Our new home in the paddies

Well, here we are -- Tachiarai-machi!
Small. Very small.

Here we are! And yes, that's a basket on my bike - thanks to my predecessor. We went promptly to the store to buy Will a bike this day too. Good investment, very good.

See all that rice? Can you see it?
It is pretty though... pretty hot!!


Typical weather around here for August I'd say.


And here is our new home. It's just one floor, and two rooms plus kitchen, hallway, toilet room and bathroom. That's our towel hanging outside - we have a washer, and everyone hangs their clothes out to dry here, which is nice.


Our full house.


Looking down the street.


This is the view looking left out our windows... very typical architecture of the area. Some of the end roof tiles are very detailed. Also, check out the tree in that person's yard- they all look like that in this neighborhood.


This is the view directly across the street. The view to the right looks about the same, except there's a barber shop. If you really want me to, I'll post that photo too, but let's get on with it for now!


Ta-Da! Luckily we have this lovely western-style toilet!


Here is our kitchen, right when we moved in. Since then, it's a little cleaner, but you get the point.


And here is the building where I work. Why the sign is in English, I'm not sure, but... hey, it's the Dream Center, who can complain? I will be spending alot of my time at the junior high school just down the road, but this is where I'm officially based.

And finally, two more images, and then we'll do some more posting later on.....
This impresses me. Some of them are even colored. That's right, it's a man-hole cover.

And let's all have some lime-tasting water. See where it takes you?

With love,
Serenity & Will

Arrival in Japan

Our final photo before leaving the U.S.! We sat at SFO for about 3 hours after checking in, and gawked at the 747 when it pulled up. Goodbye California!!! Goodbye casual English!!!

Our view from our Tokyo hotel in the Shinjuku district... most of what Serenity saw of Tokyo! It got light outside at around 4am - which really threw us off, especially with the jet lag.

The view of Tokyo at night from one side of the Park Plaza Hotel, where we had a nice dinner. This view goes 360 degrees around -- the end is never in sight, no matter where you look! That was the amazing part about Tokyo -- it just seemed to go on and on and on...

After 3 days in Tokyo, Serenity was bussed to the domestic airport along with about 50 or so other people all going to Kyushu, and many to Fukuoka prefecture (-ken). Will was left to his own devices, and managed to find himself in Tachiarai at about the same time that she arrived... somehow!!!

Will is going to have to write about his experience with that, but as for Serenity:
All I can say, is that a co-worker was helping me into our apartment when she happened to call the Board of Education, and they told her that my husband was on his way... how they knew that, or how it was possible was totally beyond me... what a surprise!!

And on to Tachiarai...