Hello, hello again!

I'm back --- finally!!!

I'm glad John posted some pictures in my absence or you might think I fell off the face of this earth!

My trip to the States went well, all things considering. I went to clean and clear out our house, going through, organizing, and getting rid of a large percentage of our things. The things we did keep -like some books, most of our clothes since they are expensive over here, bedding & towels, games, and a few small kitchen appliances - we will work at getting over here bit by bit. So if anyone comes for a visit and has extra room......! :)

Well, I found that it's no exaggeration about culture shock, even coming back to the States. I fear that many people got different answers depending on how I was struck at the time, but one overriding feeling was "it's huge!...and there's so much grass!" It was wonderful to see so many people again, yet it seems there were also many others I did not get to see. Time flew so fast - the three weeks were like 3 days. And every single one of them so packed and with little time to sleep.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I got home. Then, I had another couple weeks of busy life here to catch up before finally feeling able to "let down" and get some rest. That was last week, so now this week we are finally getting into a schedule which allows me some free time beyond the necessaries at the computer so I can blog.

And that roughly catches you up-to-date in the life of the Kinsinger's! Yesterday was our first full day of school - we were doing half-days for the first 6 weeks during all the hub-bub. With Japanese on one schedule and Americans on another, we decided we'd stick to the American schedule unless/until we can work ahead to the Japanese schedule.

We are currently working on advertisements and flyers for starting the English classes. We will begin in October, Lord willing. Also in October, I plan to start an intense Japanese language course from 9am-1pm every day at a nearby university. So we are working now on how best to juggle our schedules and keep our heads out of the water!

An apology to all you out there who have had greatly delayed emails and communication from me. Up until recently, I've only been addressing what I must, and the "extra's" have been piling up. I've started trying to respond to a few emails each night, so please understand if you've not heard from me. That's a big reason why I sent out the recent Kinsinger Update -- in an attempt to reach everyone and try to answer a lot of questions in one email. We love to hear from you, though, and read all your emails, so please don't stop writing!