I just got back from climbing Mt Fuji!!!
Let me tell you, that was a ONCE in a life time experience. It was probably the worst 5 hours, 3 minutes and 16 seconds of my life. But I am glad I did it, if anything now I can say I climbed Mt Fuji. :)
My group started at level 5 at 9:30. There's only 10 levels total so you think 5 levels wouldn't be that difficult. Somehow the Japanese have made it difficult. The mountain really isn't that big; there are alot bigger ones in Colorado, but I swear the Japanese thought "hmm, since this mountain isn't big, we should make the trails really hard as if it were a big mountain!". There were steps and gravel that each step you took you slid back two steps, and then big rocks that you had to use your hands to climb over. The big rocks are actually what I enjoyed most. I would have been fine climbing those things for five hours. It's just the stairs that killed. And they weren't normal stairs; they were the kind that were uneven; some where very tiny while others you had to use your hands to get over as well as some were really long where you had to take three foot steps in between each step. I've never really had any issues with stairs before last night. Now I want all stairs to go away. I hate stairs.
I know the only way I managed to survive the climb was by praying continuously. I just kept repeating, "God help me make it up this mountain, God help me make it up this mountain..." while my other partners sang. How they had energy to sing, I have no idea. Alot of the other interns got altitude sickness, luckily I did not have that problem. Besides dead legs, I was fine.
It usually takes an average person around 6-8 hours to climb so it was really good that we only took five. We were quite proud of ourselves once we reached the top! The only thing was, we start climbing at night to reach the top by sunrise which is 4:30AM. My little group got to the top at 2:30AM. So we had a ways to wait. Which meant sitting at the top of a mountain with very little wind cover. I was afraid I over packed clothes but once I was on the top and being blown away by the wind, I was so happy I brought my wardrob. ;) There were enough of us that made it up early enough that we could all huddle together and try to sleep. It was miserable.
The sun rose at 4:30AM like it was supposed to, but sadly it was a cloudy day. The sun poked through at times, but it wasn't as amazing as others have said it to be. I waited till around 6:30Am to start heading back down, which meant another 2 and a half hour hike down. It was a lot faster because it was basically zig zag paths that had a foot deep of gravel. The easiest way to get down was to either run, gallop, slide, or attempt to walk but end up more on your butt sliding down. I chose to gallop; it was easiest and you had more control. :)
Overall I really am glad I did do it if anything to prove to myself that I could do it, but I definitely would never do it again. Once is enough for me!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
One week, three days left
Hey!
The missionary kids left this morning. I really enjoyed having them here. They were like a breath of fresh air for me and my teammates. I liked talking to them and finding out all their stories. Like I said before, they are from East Asia so they know what it's like to live in spiritually dark places. They are all either homeschooled or attend international boarding schools so they don't have to really face what their parents fight against, but still, they know what it's like to struggle to spread Jesus. After I took them to the temple, many said they didn't feel the darkness quite as much there as they do in their home countries. That amazed me. I was blown away by the darkness the first time I was in that temple and here they are telling me for them, it was nothing! They enjoyed praying over the temple though, so they didn't think it was a waste or was pointless; which is good. Another thing they mentioned was how modern Tokyo was. They said it's basically like America, only with Japanese twist. That kind of shocked me too, because when I got here I thought, "this is so different!". I don't think I really had culture shock, but I had to get used to alot of things. For these kids, it was like going back to America. They really enjoyed it. I think their favorite part was the vending machines full of Dr. Pepper. :) I think we stopped at every vending machine in Tokyo. haha
They were really mature for their age though. Some were strange or immature at times, but that's to be expected when they are only 14-16 years old. Still, I would say there are alot more mature than 14 year olds in America. Which they sort of have to be living in a different culture. They all were very sensitive to Japanese culture and picked up on the customes really fast. Many of them learned a few Japanese phrases in less than a week! It took me like a month to finally get down how to say Thank you and your welcome! :D
They didn't lead anyone to Christ and they didn't have any Japanese come to their friendship party, but that's ok. They planted many seeds and they prayed alot for the people here. Their hearts were definitely in the right place and that's what matters. If any is learned this summer, it's that God honors our good hearts.
I was sort of sad to see the team go, I wish they could have stayed longer, but this just means I'm that much closer to going home! This Thursday night/Friday morning we'll be climbing Mt. Fuji and then next Thursday I'll be on a plane to go back home!
The missionary kids left this morning. I really enjoyed having them here. They were like a breath of fresh air for me and my teammates. I liked talking to them and finding out all their stories. Like I said before, they are from East Asia so they know what it's like to live in spiritually dark places. They are all either homeschooled or attend international boarding schools so they don't have to really face what their parents fight against, but still, they know what it's like to struggle to spread Jesus. After I took them to the temple, many said they didn't feel the darkness quite as much there as they do in their home countries. That amazed me. I was blown away by the darkness the first time I was in that temple and here they are telling me for them, it was nothing! They enjoyed praying over the temple though, so they didn't think it was a waste or was pointless; which is good. Another thing they mentioned was how modern Tokyo was. They said it's basically like America, only with Japanese twist. That kind of shocked me too, because when I got here I thought, "this is so different!". I don't think I really had culture shock, but I had to get used to alot of things. For these kids, it was like going back to America. They really enjoyed it. I think their favorite part was the vending machines full of Dr. Pepper. :) I think we stopped at every vending machine in Tokyo. haha
They were really mature for their age though. Some were strange or immature at times, but that's to be expected when they are only 14-16 years old. Still, I would say there are alot more mature than 14 year olds in America. Which they sort of have to be living in a different culture. They all were very sensitive to Japanese culture and picked up on the customes really fast. Many of them learned a few Japanese phrases in less than a week! It took me like a month to finally get down how to say Thank you and your welcome! :D
They didn't lead anyone to Christ and they didn't have any Japanese come to their friendship party, but that's ok. They planted many seeds and they prayed alot for the people here. Their hearts were definitely in the right place and that's what matters. If any is learned this summer, it's that God honors our good hearts.
I was sort of sad to see the team go, I wish they could have stayed longer, but this just means I'm that much closer to going home! This Thursday night/Friday morning we'll be climbing Mt. Fuji and then next Thursday I'll be on a plane to go back home!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
New group!
Hey all!
So we got our second group of the summer today! They are missionary kids from East Asia. We were all kind of nervous of them at first because some missionary kids can be a little weird, but I really like my group. They are all around age 15 or 16 but they are much more mature than that. Today we took them to Shinjuku Government Towers (the same towers I got lost at last time; but this time I went with other people so I didn't get lost :) ) and then we did five minute English with them. They are all excited about being here; some came from India and Thailand where they have to be careful about drinking water and still have holes in the floor for toilets! Needless to say, Tokyo is very fast paced and high tech for some of them. I'm excited for the rest of the week because I feel they will be a great group to work with and will meet alot of Japanese!
There is one downside to them though; we as interns have to attend all their orientations in the mornings which means I have to get up at like 6:15Am. I haven't been up that early in a while!! But I think it'll be worth it; you know, it's for Jesus and all. :)
Tomorrow we'll be going to Asaskusa temple to have them prayer walk and then do 5 minute English again. I'll try to share if any funny or exciting stories happen!
It's crazy to think I only have two weeks left. Time has flown by recently and will only go faster now that I have my group. Before I know it I will be back in KC!!
So we got our second group of the summer today! They are missionary kids from East Asia. We were all kind of nervous of them at first because some missionary kids can be a little weird, but I really like my group. They are all around age 15 or 16 but they are much more mature than that. Today we took them to Shinjuku Government Towers (the same towers I got lost at last time; but this time I went with other people so I didn't get lost :) ) and then we did five minute English with them. They are all excited about being here; some came from India and Thailand where they have to be careful about drinking water and still have holes in the floor for toilets! Needless to say, Tokyo is very fast paced and high tech for some of them. I'm excited for the rest of the week because I feel they will be a great group to work with and will meet alot of Japanese!
There is one downside to them though; we as interns have to attend all their orientations in the mornings which means I have to get up at like 6:15Am. I haven't been up that early in a while!! But I think it'll be worth it; you know, it's for Jesus and all. :)
Tomorrow we'll be going to Asaskusa temple to have them prayer walk and then do 5 minute English again. I'll try to share if any funny or exciting stories happen!
It's crazy to think I only have two weeks left. Time has flown by recently and will only go faster now that I have my group. Before I know it I will be back in KC!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
26 days left
Not much new has happened in the past week or so. Nothing as exciting as last time I wrote...although I'm kind of thankful for that. :)
We have more volunteers here but my station doesn't have any so the time is passing kind of slow again. We're all starting to get a little antsy to be going home. We haven't seen as many people come to Christ as in previous weeks and we're all starting to lose focus and wonder what we're doing wrong. It's hard and long, but we understand there's a purpose to us being here so it's not that bad.
On my off day last Friday we went to another city called Yokohama and walked around. It was sort of nice to get out of Tokyo and such but it was still a city with lots of buildings and people. I can't wait for the end of July when we go back to Mt Fuji to climb it. It will be nice to see nature again. On Friday we also went to TGIFridays to eat dinner. It was way too expensive but good because it was American sized portions which is rare here. Also they have free refills (if you're willing to pay the 499 yen-about $5) which is also a rare thing. I had a massive chicken burger which was incredible. I'm really going to enjoy American sized portions when I get back. :) Also, I'll enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. Here an apple is like $2 and they only have apples, oranges, bananas and sometims kiwi. I can't wait to eat watermelon, cantelope, honeydew, pinapple, and grapes!! haha, I'm basically talking about food in this post..sorry. :D
There isn't much on my schedule this week; just the usual. I'm meeting with the lady who bought me sushi again on Wednesday. This time I'm visiting her at work; she works at a hospital in a nearby sub-city called Shinokubo. She said she'll make food for me again, which I'm hoping is regular food and not something with eye balls...but we'll see. That's about it though..hopefully something exciting or new happens this week so I have something new to talk about in the next post!
We have more volunteers here but my station doesn't have any so the time is passing kind of slow again. We're all starting to get a little antsy to be going home. We haven't seen as many people come to Christ as in previous weeks and we're all starting to lose focus and wonder what we're doing wrong. It's hard and long, but we understand there's a purpose to us being here so it's not that bad.
On my off day last Friday we went to another city called Yokohama and walked around. It was sort of nice to get out of Tokyo and such but it was still a city with lots of buildings and people. I can't wait for the end of July when we go back to Mt Fuji to climb it. It will be nice to see nature again. On Friday we also went to TGIFridays to eat dinner. It was way too expensive but good because it was American sized portions which is rare here. Also they have free refills (if you're willing to pay the 499 yen-about $5) which is also a rare thing. I had a massive chicken burger which was incredible. I'm really going to enjoy American sized portions when I get back. :) Also, I'll enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. Here an apple is like $2 and they only have apples, oranges, bananas and sometims kiwi. I can't wait to eat watermelon, cantelope, honeydew, pinapple, and grapes!! haha, I'm basically talking about food in this post..sorry. :D
There isn't much on my schedule this week; just the usual. I'm meeting with the lady who bought me sushi again on Wednesday. This time I'm visiting her at work; she works at a hospital in a nearby sub-city called Shinokubo. She said she'll make food for me again, which I'm hoping is regular food and not something with eye balls...but we'll see. That's about it though..hopefully something exciting or new happens this week so I have something new to talk about in the next post!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Shushi and Bath Adventures
So Japan has these public baths called Sentos or Onsenes (I don't know how to spell those so hopefully it's correct). I'm not such an open person when it comes to bathing naked next to a bunch of Japanese ladies but I was dragged along by one of my friends and a missionary here, so I tried to keep an open mind. It actually wasn't that bad. Once you get passed the initial awkwardness it's rather relaxing. There are many different baths, most are like hot-tubs and there are sonas and relaxation mats and all of it is sooooo relaxing. We got stared at alot because we were the only white people there, but even that wasn't too awkward. The cool part though came when we were about to leave. We all were dressed in the locker room and waiting for the missionary to finish combing her hair when this older Japanese lady came up to me and asked where we were from. It's very out of the ordinary to have Japanese be that friendly, especially in a Sento! She asked why we were here for the summer and after learning we were Christian missionaries she immidiately said, "you must come to my house! And I will show you beautiful sights!" She was so excited to meet with us and even went to get here daughter and introduced us to her right there.
We were able to meet with her two days ago at her house. It was her, her husband, one of her daughters, and two foreign exchange students from Korea that live with them. She made us tempora which is basically any fried thing; which normally sounds like it would be delicious...until she brought out the small fried fish (with their heads and tails attached), raw octopus (with the suchen cups attached), LEAVES, and other unidentifiable objects. It's rude to not eat what Japanese offer you so we had to eat all of it. I got really good at swallowing things whole. And on top of that you have to over eggagerate all your facial expressions and so we had to swallow those things and then smile really big and nod a bunch of times and say over and over, "oh my goodness that is SO good!!!! it's so tasty!!! thank you So much!!!" The family was extremely nice and not like normal Japanese families though so I think it was worth it. They offered us into their homes, cooked for us, and talked with us. Later the lady drove us (it's the first time I've been in a car in over a month) to another much nicer Onsen that had spring water in it.
Yesterday I had my first experience with sushi. I met with a lady I met a few weeks ago doing 5 minute english. She also is extremely nice and took me out for sushi. She paid which is a HUGE deal for Japanese and ordered everything for me. The tuna, shrimp, lobster and salmon ones were good but then she started ordering things that were, once again, unidentifiable. All I know were I saw fish eyeballs, and Salmon eggs. And then a whole bunch of squishy tenticles and mushy blobs. Once again though, you can't be rude and not eat something and you must always be happy and smiling. I got really good at chewing everything once and then swallowing it whole and washing it all down with a bunch of tea. Which I've never liked tea until coming here. Tea helps wash alot of disguisting things down so I will forever be greatful of tea. :)
So those are my recent experiences I thought I'd share with you all. Things are going well so far. We have more teams coming soon and so I hope to have a group at my station since it's always better and more energetic with volunteers to help out. That's about it for now!
We were able to meet with her two days ago at her house. It was her, her husband, one of her daughters, and two foreign exchange students from Korea that live with them. She made us tempora which is basically any fried thing; which normally sounds like it would be delicious...until she brought out the small fried fish (with their heads and tails attached), raw octopus (with the suchen cups attached), LEAVES, and other unidentifiable objects. It's rude to not eat what Japanese offer you so we had to eat all of it. I got really good at swallowing things whole. And on top of that you have to over eggagerate all your facial expressions and so we had to swallow those things and then smile really big and nod a bunch of times and say over and over, "oh my goodness that is SO good!!!! it's so tasty!!! thank you So much!!!" The family was extremely nice and not like normal Japanese families though so I think it was worth it. They offered us into their homes, cooked for us, and talked with us. Later the lady drove us (it's the first time I've been in a car in over a month) to another much nicer Onsen that had spring water in it.
Yesterday I had my first experience with sushi. I met with a lady I met a few weeks ago doing 5 minute english. She also is extremely nice and took me out for sushi. She paid which is a HUGE deal for Japanese and ordered everything for me. The tuna, shrimp, lobster and salmon ones were good but then she started ordering things that were, once again, unidentifiable. All I know were I saw fish eyeballs, and Salmon eggs. And then a whole bunch of squishy tenticles and mushy blobs. Once again though, you can't be rude and not eat something and you must always be happy and smiling. I got really good at chewing everything once and then swallowing it whole and washing it all down with a bunch of tea. Which I've never liked tea until coming here. Tea helps wash alot of disguisting things down so I will forever be greatful of tea. :)
So those are my recent experiences I thought I'd share with you all. Things are going well so far. We have more teams coming soon and so I hope to have a group at my station since it's always better and more energetic with volunteers to help out. That's about it for now!
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