Hey everyone! I am finally in my new hometown and I finally have access to the internet!! Sadly, I am only borrowing internet, I yet to have it in my own apartment, but my neighbor, another American teaching English here, is being very generous and helpful. Yesterday I signed up for a bank account and got my Japanese cell phone! It has been a crazy few days. I am honestly exhausted, and its only 8am here. Thankfully today I do not have anywhere i need to be. I am just going to clean my new home, and make it feel more like a home.
But first, I would like to share a few pics with you all of things I have experienced since I have been here:

this is a display promoting a festival nearby in the Tokyo hotel lobby...its huge and pretty I think.


This is a pic of the opening ceremonies (ceremonies are VERY important in Japanese society) for all the new English teachers through the JET program. More accurately, this is for Group A, Group B&C will be flying in over the next two weeks for their own orientation and cermonies. Needless to say, this is a very large program. It was a nice expereince however, because everyone was so friendly and willing to meet new people and were pretty positive despite the jet lag.

In a shopping area I saw this cute display of a kid in traditional grab...which was for sell, because the Japanese still dress in these sort of clothes for some occasions.

I some how found myself on the 43rd floor of the hotel and found a huge window and amazing views of Tokyo...it appears to go on forever.

Finally home!! The 2nd closet apartment is mine. It smells a bit funny to be honest...I have bought cleaning supplies which I hope to begin using in the next hour or so to make my apartment more like home. =)

Hope you all are doing well!!

I am in Japan!!

This will be a quick post because i am using a shared computer. I am in Japan. The flight was only 12 hours long and it honestly was not that bad. I splet through most of it which i think helped a lot. I got to the Keio Plaza Hotel in downtown Tokyo around 7pm japan time..or 6am eastern US time...keep in mind I left at 4am saturday and got here at 6am the next day crazy!!
Apparently the sun rises at 3am...which I learned the hard way since my roommate and I failed to close the blinds in our 36th floor hotel room. I have been up since 4 and I just know I will pass out due to Jet lag eventually.
Being without my husband and mom during this whole experience really stinks. I miss them both very much, but I love how the internet is able to keep us much more connected.
And now I will show you the pics I have taken since I got here..which is not much since I forgot to take pics for a while.


Other JETs I flew over with. Funny enough there were four or five of us from the Asheville area. apparently, Allie, with the long blonde hair, had calc2 with me a few years ago. Small world!!


One of the many JET helpers at the airport...which was soooooooooo humind..I have never experienced such intense humidity!!!


Traffic going into Tokyo.


Veiw from my hotel room...it looks better in person. =)

well that is all for now. I have workshops and meetings all day today and tomorrow. Then I am off to my new home!!

Packing and Leaving

All I have been doing for the last 3 days is packing a freaking out about going to Japan. The only reason I didn't have a mental break down is that my mom and husband are the best, most supportive people ever. I love them so much.
This morning I woke up at 5am and could not go back to sleep. The moment I woke up I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep, my mind was not going to stop turning over all that needed to get done or what was about to happen.
Right now I am a ball of nerves. I am getting pretty emotional also, especially about my family and kitty! My mom made me a photo album all with pictures of my cat. I love that silly cat.



Well, I still have some packing to do...not to mention I am going to attempt to get a hair cut this morning! Ahhhh!

crazy few days

So much has happened in the past few days. Lots of big changes, that I had hoped I could go into some detail about on this blog. However, time has just been flying by and I haven't really had the time or energy to really get into how I have been feeling or what I have been experiencing. I can tell you this, Thursday was my last day at the Chamber, my first job out of college. I really will miss the people I worked with.
Friday Matt and I ran around doing last minuet errands and just enjoying the last little bit of time we had in Asheville.
I love Asheville. It really is a great place. If Matt could get a good job in the Asheville area in a few years we would definitely move back there...but the biggest hurdle to going back is, sadly, the job market for those in math or science fields. However, we have seriously thought of the possibility of moving back to Asheville at some point.
Friday night we saw the BEST Batman movie. Heath Ledger was amazing as the joker, and two face freaked me out as well... I can honestly say that movie gave me nightmares. =[ but it was soooo great.
Saturday consisted of moving...lots and lots of moving...then lots and lots more of moving...sigh. We were all exhausted by the end of the day.
Sunday and Monday Matt, kitty, and I have been in Morganton getting our cat used to her new home. I AM GOING TO MISS HER!!! Thinking about leaving her makes me want to cry. But she is doing okay and I know Matt's parents will take good care of her.
We are going to Charlotte soon so I can finally PACK!! I know I am crazy to put it off to the last second, but I really haven't had the time or all my stuff in one place to be able to pack.
So that is a quick summary of what is happening, not complete, but the main thing is exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed with so many life changes happening at once.
Sigh... I think after the next three weeks things will be a lot better. For one I will be over the jet lag and my husband will be with me again! My life is always better when I am with my husband.

KUNG FU!!!!! (plus mexican food!)

Wednesday was Matt and I's last night at kung fu (grammar police...is that a proper sentence?)
I love Kung Fu. Sure I would whine sometimes, especially when Shifu (teacher) would give a slightly evil laugh or look...which meant hard work was ahead of me...hard work is...you know...hard. =P But in the end I would learn something new and felt like I had accomplished something. Kung Fu has been pretty fun and rewarding, plus the people are crazy/hilarious/great. As I was telling someone at the Chamber, Kung Fu people are great because they, at times, have punched me straight in the nose or have thrown me to the floor and have then showed me how to break there own arm...good times! =P

After our last Kung Fu class (Matt got his White Sash!! yay!!) we went to Chapala's (spelling?) and had food and fun. My only big regret about that night was not taking any pictures. =[ I really need to make sure I bring my camera with me more often.

Kids+mud puddle = hilarity

Quick update. Matt and I went to Black Mountain to hang out with Matt's parents and go to a free concert at Lake Tamahawk on Thursday. While hanging around, Matt's dad took this hilarious video of kids in a mud puddle...that these kids parents allowed them all to do this for so long is amazing. =P One note, this video was taken using a cell phone so the quality isn't that great.

Can't Sleep

I have too much on my mind. Since, you know, I'm GOING TO JAPAN in about TWO WEEKS!!
To celebrate my insomnia, I will post a cute video of my kitty cat, Smokie.

Musical Marriage Proof

Since its been about 2 months since the wedding I figured I should present proof that said wedding occurred. There is no better way than with a Music Video!!



+100 to Matt for picking the song

3 day weekend fun!

What a great weekend! Matt and I had such a productive and fun weekend; just thinking back to it makes me feel more alive. Due to fourth of July, I had a 3 day weekend, which gave us enough time to go visit both sets of parents, watch some fireworks, pack and move things out of our place in Asheville, and buy clothes etc. for Japan.
Though there were a number of times I wished I could blog about what was going on, I just did not have the time, or the energy to do so until now.
We first went to Morganton, where Matt's mom had an amazing little device that could digitize VHS tapes. I fell in love with it, and was thus allowed to bring it to Charlotte with me to continue turning my old home movies and high school marching band VHS tapes into files on my computer. soo cool!
While in Morganton, we also got to watch 4th of July fireworks. See the below video for the opening of the fireworks... I got tired of taping...but the fireworks got even better...and it was pretty adorable listening to all the young kids "oohing and ahhing" over their favorite types of fireworks. I believe this was only my 4th fireworks 4th of July. (Well, official fireworks anyway).

Saturday we ate Vermont buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup, a wedding present, courtesy of the Sease's (friends of Matt's family). Obviously we started our day out right. It continued to go right when we got to Charlotte and were able to find great deals on the vast majority of the clothes I still needed to purchase for Japan. Poor matt had to wait about in a store for 2 hours...but it was worth it as we also got him two coats.
I love going to Charlotte and spending time with my mom. She is so fun to be around. She makes me laugh. I love being with my two favorite people in the world my mom and matt. Of course when those two get together I am in trouble. I get picked on so much!! But I love them both so much, even being teased has its fun side!
Early Sunday morning we met Kelly, Chris, and Clay (step sister, sister's fiance (?), and step dad) for church service at Elevation. There are a number of "odd" things about this church. First being it has three campuses, one of which is my old high school, which is where we go. So, when I get up and go to Church I end up parking in my old high school parking lot, and if I am not fully awake yet, I get the strange feeling that I am about to head into Calculus class...eek!
Some other odd thing about this church are that the head pastor is a 28 years old guy who wears jeans and t-shirts to preach, and the musical worship is quite similar to a rock concert, and the vast majority of the songs they sing are written by the band and pastor...pretty cool in my book.
NEway...church service was great, and heart breaking. the worship leader and his wife have twin baby girls in the hospital that were delivered at just 26 weeks. Things don't look so good for the girls, especially the smaller one. Steven (the pastor) decided that, since they were releasing their second worship CD that day, that all the money (not just the profit...but everything) earned from the sell of the CD on Sunday, would go towards dealing with the twins medical bills. Needless to say my mom and Matt both bought a copy. =) of course I am pretty sure they were going to buy it anyway, its just that much better when the money goes to help is such a visible way.
Okay okay. I am getting a bit to long on this entry. It is several days worth of activities all rolled into one writing secession so it is a bit much. All in all Matt and I feel so connected to each other and to our families as a result of a fantastic weekend of fun and family.
I am going to choose to ignore all the deadlines staring me in the face tonight due to going to Japan. Except I will say, I have ten more days until I stop working at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, and 18 days until I fly out to Japan!! eeeeekk!

Just finished crying...

Everything is okay. I am fine; everyone is fine. I just read a story and saw a short video that was pretty touching here and here about a girl who was so touched by hearing the robot wall-e say his name in the Pixar trailer she begins to cry...but the story does not end there...I recommend reading her story. I saw wall-e last weekend. I liked it, though I don't really think kids will enjoy it, at least not the first 30 mins worth, its a bit too adult (aka slow and quiet) in the beginning.

Moving on...
I am so excited about moving to Japan in about 23 days!! Everyone keeps talking about what a big adventure it is, and I have to agree. The only problem is I have soooooooo much I need to get done between now and then. I will have to be completely moved out of my condo, getting the utilities out of my name, selling my car, packing my bags, still buying things I need to bring, getting my visa, the list goes on and on and on....
At the same time, I really want to enjoy these last few days here in the US, specifically in Asheville.
I will really miss Asheville, it is just a great place with such amazing people and a feel to it that I love so much. I love going into a restaurant (Lucky Otter, Noi's Thai Kitchen, Jack of the Wood, Laughing Seed, BurgerMeister's etc.) and actually having vegetarian options. Not an iceberg lettuce salad, but real, filling, meals. I know I will miss that a whole lot.
I will also miss the fact that in Asheville I can go downtown on a Friday night a watch the hippies dance and play in a drum circle or Saturday see ...well...the people of Asheville, enjoying life.
I think that's a big part of the feeling you get when you are in Asheville, those around you are truly enjoying their lives, enjoying the world around them.
This past weekend my mom came to visit. We went downtown a bit on Saturday, ate tempeh Reubens at Jack of the Wood, then we walked around and my mom fell in love with a lady's dog.

I really like this pic because Matt looks so cute when he is laughing. I love him!
Here are pics of the dog w/ my mom. To be fair, my mom has been in love with these little dogs for years, and this one is pretty cute with that little bow.

Well, I am tired now and have to get in some Jon and Kate Plus 8 tv show watching in as there won't be any in Japan.