A quick recap of what happened in the last couple of days:
After church on Sunday, most of the students from UICS (Utsunomiya International Christian School-where I will be teaching) and some of the students from the youth group traveled to a retreat center in Fukushima prefecture. It's dedicated to one of Japan's national heroes, Hideyo Noguchi, who did pioneering research into Yellow Fever in the early 20th century (if you want to see his picture, look at the 1,000 yen bill). We stayed in semi-traditional sleeping rooms with tatami mat floors. The activity was the annual Spring Camp meeting which included lots of recreational activities and some powerful worship services. Part of the time I had an interpreter, and part of the time I just enjoyed the "cultural experience". The food in the cafeteria was excellent (fish, rice and miso soup for breakfast-YUM!).
We returned late this afternoon, and I got the key to my new residence in the house next to the church. I'll be here mostly by myself for the next ten days or so while my roommate, Eriya, slowly moves his things in from his current apartment. The pastor and his family that lived here before left quite a few things that I can use, so I shouldn't have to buy too much in the way of household items or furniture. Tomorrow I'm going shopping for some of the things that I DO need, but I'll save that post for after I actually do it . . .
