Sheryl has now made it safely home after some delays and heavy rains/monsoons in Vancouver.

Sheryl arrived in Japan on Thursday November 15th after a small mix up. One of the emails that Travel Cuts sent her said she was leaving Vancouver on Wednesday and arriving in Japan on Wednesday. So on Tuesday evening I said to her, see you in 20-something hours, and she thought that was very odd cuz she wasn't even leaving Vancouver yet. So we looked it up and finally realised that Travel Cuts was wrong. Good thing we caught it!!

So a very exhausted Mom got off the plane in Tokyo and a nice man helped her through check-out and baggage claim. Eric and I got her onto the train home right away and had a nice visit with Sheryl. We got home at about 10pm and went to bed almost straight away.

On Friday we went for a walk and looked at some of the stores along the way. For lunch we had yakisoba (fried noodles) from the Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) stand that is by our house. The lady at the Takoyaki stand is always really nice to me and Eric, and she invited us in and we sat in the back room and ate our yakisoba inside there, usually Eric and I eat it in front of the store. She was really nice, and she had two pet turtles :)

On Saturday we went to Sendai and walked around. Found the place where I needed to go to apply for an extension on my visa. Had a nice day visiting with Eric. On Sunday we went to the Asaichi (morning market), it was also my first time going to the asaichi. It was alot of fun. Great way to buy fresh local veggies and at a good price :) I will have to try to go more with Eric :)

On Monday I have my Japanese class and Sheryl was invited to come too so she read English cards and I translated them into Japanese. It was English practice for the teachers and Japanese practice for me! Sheryl seemed to have a great time. After lunch, just as Sheryl and I were about to go out Iizawasan stopped by. I invited her in and she visited with Sheryl and we had a cup of tea with her. It was really nice :)

On Wednesday it was my birthday, I got a beautiful coat from Eric, as well as a pair of stockings and guitar colouring book. Sheryl got me some really pretty black stockings and a funky pair of purple stockings! I love them! (Thanks again Sheryl!) I got a pair of pjs from my Mom too!

On Thursday Eric taught at an elementary school. In the afternoon, after lunch at a ramen shop, Sheryl and I went to visit with the Vice Principal. She is a very nice lady, I have met her before, she gave me a print out saying Happy Birthday in Japanese, and said she had a present for me.

Friday I was very cranky :( We went for a bike ride to find the old samurai house in Natori, but it was closed, so we just looked at it from the gate. Then we went to make our way to RajinYama, a tumulus in Natori. We went all over the place trying to get there. A 20 to 30 minute bike ride turned into a 2 hour bike ride.

Sunday we went to Matsushima, I really like Matsushima. We saw Iizawasan at Zuiganji Temple. It was a beautiful day, we were a little worried it would be cold right on the sea side, but it wasn't!

Tuesday Sheryl and I went to a sushi making party. It was really fun! Wakayamasan's daughter taught us origami. After we were done, Wakayamasan drove us home and she have us some left over sushi and said he is your supper, when we got home there were two loaves of bread with the sushi!!

Wednesday Sheryl and I rode our bikes to a really old shrine that is nearby.

Thursday Sheryl and I had lunch with my friend Meg. She cooked a feast! She made a lot of food. It was all really good. She even made a cheese cake! She put candles in it and sang happy birthday to me. It was really sweet!

Friday I taught my class. Sheryl came along, and it was mostly review for introductions and they asked her questions. We looked everywhere in MinamiSendai for MOS burger but couldn't find it. So we decided we were going to go to Sendai for MOS burger. On the train ride in I was thinking about my visa and how I hadn't heard anything yet. So we went to the office after lunch and got that sorted out. So now I am good to stay till the end of April. We also went out for supper with Sakuraisan, the Vice Principal from Fujigaoka Elementary school where Eric teaches sometimes. She wanted to say bye to Sheryl and ask me about English lessons.

Sunday for lunch we went out with Mr. and Mrs. Saito to a really cool Soba restaurant. It was a renovated farm house! Eric and I need to go there again! After lunch we went to Mr. and Mrs. Saito's house and had coffee and snacks. Mrs. Saito gave Sheryl a very nice kimono. She also lent one to me for the New Years! They also gave Eric and I lots of fresh veggies from their garden. That night we went out to Sapporo Beer Garden with Shojisensei (one of Eric's co-workers), Chizuko from City hall, she is a very nice lady, and Aizawasan also from City hall. It was a great time. We stayed till closing time and got kicked out - not really but they did tell us it was time to start finishing.

Sheryl left on Monday. We took the shinkansen to Tokyo, and arrived at the airport around 2:30. Sheryl's flight was delayed for 2 hours at that time. So we went for a sub at Subway. Then looked around the airport mall for a bit, and had a coffee together and then said bye to Sheryl. She had to wait a long time for her flight. And then once in Vancouver it was raining so hard she and Ray stayed the night in Vancouver and went home the next day.

It was a nice visit. It was great to see Sheryl again, and great to show her our home and our life in Natori.