Ignition

Shout out to ElShaddai Youth! " Do not let anyone look down on yo because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

October Adventures

It has been a good week. We had a typhoon hit on Thursday, and they cancelled school do to probable high winds. I got soaked in the rain on my walk to work but had extra clothes with me. Later, I rode to Home Ac to buy an umbrella and rain pants. I promptly put holes in the knees of the rain pants by playing an amazing game of volleyball. I've got skinned knees and brused forearms for my battle scars . YES!

I got to pick up my Alien Registration Card this week also. You all thought I was weird before, the Japanese government says I'm an Alien. top that! Thanks for taking me over Shoko :)

I, also, picked up a form to get a library card, there is a small section all in English at the local library. The form is mostly in Kanji, which is basically the cool looking Chinese characters that we all love, but can't tell what they mean. Well, I tried to figure them out but to no avail and am beholden to the local library magistrates to help me out. So that is the adventure of next week.

Monday of this week I took a bike trip to the post office and, after walking out timidly, I tried a second time to convey that I wanted overseas stamps and was accordingly rewarded. Then I tackled the ATM and with the trusty guide Rumi, from MeySen, gave me I figured out which buttons to push to find out my balance. In Japan the bank issues you a bank book that is magnitized so the ATMs can read it and print your past transactions and current balance. I tried to stuff that bank book in the machine and by the forth time finally figured out I had to press the account balance button before I did anything. OH! On my way home, which was awesome because it was all down hill and I fellt like I was riding a motorcycle, I decied to take another quick venture and headed to Book-Off. Book-Off is like a high quality, walmart/ nick-nack/ music/ book store, thrift store. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I looked about then scooted out before being late with a lunch date with some of the Interns here at MeySen. Sarah and Laura (said interns) had been wanting me to eat Nato, a Northern Japanese dish which half of the Northern Japanese don't care for. It is fermented soy beans. Wikipedia has a little video of how to stir them up. Well, I tried them and it was as bad as people said. Although I am willing to try again with other toppings. I will wait a few weeks.

Today, I went with the first grade classes to a dairy farm. Boy we had a blast! Along with petting and getting slobbered on by cows, we got to milk a cow, and see tons of spiders. We also got to make butter by shaking milk in empty water bottles for 45 minutes. During that shaking time we hunted crickets, frogs, and grasshoppers in a small patch of un farmed land. After the milk had a bit of butter we sat down to warm milk and crackers to spread our homeade butter on and enjoy. The kids came home with new pets and great memories. "Yeah I made butter with nothing but milk and an empty bottle."

Oh the pictures are my bycycle, the out side of my apartment (ppl hang their clothes out to dry), Book-off and the traditional Sendai side walks which are intricately designed and have a special lane just for visually impaired ppl, a Shinto shrine which I want to explore this week, and the Kiddos when we went to the park this week.Awesome play equipment! Also their are a few of the Halls of MeySen with the kids and their shoes for they have indoor and outdoor shoes and must switch before entering the classroom,

FOOD

So I went shopping and thought you would enjoy the commonalities and differences in delectable delights.

The Maruyama Campus

There are two MeySen Academy campuses, Maruyama and Takamori. They are both located in different regions of Sendai City suburbia. They each teach the same English programs, namely Kindergarten for ages 4 and 5, Kindergarten Immersion for ages 4 and 5, Immersion Friends Club for grades 1 and 2, and regular Friends Club for grades 1-12. The kindergartens are held in the morning from about 8 to 2. The Friends Clubs are held after school on weekdays and in the mornings on Saturdays. Immersion Friends Club meets from 4-6:30, while regular friends club is divided into hour time slots. There are 2 slots a weekday and a child is schedualed to come 2 to 3 times a week.

The featured campus is Maruyama. The grounds are lovely and the animals are fun. The children get to interact with them and walk past a few on their way to class. There is also a shaggy gray and white dog that meanders around campus. He represents a character in the MeySen curriculum. Isn't God's creation beautiful! God even made thedesigners of this wonderful school.