Thanks for reading everyone! Here are some more updates about our Trip to Seoul South Korea from our little blogger!

Day 3: Wednesday 12th of September 2016

My dad had his first day of work in South Korea today. We got lunch at Mcdonald’s. I got a Mcchicken sandwich with a large fri and slushie and the flavor was strawberry lemonade. Today we caught up on up on our sleep and we went downstairs to this shopping mall that’s HUGE. Then after shopping we just stayed home and relaxed at home for about 10 minutes. Then my dad came home from work. After he got ready we went to go.

He announced that we would going to a traditional Korean restaurant for diner. So we got in a taxi and went down the street to the restaurant. We ordered two orders of chicken, and one order of boneless lamb and two Sprites for Zeke (my brother) and me. Apparently you get to cook it for yourself!! There are people that come around, but you mostly cook it yourself. My highlight today was going to the restaurant because you get to cook it yourself!! I didn’t really have a low light today.   

Day 4: Thursday 13th of September 2016

Today we went to the War Memorial Of Korea. This is a place where you get to see ships and planes that use to  fight in wars.

When you walk into the War Memorial you  see this HUGE statue of thirty eight people and soldiers. This statue is split into two parts one part on one side and the other part one the other side. In the middle of the people and soldiers there is this HUGE and when I say HUGE I mean REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HUGE spear like thing, it looked really cool. Then if you walk a little more into the park you see flags, the flags of the WORLD. Then you look up and you  see this HUMONGOUS building it looked like the White House. If you walk over to the left then you see “The Statue Of The Brothers” this pamphlet that I have beside me it states “This statue depicts a real-life story  of two brothers who fought in the Korean War on opposite sides and were accidentally reunited on the battlefield ,and symbolizes the Koreans’ wish for national peace, reconciliation, and reunification.”. But if you walked to the right of the “White House” you saw this BIG, BIG ship this is a ship that is a replica of the actual vessel that was attacked during the second Yeonpyeong Naval Battle. If you keep on going right then you see an outdoor exhibit full of planes, aircraft, missiles, machine guns, helicopters, tanks, and ships.

Today we also went to this Design Lab. This is a place where you walk around and see these AMAZING buildings! For diner we went down the stairs and went up to our favorite restaurant and they said “Sorry we are closing”. Then we went up to our second favorite restaurant and we noticed that half of their chairs were up. So we went back up to the hotel and ordered room service. My highlight today was going to The War Memorial Of Korea. My low light today was the diner thing. I Liked everything we did this Thursday so I don’t have a low light.

Jenny: Walking through this museum was really informational.  I am sure somewhere in a world history class some time I learned about the relationships between Korea, South Korea and Japan but I had never understood the magnitude of the wars.  I know we just scratched the surface of understanding.  We were happy to see lots of US military vehicles and aircraft at the museum too!

(Click arrows for a slideshow of day 4)

Day  5: Friday 14th of September 2016

Today I went to to this REALLY cool aquarium. There were all sorts of creatures. There are 14 sections in the aquarium. The first section is called “Rainbow Lounge”. This is a place where you check in,get tickets, and put your things in lockers.      

That’s all I have time to write for now. 

Jenny:  Annabelle did such a great job keeping track of our adventures.  She wanted to use my computer whenever we were back at the room.  So fun for her, but we are rethinking leaving one of our computers back in the states.  With both kids using computers for homework and gaming we may need to purchase another one in the near future.

I’ll add a little more about the aquarium since she didn’t have the chance.  It really was amazing.  To be honest, I thought it would be lame since it was in the basement of a mall.  It turns out I was wrong.  I was happy to have options of things to do while Caleb was working. I wish he would have been able to join us in the aquarium we enjoyed it so much.  They had lots of different exhibit areas some were almost like a petting zoo, the kids got to touch star fish.  In another area you could stick your finger tips into this tank and “doctor fish” would come and eat off the dead skin cells.  It was crazy.  I tried it and I couldn’t stop laughing!!!!!  There were areas with Freshwater fish of Korea and lots of huge tanks with sharks, rays, dolphins, seals and manatee.  Honestly I could have sat for house just watching them. So much fun!

(click arrows for slideshow of day 5)

Jenny: Seoul Overview

CONS:

Subway doors close much quicker and don’t open quickly if something is stuck in them.  On our first subway trip in Seoul we purchased tickets, studied the map and got ready to board the train to the place.  There was quite a crowd getting off the train at this location so we waited in line to board and began moving in when we were able. The kids were in line ahead of Caleb and I as we shuffled in the doors shut with Caleb stuck in them.  He really didn’t have much leverage to push them back open.   Since I was behind him I tried to pry them open.  After about 5 seconds or so (it seemed so long) they reopened and we were both able to board the train.  We were all a little shocked at the experience.  I feel like Caleb was like Hulk making sure the kids didn’t get sent off on the subway alone.  In case you are wondering we have had discussions with the kids about what to do if they somehow get separated from us on the subways or in stations.  I also now have noticed emergency stop buttons in the stations and subway trains.

The hotel was not really family friendly.  It was mostly for business men.  The swimming pool was for adults or children over the age of 12.  So we lied and told them the kids were 12 and 13 so we could swim one day.  It was mostly a lap swimming pool, so the kids couldn’t do cannon balls and goof around like they wanted to but the 3 of us swam laps a bit one day.

Caleb realized its hard to balance family time, vacation and work stuff on a business trip.  We had a couple days together as a family before the conference started, and we tried to fill in other things during times he could slip away the other days.  It was a good experience but a bit exhausting as well.

PROS:

We were pleasantly surprised with our visit to Seoul.  Most people were welcoming and often surprised to see Americans.  While we were at the palace grounds a group of young adults were so enamored by our children that they asked to take a selfie with them.  The kids liked feeling like movie stars!

We were often thanked by  strangers for visiting.  I am not sure if this is mostly because Seoul’s economy benefits greatly from tourism or because of the good standing relationship and alliance between America and South Korea.

When we were on the subway one time an older gentleman offered his seat to our children.  Our kids are not new to public transportation and know that they should give seating priority to elderly, or people with small children but this gentleman INSISTED they sit next to him.  During our 20 minute subway ride we found out he was absolutely intrigues by our children.  We found out he did not know much English, he didn’t hear well but from his hand gestures and smiles and some speaking he smiled and commented on how he thought it was funny that the kids were wearing shorts.  In South Korea they don’t wear shorts at this time of year.  He also mentioned that the kids had different shaped heads. LOL.  He was so happy to see American children he explaining to everyone on the train that our kids were sitting down because he asked them to. He was even offering his seat up to people so they could sit next to our kids.  It was quite humorous.

The weather was gorgeous!

Our family works well together with modified sleeping and eating arrangements.  I can’t believe all the new foods we are trying.  Although when we are at home I have found ways for us to eat mostly the same dies as we were when we were living in MN.

Over a great trip!  So happy for these travel experiences.

This weekend we walked around 15 minutes from our apartment and attended the Belgium Beer Festival. With 113 different beers, live music, and food it was was a fun night for the whole family. This was held in the very trendy and popular Roppongi Hills shopping area and despite all the people there we randomly met up with two different expat families that we knew through our kids school! It was a lot of fun to hang out with some other expats and enjoy the event. Zeke was especially a free spirit, dancing like crazy. At one point he danced with a Japanese young person who thought he was a blast and then he lead the conga line that went around the whole venue during one of songs.

So everyone had a great time and the kids loved the chocolate waffles that were made from something like brownie batter.  Yum!  I guess we should have at least taken a selfie.

It has been raining so much lately that we were very happy to get out of the house and enjoy the night. We have finally experienced a few cooler days but in general it still feels super hot to me.

-caleb

Things are feeling a bit more normal here.  We are fitting into daily routines and schedules.  I figured you may be curious what our days look like here.

4-6 days a week Caleb and I have been getting up at 5:45 am  to go to 6:15 am crossfit class at Chikara  Crossfit.   Our bikes help us get there much more quickly!  We are enjoying this time together and building some skill and strength.  Recently I set a new PR (Personal Record)  for unbroken double-unders.  I got 26 unbroken!  Yeah!  The programming is different here than what we were used to at our old gym and they use the metric system so that has taken some time to get used to.  We have been focusing a lot on tempo training and endurance training but this week we got to try for some one rep max oly lifts so that was fun.  This week Caleb hit TWO new PRs for Hang Clean @109 kilo and Power Snatch @ 76 kilo!  Way to go Caleb! I almost got a video but someone walked right in front of me before i could get it! 🙁  Here is a picture of us during one of our first Crossfit classes in Tokyo!

I also joined a group of girls at the gym for a challenge event.  We had 2 hours to complete a set of 10 challenges through the city.  We followed clues and ran from location to location.  We may not have won the event but we had lots of fun dressing up, (even though we were the only ones in costume) working out, and laughing together.

I cannot believe I am willingly getting up early to go workout but it is going surprisingly well.   To make our morning work outs possible the kids wake up to alarms on their phones at 7 am and get up, get dressed for school and eat breakfast that I have prepared ahead of time for them.  We are back home by 7:30 and I pack lunches, while Caleb showers and gets ready for work.  The kids are out of the house by 7:45 to walk to their bus.  They have about a 5 minute walk to the bus stop.  We run a tight ship to get everything done in the mornings but it seems to be going fine for all of us!

Here is a sneak peak into some of my make ahead “overnight oats” and of course a pic of the cute kids!

Caleb heads out the door around 8:15 and I spend some time doing chores before I shower and get ready for my day.  I am adjusting to being a housewife  (“sufu” in Japanese).  I enjoy having my own space during the day.  I try to keep up with housework, laundry, scheduling, grocery shopping and meal planning.  I also have a Japanese lesson every other week and will be taking a photography class starting next week.  I have attended multiple social events at the kids school and the Tokyo American club.  These 2 networks will be very important to keep me connected.

I recently made (another) trip to Ikea to get some household goods and artwork to liven up our walls.  You will be happy to know that I successfully make it home via subway with my purchases.  After making my purchases I spent 30-45 minutes trying to figure out the best, most efficient way for me to cart my purchases home.  The biggest item (and biggest problem) was a large chalkboard map that I couldn’t resist!   We do not have access to a car yet.  I took this challenge on with my little cart, bungee straps, rope and elastic cargo nets.  I got lots of strange looks as I carried them up and down stairs getting to the train on the way home. .  It wasn’t until I was walking home from the station and it began to RAIN that I almost lost it.  I stood there, both hands full and tried to figure out how I was going to hold an umbrella while rolling a cart and carrying a large map.  My efforts proved unsuccessful after I attempted rearranging my load to potentially hold the umbrella.   As I was trying to rearrange things I was getting frustrated. I was  finally getting tired of people staring.  I lost my patience at one point in which I stared back and gave an exaggerated smirk to a man staring at me.    I ended up walking home in the rain occasionally standing under an awning for shelter.

I guess my hard work paid off, as I like my (almost) finished product! 

The kids are involved a couple after school clubs:  Zeke is taking a Medieval Combat Fighting class in which they build weapons out of foam and other materials and learn how battles were fought in Medieval times.  Both kids are taking a rock climbing class.  These are great opportunities for them to meet more friends.  Annabelle was quick to make friends with a girl named Lauren from day one. They already enjoy texting and facetiming after school!  Zeke is keeping an open mind but has not quite found his niche yet.  We know these things take time.   Over the summer Zeke has developed a big interest in art.  He spends lots of time sketching, tracing, and trying out new art techniques.  He even got some alcohol based  markers.  These Copic markers are unique because you can blend colors with them!

Caleb often arrives home around 6 pm and we often have dinner and do a family activity.  We have recently enjoyed watching old episodes of the Simpsons, playing pictionary, Peanuts, or video games.  We have all been spending more time reading.  Here is our book list:   Zeke is rereading the Percy Jackson Series, Anna is on Book 2 of Harry Potter, Jenny is on book  6 of Harry Potter and Caleb is reading Game of Thrones.

Anna has also been reading to our new friend.

As you may have guessed after our last post we recently adopted a sweet little turtle.  I visited multiple aquatic  pet shops, and did some research online to find out what  would be needed to care for a turtle.  We ended up getting a “Stinkpot Musk” turtle.  Her shell is only about 1 inch big now, and full grown she will be about 4-5 inches.  We named her Suki , it means beloved in Japanese.  She  has already brought excitement and joy to our family as we all enjoy watching her swim, climb, eat and sleep.

 /

To read more about this breed of turtles go here.

In October our sweet kitty Sawyer will be able to join us!

Our weekends are pretty open and we will sometimes find a festival or event around Tokyo to do.  We are still hopping between churches and are not sure where we will land.  We may try to get involved in small groups soon to see what community life is like outside of the church walls.

That’s all for now, but look for more updates coming soon. Thanks for reading!

Apologies! After the last Hong Kong post I realized I left out some other pictures we took while we were at Ngong Ping village and  Tian Tan Buddha! The architecture and details really were amazing.  Some areas prohibited pictures to be taken and would not let us enter but here are a couple more pictures!

Day 2 in Hong Kong started out really slow since it was raining and most of the things we had planned to do were outdoors. We wandered around the courtyard and the mall below the hotel a bit. We found some delicious donuts at the grocery store bakery and enjoyed some coffee. Eventually, and after a wardrobe change, we decided to venture out and head to Victoria Harbor and Victoria peak even though it was still drizzling.

In order to get to Victoria peak we needed to take a taxi to the Harbor, then a ferry across to Hong Kong island.  The ferry was very fun.  We had to purchase small plastic tokens from a vending machine to use for the ferry.  We boarded and got on the lower deck.  It was a fun 10 minute ride to Hong Kong Island and was very cheap something like $2 for kids and 3 for adults. We caught a sunset while on the ferry on the way home.  The last picture in this group is the Star Ferry boat.

Victoria peak was highly recommended by the tourist blogs and research I did. One other cool thing is that there is a tram that goes straight up the mountain. When we arrived at the tram station the line was so long. We were afraid we would be standing in line for 2 hours before we even got on the darn thing. This is where my research paid off. From what I read you can take a taxi up the mountain and ride the tram down to get the tram experience. We aren’t huge on waiting in unnecessary lines so we found a place to hail a taxi (read more about Hong Kong taxi’s later) and headed up the mountain. In general taxis in Hong Kong had proved to be very inexpensive,  but the the trip up the mountain was a little more pricey than the local trips we had taken.  The cost was the equivalent of about $30 USD but totally worth it. The road was very winding and the driver dove pretty fast. Maybe it was just me who was being tossed around a bit because my seat belt buckle was stuck and I could not fasten my seat belt. We eventually made it up to the peak and walked around the tourist area a bit. My research also told me that there was no need to pay the extra fee to go to the special viewing deck. Just down a path there was a lookout! By now the weather was cleared up a bit and we had some great views of the Hong Kong Skyline on Kowloon and the bay. Very cool. After walking around a little bit we were ready to head back down via tram. We waited in a much shorter line and bought tickets for our ride down.

Ok, I admit I did not understand the hype of riding a tram down the mountain but it was quite crazy. Everyone jammed into these 2 train like cars. There was enough space for about 30 people to sit on wooden benches, and another 20 people stood in the aisles. Once were loaded we headed down the mountain. It was much more of a thrill than I anticipated becasue a times you felt it was quite possible for the tram to race down the hill out of control. The Maximum Steepness: 48 % Track Gradient: 4–27 degrees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_Tram  We even caught a bit of the ride on video for you.  I enjoy roller coasters more but this was a unique ride. 🙂

Near the tram station is Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden and Hong Kong park. It was nice to be out in nature a bit but it was very hot and humid. We were quite uncomfortable climbing stairs and being bitten by mosquitoes. We were disappointed to find out that the Conservatory and aviary were closed for the day. We followed the paths found a waterfall, lake and lots of cute TURTLES.

If you didn’t know I have become quite fascinated with turtles lately. Actually, I have always thought turtles were quite cute. My fascination only increased when we went to Mexico in 2012 and we actually got to swim with sea turtles when we were scuba diving. Consider yourself warned: I may end up getting a new pet in the near future. I am researching breeds of turtles that stay small. The pet store near us has a “Stinkpot musk” turtle that I am currently considering!

On the way back to the hotel be decided we should eat some traditional Chinese/ Hong Kong  food.  We looked through the menus at the restaurants in the mall at the base of our hotel.  We ended up going to Tim’s (yeah I know it is a really authentic name)  for some traditional Hong Kong food: Peking Duck! None of us had ever had this dish before but when we told the hostess we were interested in eating Peking dusk we were immediately treated like honored guests.   We were all happy to rest our weary feet and quickly dove in to the celery and scallions dipping them in a  sauce provided.  Soon after our duck arrived on a platter, with it’s head still attached.   It was all eyes on the chef as he carved the duck right at our table.   We were very surprised that the restaurant manager, several servers, and other tables were staring!  The chef presented us with the platter of sliced duck and we were given some thin crepes.  It was at this point that we realized WE HAD NO IDEA how to eat this meal.  Thankful for google (Again) we quickly learned how to properly eat the Peking duck, wrapping the thin slices of duck in the crepe, adding the celery and scallions and hoisin sauce.  So I guess we weren’t supposed to have eaten all those vegetables they had put on our table.  oops!  Soon the server realized our error and brought some more out.   The Peking duck tasted really good, the fatty skin was crispy, meat was tender and flavors were good.  Upon further speculation we feel that there should have been more meat on the duck but then again we had never eaten a whole duck before.   Maybe they are much leaner than a chicken!  Hmmmm, thoughts to ponder.   The remainder of the meat was stir fried with rice and brought over at a later time.  Over all it was a great meal and we left the restaurant full and happy!

For your reading pleasure:  This is a tutorial on how to eat Peking duck:

http://www.worldhum.com/features/how-to/how_to_eat_peking_duck_in_beijing_20071128/

Thanks for reading!  Look for more Hong Kong posts and other posts too…. we have so much more to share!

So this last weekend we did not have any big plans so Saturday we decided to check out some of the happenings around Tokyo. We all rode our bikes for the whole day and probably saved $50 versus riding the bus. There was rain off and on during the day but we were able to avoid it for the most part. The first event we went to was the Super Yosakoi dancing competition with over 100 groups competing. Here is the description from the event:

The original yosakoi dance started life in Kochi in 1954, where it was intended to help revitalise the struggling post-war economy, and Tokyo’s own Super Yosakoi festival has been going for over a decade now. The event sees 100-odd teams of brightly attired dancers trying to outdo each other as they strut their stuff to the rhythm of the naruko – a type of clapper that the people of Kochi originally used to scare birds away from their fields.

Anna bought a naruko that she decorated herself. The dances were very different from one group to the next, sometimes very traditional feeling, others very contemporary with moves stolen from hip hop and other styles. Here are some of the pictures and videos from the event. Continue reading

I should’ve posted this a while ago but better late than never. As we were packing for our relocation I received an email from the Japan BSC office saying that our Japan BSC president was invited to the US Independence Day celebration at the US Ambassador’s residence but as he was unable to attend would I like to attend in his place. This was a big surprise but also a big opportunity so I accepted and 8 days after our plane landed I was to attend the party and meet Caroline Kennedy, the US Ambassador to Japan. The funny part was that during the frantic packing in our final days in the US we did not strategically allocate belongings that should be in our carry-on luggage versus our air shipment. The air shipment would take 1-2 weeks to arrive so it wasn’t a huge gap except that all of my dress shoes were in the air shipment!

We were monitoring the progress of the air shipment day by day and hour by hour towards the end to see if we would get it before my event at the Ambassador’s residence. The air shipment arrived at like 3 pm and I eventually found my shoes and left the apartment around 4:30. That was cutting it very close!

The party was so much bigger than I expected and it was so very hot. The reception line to meet Mrs. Kennedy was quite long for a 5-second greeting and photo. It was a very short interaction but I was still quite nervous.  It felt so surreal; her father is JFK (she was 5 when he was assassinated) and she has a very high approval rating by the Japanese. This was my first event like this and I wasn’t sure of protocol or anything. Overall it went just fine and it was a short walk from our house so it all worked out.

They had all sorts of food and drink, a live band, and color guard presenting the US flag, etc. It was a cool event and I feel very privileged that I was able to attend but being so new to the area and Japan market, I did not know a single person there and we did not have any source for childcare yet so Jenny stayed home. So it was pretty lonely but a very cool party. It would have been super awesome and 10,000 times better if she was there with me.

Here’s a video of the color guard. It was great to see the US represented in Japan.

We recently became proud owners of bicycles.  It turns out it is a bit more difficult obtain a car.  We walk lots of places and take subways a lot.  Buying bikes has allowed us to get to and from places much quicker.  We all got the proper gear: helmets. lights, and a bell.  Tokyo is a bike tolerant city.  There are not very many “bike lanes or bike paths” but drivers are very aware of bicycles. The left lane (they drive on the left here) is mostly for left turns or parked taxis.  Often times bikes are also allowed on sidewalks.   We have our preferred riding order. Caleb leads, followed bu Anna, Zeke and I.

Last night we decided to ride our bikes to a restaurant to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary! Since we weren’t sure exactly how to get there, we ended up going a bit out of our way to cross streets safely.  We were almost to our destination when we needed to ride our bikes up on to the sidewalk from the street.  What  we didn’t know is that there was a sizable lip on the driveway entrance.  Caleb managed the transition just fine but Anna tried to turn into the driveway and her bike slipped out from under her.  I will let you know she is just fine. As her bike tipped over she  fell into the sidewalk. Caleb, Zeke and I  pulled our bikes aside to help her but even faster than we could help, several pedestrians stepped in to help. We were overwhelmed with the fact that 3 or 4 strangers  immediately rushed over picked up her bike and made sure we were all safe.  One kind lady also brought her band-aids and a small package of kleenex!   Annabelle recovered AMAZINGLY.  After some hugs, and wiping her tears we rode off to dinner.  She has a scrape on one elbow, a small bruise on her leg, and said today her back and neck were a little stiff.  Praise God for protection and for the kindness of strangers.

(We didn’t stop to take pictures of our injured girl, but here are some pictures of us on our bikes from the other day!)

Zeke is proud to pose in front of the Ferrari car dealership with his Ferrari bike!

We are barely feeling settled into our home and our routines but we took a vacation anyway. Caleb had a work event in Hong Kong that would require him to be gone over the weekend. With one flight and 2 nights hotel paid for we decided it was a good opportunity to have a little vacation. Caleb took a couple days off of work so we could spend some time together  and explore Hong Kong.

Day 1: Our trip from our apartment in Japan to the airport ended up being quite crazy. We got up and ready to leave the house for our 9:25 am flight. Of course we had a couple last things  to throw in the suitcases but we headed out the door in what we felt was plenty of time. Instead of riding multiple trains, or one taxi the whole way, our plan was to take a taxi from our apartment to a station that ran a train that went directly to the airport. It seemed like a great plan until…….

As you may know Japan subway system is extensive. It really makes it possible to get just about anywhere without a car. We got to the subway station just fine, looked at the maps, followed the signs, went to the right platform but we got onto the wrong train. We found out later that one train would  turn into an airport express train. We were NOT on THAT train! After some time checking the subway maps on our phone, reading the scrolling announcements that are displayed in the subway cars (mostly in Japanese, with occasional English) , and having a fair amount of panic we decided it would be best to get off the train and get onto another one. At the station we determined we  indeed had been on the wrong train and needed to wait another 10 minutes to get on the correct one.

We finally got to the airport and knew we were cutting it really close for our flight. We tried to check in on-line, at home before we left but no luck, we tried to check in at the kiosk at the airport, no luck. We followed to signs to the ticket booth for Japan Airlines only to be directed to another counter for their partner airline. As we finally got to the correct desk we told the receptionist we were in a big hurry and needed to get our tickets right away. We got to cut in line and we got our tickets but our seats were spread throughout the plane. At this point I think we had 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to take off. The kids had been doing really good with our chaotic morning but Zeke was REALLY starting to panic now. We rushed to security and were able to get through fairly quickly! Next, we headed to immigration. The line was pretty short and we were feeling like everything may work just fine. When we got to the counter we were turned away because we had not filled out the proper paperwork. We exited the line and began to fill out the papers. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins that my hand was shaking while I was attempting to fill out the papers and needed to start a new form because I switched the kids birth years. Sometimes having 2 kids with birthdays in the same moth is hard!   Once we got the paperwork filled out correctly we had to reenter the line. Soon after, someone asked us if she could cut in line because her flight was about to leave. We found out she was on the same flight as we were. I guess we weren’t the only ones running late. After getting through immigration we ran, fast,   all 4  of us carrying backpacks and rolling our carry on roller bags, down the 5 moving walkways to the gate. You should take a minute to visualize this.  It is quite hilarious!  I am sure we turned lots of heads! As we arrived at the gate out of breath we told the attendant our flight number and she informed us OUR FLIGHT HAD BEEN DELAYED! It was only then that I noticed the hundred people waiting next to the gate, all staring at us! We caught our breath and waited in line for an additional 15 minutes before boarding. The flight went fine and the kids did great even though our seats were spread throughout the plane. So happy to have older kids! There is no way this would have worked if they were younger!

Hong Kong Geography

Hong Kong International airport is on Lantau Island and since this was 30-45 minutes from our hotel.  We decided to do some sightseeing on Lanau Island right away. I had done some research ahead of time to see which things we should see and do. On the top of the list was visiting Tian Tan “Big Buddha” From the airport we to took a taxi to the cable car station. Luckily we were able to put our luggage in storage there. We bought tickets for the cable car. It was an amazing experience. We got in the gondola type cable car and off we went on our 3.7 km journey through the mountainous Island. At one point they stopped us because it was windy. That was a bit freaky. Our car didn’t move much but we just sat there for a couple minutes dangling in the sky watching as clouds rolled over the hill in front of us! The cable car ride took about 25 minutes for us to get the Ngong Ping village which hosts the Tian Tan Buddha.
  

As promised I wanted to finish up my people matter post! (but of course it’s later than I hoped to be posting this)   I mentioned in our last post being in a new city, away from all things familiar makes you have a new respect and gratitude for friendly, kind, and familiar people.

In our last weeks in Minnesota we were so happy to spend some time with family!  Caleb’s parents (Loren and Colleen) came to visit.  We were in over our heads with things that needed to happen prior to moving.  They pitched right in and helped with everything from putting the kids to bed, to  repairing water or insect damage on a window ledge using a sticky bondo substance, and painting walls.  Thank you Loren and Colleen for your help, prayers, and support.  We made sure to add a little fun and went to Valley Fair with the Boston Scientific Family Fun day!

My parents (Tom and Julie) are helping us maintain long term valuables.  They are  tremendous help by fostering our sweet dog Shadow and storing our van wile we are gone.    3 days before our move I drove with the kids to Madison to drop off the van.  It was a great time to visit with my family.  My brother Nick even came to see us for a bit and help with the transport of the van back to Illinois.  We got to stay in a great hotel with pool and had a great visit.  Thanks Tom and Julie for the prayers, support, hotel stay, storing our van, and caring for our dog! 

Sadly Caleb was stuck with the dirty work of spraying the ceiling, and multiple other moving tasks.   Thanks Caleb for letting us go to Madison and spend time with my parents!

Caleb has loved the Ultimate Frisbee community in Minnesota.  He has played on leagues and at pick up games.  It was always a great source of joy for him. Thanks to Plaid Pickup Ultimate “Game to 100” for giving him something fun to do in the weekend we were gone in Madison.

We also had some dear friends invite us over on our last nights in Minnesota.  Thanks to Scott and Amy Whitmore for sharing your new home, a delicious meal, and your wonderful friendship.

In our last year in Minnesota we discovered we had fun friends just across the street.  Thanks Pete and Lesley for the evenings of friendship, laughter, hot tubbing, and for feeding us one of our last MN meals! Totes! (twice).

We are beginning to make connections in Tokyo.  The kids attended one week of summer school at Tokyo International School (TIS).  It was a wonderful opportunity for them to be around other kids, get familiar with their school, and have fun learning.  Anna made quick friends with a girl named Ashley.  Since she also got on the bus at the same stop I got to know her mom Emma as well.   Emma and her kids were in Tokyo visiting from Taiwan.  I was so happy to meet a friendly mom who spoke English!  We spent a couple afternoons with the kids at the American club and at a kids gym place.  Sadly, they returned home to Taiwan just days after we met them. When they left Emma shared a box of Traditional Taiwanese Pineapple cake with us.  Such a sweet and tasty gift!

 Emma told us about this cool gym place, I think it’s called Nandemo; its like a community center that is all free for Manato-ku residents.  We filled out the registration card and got to use the whole center. They had a craft room, a toddler kids room, a gym (with unicycles, soccer, small kids climbing structures, and other equipment you could check out).  You can also check out video games to be used on their system.  In the video game room their is one play station.  The check out a game from the front desk, then need to set the timer on the basket for 15 minutes. When

the timer goes off its the next kid’s turn.  What a cool idea! While we were there Zeke spent A LOT of time trying to ride a unicycle.  There were lots of smaller kids zooming around this gym.  Zeke’s determination paid off and eventually he was able to ride a short distance!!!! Way to go Zeke!!!!

We have attended two churches in Tokyo so far.  We have not settled in to a “home” church yet but are  we are encouraged to know God is here and people who love him are here too.  The kids also attended a week of VBS at Tokyo Baptist Church.  I was a week full of fun songs, snacks, crafts, and more. I spent a couple mornings volunteering in the craft station.  We made friends with another nice family who was in Tokyo for 6 months from Texas.  Elizabeth Clark and her husband are both professors and have spent time in Tokyo 10 years ago. They returned this January with their 3 children to stay for 6 months.   The kids and I made quick friends with them and spent a couple afternoons after VBS hanging out.  Sadly they are leaving in a couple weeks as well.

We are hopeful that we will continue to make connections and hope to keep in touch  with many of you from the US.