Moving to the Caribbean...

Today was a particularly busy week. We have been very blessed for me to get so many different jobs. I am now working about 28 hours a week (which I am actually limited to due to my visa status as a dependent). I also thought that I would only be working until February/March and then have to find more things to take up my time. However, I have been asked by the technical college I work at to continue until August when we are planning on returning to the States.


I know that 28 hours doesn't sound like a lot, but when you add in travel time, I feel like I am working a 40 hour work week. This week we had the privilege of having the missionaries over for dinner, going to the missionaries' weekly English conversation class, and volunteering at a nearby orphanage.


We have both volunteered to be liaisons between the orphanage and a non-profit organization called Smile Kids Japan. Although we haven't had too many opportunities to be heavily involved, we got to spend a couple hours with the elementary-aged kids yesterday playing various games and teaching English. We talked about Hawaii, sang the ABC's (we brought a ukulele from Hawaii and play that at our schools), played steal the bacon, and a few other games. We had a blast, and it seems like the kids had a lot of fun too; I think that's why they were laughing. :) One of the guys that works there drove us back to the train station on the way home and said that the kids don't get to run around too much in the winter time because of all the snow.


Here are a few pictures for the other highlights of the week. Enjoy!

Sue made Alfredo pasta again and it turned out soooo creamy and yummy!

This is Japanese nato which is fermented soy beans. It is supposedly one of the most healthy things you can eat. We bought it for the first time since coming to Japan so that Emily could try it. A lot of people complain about the smell, taste, texture, etc. however, Sue didn't seem to mind it at all. I encourage anyone that comes to Japan to at least try Nato.  It supposedly helps you speak and understand Japanese better. ;)

The Relief Society finally got around to their first party of the New Year. Emily made some toffee to take over and people seemed to enjoy it. I wish they didn't like it so much so that I would get to eat more. 

Before I finish this post, I wanted to comment a little bit about what Emily said in the last post. I really do think that she will get into at least one of the graduate programs she has chosen, but if perchance she doesn't, it wouldn't be all that bad. I think if she didn't get in, we would end up going somewhere in the Caribbean where Emily could spend time with the warm weather, beaches, and sunshine, and I could get a little more international experience. It would work out great for both of us. If that happened, heck, I would even let her shave her head if she wanted to. Although it's not likely Sue won't get into one of the programs she's applying for, it would be awesome to move to the Caribbean at some point. Love you all lots!