Japan How-To

From the sound of the title this might be a fun instruction manual on how to get around Japan once you're here, but that is actually not the case.

This is an object lesson on how to get to Japan so we can hang out.

If you're reading this blog, rest assured, I want you to come visit meeeeeeeee. Yes, even you who just thought to yourself, "She doesn't even know I read her blog because I NEVER like it or comment...I'm GHOSTING her blog for pete's sake!"

Oh, but I do.

Even you, ghosty friend.

Come. Visit. Meeeeeee.

Now, we've probably all been on Facebook in the last, oh I don't know, 5 minutes, so we've all seen something like this:

This is Caroline.

Caroline notices that it's raining outside.

Caroline doesn't post on Facebook about it because Caroline knows her friends have eyes.

Caroline is smart.

Be like Caroline.

May I submit to you that there is a WAY better, truer version of this that ALL Y'ALL need to listen to? It goes like this:

This is Karen.

Karen was in Tokyo, Japan for a show she was in.

Karen knew Caroline was also in Japan so she set up a date to see her.

Karen is awesome & kind.

Be like Karen.

This is a true story that I want all of you to take very seriously.

You could be thinking, "Yeah, but I don't have a job that takes me to Japan..."

My suggestion? Buy a plane ticket to Japan and then name that plane "job". You now have a "job" that takes you to Japan. BOOM. Thought you had me stumped, eh?

But for real, when we first got to Japan (I'm talking, still-living-in-the-hotel) my friend Karen Estrada messaged me on Facebook letting me know that she was touring Japan with a Disney show based in Tokyo--you may have heard of it...Beauty & The Beast?

Anyway, Karen & I have known each other since I was about...nine. So about 17 years. She was a teacher of mine in the beginning & then I had the pleasure of being her right-hand-gal for the summer she was the Director of the Springer Theatre Academy. You could say, "We go waaaaaaaay back" which I've always wanted to say in real life so...let's say that.

She offered us tickets to her show and we set up a time to meet for breakfast. This happened to be Christmas morning since we were both away from family for Christmas for the first time ever.  She took us to a western styled eatery & I had a waffle with a MOUNTAIN of whipped cream on it. I could've hiked that thing. She got to meet Oakie & we chatted about life & Japan & life in Japan & it was the loveliest way to spend my first Christmas here.

The next day we got to see her "play an anthropomorphic tea pot" (her words) a.k.a. Mrs. Potts in the coolest stage version of Beauty & the Beast I've ever seen. There were 7 of them decked out in gorgeous evening wear backed by the Tokyo Symphony as they sang & danced through the classic Disney tale. And then we got backstage passes & I felt like a big winner on a radio contest.  It was their final performance & the love & devotion was evident onstage & off. It was one of my favourite performances I've had the privilege to be in the audience for.

And this is actually the 2nd time I've happened to meet someone on the other side of the world. When traveling in Italy back in 2012, a friend, Christi, was planning to be in Rome for a mission trip the same weekend my study abroad group was visiting, so we met up for lunch. 

We had pizza in a piazza in Rome. 

It was literal magic. 

I think there was glitter present.

These stories have served two purposes:

1. They warmed my heart & made me happy.

2. You now have 2 perfect examples of how to happen to be on the same "other side of the world" as me.

So do that thing.

But don't wait till you happen to be in Japan. Just wait till you happen to have enough pennies to buy that plane ticket & name that plane. We've got a guest room ready. And if you bring friends, we also have a pull-out couch that I've slept on (for testing purposes only & definitely not because we fell asleep watching Seinfeld DVDs...). While driving, I recently found myself thinking about something OTHER than not crashing my car, so I can now say that I can confidently drive you around on the left side of the road. And have you tried sushi & liked it? Good news: They have that here. Plus also, I've cooked, like, three amazing meals in the past week so WE DEFINITELY HAVE THE FOOD THING COVERED. And the mountains are gorgeous & the strawberries are in season this time of year & you can see Mt. Fuji in person & JUST LIKE COME ON ALREADY.

Now do me a favour & interpret that in a totally cool, invitational, non-needy kind of way. K great.

Karen & Christi are smart.

Be like Karen & Christi.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Katie is, like, my funniest sister (sorry, but y'all know it's true) & she sends me funny stuff all the time.

For example, here is a funny thing she sent me:

I'm not a bit  only slightly  just tell them that you're TERRIBLY embarrassed to tell you how much I laughed at this...and still do every time I think about it...which is a LOT because I'm going through all 10 seasons right now. 

And lemme tell ya, it is not hard to figure out why this show was such a hit for so long and lives on in the hearts of fans via Netflix: 

They are living the dream. 

New York City.

High rise apartments.

Friends across the hall.

DOING LIFE TOGETHER.

It's not always easy.

Maybe their job's a joke, they're broke, their love life's DOA.

Maybe sometimes, it's like they're stuck in 2nd gear...when it hasn't been their day, their week, their month, OR EVEN THEIR YEAR.

It will all be ok, because I'LL BE HERE FOR YOU (when the rain starts to fall)...ok, I'm done. I promise.

I mean, come on. Who doesn't want this?? 

Only a heartless fool WITH NO HEART! Hence the term...heartless.

Friends are a God-given miracle wherein people who have absolutely NO obligation to spend time with you, DO…& they LIKE IT. & YOU like it. & you share life’s burdens & life’s joys & somehow the whole lot of it comes out more beautiful & fun & joyous than if they weren’t there.

Seriously, you should look into it.

10 out of 10.

I would recommend it to a friend.

Pun intended.

(disclaimer: I got this joke from Katie. I told you she was funny.)

Moving to Japan has provided some challenges, not the least of which was leaving the best group of friends I've had in my entire life. We were living the dream. 

Columbus, GA.

Cute, historic houses.

Friends next door & across the street & across the park.

DOING LIFE TOGETHER.

It wasn't always easy.

Maybe our job's a joke, JK. I won't go through the song again...I trust you to do that on your own time. In fact, here’s the video if you need a reference.

BONUS: There are more words to this song. You’re welcome.

It was the sweetest season for friendship, outside of the formative years of sibling love, that I’ve experienced to date.

Enter ARMY. & MOVING. & GOING AWAY PARTIES. & GOODBYES.

Yes that is dessert sushi that Meghan made all by herself.

And those decorations? Yeah, all Kate.

And these pictures? All Geoff.

These friends y’all. These F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Facetime works wonders & let me tell you, when Meghan & I discovered the verbal text option on iPhones (ok fine, it was Oakie), our virtual relationship reached the next level…but it’s just not the same.
& that’s hard for me.
I’m friend-spoiled & now I’m friend-starved & a little part of my heart stamps its foot at the injustice of it all.

BUT GOD. It doesn’t matter what comes before those words, because what comes after will always change everything.

This is a consistent fear of mine: That we’ll move somewhere & somehow manage to live there for an extended period of time ALL ALONE because we can’t find any friends

& NO ONE likes us

& we cry over delicious dinners at a table set for 6 when there are only two...

As I type this, I’m smirking at how silly it sounds, but when you’ve moved 7 times in the past 3 years, rational thinking doesn’t always make it back out of the moving boxes.

Honestly, I should know better.
When we showed up in Louisiana, we jumped into a church there & walked out with FRIENDS. Like, dinner-at-their-house-every-Sunday-night friends.

When we showed up in Columbus, we already knew people (duh), but we walked out with even more FRIENDS. Like, Hitchcock-marathon-up-till-4am, share-a-backyard friends.

I prayed before I left & prayed when I got here & then prayed some more that God would send friends.
Board-game-playing, dinner-sharing, (preferably) wine-drinking friends (no offense to the non-wine drinkers, of whom my husband numbers foremost & I married him, so obviously, I love you all…).

When we showed up in Japan, we were immediately embraced by our neighbours who invited us (PERFECT STRANGERS) over to their house for Thanksgiving & have continued to show us love & kindness up to & including Lauren reaching out to make sure I was personally invited to join the women's Bible study on Camp Zama which has proved to be a huge source of encouragement to me.

I tell ya, when God wants to come through for me, He goes big.

We had begun attending a church when we first moved here & we loved spending our Sunday afternoon/evening meeting with other believers both foreign & local. But we travel a lot on the weekends to see stuff & I worried that we were damaging our chances at really getting to know people & build relationships.

In the course of 2 days, we had shared two meals with people from our church (Ramon’s family being one) & three young people we’d just met the week before: Akiko, Jesse & Donnie (if you guys are reading this, first of all, glad to see you at my blog & second of all, hey! you made the blog!)

These may all be new, fledgling friendships, but they hold the promise of hope.
New places are scary.

I’d be lying if the brave face of loving Japan withheld the truth of struggling through a huge transition, but friends? F.R.I.E.N.D.S. make this whole adventure a whole lot easier.

If you read this & thought, “Man. Friends sound super cool. I don’t have a whole lot of those & the ones I do have I never really see anymore.”
I’ve got super good news.

Stop what you’re doing & locate your phone.
If it’s in your hand, feel free to give me some feedback on how the mobile-version of this reads…

ANYWAY, once you find your phone find the contact info of someone you’re friends with or want to be friends with (c’mon, we’ve all got friend crushes. You know the ones where you’re like, “aw man, it’d be so cool to be their friend, but they’d never like meeeeee.”) & CALL THEM…OR TEXT THEM…OR SEND THEM A FACEBOOK MESSAGE.

Invite them to yo house.

And cook them some food.

And pour them some wine.

Play a game!

Have a list of 10 questions ready so you can get to know them better.

JUST DO SOMETHING TOGETHER.
If you click or connect & have fun then DO ALL OF THE THINGS OVER & OVER AGAIN.
If you don’t, chalk it up to experience & have another go with a different (potential) friend.

It’s that easy.

And if you’re reading this friendship tutorial & rolling your eyes, it’s obviously because you are already good at this & should feel very blessed & should maybe even consider inviting a loner to join your group.

We all need friends.

We all need f.r.i.e.n.d.s.

Have a friend.
Be a friend.
I give it a 10 out of 10.

P.S. As evidenced by Ross & Monica, family are friends too. So to all my family who just read this & felt slighted...you can stop that now.

Made In Taiwan...

GUYS. GUYS.

I WENT TO TAIWAN AND FOUND THIS & IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME:

It's a cup...made in Taiwan.

I laughed. I cried. It was better than Cats.

So, this was a five-day, four-night, round island excursion that I realise was mostly fun for Oakie & I. 
Hearing about someone else's "awesome trip" is only cool if there are funny stories & awesome pictures. 

With that in mind:

 Our 5-Day Trip In 50 Pictures or Fewer & As Many Funny Stories As I Remember

This was a bus tour that started in the northern most part of Taiwan (the capitol Taipei), took us down around the east side to the southernmost part and then back up the western side seeing historically important, geographically relevant highlights along the way. It was presented in Mandarin & English and was a mix of tourism & vacation. A total blast.

WARNING: I love hotels and these were über nice so I'll have pictures of those. 
I apologise if that isn't your cup of local Taiwanese tea. 
WHICH THEY HAD FOR FREE IN EVERY ROOM.

Day 1:  
Welcome to Taiwan, where the planes fly with the butterflies.

We were picked up from our hotel in the capitol of Taiwan, Taipei, after breakfast (where we found the vases from IKEA that we used in as our wedding table-centerpieces).

Pretty short day. 

Saw a buddhist temple:

Found a worker's hat.

Put it on.

And traveled to Sun Moon Lake--a treasure of Taiwan that was one of the highlights of the whole trip.

Hotel was amazing.

Hot springs in your room.

Paper cranes on your bed.

View from our hotel, the Fleur de Chine:

 But in an effort to be transparent, 

if you looked the OTHER way, 

it was totally parking lot all the way...

And then they leave outfits in your room & Oakie convinces you that EVERYONE at the hotel is wearing theirs to dinner downstairs because HE SAW THEM and you ride the elevator down and the doors open to the dining room & everyone looks 

& no one. 

no. one. 

NO ONE 

is wearing their hotel outfit and you just let the doors close and ride back up...

and take this picture.

Day 2:

Sunrise walk down to Sun Moon Lake where you couldn't see the sunrise because of the mountains & clouds, but it was beautiful anyway.

Then we made another stop at a buddhist temple with the "big buddha" and it was gorgeous.

And then on to Kaohsiung where we saw Love River & one of the famous Night Markets of Taiwan!

Normal Picture

 Oakie's Normal Picture because he keeps snapping pictures just HOPING to catch me losing my mind in stop motion...

 I stood on a chair in the middle of the road to take this. #noshame

 I felt like we were on the Food Network...this won't be the last time you hear that.

View from our hotel, the Grand Hi-Lai:

Day 3:

It actually got HOT on this portion of the trip where, 

in 1 day, 

we saw 3 different oceanic bodies of water:

The Taiwan Strait (between Taiwan & China)

& Bashi Channel (between Taiwan & the Philippines) 

& the Pacific Ocean between Taiwan and the YOU(S-A).

But FIRST, we stopped at a fruit stand in the south of Taiwan famous for their mangos.

This was the part where Oakie said, "We just got tourist trapped."

Because we bought this:

I felt like we were on the Food Network.

DON'T I LOOK LIKE A FOOD NETWORK GIRL??

Aw, thanks, guys! I do. I really do.

P.S. Everyone in Taiwan puts cereal on their ice cream...& you know what?

I think they got it right.

#convert

Those oceans tho...

Oakie WILL GET in an ocean. 

Every. Time.

Next up, we visited an Wester Style lighthouse at the tip of the goose-beak peninsula in the southernmost part of Taiwan.

And there were SO MANY stray dogs there...

But when you saw their view, you understood the draw...

But they were totally illegal immigrants...I mean there was a SIGN.

I guess they didn't understand the language...too far?

(also, Mary Lou, this kinda looks like maybe just Marty isn't allowed.......)

And then the windy Pacific...seriously, these pictures DO NOT SHOW how windy it was...

I call this next collection: Mirror, Mirror (a.k.a. Earth & Sky; a.k.a. The Ups & Downs of Life)

View from our hotel, Hotel Royal Chihpen Spa:

Day 4:

This was a day of rocky coastlines & running so hard our sides hurt, just for the sake of seeing the beautiful (&, you know, making it back to the bus on time).

I call this picture A Preview of Cardio.

We ran those bad boys.

8 arches of stairs to get to the Imoto (Fairy) Islands.

If you're looking at this & thinking, "It doesn't look that bad, Caroline."

JUST SHUT UP.

View of where we came from:

Oakie climbing. #classicOakie

I think this is perfect:

And then we went to a Buddhist temple in a cave & I took one of my favourite pictures:

Did y'all see the sunshine from America?

I mean, it was on the other side of the ocean, sooooooo....

I DIDN'T TAKE A PICTURE OF OUR HOTEL THIS NIGHT AND I'M SO SAD ABOUT IT.

So instead, here's an awesome panorama:

& a picture of the aboriginal dance performance we got to see:

Day 5:

On our final day, we visited Taroko Gorge on the western side of Taiwan, where they mine marble, jade, star sapphire and lots of other semi-precious stones. 

We took a tour of the quarry and I learned that you can tell real jade from fake jade by holding it up to a light. Real jade is transparent. 

I'm now receiving all personal jade for appraisal/verification.

This place was GORGE-ous...

And we had to wear helmets, so WE were GORGE-ous.

 That is marble in the rough y'all...

And then this little girl posed...

So WE posed...

 Obviously...

At the risk of sounding self-aggrandizing, I HAVE to tell you the story of this little girl.

She was on our tour.

She is from China.

She is 4 and her name is Joseline (pronounced like Josephine).

She couldn't speak English, but she was, like, minorly, obsessed with me.

She called me "pretty lady" in Mandarin and watched me/followed me for the first 2 days. By the 2nd day, her mom said she had asked if it was alright if she took a picture with me.

By Day 3, she had asked her mother if she could hug me:

By Days 4 & 5, we were BFFs. 

She always kept an eye out for me and we communicated on the bus with hand signals:

Sweet Joseline.

I will never forget her.

And with that, our tour ended.

A drive along the Pacific all the way back to Taipei.

An amazing trip through which I witnessed the glory of God in the rock faces of the cliffs and the friendly faces of the people we met on that bus. 

Jesus said we should be as the little children.

Maybe today, you unabashedly show someone how much you admire them.

(Maybe hold off on the random hugging unless everyone involved is okay with it...)

If we could all notice, recognise & appreciate the gifts around us for what they are, maybe we could all get a little bit closer to that child in us that Jesus doesn't want us to forget.

Thank you, Joseline, for that lesson.

& thank you, Jesus, for Joseline.

P.S. I 100% lied about the 50 photos or less, but now that I came clean, it's all good, right?

Guys?