Japan - the first month

(I just logged in again and forgot I had started this post back in September.  I am going to post it since I wrote it when these things were fresh, but working on a big post now to reflect on the past 3.5 months. I really want to blog while here, but I am on the computer so much for work, I'm having a hard time feeling motivated to get on the computer at home...maybe this long Thanksgiving weekend will be the time...)

It has been just over a month since we made our move to the other side of the world.  It has been a month full of adventure and excitement, with just a little bit of sadness mixed in once in awhile.  Of course, we miss all of our family and friends that we are used to interacting with on a regular basis, but the distance does not change the depth of the relationships.  I want to try to blog at least once a month to try to keep our memories of all we do and experience in one place.

When we first arrived, we were able to move right into our apartment and get acclimated.  The first couple of days here were very busy with activities related to registering as citizens, getting ready to go to work and school the next week and just trying to get our body clocks adjusted to 13 hours difference.    We came with very little, just what we could pack into suitcases and bags.  Our apartment is furnished with both short and long term leased furniture.  There are some things we will give back when our own furniture arrives (was supposed to come around Oct. 5th but currently delayed and expected Oct. 29th) and some we will use for the entire time we are here.  Our apartment is very white and modern - a big change from our old, colorful house in Pennsylvania!  But we are really enjoying the change.  We are eager for our furniture to arrive so we can make it look and feel more like ours, but it is a really nice place and we are very comfortable here.  Jon and I have talked about wanting to live in a city but always thought maybe it would be after our kids were grown, but we are LOVING living in a high rise and being able to step out our doors and having access to everything within walking distance.  We live in a very convenient place for traveling all over Japan, with the major railway system just a few blocks away from our apartment.  Our apartment has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a living room and a combined kitchen/dining room.  The best part is the huge windows in every room with an amazing view of the city and the mountains.

When we arrived, it was very hot and humid and is just now (mid-Sept) starting to become tolerable.  Because of the weather, we didn't really do anything the first couple of weekends we were here, but then we decided that we only have 2 years and we don't want to waste any of it just sitting around in our apartment.  So, last weekend we explored Osaka and this weekend we got out to see a little more of the city we live in - Kobe.

The kids are loving school.  It is such an amazing school with kids from over 40 nations represented.  They are both taking Japanese 1 hour a day and it is their favorite class.  Sophia is changing classes every hour and so has many teachers and many cool classes - such as design class where they rotate through cooking, sewing, woodworking, fim and technology and drama class where they are spending the entire semester learning how to do improv - - such great life skills!  Anthony is still in a traditional classroom with 1 teacher all day and he really likes her.  He does have a few different teachers for things like physical education, Japanese etc.

Work is going great for me - I really like the people I work for and with!