Hotel Unisite Sendai

Stories from Sendai

by htbthomas

"Stories from Sendai, Sept. 6, 2001"

Well, here we are, just a few weeks into our life in Japan. We plan to talk about our lives here, of course, filtered through our many life experiences. As a result, you may find us making comparisons between life in Japan, Egypt and the US. We think experiencing culture shock again will be an enjoyable challenge.

A note here about our logo before we go on. Sendai is known as the City of Trees, and it is no wonder. It is the third or fourth greenest city in the world, and it certainly shows. To honor that, we have included a motif of cherry blossoms, along with the tell-tale red sun of the Japanese flag. The Japanese characters you see is the word Sendai, and it is silhouetted against the red sun of Japan. We hope you enjoy our stories as much as we enjoy writing them.

This year, we traveled on Thai Airways (after getting an incredible deal on the airfare!) from Los Angeles International Airport. This meant we had to drive a rental car from San Francisco to Los Angeles. But all in all, it was less expensive than flying from San Francisco. Although the flight left 1 hour later than we thought it would, and arrived 1 hour earlier than expected as well, we still had 9 hours on the plane. Arriving at Narita (Tokyo) is incredibly easy! There are signs everywhere in three or four languages, including English, and we moved from one station to the next without any trouble. Barbara seriously considered bypassing the animal quarantine station, and going through customs straightaway. The cat carrier bag (a Sherpa) is very inconspicuous. Of course, our consciences made us head for the desk. Upon seeing Nigel (as with most everyone we've encountered), she swooned and smiled. She almost cooed, which made us feel very comfortable about leaving him. The clerk checked Nigel's papers (they've never been checked anywhere else! -- not in Cairo, and not in the US), and asked us to report to the sixth floor. We met our headmaster as we emerged from Customs (he had just arrived himself), and were encouraged to drop by a service desk that specialized in baggage delivery. And are we glad we did! We unloaded 2 of our 4 larger bags, which alleviated the difficulty of dragging all of them on a train to Sendai. The bags would arrive two days later (on time!). After dropping off the two bags, the three of us decided that Todd would wait downstairs with the bags, while Barbara went with the headmaster, Dr. Yutzy, upstairs. (NOTE: Our headmaster pronounces his name YOO-tzee, not YUTZ-ee.) We filled out forms, and then had to wait for a lady from the care facility to arrive to transport Nigel away. Boohoo! He was well-behaved as usual, and Barbara bid a sad goodbye to him for 15 days. They require payment for care taking, about $20 dollars US a day, plus $25 transportation costs. In addition, the day to pick him up and the first day of school were the same! So add the cost of a train trip down and back ($220).

Our next step was to drag the remaining bags from platform to platform, train to train. First the Narita Express to Tokyo Station (1 hour). Then the Tohoku Shinkansen (bullet train) to Sendai Station (2 hours). We finally arrived at midnight. Dr. Yutzy's wife and adopted kids were waiting in the car, and we crammed ourselves in for the ride to the apartment.

Happily, we had purchased almost all of our furniture from a couple who left the school last year. All of it was waiting in our apartment when we arrived, and the Yutzys had set up and made the bed, and most of the furniture. So we were able to just fall into bed! Two other new teachers live in our building, Sue and Daryl, both Kiwis (New Zealanders). They both have very small apartments. One room, an extremely small kitchen, toilet and bath. When they arrived their apartments were totally empty except a futon on the floor and emergency food and dishes (one cup, one set of flatware, etc.). Our apartment is much bigger, but about a third smaller than the size of our Maadi/Cairo dwelling. If Todd stands on his tiptoes, his head brushes the top of the doorways. We have three rooms (one bedroom, one living area, one dining area) and a nice sized kitchen. There is no oven. But we do have a refrigerator, gas range/small toaster oven (think "Coleman camping stove"), and small-to-medium sized microwave. As with other places in the world, the toilet is very interesting. It is Western-style, but at the top it has a faucet that fills up the toilet. One uses the faucet to wash hands! A convenient towel ring is placed just so, and there's even a place for the soft soap! The toilet also has an electric seat warmer, for those cold winter nights. Todd can't help but think that he's going to burn his butt on that thing one day, though Barbara and fellow teacher Harriette concur that come Winter such luxury is most welcome. We have come to find out, as well, that some bathrooms are equipped with "seat socks" which are cotton cloth covers on the U-shaped toilet seats. They are VERY comfortable to sit on. Our shower/bath room is separate from the toilet. In Japan, one is supposed to wash outside the bath, and then soak in the tub, completely clean. Families all use the same water, since there is no dirt and soap in the water. Barbara has decided to just shower in the tub anyway. Todd is trying to use the room correctly.

One of the delightful surprises in our apartment here is our satellite radio. Yes, you read that correctly. We are able to receive US-based radio stations and radio networks via a receiver here. Perhaps the most surprising for Todd was the ability to get National Public Radio over the satellite. And Barbara has enjoyed an 80s and 90s music station out of New Jersey! We are also privy to a host of Japanese stations as well, but we are not really listening to those!

We arrived at the beginning of the "Obon" holiday, when people believe their ancestors will visit them. Most people go to their hometowns to see family. As a result, it's the busiest travel season. Many shops are closed, but getting around town has been great, since less people are out and about. At the end of the Obon, some people set off fireworks across the street and all over town.

Our first full day in Sendai was spent going to the Ward office to get our alien registration cards -- more colloquially the "Gaijin" (foreigner) cards. We are required to carry them around at all times. While at the office, we met a family from Michigan doing the same thing. The three boys would be attending our school, Tohoku International School. After applying, we went to order our "hankos" (signature stamps). Barbara ordered one with "ba ba ra" in Japanese, and Todd got one with "to ma su." We shopped at the "combini" (convenience store) in the first floor of our building, and continued unpacking. We also visited the school for the first time. It is small -- 2 floors, 5 classrooms, 2 offices, 2 sets of bathrooms, a kitchen and a multi-purpose room that doubles as the school library. Only grades Pre-K to 3 attend here. There are only about 50 students altogether. The rest of the school, 4-12, attends a different campus on the north side of town. We are located in the central/east section of Sendai, in Komatsushima.

The second day Todd went to school so he could receive our luggage from the airport. The goods didn't arrive until 11:30, so he was able to get a head start on his room -- which had been the office in previous years. After Todd walked the bags back to the apartment -- about 300 yards distance -- we went grocery shopping with the second grade teacher, Harriette. She is from Savannah, Georgia. We walked to various little grocery stores in the area, and then hopped on the bus to the subway station. We rode the subway to a big supermarket/department store called Ito Yokado. The little groceries were a lot like the ones in Egypt, or the US 30 years ago. But the supermarket was huge, with everything you could think of. But they didn't have Ranch dressing or cheddar cheese -- much to Barbara's amazement. Anyway, we then took the subway to Sendai Station. All major train stations have large shopping complexes, and we shopped for meat, and got some American products at the Jupiter store. Finally we bused back home. It cost about $8.50 for all that traveling, over 4 hours time (we took a leisurely pace). Harriette says that Sendai's public transportation is one of the most expensive in Japan - but it is beautifully clean and easy to use. Surprisingly, the prices for meat only ranged from about $2-7 per pound (500 g) -- in some cases less than in Cairo. We were expecting the prices to be much, much worse.

Later in the week we went to "The Mall" in the Southern part of Sendai. Most of the mall is set up like a huge department store ("depato") with only partitions between the shops. There was even a Disney store and an L. L. Bean! But alas, no clothes in Barbara's size. The highest sizes were a 10 American, with a plethora of 2s and 4s to choose from. Daryl and Barbara have been wondering where the larger ladies (they do exist!) get their clothes. Todd, on the other hand, is finding the clothing stores to be quite suitable, but a touch pricey. A button down shirt that might retail in the US for $25 or so costs 7900 yen ($66) on average. He probably won't be buying them any time soon. We are finding that not everyone is a foot shorter here -- maybe four to six inches, if that. Nonetheless, we have been amazed by the cleanliness and convenience of everything so far.

We had told several people that we would be climbing Mt. Fuji before school began. Well, the teacher with the van had to back out of the trip, so we were stuck. It might be possible to go again in a few weeks, but unlikely since the official climbing season only lasts from July 1st to August 31st. It's possible to climb it before or after, but one risks colder temperatures and possible snow the later in the fall. So as a substitute, our headmaster took all the new teachers from our elementary (all 4 of us) to Mt. Izumi. We expected a wide trail and an easy climb based on some kindly information provided by our headmaster. And he was correct after a fashion. It turns out that Mt. Izumi is a ski slope in the winter, so the initial trails we hiked up were indeed wide. But with it being August (and hot, and muggy, and foggy, and misty) the overgrowth of the wide expanse of ski trails became narrow, weed and grass overgrown rivulets we were later forced to navigate. After about 25 minutes of hiking, the trail turned into a tiny sand and rock path, hardly distinguishable from the grass. By the time we had gone 1/2 a mile, Barbara was huffing and puffing, and being chased by a large yellow and black striped insect, which Barbara could only guess was the BIGGEST bee she had ever seen. It would buzz loudly around her head, and land on various bits of her clothing -- but most especially on her shirt. She had been wearing a red Ponder Elementary Choir T-shirt that day, which this insect apparently loved. It also seemed to love making music, because its buzz sometimes would modulate in pitch. Now anyone who knows Barbara, knows that she detests bees. And further, anyone who knows Barbara knows that she has a terrific set of lungs. And she used them! Screams and fits of panic overwhelmed her as she would race ahead to get away from this pestering insect, only to have it follow her for what must have been a few hundred meters. When Todd tried to calm her down, the insect left her alone -- only to land on Todd's rump! Daryl, after inspecting the insect more closely, determined that the insect that looked like a bee,was in fact a very large, non-injurious fly! Well, after the panic (and lots of huffing and puffing), we only ended up making it half way up. Besides being tired, we reasoned we would not have been able to see any view from the top -- except the mistiness around us. After a half-hour or so break, we decided to head back down. To everyone's relief, downhill was easier. Barbara still slipped and fell four times, but managed well for someone who had never been hiking before. It _was_ her first time using a real mountain trail, after all. Up to that point, she had been used to packed earth or asphalt. She learned how to use her feet to grip the earth beneath her, walk down a hill sideways, and maintain her balance so she wouldn't fall as often. Once at the base of the hill, Barbara's relief showed in the smile of satisfaction on her face. But we doubt she'll be hiking again any time soon.

As anyone knows -- the bills always come due. Many has been the day when both of us have dreaded the bills. But in Japan, or at least here in Sendai, paying the bills has become blissful. The bills are mailed to you, as you might expect. That's pretty much the norm. But...here in Sendai (and in Japan in general) you can pay them at the local convenience store, along with your emergency toilet tissue! Imagine being able to walk into a 7-11 (there's one about 500 meters from us) and pay your electric, gas and water bills! In fact, Todd recently paid our first electric bill at the even more local convenience store (less than 10 meters away), Sunkus. What the clerk does is he scans the electric bill's bar codes -- and just as if you were buying a cold Coca-Cola, gives you a smile while asking you for the amount of your bill. No fuss, no hassle having to mail in a check, or having to drive downtown to pay the bills. Leave it to the Japanese to come up with an easy, logical way to pay the bills efficiently! Just a side note about the "combini" stores: if there's not one immediately in sight, there's always one just around the corner in Sendai.

Now having experienced at least four weeks in Sendai, we can definitively say that Barbara's jaw has not yet managed to pick itself off the ground. Todd, on the other hand, has been taking all of this Japanese stuff in stride for years. You see, Barbara's fascination with Japan goes way back to a J-Pop tape given to her by her step-father while he was on military duty in the Pacific. But with all the antsy anticipation this summer, even Barbara's step-father was more than a bit amused by her obsessive fascinations. She was so anxious, in fact, that she was determined to stock up on provisions she was sure Sendai and Japan would not (or could not) possibly offer her -- mostly related to her diet. These got so bad in late July, that her step-father teased her that, naturally, there would be no coffee, tea, sushi or fish in Japan -- and she would do well to stock up on such provisions as well. And while this was, of course, done tongue-in-cheek -- the upshot of it all was that Barbara was overly worried about the convenience and availability of many items she had been used to using. This place is a shopping paradise! Sendai is no Tokyo, but that's probably a good thing. We are able to get everything we need either locally or through a company called the Foreign Buyers Club. And everything Barbara has had shipped in from overseas has come through with no customs hassles or delays.

We have had two weeks of school now, and both of us have very small classes, especially Barbara! Todd's class is 11, but Barbara only has 4. Since they are four-year olds, it's a blessing. Two afternoons a week, she teaches K-3 music. Our children are really sweet.

Well, we promise to write a slightly shorter letter next time. We love to hear from everyone, and hope there's no eye strain. :-)

Ja matta! (See ya later!)

Todd and Barbara Thomas

Hi everyone! This will be our last newsletter for the school year - we are taking a summer break. Summer school begins tomorrow, and then we will be visiting the U.S. for about a month. We will probably send out the next letter in late August.

Just before the last newsletter went out, on May 21st, TIS presented a Spring Concert. It was the first time for the elementary kids to put on two shows in one year. Barbara felt they could handle it - hey, she's used to doing 4-7 shows in a year! The program was a Music K-8 magazine review called "From the Inside Out." The whole message of the concert was that we have the power to make our own choices and to change the world by starting with ourselves. Getting the details worked out for the show was so easy! We rented a hall nearby, inside the Asahigaoka Bunka Center, right across the street from the Asahigaoka subway station. We were able to rent the hall all afternoon and evening, so the children could rehearse in the same place where they would sing in the evening. And despite having some pretty tricky words to sing (5-6 year olds singing lyrics like "discipline, justice, honesty, respect") the kids did a great job. Some of the teachers (including the two of us) sang a little introduction to the final song, "It Starts With Me."

For our postponed 10th Wedding Anniversary, we traveled the highways of the Tohoku Region to Aizu-Wakamatsu, a small town southwest of Sendai in Fukushima Prefecture. The drive down to Aizu-Wakamatsu reminded both of us (at various intervals) of the German Autobahn in Bavaria, I-95 in Virginia, East Texas, and various sites in Wisconsin and Oregon. Gorgeous scenery was everywhere, needless to say. The highways were very easy to navigate, as many of the signs are in English/Romaji and Japanese. Each city we passed along the Tohoku Expressway (and we assume it is the same along other highways) has its own icon on a sign that welcomes the passing tourist. These icons make for fun historical and geographical reflections. In Aizu-Wakamatsu we stayed at a ryokan -- or traditional Japanese hotel. We were treated to a traditional dinner and breakfast, which consisted of some exotic local specialties.

Aizu-Wakamatsu is especially famous for Tsuruga Castle (Tsuruga-jo), which was the seat of power for the Aizu clan during the Edo Period of Japanese history. The castle was at one time a 7-story structure. But after the 1611 earthquake damaged it, the castle was made into only a 5-story affair. It came under attack in 1868, because the family who occupied it was loyal to the old Tokugawa Shogunate. The same year as the castle was first besieged, a group of young samurai -- known as the "Byakkotai" or "White Tigers" -- saw the castle being attacked and feared it had fallen. In true samurai fashion, they committed hara-kiri (or the samurai's ritual suicide). None of them was older than 17. The castle was eventually demolished by Restorationist forces in 1874. Though the outside structure was still intact, the castle was remodeled in 1965 to make a museum dedicated to the area's history. We spent our site-seeing day visiting the castle, the byakkotai memorial, and a restored samurai village. Those who have watched the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - this samurai complex is reminiscent of the sets for that movie. And you'd also be looking over your shoulder for the elusive ninjas. Oh yes...servants' quarters in the samurai village consisted of a one-tatami living space. In other words -- only enough room to sleep. Nothing more.

Another fun thing we got to do this month was drive up into the hills around Sendai, past a huge dam (Okura dam), and have a barbecue with some families from school. We got there a little later, because Todd had to do some school business first. It was held at a fishing place, next to a good-sized pond, which was filled with trout. A customer pays to fish in the pond, and then what ever you catch can be grilled and eaten, right then! Japanese ingenuity, I tell ya! Everyone had already caught the fish by the time we got there, but we got to eat it, along with some great gyu-tan (grilled beef tongue - a specialty here in Sendai), pork and veggies.

As Todd may have alluded to in a past issue, his students undertook a tremendous year-long project, in which they designed and built their own model city. In October and November, the students were led through a series of lessons intended to get them to plan a city from scratch. They had to select one site (from five possible sites) and determine the basic residential, commercial and industrial zones. They also had to develop probable businesses and civic services, and determine where they would best benefit the city's residents. Creating the city's history was a series of creative writing assignments. In December, the city model was begun using the students' plan as a guidepost. The city model was completed in mid-May, and put on display in the Sendai Central Post Office for the community to see.

At TIS we don't have a Field Day. But our school-wide outing to Nanakita Park in Izumi-chuo could well be called "Field Day-Plus." The two campuses meld into one large student body during the morning, and participate in a number of heart-pumping, physically active games. The teachers organize these games, and students from one campus are joined with students from the other campus to form mixed-age, mixed-talent teams. Though the competition element is there, all the teams play for enjoyment rather than a big prize. Well -- maybe the prize (if it can be called that) is the lunch that gets eaten after the morning of hard play! Tarps and blankets are spread, and our students and parents enjoy one last "together time" before summer break begins. Our Komatsushima campus awards ceremony was conducted that afternoon. The Izumi campus awards were done separately.

Before we go, we want to tell you of a case of Only in Japan. (We swear, we need to get another small digital camera to carry around at all times to capture these things!) This last weekend, we were eating at a Milky Way family restaurant, part of the Big Boy chain. Suddenly, we hear the sound of an electronic toy playing "Happy Birthday." Curious, we turned our heads to see that a child across the room had a Big Boy figurine sitting on the table right next to him/her. The stunning part was - a live fireworks sparkler was burning away next to the figurine - not two feet from the child's face! On the table! Inside the restaurant, next to flammable napkins and such! Fireworks here are very popular - they are called hanabi (fire flowers). In fact, at one of Barbara's four-year-old's birthday parties, the guest gift was a whole pack of the things! Sparklers and other small fireworks can be bought everywhere all summer long, even at convenience stores.

Have a great summer, everyone, and a festive 4th of July!

Todd and Barbara

"Stories from Sendai, Oct. 8, 2001"

Hello again! We've been in Sendai for almost two months now, and are loving its flavor. Each new day brings its own adventures, but at a distinctly different pace than Cairo. The weather here is a good mix of cloudiness and rain during the week, with sunshine making the weekends that much more delightful.

One month ago, Todd had his 31st birthday. Because it settled on a Friday -- and Barbara wanted to make his birthday an all day affair -- she waited until Saturday to celebrate it. She had kept the details of the day secret, but did not make use of the blindfold this time. Note for the ill informed: Barbara & Todd, ever since the beginnings of our married days, have kept the details of the birthday outings a secret from each other. Traditionally, a handkerchief has been used to blindfold the birthday person until the birthday surprise was revealed. This has meant many a suspenseful birthday for us both. But even without the blindfold this time, Todd was clueless with a capital C. He had three things in mind that might happen, and none of them were accurate. Barbara and he took the city's bus line to Sendai Station, and walked (passing every conceivable birthday celebration place to Todd's mind) directly to the Loople Sendai bus station. Now, the bus looks like an old time trolley car, but with wheels. Todd and Barbara were just in time to catch it, and Todd was delightfully pleased. This was getting better than he thought! He caught on quickly that this bus toured the city, and found out that you could get off of the bus and back on at each of the stops. Originally thinking we'd make the circuit and then decide to get out at the most interesting stops, Todd and Barbara later opted to get out at the Sendai City Museum stop first. But instead of traipsing to the museum, Barbara insisted on investigating the International Center -- located opposite the museum. It turns out that Sendai, Japan and Dallas, Texas are sister cities, which just goes to show you what a classy town this really is. =-) Dallas donated Cowboys memorabilia, which is on display for any to see, as well as a photo of DFW International Airport. The International Center also had a ton of printed news material as well as a CNN hookup for the casual expat -- regardless of nationality. Next stop was the museum, and Todd was fascinated. Some of the highlights enjoyed were a scale model of the city in its former glory during the days of samurai leader Date Masamune, along with correspondences, tapestries and battle armor. Other intrigues were the historical Buddhist and Christian aspects of Sendai's culture during the samurai and Meiji Restoration movements. After the museum, Todd and Barbara went on to Aoba Castle -- Date Masamune's old stomping grounds. There isn't a castle there anymore, as it was razed during the Meiji Restoration. But the site lends itself to some grand views of the surrounding countryside and has its own Buddhist temple, of course. Todd treated Barbara to ice cream as we walked around the compound. In one area of the grounds is a large statue of Date Masamune on horseback, of which Todd took a memorial picture. Not 100 meters away was a lone violinist serenading us and the other visitors with beautiful strains, making the day seem somewhat surreal and majestic. Most delightful. There were other stops along the Loople Sendai route that Todd and Barbara could have made -- some art museums and a mausoleum -- but we were both tired after the two stops that we will have to go back another time. Later that evening, we had dinner at the top of the SS30 building, which had fabulous views of the city.

Not long after Todd's birthday, late on Sept. 10, a typhoon swept up the southeastern portion of Japan and caused lots of damage and problems in Tokyo. The next morning, Sept. 11, the headmaster of our school called and informed us that school would be closed. The calls were made to each of our students, and we enjoyed a day of rest at home. The typhoon did come up toward Sendai -- and buckets and buckets of rain were causing minor flooding in places around town -- but veered away before more damage could be done. Late that night, perhaps 10:30 to 11 p.m., Todd was up checking email and the latest Yahoo news only to read early reports that a single commercial plane had slammed into the World Trade Center in New York. Attempting to find out more, he surfed several other sites, but the information available at that time was extremely sketchy. He let Barbara know as soon as he found out, but when no other information was available on the Web, he prayed for the victims and went to bed. It wasn't really until he woke up on Sept. 12 that the terrible news -- the news he had feared even as he read the reports -- was true. He called home, wondering if everyone was safe and how they were coping with the news of terrorism. At school that morning, the staff was numbed. Our Japanese secretary said the news of the crash was broadcast over and over and over all evening long, and she had stayed up to watch it. It was apparent later that day that some of Todd's third graders had watched it in horror and amazement, too. He let them discuss the tragedy, and let them write about it in their journals, which seemed therapeutic.

The weekend after the WTC attack, Barbara, Todd, and two of our fellow teachers from New Zealand -- Sue and Daryl -- went on a small walk to the neighborhood of Toshogu. There is a Buddhist temple there that we were interested in viewing. At the entrance to the temple compound, there is a small bridge which leads to a set of steps leading up to another gateway. The temple is actually small, and located at the very top of the set of steps on the hill. There was hardly anyone around the morning we ventured forth, and therefore afforded some solemn moments. The temple grounds are not exactly spectacular, though a fenced off area intrigued Barbara somewhat. Prayers for children -- both living and deceased -- were found off to the side of the temple itself. About 100 meters or less form the entrance to the temple is another entrance to a small Buddhist garden. Small statues of the Buddha line the walkways, and worshippers have placed one yen pieces on the bases or feet of these statues. Three shrines were found in this garden -- one for children, one for the Buddha and one for another deity -- could all be found in an area perhaps the size of a large backyard. In the center of it all was an old, overgrown and twisted bonsai tree. Nearer the entrance, a shady overhang with a stone table and stone seats was extremely cool and refreshing in contrast to the moderate heat of the day. We ended our outing with sushi (of course) and a stop at the local European patisserie "Maerchen," which Todd has since frequented twice! They have delicious cheesecake and strawberry tarts. Mmmmmmm.

On the corner near our apartment, there is a little "snack bar" -- a tiny place with about 9 seats and one hostess-bartender. Its size reminded Todd of his tiny bedroom in Maryland -- hardly any room to move, but cozy and sensible in its own way. The "karaoke" on the sign attracted us in. We sat down, caught everyone's interest, by our sheer "gaijin"-ness (foreigners), and ordered something to drink. They gave us salted soybeans (very tasty here) and gyoza (pot-sticker dumplings), and that was going to be the extent of the visit. But Todd wanted Barbara to sing karaoke with him. Barbara reluctantly asked to see the song list, but was not sure she should sing anything despite the long list of good English songs to choose from (better than Cairo's selections by far). Then another customer started singing, and she thought, why not! Todd and Barbara sang our favorite: "California Dreamin'." Well, the response was amazing! Claps and cheers, and decidedly insistent urges to continue singing, were brushed off as nothing more than kindnesses. But when the Japanese woman next to Barbara asked her to sing "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters (which Barbara didn't know very well), that led to a frantic search for something Carpenter-ish to sing. We decided on "Top of the World," which brought even more cheers and claps and insistences to continue. Embarrassing? Perhaps, but all in good humor. As a finale, Barbara sang "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. After we were finished, the sneaky proprietor -- whose karaoke machine this was -- presented us with a cassette tape of our renditions of both "Top of the World" and "Sweet Dreams." They had recorded the last two songs! We haven't been back yet, but it was so much fun. We're due, dontcha think?

Some of you have been asking if we have found a church. There are two English-speaking churches within easy reach of public transportation. Praise Community Church meets in our school, and features Japanese and English bilingual worship. Sendai English Fellowship meets in the Sendai Baptist Church next to Kita-Yobancho subway station. We have tried both, and have decided to attend SEF. Strangely, it's mostly because the service is in the evening, and we got used to that in Cairo. Barbara just started singing with one of the worship teams that have formed. For a community with a small number of foreigners, there are quite a number of musicians that have recently started coming to church.

One of the wonders of having a faster internet connection (ADSL) is downloading TV episodes. If you know how to use IRC, you can download all sorts of things. Barbara recently has figured out how to download "Friends" episodes. Only hours after the episode shows on TV in the US, it's possible to download and watch it. The file sizes are really large (100 MB), and take about 2 hours to download, but it's great to see them at all. Barbara's sister Julie is taping them anyway (thanks Julie!), which is good, because they take up too much space on the hard drive to save. Now if only she can find "Frasier"....



Our hearts are full,

We're losing weight,

We think that Sendai's really great.

We'll close this out,

And say farewell,

Until next month our stories to tell.



Lots of Love, T&B :-)

"Stories from Sendai, Nov. 11, 2001"

Is it November already? Time sure does pass quickly for us here in Sendai -- though we know that may not be the case for others we know here. Barbara has been soaking up the language and mannerisms of the Japanese so much so that she decided to get a pair of slippers to wear around the apartment. Todd --seeing the advantages of slippers in the winter months -- decided to get himself a pair as well. Her pair: colorful quality for 500 yen. His pair: cheap-but-functional for 100 yen. The decision couldn't have come at a better time for both of us, as mid-October proved the turning point in the weather. We had been seeing wonderful fall temperatures up to then -- ones where opening the windows would bring a delightful autumn breeze of freshness. But by the time October 20 rolled around, both of us felt more like staying in our warm bed than getting up in the morning! So we've finally turned on the heater in the living room, which affords a more comfortable indoor climate. Hot coffee and tea have been the morning drinks of choice for us lately, and that more because it warms us up than for any caffeine fix we might also need. Hot showers and baths (unlike some we had in Cairo) are welcome escapes from the cold.

One of the small traditions that we have created here is going out to coffee at a local Starbucks (there are five in Sendai), and practicing our Japanese. Usually accomplished on Saturday afternoon, Barbara (who already knows enough Japanese to get by, but doesn't want to admit it) leads Todd through some exercises in a Japanese language textbook for beginners. He's getting the hang of it, but still struggles, stumbles, gets linguistically tongue tied, and drinks his tall Cafe Mocha while Barbara patiently corrects him. The tradition is fun, and will likely continue for some time. We also had three classes in learning to read Japanese, one night for each of the three writing systems. The first night focused on hiragana (characters for each syllable, Japanese words), the second night on katakana (characters for each syllable, foreign words) and the last night on kanji (each character stands for an idea, originally from China). The last night was really eye opening, since we both were pretty confident in the first two. Already we are recognizing kanji characters all over town. Todd is improving and feeling more comfortable with the language at this writing, but the feeling of culture shock has hit him full force as he realizes his limitations more fully. Along those lines, the idiosyncrasies of Japanese life don't seem so odd after living in Cairo -- for which in many ways we are both grateful. We don't get frustrated as easily with the seeming inefficiency of some tasks and services, and take things more or less as they come with relatively few frustrations.

Two months into our time here in Sendai, we have found a local restaurant at which to hang out. Not too far distant from our mutual apartments, the four new teachers discovered (separately at first, then together) a restaurant that served yakitori -- meat on small skewers -- run by a young entrepreneurial couple. They had only been in business 3 months by the time we discovered them -- and we're hoping to keep them in business! To inaugurate our local, we spent an evening mealtime there together. We sat on plush seat cushions on an elevated floor made of tatami mats. No shoes are worn on the tatami. So we placed them in a small alcove underneath the edge of the tatami flooring. Before the delicious skewers of chicken and pork were served, our waitress (the proprietor's wife) poured us some sake (pronounced sah-keh) -- a traditional rice wine. She placed a small glass inside a small ceramic tea cup without handles. She then poured the sake into the glass to overflowing until the base of the sake glass was submerged beneath a shallow layer of sake in the cup. One is to drink the glass first, and then finish with the cup -- if one can finish the entire drink at all! Because sake takes some time to drink (at least for us), it's just the thing for a leisurely evening at the local with good friends and good food.

A few weekends ago, the local shrine at Toshogu had a Fall Festival, called Aki Matsuri. Local shops and restaurants set up booths, and one section of the grounds was set up for a big yard sale. Daryl and Barbara walked around and pored over some of the merchandise, including a beautiful antique chest Daryl wanted to take home, but didn't. We sampled many of the treats and bought a few things. A demonstration of rice grinding was set up in the middle of the booth area. Two men took turns wielding a large wooden mallet/grinder. Not sure of the name. A neat thing we're finding about Japan is the celebration of the seasons. Every season seems to have its own festival, decoration, clothing and special foods. Barbara has never really lived anywhere where the seasons have been so pronounced. The walk along the road to our subway stop at Dainohara is lined with trees full of fall color.

Tohoku International School celebrated its first Halloween Carnival this year, and it was a great success! For the occasion, Barbara dressed up as a lady bug, and Todd went as an American tourist. Barbara had gone out earlier in the week and made a ladybug shell out of red contact paper, cardboard and one of her belts. She painted large black dots with tempura paint on the red laminate. Her costume also afforded her the luxury of putting on several layers of clothing under her all black costume -- keeping her relatively warm. Todd, on the other hand, was only able to wear a t-shirt and a short-sleeved Hawaiian-style shirt along with jeans, a Japanese phrasebook and bus map. Though dark and chilly when we arrived, the air grew colder as the evening progressed. Todd was shivering, but enjoying himself. The headmaster offered him a TIS sweatshirt, which he proudly wore -- even though it didn't go with the costume.

The Izumi campus (grades 4-12) prepared for weeks and staged an event with all the traditional American features. There was a cake walk, bobbing for apples, a trick-or-treating village, skill games and a haunted house! Todd and Barbara worked the ticket gate for about an hour. We saw students from our school, but many, many people from the community. The most difficult part was trying to explain to the Japanese speakers that buying one ticket was not enough. Each game, even the food, cost between 1-4 tickets. At first only the foreigners knew to buy the tickets in sets of ten. We saw some junior-high age girls come buy tickets from us several times after they realized how the event worked. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, even though it was really cold.

Before we left the carnival, one of the parents of students at the Komatsushima campus offered to get us some tea or coffee from the machine. Thinking we would be getting something cold, we initially declined. Imagine our surprise when he said that the product was warm! Further thinking we would be getting coffee or tea in paper cups, imagine our further surprise when the product came in its own can! On our way home by bus and subway, we realized that the machines that sell canned tea and coffee did indeed sell some items heated. Since then, we both have enjoyed hot cocoa, coffee and tea on our evening journeys around town.

The first quarter is now over, and so are our parent-teacher conferences. We both had really great meetings with our parents, and feel really lucky to be teaching these great kids!

Ja, ne! (Bye, okay!)

Todd and Barbara Thomas

"Stories from Sendai, Dec. 9, 2001"

Hello again from the green, brown, red, orange, magenta, gray and white city of Sendai. It seems all of those colors were a luscious part of our past month. Each passing day was a prayer of thanksgiving -- and of hope -- that our friends and family members were safe and happy. Since we won't be sending a letter until next year (ho ho ho!), we also pray for your safety and happiness during this delightful season.

Todd has been beside himself since the beginning of November. His class is studying communities around the world -- and has concentrated on Sendai as an example. But he's had this dream since his first year in Egypt: to build a quality model of a city with all of its various components to scale. It was never realized there, primarily because of the scope and nature of the project. Getting up the nerve, he presented the idea on a whim to the art teacher here understanding that the task was perhaps too ambitious. He just assumed that, while a good idea, building such a model would be too difficult an undertaking for third graders. The art teacher was rather interested, to his surprise. Still somewhat skeptical that his students would balk at the project, he presented the idea to them to get reaction and feedback. They immediately started to plan, and wonder, and problem solve. Todd was delighted -- and shocked -- at their enthusiasm. Since then, the class has been in the throes of mapping and city planning, having to make critical decisions such as where the hospital, schools, churches, houses, etc. should be placed and why. His class decided to create the imaginary "Maple City" -- with its own history.

About the same time that these plans were in the works, all of the students at our campus went on a field trip to the post office in downtown Sendai. The art teacher had made colorful displays of the children's artwork, and arranged them in one section of the post office. The trip was an all-morning affair, which allowed the children to "ooh" and "ahh" at their own creations -- and those of the other students. It was also a way for the community to see what wonderfully creative kids we teach at TIS. The tour of the artwork itself lasted about 20-30 minutes, and afforded the students an opportunity to go to the top floor of the SS30 building in Sendai. This is the same building where Todd had his birthday dinner (see Oct. 2001). For Todd's kids it was a terrific opportunity to see what the city looked like from above, how the geography of a place determines the placement of buildings and roads, and how natural beauty enhances a city's desirability. All in all, both were lovely educational experiences.

One of the delights of November was having our friends Matt and Krista down here for Thanksgiving weekend. Both Matt and Krista taught with us at AIS in Egypt, were married this summer, and are now teaching in northern Japan. They drove down mid-Thanksgiving week, and spent Thursday in town shopping and enjoying themselves. Having our small apartment with 4 people was crowded, but gave us some fabulous opportunities to catch up on old times -- and find out about each others' lives. While Thanksgiving in the US is technically on Thursday, our holiday at TIS was on Friday. It coincided with a National Japanese holiday of thanksgiving -- "Be Thankful You Have a Job Day." As a result, our school held its staff Thanksgiving celebration on Friday evening. Matt and Krista were invited -- and drove us to the site. Todd carved the turkey (the high school principal, who was playing soccer, recruited him to take his place). Everybody had brought some sort of delectable delight, so the banquet table was by no means bare. We all ate way too much. The pumpkin pies and cakes for dessert weren't even finished by the end. Then, on Saturday we all took the Loople Sendai bus to the mountain site where Sendai's founder Date Masamune was buried. Known as Zuihoden, the site contains three mausoleums -- built by Date Masamune and his sons who ruled from Aoba castle. The original buildings had been in place since the 1600s, but were destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II. The mausoleums were reconstructed to the finest detail. After wandering through a Japanese graveyard, and enjoying our self-guided tour around the colorful Zuihoden grounds, we aimed ourselves to Aoba castle. Whereas we had visited this site in September for Todd's birthday, Matt and Krista had not. Todd had regretted not seeing the historical information about Aoba castle provided on the site, so into the small museum we went. Well worth it for the small fee, and we got to see a 3D multi-media computer rendering of the castle. On our way home, we stopped by the Sendai Mediatheque, which has a wonderful Japanese children's library, art gallery and expo-style presentation area.

Ever since her fascination with Japan was compounded by Anime, Barbara has had this thing for okonomiyaki. To explain it a bit more would take more space (and have so many odd-ball references) that it should suffice to say that ...1) she had never had it, and ... 2) she was in a mood to be gastronomically adventurous. So, after our escapades around Sendai, Barbara pipes up that she wants to eat at an okonomiyaki restaurant. She leads us to a restaurant in the Ichibancho, and we are seated after a short wait. We are all hungry, of course, but had been told by Barbara that people tend to be given the ingredients and the egg-and-cabbage base, and are then on their own to create the pancake-like Osaka specialty. We chose our additions to the mix, and wondered how we were supposed to fix up our meal. Our waitress was, to our delight, extremely friendly. Aware of our gaijin ignorance, she set about preparing the mixture right at our table and frying it up on the teppanyaki grill in front of us. Unlike pancakes, okonomiaki takes a while to cook, and needs to be flipped at least twice. While Todd had his doubts as to the tastiness of the meal, he now concedes that it is very filling and one of his favorite meals.

For those of you who have read our Cairo Chronicles, Matt is no stranger. It was he and Todd who would hog the microphones at almost every karaoke outing. Well, old habits die hard -- and that Saturday night was no exception. We met with a few friends from church, and found a fun karaoke place with a lot of English songs. For three hours (that could have been much more!) we all sang our hearts and lungs out! Such a blast, and a fun reminiscence. The room also had a Dance Dance Revolution machine. We had seen one this summer, used by some teenage boys, and didn't try it. The boys were really good at it, and passed the hardest level easily. The one in the karaoke room was very private, so we all gave it a go. The screen showed steps to take on the floor pad with each karaoke song that we tried. The screen showed everyone in the room how well the person was doing, as well as the words to the song. At the end the dancer is given a rating - the highest anyone got was a B (on an A-F scale).

Our faculty Christmas party was incredibly fun! Unlike the last two parties, which were large gatherings of people, we only had 7 people at this one. The five Komatsushima teachers, headmaster and secretary were present. We started off at the local yakitori place (see Nov. 2001) and had a great time talking and kidding each other. Todd was embarrassed several times by some teasing remarks. The cold and warm sake flowed, and we laughed a lot. It is apparently a tradition in Japan to have an end of the year "bonenkai" - a party where everyone has a bit too much to drink and says anything they want about the boss, without repercussions in the morning. Well, no one had that much to drink -- and no one said anything blunt to Dr. Yutzy at our party -- so it wasn't that traditional. Both of us did have a bit too much to eat, however. Afterward, we went back to the school for some dessert and "white elephant" gift exchanging. Even with only seven of us, there was a lot of stealing of presents. So much so, that we all have our own small inside jokes now with which to prod each other! One of the teachers and the secretary got so into the spirit of the "stealing," that they were bantering even as we left the party. Oh! We laughed so hard, it still hurts our faces to think about it!

Americans have all grown up with the ice cream truck that plays a song (like "The Entertainer") as it drives through the neighborhoods, enticing kids to buy. Here in Sendai, we have never heard an ice cream truck. But there are plenty of other types of singing vehicles. In September we first heard happy music being broadcast and wondered what it was. To our surprise, it was a police car! The message of the music? "Let's keep our city happy and safe; if you are doing something illegal, better stop it, 'cause we're nearby and we'll grab ya! Sooooo, don't you dare even think of doing something bad, 'cause we're happy police who want a happy city!" The garbage trucks play the same music: "A clean city is a happy city." In addition, every Saturday you can hear various vans and trucks playing music and calling out services and instructions. This month, a new song woke us both from a deep slumber early one Saturday. It even roused Matt and Krista when they visited! The music went on and on, as if the truck was parked nearby. Later we discovered it was a kerosene truck, selling kerosene for everyone's heaters. By then, the song was stuck in our heads -- and Barbara had it memorized within minutes. Another 400 times, and Barbara was about ready to strangle the driver! Well, this last week, we found out that the song is called "Yuki" (snow), and is a famous Japanese children's song. (If you would like to hear it [you'll need QuickTime or another player] - click on the title for a midi file. This version is a little faster and nicer sounding than the trucks!) Go on...Play the file...about 100 times an hour... How long does it take YOU to memorize the tune?!

And just in time for the holidays, we had our first real snow. We woke up early December 6th, and saw a beautiful cascading snow. The snow was quite wet, and hardly would stick to anything but the rooftops, but it was snow, nonetheless. The children were excited all day, though there was nothing to play in. It is a new experience for Barbara to live in a place where it snows regularly. She was used to fog and snow every twenty years in California, ice and hail in Texas, and cold windy drafts in Egypt. Time will tell if she appreciates the Sendai experience.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Todd and Barbara Thomas

"Stories from Sendai, January 13, 2002"

Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! Happy New Year! We apologize (again) for the LONG and PICTURE INTENSIVE issue we have here...but, we think what we have to share is worth that extra download time.

While we all know that a horse is a horse, of course (as the famous Mr. Ed Show so eloquently told us), Sendai has certainly taken that idea and blown it up and out of proportion -- Japanese style. This being the year of the horse (of course), you find them absolutely everywhere. Neighing on napkins, trotting in temples, painted on plates, sitting on store shelves, created on countless colorful cards, whinnying in windows, and that only covers a few of the many alliterative ways these horses have made their marks this holiday season. Along with the horse (which in Japanese lore symbolizes divine blessing) are another animal that comes out every year about this time is the owl (fukurou). In Japanese lore, owls are symbols of good fortune in the year ahead.

Tradition here and around Japan is to mail New Year cards to those you love and admire. A true Japanese person would never think of sending the same card to everyone. Instead, they will go to the stationery shop and spend countless yen for the "perfect" card for that "special someone." Therefore, the idea of boxed cards is not common here. That's great news for the card industry -- which thrives here making unique designs to suit (quite literally) every taste.

Now for news of the last month. The annual TIS Christmas Program took place on December 13th. All students from K-4 up to 3rd grade, and the choir and band from the Izumi campus performed at the Sendai Fukko Kinenkan (Sendai War Memorial Building). It was a beautiful hall, though, again, the sound system could have been better (isn't that always the way?) But the kids made up for it by singing their hearts out. In honor of the recent world events, all the Komatsushima campus kids sang "A Song of Peace." Afterward, we had Santa pictures for the kids and a reception for all the parents to visit.

Our big event this last month was Barbara's mother and step-father's visit to Sendai. We were expecting Andrea and Neal on the shinkansen (bullet train) on December 21st at about 10pm. Barbara sent detailed directions via e-mail on catching the Narita Express and Shinkansen, since we couldn't afford to meet them at the airport. Fares from Sendai to Narita airport in Tokyo are about $200 roundtrip. When we didn't receive a phone call by 8pm that night saying they'd arrived, we started looking for telephone numbers for the airport. But in the middle of the search, they called. Neal hastily told us they would arrive at 11:45, and hung up. When they arrived, they related the harrowing story of JR Rail Passes that had expired, the helpful agent who called JAL to get new ones, missing the last Narita Express, and having to take the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno station (which isn't covered on the JR Pass) and more helpful people who helped them find the right track for the shinkansen bound for Sendai. Needless to say, Barbara's detailed directions were useless when using the Skyliner. But they arrived in one piece, tired after 27 hours of travel.

Much of their time here was spent shopping and eating in various types of restaurants. We hit most of the major shopping areas accessible through public transportation. And they liked most of the food we tried - conveyor belt sushi, okonomiyaki, tempura, yakitori, tonkatsu - but one failure was cold soba noodles. Soba (made of buckwheat flour) can be served cold with a tangy dressing, or hot in broth. Both Neal and Andrea tried cold soba, not knowing it would be cold (Barbara wasn't sure until the food came). Well, it tasted really slimy and foreign. Barbara had tempura soba, which was hot, and much tastier. Andrea felt a bit ill afterward, but made it through the evening. In addition we saw many things we've already described in our newsletters (Sendai Loople Bus, Zuihoden, Aoba Castle, the top of the SS30, etc.) But there were also many new experiences which we had saved for their time here.

One of those was spending Christmas Eve with the family of one of Todd's students. The occasion was festive in two ways -- Christmas Eve and Todd's student's birthday. The family, from the Bengali region of India, had invited a few other of their close friends and colleagues to the celebration. Before the customary birthday cake was served, delightful conversation and traditional Indian food were served one course at a time. The platters came round with curried and delectably spiced offerings. As we ate the salad, potatoes, sandwiches, and chicken in seemingly endless fashion, our mouths were soon at odds with our full stomachs -- so delicious was the food. Despite our full bellies, we all made room for the delicious cake. We sang a happy birthday to the birthday girl (Todd's student), who then blew out the candles on her cake. It turned out that the family would celebrate a birthday twice -- the girl's father had a birthday on Dec. 25! Our Christmas Day was spent opening presents, of course, and enjoying the company of Barbara's mother and stepfather. A breakfast of omelets and fruit salad was served (thank you, Barbara), and a couple of chocolate bars (thanks Andrea & Neal) made for a delicious brunch. Christmas Dinner was spent with a family from church, who had invited all of us. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and buttered bread gave us a sense of home, again. At one point in our time there, we broke into Christmas carols, deciding after some practice to serenade a neighbor who was alone. We all sang "Silent Night" in both English and Japanese, while Todd and Barbara sang their duet 'O Holy Night."

One of Sendai's most elegant holiday treasures -- and one we didn't want Andrea & Neal to miss -- is its "Pageant of Starlight." Each evening, at about 5:00 or so, the trees lining Jozenji-dori Street near downtown are illuminated. Arrays of clear, bright lights are attached to the countless trees and branches in the center section of the major thoroughfare. The street's median doubles as a tree-canopied park walkway with the occasional bench and artistic statue. The spectacle is paid for largely due to donations. Todd and Barbara did their part by contributing at various times during the month. The donations are collected by high school children and adults from various civic organizations. One time, when Todd was donating his small change, he happened to drop three coins in one at a time. A line of high school girls monitoring the donations chorused (in perfect unison and in the typical high-pitched sing-song fashion of the Japanese) "Arigato gozaimasu, Arigato gozaimasu, Arigato gozaimasu." That in itself was cause enough for Todd to donate more coins one at a time, again to the chimed chorus of "Arigato gozaimasu" -- again, in perfect unison. Oh, if he had had hundreds of one-yen coins and put them in one at a time... .

The effect of the tree-lighting on Jozenji-dori Street is so spectacular in part because the lights are reflected in the glass of the buildings that line the boulevard. The smell of roasting chestnuts, the taste of baked sweet potatoes sold by kindly vendors, the sting of a dry cold wind, the sight of well-behaved crowds, the hugs of loving couples, the joy of energetic children and their extended families might just hint at the true joy of this event. You might recall that Jozenji-dori Street is also home to Sendai's annual Jazz Festival in the fall.

One of the largest attractions in Sendai is the Dai Kannon. It is an amazingly large statue (100 meters tall) of an androgynous Buddha that doubles as a religious shrine of sorts. Barbara and Todd have had occasion to drive by on numerous occasions, as the Izumi Campus of Tohoku International School is located not too far from it. We decided to take a city bus to get there. After getting off the bus, we had to cross the street and walk a short distance. Initially, we all didn't know whether we could get inside. The entrance is shaped like a dragon's mouth, with the Buddha standing on top of its back. After paying an entrance fee, we looked at a set of large statues of grotesque gods that supposedly protect Buddhism. Taking an elevator to the 12th floor was our next endeavor -- and from this floor, we could see downtown Sendai and the snow-capped mountain of Izumi-gatake. There was also a small shrine that was dedicated to "the image of the god" -- a sphere of pure gold and a large lapis lazuli stone on which it was mounted. As there was no heat or insulation in the Dai Kannon itself, the chilly air and hollow echoes were enough for Todd to keep his hood over his head. We followed the stairs down, which led to nine floors, each of which contained a set of 12 distinctly different statues of the Buddha. Neal, who has for a long while made an academic study of Buddhism and its influence on Japanese culture, seemed fascinated by these statues, some of which resembled the Kannon, others that looked more like traditional statues of the Buddha, and still others which looked much more grotesque. About half way down these sets of steps, Neal (who on the entire trip had his ukulele close at hand) decided to play the traditional Japanese tune "Sakura." It was quite lovely sounding, and somewhat surreal given the acoustics. On the ground floor again, our path led us to another shrine dedicated to a bodhisattva that supposedly protects children who die young.

The highlight of the whole trip was Sakunami Onsen (hot spring). Sakunami is a small resort town about 25 minutes west of Sendai by train. Going to an onsen in the wintertime is a Japanese pastime. Of course, one can go all year round, but taking a really hot bath in really cold weather feels so good. With our school secretary Miyuki's help, we got reservations for two rooms at the Green Green Garden La-La Resort Hotel. We took the local train to the station, got in a hotel car, and arrived at a much bigger hotel than we expected. They had 20 floors, a gift shop, bowling area, video games, karaoke, restaurants and a huge buffet. And let's not forget the whole reason we came - the hot spring baths. Once we checked in we found rooms that were almost bigger than our apartment! Out in the hall, there were yukata (light kimono-style robes) in many sizes. These yukata are worn the entire time, if desired -- even to dinner! We decided to hit the indoor baths right away, so we changed and went down. For the uninitiated: Japanese baths are usually divided into men's and women's sections. One goes into the proper section, removes the yukata, then washes off in an area next to the hot water. Since one bathes in the buff, a foreigner feels really exposed as they sit on a tiny stool with a plastic wash basin soaping down their naked body. We Westerners felt a bit like giants, around all these lithe Japanese bodies. And yet there is no sense of impropriety, shame or self-consciousness about the experience. And because the Japanese don't stare or gawk, the baths become quite a luxuriant and peaceful expreience. After washing off, we entered the steaming hot bath. Barbara thinks she scared away a few people down there - that or they only wanted really short baths. It was difficult to stay in the water for very long, as the temperature and humidity can be oppressive. After about 15-20 minutes of bathing (if that), we washed off again. Shampoo, soap and conditioner are provided for everyone's use -- as are razors for the men -- and hair dryers. Exhausted and relaxed, we all went upstairs and fell asleep until dinnertime.

The dinner buffet was included in the room price -- and was enormous! We loaded up our plates and watched the stage show a little while (a singer who focused on the children). Speaking of children, they were everywhere in the halls - but rarely in the baths. Japanese parents are not big on control in public places. The younger the child, the more freedom given. Older children are expected to conform to very polite behavior, but elementary age kids run wild! The noise in the halls didn't stop us from sleeping, though. Anyway, after dinner, we went to the karaoke bar and paid about $20 for nomihodai (all you can drink) and karaoke for 90 minutes. Todd and Barbara both sang, Neal and Andrea watched. Another Japanese couple sang enka ballads (traditional love songs), which were lovely breaks from the folksy '60s and '70s songs that Todd & Barbara sang. Late in the 90 minutes, a small group of patrons in their yukatas joined us. Barbara even accepted a dance with one of the men while Todd was singing "Tom Dooley" in a really bad country accent. Once the 90 minutes were up, we started to leave, and the manager of the other karaoke bar asked Barbara to sing "The Rose" again in his club - for free! After that, we decided we wanted to try the rotemburo (outdoor bath). The manager invited us to return.

The rotemburo are also divided between men's and women's sides. There was a small indoor bath, but then one would walk outside with only a small towel (some brave Japanese took no towel at all). The coldness of winter slapping itself against an exposed body that's come straight from a hot bath is bracing, but pleasant. Though, sinking into the hot water with only your head exposed to the freezing cold is an exquisite experience. Since it was dark, and secluded from view, we didn't feel too exposed. Andrea and Barbara had the rotemburo all to themselves. Todd and Neal, in the other bath, joined two other Japanese men who had already been outside for some minutes. The snow started to fall in big beautiful flakes. Steam from the rotemburo met the flakes, as the cold winds gently stirred them. Barbara and Andrea, in their section, couldn't resist the urge to sing "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow" in harmony. Barbara is sure that if anyone had heard them, they probably thought "Gaijin!" (foreigners). Sitting in the hot bath with falling snow all around was a deeply sublime experience. Todd and Neal didn't sing -- but the contentment felt with gentle snowflakes on the face and hot bubbling water underneath cannot be described adequately with words.

We went back to the second karaoke bar, then slept until 5 am, bathed again in the indoor baths, ate breakfast, napped, and finally left. What a wonderful time!

Another city about 25 minutes away from Sendai by train is Matsushima. Situated north-northeast of Sendai, Matsushima is home to a collection of small limestone islands, a music box museum, and several historic temples. We opted to ride a tourist ferry around Matsushima Bay to view the small islands, and to get a feel for the surrounding natural beauty. For lovers of bonsai -- or the cultivation of miniature trees -- Matsushima Bay holds inspiration for the art. Afterward -- because of Neal's interest -- we found our way to one of the older Zen temples in Miyagi Prefecture: Zuigan-ji. Restored by Sendai's feudal lord Date Masamune, the temple complex itself is a surreal and mystical experience. Entering the area leads to a long, straight walkway with tall trees above and along the side. Through the trees to the right and left are high rocky ridges that double as gravesites and monuments to the dead of the Date clan. At the end of the tree-lined walkway is the temple itself -- a large building which houses a shrine, and several rooms with original artwork dating from the 1500s and 1600s. Gold-leaf and brilliant colors (subdued somewhat by time) take one back to the times of the Shogun and Samurai. While most temples do not allow tourist visitors to enter, this temple is open to the public -- though no pictures of the inside are allowed. Outside and next door to the temple is a shrine dedicated to the Buddha, in which a twice life-sized statue has been placed. Across from that shrine is a small museum, which shows the history and influence of Buddhism and the Date clan on Matsushima.

After Andrea and Neal left for home (three suitcases heavier, we might add - some MAJOR shopping was done), we experienced the New Year holiday. Just about everything closes down on New Year's Day except restaurants and movie theaters. If you (like us) tried to go shopping, you would have found most all of them closed. Then, between the 2nd and the 4th, these shops re-open for the biggest sales event of the year. Prices are slashed upwards of 50%, crowds multiply exponentially, and grab bags are sold. Wonderful, you say? There is one slight problem. All the ATMs are closed from January 1-3. So, one needs to remember to get all the money for these several celebratory days by Dec. 31st. We did remember, luckily, and visited many shops. We managed not to purchase much, except some computer accessories. The good news is -- they were 75% off the regular price!

We hope that your new year of 2002 is a delightful one, in which you cherish your friendships and family relationships -- and are able to finally keep that resolution you made :-)

Todd & Barbara Thomas

"Stories from Sendai, February 11, 2002"

As January (and a new year) got rolling, both of us were somewhat apprehensive and anxious about our school's planned ski trip. Nigel would have loved the snow, but we had to leave him home for that excursion. Todd had skied before in Aspen, Colorado, with his roommate -- all of 12 years ago. Barbara had never skied before. Needless to say, they both took lessons. The day-long ski trip was just long enough for both of us to take lessons, get comfortable with our abilities and promise ourselves another trip before the season ends. Todd spent about two hours on the slopes, and a few others taking pictures for the TIS yearbook; Barbara also spent two hours doing some runs on the kiddie slopes. Our headmaster, Dr. Yutzy, was no exception as he shuffled down the slopes like a pro, helping us new-comers to stay balanced and upright. Our only question remains: How do you STOP?! The Japanese instructors tried to give some pointers in Japanese, but alas, all she could do was slide down the hill on her back. Finally, after some helpful tips in English from Dr. Yutzy, she managed to make it down the hill upright - but plowed into the webbed fence! Later, as she learned to stop, it was mostly first graders that had to watch out! The snow in Sendai's Izumi mountains was a welcome addition to the trip, as it gave most of our kids and parents a thrilling boost to do it all.

This year, Barbara's New Year's Resolution came a little bit late. Thinking about all the extra weight gained from eating too much wonderful Japanese food, she decided to finally join the gym downstairs. Yes, we actually have a gym in our building on the ground floor. Two other teachers had also been thinking about it, so we all took the plunge on Feb. 1st. The three of us are now members of "New Concept - Outret (sic) Sports Club." Most nights it is as if we have the place all to ourselves. There are about 12 treadmills, 6 stationary bikes, and two stair steppers. However, we have only seen about 4 people using anything at once - and that includes us! The price is only 3000 a month (about $23), and it is sooo convenient.

Even though we teach at a small school, and there are relatively few expatriates in Sendai, we feel very fortunate that there are a large number of younger people who attend our church, Sendai English Fellowship. Several of the people we know teach at MeySen Academy, a Japanese kindergarten with a big English program. At the beginning of February, we had an ice cream social at the Takamori Friends Center, an annex of the Academy. It was hosted by Jess and Candice, two of the teachers there. The school is huge and beautiful, with amazing play areas. They took us on a "Nighttime Slide" expedition, where we slid down every slide in the campus (about 20!) One of the slide contraptions has a slide that goes at a 60% angle. The steep drop made Barbara shriek like a kid. Since the campus is built in a hilly area, the grounds have many fun places to explore.

Every Sunday evening, a large group of us go out to dinner together, usually to a restaurant called Gusto, just down the street. This last weekend, we tried something different, as one of the members owns a restaurant called "The Mosaic Fish." He usually is closed on Sundays, but last Sunday he sponsored a special "shakuhachi" concert. The shakuhachi (click for a picture, description and sound sample) is a Japanese bamboo flute, that has a very haunting sound. (Some of my sixth graders at AIS last year saw a videotape about woodwinds - and the shakuhachi sound made them giggle!) The mouthpiece is notched in a V, and the player blows air across it. To get a vibrato, the flute is shaken quickly up and down. The notes also slide up and down using the player's breath control. He played one piece, which lasted for about 8 minutes. It was an unexpected treat!

Chances are that while many of you celebrated Groundhog Day on February 2, the Japanese were celebrating Setsubun. This traditional ritual of spiritual spring cleaning is performed at shrines, temples, and people's homes around the country, and involves throwing soybeans at people dressed in demon costumes while chanting "fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto" ("fortune in, demons out"). This year, Setsubun was on a weekend -- but that didn't mean that the fun was lost on the kids at school. At morning assembly, some of our parents introduced the tradition to our students. They selected Todd to play the demon. His kids liked that! He put on a goofy demon mask and was asked to step outside. The kids were then given peanuts by the bucketful to throw at the demon as he walked back into the room. At one point, Todd had come into the assembly room, ducking behind chairs and tables only to be ambushed by kindergarteners. Oh, the humiliation of being pummeled with peanuts pitched by 4- and 5-year olds! And of all the kids at school, the most merciless bunch were his own 3rd graders. It seemed as though they had a vendetta against their beloved demon...uh...teacher.

Bye!

"Stories from Sendai, March 11, 2002"

Welcome to another Story - winter is starting to wind down. We've had a few days where no thermal underwear was needed, but our parkas have not yet been put away!

About a week after our last newsletter, February 17th, Barbara had her birthday. Yet, the way she had been hinting and talking about it, her birthday may as well have been during the last week in January! As most of you know, our tradition is to surprise the birthday person. So Todd kept her completely in the dark -- even suggesting that he had forgotten (he hadn't) and that they should postpone her birthday another three weeks. Though a joke, Barbara's hackles were up. Todd was snickering. His secret plans weren't even divulged to close friends or family. Barbara was completely clueless until after we got off the bus in downtown Sendai. He distracted her by taking her into the Vivre Department Store, hinting that they had a lot of walking to do... only to lead her directly across the street to a Pachinko Parlor!

Pachinko is a very popular pastime in Japan. We think of it as "gambling lite." Let us describe our first and only experience. We walked in the front doors, and the first impression was a WAVE of sound. Cheesy electronic music coupled with the clattering of thousands of little marble-sized balls through what must be hundreds of machines. We walked up to the counter, looking lost and gaijin-like. A friendly female clerk -- whose English was about as good as our Japanese -- led us to a card machine. She showed us that we could buy 1000 yen, or 5000 yen cards, which would be inserted into the Pachinko machines. Then she asked us to choose which machines we wanted. Both of us figured we would take the closest open machines, and plopped ourselves onto the chairs of a game called "Bee!" We slipped our 1000 yen cards into the slot, and the machine spit out something like 200 balls. The clerk showed us how to turn the little dial on the bottom, to cause the balls to shoot from left to right into the top of the machine, like pinball. The balls would clink their way down many little metallic pins and land at the bottom. Well, we sat there, turning our dials, and sometimes, the balls would go into special slots and cause special things to happen on the small video screen in the middle. These slots usually just added extra balls. We could see all around us that people had collected buckets full of balls which they kept directly under the machine. We had nothing in our buckets yet. We began to wonder, were we doing this right? All the while, our balls were moving at lightning speeds up and through the pins making lots of noise. Quite frankly, we weren't sure what all the hype was about concerning this form of entertainment. And, as we had run out of balls with nothing to show for the effort, we figured another go couldn't hurt.

Well, we tried again (the card gave us two games each). Then, through experimentation, Barbara started noticing that you could control the speed of the balls shooting out, and that when the balls landed in the special slots, that the video screen turned into a type of slot machine, and that turning the dial slowly or quickly affected the screen. Suddenly, the machine started flashing and making A LOT of noise -- more than usual -- and Barbara had no idea what to do! Pretty soon there was a crowd of at least twelve to fifteen people all around her game, humming and hawing about how to explain what this ignorant gaijin should do next. Somehow, Barbara figured out she had gotten a jackpot of sorts. Finally a clerk came over, opened the machine, and cranked out a bunch of extra balls so that Barbara could take advantage of this jackpot she had started. Some of the male patrons who had gathered kept pointing to a certain spot at the top of the machine. Finally one of them showed Barbara how to turn the dial just so, causing the balls to shoot to that spot, and therefore be more likely to land in an extra door slot that had opened for the jackpot. The machine went through something like 15 rounds of jackpots, and the bucket underneath filled to the brim.

This was enough success for one day! Technically one can replay the balls one wins to try for ever greater amounts of balls, but we decided to cash out. We gave the bucket to a clerk, who dumped them into a counting machine. He gave us a receipt, then directed us to the front counter. She thanked us, gave Barbara a cheese stick and some cash cards, and tried to explain that we should go around the corner. We had no idea what she was talking about. Another clerk took us outside, pointed us toward a side door and left. Apparently, it is illegal to give out the cash prizes within the parlor itself. At the side door, we handed the cards over and received 5000 yen (about $40)! Wow! We made double what we spent. If not for the nice people inside, we would have walked away with nothing but slightly deafened hearing. Oh, and Todd? He had fun watching Barbara have a terrific birthday!

The first weekend in March we got to attend a conference for JASCD (Japan Association for Curriculum and Supervision Development), of which we are both members. It is an affiliate of ASCD, an educational entity based in Alexandria, Virginia. The conference was in Tokyo. Other than passing by on the Shinkansen, we never had visited Japan's capital city. TIS paid for our fees, hotel, and travel expenses.

We got to stay at Kimi Ryokan - a traditional Japanese inn that caters to foreigners. Never mind that these accommodations were about 30 minutes away from our conference -- the place was extremely cozy. We stayed in a "large" room -- 6 tatami mats (abt. 2m x 3m). Futons were made on the floor, with large fluffy blankets that kept the cold out. There were no decorations in the rooms to speak of, no heat or air conditioning, and no food was allowed in the room. Showers and toilets were communal. For security reasons, only those registered for the rooms could enter them. All other socialization was to be done in a central parlor, complete with kitchenette, drink machines and a table for eating. A satellite television and heated tile floor allowed for some measure of comfort there. The man who operated the inn was quite friendly, and our stay there was more than pleasant.

For three days, from 8:30am to 5:00pm, we took part in an intensive workshop. The workshops were held at the New Sanno Hotel and The International School of the Sacred Heart close by. We didn't have very much free time, but on Friday night, we jumped on the JR train to go to Akihabara. Known as "Electric Town," Akihabara is a huge collection of shops selling all manner of electronics at discount prices. We didn't have much time -- only an hour before most of the shops closed -- but we were able to hit at least three large stores. We were able to buy the electronic Japanese-English dictionary a friend wanted for 2500 yen less. At the end of the weekend, Todd went back to Sendai alone, but Barbara and Daryl went to Costco in Makuhari, Chiba. To get there, we had to ride a JR Keiyo train for about 30 minutes, passing by Tokyo Disneyland, and then take another bus from the Kaihin Makuhari station. But it was worth it! The place was two stories high, and filled with lots of comfort products, as well as a lot of Japanese products. Too bad we live so far away from the Tokyo area.

Getting back to Sendai that Sunday afternoon and evening was tiring -- then, to realize that we had to be back in the classroom the next morning was little comfort. No rest for the weary, as they say. The week, further exhausting, culminated in a trip to Shikama-cho this past Saturday. The locals there have an English club, in which a number of the city's children take part. As their guests, we were treated to a Taiko drumming concert. For a solid 25 minutes, the rhythmic pounding of traditional Japanese drums -- large, small, and in-between -- rang in our ears and souls. Though the concert was delightful, and somewhat hypnotic, the true delight for Todd especially was getting to pound out some of the week's aggressions on the drums. The children and parents had been put into groups before the concert. After the concert, each row was welcomed to the stage where young and old, shy and confident, took drumsticks in hand and tried to follow the lead drummer. Some of us who braved the stage may have been more like Thoreau's drummer -- beating our own rhythms to mix with those around us, following our hearts more than our musical ear. And overall, it didn't matter whether we beat in time or banged our own way. We all made music that -- despite all -- sounded pleasantly loud. With the drumming finished, but our ears still ringing and our feet a-tapping, we ate a lunch of miso soup, sakura rice (grated pickled cherry and rice with some other seasonings), and daikon (a large white radish) salad that some wonderful grandmotherly types had prepared. Oishii-katta desu (It was delicious). Group games tired both children and adults alike, and got the kids of Shikama-cho introduced to the likes of us gaijin. After our games and introductions, our hosts took us by bus to a small onsen about 15 minutes away. All of the teachers opted out of the experience this time, feeling professionalism would have been compromised. We may return to that onsen some day, though not with our school kids!

Spring Break comes in about two weeks, and then the slide into summer begins. We'll let you know in the next installment how our Spring Break goes...and anything else, of course, that might let you know what is happening to us in far-away Japan.

Todd & Barbara Thomas :-)

"Stories from Sendai, April 8, 2002"

The end of March and beginning of April was pretty restful, although we do have a few events to tell of. We had our school's Spring Break between March 21-31. With ten days off, we did little else but sleep late, go out to eat, play on the computer and watch TV. Boring, huh? But really, we are so busy the rest of the time, who wants to fill up every vacation with more busy-ness?

One of the highlights of the break was a small Easter Sunrise service held at the chapel across the street from the Dai-Kannon (see January 2002 SfS). One of the ministers, Barry, organized the gathering, and at 5:15 (!! - sunrise comes early here) we were all shivering but ready to go. Some of the people later said they found the presence of the huge Buddha statue overlooking our service distracting and/or disturbing. But we just tried to focus on why WE were there, and let God take care of the rest. Some early morning Japanese joggers looked our way, and that was somewhat encouraging. Afterward, we had hot cross buns (which had to be served cold - no ovens in the parking lot) and coffee/tea/cocoa. A group of us ended up at the Royal Host family restaurant for pancakes as well. When all was said and done, we went home and decided to take a nap -- at 10 am!

However, the big news of the month began that week as well. A friend of ours finished her contract with another school here and was offering her car to anyone who would pay the shaken and transfer costs. Shaken are taxes that come due three years after a new car is purchased, then every two years after that until the car is ten years old, and then the taxes must be paid every year. It costs between $350 and $1000, and the car must be brought up to code beforehand. Many people will give away their cars or junk them when they get to be too old to be worth the shaken expenses. This seems to be the Japanese government's answer to keeping old, inefficient cars off the road.

We decided to go for it, especially since having a car would mean more freedom, even if it were not more economical. Well, Barbara took over the job of getting everything taken care of, since we determined she would probably be the one driving it the most. First step: getting a parking place. Our apartment building does not have parking included with the rent. And Japanese law requires that to own a car, one must have a legal parking space. Makes sense. So Barbara asked our secretary to research where people in our building parked. The lot was a couple short blocks over, but a nice down payment and monthly fee needed to be paid. In the meantime, the person who was giving us the car agreed to have the car pre-screened to see what would need to be done, and how much shaken would cost.

To our great surprise, more than a few repairs were needed (about $1200) and the shaken had to be paid above and beyond that ($600). The car was 11 years old, and needed a new muffler, shocks, and blinker. On top of that, the shaken would only be good for one year, since the car was more than 10 years old. We were starting to feel a little shaky about the whole thing, but...

As a result of telling our headmaster about our impending car purchase, he was able to offer Barbara a full-time job for next year! This will mean commuting to the other campus across town for part of the time. She will teach K-4 in the mornings as well as music to K-8 (and possibly 12) in the afternoons. It is quite a bit more money for her; more than several used car purchases.

So now we were pretty much committed to a car purchase, whether or not it would be this one. Our friends who teach at MeySen Academy heard about our situation and advised that we get rid of this car (our friend left for the U.S. immediately after we found out how much it would cost to repair it!) and get a new one. Luckily, the guy who helps them purchase cars in town came to church to visit that very night, and we set up a time to go over to the used car dealer.

Second Step: get a different car, and pay to get rid of the other one. Yes, you read that correctly. Here in Japan, you must pay to have the government take away large items of trash -- and that includes computers, desks, chairs, and old cars. Anyway, after a pleasant afternoon sipping coffee with Mr. Suzuki of Marusei Used Cars, Barbara had chosen a very small Suzuki Alto hatchback. Todd didn't even come along, since Barbara would be the primary driver. He also figured that with these two MeySen experts helping her, he would have just been "extra baggage." The car was dark teal, and only 5 years old. But in Japan, even if you can pay the full price upfront, you are not allowed to drive it off the lot! The car has to be inspected, given a new shaken, and all other taxes and basic insurance paid. So Barbara thought, no big deal. I'll just drive my friend's old car home and come back for the new one in a few days. BZZZT! Wrong answer. Mr. Suzuki looked at the registration papers and pointed out that the registration for the old car was already expired - and had been expired since THE DAY BEFORE our friend turned the car over to us! Barbara was not allowed to drive it any more, even though she had been driving illegally, apparently, for 4 days. Before Barbara was driven back to the subway, Mr. Suzuki's 8-year-old son presented her with several boxes of tissues to thank her for her business. Three days later, by the end of the afternoon, we were official car owners. And once again, Barbara was presented with 8 rolls of toilet paper as...yes...another thanks for her business.

Last step: Get the official shakou shomei papers started. The police must determine that you have a legal place to park, and issue a sticker for the window of the car. So Barbara came back to Marusei with paperwork showing the exact address of the parking space. And at the end of this meeting, Barbara was given yet more boxes of tissue as a final thank you. Nicely, Mr. Suzuki took care of the paperwork for just about everything. Barbara needs to return three more times to make final payments on the car, so she suspects that we will not have to pay for toilet paper or tissues for the rest of this year! Barbara has been driving all over Sendai in the last week, getting used to left-hand drive (did we mention that?), narrow streets and slightly different traffic laws.

Driving around Sendai is a very different experience from walking it, and overall a pleasant experience as city driving goes. One of the memories Todd has of his childhood is walking beneath the cherry trees in Washington, DC, when the cherry blossoms would emerge. Little did he realize then that he would be living in Japan, and able to enjoy these sights and smells again. While there are few monuments around the cherry blossoms in Sendai, this city boasts some of the most gorgeous tree-lined parks and roads anywhere. The cherry blossoms usually arrive about April 20th each year in Sendai, but throughout Japan in 2002, the blossoms were a record 3-4 weeks early!

We had attempted to see the blossoms (sakura) at Nishi Park during the middle of the first week in April. But our attempt to get there in the car proved fruitless, as we couldn't find a parking lot. Our attempt on 5 April at Tsutsujigaoka Park (a touch closer to our Komatsushima residence) proved better. Again, we drove. As we arrived, we noticed that there was a line to get into the park's parking lot. There were at least 15 to 20 cars in line, with the parking lot already full. Each minute or two, a car would leave the parking lot, allowing another car in. Comical, to say the least, was how the parking lot's sign would bounce (yes bounce) from "full" to "vacant" each time a car left, and then right back to "full" again, when a waiting car would enter.

During this part of the year, when the cherry trees bloom, the parks in Sendai are inundated by hundreds, if not thousands, of citizens. They flock like birds to the parks, laying down large blue tarps to secure a spot where they can partake in hanami -- literally, "flower watching." Some die-hard hanami enthusiasts bring tents, blankets and cots so they can sleep underneath the beautiful trees. And since most everyone who participates in this festival brings something alcoholic to drink (sake, beer, whiskey, wine coolers, sometimes all of the above), the tents provide a convenient place to "sleep it off." For everyone -- including those who just come for a temporary look (like us) -- there are booths selling all manner of Japanese foods: yakitori, soba and ramen among them. And fast food places like Pizza Hut and Strawberry Cones (another pizza joint) were selling their delivery services to those who had tarps!

We both hope you've done your taxes (we have), and get a refund (we won't - but we won't be paying any federal taxes, either). Our love spreads to you all, as do our hopes for your happiness and well-being.

Todd & Barbara :-)

"Stories from Sendai, May 22, 2002"

We're late with this issue - life just sometimes gets in the way! Our website was down for several days, as well, so we had to postpone sending this. We had a really busy month, but not much on the leisure side. There is only one month left in the regular school year, and of course, it will be action packed. Then we will stay for summer school as well!

On April 24th, Barbara's class took their first field trip to Michinoku Park. Michinoku Park is a national regional park south of Sendai. The park is huge and filled with beautiful flowers, and many things for families to do together. Since the K-4 day only officially runs until 12:30, the mothers and Barbara decided to drive in separate cars rather than renting a bus. This way the mothers who came could stay later with the kids, instead of returning to school so soon. Barbara drove as well, with three kids in child seats in the car. We decided to take the Tohoku Expressway - an expensive but uncrowded way of getting around here. Since she had never driven on the expressway, she followed a parent. Barbara quickly learned firsthand several things - 1) the posted speed is 80 kph, and everyone drives more than 100 kph; 2) the Suzuki Alto does not have a buzzer installed when one drives faster than 100 kph (some cars do); 3) small cars pay a lower toll than mid-size cars; 4) there is quite a lot of English/romaji on the signs. Nevertheless, we got lost once and were the last ones to arrive at the park.

Once we got there, the class wandered through the large flower garden, looking at tulips and pansies. We sat down to read a book in the grass, amid the flower display. But the fun part came next. In one of the many play areas, there is an area called the "Jumping Donuts." Difficult to explain (see the picture below) but somehow they have built big, rolling rubber hills that are meant for jumping and sliding. We all, adults included, kicked off our shoes and merrily bounced up and down for at least a half-hour. We decided to leave when a group of middle schoolers (without a teacher in sight) invaded the "donuts."

We ended the official part of the day with a picnic under pink-flowering trees. Afterward, the three children Barbara was transporting had to be taken back to school for their parents to pick up later. It was really nice that the other kids could stay with their parents at the park and play in the other areas (water games, ball pool, etc.)

During the end of April and beginning of May, the Japanese celebrate a series of holidays called Golden Week. (For an explanation click on the link.) Many years these holidays are grouped together for a week off, but this year, they created two four-day weeks and a 3-day week. One would think that this would be a time for resting and getting a spring-time recharge - but we mostly spent it doing spring cleaning and errands. Next year we hope to travel a little, even though Golden Week is one of the three busiest -- and most expensive -- travel times of the year (New Year's and Obon are the others). But Golden Week did afford Todd the chance to brave the streets of Sendai in Barbara's car. He was wanted at the other campus to help with the yearbook, and having few other alternatives he decided to try his luck on the "wrong" side of the road. Turns out his nervousness about it was unfounded. Though strange and different, driving on the left isn't all that different from driving on the right. But making the blinker turn on instead of the windshield wipers -- that will take some getting used to!

Strangely enough, this holiday time partially gives rise to the Gogatsu-byo (May sickness). This is a time of year when many people feel depressed and ill. There are many explanations: the Japanese school year starts in April, and by May the students are beginning to feel the pressure, many new employees start careers about the same time, and are feeling doubts. People are tired from the holidays and the changing weather, as well. Gogatsu-byo hit TIS in a big way! The older students and teachers were passing around a terrible cold from who-knows-where, and we all got the stomach flu! Barbara was basically out of commission for 4 days - and almost every class in the school had less than 50% attendance. The only Komatsushima Campus teachers to "survive" the onslaught were Todd and the second grade teacher! And even they were feeling some "stomach queasiness" this week.

Amid the sickness, we had our school's annual bazaar on May 11th. It rained all day, so most of the festivities -- a children's play area, the second-hand goods sale, ceramics sales, etc. -- were held inside. Food sales and the raffle were held under awnings and tents. But the games were in the cold, wet rain. Todd got soaking wet, as his kids ran a "coconut shy" game in the rain. As the campus is rather small, there wasn't room enough indoors to accommodate the games! You should have used an umbrella, you say? It wasn't raining THAT hard, says Todd. And besides, it was character building! For a few pictures, see Tohoku International School's website.

All this to say - we have been forced to delay celebrating a big milestone in our lives. On May 10th, we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. May 9th, Barbara was in bed all day, and May 10th, Todd went to the doctor for a big physical exam which required him to eat strange food and take laxatives. On our anniversary night, one person with little appetite, and another weak from hunger, went to a tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) restaurant called Stamina. It is VERY well-named. Barbara managed to get enough protein, and Todd made up for two days in one. Not very romantic, but good food nonetheless. We are trying to plan a trip out of town in the next couple weeks to celebrate in style.

Take care,

Barbara and Todd