A shrine, a playgroup, and a party - what a week!

We have had a great week! Saturday, we went to Atsuta Jingu with Kirste and Jake from playgroup. Jake just turned 3 on January 6th! He is the sweetest, most adorable little guy! Kirste is from Australia, and I could listen to her talk all day long. She told me she loves my Texas accent, so we have great fun visiting with each other :) We met her husband, Takashi, in Sakae for Baskin Robbins. We rode our first train, and the girls were so excited - especially Izzy. We walked around Sakae for a little while and agreed to meet at Outback on Australia Day - YUM!

Asuta Jingu is a Shinto shrine founded about 1900 years ago. It is supposedly the largest in Nagoya. During WWII, most of its buildings were destroyed by fire (they have since been rebuilt). Walking to the shrine, we were shown what Jake called a "hairy" tree. The very large tree is over a thousand years old! The girls and I threw a five yen coin into a large area and said a prayer. The Japanese throw their money in, clap, and make a wish. The five yen coin is supposed to be lucky, but some throw 1,000 yen bills in! We asked our teacher, Keiko-san about this, and she said that allows them to make MANY wishes :) We also got our "luck" for the year. All four Glenn girls got the same luck - not bad, not great. I'll try and find someone to interpret all the details, but apparently the papers are very difficult to read, even by most Japanese. We kept our papers, but most Japanese have a special place at the shrine to tie them. It's very pretty seeing all the papers tied. There were lots of booths set up along the walk into the shrine offering food, toys, and souvenirs. We look forward to going back!

Wednesday we had playgroup and then a much needed romp at the park with our friends. We love our playgroup, and I enjoy my visits with the other moms at the park. Most of you know how hot-natured I am (plenty of insulation), but many of the Japanese moms couldn't believe I wasn't wearing my coat when we got there (I was eventually forced, by the wind, to put it on). Sam also gets questioned at work by his co-workers because he wears short sleeves a lot :) Crazy Americans :)

Last night we had Nihongo lessons. We couldn't remember what our homework was from before Christmas break, but Keiko-san was very nice about it. Last night we learned about numbers, which was really fun! I can say my phone number in Japanese - woohoooo! Of course, I've slept since then......

Tomorrow, we have our New Year's Party with our neighbors. We are hosting, so I'm a little nervous (Ok, a lot nervous) about it, but we know it will be so much fun. I'm making enchiladas and some other Tex-Mex type foods. Chie is coming over at about 3:00 to show/help me make Gyoza. We'll let you know how it goes :)

I have also had two amazing encounters with Japanese children wanting to practice their English with me. The first was at McDonald's. There was a group of six, 5 year-olds. They were so funny, but the girls actually got a little jealous of all the attention their momma was giving/getting. Gracie came to get me because one little boy kept holding her and would not let her get on the slide. I could tell he wasn't trying to be mean, but not sure what the problem was. So, I went over, looked at him, and said, "Sumimasen." He looked very distraught, but moved aside so Gracie could get on the slide. As she was climbing up, he looked at me, and started pointing to the sign above the shoe cubicle and "telling me all about it!" Dohhhhh! Gracie forgot to take her shoes off!!! I then apologized to the little boy in Japanese and made Gracie immediately remove her shoes. After that, he was happy as could be, and they all played so wonderfully together and had the best time, except when Mommy was being the center of attention :) Then Monday we went to a new park, and the girls met several friends there. They have the best time together, and the Japanese children are so incredibly kind and patient. Again, there were a couple of kids who wanted to practice with me. They just giggle and laugh when I try to speak to them in Japanese - so cute!!! Keiko-san told me they are required to take English in school.

Princess is still at the vet. She's not in the clear yet, but she gets a little better each day. We really appreciate your prayers for her and Mom and Dad.

I'll go back and proofread this later. Right now, there is quite a bit of activity going on around me :)

Hope you all have a great weekend! Love and Miss you all!
~Michelle