Sendai

Hello! I'm still alive in Sendai. Time flies by a lot faster when you (1) can kinda understand the gist of what people are saying (2) you have no idea where you're going and who you're visiting (3) you spend time with a hilarious companion who is cute and trying to learn English. She studied English for 6 years in school so she knows a ton of pronunciation and grammar, but she doesn't quite know how to pronounce the words. I think it's a secret, but she's secretly completely fluent in English but is too embarrassed to speak it. When I speak English she almost always understands. Haha.

So this week in our lovely town of Sendai, there was a tug-of-war festival. Actually, it's called Tsunahiki Matsuri, because we're in Japan, but it's basically a giant game of tug-of-war. The rope is absolutely HUGE. I mean it's probably a couple of meters in diameter (that's right, I think in metric now). And it's probably about a football field, okay so maybe half a football field, long.

There are two teams of men dressed in those sumo wrestler diapers you've seen, who have obviously been drinking way too much sake (that's alcohol by the way) and they do tug of war. There are about zero people on the streets in Sendai, but on the day of the Matsuri, the roads were packed. It was crazy. It's like everyone came out of their little holes and appeared. Plus people come in from all over Japan to see it. As missionaries, that festival is kinda not allowed. Something about half-naked men, too much alcohol, and it's late. But we rode our bikes down the road for the festival before it started, and I took a picture of the rope.

It's so big that people were just sitting on it. Last year's rope is in the Eki (train station) and I took a picture of it too. Only Japanese people would get a giant rope to play tug of war. They're crazy.

In our apartment, we have this extra spare room off the kitchen. We had a similar room in Fujisaki, but this one is a little different.

See, this one is full of trash. Japan culture is pretty much based off their trash system. They have burnable trash, non-burnable trash, and recyclables. When I tell my English class that in America we bury a lot of our garbage, they were shocked. Japan really is small and compact. So, the burnable trash goes out twice a week. You can't take it out early - that's way bad Japanese manners. If you have a lot of trash before that then you have to store it somewhere. Twice a week isn't too bad with just two of us. We just fill about a bag each time, so we take it out. However, the non-burnable trash and the recyclables just go out once a month. So in this spare room, that we have named Outer Darkness, we have non-burnable trash (like metals) and recyclables (like plastic bottles, milk cartons, etc) filling the whole room. See with once a month you forget, especially with transfers and new missionaries, so it just sits for another month.

There is probably 3 months of garbage in Outer Darkness. In the middle of Outer Darkness we have a box of Japanese Book of Mormons.

My goal today is to organize that room. Haha. You know how much I love to organize. But don't worry, I took a really awesome video of Outer Darkness. But I don't think Gmail can handle a video, so you will have to wait about a year.

The BUGS in Japan are a totally different breed of HOLY COW THAT IS HUGE. I have about 20 pictures already of big bugs. I just can't help it, you know. They're just so massive. Outside our front door is about 1000 of Charlotte's children. I got a broom (at the dollar store) and whacked them all down, until I got to the light. There is this light outside, with a little pull string on the bottom. However, the pull string is defying the power of gravity and is at more than an angle. It is now part of a spider's web. It's too soon to tell if I can whack those all down with my 100 yen broom, but I will try later today.

I've noticed a lot of cars in Japan that are the most interesting color. I think maybe the 2011 cars just got released. Everyone has about the same style car, but in a dozen different 1970s colors. We have burnt pink, orange-pink, burnt orange, sea-foam green, the brightest green you have ever seen, golden yellow (that one's not bad), and brown. Have you seen funny colored cars in America? Maybe it's just Japan. And I've learned about Japanese license plates.

There are yellow and white. The yellow are for light-weight vehicles, and there are certain limitations about the free-way and speed and such. Everyone here has yellow license plates.

P.S. I hope this email sends.


Sarah

SORRY!

Sorry that I didn't write an email last week! It was zone P-day, so we didn't have time. I was a little sad, but when you have two Sendai that didn't really care, I didn't want to make a fuss about it.

For P-day we went to Momochi Beach on the north shore of Fukuoka. It was way fun. The elders played sand American football, and I made a sand castle with the Japanese girls that didn't want to play football. We named it Fukuoka Castle, and took a picture with Fukuoka Tower in the background. I'm sorry but I forgot the SD Card reader today, so there is no picture this week. Sorry!

So then Wednesday morning came. Well, actually Tuesday night. The mission president called. I am now in Sendai, which is a small branch in Kagoshima Ken, on the southern part of Kyushu. I wish I had time to tell you in detail about my first transfer experience, but there isn't enough time in the world.

The worst part was when I was stuck in the middle of downtown Fukuoka between Tenjin Subway and Tenjin Bus Center, with a thousand of Japanese people that are really skilled at never making eye contact with anyone.  See, my suitcases broke when I pulled them off the subway. So, I have three suitcases, right? Well, that's not a big deal because they all hook together, right? Remember those cords that wrap around?  So, I had two suitcases hooked together, but the suitcase was too heavy.  It was way sad.  So it broke, but that wasn't a big deal, because I could still hook it to my other suitcase, but then that broke too.  So I carried my suitcases up the stairs of the subway one by one, but then I couldn't pull all three together.  It was a nightmare.  I looked at my watch.  My bus would leave in 20 minutes.  I was relatively close, and if I could move with my suitcases then I would have been okay, but I couldn't.

So I was like, "well, God, you want me to go to Sendai, and I think I've done everything I could possible do, so I think it's your turn to help me out".  Shortly there after, a cute high school girl, who ironically is the only fat Japanese school girl I've ever seen, gave me some help, and pulled one of my suitcases to the bus center.  I was so thankful!  Then I got the suitcases on the bus, took a great 4 hour nap, and got dropped off in Kagoshima Chuo Eki.  But then my new companion, Takahama Shimai, was there to help carry one of the suitcases. It was great.

So now I am in Sendai. I wish I could draw you a map on this email. On Kyushu, find Kagoshima, there at the bottom. Then go an hour train ride to the north west. That's Sendai. 




It's one of the most country places in our mission, and I love it. A new companion, new investigators, new church members, new roads. I really needed change in my life. I was plateauing in Fujisaki.

The church members here are hilarious.  In church on Sunday there were about 15 people.  It was hilarious.  Usually it was closer to 25, but there was a sports festival for the school, so most people took the day off.  Haha.  I love the ward because I feel like it's like The Office, the TV show.  Everyone is totally different.  You have your typical super righteous strong family, but then the crazy social reject that always says things that are a little off... etc.  Haha.

Anyway, in Sendai, the email is free on P-days, but I can only email for a half hour. So, sorry that this email is short. Next week, I will take a picture of your email on my camera, and read it later.  So if you every have any exciting news to tell me, you should put it on the top of the email... like if Dad every got a job. I pray every day that dad will find a job. I like the idea of California right by Jay, again. Wouldn't that be great? Move to Kentucky to follow him, then move to California? I would laugh so hard. And so would he - after he had a few words to say about it of course.

I sent John a birthday present, but I realize just how expensive it is to send things internationally. So I'll probably send one big package for Christmas, with birthday presents for you two, then just have one suitcase full of presents for when I come home. Oh, btw, thanks for the sunscreen. I've been using it! The Neutrogena stuff is definitely nice stuff, but I can't believe it was 10 dollars a bottle! Oh well, not having skin cancer is worth it.

The hotness is starting to die a little, but the UV is still just as strong, you know? The breeze is real nice when we are on our bikes. Oh, in case your wondering, the moving companies are really good in Japan. You just give them a call, and they just pick up your stuff and drop it off. So, when I transferred, I put my new address on my bike, and the mission office has a deal with a travel company to ship the bikes. So on Saturday my bike magically appeared in my new office. Next time I transfer I will get rid of a lot of stuff and ship one suitcase. Haha, life is a learning experience I guess.

Okay, I'm out of time! Sorry this email isn't as long, but next week I will write for the whole half hour and send pictures. Oh, and thanks for dealing with my Gmail account. I can't believe I was hacked?!  Or did you make that up. See, now I don't know what's real or not in your emails!

Sister Lemmon

Hey, it's not so hot that I want to die anymore!

So in this past week it has rained a few times, but we haven't really been soaked through since that last picture I sent you. But that makes me happy because each time it rains it cools down just a little bit more, but it also gets more humid.

We got on our bikes to get here, and with the wind as we're pedaling I thought it was quite pleasant. Oh, and the sky was overcast today, so I didn't have the burning sun. As for my nice leather shoes, I have them water protected for the light rain showers, but there is no amount of water protection for some of the things I ride my bike in. Ha ha.  But I wear those shoes because my brown ones are too nice to wear when it rains, and the other ones that I bought at Easy Spirit don't dry as fast because the insoles don't come out. So each night we get soaked and set out shoes, and the stuff in our dendo bag (have you figured out the word dendo yet - I'm sick of defining it) in front of the fan.

The big fan we named Kaminari-sama, which translates into Mr. (super honorific) Thunder. He really helps us out. One of my companions put her shoes in the shower room (for it truly is a small room) but we forgot to open the window so her shoes started growing fuzzy things.  Since it's near the end of her mission, she just threw them away. I think my three shoes will make it. I try to clean and polish them when I think about it.

I can't believe Grandpa is almost 89. But he looks a lot older than Japanese 89 year olds. See, the Japanese people are super healthy.

They protect their skin with protective clothing instead of sunscreen (which by the way works much better, but I wear sunscreen and protective clothing on my arms because I'm so white), and they eat healthy. They also exercise on their bike because everyone has a bike. Pretty cool, eh. So, we saw this guy and he said that 50 was young, but we were shocked because he looked 50. So he made us guess his age. We were thinking like 60 if he thought 50 was young. But then he said he was 75! He's still up and going around. It's crazy.

So I've learned to guess Japanese people's age, then add about 15 to get it about right.

When Japanese people go to the doctor, the doctor prescribes them about 20 different medications, in the hope that one of them would work. That would never fly in America. People would be like, "why are you making me spend that much money?" and "what is this going to fix?"  Or even "Doc, I just want to know what's wrong with me."  So hearing that Grandpa came home with a dozen pills and inhalers made me think about that.

Um, Labor Day is definitely not celebrated in Japan. I had no idea it was Labor Day. Oh, what is Labor Day for anyway? I forgot! Well, happy late Labor Day! Is that one of the holidays I got off school for? That's probably all that I know about it. School has started in America and Japan. I see all the Japanese girls in the cute school uniforms (the guys just look like corporate soldiers in a while shirt and dark slacks) and I'm reminded of Sailor Moon. The girls here really do look like that!

So when I come back home, I want to read all the Sailor Moon manga again, in Japanese. I mentioned that to one of the Japanese sisters in the mission, and she basically told me to cut my losses and start watching One Piece. Apparently it's just like a new anime/manga series that may or may not be bigger than Pokemon.  Let me know if you've heard about it.

I sent Jay his present and he even sent an email back saying thank you. I got him the Tabi shoes, that the ninja turtle foot soldiers wear. I can't tell if he thought they were cool or stupid, because his email was one like said he is the envy of his office. Ha ha.

I have John's present ready to send, but I need to destroy a box to make it the right size today. I don't know when it will make it into the mail, but hopefully soon. Then I'll need to start Christmas shopping. Oh, and Grandpa's birthday! What does he want? I could send him Japanese candy, or a Kimono. Ha ha. Grandpa in a guy kimono (they're called something different, but I forget) is a great image.  Any ideas?

This week was really fun because we had a big Sisters Training. All the sisters from the mission came up to Fukuoka, including the sisters down in Okinawa. It was way fun to see my MTC companion again. She was saying things in Japanese, and they made sense, and I understood them. I looked at her, and I was like, when did you get so good at Japanese? Ha ha, then she said the same. It's funny because I'd say our Japanese is about even, but it just seems like so much more when you're talking with someone when you weren't there for their growth.

Yoha Shimai, who was in the MTC with us, but was a Japanese Missionary, said the same thing. She really helped us in the MTC because her English is a little better than normal. It was great to see her again. They taught us the new curriculum. I remember the people in the MTC working on a new curriculum. See, PMG (Preach My Gospel) is great, but sometimes people focus on the wrong things, so the new way to teach PMG is to focus on 8 things. That's what the training is about. The 8 things are things like 'teach people, not lessons', 'receiving revelation through church attendance' and 'Your purpose'. I learned a lot, but I also like to think of it as an excuse to get us all together.

Last Monday, we went with the Stake President and his wife to COSTCO!!! I ate pizza. I can't believe I ate pizza, it was that good. I also ate a Costco hot dog. Yummy. Then we shopped around and got a cream filled cake that was sooo good.

Then they took us river walking, and we found this really old school Shinto Shrine. They are called Jinja, which if you say it just right it sounds like Ginger, but I couldn't find that in my Japanese dictionary. Only this shrine was a little different. It was built in 200 AD to Kami-sama, or God.

Not like some different Shinto God in the nature named Kami, but to what we would think of as God. And it was kinda shaped like Moses's Tabernacle. There was the place to wash your hands in the beginning, two Chisa (Okinawan Guardians) that are like the cherubim, and there are different places for the different parts of the tabernacle, like the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was at the very top (it was kinda graduated up a mountain side, which each level being like one place in the Tabernacle) and was destroyed awhile ago, but you can tell there was some building there. There wasn't a wall around it, but rather giant guardian trees that were marked with paper to show that they are God's trees. All the place was really cool.

The Stake President knew it was there, but had never been inside it before. He thought it was probably the coolest thing on the face of the planet.  He's also the institute teacher for the stake, so he has a TON of knowledge, but it's all in Japanese. Trying to figure out when he meant by cherubim in Japanese was way hard. But we got it.

A three-some really isn't that bad. Well, my two seniors kinda do a lot of talking, so I just kinda sit back and watch, and that's a little unfortunate, but I think it's my time to watch and learn. I have a feeling that I will be transferred at the next transfer, so I've started cleaning out my desk (I have crazy things that I keep finding that don't mean anything to me anymore). Transfer calls are on the 15th. Then transfers are on the 16th.

I'm glad you sent the sunscreen to the hombu, but I bet it will make it to me before then.  I sure hope so, because my sunscreen had to be banged a few times this morning. Please don't make me use Japanese sunscreen. It's like milk that keeps me from the sun about as much as milk would. Yep.

So, I attached a few pictures of the Jinja. Enjoy!

1st - what is left of the Holy of Holies

2nd - the entrance to the temple. We did a lot of stairs that day.  Good thing I'm in shape.

3rd - the Chisa (cherubim) biting me. It hurt! P.S. This is the same shirt I got soaked in. Look at the color difference! It's way sun bleached.

 
Sister Lemmon