Back in the Swing of Things.

One year down. Crazy to think we only have about ten months to go. We've been back in Japan for a few weeks now and we already feel in the swing of things.

Our trip home was great. Just what we needed. The time went by fast... three weeks is just not long enough. But, we took advantage of every second and filled our time with all the best activities being home can offer. Of course, there was a lot we didn't get to do and a lot of people we didn't get to see, but we know the next ten months will go by even faster than the last year.

From here on out, the plan is to focus on getting the most out of the last ten months as possible. We want to take advantage of any activity or experience we missed out on last year. There are plenty of restaurants, tourist attractions, hidden treasures, and random adventures to enjoy and we can't wait. One such activity was renting a boat at Nakajima park on a sunny afternoon. Check:
This weekend, we'll be going to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters baseball game with our friends Natsuko and Kiyomi. First live sports game since we've been here. Hopefully, we'll go to a soccer game later this year. Go sports! Or something.

For the most part, we're off to a good start for our last year in Japan.

Big In Japan.

The rumors are true. I'm big in Japan... Or, I just happen to be one of very few foreign, English speaking, female, twenty-somethings in the Sapporo area. I'm going to go with the latter. My first shot at stardom came when I got an opportunity to make a recording for the Sapporo City Subway. Basically, I told passengers that they should inform subway staff if they notice any suspicious behavior or activity. I heard my voice for the fist time today getting onto the subway. Is it weird I wanted to tell the woman next to me, "That voice you just heard... mine."

Second opportunity came less than a week later. My agent (Andrew Lopez, a.k.a. my co-worker) informed me of an audition for a Mazda commercial. Mazda was looking for two young women to play the parts of school teachers for elementary kids. The team was from Tokyo, but they were shooting the commercial in Sapporo. After a call back I got the "gig" (as we say in the biz). We had to wait out the rain, but eventually, we spent a whole day shooting the commercial. It aired in the beginning of July, nation wide. Here it is, if you want to see it. Scroll down until you see the Biante car. Click on the Biante and let it load. Don't expect too much, I'm barely in the commercial. If you pause it right after you see "I stop" I'm on the right. You can also see my hand waving at the end.

I know, big stuff. What can I say. It was a fun experience though, something I'll never forget. I'm just waiting for the big offers to roll in.

Myself and the other "school teacher" Jo after hair and make-up. She's a ballerina from Australia. Her Japanese was amazing, I'm a little jealous of her.

One Year Anniversary.

On May 25, 2008 we became a family. This year has gone by fast and it's hard to believe we've been married for a year. During our anniversary weekend we spent a lot of time reminiscing, laughing, and talking about our engagement and, what is now, our first year of marriage.

We honestly don't know how we made it through our engagement. Between graduating, moving, the play, the commencement speech, finishing up senior projects/papers, working, preparing to move to Japan, other weekly commitments, and of coarse, planning the wedding in less than four months, life was a little crazy. The pressure was intense at times, but thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family we made it out alive. We want to take this moment and thank everyone that helped us out during that insane time. And, we apologize for any weird behavior during those few months. Normal eating and sleeping habits went out the window sometime around March and with them went normal social interaction. We're better now.

Our first year of marriage has been many things. It has been challenging, adventurous, romantic, surprising, and at times, absolutely hilarious. Really, we couldn't ask for anything better. We feel thankful for the last 12 months and are looking forward to the next 12.

Golden Week.

It's been a while and we apologize. We've been in desperate need of sunshine and warm weather. Now that it's arrived we have a refreshed outlook on life and we're ready to blog again.

Today is the last day of Golden Week. A string of national holidays creating a five day weekend. Constitutional Memorial Day, Green Day, Children's Day, and Substitute Holiday are celebrated Sunday through Wednesday. For Joe and I, Golden Week meant Spring Cleaning Day, Cherry Blossom Day, and Sushi Lesson Day. Not to mention sleeping in, watching movies, enjoying the sun, and studying for the G.R.E.

On Saturday, we took a long walk to pick up some supplies for our Spring cleaning and on the way explored a bit more of our extended neighborhood. We woke up early on Sunday to get a good start on exfoliating our home and finished off the day with trip to Costco. The next day, we made it out to Maruyama park for a BBQ with some co-workers and friends. Eventually, we wondered up toward the field of cherry blossoms trees while we enjoyed a chocolate covered banana and the sunset. Tuesday brought hours of studying for Joe as well as our first sushi lesson. My co-worker and friend, Natsuko, came over and brought a friend of her's named Kiyomi. Natsuko walked us through the different steps of making sushi rolls. After dinner Joe left to meet one of his co-workers for drinks while Natsuko, Kiyomi, and myself watched Mama Mia. Finally, Wednesday was a day to relaxe and enjoy the remains of Golden Week.





A golden week indeed!

Unlikely Papists

In addition to challenging our ideas about acceptable food condiments (mayonnaise on pizza) and cold medication (Chinese herbs instead of NyQuil), living in Japan has forced us to rethink the North American notion of church shopping. A couple weeks ago, Kellyn and I decided to resume our search for a church home. Previous Sunday mornings spent trying to bumble our way through sermons and praise choruses in Japanese caused us to opt for the only English language church service in Sapporo: 12:30 mass at the downtown Roman Catholic cathedral.

Despite our attempt at an inconspicuous entrance, a 6’6’’ African acolyte approached us less than 45 seconds after we sat down in a pew near the back. After a warm hello, he asked if we would lead the Old Testament and Epistle readings for the day. Our perplexed stares caused him to open our service bulletins for us, point to the passages in Isaiah and Thessalonians, and repeat his question. We sheepishly consented and moments later found ourselves processing toward the altar in the company of the priest and said acolyte. Kellyn and I now made up two of the four people leading the mass. Wondering how we ended up here, I remembered someone once saying that we don’t find Jesus, he finds us. It must be roughly the same with Catholicism.
We stood altarside awaiting our cue. I glanced out at the pews and tried to guess how many of the 40 or so congregants knew that Kellyn and I had no idea what we were doing. Following the opening lines of the liturgy, Kellyn read from Isaiah and led the repository psalm as if she’d been a papist since birth. I then voiced my best rendition of Pauline prose into the microphone, after which we scurried back to our distant pew and spent the remainder of the service comfortably out of sight.

At the conclusion of the service, we were called to the front, asked to introduce ourselves to the congregation, and invited to practice Christmas carols with the international choir for Christmas Eve mass. Our acceptance of this invitation led to a meal and a three-hour practice during which I learned that I don’t know how to sing any other part but the melody, which isn’t helpful because I’m a baritone. We left the cathedral not sure if we were fully prepared to sing in the Christmas Eve mass, but, then again, we weren’t prepared to help lead the mass on our first visit either.

I’ve often heard that churches outside North America function more like families than country clubs, but, until two weeks ago, I didn’t understand that this might make church shopping a little more difficult. Our friends at the cathedral viewed us more as participants than onlookers, and I don’t think it would make much sense to them for us not to come back. This is perhaps a much-needed challenge to our conception of church hunting.

Thanksgiving and Christmas

We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas! The season wasn't quite the same without our friends and family, but all in all we had a wonderful holiday season. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to send us various holiday items that helped make our celebrations so special. In addition, we are truly blessed every time we are able to talk with or receive an email from anyone back home.

Our non-turkey dinner turned out to be rather delicious. We weren't able to find all the necessary ingredients to make a complete traditional dinner, but we came pretty darn close. We had a chicken (thank you Costco), mashed potatoes, German potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and rolls. We also started with an appetizer of cheese, olives, and crackers and finished off the meal with pumpkin pie and yukimi daifuku (You might know yukimi daifuku as mochi. Mochi is actually just the rice that covers the ice cream.).


Christmas was just as memerable. For those of you who aren't aware, Joe was born on Christmas. We decided to celebrate his birthday a couple days before. Kellyn took Joe out to dinner then they returned to their house for birthday cake and presents. Christmas Eve was spent Christmas caroling (see next blog for more info). On Christmas day we made french toast for breakfast, read the Christmas story, opened our presents, went to the fish market to pick out our crab, then prepared dinner. Cooking and cleaning the crab was a new experience for both of us, but it went better than we thought. The crab was scrumptious as was the garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and chocolate pie (until the pie fell on the floor).

We had a wonderful holiday and we hope all of you did as well. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Holidays in a Box

Last night we both got home after a rather long day at work and were looking forward to relaxing when we got our second knock on the door. The first knock was a plastic bag salesman. He came in the middle of cooking dinner... perfect timing. And about a hour after the first knock came the second. Initially, we thought Plastic Bag man was back for more. Thankfully, we were wrong. Since we were in the middle of dinner and we thought it was another salesman we dragged our feet in opening the door. When Joe finally did open the door what he saw was no salesman but our glorious mail carrier. He was just about to get back on his bike when Joe popped his head out. Thank you Lord for split seconds.

Turns out we had a rather hefty sized packed from our wonderful brother and sister-in-law, Chris and Kai. We had no idea what was inside so we tore into it with great excitement and curiosity. Like two children on Christmas day. The first item out of the box was a book. At that moment it became clear this box was indeed a care package. Kellyn could have stopped there; it was enough to know that the box was stuffed with little treasures, most of which can only be found in the States and it was stuffed full of love (cute line, huh?). Of coarse we didn't stop there. Within minuets the surrounding floor was covered with all kinds of treats. We won't name everything in the box, but here is a sample: pumpkin pie mix, taco seasoning, Christmas stockings, packages of thank you cards, salami, sharpie pens, books, DVD's, games, pictures and notes from them, and lots more.

We couldn't believe our eyes. All we could do was look at each other, laugh, and say "this is crazy." We truly feel blessed by their generous and thoughtful gift. THANK YOU CHRIS, KAI, OLIVIA, ANNA, AND MARY!!!

And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send us a card, an email, or given us a call. It truly does mean so much us. Life is really good here and we aren't planning on rushing home anytime soon. However, we miss our friends and family as well as those "comfortable" things back home that we often take for granted.