Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to go with this post. I'm seriously kicking myself too. I've seen some amazing things this month.

First off, I was afraid I was going to spend this Christmas vacation alone, but I was rescued. I was invited to spend Christmas day with an American guy and his family in the city of Hiroshima. It was initially supposed to be a two day stay, but it turned into a week. It was an amazing week and the biggest Christmas of my life. Two days of opening presents. Two days! And it was simply because there were too many presents to open in just one day. Granted, most of the presents were for the kids, but even I got presents from people I had only just met. A crystal vase full of chocolate, real maple syrup, and felt PJs. I was so comfortable in this family's house. Heated floors. Fresh coffee with homemade whip cream, comfortable futons, and water pressure. Even the 3 little kids weren't bad and I enjoyed spoiling them.

I also had a chance to go into Hiroshima city by myself and explore. I now know my way around the city and I love it. It's got a very nice feel to it. It's a big city, but it doesn't really feel like it. It's got all the wonderful little shops in the nooks and cranies but it doesn't feel crowded like most Japanese cities.

We also visited Iwakuni Military Base a couple of times. First, for church and the second time to eat Taco Bell. I finally got Taco Bell! I met a few marines from here and they were all good guys. The SDA chaplain on base is an amazing guy. Easy to talk to with a very welcoming family.

Over New Years, I met a previous AVS teacher who taught at the Junior High here at San-iku. Lisa was an immediate friend. She now works for ADRA in Tokyo, but we keep in contact. Lisa and I went to Seijo to spend New Years with a fellow teacher and her family. They are a traditional family. We ate all of the traditional new years food and watched the sun rise on the first day of the year. We drove to the top of a mountain and the sun came up over the ocean as the storm clouds rolled in. We drove down into a small beach side town called Osakishimojima and had some coffee and I got to walk through the serf. The orange groves were full with oranges and it smelled wonderful.

So vacation ended and it's back to school with a new very busy schedule. I have new students. The 2C class just spent 5 months in New Zealand and they have come back very excited to speak English. I think they are quickly becoming my favorite class. They are very open with questions and don't seem shy at all around me.

The one down side to all this is that I got sick over Christmas and I haven't been able to break it. Teaching with no voice can be interesting and funny, but is mostly just frustrating and leaves my throat more sore than it was. I've never been sick this long before. I think I just need rest.