It's been awhile! Time for an update

I guess I'm one of those people who got excited about blogging in a new place, but then slowly let the excitement fade and got caught up in life here in Japan. I apologize for pretty much skipping the year 2009 here in my blog (haha), but it did exist and to prove it is the picture I posted of me during Thanksgiving break '09 in front of the Himeji Castle. One of the biggest and best (in my opinion) castles in Japan!

Looking back...
Upon first arriving in Japan it was totally overwhelming. The sights, the crowds, the language, I didn't think I was going to make it. But then it took a friendship, someone who helped me understand "the ropes", who made me feel comfortable, who gave me the confidence. The culture began to make sense, and it slowly crept it's way inside of me. What once seemed overwhelming became something that I wanted to become immersed in more and more. And a 2-year contract has extended into a 3rd year stay with an indefinite stay on the horizon.

Japanese festival in Inuyama

The Japanese people love celebrating tradition through festivals. I was lucky enough to be able to join Emily and her family for a festival in Inuyama. There, I was able to get a small glimpse into the culture of Japan. It was an amazing experience that I will remember for years to come. At this particular festival, they built mobile wooden shrines. On the very top, they build puppets that move to the beat of traditional Japanese music. The puppets tell a story through their movements. Here is a picture of one of the shrines. The puppets on top are controlled by men who are positioned underneath. The men must time the puppet's movements with the music. Very tricky and difficult, but amazing to see.

The front of the temple leading up to Inuyama castle.

The view from the very top of Inuyama castle! Japan really has beautiful landscapes.

This is Inuyama castle.

Putting the lanterns on the shrine thingys. At night, they light all the candles inside the lanterns and it looks so pretty!

This is a picture of me with Emily's family! Emily is on the left of me, then her sister is on the right with her dad and mom. Very nice family...it was good to be with them. They made me feel very welcomed.

The lanterns all lite up at night...very cool.

A few recent pictures, hehehe

The view from my apartment balcony! In the distance there is a huge ferris wheel. The Japanese people love ferris wheels...I'm begininng to think there are more ferris wheels than Starbucks in Japan!

After a hard day of teaching PE, I decided to climb on top of the 4th grade teacher's bookshelf and take a nap! Becky (the 4th grade teacher) took a picture of me while I was waking up, hahaha! Gotta love my confused face!

Typical street sign where I live. Thankfully, some street signs (like this one) have English words underneath.

Sports Day

Sports Day 2008 was a success, PRAISE THE LORD! I was extremely nervous and excited knowing that it was my responsibility as the PE teacher to plan our school's annual Sports Day. This is a day all the kids and staff look forward too, so I felt a tremedous amount of pressure to not let anyone down! Furthermore, Sports Day is not just for our International School, but a BIG event for all the Japanese schools as well throughout this country! A BIG DEAL! With the Lord's guidance and God-given gifts he has given me, Sports Day was well planned and organized to the point where I sat back and watched everyone enjoy the day. For the first time, I felt as if the Lord had been preparing me for this day with all the job experience I've had working with kids. All the experience the Lord strategically planned over the past decade of my life proved to be the tools to help plan such a well organized and fun day for everyone! Job experience such as Prince of Peace where I was the Before and After School Director; My job at the YMCA as the Sports Director Assistant; My coaching experience and my years as an athlete during Jr. High and High School were so resourceful in thinking up sporting events and games for all the kids of my school to enjoy! I am truly humbled and thankful for all the Lord teaches me as I walk through this journey/season of my life. I am really seeking to see God in everything...that nothing is a coincidence and everything in my life has a purpose for the worship and glory of God...God causes everything to work together for His good (Romans 8:28)!

Sports Day Pics!!

Becky and I at Sports day. Becky flashing her gang sign, and I painted my face with the four colors that represented the four teams...Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Green! Any excuse I have to paint my face and I'm all over it!!

YAY for games!! The kids are doing a water relay race! I love watching kids as well as adults having FUN!

This boy David is in Kindergarten and he had an amazing jump!

The little kids being measured for their standing long jumps. They did so great!

The Director/Principal of our school is in the red shirt. He was about to pray for our day.

I'm giving instructions for the day's events and games

Our group photo at the beginning of Sports Day! We had such beautiful weather. I praise the Lord so much for the awesome, FUN day He gave to us.

More pics...

Rice fields that I walked past on the way to Torami beach in Chiba. So funny to see countryside with the ocean being about half mile away. It reminded me of Arroyo a little bit.

Black sand beach!

Me and Emily at Ichinomyia Beach. Very windy. The air was cold but the water was warm! The temp was about 75 degrees....ahhhh, so nice :)

Chiba Coast!

So as "Endless Summer" so eloquently quoted the phrase, "You should of been here yesterday," so I discovered the same issue when I arrived at Ichinomyia Beach. All the locals said, "You should have been here yesterday!" I missed the fun swell by a day! However, there were still some fun waves that came through and I enjoyed surfing! I couldn't help but think that this beach looked so much like the beaches in California...like San O! It was pretty crowded. But I am discovering that Japan has crowded surf...it is afterall a very populated country!!