Konnichiwa!

Hello all. I guess it's been a while since I've written here! There hasn't been too much going on on this side of the world. At school, we're prepping for the next open school day, the second or third Sunday in February. We've lost quite a few high school students due to the busyness of graduating and starting driving school (at age 18). I'll miss them. I'm a bit curious as to how our classes will change in April for the new school year. They say they won't change too much, aside from some students moving up to junior high or senior high classes, but occasionally they'll move students around to different classes or days depending on their new schedules. The open school is focusing on bringing in more younger students though - preschool, mostly. We have had several new students join since we've been here, but it still seems like we've lost more. They say the best way to advertise the school is through social connections, but we don't have any connections outside of the school! Haha. We'll probably end up handing out flyers at the park again. :-)

Our New Year was uneventful. We watched all LOTR extended additions the first three days of the new year and played board games, of course. Last Sunday, we had a taste of a popular new year's dish called 'zenzai', which was delicious. It is made out of sweet red beans (red beans soaked and boiled in sugar water for a LONG time) and boiled mochi (white rice pounded into a paste). The sugar water used to boil the beans, is then used for the broth of the soup. It's VERY sweet, but tasty!

Last weekend, we went to Yamaguchi for a day and visited Toys-R-US. It was neat browsing through all the Japanese toys, books, puzzles, and electronic games. Much to Jeremy's dismay, they didn't carry any of the kind of games he was hoping to find there. We'll keep searching. We know there is a Japanese version of Settlers of Catan somewhere in this country, but we don't know where to find it (not that we'd buy it, as we're making our own copy, but it would still be interesting to see!). We also ate lunch at a restaurant at a local TV station, which was fabulous! I can't wait to go back there again! It was some of the very best food I've had since I've been here. I ordered the grilled hamburg (hamburger patty with no bun) special that was dressed up in a delicious sauce and topped with a soft boiled egg and ketchup, with a salad and fried potato slices. Seriously. It was the best!

Today, we FINALLY bought a DVD player!! Jeremy just finished hooking it up and it works perfectly, so tonight we'll watch the first Harry Potter movie. We bought the first four movies shortly after we arrived here, but had no way of view them until today - and now that we have a DVD player, we can also use our video rental membership we signed up for earlier. Maybe we'll start a movie and/or game night sometime soon...

The best news we have so far though, is of Jesse's impending visit in March! We're thrilled to have him come stay with us and explore the area together. We can't wait to see a familiar face. :-) I really hope he brings some spring warmth with him too - it's so coooold here! Actually, the temperature outdoors isn't so bad, but when it's just as cold inside as it is outside, it gives a whole new meaning to 'cold'. :-p Lucky for him though, it'll be the very best time to view the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom around here. We're excited to see them for ourselves too!

Well, like I mentioned, there isn't much happening around here, but I'll try to keep you all updated a bit more... even if we bore you to pieces.