Easter 2013

Time for a photo post!

Easter was fantastic this year. Not only did we get to celebrate at church with lots of food, a skit, and a packed sanctuary; it was also Jill's very first Easter which meant lots of chocolate a ruffles. :)

this year's skit was an adaptation of the folktale, "The Three Trees." In the story, three trees in the forest hope for greatness, and end up telling the story of Jesus' life as they become a manger, a boat on a stormy sea, and a Roman cross. 

The craft used eggs and paint, but not in the usual way. Everyone teamed up to glue colored fragments of egg shells on to a picture that Stephen drew. I was happy to see the finished products displayed out front for people to see as they walk by. 

As for the baby....

She had a fun day too!

We hope you had a blessed Easter with friends and family! Let's continue to celebrate the risen King everyday!

Love, The Borbas

Only in Japan: 3 Signs of Autumn

Image source: Trip Advisor

I love Fall. It is by far the best of seasons. Maybe it's because I lived through the death-heat of Fresno summers for 26 years and fall was always a welcomed relief. Or maybe because my birthday is snug in the middle of fall. In any case, I LOVE FALL!

The other day I realized fall had snuck up on me. I went for a walk and ::BAM:: Autumn! It's probably because the signs of Autumn are so different here from what I'm used to. Of course there's the typical changing of leaves, and crisp air, but there are no Halloween decorations on every house, no Fresno Fair, no Pumpkin Spice Lattes. It got me thinking, what are the signs of Autumn in Japan. So with out further ado, I bring to you 3 signs that Fall has come to Japan.

1-The familiar song of the sweet potato truck.

No ice cream trucks in Japan. But they do have guys who drive around singing through a speaker, selling roasted sweet potatoes. We've yet to purchase any, but I hear they're great. Maybe I'll send Stephen down next time I hear his song. 

2-Everyone starts wearing long sleeves and jackets. 

Yes, I know this is typical in the States as well. It's cold; you wear warmer clothing. But here, it seems like the change in clothes has more to do with the date on the calendar than the temperature on the thermometer. October 1, rain or shine, everyone puts away the short sleeves and shorts in favor of long pants, long sleeves, jackets, scarves, and hats. This year, there have been a few very nice, warm days after the 1st. The kind of days where a pair of jeans and a short sleeve shirt are perfect. Yet, we're are the only two people crazy enough to buck the trend and dress for the weather, not the calendar. It usually makes for very funny conversations with every person we see. 

"Eeehhh, samukunai?! (aren't you cold?!)"

"No, it's 75 degrees and sunny. Aren't you hot?"

3-I plugged in my toilet.
Yes, you read that right.
Without central heating, the bathroom can get mighty chilly and who wants to sit on an icy throne in the middle of the night. Not the Japanese! That's why many toilets here are heated. (LOVE IT!) I leave the seat unplugged through out the spring and summer, but once the temperature dips, our favorite appliance gets plugged in.

Culture Class: 4th of July

Stephen has been teaching a monthly American culture class to his English students in Chitose. In the past he's talked about things like St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Mother's Day. Each lesson shares the historical origin, modern celebration, and vocabulary & phrases that go along with it.

This month, the class was focused on Independance Day. 

When Stephen's mom visited, she brought lots of fun red, white, & blue goodies for class.

The ladies we're blown away by our modern celebration of our nation's independence. 

So much red, white, and blue!

I made blue raspberry jello and topped it with whipped cream and a cherry to be festive. I was pleased to learn that they enjoyed their first bites of the classic american dessert. One student even asked me how I made it, asking for specific ingredients. "Did you add lemon juice?"

I smiled and explained that Jello is the easiest dessert in America; just open the box and add water.

Our students showing off their treats

Jillian made an appearance in her 4th of July finest.

a very patriotic diaper change :P

Besides all the sweets and laughter, my favorite part of the class was discussing the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

It was interesting discussing how the idea of being created equal by God shapes American culture. We decided this line has a lot to do with why Japan and America are so different. In Japan, even the language is structured around the idea superior and inferior. Showing respect is a very important value. Americans are often seen as disrespectful from a Japanese perspective because we interact very informally with our superiors and people older than ourselves. After discussing with the group I think we do this because at the core of our national identity, we see all people as equal, not more or less important, and our language and interactions reflect that. 

I always have such a great time with our Chitose ladies. I am eager for the day when they recognize that they too were created by God. I'm looking forward to our next culture class and what truths we can share!

*If you have an idea for an American culture class, leave a comment. We're always open to imput and ideas. :)

St. Patrick's Day, Hinamatsuri, and a surprise baby shower

We have been really enjoying teaching English classes this past year. 2 of our favorite classes are our Chistose beginner and intermediate classes. Once a week, we drive an hour to a neighboring town to teach 2 classes of women. Since they are all friends, we have begun combining classes once a month for a special lesson on American culture and fellowship time.

For March, we taught a special lesson on St. Patrick's Day. We were surprised that the women also planned on sharing a special March holiday (Girls' Day) with us as well during fellowship time. We were even more surprised when our Girls' Day celebration, turned into not one, but 2 surprise parties!

St. Patrick's Day

Sharing St. Patty's Day with these 4 Japanese women, was a treat. Stephen brought pictures of things like leprechauns, pot's of gold, green beer, shamrocks, and Lucky Charms cereal. We also were able to talk about the origins of St. Patrick's Day and St. Patrick himself.

My favorite part was teaching them some common St. Patrick's day expressions like "Kiss me, I'm Irish," and "Top o' the Mornin' to ya."

Our students reading a list of St. Patty's Day phrases

Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day)

After our lesson on St. Patrick's Day, we moved onto tea time/ fellowship time. The women quickly got to work setting out hinamatsuri decorations and foods.

For those of you like us, who didn't know about Hinamatsuri, it is the girls' festival. Every year on 3/3, families celebrate their daughters. They set out hina ningyo (dolls), eat chirashizushi, and drink white sake [with or without alcohol (ours was without ;) )] Our students brought the supplies to have a small hinamatsuri celebration, complete with food, (alcohol free) sake, and a small version of the hina ningyo that families display for their daughters. We were also treated to special onigiri (rice balls) made by an English student.

ShiroZake (white sake) and a very small version of traditional Japanese hina ningyo

delicious chirashizushi. Mmmm, oishii!

Enjoying a special redbean and chetsnut onigiri, hand made by an English student

Surprise parties:

Towards the end of our Hinamatsuri fellowship time, we got to celebrate all over again. The first surprise was for our English student, S. In honor of her birthday, the other ladies brought a cake and had us lead everyone in the "Happy Birthday" song.

S is by far our most gregarious student! Could you tell?

After sharing in S's surprise, Stephen and I were treated to a surprise of our own. Our English ladies had planned a baby shower for us!

We were touched by their thoughtfulness!

and I learned that rubber duckies are universally awesome!

I'm excited we've started this new monthly combined class. I don't expect every month to be such an extravaganza, but I am looking forward to spending more time with these fun ladies as a whole group.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, or Baruntine Day バレンタインデイーas it's called here in Japan, has always been a favorite of mine. From childhood, it has been a source of a much needed post-Christmas refill of my chocolate stash. Giving and receiving chocolate, sweets, cards, and gifts is what Valentine's Day is about, at least in the US.

Here in Japan, things are a little different. For one, the givers are limited to women, and the recipients are limited to men. (It's good to be a man in Japan on February 14th!)

Don't worry ladies, you have your own special holiday on March 14th called White Day (ホーアイトデイー ) to receive "obligation chocolate" ( giri-choco,ぎりチョコ) from all the boys you gave sweets to the months before.

Another difference is what is being given. I haven't seen too much in the way of flowers or cards, and Valentine's day dates don't seem to be too popular from what I've been hearing around the English class. In Japan it's all about the chocolate.

One very popular thing to do is to make "deco-choco" (デコチョコ) or decoration chocolate for male friends.

Here's a close up of some deco-choco I found through google.

（Photo source: Ameblo.jp）

Another popular thing to do it to make cookies.

Here are some chocolate-raspberry heart cookies I made for Stephen and my English students.

Stephen had a doubly good Valentine's Day this year since there are two girls in his family now (me and the baby) to give him chocolates.

When I was at the mall recently I saw these chocolates and knew it had to be Stephen's gift from the baby-to-be.

Here's the display case...

Can you tell what it is?

How about now...

It's a line of chocolate called Unchi-kun うんちくん (little poop).

I have never seen something like this before coming to Japan. But what a fitting gift from a baby.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a week!

What an eventful few days it has been! Filled with joy, panic, crying, and the realization that God is in control no matter what.

First, Joy:

This Sunday Stephen and I decided to get our house into the Christmas spirit. We stopped by the tree lot on the way home from church to get our traditional "Charlie Brown" tree. At this point in our lives, we have so few ornaments, and so little space, a tiny tree is just perfect. We also decided to get a wreath for the first time. (wow, we sure felt grown up! :) )

I was so proud of our tiny tree, and Christmas decorations that I wanted to sit down and blog. After pouring myself a glass of water, I sat down to my computer and proceeded to knock the FULL glass of water onto my laptop keyboard!

Panic! :

Immediately, I flipped my lappy over and screamed for a towel. water was dripping from it as I tried to wipe down the keys. In the confusion, I am pretty sure I hit the power button one or two times (something in hindsight, I should have avoided).

Stephen was sent to research my predicament on his computer, while I tended to mine. sure enough, DON'T TURN IT ON while it's wet! was the number on piece of advice on the internet.

I ended up flipping mine on a towel with paper towels shoved under the keys to wick out the water for 48 hours, to avoid shorting anything any further.

Check out my lovely paper-towel-strip work under the keys. Nice huh!?

Crying:

I'm not sure if you have ever lost, crashed, or shorted a computer, but it is a stressful thing to do. In this modern age my life is on my laptop: my files, my music, my photos, everything. So I did what any one would do ( or at least anyone who cries as much as I do). I cried for 2 hours.

God is in control no matter what! :

Over the last two days, God has been working on my heart that computer or no computer He is my sustenance, and my portion. Though His Spirit, and a loving husband, I came to remember that "life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions."

Well, 48 hours of drying on the desk was up tonight. After prayer and a reminder that if it is dead, it's ok, I put the battery back in, and pressed the power button.

I am glad to say, my computer is alive. There is no damage to be seen, except the light is out on my keyboard, but I can deal with not typing in the dark. :)

The LORD is good.