Strawberry Fields Forever

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to go strawberry picking with one of Nathan's former Vice-Principals.   Fruit is particularly expensive in Japan, so I was excited to pick my weight in strawberries.

However, when we arrived, we were given a cleaned-out milk carton and told we could eat as many strawberries from the field as we wanted.  That's right - eat.  I've since been told that this is something quite common here in Japan - you pay a certain price, then they let you loose in the fields to eat as much of the fruit as you can handle.  It was like a strawberry buffet.  Each line was a different kind of strawberry, and each one really had it own distinct taste.  It was fun looking for that perfect, ripe, red strawberry.

But after about 30 minutes, our bellies were stuffed and we couldn't eat any more.  We drove back to the city, with happy tummies and red-stained fingers.

It was a good Saturday :)

It's Summer, Y'all.

Tea for Two

After I left Hokuyo Junior High School two years ago (has it really been that long?), I started meeting one of the teachers with whom I was really close.  She was the teacher in charge of me, and I worked with her the most out of all the teachers.  She's probably about my mom's age, but we really hit it off right from the start, and we've been meeting almost monthly ever since.

We drink tea and I tell her about what's going on at Keihoku and what Ethan and Nathan are up to.  She would tell me the latest Hokuyo gossip and how my favorite teachers and students were doing.  The last time we'd met had been in March, when there was still snow on the ground and a chill in the air, and it felt strange to have not seen her in such a long time.

So we finally got together last Saturday at the Grand Hotel for some afternoon tea.  Meeting and talking with her is like talking with family.  It's funny how people you've only known for two (almost three) years can become that way.  My little extended family in Japan.

This blogging business

Man, am I a terrible blogger.  What am I saying, I'm not really a blogger.  If anything, I do this for my friends and family back home.  As exotic as it might be that we're Americans living in Japan, my life has not really been all that exciting - or at least interesting enough to write about.  But I love my life here, and what I do.  Here's some of the highlights from the past week.

• Regular classes at Keihoku were cancelled on Friday so that the entire student body could go see the baseball team play.  We unfortunately didn't win, but it was fun to cheer along with the kids on a beautiful afternoon.
• After a wonderfully crazy Friday night with friends, I welcomed a slow and lazy weekend.  I caught up on reading magazines, while Ethan played guitar.
• Speaking of Ethan, in an attempt to get him out of the house during his summer vacation, I got him in Japanese calligraphy class with our Japanese language teacher.  She was sweet enough to buy him a calligraphy kit, and this was his first assignment.  It says, "climb the clouds, walk on the moon."  

I promise (for anyone interested) that I'll be better about updating this thing.  I have a few more entry ideas in the works, so stayed tuned!!

No Music, No Life

Life opportunities are sometimes like a line of dominoes, all falling, one after another.  If I hadn't gone to that picnic almost two years ago, I would have never met Takuya, and then we would have never started singing together.  Playing for our friends and open mics became a monthly stint at Mellow.  And now, another door for us has opened.

My Japanese teacher introduced me and Takuya to Kousei, a man she knew who played gigs at a local English schools monthly international party.  She thought we could collaborate on a few things with him and play at this month's party.  We met up with him two Saturdays ago to talk about what we'd sing together and practice.  I was hesitant at first.  Sarah and Takuya was obviously a two-person thing.  I wasn't sure I wanted to sing with anybody else, or add anyone to what we already had.  But when we started practicing with him (he plays guitar and piano), I knew that he was someone like us - a person who played music because they loved it.

The party was this past Saturday, and we practiced on Friday until 1am.  It cool having another sound in our music.  And doing three part harmony is nice too.

The performance went really well.  What's even better is that we really mesh well as a trio. Man, we almost have a band!!

We've been asked to perform monthly at this party as well, and even if Takuya can't make every performance or practice because of his study schedule, I hope that I can still continue to sing with Kousei from time to time.

Does this mean the end of Sarah and Takuya?  Of course not.  It's just a side project - another opportunity opening up to us.  And I'm excited to see where it will lead!

Keeping it Mellow

Last Wednesday was our monthly Live at Mellow.  After we sang, our friend Mark had a special performance, which the audience loved.  It was a really great night!

We have some of the greatest friends who always support us, and there's always a new face or two that we see as well.  Thanks everyone, for coming out.  I'm glad you like what we do.

Getting Out

While Nathan was doing this,

We were doing this:

Ethan and I rode our bikes to Toyohira River and grabbed a few nikuman on our way so we could have a picnic.  We lounged about, Ethan reading The Hobbit while I read a magazine.  A great way to spend the afternoon.

Nathan's day is probably not so relaxing (he's running the Chitose marathon right now), but I know he's loving it!