Japan

We like to tag along with Jeff whenever we can when he travels for business.  The opportunity came up to go to Japan and with a really good deal on cashing in frequent flyer miles, Jack, Grace, and I went with him and his co-workers.  We landed in Tokyo then immediately hopped on a high speed train to Himeji, about 3 hours, which is a "small town".  Actually about 1/2 million people.

All of Japan's vending machines look like this:  Awesome "old school"

Business' closed doors, cool design

Flower shop

A lot of doors have this kind of entrance.  You push the pad and it slides open.

Himeji castle (under renovation)

The first day in the city, we visited the local zoo.

Stroller:  Good thinking!

Cafe where we ate lunch

Alley shopping

We were very surprised at how few people spoke English.  This was even true in Tokyo.  Maybe we were not in the right places, but we thought the communication barrier would be more difficult in Japan than in China until you learn the language. 

Now on to Kyoto, home of the famous Geishas and lots of beautiful temples.  We were set up to take a bus tour of Kyoto and visit several Buddhist temples.

Garden at the first Buddhist temple

 

Bamboo to build tree canopies

Building the scaffolding

 

Outside of the temple

Second temple we visited

Purifying area

Purifying area outside the temple gates

Cute Japanese lady

Then we went back to Tokyo for the rest of the weekend.  These are the views from our hotel room.  We were in Japan when the small earthquake happened, but we did not feel anything.  We were in Himeji at the time, although Tokyo was said to have felt it.

Falling in Love

God is so big, when I visit new cities and new countries (we just got back from Japan), sometimes I get overwhelmed.  I think it's good to get overwhelmed sometimes.  I'm reminded at how small I am, how little I know, how little I actually understand about God's ways and God's love.

 Buddhist temple garden in Kyoto, Japan

What can I really do on this Earth to bring Him glory?   I want to bring Him all the glory I can. 

It starts right here, in the present, with what is here right before me.  It starts with my attitude, my love for others, how I spend my time. 

For those who want to know how to bring Him glory-spend more time with Him, tell Him you desire to fall in love with Him.  When you fall in love with someone, you will climb mountains, cross oceans to be with the one you love, just to spend time together.  He already loves us like that, pray that we will reciprocate.

Speaking of falling in love, recently, Jeff and I have noticed that we don't get to go one dates like we used to.  We used to make it a priority to ask the grandparents and other family members to watch the kids while we went out for dinner, etc.  But, in ten months we have struggled to find time for just the two of us.  We do try to have lunch together, that works pretty well.  We feel that it is so important and last week we got to go on a date at night!!  It's true, to fall in love and continue loving, you have to spend valuable time together.

These boots are made for walking!

A few weeks ago our family made the decision not to have driver services anymore.  We loved Mr. Li and thought he was wonderful and always did a great job for us, however, after nine months of being in Beijing, we just didn't feel like we needed it anymore.  We get along great using public transportation and we were ready for the new challenge.  So, now, we've been walking a lot more, and NOTICING a lot more.  It's amazing when you are not riding by at higher speeds and you can just walk and smell the roses....or smog.  :)  Just kidding, it's been really nice and clear the last few days.

So here are some things I've been noticing or have noticed in the past and wanted to share.

Bunny shoes

Panda shoes

No, I did not purchase either pair....I'm not quite THERE yet.

Here in Beijing, there are a lot of "Chinglish" signs where the translation is a little bit OFF.  Some of them are hilarious and I need to be better at taking pictures when I see them.  This one is on a railing with a street down below.  It says, "Danger!  No clamber".  I think they mean, "Danger!  No climbing"

This one is hard to see, but the shortest person in the picture is the cutest, smallest little old Chinese lady who was pushing her rolling shopping bag.  I was on my bike at the time and scrambled to get my camera, so I was not able to capture her cuteness.

I have been taking the subway most places now which means I am using new lines, busier lines.  You really do have to push your way on and off sometimes.  I wear a shoulder strap purse mostly, especially when I am with the kids so that I can keep an eye on my belongings.  When I'm on my way to my internship, I carry a backpack and listen to my I-phone.  I fee so "local".  People smile, giggle, and talk about us when we ride the subway and bus.  They love seeing Jack and Grace.  We have noticed that more people will offer their seats to the kids on the bus rather than the subway.  The bus is the cheapest route besides just walking (we can actually get a lot of places by walking or riding bikes).  The subway is cheap too, taxi is the most expensive, so we try to save taxi trips when we are out later with the kids and they are tired. 

I thought this row of trees was kind of cool, soon they will start budding.

This dove painting is in one of the subway stations.  I immediately thought of the Holy Spirit always being with me, giving me hope and peace.