September 28, 2008: Big Trip to Costco!

Brandon and I were excited to really try out our new car. Costco is about 40 minutes away, so that was our first destination (our friend, Caitlyn, joined us). We found a general map online and we were told what road around here would take us in that direction. We knew the highway numbers and there were signs that gave that information, so it was a lot easier than we thought. It felt like such an accomplishment when we finally got there. Brandon says it was soo liberating to be able to drive and not rely on anyone else (since it seems like we are always asking for translation help)!

We got a membership and then started our excursion with lunch at the Costco concessions. haha, never thought I would be excited and didn't think a meal there would be such a treat. However, a hot dog, Coke (with FREE refills) and a churro (you know the long, twisted pastry with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled all over it) are hard to come by. We spent a couple hours admiring the aisles upon aisles of American favorites (including some Japanese bulk items). They also had a housewares, clothes and an electronics section, like a Sam's Club/Costco in America would have. It was like a playground for us, but we didn't go too crazy...we tried to keep it practical, you know, like chocolate chips, tortilla chips and Dr. Pepper!

It's pretty amazing how much stuff we were able to cram into our little 'Green Monster.' We had a lot of fun today and we'll be good on food for awhile (you should see our tiny fridge and pantry....jam-packed!).

This is a view of our city. Our drive was gorgeous...kind of like driving through the mountains of Colorado (this was more green). We took this picture on our way back!

September 27, 2088: Our Sports Day in Saga

Today we enjoyed what was maybe the most beautiful day we've seen yet in Japan. The weather was perfect and somehow, I suppose it was because of the absence of the usual humidity, everything seemed especially colorful. We were able to sleep in and Sarah made an awesome breakfast of eggs and toast...a great start to the day!

Caitlyn & Darryl

We met Caitlyn and Darryl downstairs and biked our way to the train station. We hopped on the train, met JD and Cara in Hakata, and then rode almost another two hours, to another prefecture (prefecture=state/region) southwest of us. We grabbed some lunch at the train station (burgers from the fast food chain Lotteria...they were pretty decent). We then hopped on a bus with some other ALT's and arrived at a giant, beautiful park with green grass (which, to me, seems rare here). I think there were about 30 or so other people our age there. Our day was all laid out into a sport tournament of sorts or a "sports day" as most of the schools say. We all joined in, but Sarah decided to be the photographer instead (it was mostly guys playing anyway).

The park where the 'Sports Day' was held.

JD is pretty hardcore when it comes to frisbee. He even brought his own disc! In the next one, I promise we didn't plan it, but it's funny how the 4 of us were matching!


We started out with some ultimate frisbee (JD's specialty...or addiction). We had a blast playing. It is sort of like soccer, so you are constantly sprinting up and down the field and jumping for frisbees. Needless to say, it wears you out quickly! My team usually did pretty good. We won 3 of 4 games we played. I think every time JD and I were on a team together, we ended up winning. Next, was football. That was a lot of fun. I was QB the first game and threw a touchdown on the first play of the game. The first play of the our next possession, I caught a pass for a TD. So I was having a great time! We ended up winning one game and losing the other I think. Next, we moved on to dodge ball. Even Sarah joined in on this one! We played Japanese style which is a little different from American style. That was a lot of fun. I ended up on a team against JD and Sarah at the end. We ended up winning, but found it impossible to eliminate JD and one other guy who caught everything we threw at them. After dodge ball, we tallied up the scores and called it a day. I know my team of 3 ended up somewhere at the top, but I don't remember who got first. Regardless, it was a blast and we really enjoyed having some competition, the physical activeness (which I haven't had much of here), and being with a big bunch of other English speakers our age.

This guy was a little tooo prepared for these non-contact sports. Brandon playing defense. JD, Cara & Brandon in action!

With the "sports" part of our day over, we headed off to the onsen. While JD and I headed off to get naked and lounge around in pools of warm water with the guys, Cara and Sarah opted for the 40 minute massages instead (probably a wise idea for them despite us giving them grief for skipping out on onsen!).

Sarah & her massage therapist. If you can't tell...whenever Japanese pose for pictures, they love to do the "peace sign"..how funny, there's even a website to explain the history! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign) The other picture is the lobby of the onsen. They got their massages behind those big windows.


They got a great deal at about 3,000 yen for a 40 minute massage. But I rubbed it in that our onsen experience only set us back 500 yen. I told Sarah that we were each allowed 3000 yen to spend that night and that hers had been spent up on the massage. I said that left me with 2500 yen to eat dinner on and she had none. She proceeded to inform me that she actually held the money, and therefore had full control to spend it how she wanted. So she ate after all! I didn't dare try to stop her!

Dinner was great, too. I love when JD leads the way on going out to eat. He knows how to find food we like at a great price (which seems so rare to us when we aren't with JD). We managed to eat plenty of our favorite Japanese food (yakitorri) and only spent 1100 yen a piece! Normally, we leave hungry after eating mediocre food and pay about 3500 yen a piece. So we were very happy leaving the restaurant that night and owe JD many thanks for his Japanese dining expertise! Darryl deserves credit for that also!

Afterward, we caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) home. We got home, watched a movie, made a few Skype calls, and crashed out after a great Saturday! So far, this was one of my very favorite days in Japan....and I think Sarah enjoyed it alot too! I think she enjoys getting to hang out with Cara and some of the girls since she doesn't get to nearly as often as she did with her girlfriends back home. Hopefully, there will be many more days like this to come!

-Brandon

September 26,2008: Green Monster

We had been trying to get a car since Brandon got to Japan and it was about time for something to come through! Brandon found an ad in a Japanese magazine (written in English) and a guy was selling his car for $1,000 (including two more years of vehicle registration, which is a big deal because it's EXTREMELY expensive to buy that....anywhere from $800-$2,000 for that alone, per year). The guy had just finished going to college and he was moving back to India.

It's a forest green Subaru Bistro (I hate to bring it up, but ironically enough, "Beastro" was one of the nicknames I had in high school....which came from my middle name, "Bea").

It was such a good feeling when I got home from work and Brandon called to tell me he was bringing it home. haha, in fact we've even named it our little "Green Monster" because it's sooooo huge and all!! Or, not at all. I compare it to a closed-in golf cart. Brandon is convinced that if one person were helping him, he could pick it up. So, basically....if there's flooding or a lot of snow....we're out of luck!

When he pulled up I was standing downstairs talking to some of our neighbors (who speak English!) and were all laughing and waving! He didn't expect the audience, but we were just cracking up at how small it is and how Brandon's head almost touches the ceiling.

If these pictures don't show it....take my word, our car is even small compared to most Japanese cars.

That's me! I was so nervous the first time I had to get behind the wheel! It was quite a stressful event (you know, making sure you're staying on the left side of the road and then turning in the correct lane).

Thanks to Teresa (Brandon's mom), we brought a ton of "Don't Mess with Texas" bumper stickers to give away to the kids. However, we spared ONE for our personal use.....

~Sarah

September 22, 2008: Holiday & a 5 letter word

Autumnal Equinox Day!! It's so nice getting a day off work for a holiday like that....life of a teacher is not bad. Compare that to reporting at KVII.....no comparison! The news never sleeps (but that's the business)....and now, we're able to catch up on some much needed rest :) Brandon and I slept in late. I made pancakes and coffee for the first time. Our pancake mix is in Japanese (duh!)...so my mom sent me a recipe that might be comparable to a 'Bisquick' back home and I finally got to try it out. Delicious!! I even figured out the coffee maker (I believe that's my first pot of coffee to make...ever! Or at least, without assistance!).

We were going to a BBQ a few hours later, so I had whipped up some homemade potato salad and chocolate chip cookies. I cheated and used package cookie mix that I brought from Texas. It only needed water and butter to make, but the potato salad was ALL SCRATCH. Brandon and I decided to ride our bikes there and it wasn't a bad ride, only 20 minutes. However, as we were pedaling along, a Japanese young man (he wasn't that old and he looked a little older than high school) yelled out a lovely profanity at me. Brandon was ahead, so they may not have seen him with me. That must've been the extent of his English conversation or someone told him B#@%H meant 'hello' or something. Anyways, I was a little offended, but I didn't have much time to react. If the guy was wanting a reaction...I didn't give it to him because it took me a second to realize what he said. Then, the car was already passed a couple seconds later. That's the first real negative greeting I've received, so far. Otherwise, people just didn't say it loud enough for me to hear it.

When we got there, it was an American feast! Hot dogs, pieces of beef, veggies, fresh pineapple, pasta salad, brownies, chips, lemon meringue pie....it makes me hungry just talking about it all. It was on our friend's rooftop (Amanda), with about 15-20 other people from all over the world (even a couple from Texas and one from Chicago!!).

Poor Deji (our friend from London) feel asleep & then someone tossed a tupperware full of shrimp on his lap. No worries, nothing spilled...it just woke him up!

We stayed all afternoon and then biked back without any problem!
~Sarah

September 12-14,2008: Our First Big Japanese Trip!

We embarked on our first big Japanese trip this past weekend! It was a blast. Sarah and I decided to go with JD and Cara on a trip to Osaka and Kobe. It was non-stop fun and adventure!

First, as soon as we got off from work on Friday, we went straight to the train station and made it just in time to board the necessary train to Kokura. Sarah was drenched in sweat from riding her bike as quickly as she could to make it in time...she is quite the trooper! We rode the train for about an hour or so (halfway there we realized we were on the same train with JD and Cara)! Once in Kokura, we hopped on a bus to the port where our ferry would be leaving. Then, we hopped on the ferry...which was a huge ship...and we were on our way! The ferry was pretty cool. It was the first actual ship I have ever been on. It was sort of like a budget cruise liner.



It was really neat, though. Since we were traveling as cheaply as possible, we didn't have private rooms for sleeping. Instead, we were in a kind of hostel situation where we shared a small room with a total of 20 people all sleeping side by side. As for the four of us, I somehow got the short straw (although no actual straws were drawn) and I got to sleep right next to a random Japanese guy.

To tell the truth, it actually added to the humor and the adventurous spirit of the trip! I found the ferry to be a very neat way to travel. We all had dinner in a nice restaurant on the ship. And my personal favorite perk....we were able to take hot showers! This was my first hot shower in Japan...and it was amazing! That, alone, was worth my $58 fare. Also, as is customary in Japan, they had a big hot-tub sort of thing or "public bath" as some may call it. It sounds kind of gross...but it is really pretty nice. You completely clean off in the shower before you get in. And, since it is just guys, and you are going straight from the shower, it isn't weird at all not wearing a swimsuit. Everyone just chills naked and nobody cares! Sounds crazy and maybe even gross, but you get used to it and it is really nice because all you think about is soaking in the hot water. Of course, only JD and I did this. The girls (Sarah and Cara) would have no part of it. They find it much more difficult to adjust to the Japanese culture of being naked in front of each other...even the same gender. Since the showers are in a "public" style and there are no private showers...the girls just decided to stay stinky and sweaty! Which doesn't make sense to me...I don't know why they are so insecure...even though they shouldn't care what old Japanese women think of them! But, despite all of the convincing talk in the world, the girls held there decision and refused to "get naked" in front of the other women. As for JD and I, we didn't mind and we felt nice, clean, and relaxed afterward! After the shower and hot-tub or "onsen", we walked around the deck for a little while, got some ice cream, then headed to bed. Thankfully, while sleeping, my Japanese neighbor didn't try to put his arm around me or anything!


Once we arrived in the morning, we got off of the big ferry and hopped on a smaller one to take us to the point where Universal Studios Japan is located along the coast. When we arrived, we grabbed some McDonald's for breakfast and then headed into the park. It was awesome!










It looked like a fantasy American town and it was so clean and nice that it left me amazed. Sarah and I started off with the biggest and best roller coaster in the park. From there, we hit up Terminator 2 3D (awesome...and very 3D), Back to the Future, Spiderman (also very cool in 3D), and some other rides.

It was an AWESOME day of fun with our friends. We all got pretty tired pretty quickly, but we held out most of the day.

We left around 6 or so and grabbed another snack at McDonalds (of course my "snack" was the biggest quadruple patty Big Mac they had!). Then we boarded a train to meet our good friend Taka and his other friends in downtown Osaka. We had some time to kill when we got there, so we headed to an internet cafe. The internet cafe has little booths you can rent for an hour at a time for cheap. You can sleep, surf the net, watch TV or movies, read, or whatever. And you can have all of the coffee, cokes, etc. that you want. Pretty cool. Sarah had done one before, but this was my first. I just crashed out and napped for an hour. I think the others did the same. It was nice.
When we got up, we met up with Taka and his friends and went to a nice Japanese restaurant. It was all you can eat and all you can drink for two hours....again, I was in Heaven. I ate and drank that place into bankruptcy I think! It was great.

After a great evening with Taka and his friends, we left for our hotel. The hotel was only intended for 2 guests (even though there are two big beds in the room) so Sarah and I had to sneak in (not much sneaking required) and then we split the cost up with JD and Cara. It was nice to take another hot shower and sleep in a nice bed in a nice hotel room.

The next morning, we woke up early and ate some donuts at Mr. Donut. Taka and his friends picked us up in their cars and drove us to a famous place for udon (big noodles). It was good. We were in and out, though.


If you can't already tell-this is the man making the noodle dough.

Next stop: Ritsurin Park. Look at how green and gorgeous it is!! According to Taka, it's a very traditional Japanese park. All along the way there were little gift shops or food stands (snow cones and ice cream too!).








We walked around for a couple hours and took quite a few pictures, can you tell?


Sarah feeding Koi fish. Then, she felt bad for the lonely turtle. I think I can...I think I can! Yes, the turtle did finally manage to get a bite!

We left there and went back to Kobe (home of the VERY expensive beef...our friend recently had a steak there for $167!!! I think you should at least expect to pay $100, crazy, I know!) We didn't take out a loan for a meal like that, though. In Kobe, we played ultimate frisbee on the beach and had a great time. After frisbee, we went for another all you can eat, all you can drink meal.


Again, it was great. I don't remember the Japanese term, but it was a certain style where we were brought raw meet and vegetables and boiled them ourselves in a pot on the table. It only takes a few seconds to cook the thin-sliced steak or pork.
It was delicious! After leaving there, we got on a night bus which departed at about 11pm. It was an eight hour drive back to Fukuoka City. We all slept the entire way! Once there, we grabbed a quick train home. Sarah and I got home at around 8 am and decided to take a "nap". The nap turned into a 9 hour slumber. But it was very nice! All in all, it was a great 3 day weekend, a great trip, and a great time with each other and with our friends! We look forward to many more adventures to come!