Oh My Gosh, I'm in Japan!

Ok, so I am having a hard time believing that I'm living in Japan now! I feel like I'm going to wake up one morning and realize this whole thing was a dream. It's crazy.

So, let me fill you in on what I've experienced thus far! After 5 cokes (praise the Lord for caffeine) and 6 movies later, I managed to stay awake on both of my flights so I could adjust quickly to Japan time. I'm 16 hours ahead of California and 13 hours ahead of the East Coast (sorry Sarala, had to call it that, hehehe). Upon arrival, I was exhausted and was ready for bed! I was greeted at the airport by my boss Duane and the business manager Mike. Mike has lived in Japan for 9 years with his wife (who is Japanese) and Duane is new to Nagoya. Both of them are very nice and were super accomodating to the fact that I MUST be exhausted from my travels. I met my roommate Deb also and she is very nice. I think her and I are going to get along just fine which is a VERY good thing for those of you who know my past roommate "issues". I live on the 3rd floor of our apartment building (Yes #3) and across the hall from apartment #33!! hahaha, so everyday when I step out my doorway, I will see the GREATEST number in the World!! Unfortunately, I live in #35, but I am just excited I get to see the number! It's the Lord's way of reminding me that he loves me and all the little things that matter to me. So I will smile and say thank you Lord when I see that number :)
I don't exactly live in Nagoya like I thought. I live in a suburb called Nagukute (still learning how to say the name). It's just outside Nagoya and is pretty. Lots of rice fields! Haha, so weird! I met a couple of my co-workers today and they are really nice people. A girl named Emily, who grew up in Osaka, took me and my roomie around the town (it's called a town not a city) and it was fun! I fell in a bush and almost got run over by a car! I was riding her bike and wasn't paying attention (go figure) because I was telling or joke or something and ran straight into a bush! She started laughing and was like, "Oh gosh, are we going to have watch out for you?" And of course I answered, "Yes! You have no idea!" Anyways, she took me and Deb to the this mall thingy which has 5 levels! On the bottom level is the grocery store; the 2nd and 3rd level are clothes; the 4th level are resturants and food; and the 5th level is electronics. We ate lunch at this Japanese resturant where they have mini hibachi stoves...bascially you cook your own food at the table! That was fun and interesting! I ordered noodles and shrimp (because that was the only thing I recognized on the Japanese menu) and Emily ordered some Kimichi which I ate, and I have no idea what it was but I tried it and it was...interesting, hahaha. Squid is a BIG favorite here (not my favorite) as well as mayonaise and eggs (interesting combo). I am WAY outside my comfort zone for foods and was already missing my cereals and ice cream!! Although, I had green tea ice cream for dessert and that was really good! They serve all their ice cream with frosted flakes...super funny! The cereal is on the bottom and the ice cream is on top...it was pretty good! I will probably be eating a lot of that! Also, the Japanese drive on the opposite side like Europe and Africa. Emily told me that I could probably get a Japanese license if I wanted to and then I could drive those Vespa scooters. I got all excited about that. Things are very expensive here. For example, I noticed an alarm clock was about $20-$30 bucks for a cheap one. Glad I brought mine :)

So my apartment is small but nice. All of our doorways are short so I am constantly ducking! So how it looks is like this: I walk out of my room, I have to duck. Then I go into the kitchen and have to duck. Then I go into the bathroom and have to duck! I will post pictures soon. There are 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Oh and the shower thingy is interesting...I'll take a picture because it'll make more sense then if I were to describe it. My bed is just long enough praise the Lord!

I'm just soaking everything in right now. There is a lot to process. School starts on Monday so I have to be prepared for that. I don't feel qualified to do what I'm about to do, but the Lord reminded me that he loves to take the unqualified and make them quailfied by His power and strenght. So if I do anything good or right, it's all because of Him! It's always been because of Him!

I miss home a lot. This is going to be hard, but I'm going to take things a day at a time. I trust that the Lord WILL see me through!

I will post pictures soon so you can have a visual of what I see. Continue to pray for me as I make this transition, but also be praying the kids of Japan with whom I will be working with. Some do not know the Lord so I pray that I will love on these kids with the Love of Jesus. May they see Jesus through all the teachers at ICAN (International Christian Academy Nagoya). Thank you all for your support!!!!! It means so much just to know I have people back home thinking of me and praying for me!!