Trick or Treat!!

Who said that Halloween wasn't a celebrated in Japan??? It is true that many houses don't participate in the tradition of Halloween but the children sure do!!! First, Avery had a Halloween party at school today including a parade which we got to attend. The local newspaper was there taking pictures and asked specifically to take a picture of Avery...we will see if she makes it in the news.

Avery & teacher Ms. Yona

Tonight, we went out trick or treating around Honmoku-Wada (our neighborhood). Many houses didn't participate but the ones that did were packed!!! Kids were waiting in long lines for the treats. Many of the home owners dressed up themselves and joined in on the fun. Here are a few pics from this evening.


Ohhhh, and please feel free to leave any comments you want. Curtis set it up to where you don't have to have an account to leave a comment. You can just sign your name in the body of the comment and check the "anonymous" box. We really look forward to reading what you have to say.

Aren't they cute!!!

Japanese Cooking With A Twist of History

Tonight I made my first Japanese meal at home. I made Yakisoba, which is a noodle dish that is usually vegetarian. So I think even my sister would like it (hahaha). Here is a picture of the finished product. They made it for us at our welcome BBQ and they were nice enough to share their secret with me.

I thought I would give you a little history about the city we live in, Yokohoma, for you history buffs. Yokohoma, Japan's second largest city, has been a center for shipping, trade, foreign contact, and modern ideas since the mid-19th century. Formerly a small fishing village on the Tokaido road, it was made a treaty port in 1859; there followed an influx of foreign traders, especially Chinese and British, making it the biggest port in Asia by the early 1900's. The 1923 Kanto Earthquake wiped out 95% of the city, killing 40,000 people, then WWII bombing again destroyed half the city. After the war, Yokohoma became a base for US soldiers. By the 1970's, it was once more japan's largest port. The heart of the city is compact and walkable. (Eyewitness Travel Guides: Japan).

Ok...you didn't really think that I was THAT good at history did you?

Happy Birthday Curtis!

Yesterday, to celebrate Curtis's birthday, he and I went to a professional soccer game. The game was played at the Nissan Stadium and we were watching the Nissan F-Marinos. We had a really good time and the fans were NUTS! They chanted the ENTIRE time. Not just yelling, but actual chanting. It was really neat.

Tonight, Avery and I greeted him at the door with a cake that I made. We ate taco salad, that I made, and watched episodes of The Office that Avery and I got him from the states for his birthday. Not as great as being in the states, but we tried.

Ok, this last photo was the name of one of the concession stands at the soccer game. Anyone up for a "Funky" hotdog?

Sankeien Garden

Today we went to the Sankeien Garden that is about a 15 minute walk from our house. It was absolutely beautiful! We have been told that in November and in the spring (cherry blossom time) that it is even more beautiful. What really amazed me, is that all the structures in the garden are older than our own country. There was a museum that contained many OLD artifacts and you could be taught how to perform a tea ceremony (which we did not do). Take a look at the photos. They really don't do it justice.

Just Thought I'd Share....

I just thought I would share a cute picture of Avery in her Halloween costume that Aunt Tessi sent her. They don't celebrate Halloween here but her school is having a party and parade and the kids are to dress up.

Next, i wanted to share a picture of my bed partner....yes, it is a centipede and it woke me up with a "nice friendly" BITE on the scalp. I felt the bite and it woke me up...I thought I might be dreaming...until it crawled down my face. I jumped up and woke Curtis up. We didn't know what it was and we searched and searched. Finally, Curtis saw it crawl across my clean clothes that were folded on the love seat. Needless to say...we had the house bombed today. Thank goodness it wasn't poisonous, but the bite still hurts today and the Internet said that it could continue to hurt and sting for the next 2 weeks. Man.....burned hand, bit head...I'm afraid to see what is next....Stay Tuned.

Our Holiday Weekend

We had a 3 day weekend here in Japan. Monday (today) was some type of Japanese Holiday. Curtis asked some guys at work what holiday it was and they really didn't seem to know. they just said "happy Monday?" Whatever it was...we got out and enjoyed it.

Saturday we went into Yokohoma City and did some shopping. Nothing real big..no pics to show on that.

Sunday, we went to a BBQ that some guys at Curtis's work gave us. Sekiya (say keya), who Curtis worked with in Decherd, organized it. It was at a park at the beach and we had a great time! Everyone was so nice and really made us welcomed. We then went over to Sea Paradise, which is an amusement park based around marine life. They have an aquarium, rides, and an area where you get up close and personal with dolphins and whales and other marine life. The park did a fireworks display before closing that was synchronized to music. It was really neat. See some pics below.

Sea Paradise Park

Today (Monday), we walked around China Town and then to a famous park here, Yamashita Park. It was a gorgeous day!!! The park is on the ocean and it is beautiful.

Yamashita Park

The Pictures Say It All

Guess what Curtis had for dinner!!! We actually watched the guy get the live fish out of the tank with a net. The next thing we knew....it was on his plate. Avery had KFC and I had Tempura (fried shrimp, etc) and rice.

We did a lot of walking today (the best we can calculate about 10- 13 miles). And just look at we found! Of course Curtis had to have a picture of it.

This is a picture of me and Avery at Yamashita Park in Yokohoma Bay.

Hommoku Temple & Shrine

Today after taking Avery to school, I decided to take a walk and visit the local temple and shrine near our house. It is called the Hommoku Temple & Shrine (no, I didn't spell it wrong...we live in Honmoku but the temple name is Hommoku).

This is the view from the top of the hill. It is a view of Honmoku, where we live.

Wednesday!

Today was Avery's first day of school. She was so excited. When we got there, the students and their parents were greeting us and saying "hi Avery". They all new her name because the teachers have been talking about her coming. The other kids took her right in under their wings. When we walked in, Avery started taking off her shoes...I kissed her on the head and told her that I was going to talk to the director. When I was done, I turned to tell her good-bye and she was gone off playing. So, I just left. When I picked her up, she was talking non stop. She really enjoyed it. (I had a cute pic of her but realized it had the school name and info on it and...well...I don't want just anybody to have that kind of information. I know...I'm paranoid)

Once we got home, Avery was tired and wanted to lay down on the couch for a little nap. At 3:08pm the house started to shake! Yep...you got it...our first earthquake! Everything was shaking side to side and there was a loud rumble. It lasted for about 15 seconds. It was exciting and freaky all at the same time. We were told that as long as things move side to side, keep going about your day...if they move up and down, take cover and be aware. Avery looked at me and said "momma,who is shaking our house". She was cute!

Happy Birthday Avery!

Today for Avery's birthday, she and I met Michelle and her girls to go to a huge mall at Minatomiria for a day of shopping. First...Avery and I got on the wrong bus to meet Michelle at her train station. No BIG deal..I figured out where we were and where we needed to go with a little help from an 80 year old Japanese lady on the bus who was very sweet and could speak a little English. So, we got off the bus at Isogo train station and road the train to Ishikawa-cho train station. We then had to walk through Motomachi (shopping district) to the Motomachi-chukagia train station (about 15 minute walk). This is where we finally met Michelle and the girls. Oh...and did I tell you that it was pouring down rain the entire time!

Anyway...we finally made it and went shopping. We took Avery and the girls to Build-A-Bear where I let Avery pick out a dog to stuff and dress in a birthday out fit. I told them that it was her birthday today and they gave her extra special treatment. They made everyone in the store stop and sing happy birthday (in English) to her as we all played instruments they gave us to play. They gave her a little extra gift and took her picture too. She loved it!

Last night I baked her a cake with the wonderful things that came in our air shipment and we gave her the bike we bought her in the states. She loved that too...however; it rained all day today and she didn't get to ride at all.

By the way...mom, dad, and Aunt Pat, Avery got your birthday cards today! Excellent timing! She was so excited to get mail...and so was I.

Love to all!

Tokyo Trip

Hey Folks, we're jumping out of the normal routine here and I'm (Curtis) gonna post for once. Deana and Avery are playing with her leap frog thing-a-ma-jig (that sounds Japanese, huh?) and I thought I'd play on the computer for a change.

We went into Tokyo today (Saturday) with our friends, Mike and Michelle. I worked with Mike at the Smyrna plant about 4 years ago and we did time together in Japan on a project about 6 years ago, so we already knew each other. That made meeting up and getting together a bit easier when we arrived here. They have an 8 year old girl and a 3 year old girl, so Avery likes hanging out with them too.

Anyway, we rode the bus into the Yokohama station and took the subway into the Tokyo area. The purpose of the trip was to take the girls to the huge Hello Kitty shop. It was 7 floors and had more junk... uh, I mean toys, than you could imagine. We bought Avery a stuffed dog because that's what she had to have (Only our daughter would buy a DOG at a KITTY store) go figure.

While we were at the Hello Kitty shop, Deana and Michelle went into a China Bazaar shop with loads of Chinese trinkets and souvenirs. Deana bought a mouse pad of two sumo wrestlers fighting for us to use here at the house. When I go to grab the mouse, all I can see is the "backside" of a sumo wrestler. Nice...

We walked around a lot and man, was it crowded. We were near Harajuku and Shibuya station in the Tokyo area. We ate lunch at T.G.I. Fridays. It was great, but pricey. We also found a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and the girls HAD to have a box of doughnuts. Any takers on a guess of the cost of a dozen? Anyone? Try $16. Sounds high to me, but I haven't bought any back home in ages, so maybe it's not too bad.

We walked back to the Shibuya station and crossed the "scramble". It's an area where several roads come together and every 3 to 4 minutes, all traffic lights go red and it's a free for all crosswalk. Supposedly, more people cross through this intersection on a daily basis than any other anywhere. Here are some before and after photos so you can see the difference. It's nuts.

I'm also posting a picture of a store called Condomania just because I can't stand not to. Sorry if you find it offensive. I saw the building and immediately told Deana we had to have a photo. This place is right in the middle of everything - not at the end of a dark deserted alley or anything. It's not in a bad area either. It was just too funny not to share. It's too bad the picture is a little fuzzy. Check out the "mascot" on the upper right side of the building.

On the way into the station, we passed two girls holding signs saying "Free Hugs" I SO don't understand this place sometimes. Avery partook in the hugging and they laughed and thought it was cute. I didn't push my luck - fear of rejection I guess. They didn't have a line of people or anything. Just funny.

We're really pumped up about our air shipment coming in tomorrow. It's going to be like Christmas. Especially when we unwrap our air mattress!! I've been sleeping on the floor for a week and I can't wait to upgrade to outdoor camping level of sleeping. We'll get our real beds in another month. Our kitchen contents are coming with this shipment also so we can FINALLY start cooking some meals. We'll also be getting Avery's birthday present with our shipment just in time for her Birthday. Deana is going to make a cake and Mike and Michelle are coming back over tomorrow afternoon to celebrate with us. Her actual birthday is Monday, but since I have to work all day, we're going to celebrate on Sunday.

Speaking of work, things are going well for me (some of you have asked). The guys I work with are very nice and helpful. Two of them speak English, but the rest do not. The work is tough and demanding, but we knew it would be going in. The hours are 9:00 to 6:00, but most people are there before 8:30 and no one leaves before 6:30. It takes me about an hour to commute to work. My commute consists of a 2 block walk to the bus station, a 10 minute bus ride to the train station, a 20 minute train ride to my destination, then about a 20 minute walk to work. It's really not bad as long as the weather is nice (which is has been lately). It will be a different story when it gets hot and rainy.

I'll close out with a few other pictures from today. If you happen to post a question, be sure to check back to see if we answered it. We are trying to answer posted questions within the comment sections in the post.

We Did It!

We did it! Avery and I successfully completed our first outing using the bus, train, and taxi without Curtis. This morning we hopped a bus to Negishi train station and took the train to Yamate where we met the Clarks and the Peels for a day at the Hamagin Space Science Center. While Curtis was slaving away at work, we were having fun doing things like vertual meteor fighting games, moon walk simulations and jungle gyms. The kids had a really good time.

After we landed back on Earth, we took the train station to Motomachi (good shopping district) and did a little window shopping and took the kids to the TY beanie baby store. Of course Avery went NUTS in there. I was exhausted after all that and my feet were TIRED! So, Avery and I jumped in a taxi back to Honmoku (our town).

We found out today that our air shipment will be delivered to us Sunday morning between 9:00 and 10:00. In Japanese, this means they will be here at 8:59. They are so funny about their schedules. We were riding the bus the other day (when Curtis was teaching me how) and we waited at a stop for about 1 minute. Curtis said "you know why we waited don't you?" Of course I answered with a shocking "no"...I've been here for a couple days...who are you kidding. We waited because the driver was ahead of schedule. He couldn't be early! Go figure!

We are residents now!

Well, today we had a lady from the relocation company come and take us around to get our alien registration cards and set up a bank account. She helped us get registered at the post office so the mail gets to us like it should. We also have our Vonage working now so people can call us using a local number. We would love to hear from everyone, but PLEASE remember the time difference.

We ate at a nice resturant tonight that is a few blocks from the house (which I have included pics of) that is a Korean style BBQ place. It was very good...or course we had to go to KFC for Avery afterwards.

I included some pics of a playground/ park that is close to the house that Avery likes to play at. It is right next to the Yokohoma City Public Library. They actually have a section of books in English. Avery and I went in and read a couple of books. She loved it!

Not much else going on. Avery and I will be adventuring on the bus and train by ourselves tomorrow. We are going to meet 2 other moms and their kids to go to a sicence museum. Wish luck! (just kidding dad...don't panic...I know where I'm going...I think)

Konichiwa!

Konichiwa! We finally have our own Internet connection, but still no Vonage. We had the telephone company our here for about 2 hours just to get our Internet working. We apparently had wiring issues.

We haven't had too much excitement in the past couple days. It has been rainy here and in the lower mid 60's. Needless to say, we haven't really done much except try to get things set up. We did go visit Avery's school yesterday! It was nice. She got to participate in some of the activities while we talked to the director. She will start October 8th. They do ALL kinds of really neat things. The kids in her class are from Japan, Korea, Germany, and Sweden I think. She will make the 10th child in the class. I think she will love it! She will be going M-F from 9:00-2:00. It is called Treehouse Montessori School. It is about a 8 minute walk from the house or less. I am really excited about her going. She is going to get such wonderful experiences from it.

Many of you have asked for pics of the house. We will post pics soon. Curtis wants to take another video and post it on YouTube when we get the rest of our furniture. So....stay tuned!