Guess who? M.I.T., backwards.
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December 31st:
Today is the Lord's day. Mary and I got a ride (in a car, mind you) to church. Church was held in a small, two-story building that might be a real estate business. This morning was definitely special for several reasons. First of all, I got to experience Mary's worship experience in Japan. The church is a protestant congregation, part of the Nagasaki International Church. The small service takes part with about 15 people every Sunday. Typically, the service is given by Hiroshi in Japanese and translated by Precious into English; however, on this day the roles were reversed, with Precious giving a message about setting resolutions. Worldly resolutions, such as losing weight or quitting smoking, are doomed to eventually fail and have no eternal value. However, an agreement with God lasts forever.
The other reason I enjoyed this experience was because I got to see first hand how God is working through the lives of those in a nation foreign to Christianity and the Gospel. Precious stressed that it is important to not be committed to the gods of your fathers but to have trust in the one true God. In America, Christianity is not just a religion; it is a subculture. But in Japan, home of the Shinto religion as well as Buddhism, it is very obvious that the Spirit moves through certain people.
After the service we rearranged the chairs and set out tables to eat lunch. Several individuals brought food and we ate a curry rice meal (not the Indian curry, the Japanese curry). It was muy delicioso, totemo oishii, and very delicious. After lunch and chitchat time, Hiroshi kindly offered us a ride back to Mary's apartment.
That afternoon Mary and I experienced/endured/enjoyed FOUR hours of karaoke at Sound Beach. Needless to say, it was pure singing madness and ensuing laughter.
For dinner, the two of us biked to Jusco (Jusco is a "rare" treat) and ate at an in-store restaurant. Mary ordered the katsudon (fried pork and egg on a bowl of rice) while I enjoyed a "Japanese" meal of fried chicken, french fries, and Caesar salad. OK, anyone notice the obvious sarcasm? Apparently, the Japanese wouldn't. They are a very literal culture (however, it doesn't take much from gaijin/foreigners to make them laugh - I'm sure we are very strange to them).
For dessert, Mary and I enjoyed some Starbuck(aneer)/Starbuck(aroo)/Staba/Starbuck(istan) frap. Oh, I must be specific - I got a vanilla bean frappaccino... it's like a vanilla milkshake with no ice cream (and, for that matter, no coffee). Then, we biked to several shrines to see the New Year preparations. Finally, we arrived back at the apartment and parked ourselves under the kotatsu (the freakin' heated table!) and rang in the New Year by watching silly Japanese variety shows.
January 1st:
Happy New Year / Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu
New Year's Day equals fun day. Mary and I tried to meet with a fellow teacher to partake in tea ceremony, but they did not answer the door (after knocks and doorbell rings). So... instead, we went on our merry way. We went shopping at a couple stores, including UniQlo, where I bought a cheap fleece jacket. This was followed by a myriad of games, including bowling, ping-pong (a certain Mary Newton got owned), and the pitching cages. In the evening Mary and I finally found the coat we were looking for, and now I look spiffy cool! Then, we ate dinner at Skylark Gusto (Mary ate a rice and mushroom soup while I treated myself to an ebifurai (fried shrimp) and baked chicken). We biked home in a misty, cold rain and enjoyed a pleasant evening watching my Christmas present Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
January 2nd:
Mary and I began the morning off with a nice, leisurely bike ride along the waters of Omura Bay. This one was much better than the previous death-march-ride (does that even make sense?). Let's be enjoying pictures (original engrish [TM])...
Once to the other side of Omura (the flat, weaker half) Mary and I invested in 100 yen foot massages, browsed through Sega World (did someone say purikura?), rented a movie from Tsutaya, bought Mary a 100 yen mirror from Bulldog, frequented Jusco yet again for another round of taiko, and finally arrived at Nikubana, a Yakiniku restaurant. Let me tell you what... this place has something called Tabehoudai. That is all-you-can-eat for 90 whole minutes. There's a grill and flame in the middle of the table, and the basic premise is that you order a specific plate (beef, chicken, pork, and so forth), the waiter gets that meat/food from the chef and brings it to you, cut thinly and ready to be cooked. **Tastesanity began.** Between the two of us, Mary and I got three beef plates, two chicken plates, one vegetable plate, two different salads, kimchee, a kimchee-flavored daikon dish, strawberry sherbet, and four different kinds of cake - chocolate, tiramisu, maron, and rare cheese.
After the dinner we rolled out of the restaurant and loaded our bodies onto a forklift.
Catholicism - "the part of the Latin Church that remained under the Roman obedience after the Reformation", i.e. the Catholic or Roman Catholic Church.
Posted by: Chuck Newton | January 06, 2007 at 06:29 AM
Mary I read the book thing on your myspace. I would like to suggest Anne Rice's Christ The Lord. I got it for mom for christmas and she likes it, and I'm going to read it next. Just a suggestion.
Posted by: Mark | January 06, 2007 at 09:15 AM
you guys are ridiculously cute & it's so much fun to follow your adventures!!
Posted by: kim | January 07, 2007 at 11:35 AM