The Life God Has Given Me!!

Quick note....

2008-10-16T22:15:00.003-06:00

Just letting you know what kind of car I am looking forward to driving home someday in......

Banff for a day!

2008-08-20T08:54:00.006-06:00

Erika and I went to banff for the afternoon last weekend and had a blast! We went For a walk/hike at Johnson Canyon and then headed into banff to eat dinner and walk around! It was a great day, but ended in a car that ran out of gas 15 minutes outside of Calgary!! It was annoying and frusturating. Knowing me and Erika though it turned out as an adventure and a we even found time to laugh and joke! Overall it was a well needed day away from the city and time to spend with a good friend!!

Saying goodbye- Looking back Part#2

2008-07-27T15:23:00.010-06:00

I thought I would just throw a bunch of pictures on here of the people that mean and meant so much to me during my time in Japan! I held my composure good while saying goodbye, maybe too good I didn't cry very much and I think it was because it never really felt like I was leaving.... But on the train and plane on the way home I cried so much, and still I get tears in my eyes when thinking about japan and the amazing people I met (okay now I am starting to tear up...) So here are some pictures to check out..........

I will miss all these people and more! I hope some day to get the opportunity to see them again and laugh with all of them! Until than thank you to everyone who made my time in Japan an amazing experience!

Looking back PART#1

2008-06-18T13:28:00.017-06:00

Well I know it has been a while since updating so I am going to do some looking back...... I think we have to go all the way back to when Brendan and Pam were in Takanosu! Here are a few of the fun things we did while I was showing them around my town!

HANGING OUT BY THE OCEAN........

ME DRIVING BY THE OCEAN.....

AND...... EVERYONE SCARED.......

THEN ENJOYING LUNCH AND THE DRINK BAR............

ANOTHER TIME OFF TO THE DRUM MUSEUM..........

THEN WE SAW DREAM WORLD BEHIND THE MUSEUM AND HAD TO STOP...........

WHY NOT WAKE UP AT 5AM AND GO MOUNTAIN VEGETABLE PICKING(and all three of us dealing with tiredness differently).......

THEN A BBQ AT ATSUKO AND HIROYUKI'S HOUSE........

LUNCH WITH MY LADY STUDENTS..........

BRENDAN AND PAM'S STAMPEDE BREAKFAST FOR VIP.........

STUDENTS TEACHING ORIGAMI.......

MAKING WOOD LUNCH BOXES, SPECIAL TO MY AREA.......

LUNCH WITH SOME FRIENDS........

AND..... MEETING NEW FRIENDS.........

It was such a great time and a blast to share some fun things in Japan! Thanks for coming for a visit Brendan and Pam. I was busy, tiring, but a huge blast!!!

Good Day!!

2008-05-22T20:35:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't blogged on some other things that happened before today. But I am going to skip those for now, cause I want to share my exciting day with you.... It all started with sleeping in until 7:30am and if you know when I usually get up, this is a accomplishment!! Then I went and sent bags to the airport for Brendan and Pam. Then I went to pay bills and that stuff. The fun part is what happened after all that. Well, Megumi my Japanese teacher/friend has been looking for this Ice cream(pounded rice with ice cream in the middle) I really love yet it has been sold out everywhere, Last night she comes into English class and puts a box of them right in front of me and tells me where she bought them. So after paying for bills I decided to go pick up another box to eat before I go home. Except instead of buying one box I bought 3 boxes, that's 27 ice cream balls. I got really excited and thought about not stopping at the grocery store cause I didn't want them to melt. I needed to go to the grocery store though so I ran in quickly to get a few things. As I was paying the lady put in a 1L thing of milk and said "service" which means like a free gift. So my day today has been amazing and it's only Noon.... We shall see what happens next.......

One big long day!!

2008-05-16T21:11:00.007-06:00

I know this is a little late, but better late than never right!
This is from Brendan, Pamu, and my trip the first week they were in Japan!
It all started with me spending the day in Tokyo before meeting up with them....

Then we met up and spent the night in a capsule hotel.....

After we went to Mt. Fuji.......

We also went to Hiroshima......

And yet more in Osaka......

Just as we thought it was all over we spent more time in Tokyo.....

Finally we get back to Takanosu and have a few hours to crash and then going again.

Sakura again...

2008-04-24T22:50:00.005-06:00

Well, I am fortunate to see the Cherry blossoms last year and this year while living in Japan! You saw some of the Cherry Blossoms in the post from Kyoto. But, here are a few from around my area (they came out over 10 days earlier this year!):

I went to the park near my house for three hours one day, meet lots of people, watched lots of people, and just took in the scenery. Hope you enjoy these pictures, wish you were sitting at the park with me............

It's a mystery!

2008-04-19T06:04:00.002-06:00

I haven't had very many mind boggling things while here in Japan. Well, okay that's a lie I guess I have had quite a lot, but this is a quite interesting one. When Sara, Sam, and Janet came to stay at my house we went to the grocery store (ITOKU) to buy breakfast foods. I had pre warned them that there was no brown bread and the only thing to buy was flax, raisin, or white. So, we get to the store and decide to buy the flax bread, but Sara looks over on another table and there is brown bread, 3 slices in a pack, but brown bread ( I was shocked, yet so excited!) Then when we ran out we went back again but no brown bread, I thought maybe cause it was late at night it was all gone. I have been back to Itoku a few times since they left and no Brown bread.......... Can you explain that one to me? Does it boggle your brain too? Maybe it was just meant to be there to help the girls with their transition to bread here. I have no clue but kind of wish it was still here.....

Where they really here?

2008-04-17T17:56:00.005-06:00

It was great to see Janet, Sam, and Sara in Japan. It was kind of weird at first to talk inside and then go for a walk outside, because I would forget that we were in Japan until I saw a sign all in Japanese. The first thing we did was spend some time in Kyoto and then they came home with me to Takanosu to see my daily life here. It seems like time just flew by on us, but thank you guys for everything while you were here. Below are a few pictures of what we did and saw in Kyoto.

Round 1 .......

2008-03-22T02:15:00.009-06:00

This Thursday was a Holiday in Japan. So, Two of my friends(Taka and Nick), who live near me, and I headed down to Akita to met up with Kirsten and Hannah and some of their friends and visiting relatives.... We meet at a place called "Round 1". You pay 1,700 yen for 3 hours and you can do anything in there you want. And by anything I mean Bating cages, roller blading, arcade, soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, bowling, darts, billiards, karaoke, massage chairs, table tennis, and I can't remember the rest. We weren't able to do everything but we definately filled up our three hours. Then we went out for dinner and sat in the resturant for another 3 hours... It was great just to hang out with friends, relax and have fun together. The only bad thing about the whole day was getting home at 11:30, after the two hour drive home, and having to get up the next day for work. Here are a few photo's of the day......

Oh yeah, and they had a electronical bull (Nick, Hannah, and I were the only ones who tried)....

Everyone survived, so we were off to fill in the rest of our 3 hours.....

Then we went Shopping and for Dinner.....

It was great fun, but I did feel it all the next day during work.....

Always happy where I am......

2008-03-12T08:17:00.002-06:00

Well, I have been thinking lightly about going back to Canada. Some days I am excited and other day I want to stay a little longer. I miss the people at home and can't wait to see them, but I know when I get home, it is going to be the other way around.

I think I got a little image of what it will be like this weekend. This weekend I went to Sendai. I was so excited to go and see my friends and go to the big city, but I also knew I was going to miss things here, like the onsen on Sunday night and the people here. When I first got into Sendai, not going to lie, I was overwhellemed...... Big building, lots of people, lines, lots of high end fashion, and so on........ But after a while I felt more than comfortable in Sendai. I love the people there and the girls that came there. My weekend was so much fun, playing outside, hanging out with friends, Singing gospel songs in English, and even washing the dishes. As I was leaving Sendai I didn't want to come back here, but I also couldn't wait to get back.

So, I think I learnt that if we are serving God with are hearts and going where he wants us to go, he will help us be happy no matter where we are. So This weekend I was happy in Sendai, now I am happy in Takanosu, and I will definatly be happy in Calgary!!!

Fun in the snow!!

2008-03-03T06:23:00.010-07:00

I have had my fun in the snow and ready for some fun in the sun. The only thing is I would like to get a little more snowboarding in! Here are some of the great things I have gotten to do in the snow......

It's all about the winter matsuri(festivals)....

^ Above is the winter Matsuri in Hirosaki at the Castle park, with a amazing dinner after ^

^ Above is the winter festival at lake tawada ^

^ Above is the Famous Candy festival, held in Odate (The second last picture is of my future puppy, and the last picture is of my future puppy when he is all grown up) ^

Then of Course I need to play in the snow......

^ Above is playing with Atsuko and Hiroyuki jumping in the snow and making a kamakura (japanese style igloo) ^

^ Above climbing a mountain to see the jyuhyou(snow monsters), jumping in snow, and finally making it to the top with an amazing view and a great place to rest^

Let's not forget SNOWBOARDING....

I think that is about it for my winter fun, I have been teaching snowboarding to a few friends and a few other things but no pictures of them, it has been a good winter and I am ready for the sun to shine.......

"Do you understand?"

2008-02-29T19:02:00.004-07:00

Just before I came to Japan, I was certain I would be fluent by the time I came home. Then a month into being here, I realized it was going to be a little harder. I have never made it through a entire day here, where I understood everything that was being said. Yet, when I reach to do my Japanese studies, I realize how far I have come. Today, for fun I looked back on my old lessons and the first lesson I had, I learnt how to say "my name is kaila", which now seems way to easy. I think to often we are to hard on ourselves to make it to the next step, or accomplish the next task. That we forget to stop and realize how far we have come. I think this is the same with God, we forget to thank him for everything he has done for us and go right into asking him to help us with the next situation. So, I have changed my prayers from asking God to wake up fluent to thanking him for what I have learnt so far and all the opportunities I have had to speak to the people who I normally wouldn't be able to speak to.

PSALMS 118:21
"I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation."

No snacks.....

2008-02-28T17:23:00.002-07:00

Well it has now been two weeks of not eating snacks. I have to say only twice have I broke the rule and that is because, when people give it to me I have to be kind and eat it (But, not saying I don't enjoy it)! Now after today I will have one month to go. It's kind of interesting though, I thought I would find myself craving snack and wanting to buy them, but I am not! When I do want a snack I find myself wanting Japanese snacks like sweet bean paste and mochi(pounded rice) with ice cream in the middle. So, maybe this is good practice for when I come home and won't be able to buy these absolutely tasty snacks at the local convenient store or the grocery store down the street.

New Colors....

2008-02-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

Are these colors okay with everyone?????
I am having a hard time trying to make it all match and work together, but this is what I came up with.....
What do you think???

My Valentine's Day Surprise....

2008-02-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

Just so I don't shock anyone, I haven't gotten any flowers from any cute guys.............. well at least not yet anyways!

But I have a great story.....

Yesterday I went to the onsen (Public bath house) after spending a great day at a snow festival, pictures to come. But, as I was washing my hair in the onsen I realized that my eating lots of candy and ice cream recently is now starting to show. I didn't think about it much, but this morning when on the train I decided to stop eating junk food and ice cream (which does not go under the junk food catagory) until April when Sara, Janet, and Sam come. So, walking home I was so proud of myself for making this decision, it was the first time I have ever decided to do it. Got to my apartment and was making my lunch when the door bell rang, I thought who could it be at lunch time on a Tueday, but I procceded to answer the door. It was the mail man and he asked if I was Kaila Cook and I said yes. He gave me a bag with three packages in it. I was not expeciting it and to tell you the truth I forgot Valentine's Day was this week. I opened the packages to find Valentine's Day cards, candies, and popcorn. I was so excited and then I remembered my plan not to eat junk food. I literalty sat down where I was and pondered the decision, not to mention while all the yummy stuff was lying in front of me. Let's just say I decieded to start not eating junk food on friday.

I want to thank Nan, Pa, Janet, Jeff, 2E, John, and Annie for the wonderful Valentine's surprise. It made my day..... no my week......nope my MONTH.... thank you so much! I look forward to eating it all before friday when I can't eat any until April.

HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY!!!!!!!!!

明けましておめでとう!!!

2008-01-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well another year is here for us to look forward to and see what God has planned for us!! This year I will have two separate lives, sounds crazy hey. But if you think of it the first half will be here in Japan and the next half will send me back to Canada were I have no clue what God has in store for me..... So I am calling it my two lives.
We will get back to the second life in a few months, but as for my life here in Japan I got to start it off in Tokyo, but in Tokyo I played to much and rested to little, so I came back needing a holiday from my holiday, only to get a cold with a high fever. So that is why this blog was delayed a while. So here is what I need for the first week of 2008.

^ The first day we arrived in Tokyo we went and looked at the illuminations around Tokyo Station, then we went back to yoshiko's house for a great New years Eve dinner^

^ The second day we went to the mini Statue of liberty, ate Chinese food in a sushi bar style, got my name written in Japanese characters with Chinese pictures, ate Wendy's for dinner (it had been a long time!), walked around Tokyo and took a picture of the Tokyo tower.^

^ The third day we went to Kamakura and saw the big Buddist statue, then we walked around Kamakura, after ate kushikatsu for lunch and walked around busy Yokohama, went shopping at tokyo hands and donkey hote, after had Starbucks, then went to Tokyo Disneyland for two and a half hours^

^ The fourth day we went to Asakusa, then to see Doraemon, after to a small theme park, then we ate tempura, went to the Ueno Zoo, and ate anmizu, then went home and had the delicious meal shown above^

^ The fifth day we went on a sky bus tour around Tokyo station and Ginza, the went shopping in Ginza, after back to Ueno for anmizu a second time, when heading back for anmizu we ran into the English teachers from Sendai and it was very suprising to see them in Tokyo, then more shopping, and yakiniku for dinner^

Then the final day we just took our time getting to the airport and shopping for treats to bring back to Takanosu. It was a great trip and so much fun. Also a huge thanks to Atsuko and Hiroyuki for taking me with them. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!

It was Merry...

2007-12-29T00:18:00.000-07:00

Well Christmas is over. This year was definitely different then most I have had, no family and traditions. Even though it was different I still managed to enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards and presents, they were fun to receive and open. Well my last post left you off at the Christmas party at the snow hill. It seems like forever since we did that but this is what I have done since........

^ This was our Christmas Day at the Odate Church with all my friday students^

^This was Christmas Sunday, we did two Baptisms at the same time. The older two sitting down in the last photo are who got Baptized^

^This was my last day of work before the holidays and definatly the busiest! We made cookies,watched a movie, had a kids play, had singers, then tea time, then candle light service, made pizza and sandwiches, had two junior high plays, my high school class sang, and then we had another tea time.^

^Then Hannah and Anna came to stay at my house we ate Christmas dinner with the Nordaas' and Sachiko then went to the onsen. After I spent some time with Hannah and Anna before we all went our own ways for New Years...............
New Years story to come in the next few days!!

6 Days.......

2007-12-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well, can you believe it! It is officially 6 days till Christmas! It seems to just be flying by. I thought I would be lonely this Christmas, but I totally thought wrong! I have realized there is a difference between being lonely and missing family, which I do the latter!! I have just finished one of the two busy weekends I have this year and have already done many things! All last week we have been practicing our Christmas play with the kids it should turn out good, or at least fun! I have set up the Christmas stuff at our Church, had Hello kids where I volunteer teaching English, but this time we made Christmas Cards. On the 2nd I helped put up the tree at Atsuko and Hiroyuki's house it was fun, then on the 9th we made a gingerbread house that nan sent me (Thank you so much nan it was so much fun!!). Then on the 15th we had a ladies Christmas tea which I did a Christmas speech for, which they say it was good but I beg to differ. Then on the 16th we had church and after went to a Christmas party at a snow hill. Every year they light up a christmas tree on the ski hill. The group from our Church sang songs and did a Christmas Candle light service! The guy who is in charge of the Snow hill is the guy who took me veggie hunting with his wife and they have done so much for me! It was a really fun night! Yesterday, I cleaned my apartment because I had been so busy my poor apartment was getting neglected, after sending packages home and putting gifts together for here my apartment had paper, bags, tape, boxes, pens, and much more everywhere. To say a hurricane hit would be putting it mildly. Now I am into my work week and getting ready for everything that starts again next friday. I will keep you posted as I do things! Here are some pictures from my past weeks......

^ These are from setting up at the Church ^

^ HELLO KIDS card making day ^

^ Putting up Atsuko and Hiroyuki's tree ^

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^ Making Gingerbread House ^

^ Ladies Christmas tea ^

^ Christmas Party at the Snow Hill (Can you believe the guy dressed as a girl is the one on Charge of everything) ^

Well, I hope you enjoyed them and trust me there is more, I am not done yet. Busy but a lot of fun!!

Have you ever heard God's voice?

2007-11-12T05:10:00.000-07:00

This is the question that brought up a discussion with my japanese parents last night.

We were listening to a CD that I had given them off my computer, there is one part where a deep voice talks and quotes the bible. Hiroyuki (my japanese father) made a joke and said "That is God's voice!". We laughed, then Atsuko (my japanese mother) said "I don't think so!" and I said "No it isn't!". After we all finished laughing. Atsuko asked me if I had ever heard God's voice. I said to her "I have never heard God's real voice in person, but I have heard his voice through the bible, through music, and through many other things like that!". After they thought about it for a few minutes, Atsuko said to me "Kaila, we hear God's voice through you!". Moments like this just help me to remember why I am here serving God and what my priorities should be. Recently I have been worrying about my future and what I am going to do when I get home. This seems to be my trend, I am always worrying about the next step in life and forgetting to live now and for God. This moment with Atsuko and Hiroyuki, God gave me to remind me why I am here and what I should be focusing on.

Last week also I was driving with them and the word Hiroyuki pulled out of a song was "trust". And without thinking I blurted out Proverbs 3:5-6, which says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight" Atsuko first said "What?". So, we proceeded to translate it all the way to the restaurant and then we checked to see if it was right with Bonita as they were in a different car. I thought it was really cool to be able to share that verse and didn't really think much of it as God trying to tell me something. This happened on a Sunday night. On Wednesday we have a bible study just Arnie, Bonita, and I, we do our study at home and then get together and go through it. And, as I was doing mine one of the questions said "Copy Proverbs 3:5-6 in the space below. How can this verse help you at a time when you can't understand what is happening in your life?". So, I guess you know what happened next and what God was telling me.

I am so glad that I can trust in God and let him control my future, even thought there are times when I forget to do that, he seems always there and ready to pull me right back to him when I am ready to listen. So, I just had to share this with you and remind you and me that I am where God wants me to be here and now.

Are you where God wants you to be? Are you living for the moment he has given you now and just leaving the future in his hands? Please Listen for God's voice and you will hear it, maybe not the real in person one but maybe through a friend or through music.

りんご。。。。。。

2007-11-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Hirosaki about two hours away from here, to go to a apple park. Hiroyuki came onto my computer at about 9:30 in the morning and said "Let's go for a drive!" and I said "Okay, when?". Then he said back "Now" and I said "AHhh, okay". When he said that I was on the phone with my mom, still in my PJ's and eating breakfast. So, I had to say goodbye to my mom, quickly eat breakfast and get ready! But, in the end it was well worth it, the day was bright and sunny and it was a great day for a car ride. Also, it is always a good day to spend with Atsuko and Hiroyuki, thanks again for taking me!!! So here are some pictures of the apple park and us choosing the perfect apples...

Then on the way to the apple park I saw some apple mirrors, in Japan they use mirrors on the roads so you can see traffic come other directions at intersections and around corners that you might not normally be able to see around. But near the apple park they had the mirrors dressed up as apples so we played with the trying to take pictures of us and a apple post box....

Was I in a painting?

2007-10-29T06:07:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder if you could be in a painting, because of how beautiful your surroundings are?
Well, on Sunday morning I got to experience it on a whole different level.

Here in Japan the leaves are changing colors, they are brighter and more vibrant than Canada's leaves, not to mention in the mountains way more trees. We left around 7:30 in the morning and headed to a lake about an hour away. It was going to be a nice day, so Hiroyuki and I decided to take the motorcycle while everyone else drove in cars. If I was in a car, I am sure I would still think the leaves were beautiful, but when you are on a bike you see everything around and feel more in your surrounding. I didn't get pictures while on the bike, for good reasons, smart people would know about!! But if you ever have a chance to experience it I recommend you don't turn it own. When we arrived at the lake, you have to take a boat across then you hike up and you can see waterfalls on the way, if you remember back in July, I went to this lake and put pictures on my blog. Even though, I know showing you pictures won't do the beauty I saw justice, I am going to show you some I took and hopefully you understand a little about HOW I WAS IN A PICTURE LAST SUNDAY..

Another Member.....

2007-10-27T00:55:00.001-06:00

Today, my Japanese teacher Took me to the Library and helped me choose some good books to read and pretty much made me sign up for an account all by myself!! It was hard but also a good experience. As we were at the Library, images of school flashed through my mind, it always seems like teachers are telling me to go to Libraries. Even though the past few years I have started Reading in my free time and enjoying it, I still could not push myself to go to a Library here and rent a Japanese book. But I did it and now I can go all the time, MAYBE. Not going to lie one of the books I got was a Japanese picture dictionary and the other was a high kids level book, but a good start I guess. It seems like I am a little kid learning to read again, it is kind of fun if I look at it that way.

Wow! Two posts in one day...

2007-10-22T03:49:00.000-06:00

I just want to thank Janet and Jeff for sending me a very special package. I have been without Gummies for a long time. For most people this wouldn't be a huge problem but, they are one of the things I really miss from Canada (maybe not as much as family and friends,hehe). I was walking up to my apartment on friday ready to crash in bed after a long week and opened my mail box to find a package. Packages always seem to come on the right dates when God thinks I need them. But it made my night a whole lot better. Not to mention they were Cinnamon Gummies my favorite kind........

ANYWAYS THANKS A LOT!!!!!

I love Fall.....

2007-10-21T20:10:00.000-06:00

How could you not like fall? The air is just cooling off, no more sweat or heat you can't stand, you can layer your clothes and be comfortable all day long! Not to mention all the beauty God shows us all around, like the leaves changing colors. I had the great experience yesterday morning of going up into the mountains and looking at the leaves(with other people who like taking pictures, thanks A and H for taking me) and going to a lake on friday with my ladies class(Thank you for taking me and treating me to lunch). They took me to the Hotel for lunch and it was a amazing lunch and I also got idea's for my future house at the hotel, hehe. Take a look at the photo's I got........

^This is the Hotel on the lake where we ate the amazing lunch^

^Then a walk down the lake to work off our lunch^

^And my amazing morning in the mountains^

My well needed weekend!

2007-10-06T19:06:00.000-06:00

This past weekend all the missionaries/english teachers got together and had a spiritual weekend. John and Cathy Wile came and lead the spiritual part, they are so great at it and also great people to just sit around and talk with! I had a great time spending it with all the other English teachers and John and Kim's kids! We went to a sand bath, played park golf (which most of are team gave up half way through!), and just had some well needed time together! Also, at the place we went to for our campa japanese family lived there, they did all the cooking and stuff. But, it was good for me cause then I didn't have to miss speaking japanese as much cause I could talk to the kids for a bit!

40 Days and 40 Nights?

2007-09-21T19:16:00.000-06:00

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered."
-Genesis 7:19

This is what a lot of people felt was going to happen to us here in Akita last monday! If you look at the pictures below you can see if this river got any higher it was going to come over the wall and wreck everything!

And.. It even threatened the rice fields!

Yet, it stopped early on tuesday morning and the waters receded and are once again back to a normal level. Every time it rains like this and threatening floods come, God gives us these verses:

"And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."
-Genesis 9:11-13

So I encourage you when you see rain to think of this verse and what happened in the bible and what God promises!

Then all that is left to do is smile and enjoy the rain, go puddle jumping or something!!

KYOTO!!

2007-09-15T22:27:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from my trip to kyoto!!

^This is the Shinkansen(Bullet Train) My first time so exciting^

^These ones are from Amanohashidate^

^This is Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto^

^These are from the Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple in Kyoto, with it's many Torii's(red gates)^

^These are from the Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto, the last two are my most favorite pictures from kyoto^

Those are most of my pictures, just joking I have about two hundred, if you want to see more I can show you at a later date but my blog should only be so long and I don't want anyone to be bored. Please Enjoy.

TOKYO!!!

2007-09-12T21:46:00.000-06:00

I know I am a little behind here and I am so sorry but here are some pictures from Tokyo. Then Kyoto next, hehe!!

^The pictures above are from Tokyo Disney Sea^

^The pictures above are from Yokohama in Tokyo^

^The pictures above are from Shibuya in Tokyo^

What's in your backyard?

2007-08-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Well, normally we take the beauty around our home for granted! I know I did in Calgary. I would once in a while stop and think something is beautiful or interesting, but I rarely took the time to do so! When I was home for a vacation I took a whole different approach to my home city and it's surroundings! Because for most of the time I was with my Japanese students I tried to see it through there eyes and capture it's beauty! I would like to post some pictures now and if you live in Calgary please think about all the beauty you are missing if you sit at home on a day off or just get to busy to see! If you are not from Calgary please enjoy the pictures and maybe consider Calgary as your next place to visit, I am sure I can find somewhere for you to sleep!

Back in Takanosu

2007-08-23T00:29:00.000-06:00

Well I have officially arrived back in Takanosu! I could say I'm back home, in a way it feels like it cause this is the first place I have had a home of my own, but then it doesn't feel like home cause I have no family here and I miss my friends in Calgary! I have many good friends here and people take care of me here. I was looking forward to coming back, I think because in my heart God is telling me my work here is not finished and I feel like this is where I should be. I love the food here I really looked forward to coming back and eating it, also the culture and the people. I came back to Takanosu and instantly felt relaxed. I look forward to the next five months and what God has planned for me here in Takanosu! Also I would appreciate prayers for when I come back home for I don't fully know what I am doing and need God's guidance! I would like to thank everyone at home that spent time to hang out with me. It was great to be home and see everyone. When I got home I felt after being gone for 8 months or so, I was still able to just fall into my life there and have a good time. I can't wait to come back for good and spend lots more time with everyone! All my photo's are still to come I arrived back here yesterday at 8am and had my first class at 10:30am and have just been going ever since! I think I got talked into climbing a mountain tomorrow but after that I hope to put some pictures up!

Please Forgive Me......

2007-07-31T08:05:00.000-06:00

I have been really busy and have been slacking on doing my blog! Here are a few things I have done. I will keep it short and just hit on a few key points. Hopefully I will get back into the swing of this and blog more often!

This is one of the hundred's of pictures I took at the Takanosu fireworks festival! It's a smily face!

These are from a waterfall we went to. You take a boat over the lake then you have to hike to the waterfall, but there is a bunch of little ones on the way. Then I tried to feed the fish, but you see what happened! I fell in, hehe!

This is a day when I spent it with my mom's class and there kid's. First we went to a Kimono store that one of my student's family owns, then we went blueberry picking!

Then one of my student's mother, dressed me up in a yukata for the Takanosu festival.

Also, last night I made dinner for my Japanese teacher and I might have turned out to be and okay Cook in two ways. I made Breaded Chicken(baked), Honey Glazed Carrots, Garlic mashed potatoes, and a Mandarin Almond salad. She said it was good and I didn't burn anything, so I am proud, hehe!

Hope to write again soon!

New home....

2007-07-06T07:39:00.000-06:00

Well I am a little late on this update as I have been very busy. But the little plant of mine needed a bigger home. I tried to say it didn't just cause I liked the pot it was in. But my Japanese teacher convinced me that I was just being selfish and needed to focus on the plants needs!! So, she showed up to teach me last week with a big pot in her hand!! Hehe, she wants to be part of helping the little guys grow!! So we replanted him and moved him onto my back patio. As we replanted them I had a strip of wild flower seeds that came in a Starbucks card My aunt Sue sent me so we added them to the pot to see what would happen. So he can get some well needed room and sun. Here are some pictures of our adventures. (I should also note that my hands we totally clean and My japanese teachers hand were full of dirt after).
This is Megumi all ready to get her hands dirty!

This is showing you the size of pot the little guy is upgrading to!

This is my idea of replanting, shhh!!

I wish I could say I tried to get my hands dirty.. Hehe!!

And... finally after all the pain it went through we have him in his new pot and out on my patio, good luck little fella!!

Rose festival adventure!

2007-06-25T06:02:00.001-06:00

On sunday we had sometime to spare so I suggested we go to see the rose festival they had going on. So off we went and I took lots of pictures which I have found in Japan as a favorite past time. So here are a few of them for you to enjoy.

MY NEW GOAL!

2007-06-23T06:24:00.000-06:00

I have decided to share with you my new goal in Japan, and keep you updated as I continue to nurious it and help it grow. It all started at a Convient Store. One day I was deciding which drink I should buy as I was heading to the train station. As most of you know I am pretty indecisive because I am pretty much happy with anything. In Japan the drinks sometimes have little gifts with them, so one of the little gifts caught my eye. This gift included a pot, some dirt, and a few seeds. Needless to say I made my mind on what drink I was getting. I brought it home and put it all together! I was thinking nothing would happen but to my surprise about two weeks later it is showing life. So as it grow I thought I would share the experience with you. Let me remind you that this came on a pop bottle so the pot is very little. I knew you wouldn't believe me if I showed you the picture so I took a picture of it with a Blistex container(lip conditioner). I hope you have fun sharing this experience with me and since you are sharing the experience please feel free to give me any pointers. This is actually the first plant I have ever planted and grew all by myself. Also the type of plant it is is a Cosmos, If you know what that looks like when it blooms please let me know as I have no clue, but I guess I look forward to a surprise as well. ALSO WE NEED A NAME!! ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Another year older...

2007-06-19T00:06:00.000-06:00

My birthday was great but lets just say we are all happy I don't eat like this everyday. these past two weeks I have had at least six pieces of cake. And they weren't all small. Also not to mention two pieces of cake for someone else's birthday. Let's just say I will be happy not to see cake and eat it for a while. Also everyone was great to me here, I had a group of friends take me out for dinner and it was great, a ladies class that took me for lunch, the Pastor in Aikawa had me over to his house for dinner we played karuta and had a fun time, my Japanese parents had me over for yakiniku ( japanese bbq), and many other things it seemed like a long birthday, but it was weird not to have family around! I thank everyone here that made me so welcome over my birthday it really meant a lot. I also thank everyone for the cards and gifts from home it was good to hear from you and have a little bit of home come to me. here are a few pictures of the cakes I ate. of chourse I didn't eat any of the chocolate ones yuck, hehe!!!

My Cry for HELP!!

2007-06-04T22:42:00.000-06:00

Today is the second day in a row I have woken up with my blankets on the floor and sweating so much it disgusted even me. I can only relate this to one thing. Sam would understand. One night I stayed with sam at a house she was watching. Some time that night we accidently turned on the fire place. At about 3am I woke up because I was so hot and sam had all the lights on and windows open, except it was about 40 above outside so windows open wasn't doing much. We woke up soaked in sweat. This is what I feel like here, though it is only 20 above out the humidity is about 82%. I will not make it through the summer alive if I can not think of a solution to this, Because the weather only gets hotter and more humid. I can't fall asleep without a blanket over me, so I have to get used to sleeping without one. If you have any other suggestion on how I can stay alive this summer, please let me know!!!!! Update to come on sweat amount!!

I am in a foreign Country!

2007-06-02T00:48:00.000-06:00

Today I had another reminder that I am in a foreign Country. This morning I went to the gym. As I walked in I expected to see the same thing I usually see two times a week. But today I walked in and they had a table set up and they told me I didn't have to pay today as everything is free so people can come and try the gym and pool out. So I wrote my name out and he handed me a sheet of paper, explaining when all the demonstrations were. I couldn't read it cause the majority of it was kanji. So I asked him if he could explain it to me a bit. After about 15 minutes(with a little English and a little Japanese) we pretty much had the one piece of paper fully explained. Then I didn't know if I had to go to all these things if I was getting in free but he said it was okay to just do what I normally do. Then as I was leaving he showed me a table and I didn't know if he wanted me to pick something for free or if I had to pay for it so I said I was okay and started walking away. But he said wait and he took me to the table and gave me a draw box. I got to draw a letter and get that as a prize. I got a little hanging basket that you can put up in your shower. I was one of those times that you just wish you could speak fluently and just chat it up with them.

Please come in.....

2007-05-26T07:19:00.001-06:00

Well I thought I would share a little bit of my everyday life here in Japan with you. This is not only my apartment in Japan, but it is also my very first apartment that is completely my own. So please come in.....

Watch you step as you come in and please take off your shoes in the genkan (front entry).

Do you need to use the washroom or would you like a drink as we walk by...

How about a Starbucks coffee or maybe a shower....

Please come into my room and make yourself at home.....

Thanks for visiting and you are welcome to come back, the door is always open. Please shut the door on your way out, I am going to lay down for a nap......

DIET COKE or as they like to call it here NO CALORIE COKE

2007-05-24T16:52:00.000-06:00

When Erika left, bless her heart she got me started on the necessities of food supplies in my apartment. She left me with Goma oil (sesame oil), sembai (rice crackers), Ice cream, Cabbage, and a diet coke. Just before she was leaving I was gradually drinking my 500 ml cokes slower and slower. I don't know why it started taking me a week to finish then two weeks, maybe because I was not always drinking it other places. It was also starting to taste sweeter and sweeter and I am not a fan of sweets. But I wrote is post on the sole purpose of letting you know, last night I finally finished the one she left for me 20 days ago. Don't let me lead you astray, I still love diet coke and can not wait to go grocery shopping and to buy a new one and see how far it goes. Thanks again Erika for the wonderful supply. Sorry about the pictures of my apartment I have not had a day off where I haven't been doing anything recently. I have saturday off and hope to get my life under control once again. Until then...........

Fighting a bush.....

2007-05-14T00:30:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I got to experience something that not many foreigners get to experience in Japan. I went out in the mountains with eight other japanese people to look for Mountain Vegetables. After getting up at 4am, we finally got to the mountain around 7am. I thought it might just be a little walk on a nice path just picking them as we walked down it but, wow was I mistaken.

This is me after a couple of the ladies got me dressed up and ready to go. I look huge cause the pants were three sizes to big so I had them rolled up under my jacket and shoved into my boots. The boots we rubber so we could go through water and mud and the had huge grips on the bottom so I wouldn't fall. I had a backpack on my back that they had given me so I could hold all my vegetables. Then I had a baseball cap on and a sort of bandana on over top of it to cover my cheeks. Also in this photo you don't see my gloves but the blue and white gloves kind of finished of the whole outfit. At this point I was glad we were somewhere in the mountain and not many people would see me.

Silly me, I thought this was the nice easy path we would take.

But really looking at this picture you could say there was no path.

When we came to this river I thought 'oh well I guess we better turn around'. But they just hopped in and started walking so the adventure continued. There were definitely more rivers to come throughout the day.

There were like a thousand different kinds of edible plants to remember and I had to keep asking if you could eat this or that. If it looked good to me I thought you could eat it. Everyone was laughing at me. But here are just a couple of things you had to keep your eyes open for. The first one is bamboo this one was to big to pick but they hid in the grass and near trees for the most part. The second one, if you look close at the top of the tree you see some greens on the top of it, that's what we needed, after pushing the tree and three of us working together we finally go them and more to come.

These are all the veggies that three of us picked in about two hours, but I don't really count I was still trying to figure out what's edible at the end of the trip.

Finally after all my hard work the couple that invited me decided to reward me by showing me how to make tempura and I also got to eat some. So this is what the stuff we picked looks like on the table. It was amazing, it always tastes better when you pick the food yourself!

Miss yah Erika!!!

2007-05-08T00:07:00.000-06:00

As many of you know Erika has left. She has left me here in Japan with no one my age that I can talk to. But I will survive and get through it. But I thought I would take this time and reflect on good times(some not so good) Erika and I spent together. Hope you enjoy this buddy.

This is when the paparazzi took pictures of us. Which seems they can't get a good picture of us either!

Snowboarding in Japan, pretty much the best thing ever!

opps.. except for the fat in Erika's lunch!

We were the only two that were amazed with the push window.

I tried to convince her to buy these glasses!

Doesn't she look good in a head band!

We were just driving in a car and yet somehow Erika ends up getting her hair to look like this!

We were debating buying these glasses so we took this picture to see what they looked like on us.

I saved this one for last cause I wasn't sure I really wanted to put it on, but I convinced myself it was worthy, this is kind of a reflection on Erika's and my Valentine's Day!!!

These are only a few but they sum up why I am going to miss yah Erika!!

Relax, what's that?

2007-05-01T00:42:00.000-06:00

Well as most of you know I am not a fan of sitting around and doing nothing. I think that is one reason God put me in Takanosu for the next year. My line of events started on Friday. We went with a couple of classes and some kid to Hirosaki to see the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms). Then Saturday we went and made glass beads which was so much fun not to mention we got to drive by the ocean to get there. Also there was one place on the way back with Sakura so we stopped, they had a kind of mini go cart thing and of course I got everyone into it. It was a beautiful day and a great ride. Saturday evening we went for honey bread with a bunch of friends then for coffee and got home around eleven. Then Sunday I taught sunday school for the junior high girls in Aikawa, it was good but also hard because of the language barrier. And for all of you who ask I am not fluent yet! Then back to our church for service, which after we quickly left because we went with most of the people from church up to Hirosaki once more to see the Sakura, not a big deal for me cause it was totally different from before cause we got to see them at night. Then monday up at the crack of dawn to go to a ladies convention about two hours away. Great speaker, but it gets tiring listening to Japanese and translation. After the convention was over we stopped Kakunodate to see more Sakura, which were all lined up on a ridge over looking a river, once again beautiful. That was my weekend of relaxation! Here are some pictures, if you want more please let me know.

This is a picture of are scenery on the ride to the bead making place.

This is Tomoko and I on the mini go-cart thing.

Here are some Sakura pictures I took many and it was a hard decision to decide which ones to put on my blog!

2007-04-24T07:32:00.000-06:00

Well first off I would like to say sorry for not posting anything recently. I have been very busy and have not really had time to stop. I have a lot of other things on my list to get accomplished and am slowly getting through them. I finally started my Japanese Class on the 18th, I will never forget my first mistake learning a new language. We spent all class learning and Bonita walked by and Japanese teacher told me to tell Bonita my name and stuff. But for some reason I thought she wanted me to ask Bonita her name. So instead of saying "my name is Kaila" it came out "What am I ?". Well that is my funny story for all of you, I hope you get a kick out of it cause everyone here is and I think it's great. But back to the real reason I did this blog, which was to show you all some of the pictures I got on a few resent hikes I went on. I hope the pictures can show a little of what I Saw, I know it won't show the full affect. Every time I see things here I can really see how amazing God is in what he has given us to enjoy! Also sorry there are so many photo's I couldn't narrow them down any further!

These first photo's are from Nanakura Dake. A mountain about 25 minutes away!
This a tree that must have been struck by lightning.

These are just a few pictures on random that I took on the mountain.

This Guy is called a Kamashika, isn't he cute and ugly at the same time.

Then today we headed to Shiraito Taki, which Taki means Waterfall!

I got a Nalgene sent to me from some great family members and this is a picture of me breaking it in and filling it up at a spring.

Sendai and Matsushima Bay

2007-04-03T00:04:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I headed up to Sendai to get together and have a fun weekend with five other LB English teachers. Below are some of the things we did.

This is when we all first got into Sendai on Friday. We were all starving and thought Mcdonald's would be a good idea!

From left around... Brian, myself, Christine, Dan, Sarah, and Erika!

Girls getting into the shopping this already and we had only been there for a few hours!

Us taking a picture on the street that lays in the centre of Sendai!

Took a little time to remind myself what a city looks like!

Having Dinner at a local Mexican joint. Not only did we get great food but we also got entertainment!

Getting ready to take the boat out to Matsushima Bay...

Feeding the birds from the boat!

Finally getting a few pictures that did not have a bird in front of the view.....

Us on Fukuurajima Island...

Then finally what is a weekend away without all the girls going to get pampered. This is us after three hours at the Beauty Salon getting massages, hand massages, and hair cut and cleaned.

Me, a Camera, and a Statue...

2007-03-24T18:41:00.000-06:00

Erika and I hopped a Train to Akita on Tuesday to get out of our little hick town if only for a day. When we first got there we went to Starbucks, then pretty much spent six hours shopping and eating. Then on our way to meet Sarah at her apartment we stopped cause I wanted a picture of a statue, but we ened up taking at least 30 each just cause it was fun and made for a cool back drop. Then we stayed in bed until 12 the next day at Sarah's. Then we went for lunch to Mos Burger with Brian. They introduced me to the world of Mos Burger and I got to say it's not to bad! Then we headed home and rented the first few episodes of Prison Break, only to get hooked on it. The crazy part is there is only one copy of it in this town. So we are anxiously awaiting the return of number five so our marathon can go on... Here are a few pictures of Me and the Statue..

Finally......

2007-03-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

Today I was just sitting upstairs talking to Bonita, when Arnie brought me an envelope for me that came in the mail. Just to let you know the only thing I could actually understand was my name. So I opened it.... It was my new bank card for my Japan account. Which is probably not as exciting as you were hoping. But you know all the papers you get in the same envelope when you first get a new bank card? Well, I finally had an excuse not to read them. But now I officially have a bank account in Japan, how many people in Calgary can say that?

On another note, but still about mail. I want to inform you about what I have gotten in the mail from my family and friends so far. To many people it might not be as exciting as it was for me. About three weeks after I arrived I got a card from Pa, Nan, Sara, 2-E, and Janet, which was great in it's self but lets not forget that it was a Starbucks card. Then a little after that I got a card from my sister which was great written in both English and Japanese just in case I couldn't read English. Just before Valentine's Day I got a parcel from Nan and Pa, only expecting things from them, I opened it to find TWO POUNDS OF STARBUCKS COFFEE sent to me from Cathy and my crew. Also, A little package from Mikayla with a few teddy bear which I may or may not sleep with and a card. Then from Nan and Pa I got another teddy which might have found his way to my bed as well and a book titled "The Gospel According To Starbucks". Life was great for me that day! Then just a few days ago I got a giraffe's sent in the mail, again how great can you get, Grandpa and Grandma sent me one of those foam mailing cards, I am probably one of the rare 19 year olds that would get a kick out of that, but I guess that's what makes me me!

EARTHQUAKE

2007-03-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

How many of you can say you have been in an earthquake? I officially have. The evening started off as normal. Erika and I finished our classes and we decided to hang out and make bake apples, and with our reputation of cooking our apples were okay but a little soupy. We were just chanting away on my bed looking at some things on my computer. When all of a sudden it felt like the wall behind us was being shaken by a big over weight man... Then the whole building at that moment Erika and I exchanged a look of horror. we grasped onto each other just in time for it all to be over. We were still settling down when we turn from being scared to excited. Why did we get excited you might ask, well now we can not only say we have been in a earthquake but that we have been in a earthquake in Japan! Erika was going to head home right after her class but she was starving, so she stayed for a bit. We know God was the maker of this plan for Erika so she was not stuck on the bridge or alone when it happened. Thank you God!

My future chanting Neighbor!!!!!

2007-03-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

So Erika keeps telling me stories about my future apartment, like how it smells when you walk into the door after a long walk out in the fresh air, like how you can never get the towels clean no matter what you do and you get out of a fresh shower only to dry off on a smelly towel, or how the water won't go down the drain so you try and use chopsticks to clean out the drain only to find long black things coming out, Erika calls that MOLD, also never getting your clothes to smell fresh because there is no dryer and well the ventilation is not that good, but best of all having a chanting neighbor and a group home moving in around her. I always laughed but really never believed it was true. Until today. We were walking to Erika's apartment, my future apartment, and I was coming over for a sleep over. We got to the apartment building and we were heading up the stairs to her place and this man starts walking down, wait you need an image. He was an older gentleman in about his 60's, fairly skinny, he was holding a plastic coffee cup with who knows what in it, his head was down only looking at the stairs, and best of all his mouth was open and now that I think about it I believe his tongue was hanging out as well. At first I really never thought much about this man and keep walking up the stairs, but when he got out of sight Erika turns to me and says "That's my Neighbor". I burst out laughing mostly because I really didn't believe it but also cause this is what I get to look forward to for a whole year in the near future. Erika and I jokingly say that the group home moved in around her while she was here but now World Missions is putting me in a group home...... Sometimes we wonder why God puts us places and what he has planned for us in certain situations and sometimes we have to learn just to trust him and go where he leads. Lets just say I am not quite trusting him yet in this situation and I know I should, so I am asking for your prayers to help me get through moving into a group home and dealing with a chanting neighbor....

SNOWBOARDING IN JAPAN!!!

2007-02-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of my day snowboarding!!!

Erika and myself at the top of the hill!!!

Dean and Brian at the top of the hill!!

Well... the picture says it all really, but the snowboard that I had some how was wrecked so I had to rent a board and this is what it said on it. We all had a laugh about it at the top of the hill!!!

What a view we had from on the hill... here are some pictures check out the view!!!

This one is my favorite it almost looks like a dove and the light shinning down!!!

God sure did create some beautiful stuff for us to look at and enjoy!!!

Valentine's Day

2007-02-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

It started off as just another day here in Japan.... I was upstairs making lunch for Erika and myself, while planing my lessons for the day...... When all of a sudden I thought [Hey it's Valentine's Day today]. So when Erika came up I said happy Valentine's Day and gave her the only thing I had Sembei (rice cracker). Then we sat on the heated carpet and ate while we mourned about our day. Then we had this crazy idea to make cupcakes for the kids to decorate during class. Why not sounds like they type of thing the kids would love doing and it can't be that hard to make right???? Wrong.... By this I mean Erika and I should never attempt something like this last minute and in a hurry!!!!

These are the pictures we took at the begining. Then we didn't want to take any after, cause it turned haywire and didn't want any memories.... We had all different shapes, don't ask me how that happens. We made on batch white and on batch pink, but some how they turned out different shades like bright pink, brown pink, white, and brown; thankfully we didn't burn any though!!! But I guess you can't always have a perfect day!!

My day at the museum!!!

2007-02-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

Well I am trying to keep up but some how time just seems to slip through my fingers!!!! So I will continue to try harder!!!

Erika's friend Heather came to visit. Heather is on the left!

This is us in front of Happy Drugs, yes there is a store called Happy Drugs where I live!

Erika's morning class in Odate took us to the museum to see the Hina Dolls!!! It is a tradition that people set little ones up in there house (like a christmas tree) on girls day. And if the don't take them down before three days after the girls in the house will grow up and never get married!

This is the one Erika and I like to call the Break Dancing mouse!!!

It was the first day for this part of the museum to open so the people from the paper where there to take pictures. When we came in they said that it was really boring and asked if they could take pictures of us!!! This is me and Erika being followed around by the Paparazzi.

This is a picture for you Grandpa.... Look at the sizes of there equipment it like 1/4 the size of ours!!!

This is everyone who went to the museum!!! It was a fun day out!!!

This Entry is Dedicated to Sam!!!

2007-02-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Sam the pictures say it all. I saw them and had to take them. The first thing I thought about was you!!!

My Home Town!!!!!

2007-02-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

I had fans wanting pictures of where I live so here it goes!!! I will have more and better ones as time goes, but it gives you a general idea!!!

This is the church, where I will be living until May and where I will be working my whole time here!! I like it cause of the design it's different!!!

This is the bridge that I cross to get to pretty much everything!!! Train, Grocery Store, my apartment when I get it, and all the other stores in town!!!!

This is the view from the Bridge at least on one side. I love this view!!!!

This is just a picture of the beginning of Downtown main street. I will get a better one of this!!!

This is the grocery store where I get my groceries!! But if you look close you can see the little guy. They direct traffic in the grocery store parking lot, isn't that great!!!!

Well now you kind of have an image of where I live. Hope you enjoy it, maybe even enough to come visit me??????

Who want's to see pictures?

2007-02-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have some good pictures that I should show, so I kind of made it all one blog. Hope you enjoy it!

This is me and Erika having Starbucks in Akita, yeah for Starbucks I miss my daily drinks!

This is me in front of the sign that I thought was really funny "Three minutes Happiness". Isn't that great, I love the English here!

This is the best shirt I have ever seen and now wish that I had bought it.

This is Erika showing her true Alienation. We had to take lots of pictures to get it right, but I think this is the best one and Erika may beg to differ.

These are paper Cranes we made I made the light/bright green one on the right. Isn't it cute? But don't ask me to teach you cause I don't think I will remember.

This is called TAMAKIZUSHI it is sushi that you make in your hand and eat it was really good. I tried everything except for the raw tuna, cause I can't eat it, it's a texture thing , crazy hey!

Today is Setsuban Day, which means the day before the beginning of spring. The tradition is that everyone throws soya beans in there house to get rid of the bad and let the good in. They open every door in the house and literally throw soya beans everywhere. But now they use peanuts so you can eat them. A wonderful couple opened there house so I could try this holiday that's new to me. After opening every door then you put the peanuts in a basket and offer them at the alter, which most Japanese people have in there house to worship there ancestors.

If you look closely you can see the basket on the top shelf. The lady of the house lights the candles and prays. If you ask who they are praying to they say they don't know. I don't want to say tradition but they are worshiping something because of a tradition. Then you take the peanuts and throw them all around the house.

If you look really closely again, you will see the peanuts I threw, not going to lie it was a lot of fun, that was the first time I was asked to throw food around someone's house. When you throw the peanuts you are suppose to yell "Oniodasu" which means out with the bad(Devil). It's so hard to say devil though cause they don't use it here in the same context we do, it's not the devil we think it's more related to bad things. I think this is a lot like we as christians do in our hearts out with the bad and in with the good. Only we don't need to throw peanuts, we open our hearts for God to come in and chase the devil out. Then when you are done throwing them and having all the fun you have to pick them up and eat as many as years you are old, I was so happy cause I was only 19 years old and I was still full from dinner.

Well that brings you up to date on my picture's hope to put more on soon.

たかのす!

2007-01-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Today was my first excursion on the train all by myself. All went well, I was really early and was looking at signs to see if I could read them. I saw one sign("たかのす") and said to myself I think I can say that one. So I sounded it out Ta-Ka-No-Su, then said out loud "hey, that's where I live", it was great the first sign I have ever actually read in Japanese. I wanted to tell the world but no one was around me. So I thought I would Blog it. Hope you get a little enjoyment out of it. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I THINK IM TURNING JAPANESE

Welcome Kaila!!!!

2007-01-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today we officially had a welcome party for me. We had everyone come and had gospel time and sang lots of songs. Then we had a get to know kaila thing where I got asked lots of questions and a who knows kaila best game. Then I realized while playing with a bunch of little girls that I think I can handle this being in a different country not knowing the language, because by the end of the night I had a little possy following me around and I don't even think they understood a word I said. The only thing that is hard is sitting with a bunch of adults and not being able to say anything let alone follow a simple conversation, but I pray every night to wake up fluent and maybe one day it might happen or I am going to have to work really hard on my Japanese skills. If you have any suggestions on how to wake up fluent please let me know, I would more than appreciate it!!

I THINK I'M FINALLY OVER JET LEG!!!!!

2007-01-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

For the past two nights I have slept the whole night through with out waking up at unruly hours in the night. Also, today is the first day that I am not tired and trying to run off to bed at three in the afternoon. Yesterday was my first officially day staring to get to know the students I will be teaching, I definitely have a range of students. Old to young and loud to quite. You would think that because I am outgoing and active that that's the kind of class I would enjoy teaching, which I do don't get me wrong, But WOW it's much easier to teach the ones that are really quite and only speak up when they have to answer a question (Maybe that's why my teachers didn't like me!). Overall I will get used to this teaching thing. The kids love it because they can have conversations in Japanese and I have no clue what they are saying, that's why i'm trying to learn fast. I pray that I could just wake up fluent, it would be much easier. Well now that i'm over the Jet Leg, I have to make sure I still get rest to keep up to my brain which is trying to work double time learning a new language and keeping up with the old one.

In Japan!!

2007-01-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well, as you all know I am officially in Japan. I have been trying to add to my Blog, but you are going to have to give me a few days to catch up with the time change. I am getting tired around 4pm and Dean is not letting me go to bed until at least 9pm. I guess it is going to help in the long run, but right now I am just trying to make it till bed. Today I got my first Starbucks since landing in Akita. Which was really exciting! Tomorrow I head to Takanosu with Arnie and Bonita and will not get a drink from Starbucks for awhile. Today was my first day of orientation it was great not only did I get to learn about the culture, but I also got to learn how to make some food which was really tasty!! I miss you all and can't wait to tell you guys more!! 16 hour time change, i'm heading to bed!!!

GIRLS NIGHT IN!!!

2006-12-27T01:55:00.000-07:00

It started off as a average yet innocent evening, Mikayla came over to my house and hung out with my grandparent (by hanging out I mean saying hello). We decided to watch a movie (mean girls) after the movie (which was historical) we felt very confident in the lives that we lead. We decided to each put on three hoodies and three sets of PJ pants, Mikayla topped it off a dress coat and I opted for the vest, and since we looked so outstanding (Hubba,Hubba) we decided to model them with a walk around the lake (we officially did get honked at once). On our walked we decided we wanted bagels from T** H******, and since Starbucks was not open to get beverages from we concluded on slurpees and Mikayla went all out buying us Chips, Fruit gummies, and Super sour whips. When we got home we jumped into bed with all our treasure. And well, thats when I decided it needed to become documented for all to read and someday try the excursion for themselves. If you need any advice about a girls night in we defiantly can help you there (We can not help you with the girls night out though).

Final word from Mikayla -- When you go out at two in the morning don't expect to get everything Bagels or Fuzzy Peaches

Final Quote --- "Expect the unexpected"

A Day With My Nephew!!!!!

2006-12-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today I went and picked up my nephew around noon. We went for lunch, then after a lot of convincing took him for a hair cut, we went from really long skater hair to short spiky hair. After, we had to go get my car washed with the rainbow soap, he wanted to do it again and again. We made our way to "ToysRUs" and spent at least an hour looking at every single toy. With a nice hair cut comes a picture.... We went and saw Santa, after talking Santa's ear off we went to Indigo and spent, no word of a lie, two hours reading books, playing with Thomas trains, and listening to music. Think that would wipe a kid out, nope, we ate dinner in the food court. After, we went to what Starbucks like to call a CHEER PARTY, and for all of you who have been to one or have worked one you know how success full they are (you get one kid and your happy!). We had Miss Clause reading books to the kids, we made post cards, decorated cookie, and sang christmas carols. After meeting at least ten new friends and making about five girl friends with my coworkers, it was finally time to call it a night. Somewhere throughout this busy day Brandon whispered "I love you" and you think that would be enough to make the whole day worth while, then he asks me on the way home if he can stay with me forever which brought on a long conversation to remind him how much he loved my brother and his mom. When I dropped him off he gave me a long hug and said thank you, then he was off doing his own thing at home. Driving home I realized how much I am going to miss my nephew's and the rest of my family when I'm gone.I know it's only a year and there is a thing called a phone but no days like today where he can just lean over and whisper "I Love You".

Intro to Japan

2006-11-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

I would Just like to say thank you to all of you who have supported me financially and through pray. Today during church I did a speech on how the lord lead me to where I am today and what I will be doing in Japan when I get over there. Just before church I was already to go up and start talking, just before I went up my brother and his little family come in the door. We sat down then my father walked in. I almost started to cry tears of joy, That was an answer to my prayers if I have ever seen one. All I have to say is "Thank you Lord".