Calvin's B-day
Last Monday was Calvin's birthday. On Sunday during the "shokujikai" which is the meal we have after Church on one Sunday of the month, everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. Unfortunately, I didn't know about it so I did not capture it on film. However, on Monday we went out with Takie and Marie for some goodies:
The girls had an ice cream dish that had hard ice cream on the bottom and soft ice cream on the top. Calvin had a couple of things--a sorbet and a fruit cup. If you look at Calvin's chair, that thing that looks like a piece of fabric is actually a piece of fabric that bulges out and it is where the ladies can put their purses. Nifty idea! This little bakery/ice cream shop has so many cute ideas. I took a picture of one of the cakes that I thought was cute, and not so hard to make:
On Tuesday we had district meeting complete with cake and ice cream for Calvin and one of the sisters in our district. This is our last time before transfers so we always have to have "one last picture":
Walking
Most mornings we go walking at 6:00 a.m. We have a route that we follow pretty much all the time. So one morning I took my camera to show you what we see:
First, you rarely see dogs or cats in Japan, but in the morning you see people walking their dogs. The interesting thing is that the dogs are NEVER large. This is the average size (sorry the photo is not so great but I was having a hard time nonchalantly taking photos of people without them wondering what I was doing!):
Many people in Japan have nice yards (you know--the beautiful Japanese garden-type yards) but you see almost everything--except lawns:
This place has TONS of petunias:
And almost all the yards have sunflowers! Yes some are the large (sunflower seed-type) and others are basically the ones you see grow wild in the states, although they are meticulously planted:
Another thing that is EVERY neighborhood is a barber or hair salon business. Most have the typical barber pole:
But this one is a little over the top for me (notice the TEN poles):
One of the most common things in all of Japan are the drink machines everywhere. They are even in the middle of the country, with nothing else in sight. And right next to them are often cigarette machines. There are not tons of people using them, but they are fairly reasonably priced: drinks range from $1 to $1.50 American dollars:
Becoming an Eagles' Fan
Calvin went to his second Eagles' baseball game. This time he went with a member in our branch and the husband of a member in our branch. They came home very excited because the Eagles were losing 0-1 until the bottom of the 9th inning and then they pulled ahead 2-1 and won. It was quite the game:
Seventh inning stretch balloon launching:
And the grounds crew picking up the balloons afterwards!:
Lost and Found!!
While the guys were at the ball game, Takie and I went out shopping and out to eat (Chinese!). When we got back to the apartment she let me off and we were getting my groceries out of her trunk. I took my keys out of my purse but dropped them--right into the hole where the gutter is!!!!
Yes, my keys went into one of those slits in the cement! Takie freaked out but luckily a man from a nearby apartment helped us move the concrete blocks and we rescued the keys. And luckily there wasn't really any water there (I wondered if we would be looking into the sewer or something!)
AND FINALLY
These past two weeks have been rather wild and crazy. Almost two weeks ago our soon-to-be missionary, Marie, was proposed to! It began with her deciding not to get her endowments (even though we were in Tokyo at the temple) because she didn't think she was going on a mission. Then she started getting advice from ALMOST EVERYONE. She has known this guy for a year when they were both EFY counselors in Tokyo and they have been interested in each other since then but then he had gone to BYU Idaho so their contact was limited. Unfortunately, he does not live close so all of their contact was by phone or skype. When Marie put her papers in she told us that what she really wanted was to marry him but things didn't seem to be working out between them so she was excited to be a missionary. Well, as time got closer for him to go back to Idaho and for her to be a missionary, things began to really heat up. They were talking and skyping daily.
When she announced that she was getting married it did not set well with many people, including her parents. It was quite a shock to everyone. We knew more than most. Anyway, there seems to be a happy ending because Kazuya (the fiance) was able to visit here this week, meet the family, and then they are off to visit his family this week before he leaves for BYU-Idaho and they plan on being married next April:
We were able to spend quite a bit of time with them both this week and got to know Kazuya well. He is a great young man and they seem well suited for each other. The parents like him a lot and so life for her seems to be heading in another direction. I may have to keep you updated on this soap opera next week when she returns to Ishinomaki!
Post Script
Hopefully we will get new sister missionaries here in Ishinomaki this week. This is transfer week and we think we found an apartment for them. Stay tuned for that as well!
No comments:
Post a Comment