Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Big Dan's class trip to a local Japanese school
Last week we had a fabulous trip to a local school, we spent the day playing games with Japanese 4th graders! Dan says it was like playing charades all day long LOL.
Teamwork! The group each took turns making the strokes on the Kanji letters...
All done!
Rock, Paper, Scissors is a favorite here, we played a few different ways. This one was a team battle!
The kids listening to instruction for the first game
After a long day of games, and a dance/singing performance from the Japanese class, Danielle was chosen to give thanks for her class :)
What a great day we all had, and can't wait for them to visit us later this month!!!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Ever have that experience where not a lot happens for a long time and then -- Wham! -- lots of things happen at the same time? We did. So someone at work offered us tickets to the Iwakuni Guitar and Mandolin Society concert, and I thought with Dan taking guitar lessons it would be perfect. So we got all dolled up and had a wonderful evening at the Iwakuni Symphonia listening to some very beautiful music. They threw us for a loop by adding some dancing to the second act. The program and narration all in Japanese added a whole "surprise" element to the night. I wondered why one guy in the audience kept holding the program to his face, but Brenda figured out there were scented cards inside. We still have no idea why.
The next morning was our long-anticipated trip to the
Yamaguchi Flea Market. It's only done once a month and people come from miles around to attend. Unfortunately, it rained. So after getting up at 5 and taking a two-hour bus trip, we braved the torrential downpour for about half an hour before giving up. The girls each got a used coat and a new umbrella out of the trip, but it was little compensation as far as Dan was concerned for dragging her new shoes through the ankle-deep mud. We wandered to downtown Yamaguchi and found the covered shopping outdoor mall area. Of course, it opened at 11, so if you want to know what the outside of a lot of Yamaguchi stores look like, well, you know who to ask.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Terabithia, my butt!
Before crossing, the ladies channeled their inner tourists, taking and posing for pictures of the famous bridge. Mommy tried a "lotus root and potato" confection, just like grandma used to make. Not that bad, a little greasy, but it was deep-fried.
Across the bridge, we visited a samurai family's home, also several hundred years old, some beautiful parks, a Shinto temple, and lots of other attractions. We boarded the cable car to the top of the mountain where Kintai castle now stands as a museum rife with artifacts.