We'd got up at 5:30am NZT and arrived to our first home stay at 11:00pm JPT (2:00am NZT), so were feeling quite whacked. Customs in Japan is sweet compared to NZ, the queue cleared so very fast! We were met by Yoshi-san, Jesus Family's youth Pastor, he lead us through from airport to train to tram to his house. It was great to stop and they welcomed us so kindly, even made us a poster.
We spent the next day getting familiar with the train system. Didn't get lost once, checked out the Osaka Castle, the moat was huge.
Abbie has been doing so well with Japanese, I'm so impressed. I've been doing OK too, it's a great adventure.
Yesterday we went to church for a while, they had "mamasgospel" a Gospel singing group for mothers in the area, mostly unsaved. It was a bit like M&M's for those of you who know what that is, but focussed on singing rather than dance. We had a great time, and it wasn't long before I had kids attacking me with balloon swords.
Tonight is the first church service, we are going to give a short greeting, so looking forward to that.
Some words i've picked up so far :-)
Oishi - tasty, delicious
Gokurosama - thanks for the effort
sugoi - great skills, amazing
Reading your blog & emails - thinking of you both over there as you settle in.
ReplyDeleteSteve & Amelia