of bacon for breakfast, and has been here all day. He left about 45 min. ago to get some rest. He has to come back tonight, as I said. I found out something interesting while talking to him this morning... he is the second of 5 children.... I also found out that Aiden's BD is in late May, and Eastin's is in late Sept. :)

I am here now with Aiden and the piano tuner. While I am listening to my oldies, Aiden is enthralled by the piano tuner... Tonight my room is going to be turned into a play room for the boys and their friends during the concert. So I am REALLY glad I feel better, as I will be babysitting them. Then we will have a snack time, and the parents with children will leave because they have a sports day at school tomorrow. Then there will be another part of the concert for just adults. Almost everyone here will be from this building. I have met several of the moms who live here that have children Eastin's age.

I have also practiced using my hashi. If you don't know what that is, you would never survive in Japan, so look it up before you plan a trip over. I haven't eaten any more onigiri lately, but I have eaten some soup that has cabbage, onions, and powdered seaweed in it. I didn't like it as much as the onigiri. I also ate some kind of fish on my rice the other day. :) I have eaten a lot of stuff I never thought I would have... Like salmon and tuna for breakfast, runny eggs, pan fried shrimp, etc. But you know me... if it's given to me at a meal, I'm not going to ask for something else.

Well, I hope you all slept well, (as you won't read this until after you wake up) and have a great day!!! Do keep praying that I continue to improve. My throat is still a little sore, but it's not killing me every time I swallow like this morning.

Hannah

Day..8...?

Good morning America! I hope morning finds you all well, because morning did not find me well... I have not wanted to say anything about it because I did not want you to worry about me, so don't worry about me. But I am sick. I ask that you all pray for me. I have a really sore throat and my ears are so stopped up that it feels like one of the horrible ear-aches I had when I was little. (Some of you remember those.) This morning I was nauseated. I got up at 6:00, and went back to bed at 8:45. I slept again until around 10:00. I am a morning person, so it is really unusual for me to want to go back to bed in the morning.... Some members of my family say that movie quotes express every emotion known to mankind. :) (You know who you are. :D ) I think that the Br'er Rabbit story says this one quite aptly when Brer Fox was sneaking into farmer Brown's chicken coup and grabbed the skinny chicken. He said, "Something must be wrong with this chicken; she's not fat like the others." The 'chicken', which was really a parrot, said simply, "I been sick!" This woke up Old Blue, who woke up Farmer Brown, who got his gun and got after Br'er Fox!!! Hopefully I won't wake up Old Blue, but I am sick. I don't want you to worry about me, just pray for me.... Abi has been taking good care of me. She has been giving me Vitamin C tablets, along with minerals that smell awful and are about the size of a horse pill. :)

I have also been asked to post something that I made that shows how to write my name in Japanese. So I will do that now. Tomorrow maybe I can post the picture of Tokyo Tower that I took last night.



Love to you all!!!

Hannah

Day 7

Haha! Well, yesterday held a lot of 'firsts' for me...

I went to Chiba to a team prayer meeting with the Chiba missionary team. It was really a good time. The Belhaven group and I went with Roger. It was good to hear some of the things that have been going on in the lives of some of the missionaries. Getting there was the real adventure... :) We left the apartment around 7:15 am, and did not get to Chiba until 9:45. I continued to see trains go by going the opposite direction with people literally squeezed against the doors. Right before our train arrived Roger told us to take deep breaths while we could.... :) When the doors opened a flood of people poured out. By the time we were almost on we wondered if we would all fit... We did! By the time we were about 5' from the door the massive force of people trying to get on was so strong that we were literally rammed into the train car. I think I was the last person to make it through that door. There was a man that stood outside the door and pushed people in until the doors could close. I later found out that pushing people into the crammed cars was what those men do for a living.... :) When we got to Chiba we had a prayer and singing time, and then had lunch. I think that three of the Chiba team members are from Australia. They have the greatest accents. I love Australian accents...!

After a short walk with two of the Belhaven group to explore the surrounding area (which was mostly covered with 8" thick bamboo), I rode with some of the Chiba team to the closest train station. That in itself was an adventure. Riding in the front left passenger seat of car on the left side of the road, and turning right onto the left side of the road.... It was really a weird feeling that you'll never be able to understand until you have done it! At the station, three of us got on the train. The two other people got off about 35 min. before me. From that point on it was my job to find the way back to this apartment. I did it! So not only did I ride the train and subway by myself and navigate the subway station by myself, I did it in a country where everything is written in another language! (I feel proud of myself.)

Well, I will have to post more later.... I also put a picture that I took of Mt. Fuji. I hope you can see it in the background... Enjoy!

Hannah

Day 4: part 2

Well, to be able to catch up on everything that has happened since my arrival in Japan 5 days ago, I really should have started writing 5 days ago. So much has happened in these last few days that I hardly know where to begin...

I could begin by saying how much I really like the apartment I am staying in! Everything is so efficient, easy to use, clean looking, etc... I really like the kitchen. Aside from being much smaller than most kitchens I've seen in the States, it is VERY nice. I have heard people say that the counters are lower than those in America, and after doing dishes a couple of times I can affirm that. But then it works well for the Japanese women, who are not quite as tall as I am. There is a large dish drying rack right above the sink that holds all of the drying dishes. The best part of it is that when not in immediate use, it will draw up behind a frosted glass door, and practically disappear. One thing I have noticed is that while the counters are lower, the ventilation hood over the stove is higher than in most American kitchens. I have come close to hitting my head, but been able to avoid it.

Another thing I like is that even the Japanese trash system is organized. In Japan, you do not throw everything away together. There are so many people in Japan that there is no room for trash... Almost all of the trash is recycled. There are three different categories: combustibles, melt-ables, and bottles and jars. I'm told that some of the trash is even composted and used as dirt to form new islands.

Also, there are no slamming kitchen drawers. You can push the drawers in to a certain point and then they retract themselves in the rest of the way....

Well, that is my overview of the kitchen... To put it simply, aside from the size, (Which is alright, I'm just not used to it) I really like the kitchen.

I am out of time for more now, so I will post more when I get the next chance. I really don't know when that will be because my schedule is flexible at this time.

Hannah

Day 4

Hello everyone...

Here I am on my 4th day in Japan. We have had a very busy four days!

I have:

Flown over the ocean on my own,

Tried some of the Japanese food,

Ridden trams and subways (including going under the water),

Been 28 floors high,

Walked through Tokyo pushing a baby in a stroller,

...........etc. etc. etc.

So far, I have enjoyed a lot of it. (Not so much the 13 hour plane ride.)

I hope to be able to post more later, and also some pictures.