Fish, rain, trains, & Totoro

The other chicken has cooped here with me in Japan. Krista came in safely and we have been having all kinds of misadventures.

Wednesday I accompanied Rina and Masami very early in the morning to the famous Tsukiji fish market. I got to see how the whole operation works, and observed Masami buying fish to take back to Maui. This market is crazy! Giant slabs of fish that you'd swear came from the side of a cow, eels writhing around by the dozens, lobsters trying to escape the tables, giant muscles and oysters, fish parts everywhere, fisherman sawing giant tuna up on bandsaws, every sort of seafood you could imagine. It was awesome. Then we went to sushi for breakfast nearby the market, and I can honestly say that was THE most amazing sushi I have EVER eaten. Every kind of fish literally melted in my mouth. They get their fish fresh from the docks (which are about 200 ft. away) so it is literally as fresh as you can get. I bid the girls farewell, and headed for the airport to gather Krista.

Yesterday Krista and I went to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka. It was SOOOO amazing. It was like a little dream world. We got to see a short film that can only be seen at the museum, and wandered around in this giant cottage full of brilliant gadgets, original story board art, giant cat-buses that you can climb around in, beautiful paintings, and all sorts of little made up worlds to get lost in. We were even greeted by a giant Totoro at the entrance. It is really a place you have to see to believe. And I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who comes to Tokyo to go see it. (Especially Ghibli fans) Unfortunately there's no picture taking aloud inside the facilities, we really wish we could show you even a few of the amazing things inside. It gave us goose-bumps around every turn.

Today, we headed to Kyoto on the 'super express' train. When we arrived it was pouring down rain. And of course, packing all of our luggage, we had no idea where our hostel was. The directions given to us were not exactly.. helpful. So as we wandered in the pouring rain, we stopped to ask people if they knew where the Khoasan Hostel was, and of course no one had ever heard of it. So, at first sight of white man.. we decided we should try our luck with people who might speak Enlgish, and who knows... might even be staying at the same hostel. Turns out these two nice young men were French, but they did speak pretty good English. They had no idea either, but were on their way to a train station that has an English speaking information desk. So they said we could follow them to the station. Which we did.... for about 45 min. Turns out this station was a long LONG way away. So after a while we decided we'd better just pop into a different hostel to use the internet and find better directions. After a confusing cab ride, we did find it and arrives absolutely drenched. But, the trek was worth it... this place is SWANKY. It's the nicest hostel I've ever been in. So here Krista and I sit at our new digs, letting our suitcases dry, and writing about our adventures.

Tomorrow is supposed to bring thunderstorms and more rain, so should make sightseeing very interesting. More to come later...

Nakano (where we stayed)

Tsukiji Fish Market Experience








































































Sushi with Masami & Rina




















Ghibli Museum






























































































































(Krista's expression says it all.....?)




































A bike i like

Tokyokyokyooo

ようこそ東京へ!

Japan! Here i is. So far it's been great. Done some wandering around, some relaxing, ate some delicious food, enjoyed some great hospitality, and had two old men fall asleep on me on the train. So all in all... pretty standard Japan experience. I really likeit so far... Tokyo is super clean and techie. People have been very friendly and helpful. The train stations here are nuts though. Not quite as simple as Taipei. Right now I am staying in a hostel in Nakano-ku just outside Shinjuku. I have 3 room mates, two Taiwanese girls and one Japanese girl. So the communication jumping from Japanese to Chinese to English has been wearing out my brain, but it's fun. They're all really nice.

Yesterday I spent the day wandering around Yokohama area which was nice and relaxing. Then met up with my friend Rina (from Maui) and her mom Masami for dinner. We also met up with a super cool family from Tokyo and they showed me a great time. We went to a bar in SOGO that had these crazy ninja bartenders. These guys were flinging bottles all over the place and lighting stuff on fire and basically defying gravity WHILE mixing drinks. It was pretty impressive. Today Rina and I met up with some other friends here for breakfast, then wandered around Harajuku and Shibuya (where the crazy sub-culture of youth is) That was some real good people watching. Cool areas. Lots of big fancy stores. Tomorrow we hit up the world famous Tsukiji fish market early. And then.. Krista arrives!! So there will be more to come this week!

.... (remember to enlarge pictures just click on the image)

Toayan Airport

5 ft. tall original Gundam model

Harajuku's famous Takeshita dori

Dinner with Noguchi's in Yokohama...

Rina & Yumi

Breakfast at Leai's apartment (from left to right... Leai, Ai, Me, and another Ai)

Yokohama Harbor

Shibuya

Update: this news just in...

Very happy to report that our congregation has grown to the point where we cannot accommodate anymore people. So after much consideration the elder body has found the perfect location to start a new English group. Right in the middle of a town full of factories where hundreds of eager Filipinos work. Many of whom studied or have been introduced to the truth but were never able to make it all the way out to our KH before. The brothers are very confident that this will result in huge growth for the English territory. In a few weeks we are sending about 40 publishers to Shulin (about an hour and a half train ride away) where the new group will be. And even more, one of the English cong. south of us has grown to the point of needing to expand as well, so they are forming a group in an otherwise seldom worked area. We will now have 5 English congregations and two groups in Taiwan. This is going to provide many people with the opportunity to come to the meetings that never could before.

In summation... the English field here is expanding rapidly, and we are all very excited to see how Jehovah blesses these new changes.

It's been really amazing to watch, each meeting there are bible studies attending by the hand full. Last Sunday a worldly girl and her boyfriend came to the meeting, following along in their Chinese Bibles as best they could. And when a brother asked for the reading of a scripture in the WT, the girl raised her hand, stood up, and began reading aloud for the whole congregation. She was so excited to take part in the meeting that she didn't even wait until the brother called on anyone. She had been following along and anticipated ahead of time that the scripture was coming. It was really cute to see such enthusiasm in a study.

I have been asked to take over a bible study for one of the sisters that is moving to the new group next month, so I'm looking forward to starting that as soon as I return from Japan.

I also have a few more leads on jobs thanks to the friends, so I'm becoming more optimistic about the work situation.

Wish you could all be here to experience these exciting times. Keep up the good work back home!

Useful phrases such as 'I don't want to eat pidgeon'

Well, life here has been about as stable as a milk bottle on a tilt-a-whirl. But I am very grateful for the assistance and generosity shown by the dear sisters who have taken us in. (pictured below)

In an attempt to keep this brief...

I have had my first job interview, the results will have to wait until I return from Japan.

Still looking for an apartment, the Taiwanese sister I live with right now has been very helpful in deciphering ads and going with me to meet land lords.

Getting used to our new spot, going on a study tomorrow a.m. with a new friend from the cong. So looking forward to that. We also had fireworks tonight right out our window.

That's all for now... more explanation with the pictures. Enjoy!

The train...

A very ornate temple I saw on my way back from my job interview....

These are my roommates while I stay here... In order: Sue (from Korea), Meija (from Taiwan), Angela (from Brittain). And not to leave out the two kitties BaoBao (who I think is part Ewok) & MiMi (the orange kitty) the two laziest creatures I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

This is the view from the apartment lanai. Taipei 101

building on a misty day & the mountains.

This is our neighbors pretty door. She plays something that sounds like the harp at night. (I think maybe it's called a konghao)

"You have pehn??..( I have a pen??) PEHN! PEHN!"

Hello from a bunkbed far far away. Oh my, what a week. Let me start by saying, if you ever feel the need to be sick in another country... this is the one to do it in. Woke up Sunday morning with a horrible swollen sore throat, after close inspection discovered the dreaded white spots. My immediate thought was 'Great... strep throat.. just what I needed'. After putting off medical attention for a couple days I decided to brave a trip to the hospital. With my trusty Melissa by my side, we wandered into a busy hospital. And after much failed attempts to communicate what I needed, I was turned down. (It was after 3 pm, which is apparently too late to get medical attention) So we wandered some more until finding a clinic. I was admitted right away, sent into what resembled a mad scientist/dentist circa 1962's office, and was asked a bunch of questions by an old man (close talker) in Chinese. After he finally figured out that I didn't understand him our conversation went something like this....

'Whe disconfret at?' (I point at my throat)

'You have pehn?' (I have a pen??) PEHN! PEHN! You have pehn hee?! (uh... OH! pain?? yes!)

'What you tink heff?' (Um, maybe strep? i have white spots)

'Why spa!??' (no... spots... white... back here.. )

'oh, you now have dat.. dis becktria, you not this heff becktria... look! (oh... okay)

'Open mout' (gaaahhhhh) *poke* *jab* *spritz*

'you heving barus' (barus?... barus....?)

'no becktria... bvaras' (ohh... virus!... ok.)

The rest of the visit consisted of him showing me a bunch of stuff written in chinese on his computer, and telling me to go downstairs to pick up my Rx. In total, the visit took about 5 min. including time to get my Rx. The total cost (w/o insurance mind you).. roughly $27 for the whole shibang. Not too stinking bad.

The result... white spots are gone and I'm feeling much better.

Other achievements this week... went to the movies, ate a lot more really awesome food, and did the most ridiculous trek to do laundry I've ever done. Picture Melissa and I squeezing onto the crowded metro train with a bag stuffed to the point of almost overflowing that's so big it takes both of us to carry it. Then walking in the rain for who knows how long to find a laundromat (again, each of us carrying half of the bag). Getting lost in some really rural REALLY Chinese neighborhood, then spending 3 hours at said laundromat, and returning the same way. Nothing is simple.

In other news.. I saw a man walking around with a poodle riding on his shoulders, a lady walking her cat by leash, and an asian man with what closely resembles the 'flat top' or more commonly known as 'MC Hammer' hair-do. We had a hard time telling if it was a helmet.. or just a masterpiece of hair. It looked pretty solid.

Tonight is our last night at the hostel. A sister in my congregation has graciously asked us to come stay with her and a couple other sisters in their apartments while we hunt for one of our own. This will be a crowded situation, and probably a little awkward, but it will save us money in the mean time and get us out of the hostel. So the hunt continues.

By the time I post again I might be in Japan, so stay tuned for news from there! Sorry, not many pictures this week. (Spent most of it in bed)

the importance of fanny-packs

I would love to be able to say that I have successfully made it one whole week without getting lost, but alas, I cannot. The amount of unnecessary walking I've done due to being somewhat directionally challenged... is unreal. But it's a good way to see the city in detail. I have discovered the importance of taking a map with me at all times- thus the importance of the fanny pack.. (because purses are so uncool) I swear some days my internal GPS is on point, and other days it sends me in every direction but the one I want. I've pretty much covered this entire city by foot mostly by accident. But it's all part of the fun.

In general people here don't talk to strangers on the streets, they all just mind their own business and get to where they need to go, they don't even so much as say excuse me or thank you for the most part. But, I have an incredible magnetism for random encounters. (oh man have they been random too) I have had more local people try to strike up conversations with me, whether they speak English or not, but so far I have yet to have a 'conversation' with anyone on the street that made any amount of sense. It usually ends up with me smiling awkwardly and shaking my head saying 'wo bu dong' (i dont understand). But that doesn't seem to stop anyone from proceeding with a full dialogue on who-knows what. It makes for lively outings anyway.

I got a chance to meet more people at the meeting this week. This is an amazing congregation. People from every corner of the globe serve here. We have 4 missionaries in our cong. And every

single person I've met has a story of how/why they are there. I got there super early and met a sister from Russia who is here for a few months to see her kids. I guess her ex-husband is Taiwanese and when she learned the truth he made her choose between the Bible and her kids. She made a very difficult choice but she chose the truth. So now she spends most of the year

saving up money so she can fly to Taiwan from Russia a couple times a year to see them. What a sacrifice. The friends here are so welcoming and want to help you out however they can. They seem grateful to anyone who comes to help. (I have attached a picture of the KH room below)

Also, this was the first meeting I've attended where the council during the service meeting was "If you have more bible studies and RV's than you can handle, how do we make sure they're taken care of"...... Apparently this is an issue that the congregation has as a whole.... I can't even imagine. But I am willing to take on some of that burden! ;) Our territory extends 2 hours travel

in all directions around us. So we get a little taste of the whole northern half of the country. I am told that once or twice a year there is a big service week when all the fisherman come to port from being away for several months so our cong. sends dozens of people to the docks and preaches to them while they are here. I guess most of them are Indonesian and Filipino so their English is a little better than their Mandarin. Reminded me of pg.68 in the BT book, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if that was taken here. The brothers buy fresh fish at the docks and BBQ it for break.

The territory for us is almost entirely informal witnessing- streets, stores, markets, etc. This is an area that I am not particularly confident in, so it will be a challenge but I am glad to have my informal witnessing skills sharpened. I had my first day in the field today, it was quite different

from anything I've done before. We just wander around the city and look for people who might speak English, chase them down, and place whatever we've got with them. It's really informal, but we met some nice people. I'm a little gun-shy just yet, but hopefully I'll get used to the new routine. And the sister I worked with today was very helpful in giving me advice.

Melissa and I are still looking for an apartment, but are on the trail of a couple leads. So hopefully we will be able to move out of the hostel soon. Although I will miss eating lunch & watching Sumo wrestling everyday with Bob (a 70-something year old who lives at the hostel).

More to come likely after the weekend... stay tuned.

Ximen at night....

This is the English KH room...

good advertisement....

this is our neighborhood...

Melissa contemplating dumplings... (or maybe she's staring at the albino sitting behind me)

Funky noodles...