Joanna's One!

Sargent Update!! A lot has happened since our last blog a little over a year ago. We have completed our ISC term with the IMB and are now living in Lynchburg, VA, while we wait to be appointed as Career Missionaries. We hope to return to Hiroshima, Japan late March or early April. Our precious little girl, Joanna, celebrated her 1st birthday on August 27th. Below you will find 3 slideshows that include some of my favorite pictures of Joanna from birth until her 1st Birthday. Enjoy!

Oh Yeah, By the Way . . .

We have a daughter now. I don't think that's news to anyone who reads this page, since I think all of you have either been emailed, seen it on our other pages or whatever. Anyway, Joanna Elisabeth is almost 2 months old now (no one's ever accused me of being prompt). I gotta say, this face counteracts any frustration caused by sleepless nights, diapers (which are surprisingly better than expected) or long-range spit-up. Everybody says she favors me (sorry about that, kiddo), which I guess means that I look like a girl, not that my brothers hadn't already told me that. Misty definitely passed on her mouth and personality (yay! we don't need another reserved, passive-aggressive just yet). "Joanna-chan" is quite the attention-getter, and we've caused a few pile-ups on the sidewalks here, but we can't be blamed for that because Hiroshimans pay attention to where they're walking about as well as Lynchburg(-ians? -ers? -ites?) pay attention to where they're driving. Anyway, we'll put pictures up from time to time, but if you want more, your best bet is to find us on facebook. This one's worth far more than a 1000 words, and was accompanied by many "goos", or in Joanna's case, "uh-goooos".

Oh, and remember how in that last post I said that Misty was super tough? She pulled this off all natural with only 5 hours between the first labor pain and the first kisses for our little girl. She capped it off with, "I kept thinking, 'the real pain will come any minute'".

Tourism for dummies

Today we took the day trip to end all day trips. I don't think I've had a trip like this since the good ole college days. I'll try to tell it in chapters below.

Chapter 1: How to convince me to come to your island

Okay, this part is pretty basic, Misty and I wanted to try and find a really nice beach for an anniversary day trip. So, we talked to our friends, hit the internet, even looked at recent newspaper articles about which beaches in the area had the best water quality, scenery, etc. In the end, all signs pointed to X beach at Island Y. So, we packed up and made the trip.

Chapter 2: How to convince me never to come back to your island

We arrived at the island with our maps, time tables, bus routes, yippee! As we got off the bus I asked the driver how to get to X beach from the stop. "Oh, go that way and take a left," he replied. Along the way, we checked to be sure we had the right street with some oyster . . . whatever you call guys who raise oysters. "Take that road to the other side of the mountain. It's a nice big beach!" Off we go, chair, parasol, suits and gear in tow, hiking the mountain to our island paradise. Did I mention Misty's three weeks from her due date? We get to the base of the mountain, and just like everyone said, there was the beach. A nice long stretch of sand, all the facilities the internet promised . . . Except for one thing, the large entrance gate is latched. Misty didn't take a picture of the beach as Matt hopped the gate to scope it out, but if she had, the scene would have looked something like this, only greener (compare below).


As we were on the way back from X beach, a kind mailman stopped to give us directions. "Yeah, that was X beach," he said, "but, people can't swim there at all anymore." In typical Japanese fashion, he crossed his arms as he said this, creating the sinking sensation one feels when a giant X appears across the screen on "The Family Feud," dooming their favorite contestant to years of ridicule at the office ("Dude, Amsterdam is not a country!") Note to self, if anyone asks me for directions to an abandoned, unusable beach, tell them the beach is deserted due to extreme safety hazards.

The postman told us where our plan B beach was, so we headed off in that direction. In theory, all we had to do was hop on the bus where we'd gotten off and take a five minute ride to the next great beach. In theory. In reality, the buses don't run on schedule. The buses don't run 30 minutes behind schedule. Basically, we saw three buses in seven hours where there should have been 14. Rather than sit in the sun waiting for a bus that wasn't coming, and unwilling to forfeit her trip to the beach, Misty opted to hike to the next beach. All told, we walked at least 4 miles. Did I mention that Misty is 9 1/4 months pregnant?


Chapter 3: How to redeem your island

Deliverance came in the form of a random taxi. This wonderful lady swept us into her air-conditioned chariot and wisked us off to adventure. Then she arranged to pick us up later. Kudos to you, lady! We might just come back after all.

Chapter 4: Fun in the sun

Beach B was every bit as beautiful as we'd heard. Matt set up Misty's chair, parasol and sheet and rushed head-on into the crashing waves and a first-time experience. For the first time in his life, Matt came face to face with a live jellyfish in the wild. Scratch that, five live jellyfish. The yearly jellyfish invasion of Hiroshima came a week early, bringing with it all kinds of adventure, panic and screaming children. All said, we did have a good time. Matt learned that the top of a jellyfish can't sting you no matter how many times you touch it, and so on.


Chapter 5: How to ruin your island after so many people worked so hard to redeem it

This one's pretty simple. Take the place of your taxi driver colleague who just went off duty, pick up your fare and hit the "foreigner" button on the meter. You know what button I'm talking about. The "I know that no white guy could possibly read my language, so I'll double the fare" button (yes, the meter really has a double-fare button). Good job, buddy! It didn't help that after we got to the ferry, the vending machine sold Matt a chocolate milk with white floaters in it.

Chapter 6: How to guarantee I'll come back to your restaurant

Feed me the best Indian curry, nan and tandoor chicken I've ever tasted, and do it all four dollars cheaper than every other Indian restaurant within an hour. Way to go Ganesh!! Your curry even made the mayonnaise you use as salad dressing taste good. You rock!

The end.














Postscript: Misty is the toughest person on the planet. Even though she's carrying a whole 'nother person under that shirt of hers, she hiked half of island Y. At first, she was a little cranky because she thought Matt had gotten her lost on one of those "scenic route" adventures (I've gotta prepare for fatherhood somehow). But, when we got to the Ghost Town, she realized he'd followed the directions right and was all smiles. Whenever we got to a bus stop I'd say, "Hey we should wait so you don't push it," and she would say something to the effect of, "The bus isn't coming, and I'm not doing all of this to not go to the beach," and off she'd go. Despite traversing a mountain or two, she was even asking if I wanted her to carry stuff. Mom's are scary strong.

Women Only

Could you imagine riding on a train that is so crowded that the Station Attendants have to shove people in so that the doors will close? I have not personally seen anything like the above left picture but have heard Matt and other co-workers talk about it. Hiroshima, with a population of 1.1 million people, is considered "the country." As you can tell from the 2 pictures above, during rush hour in Tokyo trains can become extremely jam-packed. Unfortunately, some men take this opportunity to get a little too familiar with the ladies. When we visited Tokyo in March, I noticed the sign below on one of our train rides and thought it would be a interesting post to share with you all. Ladies, if you don't like the crowds and don't want the men to get to personal, the authorities have reserved this car for you...

More Engrish

Well, it's time to balance the scales again to compensate for all our mistakes in Japanese. They've been plenty. Who knew that the word for "organization" and "funeral" were so similar in Japanese? It sure surprised my teacher to know that my medical expenses would be handled at my funeral. That said, on to the Engrish!

This first sign is from an italian restaurant Misty and I love. The food is really great, but the r's and l's aren't so good. In Japanese r and l are the same letter, so it can be a little confusing transliterating sometimes. Some of you may remember the Eric "Crapton" sign we posted the last time.

The sign to the right is pretty funny. It's practically unintelligible, but the part I think is most fun is that they warn you that they will not be held responsible if your remains are stolen.

This picture is from the restroom of the Tokyo International Hostel. All in all, it's not a bad place to stay if you're looking for somewhere cheap and clean. The sign is supposed to tell you to hold the button in until the toilet flushes. We were a little surprised that the hostel's signs were so poorly translated since the staff spoke such good English.

This last one, also from the hostel, is possibly our favorite Engrish sign that we've seen since arriving in Japan. You may be asking yourself, "Who would use the toilet for laundry or personal hygiene?" Rest assured, no one makes that mistake here. The Japanese says not to use the sink, but the word they use here for sink is really similar to one of the words they use for toilet. Someone just looked one line down in the dictionary by mistake.

There's NO doughnut like a "Krispy Kreme" Doughnut

Recently, the very first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts was opened in Tokyo. We were told by a coworker that about 2 months ago on opening day he waited in line for 3 HOURS. Yikes! So, when Matt and I visited Tokyo for work last week we couldn't resist the opportunity to buy our very FAVORITE doughnuts. Not only did we wait in line for 40 minutes, in the cold, but we also paid about $16.50 for a dozen doughnuts. I know, I know. We must be CRAZY! But trust me, it was worth every penny! While we waited in line we were given a free glazed doughnut to snack on. The bottom right picture is of some people enjoying the awesome yumminess of Krispy Kreme.

Setsubun

Yesterday, 2/3, was setsubun, a holiday when people drive out evil spirits in hopes of having a prosperous new year. Traditionally, there are two basic steps to this celebration. First, either the male head of the household or a male whose birth year corresponds to that years symbol on the Chinese zodiac throws roasted soy beans at another member of the household who is wearing a demon mask. The other members of the family yell, "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi". This means "Demons, out, good luck, in!" Based upon an old Buddhist tradition, the beans are thought to drive away evil spirits. Next, people eat one soybean for each year of their lives. This is thought to give them good luck and good health in the following year. Many will also visit a local shrine, where the priest will toss packages of roasted soy beans, chips, candy and other prizes to the visitors.

While this is the tradition, there are other practices in various areas of the country. Below is a sampling from the news yesterday of practices thought to drive out evil spirits. It is not comprehensive, but it is fun.

1. Crying babies. At Saikyoji temple, there is a yearly competition in which parents try to get their babies to cry by scaring, shaking or pinching them. The baby that cries first, wins. This is because babies who can cry loud are supposedly healthy. Plus, the sound of crying babies drives the evil spirits away. Maybe the spirits think the cries are a symptom of dirty diapers. Maybe they see parents tormenting their children to tears and consider their work done.

2. Snowballs. I don't remember where this ceremony took place, but in one town in addition to roasted soybeans, snowballs are also used to drive away spirits.

3. The smell of roasted sardines (note: this picture is not from the event). I do not remember the location for this event either, but on NHK it was reported that at one shrine, sardines are roasted because it is believed that the smell of the smoke will drive out demons. I'm not sure of the effect of sardines on spirits, but they've been known to attract some pretty unsavory characters in the past.

4. These guys.

My money's on number 4.

Christmas In Japan

The picture above is how Hiroshima looked last December. Sadly, I don't think we'll be getting any snow for this Christmas. :(
The two pictures above were taken at Downtown Hiroshima on Peace Boulevard. Both sides of Peace Boulevard are illuminated with thousands of lights. At night, the place is packed with parents chasing their children from display to display.
At first glance you may think this photo was taken in America, but guess again. That's right, this over-the-top illuminated house is in Japan. I was totally surprised to see a house in Japan with sooo many decorations.

Fall Foliage

Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima, is famous for its Maple Leaf Nature Trail, among other things. Unfortunately for us we did not visit the island during the peak of the bright colors. But nevertheless, we were able to see a beautiful array of colors. The above collage includes the better of the pictures taken.

Sightseers beware!

Today I was showing a friend around Peace Park when we were bombarded with questions from 5th graders studying English. I'm not kidding when I say bombarded, every few steps we took we were asked by a new group if they could ask us questions. There were a few times while walking through the park when we could hear kids running behind us to catch us. Each group member asked a question and it was the same set of questions with all the groups. The first kid would start off saying "We're interviewing" and then each student would take a turn adding "May I ask you?" "Where is your country?" "We have a map." "Could you show us your country?" "Sign (your names) please." At the end they all said, "Thank You," "Have a nice day." I can definitely say that in the 15 months that Matt and I have lived here, this is the first time something like this has happened.

Totally crazy!

Alright, last weekend we were eating something called shabu-shabu with some friends, and the topic of birthdays came up. We realized that we'd known one of our close friends for a year and hadn't heard a word about his birthday. "When's your birthday, X?" Misty asked. A blank, semi-embarrassed stared was his response. That's right. Our friend didn't know when he was born. He knew the day on the lunar calender, which is alway different in relation to the real, er . . . I mean solar calender. But, as for a set, unchanging date by which his family, the government, etc. could measure his age, he was clueless. He called his mom on the spot, and SHE DIDN'T KNOW EITHER! This was totally unbelievable to us, but another friend from the same country vouched for him. In their China, they use two calenders, which adds to the confusion. Plus, people don't worry about their birthday's. "In China, if you are happy, everyday is your birthday!" X said. X is certainly a happy guy, so I guess that's a believable excuse. We looked up his birthday together later, and talked about it some more. He said many people in China are too poor to care about celebrating their birthdays. This didn't do much for my opinion of the Chinese government, but it reminded me a ton of how remarkable a guy X is. Well, there isn't much of a point to this story, but Misty and I were so blown away by the idea that a person could not know when they were born that we had to share it with you folks.

Halloween party

Here in Japan, most people don't really know much about Halloween, so we had a Halloween party at an international gathering I regularly attend. Luckily, Misty and I had ordered a pumpkin (only $18.00 :/) ahead of time. Yeah that's a bit expensive, but it was a lot of fun sharing a bit of home with our Japanese friends. Most of them had never seen a western pumpkin, let alone a jack-o-lantern. In the picture to the right, one of our friends is trying his hand at removing the seeds. In the lower left picture, our "design the face" contest winner is sketching his winning design. And up top, we put my rasta wig on the finished product with the lights out. The picture has a trail from the jack-o-lantern's glow, which I think makes it extra spooky. Anyway, after that we sat in a circle with only the pumpkin for light and told ghost stories. It took a little while for everybody to catch on, but once we got them started they really got into it. Before the party started, Misty and I were a little worried that it wouldn't catch on, but in the end, it was all good fun.

Pigging Out

On our recent vacation to Okinawa, we had the opportunity to observe some local cuisine, although we didn't quite have the guts to partake. Pork is the primary meat in this area of the world, and nothing, that's right nothing, goes to waste. In the markets, virtually every part was for sale, and at some shops and restaurants, pig faces were available. I have to tell you, I don't know how many times we've looked at this picture (right), and it never gets old. Another interesting thing that we saw was something called habushu. Habu is a type of snake found in that part of the world. Shu means liquor. As you can see from the picture below, habushu is the okinawan, much manlier version of tequila. This particular jug is unique because it has not one, but two habu inside it. It really was quite interesting to walk down the road and see countless snakes baring their fangs. If we had had the necessary hundred bucks or more, I might have tried to convince Misty to bring it home as a conversation piece. "Hey mom, did I show you what I picked up on vacation? Mom? . . . Mom?"

Okinawa Vacation Pictures

Where in the world is...

For those of you who, like myself, are bad at geography, I've posted this Map of Japan so that you could see where Hiroshima is located.

Hello Gulliver

Just for fun, I thought I'd post some pictures showing how things here are built shorter for the Japanese. In case you can't tell from the pictures, in the top left we are on a bus that is about two inches shorter than Matt, so his neck is bent so that the back of his head is against the roof. The two trucks shown are used to deliver snacks and beverages to a nearby amusement park. The cab is so small that Matt could not drive it even if he wanted to (he does). The lower right picture shows how small the seats are on the older buses. Seats for taller people are available on the newer buses.

A Bomb Memorial Ceremony

Sunday, August 6th, was the 61st Anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb. A ceremony was held that morning where a bell was rung at 8:15, the moment the bomb was dropped, and a moment of silence was observed for those who perished. After that, there we a few speeches given. I'd like to give a lot more detail, but our Japanese is nowhere near good enough to understand what was said. What we could catch was along these lines (I think): The mayor gave a speech involving the need to promote peace and calling attention to the inaction of nuclear powers regarding disarmament. Two children gave a speech about (again I'm not sure) the fact that freedom is not ours so that we may enjoy our lives and do as we please. That freedom requires that we strive for peace and the improvement of the world around us. After the children, Prime minister Koizumi gave a speech that was brief and largely unintelligible. That evening, lanterns bearing messages of peace were released into the river. (We have pictures of them glowing in the dark, but they didn't turn out well enough to post.) At that, I realize that this post really doesn't do justice to the ceremony, or the weight of the event it remembers. Visiting the Peace museum and seeing the images of what really happened are experiences which cannot really be explained, and I don't even believe that those images adequately communicate the horror. Not that we're all that important, but we recommend that all who are able to come and see what took place (we have a spare futon or two if you need a place to crash), and that those who can't come do what they can to read up on it.

More on the Colonel

With the start of Hiroshima's hottest month, the Colonel doffed his sword and armor in favor of a light kimono and a festival banner. (He also did the buddy thing and slashed prices on his chicken for the week.)

We have no idea what to call this, but . . .

We had a group from our church in VA come over for a week, while they were here we all went to a traditional Japanese Garden. Like most Japanese gardens, this one's pond was stocked with koi, Japanese carp. This picture only partially shows how many of these little buggers where going crazy hoping to receive food. It was actually a hilarious/amazing sight to see, and quite noisy, too. A lot of times when we would throw the food to them the bigger fish would end up with a smaller fish in its mouth.