Driving In Japan

Well, let's just say that driving in Japan will be on my Top 10 List of what I don't ever want to do again! First, they drive on the left side of the road! I have learned that contrary to the expectation that the Japanese are very advanced and rational people, they are not! There cannot be any rational thinking that explains the way these people drive! They will park their cars right on a road, just pull over and park, sometimes when you are right behind them driving 40Km/h. So half of their car is still on the main road! So you must drive around them, which takes you into the oncoming lane of traffic. This is supposed to be illegal but is done everywhere all the time. I will not do this as I know the first time I do it, I will get a ticket! The other thing that makes driving here dangerous is the people, walking and riding bikes. They have the right of way and they know it! They don't slow down to cross a street, they don't look both direction before crossing a street, they go full speed ahead and if you hit them, it's your fault! So, before turning, you must look both ways for not only other cars but bikes and pedestrians! This is guaranteed to get your blood pressure up! It's no wonder that most of the people don't drive a car in Japan, IT'S CRAZY!!!!

Taylor's Baseball Team

Taylor's baseball team played their first home games this weekend. They have two teams, A Team & B Team. The A Team is all 7th and 8th graders, the B Team is the 6th graders. Taylor is the only 6th grader on the A Team! He is their catcher! His coach is very excited to have Taylor on the team, someone with baseball experience. Taylor is having a great time. They won their first game 4-3! Taylor scored the third run to tie the game, got two hits, and stole 3 bases! The second game was just as exciting. They sadly ended the first inning down, 0-8, but went into the last inning and came back 11-10! Taylor got two hits and stole 2 bases for the second game. Although the level of baseball isn't what Taylor is used to, it is still baseball! Since it is a very small school and plays other small private schools, the kids aren't all the athletic type or haven't had much experience with competitive sports.

Taylor's Baseball Team

Erika's Progress

Well, today Erika went to school without any crutch at all. She has been on one crutch for about a week now. She is nervous, as she doesn't know if her leg will give out on her. She really only needed it for going up/down stairs. So she has been instructed to always hold the rail. Most of you know, Erika had surgery on her knee before we left Seattle. This was successful and she was doing her physical therapy and progressing. After the first week of school she went away on a high school retreat to a place about 3 hours in the mountains. She was walking only with one crutch at the time. Well, she was asked if the group doing a skit could use her crutch. She was told the walkways were even and safe to walk on, so she gave them her crutch. Needless to say, the walkways were nice and safe but didn't continue all the way to where Erika needed to go. She slipped on some rocks (it had been raining) and fell. The friend she was with tried to grab her but couldn't and they both heard a loud pop from her knee. She was in great pain and crying so they called the paramedics. They called us and we said to just let her rest, elevate it and ice it. That was when she began to go into seizures, similar to after her surgery in Seattle. This must be how her body handles great pain. Well, they immediately drove her to a hospital an hour away! Now she was 4 hours from us, across the mountains and we couldn't get to her! It was an absolutely horrible night! For her and me. They finally got her stabilized and she stopped the seizing about 1am. They brought her home the next day, but she now had to be put back in the knee stabilizer and use both crutches again. With her workload at school and homework, she doesn't have much time to do physical therapy. She is doing it during P.E. class that she has every other day. So her progress is slow and very limited. I really don't know the extent of the damage the fall has done to her knee. She has sharp pains inside it, similar to what she felt before surgery, but her kneecap is in place and stable. We will continue and see a doctor if we must. A friend has given me the name of a great kneed doctor that her husband has used. Japan is not the place to be with any sort of disability. There are so many stairs everywhere! There of course are elevators too, but very much out of the way to use. That's it for now. Hopefully this will be the last of Erika's major injuries, not likely, but hopefully.

My Future is Never-ending Laundry.

Of the many challenges in Japan, one of them is laundry. We are blessed to have all American appliances in our house, with the exception of the washing machine. Boeing has further blessed us by providing appliances for us. So we were able to replace the very tiny and inefficient machine that was in our house. It has been replaced by a new, larger machine, but it is still a Japanese washer. The Japanese washing machines are actually a washer and a dryer. I am sure this is to save space, but also for energy conservation. The downside to this is that it is a very inefficient machine. To do one load (wash and dry) takes 4 hours! No, I am not kidding. So, with a family of 5, it would take the entire day to do 2 loads. Therefore, I hang out the laundry. This cuts down the time for one load to 2 hours. Then I start another load while I hang out the first load to dry outside. It is definitely dry by the time the next load is ready to hang out. Then I usually have to iron most things. I have not ironed so much in my entire life as I have ironed in these last two weeks in our house. What do I do when it rains do you ask? Well, the size of the drum in the washers are also much smaller than their American counterparts, so the loads are smaller. So what most people do is bring their clothes racks inside and let them hang dry in their living rooms, etc. Most Japanese driers don't dry very well, even after two hours. My machine is new and drys well, it just takes forever. It isn't all bad. I get quiet and still time while I am hanging it. And I know there are many of you out there saying how much that is just what I need!

Worshiping Barefooted!

We finally got to a church on Sunday! As with all places Japanese, we had to take off our shoes before entering. There was something very weird about standing/sitting there barefooted singing and listening to a sermon and later fellowshipping with others! Although the experience was very different, it was Biblical, and that's what counts. It is very small, just a room in a big building. This Sunday was their biggest attendance of 50 people, including children. It is only one of two enlgish-speaking churches in the area, a 35-45 minute drive from our house. The other church option meets at 5pm on Sundays. I went to my first Bible study on Monday. They only meet every other week, so that is a bummer. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next one.

Going Away Party

The First Day of School

Japanese Dancers

What We Found Most Interesting In Japan

I guess one of the first things you notice when entering Japan is the toilets. I know it's weird, but when you gotta go, you gotta go! There are a few things which make them unlike any we've seen before. First, in some places, the toilet is basically a urinal on the floor! You squat over it (make sure your clothing is out of the way!) and do your business. Sometimes the mechanism to flush is a button on the floor that you step on, sometimes on the wall. Needless to say this is an emergency use for us only! It certainly isn't the cleanest, and Stephanie and Dee I think of you everytime I see one of these because I know you two would be mortified over the cleanliness and odor! The other thing is that in many public restrooms there isn't any toilet paper; you always carry tissues in your purse/pocket for times such as these! The second unusual thing is the regular toilet seats (in most stores, homes, hotels, etc) are heated and have the option at the touch of a button for a bidet and what they call a "shower"(this is a bidet for your rear end). It does take some getting used to but, in my opinion, is something the United States needs to adopt in their toilets. The Japanese don't always provide soap or paper towels for washing. There is usually a sink, but that is it. The Japanese carry around a "towel" with them for times like these and also wiping sweat from their brow.

I guess this wraps it up for today. I will try and share more tomorrow!

Well folks, we are well and truly ensconsed in Japan now! We have furniture and some household goods (I think I'll never be finished with that task!). This is my first attempt at anything on the computer (of course Eric helped!) so I will try to keep it updated. I find myself thinking throughout the day "Oh I should write about this on my blog." So we'll see if I can keep this up. If nothing else I'll share photos.