Photos of the month (January 2012)

I have a new edition to the blog for all of you. At the end of every month I will post the best random photos of that month along with a description.  As I just thought of this idea during the last week of January, this months pictures will be few.

The sign says Nagara river. I cross the nearby bridge to get to work. This river runs through the city of Gifu.

 

The Rainbow brand of BOSS Coffee a very popular can coffee in Japan.

Junior High School boys bathroom. The worst place to be during the winter. It's horribly cold.

The display for a giant size burger that can be purchased at a bowling alley in Nagoya.

Saw a field of crows near my work place as I was going home.

Gifu castle in the far distance on to of Mt.Kinka.

Home sweet home sweet home (Visiting the US)

After 2 years of being away I finally went back home to the States to visit. There are a few reasons I hadn't returned sooner. The cost of a ticket and the flight time were pretty high on the list but also I've enjoyed traveling to other countries and cities during my vacation. Other places in Asia which are closer, cheaper and were first time experiences for me. Finally I began missing home enough to take the trip back. I chose Christmas vacation because it was a good time to see a lot of my family at one time as well as I really miss the feel of Christmas in the US. It's just not the same here in Asia. It was a good 3 weeks. I've missed all the sarcasm and humor that comes with my family, a lot of it that I had to tone down greatly in myself in order to fit in better here. Also got to see a lot of old friends and remembered just how much I miss hanging out with them. I've not found that kind of closeness with people in Japan as I had with my childhood and college friends despite the majority of the college friends being from Asia.

Sister,Mom, and me

Our real Christmas Tree at home. Looks nice but the poor thing was super dried out.

Besides people, one of the best things about being back was food. I'm a fan of Japanese food, but I miss a lot of restaurants in America like Steak N Shake, Penn Station, Qdoba, and almost any pizza place. My city St.Louis also has some great not so Chinese Chinese food that you can't even find in other cities in America.

My Mom's home made cooking. Fried chicken, macaroni & cheese and string beans. So good!

Took my sister to have her first Thai meal.

Garden Salad from the restaurant called Red Lobster

Coconut fried jumbo shrimp. Big shrimp with coconut in the fried coating. A very interesting taste and the white sauce along with it had a sweet tropical taste.

Lucky for me the Japanese Yen is quite strong in comparison with the US dollar and so I got a nice extra bit of cash when exchanging my money over to dollars. I did a lot of shopping with this money. Clothes, candy, video games and especially a pair of shoes which is vital because finding my size in Japan is near impossible. Besides shopping, trips to the zoo and ice skating with friends was pretty fun.

With friends at the St.Louis Zoo

Spent the last night ice skating

I didn't realize how much I missed my 1st home until I visited and then left. It's been a little tougher being back in Japan just remembering how lonely I'm not when I'm back in the US. Honestly I'm afraid I won't be able to find the kind of friendships and relationships here in Japan but its my home now and I'm praying for a more active fulfilling life in the year 2012.

Happy New Years (2012)

Another year gone. Farewell 2011.

After 2 years of being  away I am currently back in the USA visiting for the holiday season. It was nice to have Christmas with the family again and to see old friends and now its New Years Eve. Unfortunately I don't have any plans and at 10:15pm I'm typing this up instead of celebrating but many of my friends took off on trips of their own a week after I arrived. Kind of wish I would have spent Christmas in the US and New Years in Japan or another nearby country with friends but those two holidays are too close for that kind of travel. It has been a busy and blessed year. I traveled to 3 different countries, lived in 2 different cities and had a special someone for a short time.

My main resolution in 2012 is to grow in my relationship with God and through that I pray he would bless me with a girlfriend who later will become my wife. I'm about ready for that next phase in my life. Living abroad has been an adventure so I'm excited to see what is in store for 2012. I may actually be living in another new city by April. Also planning on some more travel abroad including Hong Kong, China, Korea and more. Also gotta get to Hokkaido sometime in 2012.

I hope all of you start the New Year off blessed. May God with you and please keep checking in with me on this blog. 2011 was good but 2012 will be great.

Happy New Years everyone!!

P.S. To all you Mayan followers, I'll see you in 2013.


Twitter: Christian4Mayor

I've done it again! (2nd year anniversary!)

 Today is my 2 year anniversary of living in Japan. Time does indeed fly. It's been quite a busy second year and a very blessed one. Within the 2nd year alone I've been to so many places. Within Japan I've been to Osaka, Kyoto, and twice to Kobe. Outside of Japan I've have had some amazing chances to travel. I've been to Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and Korea twice. All of this in one year. While my new home this 2nd year hasn't been as nice as my previous I can't deny Gods blessings in my life. New friends and new experiences.  So once again lets take a look back at my second year abroad.

 

Let's get started on this 3rd year.