December 2014 Recap

I admit December was a bit tough for all of us for various reasons. Archie was alone for the holidays and was pretty sad about it. He did get to take care of a friend who tripped and dislodged his pinky finger in the middle of the night...got him to the emergency room using his awesome Japanese while his friend was in agony. He's a do-gooder! Gabe and I were also sad to leave Archie behind. The plane flights over to the States were pretty unbearable and confusing but we made it.

We stayed with our good friends Stacie and Dan and their two kids for the first couple of days. But I couldn't get any sleep with Gabe in the same bed so after almost losing my mind, I checked us into a hotel room and my parents took Gabe for a night so I could sleep. Sleep I did for 16 hours, off and on.

We visited with my parents and family, we had our family Christmas party. I watched movies and ate good food that I'd been missing. I got to feel a bit whole again after being able to drive and speak in my own language. I felt useful again. Gabe enjoyed seeing old friends.

We even spent time with our kitties Wolfy, Frodo, and Shadow. They're doing just find without us but we are both looking forward to the time we get them back.

I even got to see lots of my friends at a nice gathering.

The next week we headed up to a timeshare that Stacie and Dan own up at Bear Lake. It was secluded and fun to just relax for a bit. Dan and Stacie both got the flu so they ended up staying in bed most of the week but we still ate some good food and opened up presents on Christmas and talked with Archie.

Then it was time for the plane ride home. Another unbearable experience....I hate flying. It's the worst. It was sad to leave Utah but it was great to be back with Archie and in our own beds.

Overall, I'm glad we went. I needed it. But I don't know I'd do it again if I don't have a travelling companion!

November 2014 Recap

It's 2015 and my goal is to write consistently in this blog! Good luck to me :)

Gabe and I headed back home to Utah to spend time with family and friends over the holidays in December. We got back in time to spend New Year's with Archie, though. He was pretty lonely. But it was nice to see home again. I'll post more pics of December and January soon.

Gabe is enjoying the International School here. He has lots of friends he tells me about plus all the fun stuff at school like rube goldberg contraptions and fun PE games. He's even reading now! He reads me a small book or two every night before bed.

He is still swimming and recently passed his first test and received the Octupus award. Archie sewed it on his backpack too.

It's pretty cold in Hiroshima during the winter. I think Northern Utah is still a bit colder but considering it's an island and so hot and humid during the summer, I thought it would be a bit more mild. The nice days get into the 50s.

Gabe also loves sushi. On his days off or on the weekends we end up heading over to the local store and pickup some sushi. He likes the soy sauce and using his chopsticks to eat it!

Archie works nights every other month which is hard on him and all of us. The workload in Japan wasn't quite what we expected. Long hours make it pretty tough sometimes.

February we're heading up to Tokyo to see Disneyland and Legoland and whatever else we can fit in during that time. Gabe's birthday is that week and we wanted him to really remember it. The big 6 is coming up soon!

My days consist of cleaning, planning, and studying with a few bits of fun with fellow expats thrown in every other week or so. I'm studying some HTML, reading a lot, planning meals and shopping, keeping the place respectableish, and getting out when I can. Looks like this will continue to be my schedule for a bit.

Japan is a beautiful country and love getting out on the weekends with Gabe and Archie so we can enjoy it. We hope to get to a few more faraway spots in Japan before we come back to Utah.

Here's a recap of November:

We went to some outlying islands and visited some famous gardens and shrines. I also found cat cafes! I got to visit the sweet moggies. We hiked Sandankyo, enjoyed a picnic by the castle and enjoyed the Fall leaves. We also took a stroll along their Dreamination lights and a mini Thanksgiving meal.

Well, that was about it for us in November!

October and Halloween

I can't believe Halloween is over and done for the year. October saw us eating tofu cuisine, swimming at the beach! (yes it was still warm enough for the beach here!) We also visited a beautiful park with lots of fun things to do for Gabe and beautiful nature to see and enjoy...but we came too late and could only stay for a an hour and a half before it closed and we were kicked out after driving for 1.5 hours! Another time.

We also hiked up to a beautiful shrine just above our apartment. It was very serene and peaceful. Gabe complained a bit about the long hike but it was worth it once we got to the top. I just can't believe how beautiful Japan is. Every place on Earth has its own beauty and I'm enjoying getting to know Japan's.

Gabe had his Fall break and we did make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and made a few Halloween crafts. We didn't get out much but we had fun anyway.

We hit a food festival, painted pumpkins, and enjoyed the school Halloween party.

Gabe was a pirate and I was a skeleton. I didn't go too crazy but it was something. Archie and I set (Archie) set up our trunk for trunk-or-treating. I took Gabe around to do all the fun games. Haunted house, donut eating contest, the works. Gabe had a good time. He only got trampled once in the mad rush to the line for trick-or-treating.

So without further adieu here are the pic highlights of our October!

My tutor Yasuko San who took me to a tofu restaurant

My tofu plate!

Beach antics!

Gabe loves swimming!

Bihoku park

Cool mushroom playground!

3 puppies in a stroller!

Tree!

Yummy cookies and ramen dipping dinner!

the last one says Boo!

September Antics

September highlights include the Hiroshima City Park with the PTA families from Gabe's school and our trip to Bunny Island!

September also included sickness for Gabe and me...on into October as well, unfortunately. The germs are really hitting us hard here.

I joined the Hiroshima International Women's Club. It brings bilingual Japanese women and other women foreigners together to learn from each other and create a community. Our first meeting was a class on Ikebana, Japanese floral design. it's beautiful but a very difficult art to master. My new friend Tazuko san helped me quite a bit! We get together at least once or twice a month for coffee and cooking/and or other cultural exchange classes.

Fall comes a bit later here in Hiroshima. I'm looking forward to the beautiful Fall colors in the next month or two. But for now we are all enjoying the cooler weather.

Gabe is enjoying school. His reading has already grown exponentially. He went on his first field trip to see Japanese houses last week. He enjoys PE and Japanese class. He is also learning to swim really well. He loves it.

Archie is being worked to death....long hours makes it tough but we enjoy the weekends.

This week is Gabe's fall break. We plan to make a lot of Halloween and Fall crafts, bake some pumpkin bread and get outside a bit.

We are also looking forward to the school's Halloween party on Halloween. Gabe plans on being a pirate. I'm planning on a skeleton and Archie will go as himself!

I'm looking forward to healthier days! I hope! Being sick makes everything miserable.

Here are some highlights from September....

My arrangement and Tazuko san's

Shaun the Sheep!

Beautiful Flower

Train ride up the mountain!

A very scary but safe bridge!

bunny island

Hubs feeding teh bunniez