Adjusting

So, how are things going, you ask? (ok, maybe you didn't ask, but I did for you.) They are going just fine.  I began teacher orientation at Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ), Wednesday, August 15th.  If you have ever been at a teacher orientation or at any sort of orientation to a new company, sometimes the information is inundating.  I feel like my brain is just saturated with all sorts of information.
I am familiarizing myself to the lay of the CAJ land.  I will be teaching Science in the Science lab and Math and Bible in a regular classroom.

My Bible and Math classroom

The one thing I am trying to sink into my brain is the bicycle route from home to school and back again.  Bette drew a map for me and that has been a life saver.  The way to navigate here is to look for landmarks, which I'm not really used to doing.  It has required changing my thinking.  I have gone once to school and two times from school to home but still don't feel confident enough to go without a map.  Hopefully by next week that will be a different story.
Last evening I had the privilege to go with some folks from school to an O bon.  I had my first ride on the train in Japan.  What an all around fun experience!  It was dark by the time we arrived.  First we bought some food.

I had okononiyaki, which was fairly good, except it was burnt and that didn't taste so good.  Besides selling food, they have a raised platform where traditional dances are performed.

A number of people would light a lantern, bring it down to the river to set it afloat.  You can see two of the lanterns floating down the river.

There were also fireworks.  It was a great experience and I'm glad I went.

Thank you all for your many prayers!  I have been adjusting fairly well.  I have had opportunities to experience various Japanese foods and am getting used to things like not walking and eating at the same time.  I have been blessed with great hosts in the Vander Haaks.  They have been very instrumental in making my transition so smooth thus far.  The people at CAJ are a great supportive community!  God is good!