of my birthday, business and cell phones...

So wow, things have been crazy busy here. My birthday was good. I don't feel older, but I sure had a good time. My Birthday was kinda spread all out over the course of a couple of weeks. I was taken out for food three times, and I received flowers, plants, perfume (very EXPENSIVE perfume by Christian Dior), DVD, change purses, water colors, cards, and more. So, I had a good time.

Last Wed, I cut my hair. I will send around 11 inches of hair to Locks of Love, and now I have a rather short (for me) bob. I will post a picture when I get one. Everyone thinks it's cute.

I have been crazy busy lately. I am like never at home. I am always going into Tokyo for meetings or to meet people or to run errands. And because I spend half my time traveling, people can't get a hold of me. So I finally caved and bought a cell phone yesterday. So far I am happy. I found a bilingual phone, and it's a Sony Ericsson, which is the type of phone I used in the states. So, now I feel better about traveling and stuff. I just have to make sure to re-arrange my budget.

Ok, so that's the short of it. I don't have so much time to explain all the little exciting things that have been going on. OH yeah, before I forget. Mika and I have finally started our drama ministry. It's hard finding Christian actors in Japan, but we have a few now and we have started practicing. We have even finished translating/adapting the skit we chose. So if you feel so inclined, please pray for the drama ministry. I will write more about that later.

Ok, so that's about it. I should get ready for work now. I don't know how often I'll be updating because things really are crazy this month. (and the next month) But I am trying to be more responsible about these things. Anyway, that's all for now.

Lata!

Of a year.

Well, today is my one year anniversary in Japan.  Amazing.  I don’t feel like I have been in Japan for a whole year.  And I do mean one whole, uninterrupted year.  Unlike my fellow workers, I have yet to return to America for a visit.  My time in Japan will be interrupted for the first time this November when I will travel to Hong Kong with the rest of the missionaries in Japan to attend a conference.

Anywho, I decided that my one year anniversary definitely needed a post.  So today was my day off.  But I did not spend it sleeping in and relaxing at my house.  No, today woke up early, rode the train during rush hour, met Mika and Pastor Saito in Iidabashi to talk about Street Drama Ministry that Mika wants to start, then I went to a Christian bookstore to buy some birthday presents, then made it back for a quick lunch before Japanese lessons, then I hung out with Lauren and Toshie, then we bought some train passes, had some fun at a bookstore with a nice English section (I almost felt like I was back in a really small American Bookstore… almost) then we hit Starbucks, then we met up with all the working missionaries for dinner at El Torito to celebrate Lauren’s birthday (which was the 30th).  I even found some food to eat.  All in all, it was a good day.  Long, but good.

On to other news.  The new volunteers are here.  They arrived last Saturday.  I went to the airport to help meet them.  We have five new people now.  It’s exciting.  More on them later.

Hmmm… What else.  I turn 26 on Wed.  It certainly doesn’t feel like I am that old.  Crazy stuff.

Anywho, there is tons to say, but I’m so sleepy (I’m working on 5 hours worth of sleep) and I have work tomorrow.  But after thinking about it some on the trains today, I’m wondering if this hasn’t been the single happiest year of my life so far.  As I look back on my year in Japan, I can’t find a prolonged period of time where I just hated my life or anything.  That’s so strange for me.  And I have also realized that I am still not homesick, nor do I feel particularity drawn back to America.  I don’t really miss living in America.  I miss people (and often wish they were here to share this experience with me) and some times I miss little things about America, but so far, I can’t really say that I miss living in America.  So, there you have it.  I’m happy in Japan.

Tomorrow my students will take me out to lunch for my birthday.  Free food and no lesson planning.  Not too shabby.  Yeah, I think that’s about it for now.  I’m gonna go to bed now.  (maybe the jet lag’s finally kicking in…  Or maybe this is normal for me. ;-)