Fox and Amy in Japan

Time for A New Blog

2008-09-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

Fox and Amy are no longer in Japan. If you need to get a hold of them, or read their ramblings, or view pictures of their latest children/activities, please visit:

Fox and Amy in Utah

Creative new title, isn't it? Sorry we are making everyone change their links for our family blog, but we look forward to reading your comments at the new, more appropriately-titled one!

Sayonara, Japan!

2008-08-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Fox and Amy are no longer in Japan! We are now in Logan, Utah, where Fox will be going to school full-time and teaching part-time at Utah State University. Our journey back to the United States was long. China Airlines has gross food and doesn't let people with kids board first. But way to go on hosting the Olympics!

We are so glad to be back in the U.S. with its cheap produce and large streets. Here's a little update on each of us:

Cash is still adjusting and has not been sleeping well. He spends his days at the park across the street, coloring, reading, or terrorizing the cats. Today, he pulled Jubilee's tail and then immediately put himself in time-out, smiling the whole time. He's been eating more than ever and actually loves broccoli now. I'm amazed! We are in the process of figuring out which type of diapers work for him. We've tried a couple brands. One had fragrance in it, which made his legs break out. The other was cheap and not absorbent, so he got a bad diaper rash. Time to potty learn!

Fox has spent this last week in orientation and is really enjoying USU campus. He will be teaching a freshman English class at 7:30 am! Luckily, we live just a few blocks from campus. He is loving not having to duck under doorways. Also, he discovered that the Logan library has a plethora of graphic novels, much to his delight!

I discovered that the Logan library does not check out magazines, so it's a good thing that I no longer have my magazine addiction. I am loving Logan. Everything is on Main Street. We are within a 5 minute drive of anywhere we need to go. Also, there is a great farmer's market on Saturdays. I had my first doctor's appointment today and really like my doctor. Everything is going well with my pregnancy. Did I mention that there is a huge park across the street? It's so fun to spend the hour before Cash's bedtime just playing at the park.

Kelsy has been here with us for two weeks, and she's been spoiling me with service! She moves to her new place tomorrow, and it's right around the block. It is so nice to have her so close.

We are really glad to be back, although we really miss the people we got to know in Japan. I guess we'll have to rename this blog!

Japanese Summer Fashions

2008-07-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

This past week, we've been able to embrace some traditional Japanese summer fashions!

Japan has a ton of summer festivals (matsuris). Since it is so hot and humid, the ladies can't dress up in their usual heavy kimonos, so they wear yukatas, kimonos made of light cotton fabric.
Here is Fox with his student Sachie, who is on her way to a yukata beauty pageant. Isn't she gorgeous?

After the pageant, Sachie gave Cash this cute jinbei. Jinbeis are kind of like pajamas and are more popular with children, but we did see several teenage girls wearing theirs at a nearby festival.

Cash and Miyuu looking super kawaii! Well, at least Miyuu--Cash looks kind of weird with his mouth full of popsicle.

Fox's student, Seiko, presented me with this beautiful yukata when we had lunch at her home the other day. Seiko and her mother dressed me in it. I was so excited! Unfortunately, having a tight obi around a pregnant belly isn't the most comfortable thing in the world.

Looking Forward To...

2008-07-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

A ton of people have asked us what we're looking forward to when we get back. So, without further adieu, here's our list:

-- Whole wheat bread that has more than five slices a loaf. Heck, any whole grains! One can only eat so much white rice.
-- Two-way streets that are actually wide enough for two cars with no risk of driving into a rice paddy.
-- Clothes that fit! Fox is a 4 XL here and has to shop at a King size store. I am barely squeezing into a large and am out of luck when it comes to shoes.
-- Libraries with books in English!
-- Ice cream in a flavor other than vanilla and chocolate.
-- Boca burgers. Pickles. American cheese. Chocolate soymilk. Watermelon. Basically all of the foods we haven't been able to eat in quite a while.
-- Little conversations. I am excited to actually know what a store clerk is saying to me, rather than just having to nod my head and hope that she asked a yes or no question.
-- Our kitties!
-- Our piano (okay, it's an electric keyboard, but it's still cool).
-- Fox is looking forward to watching Dark Knight. The last time we went to a movie was "Stardust" last August, which was actually our last date, I think.
-- Fox is also looking forward to high ceilings. He has head trauma and a stooped back from our low doorways.
-- A full size stove, refrigerator, bed, washer...basically we're looking forward to gargantuan American portion sizing!
-- And of course, our family and friends! Four of my friends and one of my sisters have had babies, and I'm so excited to meet them all. I'm also excited to have everyone see Cash. He really thrives around being with a lot of people, and he's been stuck at home with his mom most of the time.

Despite the length of this list, there is a ton of stuff we will miss, but that's for another post. Maybe when we start missing it!

Getting Ready to Leave

2008-07-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

We have two days left in Japan...and we aren't packed. Yikes! We're getting there, though. This week has been so busy. We've been working extra during summer special classes, as well as training the new teachers. On top of that, we are trying to keep the house clean and keep the bags packed, which is hard to do with curious Cash getting into everything. We've been able to visit with a lot of our students, which is fun but also very time-consuming!
We will leave Marugame at 6:30 am on Friday, take a 4 hour bus ride to the Kansai airport, and fly to Beijing for a 5 hour layover! We leave Beijing at 10 pm and arrive in LA at 6 pm! Crazy! Fox and I are both really anxious about traveling with a crazy toddler and hope that all of the new sights and sounds of travel will keep him occupied for a little while.
So, family, we will see you soon! Thank you for all of the love and support (and the care packages--without which, we would have died!) you've given us while we've been away. It's been an amazing year!

Our Trip to Matsuyama

2008-07-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

Today was Marine Day in Japan, a day to give thanks for the blessings of the sea. Since we had the day off, we decided to go to Matsuyama, the largest city in Shikoku, with our friends, the Bests.
We first went to the Tobe Zoo, which was so nice. There were so many baby animals. Here's Cash checking out the hot and tired creatures...

such as this one:

Look at the size of those teeth. Yikes!

A mama monkey just hanging out with her baby, who is very latched on:

After the zoo, we ate at a department store and then headed over to Dogo Onsen, Japan's oldest and most famous bathhouse.

Yep, that's nude public baths we're talking about, people. This particular onsen was the inspiration for the famous anime Spirited Away. Fox frequents onsens, but I had never been to one. It was definitely an interesting experience--not so much the nudity as sitting in a hot tub in the middle of summer! After your bath, you change into a cotton robe and go to a huge tatami room, where you are served tea and cookies. It's a time to rest and relax...but beware of the toddler toppling over teacups and stealing snacks!

Boy or Girl? Part II

2008-07-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Get more at CandyComments.com

Yay! Fox called it (again), and I had dreams about boys (again--with Cash, I had dreams of girls). We are very excited to be able to finally use our girl name, and she'll have a Japanese middle name, although we're not sure which name yet. There are some very beautiful names in Japan. Today was our last doctor's visit in a foreign country for now. It has been a very interesting experience. As we got our ultrasound today, our doctor said, "Hmm...penis nai. Onanoko!" (Hmm..No penis. Girl!) I will definitely miss racking my brain's limited Japanese to figure out what my doctor just told me.

Here I am at 5 months along and sweating uncontrollably in this humidity. Do you see the length of my hair?! You won't see this length on me again, unless we move to Alaska. I am waiting for Fox to go to Texas for a week, and then I'm getting it cut. Don't tell!

Coloring Time

2008-07-12T03:49:00.000-07:00

My two "children" got into the markers and seemed to enjoy themselves.

Oh, Daddy, I love coloring with you....

except when you color on me!

Tanabata

2008-07-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today is Tanabata in Japan. It is the Star Festival held on the seventh day of the seventh month every year. It is believed that on this day each year, the stars Altair and Vega, lovers separated by the Milky Way, come into alignment and are finally allowed to be together for one night. It is also believed that any wish you make on this day will come true. You write your wish on a strip of paper, called tanzaku, and hang it from a bamboo tree. All around our city, their are wishes hanging up in local businesses. It's so neat!
So, today, Cash and I went to a Tanabata party at WaHaHa, the local playgroup. We learned the lovers' story, sang the Tanabata song, and ate cucumbers, the official vegetable of summer and Tanabata! It was really fun.
A wishing tree:

Cash helps to sing the Tanabata song:

Kids traveling through the "river of stars" (aka a streamer Milky Way):

And finally, here's a short video of singing time. The woman next to me is Kumiko, holding her son Kaichi. Kumiko is my translator at baby group--her English is excellent! She is due with her second baby a few weeks before me. Cash was wandering around by this point:

Rice Planting Time

2008-06-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

All around our area, the local farmers are planting their rice. The rice is implanted as a little shoot from a machine that looks like a riding mower that distributes the shoots evenly. Here is the newly planted rice behind our house:

Just a week before, this field was full of onions bursting from the ground. They were harvested and hung to dry in the farmer's shed. We've been able to eat some freshly picked onions, and they are so crisp and delicious!

I'm not sure how long these will hang here, but it's fun to walk by and get a huge whiff of onion. I can't believe I just said that--with my last pregnancy, I avoided onions the entire time. This time, I love them!

Practicing English

2008-06-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

We are the only white people in our neighborhood, as far as we know, so we get a lot of attention when we are out in public. Children and adults alike will literally follow us around when we do our grocery shopping. The kids usually yell out "Gaijin?!" which basically means "white person", which they don't see a lot of on this small island of Shikoku. Our neighbors are really nice and always try to talk to us in the little English that they know. The elementary students that see us in passing usually yell out "Hello!" and "How are you?" and then giggle hysterically with their friends. They get a big kick out of practicing their English.
Well, yesterday, Cash and I were walking around our neighborhood and were passing some 6th grade boys coming home from school on their bikes. One of the boys started staring at us, so I figured he would say hello. Out of nowhere, he yells, "This is a pen!" (No pens in sight, mind you. The boys were just riding along.) And then of course, he and his friend started laughing and peddled away. It was so random, but, hey, way to go for practicing your English on a gaijin!

Breakfast Lover

2008-06-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

The only foods Cash shows any enthusiasm for now are breakfast foods (and curry rice--this boy can eat his weight in that!). He is so happy with a bowl of oatmeal for dinner, as shown above. He's also a big fan of scrambled eggs, pancakes, smoothies, and yogurt. What happened to the little boy who would happily gobble down spaghetti, rice, soup, and beans? I hope he comes back!

Boy or Girl? It's A...

2008-06-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

Mystery! After waiting almost two hours to see the doctor this morning, we went into the ultrasound room very excited to learn the sex of our baby. Unfortunately, little one did not want to reveal the mystery! The doctor couldn't say for certain whether it was a boy or a girl. Oh, well--there's always next month...or November! The baby is growing well, and I'm feeling great. I haven't gained weight this month, though, which I attribute to the fact that Cash and I go on walks at least two times a day. Despite that, the baby is measuring a week ahead, which is good. So, we'll see if we can find out next month, and I'll try to post the ultrasound pictures later to see if maybe you can tell.

Happy Father's Day, Fox!

2008-06-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's Day in Japan. It's tomorrow for my own dad, so I didn't forget him! Below is a little montage (okay, it's 5 minutes--so kind of not little) I put together for Fox. He is such a great dad, and Cash loves him to pieces. Fox really takes time to play with Cash, even if he only has a few minutes between classes. He really loves his little guy, and it shows. They are always so happy to be together, constantly giggling and squealing. It's so amazing to watch. Happy Father's Day, Fox! We love you!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Why Japanese People Don't Get Fat

2008-06-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

Fox ordered dessert at a local restaurant, and this is what he got.

Shikoku Mura

2008-06-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, we went with a couple of our friends to Shikoku Mura in Takamatsu. Shikoku Mura is a historical site featuring original Japanese farmhouses dating from the 1800's and earlier. The farmhouses and building were taken from all around different sites in Shikoku, so that you can get a feel of which area used which architecture. It was really interesting tos ee all of the old, original buildings, but honestly, I just went for the vine bridge!

Fox, Cash, and Fox's friend Takagi-san behind him on the awesome vine bridge:

A sugar-cane press hut:

There were so many steps and crevices that Cash was in the backpack most of the time. He was very happy to be let out occasionally!

Cash staring at all of the soy sauce storage bottles, standing in front of a soy sauce factory.

Cash's First Haircut

2008-05-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Cash's curls were getting a little out of control, so I decided to take scissors into my own hands and give him a little trim.
Before:
Rocking out hippy baby:

After:
I don't like the preppy look!

Well, I guess it's okay.

Ahem, notice how there are no pictures of the back of his head? It doesn't look too bad, but this was my first time cutting a squirmy toddler's hair. Practice makes perfect!

The Japanese Office

2008-05-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of the Office. It took me until this year to get into the US version, because I really loved the British version. My brother David and I watched the whole series one summer and just cracked up. ("Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?"--remember, Dave?) The U.S. version is actually alot better--way more wholesome. But, did you know there is a Japanese version? Check it out!

Your KitKat Fix!

2008-05-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, it was KitKats! No, it's not KitKat soda. It's just a few KitKats in a can. We got a kick out of it!
There is a drink called "Pocari Sweat" here. Yep, sweat water. It's like a vitamin-enhanced water, and it's actually pretty good. Does anyone want to drink Sweat? We can bring some back!

Vending Machine Love

2008-05-18T03:42:00.001-07:00

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell?

Cash was tagged by Ellie (aka the future Mrs. Ellison Ellis)

2008-05-11T03:09:00.000-07:00

Ten Facts about Cash:
1.) Cash loves to help in the kitchen. He especially loves to suck on the salt shaker (no, I don't let him!) and play with the measuring spoons. Here he is helping me make bread:

2.) Cash loves dogs but doesn't like them up close. He loves to see them from a distance but hates petting them. Strange.

3.) Cash is very precise about his morning ritual. He wakes up at 5:50 am, has a banana, and then watches his Animal Adventures DVD. Don't freak out, Mom--it's a short video of classical music over a tour of the San Diego Zoo. He loves it, especially the butterfly area. If we try to alter the routine, he will point to his banana and the DVD.

4.) This boy loves to be outside. Here he is helping me in the garden.

5.) Cash loves music, especially "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and "One Little Finger". He is a sucker for Leann Rimes.

6.) Cash loves to read. His favorite books are "Baby Faces" from Grandma Joan and "Baby Sports" from Grandma Betty. They are tiny books featuring pictures of babies.

7.) This is funny, but Cash loves to lay down. He will be playing and then just lay down out of nowhere and continue playing.

8.) Cash has six teeth and is getting another molar and tooth as we speak.

9.) Cash loves pebbles. He will get a rock from our yard and hold it in his hand the whole time he is outside. I think he takes after my dad this way--a relaxation thing.

10.) He also loves girls! He will pat them on the back and hug them. Here he is giving a "love pebble" to another baby he met in Kyoto. He followed this girl down the pathway for about fifty yards. She rebuffed him, poor guy.

Cash tags: Shayla, Isaiah, Asher, Ava, and Graysen. Share 10 Facts!

Our Trip to Kyoto

2008-05-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

We have a week off, so this week we decided to go to Kyoto for a few days. Our trip started on Wednesday, with an early morning, 4 hour ferry ride and an hour train ride to get to the Kyoto station. The station has 15 floors, so we got lost right away! We finally found our hotel after a while and decided to walk to Nijo-jo, a famous castle. It looked close on the map but ended up being a forty-minute walk.

Here we are in front of Nijo-jo. It's famous for it's nightingale floors, which are floors designed to squeak at every step to reveal any sneaking intruders upon the castle. Cash was light enough that the floors didn't squeak as he ran around the castle, so you're doomed if someone sics a baby assassin on you!

On Thursday, we headed to Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple. This place was packed with tourists, most of them from different European countries. The temple is covered in gold leaf and is in the middle of a beautiful landscape.

From there, we walked to Ryoan-ji, which is famous for its Zen rock garden. Cash tries to find enlightenment while sitting in a wet diaper--kind of tricky.

After that, we headed up Teacup Lane, which is a steep climb to Kiyomizudera. The lane is famous for making and selling special pottery. It's near to Gion, a famous district known for geisha teahouses. We spotted some elusive geisha on their way there.

This is Kyomizudera, a famous temple that has an amazing view of the city.

The crowd lines up for the healing waters that flow from the temple's waterfall.

Fox gets a taste of the healing water.

What makes this my favorite spot: Ice cream! I got a kinako (toasted soybean) flavor cone that was served with an edible cinnamon spoon. So yummy! The other flavors are black sesame, green tea, vanilla, and cherry blossom.

Our last spot was Ryozen Kannon, such a beautiful spot that the guidebooks don't mention often. It is a memorial to all of the Japanese soldiers who died in World War 2.

On Friday, we left Kyoto to explore Kobe and then got home last night. Cash did so great on the long ferry ride, thanks to the children's playroom they had. Here we are on the ferry as it nears the Akashi-ohashi bride, the longest suspension bridge in Japan.

We had a great time and were so happy to get off of our small island for a while. Big cities are so much fun after living so long in a rural area.

Manno Park

2008-04-23T03:11:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we went to Manno Park, a huge park about fifteen minutes from our house. It was so big and beautiful! We don't see a ton of wide open space here, so it was nice. The park has fountains, huge rolling slides, a field where you can rent earth balls, gardens and a jumping pod. Our camera died about fifteen minutes after we got there, but here are some shots we were able to catch.
The jumping pod--not just for kids!

Fox and Cash jumping:

Enjoying the sun--it was the first day Cash was able to wear shorts this year!

The rolling slides from a distance. I didn't go on them, so as not to dislodge the fetus, but Fox did...and well, let's just say Fox doesn't have a lot of rear padding so he was in a bit of pain!

Birds and Bruises

2008-04-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we went to the castle to catch the last of the flower viewing. Cash was so excited to chase the pigeons! He was grabbing them, which could not have been too sanitary. In his excitement, he tripped while walking up a slope and gashed his head on a stone block. Within seconds, there was blood everywhere, although it was a small cut. We rushed him to the ER, where he was treated with...a bandaid. It was pretty scary to see so much blood from such a little head. I'm so glad he didn't need stitches! Cash has been quite a champ about it, although he decided he wasn't going to keep his band-aid on longer than he had to.
Playing with birds before his bump:

Cash's first bad bruise. If he has inherited his mama's tendency to catch falls with your face, I'm sure this is probably the first of many.

Hanami

2008-04-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

Last week was hanami, or flower viewing, time. All throughout the week, families would come to picnic under the blossoming trees surrounding the castle. Vendors set up shop under the trees to sell candied apples, balloons, ice cream, and various meats on a stick. Spotlights were put up and lanterns strung to showcase the blooms at night. We had heavy rain yesterday, so I'm sure not many blossoms survived. Luckily, we were able to go to the castle a few times last week to see the beautiful trees.

I'll Take a Second!

2008-04-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

What do 2 pink lines mean again? The directions are in Japanese!

Random Pictures around Town

2008-03-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

A cemetery. We have several of these in our neighborhood, and they usually belong to one family. They always have fresh flowers and are so beautiful.

Ume mentos. Ume is a sour plum flavor, with just the slightest hint of salt. Will not be buying again.

The baby-holder in the bathroom. You can safely secure your baby while you take care of business!

A beauty "dessert" of fresh strawberries and pineapple. The tagline is "Makes you feel beautiful". No wonder why Japanese people live so long!

Silly boy

2008-03-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Cash's newest obsession is taking something from our front rooms and hiding them in the back rooms. He does it so quietly and secretly. One minute, he'll be sitting next to us quietly playing. All of a sudden, he practically runs out the door with something in his hand that he desperately has to tuck away into the most random spot he can find. Case in point: Fox found a spatula in his pants' drawer this morning. Last night, there was a teddy bear in the bathub, and my cinnamon jar at the bottom of the laundry basket. A few days ago, I opened Cash's clothes drawer to find a large stash of very bent UNO cards.

We caught him in the act yesterday morning as he was trying to hide two spoons he had grabbed off the table (he is a tall one!).

I wasn't hiding them, honest!

I was eating off 'em!

Swings and Sushi

2008-03-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

Spring is here! It was so warm yesterday, so we went to the park with our friends. We told them we had yet to eat sushi in Japan, so afterwards they took us to their favorite kaiten zushi (conveyor-belt sushi) place.
Fox and I on the kids' rope:

Cash stands in awe of the older kids going down the big slide. He's wearing Kizzia's strawberry vest, since we forgot his coat.

The famous fugu sushi. Fugu is pufferfish, and if it's not prepared properly, you'll die. One bit of poison can kill a grown man in half an hour. You need a special license to prepare it. It's a big deal to try it here and say that you survived eating the notorious fugu.

Fox eats and survives! I'm so proud of him, because he doesn't even like raw fish. He was a great sport.

The sushi place was neat, because you just sat down next to a conveyor belt and took what you wanted. Anything with Japanese mayo is good to me! Fox loved the grilled eel. At the end of the meal, the waiter comes and counts your plates, which are around $1 each.
Counting it up:

Sayonara, Elder Fukuda!

2008-03-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Elder Fukuda served in our branch from August until this last week, when he was transferred. We've gotten to know him well and have had him over for dinner at least a couple of times a month since we moved here. He has seen Cash grow from a sitter to a crawler to a walker! Cash really loves him.
So, Sayonara, Fukuda-chodo. We'll miss your humor and magic tricks!

Hina Matsuri

2008-03-03T05:33:00.000-08:00

March 3rd is Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival), or Girls' Day, in Japan. On this day, families pray for the health, growth and happiness of their daughters. Special dolls, called hina ningyo, are displayed in homes with daughters to bring good luck to the household. Hina dolls are very expensive and not many people can afford them. Traditionally, it is the grandmother who presents a young girl with her own set of hina dolls. Since they are so expensive, a large set of dolls displayed in the home is wonderful to behold. We were able to go to a Hina Matsuri Festival, which was actually an Utazu city-walk to view the hina dolls of the local residents. There were 96 homes displaying their dolls. We only made it to 29!
Here is a full set of hina dolls. There is a special formation to the dolls. The emperor and empress are at the top, with their court on the lower levels. Seven levels is considered the most lucky.

The empress wears many, many kimonos!

Japanese girl scouts working on their dolls!

This is Fox's student Koyama-san, who took us to the festival. They are in front of someone's home.

We ran into Toshiko, another of Fox's students, who treated us to mochi and rice cakes!

Here we are in front of our favorite home of the day:

Thanks, Mom!

2008-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks since we got a box from my mom, and we still can't get over how much she packed into it! It was so amazing. The cheapest way to ship internationally is by using an International Flat Rate box, which costs $37 to ship up to 20 pounds. My mom says the box was 14 pounds...but I really think she was pushing the 20 mark.
Here is the box:

and here are the goods:

Amazing, right? I even left out a large can of green chiles! The one box contained: 2 birthday presents for Cash, 6 children's books, 1 bag of chocolate chips, 2 bars of chocolate and 2 handfuls of dark chocolate and mints, a box of vitamins, 3 large bags of Valentine's card and candy, a big bag of pencils, 5 magazines and four Guidepost magazines, 2 boxes of bouillon and probably much more than I'm leaving out! Thank you, mama!

Happy 1st Birthday, Cash!

2008-02-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

We have a 1 year old, can you believe it? Cash turned one today. We had a little party with our friends and the missionaries on Monday. He had the traditional Hulihan family cream puffs. Too bad our microwave/oven didn't really want to cooperate with the dough. It produced a semi-flat pancake. Cash ate it, though!

Opening his present from Great-Grandma Betty:

Today, we let him have a chocolate cupcake, since he is my cupcake baby. I ate six cupcakes the night before I went into labor. I gave the rest of the batch to the labor nurses. Cash loved to squish it!

Thank you all for your birthday wishes! We love you!

Cash is Walking!

2008-02-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Cash took his first steps a couple of weeks ago. Since then, he's gotten bold and has been trying to walk everywhere. So far, he usually only goes about fifteen steps and then drops down to his knees. It's so cute though. I can't believe we're going to have a toddler on our hands (and under feet) in no time!

11 Months Old

2008-02-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Cash is now 11 months old and at such a fun age. He is so curious, playful, and increasingly mobile! He has taken a couple of steps alone but loves to hold my hand and walk. His new loves are dogs and birds, and we go for lots of walks trying to spot them.
He will be turning one in a few weeks, so I wanted to capture a few precious moments of my baby before he gets all grown up!

One of Cash's all-time faves: pulling the plug in the tub. Where did the water go?

Going for a ride in the toy basket:

I'm ready to dictate!

Silly boy:

His new activity: climbing!

Miyajima

2008-02-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

After Hiroshima, we headed over to Miyajima ("shrine island") an hour away. We took a short ferry to the island. Miyajima is famous for its floating torii (shrine entrance), which is considered one of Japan's top three views. We had a great time at this very touristy spot, even though it was snowy and we had a sleepy baby on our hands!

Here we are in front of the famous torii. It looks like it is floating when the tide is high. That bulge in Fox's coat is Cash, fast asleep:

A beautiful pagoda:

This is Fox in Itsukushima shrine in front of the torii. In olden times, commoners were not allowed to set foot on the island. The shrine is built like a pier, and visitors would have to maneuver their boats through the torii in order to get to it. Cash was so tired. He fell asleep tucked in his dad's coat and slept for an hour.

Miyajima is also famous for its very friendly, roaming deer, who come seeking food from all the tourists.

Hiroshima

2008-01-31T22:38:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Fox and I had the opportunity to go to Hiroshima with our friend Matt, who was taking his visiting parents sightseeing. We took a bus from a neighboring city and got there in three hours. Cash did great on the trip. It was so neat to be in a big city that had a Subway (not the transportation--the sandwiches)! It was also a very eye-opening trip.
Here we are in front of the A-Bomb dome. The A-Bomb was dropped above it. It's the only building that has been left in ruins, as a memorial of that tragic day.

Here is the memorial arch that shows the dome and also the flame that will only be extinguished once all nuclear weapons have been eliminated:

For any of you familiar with the story "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes", here are the actual cranes she folded. They got smaller and smaller as she got sicker and sicker, until finally she was folding them with a needle:

This is a diorama of the destruction of the bomb. This area housed over 6500 residents. By the end of 1945, over 140,000 people died as a result of the bomb's effects.

Yashima Island

2008-01-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Amy and I took Cash up to a famous touring spot with a student of mine named Miwa (Yes, it is actually Fox doing one of these posts in the first time since forever). Yashima looks like a peninsula, but a river cut around it making it an island, even though the river is not all that wide. It is very famous because it was the site of one of the biggest battles in the Genji wars. All throughout the temple grounds at the top of the island visitors can see paintings and bas relief sculptures depicting scenes from the battle. My student told us that there were so many bodies at the end of the battle that a pond turned red and was called Chinoike (Blood pond).

The island is shaped life a tall plateau. The locals here think it looks like a roof, hence the name Yashima (Ya- from "yane" which means roof & "Sima" which means island). We actually drove up the side of the island to the temple on top, though we could have walked up the steps like all of the pilgrims do. At the top is the 84th temple of the Shikoku 88 temples. It is a very special place for women wanting to become pregnant or have healthy pregnancies. It is believed that the temple founder was led through the fog to the place where the temple would be built by a tanuki (a sort of badger) disguised as a man. Tanuki are known for their rather large genitalia, so they are seen as a good spirit for expectant mothers.

We toured the temple quickly, since it was somewhat similar to other temples we had visited. But at the top, we took turns flinging small clay discs about the size as the top of a soda can off of the top of the plateau. It is thought that the further you can throw the disc, the greater your luck will be. Everyone was throwing them like you would skip stones on a lake. They went about thirty feet or so. I winged mine like a frisbee, and it flew out and curved around the mountain so that it was still sailing as it passed out of our line of sight. Everyone around us made sounds of being impressed. I tried again, but accidentally flung it behind me onto the roof of a building. I had to make sure to apologize quite loudly since everyone had been watching me on the second throw. The third and fourth throws went out really far like the first, and everyone was impressed again.

We kept walking, stopping occasionally to take in the artwork and artifacts of the historic samurai battle. We passed several hotels that had long-since closed down and made the entire place feel oddly creepy.

Passed the hotels, we came across a small aquarium that was set up near the temple. We didn't go in, but we could see some dolphins swimming in their tank through a space in the outside fence where we were standing. After a few seconds of watching them circle the tank, it became evident that they were doing far more than swimming. We all started laughing out loud together as it dawned on each of us simultaneously that these dolphins were copulating. At first I thought it was just me, but the comically shocked look on my student's face told me that she saw it too. I took some photos, but then realized that it was just a little dirty to be doing it. Then the voice of hilarious awesomeness in the back of my head berated me for hesitating. I mean, how often are you gonna have a chance to witness dolphins gone wild and then put it on your blog (sorry, gramma)?!?!?!

We laughed all the way to a picnic spot where we ate some sandwiches and took in the view. Amy and Miwa had to keep talking me out of sneaking into one of the abandoned hotels. I kept feeling the pull of Silent Hill telling me to wander into the creepy abandoned place. But my wife would have none of it. So we finished our lunch and made our way down to the parking lot. Every few minutes on the ride home Miwa and Amy would tease me that the tanuki and the dolphins were a sign that the Ellises should have another baby.

Tanuki at the temple

You may not be able to read this, but it's the story of the tanuki and the priest

Ellises at the temple

Actual Samurai armor from the battle of Genji. This was kept in the same building that I hit with a clay disc.

A fierce lion outside the temple

The view from the top

More of the same view from the top

Amy and Cash with our friend Miwa

WARNING: the following is a paid-program from Dolphins Gone Wild. Some content may not be suitable for younger dolphins

naughty Naughty NAUGHTY Dolphins!!!!!

Cash was completely tuckered out by the time we got home.

Seto-Ohashi Park

2008-01-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, we visited the Seto-Ohashi commemorative park, which is about twenty minutes from our house. It was so fun! There is a huge pirate-ship playground. It was a national holiday, so there were tons of families playing ball, flying kites, and walking their rabbits. We had a great time!
Cash's first experience with a tunnel slide:

I like slides!

He didn't know what to make of this field of dry grass, though:

Fox and Cash in front of the Seto Ohashi bridge, the world's second largest suspension bridge:

Cuteness!

2008-01-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

Example 1:

Example 2: (yes, that is stuffed, happy poo in a vending machine game)

Example 3:

House Tour

2008-01-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, I thought I'd give you a 2-minute tour of our house. Please don't mind the mess or the fact that I have no make-up on. All that magic happens at naptime! Here's a brief glimpse into our small space:
Wow, I look stoned. Disregard that...stop laughing.

Kitto Katto

2008-01-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Kit Kats are huge in Japan! The reason, according to Wikipedia:

"The popularity of Kit Kats in Japan is a phenomenon attributed to the coincidental similarity between the bar's name and the Japanese phrase kitto katsu, which roughly translates to "You will surely win!" This has reportedly led to parents and children buying them for school examination days as a sort of good luck charm.[3]However, transliteration is not always in Nestlé's favour - kitto katto (where 'katto' is taken to be a katakana transliteration of the English verb 'cut') is understood to bestow Kit Kat with the less positive significance of "you will surely miss the cut". As such, gifts of a single kit-kat are a running joke for senior high school students taking the University Entrance Examinations in some areas. It is also in Japan that Kit Kat has in recent years seen a variety of different flavours emerge, although each for a limited time. Some examples include, maple syrup, melon, vanilla bean, grape, apple, caramel, kiwi, azuki, and cherry blossom. Further building on the teen market, Nestlé created a music label in 2005 and bundled Kit Kats with CDs which has propelled the Kit Kat to become the #1 selling chocolate bar in Japan as well."

We are always on the lookout for fun KitKat flavors! Here are some recent ones:
Strawberry:

Sakura, or cherry blossom KitKats are everywhere right now. They are marketed to girls for Girls' Day in March. These are my new favorite, because they have an awesome artificial cherry flavor:

This is a more expensive dessert bar. There is a layer of apple creme underneath the chocolate. It's delicious!

Orange and Chocolate, which is okay:

Cookies and Milk is great--it's like the cookies and creme Crunch bars that used to be around:

Put your requests in now...and I just might be able to sneak some KitKats back home in August (if they don't melt)!

New Year's Break

2008-01-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Last week, we had four days off for Shogatsu, the Japanese New Year holiday. Unfortunately, Fox was sick the entire vacation. We had our 5th anniversary on New Year's Eve, and for the first time, we had nothing planned. Of course, this is the first anniversary we've had a baby and no babysitter. The whole day was spent relaxing at home and then we finally decided to take Cash and go out to dinner. By that time, every restaurant was closed for New Year's. Oh well. Luckily, there is always next year! The highlight of our holiday break was going to karaoke (カラオケ? from Japanese kara, "empty", and ōkesutora, "orchestra") with the Morimuras (our boss) and their son (our branch president) and his family. I loved it! Fox was skeptical. There are tons of karaoke places around, as it is a national pasttime, and people take it very seriously. They are all great singers, since they do karaoke so often. As Fumi puts it, "karaoke is a thing to do when you are stressed. It relaxes you". I don't know if singing in front of total strangers is relaxing, but it's fun!
Fox and I are a bit performance shy as we stammer out our "A Whole New World" duet:

Bro. and Sis. Morimura are pros!

Miu, their granddaughter, enjoyed the music, as she toddled around and ate dried squid.

Cash has a mouth for singing!

Konpirasan

2008-01-01T04:19:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Day, we decided to hike up the many stairs to Konpirasan, a famous shrine in Kotohira, which is just fifteen minutes away from our house. We thought, what better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than to visit a Shinto Shrine? Just kidding--we actually went because we decided that our Christmas presents would be a special souvenir from one of the many shops that line the starting staircases to the shrine. I got a Kokeshi doll. Fox got a Hanya mask. Cash got a stuffed bowl of Udon, which he loves!

Starting out:

There were 785 steps to the Main shrine:

Cash enjoyed the ride!

Six hundred plus more steps to the Main shrine:

Cash's stuffed noodle bowl:

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas in Japan was very memorable! It started with a trip to the hospital and ended with a trip to a great Indian restaurant, Khana Peena. On Christmas Eve, I was slicing cucumber while talking and accidentally sliced a small bit of the side of my thumb off. Luckily, our friends came over and were able to take me to the hospital and translate for me. The treatment was very interesting. To stop the bleeding, they injected four shots of novocaine into my thumb and then cauterized the wound with electric current. We were in and out in 45 minutes and the treatment and checkup cost $20. Afterwards, we were able to have a traditional Japanese Christmas dinner courtesy of our friends. That means KFC Christmas Pack and Christmas cake!

Christmas morning was a bit rushed, as we had to go back to the hospital for a checkup. We did manage to talk to and see my family gathered together via our webcam, so that was very neat! Here is Cash opening his stocking:

I like this thing they call "Christmas":

Cash got some neat toys from friends around here and a cute little barking/meowing toy from Grandma Betty, which he loves. Of course, he'd rather chew on candy wrappers than open presents. After the hospital and presents, we hiked the 1300+ steps to Konpira-san (more on that later) and then ate dinner at a yummy Indian restaurant, which was a vegetarian's dream. At the end of the day, Fox and I were shocked to realize that we didn't get a picture together as a family. Photoshop here we come!

Taco Time

2007-12-18T03:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our day off, so we decided to do some shopping in Takamatsu, the capitol city an hour away. We stopped at a huge indoor mall to look for an anime shop and got lost along the way. Boy, am I glad we got lost! We went down a tiny side street and found a little shop that said "Tacos" on it. We found Mexican food!!! Mexican food is nowhere to be found in Marugame, save for a small package of frozen tortillas you can buy at a restaurant supply store. This shop, El Dorado, only served tacos, but they were piping hot and delicious. Fox and I were in heaven, especially because the owner held Cash while we ate and served him steamed pumpkin and apple juice. Fox and I were able to eat together! So, we are now in love with this place.
Outside the little taco shop:

A sleepy Cash allows one picture with the owners:

"I said 'One picture!'"

Happy Birthday, Fox!

2007-12-15T01:11:00.000-08:00

Fox turned 27 yesterday! Hooray! To celebrate, we ordered authentic Italian pizza from Pizza Rone, in downtown Marugame, and had pizza and cupcakes at our friends' house.
Here is the little pizza shop. It was super busy, but at least there was no tuna and mayo pizza on the menu!

Cash and Kiz avoiding cooties:

A Large pizza--oops, should've ordered another!

Fox makes his birthday wish:

Bundled up for the ride home:

Santa-san

2007-12-13T03:58:00.000-08:00

Today, Fox taught an adult class and talked about Christmas and introduced some Christmas music. He asked the class about Santa Claus. A few people didn't understand, so he drew a picture. "Oh!" They said, "Santa-san!" Meanwhile, at that exact time in the next town over, Cash was meeting Santa-san himself, in the form of a skinny Japanese man wearing a thin triangle of a white beard and a suit stuffed with bulky foam blocks. I had taken him to our baby group's Christmas party, where they turned off all of the lights in the room in anticipation and let this stranger (Santa) with a huge sack creep around a dark room with a bunch of very young kids and babies. Needless to say, all of the kids started crying, except the two American kids who were there, Cash and his 2 year old friend. We also decorated a felt Christmas tree, sangs Christmas songs in Japanese, and...listened to a corporate presentation on Soyjoy protein bars. Yes. After that, the moms and babies got stockings--For the moms, cookies! For the babies, origami paper and a rattle. We had a great time--I just wish I brought my camera with me! Maybe we will bump into Santa-san again, and I'll catch him on film!

9 Months Old!

2007-12-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Cash. I am 9 months old. I live in Japan. I like boiled carrots, lentil soup, and applesauce. My favorite things to do include:
playing the recorder:

bathing, occasionally:

sticking my butt in the air, which is how I usually fall asleep:

reading with my daddy:

and being naked as often as possible:

Doesn't everybody like that?

Udon

2007-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

In Japan, every prefecture is famous for something. We live in Kagawa prefecture, which just so happens to be famous for its
Udon. There are several ways to eat Udon. It's usually served up in a dashi broth with a thin slice of pink and white fish cake and a handful of slivered green onions. Here, they eat it hot in winter and cold in summer. I like both temperatures, and I've really gotten a taste for Udon lately, especially since it's served at every church function. There are numerous udon shops all around are city, but I like to make it at home for under 50 yen a bowl!
Here is how I like it:

This is Kitsune (which means "Fox") udon. The little pocket is aburage tofu, which is a deep fried, sweet, thin pocket of tofu.
It's dericious!

Cash's Clothes

2007-11-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

With the weather turning colder, we've had to get some new clothes for Cash. We get such a kick out of baby-clothes shopping in Japan, since we find so many random Engrish sayings on them. Fox and I try to find clothes with funny sayings, and then poor Cash usually ends up wearing them. I just bought him a green sweatshirt with a skull on it, only to find the back says "Nice going, girl. Your hometown Meg is cute and love." Another winner is his shirt that says "Mommy and baby dinosaur friend. Is it delicious?"
Below is one of my favorites. It's a very seventies-ish velour jumpsuit that conjures up the image of John Travolta in "Staying Alive" when he does his, that's right, swaying walk!

Our Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving was Friday, Japan's Thanksgiving (or Labor) Day. We got the day off, but there was no turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie to be found. So, instead, we decided to do some sightseeing with the Morimura's. It was so nice of them to take us out, since we still don't know how to get to many places. Our first stop was Ritsurin Park, one of the most famous historical parks in Japan--it dates back to 1625!
A view at the entrance of the park:

I loved this orange bridge:

Can you guess who the gaizin is in this picture? Note my lovely expression as I taste a sakura An-Dango (cherry-blossom rice flour dumpling--definitely an acquired taste!) Also note little vampire baby's expression, having been wheeled into direct sunlight:

Cash enjoys the ride:

After the trip to Ritsurin Park, we made our way to Yoshima. Yosima is a sight-seeing island along the Seto-Ohashi bridge. It is inbetween Shikoku Island and Honshu Island. Apparently, when the bridge was finished twenty years ago, so many people wanted to visit the island each day that it would lock up one lane of traffic on the bridge for the whole day. The bridge costs around 4000 yen to cross, so imagine how frustrating it would be if you spent that and ended up having to just sit in your car on the bridge all day because the island was too crowded.
Every ten minutes or so, a beautiful touring boat would stop outside the restaurant where we were eatting. It was sort of sad to only see a handful of people getting on and off at one time. If you didn't want to go sightseeing on the boat, the island also offered tours on a helicopter. We opted for neither as Fox is not a big fan of either flying or boating. The main attraction to the island was basically the Fisherman's Wharf, where you could dine or shop to your hearts content (unless you happen to be a gaizin with a weak stomach - then you just shop).
The Ellis Family at Yoshima

The one thing we were thankful for this year: Lots of warm sunshine!!! Enjoy your snow AMERICA!!!!!!!!

Zentsuji Temple

2007-11-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, we went to the Zentsuji Temple with our friends, the Jensen's. Zentsuji is the birthplace of Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師), a Japanese monk who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism. He also founded the 88 Temple Pilgrimage. Zentsuji is about fifteen minutes away. The temple grounds are beautiful and a popular tourist spot. If you go at closing, you can hear the monks praying in the temple.
Here is the famous five story pagoda:

This statue is among hundreds of various statues representing different gods. He's my favorite!

Tourism on sacred ground:

The ancient Buddha:

In front of that temple ( I know, Cash is way too big for his sling now!):

These stones represent each temple on the 88 temple circuit. There is a pathway around the stones, so that you can have your own mini-pilgrimage!

Tagged by Laris

2007-11-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

Here's how it works:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 little-known facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
New rule: If you are reading this and don't have a blog but you see your name at the bottom of this post, then you have to leave a comment that lists 6 things about you!

Okay, this is Amy responding. Fox will jump on later. Let's see...

6 Facts/Habits:

1.) I have kept a journal since kindergarten and now have about 25 journals filled with my ramblings. I also keep a journal for my son.

2.) I believe going through yellow lights is good luck (but red lights are bad--don't run through them)!

3.) I am terrifed of ostriches. I think they will bite my hand off.

4.) I love zombie movies. I see almost every one that comes out, and I think they are all hilarious, especially Slither. I am not afraid of zombies...but I might be if I ever met one.

5.) In college, I started crocheting a blanket and made about 180 granny squares, which took about a year. I never got around to sewing the squares together and eventually just threw all the squares away. Don't even ask me about all the other craft projects I've started but haven't finished. I am working on a 100 flower scarf pattern right now. Wish me luck!

6.) It took me thousands of dollars in student loans, seven majors, and five years of school to figure out that what I actually want to do (be a doula) doesn't require a college degree. Thanks, college career advisment center!

Okay, you've been tagged: Meghann, Bren, Cassie, Scott, Mom, and Jessie

Fukuoka Zoo

2007-11-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

When the two of us went to the Fukuoka temple, Amy and I ended up having to take turns watching our son while the other was going through the temple. I went through first so that Amy could feed Cash and put him down for a little nap. When I got out, Amy went in, and Cash and I went looking for trouble. Luckily, we found that the zoo in Fukuoka is literally right next door to the temple.

The zoo only cost 400 yen ($3.60) and has an enormous botanical garden attached to it. Cash and I decided that we would stick to the zoo, since we only had a little bit of time. The quality of the zoo was just a little sad. Some of the smaller animals were in small, wet, concrete cages with the occasional log or rope strung across it. Larger animals like the great cats, birds of prey, and African animals had very nice facilities though. We saw some animals that I had never even heard of before (and I watch Discovery).
The most amazing thing about the Fukuoka zoo was that there wasn't really any separation between the cages and you. I was literally an arm's length away from a 500 pound tiger that paced beautifully in front of me. Cash stared at everything, but he showed particular fascination with the birds of prey. He whimpered when I started to walk away from the Kites, so we ended up lingering there for around eleven minutes. He loves birds.

We ended the visit with a stop by the monkeys because I figured that Cash would get a laugh out of them. He did, but it ended up being more of a treat for me. Remember that I said that you are ridiculously-close to the animals cages. The monkeys would come right up to the edge of there cages and stare at you or climb around you. The zookeepers had posted signs that said not to feed the monkeys anything (complete with a cartoon of a scowling monkey holding an aching belly), but there didn't seem to be anything that said not to touch them. I reached my arm out to wave at one of the Diana Monkeys and it reached its hand out too! The monkey gave me a high five! Everyone around us was saying "Tugoi!" (cool), and Cash was giggling. The same thing happened with the Lion-tailed Macaques. The monkeys loved to slap my hand and tug on my fingers. I was very careful not to reach too far, because I didn't want them to be able to pull my hand into their mouths. The whole thing was really neat. I couldn't stop laughing.

We left the monkeys and headed for the exit down a long set of stairs. I guess that the whole day had taken a toll on Cash because by the time we reached the bottom, he was fast asleep. It was the first time he had ever fallen asleep upright in my arms. Good good day.

Cash and me in front of a Japanese native animal called the Tanuki or "Raccoon Dog" with a close up below that. This is one of the unfortunate cages that was really just concrete.

The whole time we were there, this tiger just paced back and forth in front of us. And by "in front of us" I mean "so-close-that-I-had-to-remind-myself-
that-I-could- lose-a-hand-if-I-tried-to-touch-it,-but-when-
am-I-ever-gonna-have-a-chance-to-touch-a-living-tiger-again-
so-I-should-just-reach-out-there-and-pet-it-as-it-walks-around-
but-I-probably-shouldn't-because-I-am-holding-my-son-after-all-
and-what-would-Amy-say,-I-mean-look-what-the-media-did-to-Steve-
Irwin-when-he-fed-a-croc-while-holding-his-son-and-he-was-a-
trained-professional-whereas-I'm-just-some-schmuck-with-a-
tiger-affinity-at-a-zoo-that-doesn't-understand-its-responsibility-
to-keep-its-patrons-a-safe-distance-from-its-animals-close."

Yes, the monkey washed his hand after handling the human. Don't worry about his safety.

Some animals I had never even heard of before:

This is called a Tapir. It's like a mix between a baby hippo and a baby elephant, but it's fully-grown. I'm pretty sure Tigers eat them.

These are both of a strange animal called a Biturang. It looks like a bushy-tailed badger, but it moves like a monkey. Tigers could eat that too.

I forget, is it "Tiger" or "Tigar" or "Tigger (I saw that one too)"?

Here is an Emperor Penguin (I had heard of it before, I'm just including it with animals I hadn't heard of before because I have never really seen one on real life, and that's close enough). Yeah, Tigers would so eat that, it's just too much effort to go all the way to Antarctica for them.

~Fox

A Loaf Story

2007-11-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been reading a lot of food blogs and tons of them mention a recipe for No Knead Bread. Well, I got a craving for homemade bread. I actually love kneading dough and don't have the patience for a 20 hour rising time, so I made a plan old white loaf tonight. The most PERFECT loaf ever--it rose beautifully, and the texture was perfect. I popped the loaf pan into our combination microwave/oven with eager anticipation. Surely, if it looked so beautiful going in, it would be amazing coming out, right? Wrong. The bread had risen to perfection, but alas, our oven is the size of a microwave (actually, it IS a microwave). My perfect loaf ended up completely burnt on the outside, as it was almost touching the roof of the oven, and completely gooey on the inside after fifteen minutes in the oven. So, I am missing a regular size oven tonight. There goes my hopes of an angel food cake for breakfast...I mean, birthdays.

Here is our sad little oven. On the upside, it's a great microwave. If you press the orange button, your food will be nuked until it's hot and ready, thanks to a nifty little heat sensor.

Cash=Handful

2007-11-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

I will stop myself from making a "handful of Cash" joke! Here are a few recent pics of Cash. He has just recently mastered standing up and is so proud of himself! He is such a happy, pleasant baby and gets to be more and more fun every day. His favorite things now are: eating off of mommy's plate, attempting to wave, biting things that shouldn't be bitten, pulling up on things that shouldn't be pulled up on, and unplugging the drain stopper in the bathtub as soon as he gets in the tub. We are loving it!

Look at me!

Our Temple Trip

2007-11-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we were able to make a trip to the Fukuoka temple with our branch. Our branch goes to the temple six times a year. It was Culture Day, so we had the day off. We left at midnight and got to Fukuoka around 7 a.m. We went with our boss to cut costs, as it costs around $100 to cross the bridge off of Shikoku island (one way!), and there are numerous toll highways along the way. It was a fun trip. Fox and I took turns watching Cash and going to a session. It was so nice to be off of Shikoku island and to see some different sights. We even got to go to Costco, where we found oatmeal, beans, tortilla chips, and macaroni and cheese. Hooray!

Here is a picture of the Fukuoka temple. It's a mini-temple in downtown Fukuoka.

This is Steve, another teacher at our school, and his wife, Sachiko. They got married in the Fukuoka temple about a month ago.

Sunset at the junction of the islands:

The Kanmon bridge, which connects Kyushu and Honshu. Nearby, there is also a highway tunnel that goes under the sea!

Along the way, we stopped at several rest areas, which we were very impressed with. Each rest area had huge, nice bathrooms, several restaurants, and even cribs for babies! In the parking lot, families and truck drivers were sound asleep in their cars. The ladies' bathrooms had individual vanity stations, fresh flowers, and toilets that had "flushing sound" volume control buttons, for those people who like a quiet flushing sound. I love Japan!

Harry Potter Controversy

2007-10-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

Alright, I know that this has nothing to do with us being in Japan, but I wanted to weigh in on the latest Harry Potter news. Some of you may not know this, but I actually am a really big fan of the HP series, both books and movies. Another thing that some of you may not know is that JK Rowling outed Hogwart's headmaster and all-around great wizard Albus Dumbledore as a homosexual at a Q&A session she had at Carnagie Hall last week. This has been really big news on literary websites.

Before I go any further, I just want to say that I have nothing against the homosexual community. I feel that there are wonderful people who are homosexuals, and I do not feel like their private lives have to affect their friendships with me in any way. That said, I have to express a great deal of disappointment in Rowling.

She has defended her statement by saying that Dumbledore is her character, that he is what he is, and that she can write whatever she wants about him. I agree. But I feel that her method was irresponsible and unkind. If she truly wanted to have a homosexual character in her series then why did she hide that fact until months after the final book hit print? She claims that she only mentioned it because she was asked a direct question about Albus' love life at Carnagie Hall. I feel that by then, the position is too moot to discuss. By waiting to reveal this character's sexual orientation, Rowling was protecting her sales. The fact that Dumbledore is gay does not hurt the story of Harry's maturation in any way. But the same fact has a huge potential for crippling the sale of her very last book. By waiting until after she has raked in her millions for the final chapter to drop such a bomb, it's almost as if Rowling was trying to tell the gay community "I'm fine with you, but not fine enough to make it obvious or supportive in any way."

My second gripe is that the revelation really has nothing to do with the main storyline at all. This is information that does not affect Harry's quest for belonging in the early novels nor his quest for revenge in the later ones. So why tell it? Why ruin the fun of sitting with your friends and reminiscing about favorite chapters? Why make it so that the next time you read the books, you can't help but have an annoying aspect that the author threw out so cavalierly changing your entire perspective? Rowling has made it so that fans cannot have their own opinions about Dumbledore. She has ignored the fact that this particular issue is still a hot button for many people. AND she has neglected to consider that this revelation about Dumbledore's character throws a somewhat inappropriate and unnerving spin on the dynamics between his and Harry's relationship.

I love the books and plan to keep them forever and read them to my children, but I am incredibly disappointed that the author would try to force such irrelevant interpretation on the readers after the fact rather than allowing us to see, discover, and adjust to this aspect of the novels as we read along.

I am including the web addresses of some articles that I found interesting:

http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/
paper853/news/2007/10/25/Play/Gay-Dumbledore.Just.
Doesnt.Make.Sense-3055880.shtml

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_JK_Rowling_Stunned
_By_Fans_Reaction_To_Gay_Dumbledore_09970.html

Halloween in Japan!!

2007-10-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year where we all pay homage to the gods of Nestle and Hershey by trying to induce sugar comas on the kids that bother us in our neighborhoods the other 364 days of the year. Here in Japan, familiar candies are hard to come by. WE can find full candy bars like Snickers and Kit Kats, but they each cost about a dollar and ten cents (for a normal-sized bar... there is no concept of King Size here). We love the fact that there are around thirteen flavors of Kit Kats here. Here are two that I like (Amy could go either way with these):

Yes, That is a Caramel Kit Kat. Me likey.

Now before you grimmace and shriek at the god-slaying concept of combining life-giving chocolate with one of THE MOST bitter fruits on the planet, take a moment to remember that I do not finish things that I put in my mouth if they make me want to gag. I ate this whole bar as if it were going to run away if I loosened my grip on it.

And what would Halloween be if there was not a gaggle of kids dressed up in all sorts of costumes. Now Halloween has not really caught on here in Japan the way it has in America. The people here would certainly NEVER allow their kids to knock on their neighbor's door and ask for food, regardless of the junkfoodiness-to-holidayiness ratio involved in the act. But, they love (read: "show up in hordes that act without restraint or compassion for the poor schmoe trying to MC the thing") parties. I was impressed with how many people showed up to the Halloween party that we had at our church last night. Most of the people that came were students at our school, so it turned out to be part Branch party and part MIA party. The kids loved dressing up and really went all out for it. Observe:

Kako (left) came dressed as a character from an anime that I didn't recognize. Wika (center) was a princess. Note the expression of sheer joy on Kako's face that is a result of having more sugar than blood in your blood.

Chinatsu put a lot of effort into her witch costume, so much in fact that she did not want to be touched out of fear that someone might disrupt the perfection of her costume.

And what blog about Halloween would be complete without a gaggle of shots of the most important man in Japan... CASH?!?!?!?

Cash was a Dinosaur for Halloween

A darn-cute Dinosaur!

We'll try to get some more pictures of him up soon. He is worth seeing at this stage of his development from pupa to larvae.
~Fox

Autumn Fest

2007-10-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, we went to a Chosa (Harvest) Festival in the town of Toyohama. Around this time, each town or neighborhood has their own harvest festival to pay tribute to their neighborhood shrine and honor the gods of harvest. In this festival, there were about twenty different 2-ton real-gold-tassled floats that community members parade around the neighborhood before heading up to the local shrine, and then they swing it around the town square to pay tribute to three main gods. The floats are huge, heavy, and wheeled by a group of about fifty or more people (mostly men) each. Occasionally, the men would hoist the float off the wheels and move the giant float with their own strength. To dull the pain of moving a 2-ton float, most of the men got drunk. So, it was pretty funny.
Here is one of the floats:

You stare at me, I stare at you:

Cash loves Nauto. Nauto loves girls. Girls love Nauto holding an American baby!

The floats light up at night--when the real fun begins!

Fox tries to pull a float without the help of alcohol:

Family Pics

2007-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few recent family pics. Just thought I'd share:
Cash and Mommy have matching jammies!

Cash hanging with Dad at the Autumn Festival:

All three of us--for once!

At the beach in Toyohama:

Exciting Discoveries

2007-10-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I (Amy) have found these past two days, either while exploring here or at the malls in Takamatsu, the capital city an hour away. A friend took me yesterday, and it was so fun to be in a big city with two good malls. Here are some of my finds:
--A Sports Authority, Body Shop, and Gap
--A Grocery store in the mall (yes, all the malls have grocery stores in them) that had Pringles, popcorn, salad dressing, marshmallows, and spaghetti sauce.
--A coffee shop that sold pesto, Hansen's cola, oatmeal, salsa, every flavor of Celestial Seasonings tea, and Hershey's cocoa.
--A "King Size" store should Fox every need new clothes.
--The Japanese equivalent of Ikea--I can't remember the name.
--A bookstore that had English books and magazine ($20 a piece)
--And today, I went to the Marugame Library and found the English section, which is very tiny but it had "Zeralda's Ogre", a book my mom used to read to us and which I love.

Crazy finds, huh? Well, at least for me! I've never been more excited to get groceries in my life! If that seems strange to you, I remind you that we are living on the smallest island in Japan. It has probably the fewest Americans in the whole country, and, as a result, the least amount of American food.

P.S. What I didn't find:
Candy corn. Chocolate chips. Grape Nuts. Boohoo.

The Bottom Biting Bug!

2007-10-15T06:33:00.001-07:00

The latest kid song craze in Japan is the Bottom Biting Bug. Fox and I first saw this a week ago on a variety show. There was a woman and a group of girls on TV dancing to the Oshiri song. Later, at the bookstore, the song was playing on a loop on the TV there, and a few girls stood around it singing the song. Apparently, the Bottom Biting Bug was created by an older couple who felt that Japanese people were minding their business TOO much. By "biting bottoms" and being nosy, you get to know people better. So, biting someone's bottom is like a warm, friendly conversation between the biter and bitee. I am posting this, because I can't get the song out of my head, and oh yeah, because biting bottoms to get to know others is so crazy it just might work!

Off House

2007-10-13T01:31:00.000-07:00

Today we went to an eco-recycle (read: very nice pawn) shop called Hard Off/Off House. We were so excited to find some cheap things, as Japan is notoriously expensive! We were looking for toys for Cash, since baby stuff is ridiculously costly, and I found a crockpot! We were excited to find some cheap baby toys and took our pick to the counter. Well, once we got up there, they told us that we could only buy things there from Oct. 20-24. No wonder why we were the only customers in the store! Apparently, they spend all month buying from people and stocking their shelves and then open their store for only four days a month for people to buy. Otherwise, they would never have anything on the shelf! At least that's what we figured. Japan is not only super expensive, but Japanese people pride themselves on being frugal. Looks like we know where we're going bright and early on the 20th! ~Amy

Cash Takes A Stand

2007-10-09T04:07:00.001-07:00

Today, Cash decided to pull himself up...in his crib! He was so proud of himself, as you can see from the video below.

Harvest Time

2007-10-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent around a half hour in between our lessons watching the farmers harvest their rice from the firelds behind our house. I was amazed at the contrast between one farmer's harvesting technique and another's.
The farmer nearest us used a self-propelled machine that looked like a mix between a wood chipper and a lawn mower. He walked behind it, pushing it carefully up the perfectly-spaced rows of yellowing rice. His machine automatically wrapped string around the rice stalks as it cut them and then shot them out after having bunched the bound stalks. His wife (I assume that she was his wife) stood at the corner of the field closest to us. She seemed comfortable with the fact that I was photogrpahing her and treated us with a passive neglect. She would speak to us in loud rapid Japanese and then smile before looking back to her work. She bent over the stalks that the man's machine missed and, using what looked like a vey old kamma, cut the stragglers before tossing them of to the side for later binding. After they finished binding several rows of rice, they hang the stalks upside down on poles so that the sun would dry out the stalks and make it easier to knock the rice off.
The operation going on at the field furthest away from us was much less back-cracking. A single farmer rode a machine much larger than the aforementioned farmer's binding machine. This large machine looked like an angry mix between a riding mower and a zamboni. He would drive his machine up the lines of rice, and the machine would bunch and cut the rice stalks. It did not bind them, though. Instead, it pulled them up a conveyer belt to the back of the riding zambower, where the rice was shaken off of the stocks right there. The stalks were ejected out of the zambower's backside. The rice was shot into several bags that were mounted to the side of the zambower. Other farmers would walk around the farmer on the riding rice-eatting beast, picking up the stalks for later burning. Others walked alonside it and let him know when the bags of rice were full enough for changing. Then he would stop while the men on the ground would change out the bags on his beast of burden.
The level of complexity in this second operation led me to believe that the crew working in the far fields was working for a government-owned business. The closer couple were more likely a family harvesting their own personal rice. That is all speculation though, because that is far too complicated of a theory for my meager Japanese to inquire about (never end a sentence in a preposition, evne if you have to put a weird statement in parenthesis in...to the statement... alright? yeah; that's good).
The second operation made the farmer and his wife working so close to us seem worthy of our pity. I wanted to run out hot bowls of the Lentil soup Amy had just made; I figured it would help them replenish their energy. I decided against it as I thought that a hot bowl of food is not the most desired thing when performing manual labor on a hot day. I decided to offer them some lemonade, but realized that the last of our lemon was already used up. By the time I started thinking about just taking them a simple glass of water, I realized that I couldn't hear them working anymore. I went outside to see that they had already taken off for lunch. Luckily, they will be harvesting all week, so I'll have another chance.

The farmer closest to us pushing his mechanical plow.

Him a little closer now

His lovely female assistant

The stalks of rice hung to dry in the sun and the cleared out rows below that

The operation further away from us

The assistant cleared out some stalks from the feeder before switching out the rice bags.

Going again. Notice the size of the rice bags next to the worker on the ground. You could feed a family for a few months with one bag, unless you happen to have all boys. Then that bag would only last three weeks. ~Fox

Spiders anyone?

2007-09-29T04:56:00.000-07:00

Today, we went for a walk. It was a cloudy day, and the spiders were out. We live among fields of rice, which is a popular area for the large joro-gumo, the Queen of Japanese Spiders. Their webs are between lampposts, in the irrigation ditches, between trees, and in our bushes. Looking up, you will see webs across phone wires, but it looks as if there are spiders dangling in the air. The webs are huge and super reinforced. We touched the edge of one, and it was like touching starched, steel fishing wire. The scary part is that there is usually a huge female in the center of the web, and then several "smaller" males lurking on the outside waiting to mate. These spiders are everywhere, and I get shivers just thinking about them. I feel like I'm in Arachnophobia!

Things that go bump...

2007-09-26T01:49:00.000-07:00

Things that go bump in the middle of the night are usually Fox's head or nose against the doorframes of our house. We have a sliding partition to separate our kitchen and living room, and that's low as well. He's been a good sport about it so far, but hopefully he doesn't get back problems from constantly stooping down.

Japanese Italian Food

2007-09-24T04:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a national holiday to celebrate the autumnal equinox. Since they had the day off, the Morimuras took us to lunch at an Italian restaurant down the street. Fox chose Italian, thinking he might get some chicken parmesan. Well, the waitress had never heard of chicken parmesan. In fact, the restaurant didn't even have chicken. Instead, you could order spaghetti and shrimp, spaghetti and crab, pizza with tuna, mayo, and shrimp, pizza with eggs and bacon, or potato gratin with egg and barbecue sauce. Now, Fox doesn't eat shrimp or eggs--so he settled on pizza with corn, ham, and pepperoni. I got a salad with shrimp, potatoes, lettuce, and seaweed--and ate my salad with chopsticks. It was actually really good. I also had some delicious mango juice--Yum!
At lunch, Fumi and I were talking and she asked me what an American does if they can't find a spouse. She asked incredulously, "You mean they just live alone for the rest of their lives?" I said yes, what do they do in Japan? "They find another person who is looking for a spouse through a matchmaker! If they are LDS, then they meet up at a Conference. There is a long list of names of who there is looking to get married, so they take down phone numbers, talk long distance, and get married." She thought it was amazing that America doesn't have matchmakers and people actually remain single their whole lives! I was equally astonished that Japan still has matchmakers! It's kind of funny to find out little quirks about this culture.

After lunch, we went to a gym where your outside shoes couldn't touch the inside of the gym. You either had to wash your shoes or change into another pair of gym shoes before you set foot in the gym. Or you could shuffle around the hallways in some issued slippers, like I did. After the gym, I took Fox to a store I found that has cheap peanut butter! Hooray! So now you don't have to send the gallons we requested. (No, I'm not a gigantic fan of peanut butter. That's Fox. But I make a really yummy peanut sauce that is peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar that is great on the TONS of noodles and rice we eat!)
Stay tuned for pictures of Kiwi-flavored KitKats! ~Amy

A Strange Sort of Feeling

2007-09-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Amy and I have noticed something about Japan while we've been here. Nearly everywhere you look, you can find English words. They're on buildings, advertisements, magazines, product packaging, and corporate names. Sometimes the English is good; other times it's not. It is very weird to be half way around the world and still have so much familiar stuff from your own culture all around you.

Amy mentioned it the other day in the context of coming home. The way it feels right now is that we never even left America. We seriously feel like we're in a very large Japanese version of Chinatown. It's like being in an unfamiliar place that still feels recognizably like home.

I wonder what this feeling means about us as Americans. To see the adoration and accommodations that the wonderful people of Japan have and make for Americans is somewhat embarrassing. I would never expect to see a foreign language used in America the way that English is thrown around here. In fact, I even remember (shamefully) seeing signs in America that were entirely in Spanish and thinking, "Why couldn't they just learn English and put their signs up in that?!?!?!" Whereas here, people see the signs in the foreign language (English) and actually slow down to try and read it. They love it. This has really opened my eyes to the fact that this is a ridiculously small planet which we all share.

Around the House

2007-09-19T18:21:00.001-07:00

We are continuing to explore our house and the neighborhood around it. Last night, we discovered that the control panel outside our shower room turns the vent in the shower into a dryer. That explains the hangers in the bathroom! We also recently went to an electronics store and were surprised to find $600 rice cookers and countertop dishwashers. It's always fun to find new stores and then it's not so fun when you look at the prices! Anyways, here are a few more pictures for you.
Cash likes his girly high chair:

When we turn the kitchen light on at night, it attracts bugs to the window, which attracts some geckos. We usually have two on the window, but sometimes there are four--and they really enjoy their dinner. They also enjoy our front garden!

Marugame Castle

2007-09-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to Marugame Castle yesterday. It's quite a steep hike to the tower, but the view is beautiful. The castle is about twenty minutes away from our house, in the center of downtown Marugame.
Cash is excited!

There is a moat surrounding the castle, filled with swans, fish, turtles, and the occasional crane.

Getting ready to hike up:

The view from the top:

The castle tower:

Food Finds

2007-09-15T00:39:00.000-07:00

My one concern about moving to Japan was the food. Would I be able to find anything to eat that was not fish flavored? What about baby food...and pizza...and ice cream? Well, my one concern has been my least worry out here. The food is amazing! That's not to say it's not strange. You can't buy tortillas or cheddar cheese. Bread is a dessert and comes in huge white slices, already loaded with butter and sugar. The baby food is fish flavored--codfish to be exact--but I did find sweet potato and pumpkin and apple flavor. Yes, the cantaloupes are $16, but the pineapple, honeydew, and bananas are regular price. Grocery shopping is a great adventure, especially because I can't read the label. Is it bad for me? I have no idea! I can't read the ingredients! Maybe that's why I'm enjoying the food so much. Is this flour or tempura flakes? Is it barbecue sauce or plum sauce? Who knows? It's just great fun for me to go grocery shopping on a budget when I can't read what I'm buying. Luckily, I can recognize soymilk, eggs, and noodles. Hooray!
One thing that's especially fun is the pastries here. Japanese people love fancy desserts with their tea. Every grocery store has a bakery with huge cream filled croissants, sponge cake, chocolate mousse, mochi...yummy. Mochi is my new favorite dessert, made from gelatinous rice flour. A popular cartoon character here is anpan man. Anpan is a roll filled with red bean paste that is very popular here. I love it. You can also find pizza in the bakery. Pizza here has a ton of different toppings. We saw one with bacon, weanies, and ketchup the other day. Sweets are also huge here. I got a white chocolate lemon aero bar the other day. We did find peanut butter--$2.50 for a small jar--but it was whipped and so worth it. Fox and I are just so overjoyed that we have loved everything we've tried..and everything I've experimented with cooking. I could devote a whole blog to Japanese food...maybe I will.

This "pizza" is a slice of bread with a smattering of cheese and corn kernels. Very popular.

Below is a box of mochi ice cream I bought. It's so yummy. The mochi are tiny, though.

Funny English

2007-09-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

People in Japan are obsessed with American culture. Everywhere you go, you hear American music playing (complete with swear words, since they don't translate here), and there is some English on almost every single building, package, and product. The fun part is that most of the English isn't translated correctly. A Japanese man explained to us that it's kind of like how in America, people got really obsessed with Chinese characters for tattoos and stuff, but the characters always meant something completely off base. In our case, we get a huge laugh out of it---in fact, I'm sure you'll all be getting souvenirs with funny English. Here are a couple of examples from our stay in Osaka on our way to Marugame. Enjoy!

Our House

2007-09-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

Cash and I are standing behind our house. The mountain in the background is "Little Fuji". We don't actually have a backyard--it is a huge rice field, as you can see. In fact, no one here has a backyard. Our neighborhood is close groups of houses and businesses built together on concrete.

Nicholas Cage is really an Oscar Winner?!?!?

2007-09-09T04:13:00.000-07:00

We've only been here a week, but we're already in love with all of the corny commercials that air in Japan. The best are when you get an A-list celebrity selling something goofy. They think that no one will ever see them, so they do really bizarre stuff and collect huge paychecks for it because they're such big stars here. Cameron Diaz does poster spots for a cell phone called Soft Bank. Soft Bank, really... what does that have to do with cell phones? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that cell minutes here are charged in 9-second increments... 6 yen for 9 seconds; that's roughly 30 cents per minute. Maybe the cost just rips you bank account apart, so they call it "Soft" as in "flimsy bank account." Anywhoooo... Orlando Bloom does a really funky TV spot for a hair gel. The whole commercial looks like a car chase that happens at night and has absolutely nothing to do with hair gel at any point. Anne Hatheway, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, and Liv Tyler all do TV spots for a shampoo called LUX. But the best commercials by far are Nichols Cage's. He does pachinko ads (pachinko is like a sort of gambling akin to slot machines) where he's just talking to the camera about something weird and then ties it into pachinko somehow. He does like four or five. Here is the url to one of them that I got off the web here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c4ALaUA60cIt's soooooo weird. I can't believe that he's an Oscar winner.
Oh, here's one for Joan:

Teaching in Japan

2007-09-06T04:35:00.000-07:00

Most of the teaching that we do here is with kindergarten-aged children. On Tuesdays, I teach at a Kindergarten name Aoyama. The parents of the students wants their children to know English, so they contract with my boss to have a native speaker come out to their children's kindergarten to teach the kids. The kindergarten isn't necessarily in on the agreement, so they make my boss pay rent for using their large music room and their teachers do not sit in on the lessons with me to help. It can be a little frightening. I have anywhere from six to eight three or four-year-olds in each class. Corralling them is a little tricky because I don't know how to tell them to stop what they're doing and come sit down in Japanese, and that's really the only way they'll listen to you.
Wednesdays I teach three classes at another kindergarten called Kogaku. Kogaku kindergarten actually contracts with my boss, so they don't charge us rent and their teachers do sit in with me and help keep the kids focused. I ended up about ten minutes late on Wednesday morning because I got lost (again), but they were very kind and sympathetic to me. They even invited me (formally, with a personally-addressed written invitation and everything) to their sports day at the end of the month. That is sort of like Field Day in American Elementary Schools. I am very excited to work with them.
I basically recycle the same lesson for each of the kindergartens that I drive around to on different days. This week, we learned about parts of the body and sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Next week, I plan to work on Colors and read some children's books to them.
Last night, I taught three small group classes for six to eight-year-olds. I went over some first words using flashcards. I set the flashcards down in piles of Toys, Animals, and Foods, asking the kids which pile each card went into. It took some of them a little longer to figure out than others, but eventually they all got it. After all the cards were sorted, I had them pick out their favorite one from each category and then practiced writing the words on the chalkboard. Next week, I plan to really focus on favorite things; I hope to find that song from Sound of Music to sing with them. During the last class in which I tried this technique, I kind of got the impression that half the class was bored out of their minds. I didn't want to get complicated because I want a sort of baseline for how to gauge my teaching; the problem is that I couldn't think of how to explain that to them. I will work on ideas of how to make these classes both educational and fun at the same time.
Today, I actually taught some adult classes. I loved the first two. My students all seemed well-versed enough that I actually had a fun time teaching them. I taught about the good, better, best heirarchy in English and when to use which word.
Hopefully things will keep improving. Amy keeps looking at online teaching resources for me. She is a great help. Now if I can only figure out how to print these things she's giving me.
~Fox.

Cash likes his new pad!

2007-09-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Cash enjoying his new play areas:

What is Skype?

2007-09-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering what Skype is and why I keep mentioning it, let me tell ya. Skype is a free phone service through the internet. So, if you have Skype, you can talk to us and anyone else who has Skype for free. You just need a microphone on your computer (and a webcam if you want us to see you!). We have a webcam, which pops up on your computer whenever you call us...so you can see Cash's first little tooth coming in or whatever else you'd like to see. So far, we've been able to have a conference call with Doug and Sheelah and Larissa, and we've been able to see Doug and Sheelah, since they have a webcam. Sooooo....get on Skype--it's free-- (www.skype.com), get a microphone, and a webcam...and everyone will be much happier (Mom and Dad)!

Man, what a commercial. I hope someone pays me for this!

~Amy

The "Fox Got Lost" Story

2007-09-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

The evening that we arrived in Japan, Fumi Morimura and her husband came to pick us up at the bus station where we had gotten (incorrectly) off our bus. They came in a large, white minivan that Fumi uses daily and a tiny shell of a black car that looks like an infant minivan and only seats four. Bro. Morimura drove me and our luggage in the small black car, which I learned was our car to use while in Japan, while Fumi drove Amy and Cash in her minivan.

Our first stop was at Marugame International Academy, or MIA as everyone calls it. Amy and Cash stayed in Fumi's minivan while the Morimuras showed me around the school. Afterwards, Bro. Morimura got into his own car and left for work. He told me that it would be very easy to get home; just follow Fumi.

Here I think it is important to break into the story with a little information about Japanese roads. First of all, none but the biggest roads have names. The named roads are about as wide as most of the streets in America's residential areas. However, people only use these roads when they are traveling from one city to another. Secondly, the roads that are used are a little more like alleys than roads. They are very often only wide enough for one Japanese car and could certainly never fit an American car. These alley roads are two-way streets. It is entirely common to have to stop and back into a driveway or parking lot because another car is coming in your direction. Thirdly, people walk on the tiny roads whether they are big enough for one car or two cars to travel at the same time, and the people walking or riding their bikes in traffic do not care that you are coming. You either stop and putter along behind them or go around them (which is usually pretty tricky to time correctly. And Finally, the roads in our neighborhood that are wide enough for two cars to travel at the same time in opposite directions are wide enough ONLY for two cars AND there is a straight vertical two-foot drop separating the road and the rice fields on the outside of your lane, so don't stray out of your lane!!!

Now back to the story:

I followed Fumi out of the school parking lot and into an alley just big enough for a single lane of travel (even though it was two-way). She zipped down the lane and made turns suddenly and quickly. The first thing that became tricky was the fact that I had never driven on the left side of the road. It's confusing. The next tricky part was that I was trying to think about how many miles per hour I was going even though everything was in kilometers per hour. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been bothering with math while trying to follow my boss's car. I could have simply just matched my speed to the road signs (which are painted on the road and rarely posted as signs since there is no "side of the road" big enough for a signpost). Fumi kept shooting along, and I stayed behind her for a while pretty well.

When we got to the main road that our house is near, the road widened enough for a second lane of traffic to travel alongside us in the opposite direction. However, it was still uncomfortably tight for me, so I would come to a nearly-complete stop each time a car was coming at me (this is actually not all that uncommon here). I figured that I couldn't really be faulted if I was coming to a stop in my lane and got clipped by someone in the other lane. The problem with this technique is that I quickly built up a line of cars behind me. They started realizing what I was doing so they started shooting past me when I would slow down and then cut me off as they got back into the lane to avoid the other cars coming right at them in the oncoming lane. The scary/funny/I-need-new-undershorts thing about it is that they would all speed up to do this... even the oncoming traffic.

Throughout all of this, I soon realized a horrifying fact: I could no longer see Fumi.

I kept going for a few minutes before realizing that she had in fact completely disappeared. She had to have turned off of this road at some point. I decided to turn back and go back to a point in the road where I new we had been together (I won't go into how frustrating that process was). I decided to go back a ways where the road had actually widened enough for me to pull over and still allow both "lanes" of traffic to move around me at the same time. I pulled over and sat. And sat. And sat. And sang as I sat, and sat, and sat, aaaaaannnnd saaaaaaaaat.

I kept thinking, "this is what you do when you're lost. YOu sit and wait, and eventually someone will come and find you." So I pulled out a Japanese textbook and started reading while I waited. The sun started going down, so I turned on my hazard lights so that passing cars would see me and avoid me. After fifteen minutes I decided to get out of the car and stand in front of it so that I was clearly visible when Fumi and Amy would come back by.

So while I was lost, alone, hungry, and tired on my first night in a foreign country where I could sorta almost barely communicate Amy and Fumi decided to go shopping.

I ended up waiting for thirty-five minute before deciding that they weren't looking for me. After all, we had only been driving for eight minutes when I got lost. I got back into the car, turned it around again, and headed down the road in the direction we had originally been traveling. After about four minutes of navigating the narrow Japanese roads alone, I came to a T-intersection. Crap! I looked left and discovered a gas station that was brightly lit. I made for it.

Pulling into the gas station, a young boy around fifteen came out to pump my gas, but since I wasn't getting gas I steered for the office rather than the pump. He frantically started dancing around waving his arms in the direction of the pumps and trying to slap the car towards them as though it were a wayward hefer. "Sorry, I'm a stupid American." I stopped the car, got out, and explained to him in broken Japanese that I had gotten lost and needed a phone to call my boss. "Juusyo wa nan desu ka," he asked. What is the address. I explained that I didn't have the address. This was my first night in Marugame; all I had was the phone number. He stared at me trying not to smile. Then he went over to two middle-aged men and spoke quickly to them. I picked out that he was telling them that I was lost and didn't have a phone. They all laughed. A lot. Then one of the middle-aged men went inside the office (holding his arms straight out at me and not breaking eye contact "Stay there stupid. Don't spread your idiocy around our gas station"). He brought out a very old man in the same uniforms they were all wearing. The very old man asked for the address again. I again explained that all I had was the phone number. I asked if I could use a cell phone or the station phone. He shook his head. But he took the paper that the number was written on and went inside. He picked up the phone, punched in some numbers, and then hung up. When he came out again, the very old man explained that the phone number didn't work. I asked if I could try using his phone. He told me "no." Then in very slow polite Japanese, he explained that I should get back in my car and go back to where I had be waiting. Then he said, "Komarimasu ne?" It's a problem isn't it? I repeated, "Komarimasu." He couldn't help. It was time to leave.

So I drove back to the place where I had waited before and pulled over again, narrowly missing being hit by a metallic pink four-seater. I flipped on the hazards and turned off the car. This time I got right out of the car. I paced back and forth along the road in front of the car, being careful to avoid the continuing traffic in the dark. I said a quick prayer, explaining to my Father in Heaven that I had done everything that I could and needed his help if I was going to get back to my family before the next morning when the police came along to see why a car was parked on the side of the road all night. Immediately after the short prayer, I got a feeling that I hadn't really done everything that I could. I was turning to my Father in Heaven and expecting him to solve my problem before I had exhausted every possibility. I hadn't tried to stop any cars and ask them to help.

I wondered what would be the best way. Jump out and try to scare them into stopping? No, they might swerve off the road and make a bigger mess. Lie down in the street when no one was coming and hope that they see me and think something is really wrong and they have to stop? No, they might not stop. THUMP-THUMP. I decided to just start yelling as they drove by. Yes, that is exactly what every Ugly American should do. Yell at the locals as they speed by you.

My best bet was to yell something nice so that I didn't seem like a complete jerk. I decided on "Taskute Kudasai!!" Please give me helping!!!(yes this is correct grammar). I yelled this at several cars as they passed. They didn't even slow down. I called it out to one man as he passed on foot. He pretended not to hear. I started yelling it to cars only if they had their windows open, that way they would certainly hear me. No response. I called out to a teenage girl on a bicycle. She stopped. She Stopped!!! She approached nervously. "Ketai Denwa ga arimasu ka?" I asked. Do you have a cell phone? "Arimasen." She didn't. I apologized for disturbing her, and she went on her way.

This went on for about twenty more minutes. Finally I called out to another teenage girl on a bicycle. She stopped. She had a cell phone! SHE WOULD LET ME USE IT!!!! HOOORAAAAY!! She actually decided that she should use it to call my boss. I showed her the piece of paper with Fumi's number on it. Then something curious happened. "Fumi?" she asked. "Hai, Fumiyo Morimura San." I replied. "Sirimasu!" she said. She knew Fumi. Fumi had been her teacher. I couldn't believe the coincidence. No literally, I couldn't. I had prayed for help. I was prompted to start flagging down people. And I found a person that was friends with my only contact in Japan.

She talked with Fumi over the phone. They laughed and she smiled. I could tell that Fumi asked if the girl had been talking to me in English because the girl responded "Iye Nihongo de" No Japanese. She laughed and gave Fumi directions to where we were. Fumi started out.

This teenage girl in the customary Japanese High School uniform hung up and explained that Fumi was on her way. I thanked her heartily and told her that she could go ifshe had better things to do. Then she told me that she would wait with me until Fumi arrived. WE made chit chat for about ten minutes. I tried unsuccessfully to tell her that she was very brave to approach a strange giant white man. She didn't understand, and I couldn't think of the right words. I settled for telling her that she was a very kind person. Fumi finally arrived and clapped me on the back. She was apparently very impressed that I could get myself out of such a pinch. I immediately knew that it was not me that got me out of the pinch.

The young girl rode off. Fumi explained that we were very near home. She had just turned off a little way down the road from where I was. We got back into the cars and she drove very slowly to our house where Amy was waiting patiently in the kitchen.

Church in Japan

2007-09-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today was our first Sunday in Japan, and it was such a busy day. Our branch building is in downtown Marugame, about ten minutes from our house. It's a very old building with contaminated water that the church has been renting for 35 years. The Marugame branch has been put on the list for a new ward building, but it needs to consistently have 80 members in attendance--and this past year it has only hit 80 once. Usually, attendance is around 60 or 70. There are, including us, twelve English teachers, all of them BYU or BYU-I graduates. We have a translator for sacrament and relief society, but Sunday school is English. After church, we went to have lunch with at the Jensen's apartment. This is the third time the Jensen's have taught in Japan. Sis. Jensen had her first baby here, who is now 2, and will have her second baby here in December. It was fun visiting with them. They made us curry (just the way I make it!) and gave us the scoop on living here.

After visiting with them, we got home and then had a welcoming dinner at the Morimura's, along with the missionaries. We had--I don't know what it's called! Basically a bunch of meat and veggies thrown on a grill that you eat right off the grill--is that tepanyaki? Afterwards, the missionaries gave us a lesson and a sheet to refer our friends to church, and Bro. Morimura shared his conversion story. He got baptized six years after Fumi did and told us of how Fumi would put her three boys on her bike with her to ride to church while he went gambling. He realized that was terrible and started driving them to church and then ended up staying with them. Did I mention the Morimuras have three sons, one of which is a cell phone music composer in Tokyo and another is the branch president? After dinner, we all crashed--we were so tired! We did figure out how to use some of the appliances in our house--including our toilet with bidet, heated seat, and remote control--it's almost too much to handle for a toilet! Tomorrow we'll need to figure out how to use our tiny tiny washing machine. I will post pictures as soon as I can find the camera cord.
If you are reading this, set up Skype! ~Amy

Airport Lessons

2007-09-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

We have arrived safely in Marugame! We got here Saturday afternoon, and our boss, Fumi, picked us up at the bus station and took us to our home, which is across the street from her house. We live in a pretty rural area with rice fields all around, although there is a Baskin Robbins around the corner! I had my first experience with grocery shopping last night, and that was very interesting. The store we went to did indeed have 1 pound bags of rice for $10! Yikes! I will post more about our area and house later. Before I forget, I want to just make a list of lessons we learned quickly in our first experience with international travel.

1.) Apparently, if you are traveling to Japan on a tourist visa, you need a return ticket. I had called the Japanese consulate earlier and he had told me the same thing, but then I found a website for English teachers in Japan which told me that no one cares about a return ticket. Desperately, Fox and I racked our brains as to how to come up with the means to get return tickets. Luckily, the airline rep told us the loophole in the system--buy a ridiculously expensive return ticket that is fully refundable so that we could be let on the airplane and have proof of plans to return and then get our ticket refunded after we went through customs. We frantically called my sister to do just that, which she did quickly and willingly, (thanks, you're a lifesaver!) and we were able to board our plane with no problems. The funny thing is that when we went through customs in Japan, they didn't care about a return ticket or why we were even there in the first place. Sheesh!

2.) Check your reservations well! What I thought was a ticket from LAX to Kansai International Airport, which has free shuttle buses to hotels and a bus station in the airport, turned out to be a ticket from LAX to Tokyo-Narita. From Narita, after going through a priority line at customs since we have a baby (so it literally took less than 10 minutes) , we had to take a 1 hour shuttle to the Haneda airport, which gave us approximately 45 minutes to check our bags, go through security, and get to the gate--somehow we miraculously did it! We then got on a plane to Osaka, which took 1 hour, and then found out that there are no train or bus stations in Osaka airport. We had to take a shuttle to a train station and from the station, take a taxi to a hotel, where we stayed. The next morning, we lugged all 8 pieces of luggage (our large one's wheel broke!) down to a bus station about ten minutes away. From the bus station, we took a bus to Marugame and were dropped off at the wrong stop! Luckily, our boss had her cell phone on her, so we were able to get to our home with no problems (except for Fox, who was following Fumi's car in our new car, getting incredibly lost on the way back--but that's another story).

3.) Do not ask for water from the flight attendant on a Japanese airplane. Water isn't an option! However, she did make a special trip to find me some water.

4.) American babies are irresistable. Even the most serious looking businessmen drop their work to comment on how cute and chubby Cash is. Cash was an angel on the plane and bus. So far, he's been waking an hour earlier, but that's the only difference. Yay!

5.) Never switch seats if you are sitting next to someone who might possibly speak your language, even if they are eating raw fish and drinking a huge beer. Fox ended up learning a lot about Japan, practiced his Japanese, and got to speak English for a few hours to a very nice man on the bus.

Possible visitors please note: Do not let our misadventures dissuade you from visiting! It really was not that bad, and I can't believe how smoothly it went compared to my predictions. Okay, I love you all and don't forget to set up Skype! ~Amy

Cash's Half Birthday!

2007-08-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

Cash turned six months old on August 27th, so we celebrated his half birthday by giving him "half" a cream puff--in this case Cool Whip. He wasn't a big fan of the taste but loved the texture!

Adventures at Kiddy Kandids

2007-08-22T09:13:00.002-07:00

Cash at 6 months

Cash, Shayla, and Isaiah 8/20/07

Larissa (my sis), Christine (my sister-in-law), and I went with our babies to have their pictures taken at the Victor Valley Mall on Monday. Needless to say, trying to get three babies who can't sit up to be simultaneously fed, awake, happy, and looking at the camera was a very tiring job. It was all fun and games until somebody (not naming names) decided to spit up. ~Amy

Marugame 101

2007-08-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

I know you are curious about where Marugame is--so voila!

Here are some facts about Marugame:

Marugame is in the Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It is a four hour bus ride from Osaka.
It has a population of around 111,000.
It is famous for its Udon noodles and Uchiwa (fan) production. 90% of Japanese fans are made there.
It's also famous for its Marugame Castle, one of only six remaining wooden castles in Japan.
The nearest LDS temple is in Fukuoka, about 6 1/2 hours away.

Well, we just learned our passports were mailed yesterday. Woohoo! ~Amy

Preparations for moving to Japan

2007-08-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2007

Amy and I will be leaving for Japan as soon as our passports and visas arrive. We want to aim for being there by August 22nd, 2007.

I have been offered a teaching position at the Marugame International Academy. I will be teaching English for children, teen, and adults. Amy will be working there part-time while raising our son Cash.

The application process for the job was fairly easy. I had a professor in my last semester, named John Bennion, whose son was filling the position and about to end his contractual term. Prof. Bennion gave me his son's email address and had me contact him about taking his place once he headed home. I did so, including digital copies of Amy's and my resumes, marriage license, diplomas, and birth certificates. We immediately submitted applications for passports at the same time in an effort to make this happen through the power of positive thinking.

Then the job was given to someone else. I mumbled and grumbled while I tried to figure out our next step. I took a job working for a bronze foundry while also applying to graduate school. After I had worked for about two months at the foundry, we got an email that the people who had replaced Rob Bennion's family were having to move to Sweden. Shortly after that we got a call from Fumi Morimura, a wonderful lady who is in charge of the school. She asked if we were still interested and how soon we would be able to make it out to Marugame Japan.

I put in my two weeks notice at work, and Amy started packing our apartment up. We have been visiting family for the last two weeks. We dropped off our cats with my brother in Texas and are in California now waiting on all of the final details to come through. Within the next three weeks, we should be on our way to the adventure of a lifetime in the Land of the Rising Sun.