I'll start at the flight over. The TSA agents at LAX were amazing (I know, most often it's horror stories with the TSA!) They personally helped me with my bags, water bottles, two daughters and two precious baby dolls. Oh, and my 7 massive checked bags! (Huge thanks to my parents, my dad in particular who lugged those around California for a day before we flew out. I got as close to 50lbs per bag as possible haha!) Once through security the girls were amazing at the airport, checking out the planes, making friends with other kids waiting at various gates, and hanging out with me. We lost Evelyn's baby doll at the money exchange counter, luckily to remember and find it again before lift off. We made friends with a flight attendant who came and checked on us several times! She said her children were the same age as mine, and she knew how hard flying could be. She even brought me fresh fruit and snacks from first class. Yeah, she was clutch. The girls were so good for the flight. Only a few tears when we had to go to the bathroom. Plane bathrooms are a bit freaky, loud and strange. After that, it was all movies, naps and snacks. Once we landed, airport staff came and helped us through immigration and customs. The girls were on the brink of falling apart, as was I. Someone came and whisked us to the side and pushed us through to the next section. After that, I thought Donny would be able to meet us and pick up our checked luggage. That wasn't the case. I started to feel quite overwhelmed and exhausted, knowing I was in a massive airport, all the signs in Japanese, no cell phone, two cranky kids, a mountain of luggage, and our carry-on's. When I finally found the correct baggage claim, someone grabbed a luggage cart for me, and helped me put everything on. An airport employee even made the girls smile while I was managing logistics. Then another kind stranger came up and pushed my cart, all the way through the final check point to my husband. I don't think I've ever felt at the mercy of so many strangers, but I am fervently grateful for all of their help.
After a few days of the girls having rough jet lag (waking up at 3am ready to start the day haha) we finally got back to regular schedule. So glad that happened :)
The first Sunday at church was a whirlwind! We were called to serve as Pathway Missionaries (More on that later) and everything is in Japanese! Obviously it would be, but it's still neat to hear familiar things, like hymns, the sacrament prayers, and greetings in Japanese instead of English. I love that the church we attend(www.lds.org) is a global church, meaning everyone in every congregation no matter where they are is learning the same things on Sunday. The hymns are different, and the opening and closing prayers are different, but the things that really matter, like the sacrament prayers, the doctrine in the lessons, and the truths taught are universal. It really helps me not feel too homesick. It's my little connection to America. Church, and Costco. My links to the US. Haha :)
Costco! Costco in JP is the same, yet different. But the most important thing about Costco is the food court, obviously. {If you were going to say something different, like produce, Vitamix deals, or TV sales, then you're seriously missing the mark ;) } They have hot dogs, pizza, chicken bakes, fresh salad, and Coke. And other things, but let's get real. I'm there for the "Almost American" food!! We now purposely plan our Costco trips around a meal time. Which for us, can be anytime of day really! Costco in JP delivers, which is fantastic. We don't have a car, so we take the train everywhere. Carrying lots of excess things, bags, etc is highly frowned upon. So we walk through, get everything we need and then ship it. It's so nice. When we return stateside, I'm going to be spoiled. Pulling up beside the store and having them load my car will no longer be enough! Thank you Japanese Costco!
Our neighborhood is perfect. When we decided to take this job offer, I was a little sad thinking we would be in a totally urban area, very high up in the sky, far away from anything terribly kid friendly. We live in the complete opposite of that. We're in a two story house in a quiet neighborhood, about 8 minutes to the train station on foot, and 5 minutes to Donny's work on foot. It's such a get set up. One of our neighbors speaks nearly perfect English, having lived in the UK for a bit, and she has been such a great help to us. Her son is aged right between the girls, and they all get on really well together. There are lots of other children in our neighborhood. They all ride around on scooters and bikes, like a little biker gang. It's so cute. The oldest is maybe 10. Most of them are boys. The girls, Evelyn in particular, have a few admirers. They come and knock on our windows are stand there until the girls show up, or their mom apologizes and shoo's them away. It's hilarious. I'll try to catch it on camera one of these days. I asked Evelyn the other day if she liked her friends here in Japan. She replied, "I don't know what they're saying, but I like to ride scooters with them!". Our kids are showing some serious toughness. They take everything in stride. Yeah, everyone melts down occasionally, but these girls are adjusting so well. They eat Japanese food, hang out with Japanese kids, go to Japanese primary, they're learning Japanese words and they do it all with a smile. I'm so proud of how well they're doing. Watch, now that I bragged about my kids they're going to show some serious teeth tomorrow! That's something my grandma taught me. She said never brag about your kids, because they'll turn around and do something to embarrass you! Let's see what tomorrow has in store... :)
The house we live in is so great. It's the first time we've had our own walls, not in an apartment complex. It's a far cry from our apartment in Rexburg above Sammy's...that's for sure!! Haha! Fun memories in that crazy place! I have had several people ask me about our house, and what it's like to live here. To be honest, it's not all that different than the US. There are a few different things, but we are already so comfortable, and it feels like our home. But there are a few cool things I thought would be fun to share!
When you enter a Japanese home you remove your shoes. There is a special place to do this, it's called the genkan. Ours is tile, and we do it just like Japanese people. No shoes in the house. Sometimes it's a hassle, but it does help keep things clean, and I love that the girls are learning new customs. They've started to do it naturally without me having to remind them. Here it is...
Further in this picture is our 'living room' of sorts. We're still working on furnishing it. My beautiful piano is all the furniture I need! Ha! The floor in there is tatami. It's a tightly woven grass mat. It smells amazing. Very clean and fresh, like a scented candle! The closets are sliding doors, and are large and spacious. There supposed to hold futons (mattresses) during the day, and then be brought out for night to sleep on. No one sleeps in here, so we just put all our junk in there for now!
This is the rest of the living room. Our windows are huge, and have storm shutters on the outside. the sliding screens are paper, and so cool. Although, Claire has already pushed a toy through one. I guess that's what a deposit is for? Haha.
This is our kitchen. Yes, it's clean. This happens once every year, so soak it in people. Our fridge is amazing. I love it. It was a bit confusing at first, every level is a different temperature. Top is fridge, next is freezer, then fridge again, then freezer on the bottom. I learned this the hard way, ending up with some accidentally frozen items! Haha.
Our kitchen has a cool sliding door to close it off to the rest of the house, I think it's pretty. Never been used, but nice to look at! The little closet by the fridge is just storage under the stairs. The square on the floor is our 'cellar' box. It opens up, and we put the girls in there for time out...I'm absolutely joking! For now, it's just there. Our stovetop is gas, and we have a little broiler. It's great for toast! That is if I can avoid burning it... Our kitchen is tiny, but it's so big compared to our little kitchen in apartment #1 above Sammy's. So compared to that, this is do-able!
This is the bathroom. Tile. Tile. Tile. In Japan, you shower and then soak in the tub. It makes sense, who wants to soak in filthy water? The tub is deep. I love that it's all tile, the girls can splash as crazy as they want. The water rarely even makes it out of the tub, it's so deep. The controller on the wall is our water heater.The water closet! Quite similar to commodes in the United States, however there is a faucet at the top. After flushing, clean water comes out for you to wash your hands right there. Hence the soap on the shelf, and towel on the wall. Most toilets here are either a squatty potty or a fancy one with buttons. I'm glad ours doesn't have buttons, the kiddos would enjoy that a bit too much!
So that's our place! Most things are very similar to the US. But it has a cool Japanese flair. Our bedroom is tatami mats as well. All of the walls are covered in wall paper. Even the ceiling has wall paper! It's a pretty rose pattern. It's a pain, because we can't nail anything into it, but we do have a picture rail. Slowly we'll start to hang things up. Little by little.
I'm loving how little we have. It's so nice to have less. I'm definitely in the minimalist camp right now. It's easy to clean up, maintain, live in...I could go on! Clutter and big messes make me feel anxious and uncomfortable, so this is very easy living for me.
So this is turning out to be the longest blog post. I have so much more I could write about. But for now, a few more things.
Pathway. Donny and I have been called to serve as Pathway Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.(https://pathway.lds.org/) Already, it has been such a blessing in our lives! Our calling entails us helping to facilitate and direct at the Japan Tokyo site with another amazing member in our ward, Sister Kimura. Without her bilingual abilities, hard work, and coordination we would be so lost. This is the first Pathway site in Japan, so we're the first Pathway missionaries to serve in the country. We feel incredibly blessed to be involved in something so extraordinary. The Pathway program allows students to begin to prepare for college, earn a certificate or finish a degree. It also helps teach English. Our site focuses heavily on this. Everyone is learning English as their second, third or fourth language. All of the students attending at the Tokyo Pathway site are remarkable. They each have so much going on: work, children, spouses, callings, elderly family to care for...the list goes on! Despite this, they all work so hard. We get to be a part of their journey and help them along as missionaries. It's amazing. I feel so humble and small, thinking God would allow us to help. It caused me to think, "What can I even offer? I'm not smart enough to do this. I'm not old enough to do this. There must be someone better suited." I was then reminded that whom the Lord calls, He qualifies. I already feel as if I am being taught and aiding in ways I didn't think possible. I have a lot more qualifying to do, that's for sure. But for now, I know without a doubt that our family is supposed to be here. I feel blessed beyond comprehension.
Tomorrow (the 25th for us) marks one month that the girls and I arrived. I feel a lot of different things. Excitement about all the adventures yet to happen. (Tokyo Disney next week!!) Blessed because of our Pathway service. Grateful for all the kind people and ward members who have been there for everything. Happy to be all together again. I also miss my family back in the United States. I wish Japan wasn't so far away. But when I ever think about feeling homesick, I think of what my Grandpa Bullard told me a few months ago. He said that this would be an adventure, and that I would look back on it years from now, and remember it as the happiest of times. I make it my goal every day to do that.
