Happy Halloween!

Even though the Japanese don't go trick-or-treating, they do get into the spirit of it.  A lot of the stores have decorations and costumes and some of the classes at our school had halloween parties where the kids dressed up. Joanna bought a pumpkin from Foreign Buyers Club for about $35 which isn't bad considering we don't have our local pumpkin patch to run to and buy one. Alex took on the job of carving his first pumpkin by himself and did a great job! The one thing we were really missing was candy corn.  Every time we went to a store Alex would go to the candy area, especially if they had a halloween section, and would look for candy corn but had no luck.  Then we received a mysterious package in the mail and as I was opening it, I could smell what was inside.  CANDY CORN!!!!!!!  THANK YOU UNCLE JOHN, AUNT BEV, AND FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That made our halloween complete!

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Alex's carving!

My aunt, uncle, and cousins are the best in the world!!!!!!!! They shipped candy corn from Chicago just for us. I am soooo grateful to have such an amazing family like them. Rachel and I have been so excited, that we already finished both bags... Still going on the lollipops though! haha Thank you so much Uncle John, Aunt Bev, and Jamison (and Jordan and Julian if this was your doing also). I'm sending you guys a letter and I hope it comes soon! Well Happy Halloween everyone! Love you guys! And yes Uncle John, I still remember my nickname, "Hook" !
-Alex :)

Our New Houseguest!

We got home at around dusk tonight and found a new houseguest outside our front door. Now, we've had frogs, praying mantises, spiders, mosquitoes, and a variety of other living things. This bat takes the cake.

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Yakiiiiiiiiiiii Imoooooooooo!

Last night I heard THE sound. A sound from the past that we'd been waiting to hear but hadn't since we'd been back to Japan and didn't think we'd hear until the winter.  We had heard a similar sound about a month ago and rode our bikes, catching up to the little truck with the lantern glowing from the side but to our disappointment, it was a ramen truck.  Not tonight though. I was at the computer at about 9:30 PM when I heard that familiar sound.  Yakiiiiiiiiiiii Imooooooooooo (Sweeeeeeeeeet Potatooooooooo). Yes, it was the Sweet Potato truck.  The guy has built some sort of a wood burning oven on the back of a small pickup truck. Yes, a truck with gasoline underneath but he must have insulated it really well because you can see the fire burning in the back of his truck.  Rachel and I took off (sorry Alex) and caught up with him down the street.  A neighbor had stopped him so we were able to get our Sweet Potatoes.  He lifted up a some sort of oven door and they were inside baking.   We bought two and took them home and cut them open, spreading butter over them. Mmmmmmmm. Delicious! I never liked sweet potatoes back home but these are more like regular potatoes but just a little different.  I can't wait until it gets colder and hopefully he'll come around a bit earlier so we can have some for dinner.  And maybe, just maybe, we'll have to catch up to the ramen truck again and have a bit of ramen one night.

You can see the fire burning in the back of the truck.

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OKINAWA!!!

Okinawa Trip with my Class!!!

These are two of my good friends, Mayumi and Rieko, who were in my group.

This is a view of Okinawa and the American air force base.

 These are pictures of the ocean at the aquarium.

My Group!!!

The view from our hotel room.

 My group at Okinawa world where we went into a cave, watched a traditional Okinawan dance, and held a snake.

My group at the airport.

This is my group on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Overall, I had an awesome time at Okinawa and loved being able to experience it with my group.

What the...?

Okay, so we were in one of the stores and came across these freaky versions of characters we love...well maybe not anymore.

Woody?

Is this Big Bird?

Uhhhh...

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Ugh! A stomach bug!

It is never fun to get sick, but to get sick in a foreign country is even worse.  I was feeling ill last week off and on and then Januck and I went out to eat Friday night.  I made it to Saturday morning, but did I ever get sick to my stomach. What to eat? No chicken soup or saltines sold here.
I already had a doctor's appt. at 10:30 in the morning, so I was determined to go and see if I could get some drugs to help my case.  Well, I got something but did not start feeling well until Monday morning.  The pills made me feel so sleepy...I couldn't get up to go to work. I ate white rice and apples to feel better.
Today I went back to work and am now thinking about getting a flu shot....I just may!
Joanna

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya, Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am going to Fuji-kyu- highland with my class. There, they have roller coasters!!!! Yea! :D I heard from my classmates that they have the best roller coaster in Japan there. Anyways, I hope it's fun. I have also been enjoying my Harry Potter book series. I started when we got here and now I'm so into them that I'm already on book five. I have the whole series and almost have the whole movie series. Well, I really like them and I hope I continue.
-Alex :)

The Death Gap!

Okay, I know it doesn't look like much but this is the gap that my bicycle tire got stuck in the other night.  I had to take a picture at night so it took me awhile to get the photo but I finally figured out how to make the flash work on my iPhone.  I won't post the multiple black photos that I took.

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Wonderful Day! :D

Today I met a couple friends for lunch. Then we met up with more friends in our class and went bowling. My all time record for the whole day was 65!!! Amazing huh? NOT! Yeah I guess you can say that I lost my touch for bowling. I used to be a little bit better... Anyways, there were a lot of arcade games there and I played a basketball game where I had to constantly shoot for a minute. My arm was sore afterwards -___-. I'm surprised they had my size in shoes and the shoes looked awesome compared to the ones in America. Here's a picture. -->
Afterwards, we took photobooth pictures, that I'll put on later, and then some of us went and got coffee afterwards. We talked for awhile and then I came home. My moms sick but I'm sure she'll blog about that. :D
Alex :)

My First Bicycle Crash!

I knew it was bound to happen sometime but it sure sucked when it happened. I was riding my bicycle to the local drug store and stopped to make sure there was no traffic so I could cross the street. There were a few cars so I waited and waited and finally I was able to cross. It was dark so I didn't see the broken cement below that was above the drainage ditch that left a three inch gap, perfect for a bicycle tire to fit into.  Right when I started to pedal, my bicycle suddenly stopped and I felt myself go up, then suddenly down to the side as I crashed to the ground. My tire was still stuck in the ditch but I was now down trying to figure out what to do.  Then I did the checklist:

1) Teeth - Check.  All there.
2) Bones - Check.  Nothing broken.
3) Blood - Almost but nothing showing.
4) Pain throughout my body - Check. Especially my knee where I landed.
5) Humiliation - Check. I must have looked like a complete fool.
6) Bicycle - Check. Dislodged it from the drain and rode it to the store. No flat tire.

The perils of riding at night (yes, I have a light but it only works when you are moving.)

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Sunday Dinner

This past Sunday we went out to dinner at an okonomiyaki restaurant as a family and had a wonderful time.  Okonomiyaki is like a batter with cabbage and meat or shrimp and you put it on a hotplate to cook it like a pancake.  Some people call it a Japanese pancake but it really isn't because it is a meal and isn't sweet.  Alex and I got the combo of meat and seafood while Joanna and Rachel got the shrimp one.  The real trick is trying to flip the pancake over because you have to use two metal spatulas to do it and it can get messy.  Once you've cooked it, you put mayonnaise and a kind of barbecue sauce on top and it is delicious. Yummy!

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60 Teachers from Shizuoka Prefecture

On Saturday, we had a conference at our school with the three Private schools from Shizuoka Prefecture.  There were 60 teachers that visited our classrooms.  My kids made clay insects and presented them in English.  They did very well and we also sang the "Life Cycles of an Insect" song.

Genius!

Sometimes I'm amazed at how some things are so genius here in Japan compared to back home.  For instance, the toilet with the handle that moves in both directions, one for a big flush and one for a small flush.  Genius!  Or the toilet paper holder that...well that'll be for another time.  One thing that we saw outside of a haircutting place was a pseudo stoplight that has a green, yellow, and red light vertically.  One of the lights is blinking and it tells you how long you have to wait before getting a haircut.  A blinking red light means that the wait is over ten minutes.  A blinking yellow light means that there is about a five minute wait.  And a green blinking light means that you can walk right in without waiting.  Genius!  It allows you to decide if have time to get a haircut or not as you are passing by. Genius!

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Rice Paddies during Harvesting time

The rice paddies were blown over 

from the last typhoon.

The farmers are cutting the rice and drying it on wooden racks.

The ground looks dry when the rice has been cut.

Looking forward to eating this rice!                                                            
Joanna

My Best Friend and I

My best friend, Adam Higelin, and I love making videos where we just have fun! Here's the link for my youtube page -----> http://www.youtube.com/user/alexbubbabeans?feature=mhee . Here's our latest video that we made from different countries. HAHA I love Adam! :D

-Alex :)

Bazaar

We had a festival last weekend at my school called the Bazaar. I was at a booth where we had to sell handcrafted goods. The items were ugly purses so I didn't sell any. Anyways, the "FUN" part was eating all the food from hot dogs to sweets to chocolate milk. I saw a guy dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow selling chocolate milk and coffee. I got community service whenever I helped out. I had to stay there only for 4 hours then I got to leave with my dad. We had to walk down the hill all the way to our house. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

-Alex :)

Us being weird...

Mom is weird! jk
-Alex

You've Got to be Kidding Me!

One of the responsibilities of my new job in Japan is to supervise Kendo Club.  Kendo uses the bamboo sticks.  The first class I went to I was introduced to the Kendo teacher, Miwa sensei.  I told him that I didn't bring a change of clothes as I was in my shirt and tie so I would participate the following week.  He didn't seem to care and put me to work right away and made me practice with the students.  It was so hot and muggy that I probably shed five pounds of sweat.

I finally got my kendo uniform the following week and Miwa sensei gave me a brand new kendo stick to use so I make sure I take care of it.  I really enjoy Kendo Club because I get to learn along with the students but because my Japanese is so limited, I'm usually following what the students do.  Miwa sensei is great and has me lead many of the skills and treats me as a teacher as well as a student.  It's not often that I would allow a student to take a stick and try to strike me in the head with it.  Luckily, Miwas sensei showed me how to block it so I'm able to practice with a few students.

Today, during the fourth grade club, Miwa sensei told me we were going to teach the students something new and asked if I knew what a "Katana" was and I told him no.  He had something wrapped in cloth and you could tell it was old.  He unwrapped it and there were two sheaths.  He took one and grabbed the handle and...he pulled out an amazing shiny sword.  I thought to myself, "You've got to be kidding me!" I had visions of my head rolling on the ground but instead he handed it to me and wanted to see how I handled it.  I felt like Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai" and just stood there with this amazing sword in my hand.  I asked him how old it was and he told me that it was over 200 years old.

It was so cool because after he let me hold it, he took it to each student and had them hold it with supervision of course.  Miwa sensei went down the line and as each student held it, you could tell they were in awe and it is something that they will always remember.  He then opened a practice sword that wasn't as sharp and let each of us practice our skills using the sword instead of the bamboo stick.

What an awesome day!

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Miwa sensei took this picture of me with the sword!

My amazing teacher, Miwa sensei!

The 200 year old sword out of its sheath.