Susan's Here!!!

Someone is coming to visit me in Japan? Can it be???

Yes, back in January my good friend Susan from Marysville came to Japan to visit me! Her husband, Tim, is a Honda employee and was coming here on business, so I joked with her about coming. One thing lead to another and she bought a ticket and was on her way!

I was so happy to have someone from "home" here. It was great showing her our house and how we lived. She was amazed at my oven and washing machine. I think that it took her a while to get used to the cold and the space heaters that we use to heat the house!
She got to spend the nights at the hotel with Tim and spend the days with me. She got here on Thursday. So on Friday a friend was nice enough to watch Daniel and we went to a "hot stone" spa. It was so relaxing to lay and sweat on the rock. We really enjoyed it. Then we had a great lunch at a little French cafe. It was wonderful. That night we went to one of my favorite places to eat "Min-Min" the local gyoza place. It was great.

Saturday and Sunday we spent with Tim and the rest of the family travelling to Nikko and Asakusa. On Saturday night she got a treat. We went out with my group of scrapbooking buddies (including my American friends Nicole and Kelley). First was dinner in typical Japanese style (we sat with our shoes off) and then off to Karaoke. We had a blast, both singing and having these really cool drinks.

I have to tell a short story about a couple and their daughter that we met on the bus from the airport. We just noticed a man and wife and their daughter with beautiful hair, probably two years old. They spoke English, but were from Australia or Europe. Once or twice her dolly fell over to our side of the bus. We got off the bus, that was the end of it. Until Saturday when we ran into them in Nikko. That was funny. THEN we ran into them again Sunday in Asakusa (mind you now we are in Tokyo, two hours from where we saw them on the bus). We got a good laugh and said something about following each other!
On Monday another friend offered to watch Daniel while we went to these model homes. You have to know Susan and I to know that we both love home decorating, plans and such. By our mall there is this strip of model homes, imagine the Parade of Homes. So this was going to be fun. Well, it was, but not as fun as I had anticipated. The people who were in the homes followed us around, it was kinda creepy. Also, I could not understand what they were saying, which made it harder. But it was neat to see a few Japanese homes. After we had lunch at the mall and then returned home in time to get the kids from school.

Tuesday was the dreaded day that Susan had to leave. I was so sad. It was kinda funny, we were walking near the station and a lady handed to us some free tissues (this is a regular occurrence in Japan). We were both glad that we had them, because we needed them. I hated saying goodbye. But I was so happy to share my life here with someone that I am close to in Marysville. Thank you Susan for coming - you are a fantabulous friend!