Hello from Japan! I'd write it in Japanese, but I still have no idea how. I'm learning a few things but not very quickly! Luckily, most of the signage is in English, as well as Japanese, and many of the people who work/live on our island speak some English. Matt is starting his Japanese lessons next week and I'm planning to start once the kids are in school.

Here is Fitzpatrick in Japanese: ワィツツパトリック

Overall, we're adjusting pretty well. Katie has had a few meltdowns where she yells that she doesn't want to be in Japan anymore but on the whole, the kids are doing great. They do miss their friends from home and talk about them often. I keep encouraging them to write emails, but they haven't taken me up on it yet.

We've finally gotten used to the time difference, but the humidity defeated us. We're now using the air conditioning on a regular basis. However, we only cool the rooms we're actually using, so hopefully that will help with the electricity bill. It's definitely a different way to live. I kind of miss my central air, even though I know this is much more environmentally correct! The Japanese are very environmentally aware. The streetlights are powered by solar panels or mini-windmills, trash (even out on the street) is sorted into several different categories (burnable, non-burnable, recycling, etc.) The escalators have motion sensors and only run if someone is around. The automatic doors have buttons that you push to get them to slide open. The kids have almost bumped their noses a few times! Even the cars/trucks/vans are tiny compared to what we're used to. With all 5 of us loaded into our Honda Odyssey, there is barely enough room for groceries!

Riding on the train to church.

We've done a fair amount of exploring, mostly of stores and restaurants. We've gone to Ikea and Costco but our favorites are the local grocery store and the 100 Yen store. The 100 Yen store is kind of like a dollar store but much better! I'm at the grocery every other day. It's amazing how much having to carry everything home in bags by foot changes your shopping habits! Laura and Katie are doing great with the food. Nathan has had a few restaurant meals that consisted of white rice and Pepsi! Whole grains don't seem to exist here, so the kids love the white bread, pasta and rice. Nathan's new favorite seasoning is butter. We may be the first family to come home from Japan fat! I have developed a new appreciation for sushi. I've always been kind of lukewarm about it, but now I crave it. It is so good, even the stuff from the grocery store is yummy!

Matt is letting each child pick an activity for the weekend. Last weekend Laura chose to go to the waterpark.http://www.dekapathos.com/ We had a great time, but were very worn out by the end. This weekend Nathan has chosen to go to the nearest big city, Osaka, by train to the Pokemon store. He is incredibly excited. Matt and I are hoping to slip a few other activities into the trip too! http://www.pokemon.com/

Tomorrow we are headed to a nearby town called Suma to go to the beach and aquarium. We're going with 3 other expat families, so I hope the kids behave and the thunderstorms they are predicting hold off.

Other than the language/illiteracy thing, the hardest thing to get used to has been the toilets. They have motion sensors and when you enter the room they turn on a light and turn on the vent fan. You push a button to open the lid and the toilet seat is heated (not my favorite during this 90 degree weather!). They also have bidet functions. The buttons are all labeled in Japanese. We have a handwritten diagram that shows that one of the buttons is called a "bull and bear" wash. None of us has been brave enough to push it yet!