Spring break pictures

The legendary Merlion

The southern most point of Continental Asia

The view from my room

Patronas Towers lighting back up after Earth Hour

Spring Break Malaysia and Singapore:

At MeySen, most of the teachers in the immersion program love to travel anywhere they can when they get  more than a couple days off. At the end of our school year (March) we got a week off to do whatever we wanted. Aaron (4th grade teacher from Michigan) and I decided to go to Spain since summer but unfortunately that didnt work out. So we had this week and had to figure out where to go. We basically threw a dart at a board on Asia. Honestly, Malaysia came up because I had a layover there last summer and wanted to check it out more. We looked more into it and decided to spend the week there and found cheap flights and figured why not Singapore too?

So we basically packed two vacations into about 7 days. By the numbers: we took 8 different planes to 7 different airports and flew 5 out the the 7 days. Heres how it all went down...

The backside of our hotel.

We flew out to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after a delay we got there about 3AM Monday morning with just enough time to go to sleep and head to the airport again at noon. From there we flew out to a small island called Langkawi. We got to our hotel which was right on the beach around 3 o'clock and basically wandered the beach all day. The hotel looked nice from the outside but it was pretty average on the inside we had to get a million things fixed as soon as we got to our room. At like 5, it started to pour so we headed in. Then went back out at night to this place called Babylon which plays reggae music. It was pretty chill lots of foreigners. It was pretty much the only place to go if you are under 50 and not a local. 

Right as the storm was setting in

The bridge between the mountains

Langkawi was beautiful but pretty quiet compared to other beach destinations. There were quite a few resorts and pretty much everyone spoke English which was a real plus. Also the shops didnt have that annoying "hey sexy man you want to come buy shirt for good price?" that you get in Thailand and most other destinations in Asia. The only real touristy thing we did there was go on this cable car up a mountain. It was pretty cool and had some great views. At the top of the mountain we got to cross this walking bridge that was apparently one of the highest floating pedestrian bridges. We got to the middle of it and it started pouring, which is pretty freaky. We ended up taking the cable car back down the mountain in a fog so we couldn't see much.

The next day we flew out to Kuala Lumpur then flew to Singapore. Honestly, we never planned on going to Singapore we just realized it was like $50 to fly there from Malaysia so we figured what the heck? The airport there is huge. Singapore is basically a city that is a country. They only have 1 airport and lots of ports for boats. Its super easy to get around there. We could take the MRT train pretty much anywhere for real cheap. There actually arent many cars there either. A guy told us that you have to pay several thousand dollars to get on a waiting list just to own a car there.

When we got to our hostel in ChinaTown, the area reminded me of a clean Bangkok. Everything just looks newer. The hostel was nothing to write home about but served its purpose. We set up shop then just wandered the streets. In Singapore, the national language is English but its the strangest sounding English I've ever heard. When people are talking to each other it sounds like they are talking Chinese but if you eavesdrop you can actually pick up the English.

Singapore is also super expensive. They use the Singapore dollar which is comparable to ours. We went to Sentosa which is a huge resort area and really easy to navigate. There there are all kinds of theme attractions, museums, Hard Rock Cafe, and Universal Studios. If I had more time I'd love to visit some of those.

The southernmost point in Asia. Pretty beautiful

We got this half day pass to check out 4 different attractions around the area. We chose to ride a segway, ride a cable car through town, and two different 3D movie/games. They were all pretty cool. The stuff I really wanted to do though was crazy expensive. They had this indoor sky diving room that was $200, swimming with sharks or dolphins for $100, one of those surfing machine things for $40. There was also a zipline that wasnt open. Singapore also has the southern most point on continental Asia which we checked out.

The next day, we flew back to Kuala Lumpur. It was at this point, I think all the traveling started to catch up with us. We didnt really ever get time to settle into a location. Kuala Lumpur is much like any other big city you might see. The big plus we had was that we got a super cheap deal to stay at the Traders Shangri La. The place was one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in. It was one of those places you could just spend most of your day hanging around the hotel. It was also right across the park from the Petronas Towers. If you google Kuala Lumpur, you'll probably see that picture right away. Sadly, you have to get up at 5AM to line up just to go up the tower. That wasn't gonna happen. We did make it to the mall inside it which was pretty nice. We actually spent most of our KL time just between malls. I think if it didnt hit the tail end of our trip we would have branched out and saw some of the other cool things.

The crappy thing was that we had to check out at 12PM but had to fly out at 2AM. We spent Saturday at this huge mall that smelled like someone who doesn't remember to wipe after using the bathroom. There was a cool amusement park at the top of it though. We also got to see the Hunger Games which was cool.  We then left for the Airport and I realized our flight was out at 2AM and not 11 so we turned around and decided to walk for 2 hours to find TGIFriday's that was like a block away. It was great adventure though haha.

I was dead tired when we got to the airport. As we said goodbye to the cab driver, I realized I left my phone in the car. As I started to freak out, I used Aarons phone to call the hotel. They tracked down the cab and he brought it back. Nothing like a nearly horrible situation to wake ya up. I can't say enough about the care that the Shangri La takes to help you. They were great. I see why people pay big money to stay there.

We got to the line and of course because I'm traveling, we find out we have a 2 hour delay back to China(our connection). So we don't fly out till 4AM. This also means that we miss our connecting flight in China. Welcome to my life. I literally have never flown to Japan without a single flight issue. The ironic thing was that the only flight that was on time the whole trip was the one going to Japan that I missed!

We got to China, which is one place you don't want to be without having a clue about your flight. The airlines attempted to take care of us. Sadly, we had to go through customs and at every stop a new person wondering what the heck we were doing in the airport without a visa or a flight. Luckily after the few headaches, we got a flight an hour later. All in all we spent 21 hours traveling to get back home in Sendai. I was exhausted.

THE FOOD


All anybody every told me about either country was you gotta eat the food. Honestly everything I tasted was delicious. Most things had a lot of Spice. Both Malaysia and Singapore seemed like a mix of Indian food and Chinese. The funny thing is that we actually ate more normal American staples than local food. Thats the big difference between traveling from Japan and traveling from America. Since we dont have a lot of the normal American places in Japan we were more excited to find those than the other places. We ate at Burger King, Wendy's, TGIFridays, Hard Rock, and missed out on Quiznos.  All places I haven't seen in months.

The strangest part of any vacation is going back to Japan like its my home. I never get used to that. I kept feeling like I'd be flying back to Michigan...home.

Anyway, I'm already looking into my next trip for August. Europe anyone?

Celebration of Hope

As I talked about in my previous post, Samaritan's Purse has been helping the areas that have been ravaged by the tsunami for the past year. Over this past weekend, they help sponsor a 3 day concert series called "Celebration of Hope" to commemorate what has taken place since the devastation and the hope that Japan continues to feel each day for wounds to heal and people to reach salvation. 

 

Less than 1% of Japan claim Christian beliefs. That's several millions of people that miss that hope for whats to come. I've seen some of these people first hand the weekend after the earthquake. We were driving around and saw hundreds of people lining up at schools to get fresh water or stores to take what was available. The looks of pure hopelessness still are etched in my mind. Clearly, it was a devastating time but to have no real hope for tomorrow besides to exist breaks my heart for them. 

Over the past year, through volunteer efforts, people from Samaritan's Purse and like organizations have been slowly restoring hope. Many families couldn't believe the selfless acts that these people committed to over this past year to restore Japan. Last weekend was an opportunity for many to find their place among those who helped them. 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Rifu, (just outside of Sendai) thousands of Japanese people came to what was the biggest Christian Concert the region has seen. 

To be completely, honest I'm not that Christian music literate. I know the chorus to a few popular songs but that's about it. I was thoroughly impressed with the talent. It was a pretty eclectic group of musicians that played for the 3 hour concert. It started with some tradition Japanese music and went into to some tribal drums and on into some mainstream Christian singers. One of my favorites of the night was Kirk Franklin. He gave so much energy to the crowd during his set. Even the older ladies next to me were jumping around to his "Revolution" song. But the most amazing performance of the night for me went to Tsutomu Aragaki. I'm sure most of you have never heard of him being that he is Japanese.  I hate comparing him to Susan Boyle but hes got this very unassuming look to him and hes blind not that it has anything to do with his voice. When the guy sings, you stop whatever you are doing and listen thats for sure. Heres a sample.

Also throughout the night, there were "hope stories" of Japanese people that had issues and came to find hope in everything. One that sticks out to me was the  guy who was an alcoholic and was nearly swept away in the tsunami with others. He was saved and went to volunteer with his son. Through volunteering he got to know Jesus and quit drinking and found hope. You could really see that light that turned on in his eyes. 

At the end of the night Franklin Graham came out to speak to everyone. Sadly, a few people got up and walked out throughout his speech. Though his message was uplifting; his tone and pointing to the camera may have turned off the few sensitive Japanese viewers even though it was translated. However, at the end he invited people up to accept salvation and hundreds of people came up to be saved. It was amazing to see all these people that never had any interest who decided to take that walk. They were old, young, men, women, it didn't matter. It was a beautiful feeling to see that light of hope in their eyes. 

...The other day I was just talking with a friend about how remarkable it is that when you are in a place that is not so religion and church saturated that its easier to hear Him talking more vividly. You'd think it'd be the opposite.

Rebuilding in Japan a Year Later

Its hard to believe its nearly been a year just the catastrophic earthquake that shook Japan. It's devastation  left so many people with so little. There was a great need for hope for these people. By the grace of God, a group called Samaritan's Purse answered this call. For the past year, they have been tirelessly rebuilding not only people's homes but their sense of hope across the coast areas of Japan. I've had the pleasure of meeting a few of them throughout the year as they've partnered with GrapeSeed. They truly are amazing people that seem to have a compassion for others that's only outweighed by their passion for God and to spread His message of hope.

Since coming back to Japan, I've been hoping for a chance to be able to help the Tsunami victims in any way that I can. I've had a few opportunities but something comes up. Its can be difficult to volunteer while working 6 days a week.  But to be completely honest, I was waiting for an opportunity to fall in my lap rather than constantly seeking it out. A year later that opportunity came today. I got the chance to help essentially gut a house that was hit by the tsunami.

So this morning, I was up and at'em at 7AM (thats early for me) to head to Shiogama. As we drove there, I couldn't help notice all the children that were leaving for school. So many of these children a year ago, felt the brunt of mother nature yet here they are resilient. Looking at their faces really shows why groups like Samaritan's Purse exists.

The home we are rebuilding

The empty lot next door.

Driving down there, one could already see the drastic changes they town has made from a year ago. Shops are rebuilt roads are repaved. Yet there are areas of damage around every corner. Finally, we got to the home we were going to help rebuild. The home was about a mile from the ocean and had significant water damage. Many of the homes nearby were either completely gutted or non existent. It was crazy to see the difference from the home we worked on to the empty lot right next door where a home once stood. Looking at the damages its truly amazing to see some of the homes still standing.

You can see the lines where the water was up to the ceiling. 

Going into the house, you could see the water damage all the way up to the ceiling of the first floor. the entire floor outside of the kitchen and bathrooms was completely gone minus the beams. Our job for the day was tear out the drywall. Basically, I got to swing a hammer at walls for several hours. What a great way to relieve that end of school year tension! By the end of the day, I was covered in dry wall cement with every pocket holding rocks...And I was EXHAUSTED.

 It really makes me admire those that have been and continue to do this nearly everyday. Not only do these people do this everyday, they do it with a great passion. Constantly, doing the tedious work with a smile on their face the whole time. These people essentially dropped what they were doing a year ago and answered a call to help after the Tsunami. I don't know how many of us could say that given that call, we would pick up the phone.  Samartan's Purse is a truly inspiring group.

I got a glimpse of why many do it in the end. The homeowner came to thank us just as we finished. This lady who may have never had any interest in the Bible a year ago was standing there praying with everyone. Now I don't know whether she reads the Bible everyday or if she's even completely sure what to believe. But I do know looking into her eyes she has something unmistakable...Hope.

Owarimashita and covered in dust.

The house when we were finished.