Japan 21 (ni-ju-ichi)
Well, our schedule had to be revised a bit, but I think we are off to a good start on our schoolwork. I am really please with Seton as a homeschool curriculum. Some things we are able to go through a little quicker, but when we need to we take our time.
I wanted to ask you to remember the family of Max Wilkerson who passed away recently, in your prayers. Mr. Wilkerson is the father of Bishop Jerry Wilkerson. Bishop Wilkerson also lost his mother less than a year ago. Our prayers are with you Bishop Jerry.
I think I mentioned some time ago that we were going to have a Japanese student come over during her winter vacation so she could practice her English before she goes to America in August. This young lady is named Mizuho. She is 17 years old. Her English is good although because she has only practiced with Japanese people she will still have some adjusting to do when she gets to America.
The girls had lots of fun with Mizuho. Some days they would go to the park and other days we would all stay in and do our school work. She would bring her English work to do while she was here so I could help her if she needed it. We had some great talks about some of the questions that she had about life in America. I did have a laugh when she asked me what sort of dress she should wear to American school party. I pointed out that perhaps I wasn’t the best to consult in the teenage fashion department and that she should ask an American friend who she likes the way they dress to help her make such a selection. I did emphasize for her to make nice friends. Mizuho returns to school tomorrow, but we hope to see her again when she comes to see her parents.
Sunday, Tatsu came up to see us and Monday was a National Holiday. Monday we were supposed to go to Yokohama for a couple of days for Dana’s work. The girls and I decided to tag along and see our friends that live nearby. We had planned to take Tatsu back to Yokohama, he lives near there, but when our plans delayed, the girls and I took him to a park we really like instead.
The park we went to is really fun. It has a slide that is 875 meters long. You sit on a little sled-like thing with a pull brake and you can zip down the hill. It even tows you back to the top afterwards! Charlene rode with me and Catherine rode with Tatsu. Christina was old enough to do it on her own. I think it was a great way to just relax and have fun.
Well, the trip was delayed several times, but we finally left for Yokohama Wednesday night, in the rain. It was rather a long drive, but we made it there safely and had no difficulties finding our hotel. The hotel was very nice and was located in the tallest building in all of Japan called the Landmark Tower. It is 70 stories high and our room was on the 58th floor. It was funny to be totally socked in by the clouds and not be able to see a thing out the huge window in the room. I managed to take a few pictures, but they aren’t anything spectacular because the sky never really cleared.
Thursday was Christina’s 10th birthday. The girls and I met Ginny, Axton and Vanessa. We went to the amusement park nearby, an import mall and explored the Yokohama train station stores. That evening, we went to dinner at a restaurant that Christina picked. We purchased a banana cream pie with strawberries on top. They put a chocolate kanji sign that said Happy Birthday on it and gave us candles. We ate it later in our hotel room out of teacups. It was really good!
A side note, I don’t have an explanation as to why there are so many strawberries in the stores at this time of year, but they are the best I have ever had. Of course, they aren’t cheap either.
Friday, Dana anticipated finishing work around noon. It didn’t work that way, but the girls and I spent the day shopping in the rows and rows of stores. Dana got to us around 5pm; we grabbed some dinner and headed home. We made good time through Tokyo and were home by 7:30, I think.
Today, I am trying to catch up on housework and laundry, do some grocery shopping and get ready to start back to schoolwork on Monday. Sound exciting?
I think that is all for now. I haven’t had much time to work on the web site, so I’ll let you know when I get it together.
Blessings and prayers,
Marion
About Me
- Marion
- You can read more about me in my Jan 12 2009 post on this blog, but here's the really short version. I'm a wife and mother. I've been married to my wonderful husband, Dana, for over 24 years. We have three beautiful daughters that are 20, 17, and 13. We live in Iowa now, but are originally from California and have lived in Colorado and Japan. I have written for The Little Way, an email list for Catholic wives and mothers, since 2000. The Little Way is just a way of consecrating the ordinary things we do in our vocations and recognizing that our responsibilities as wives and mothers are our path to sanctity. When we aren't at home you are likely to find us on a dance floor someplace, square dancing, round dancing or ballroom dancing. Most recently, I have been on a journey for better health and weight loss. It's been quite a trip! Currently, I'm still homescholing my 16 year old, just finished my BS in Sports and Health Science and I am Secretary of Pastoral Ministries at two parishes in Cedar Rapids.
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