A Change of Pace: My Pursuit of God

I'd like to apologize in advance to anybody that enjoys my random travel posts because this probably will blindside you.

I sat down to write a blog about my trip to Thailand but something happened. I started getting into the book I've been reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. It got me to thinking about what exactly I want out of life. Most importantly, what am I Called to do. As much as it scares me to share my beliefs about God and what at one time I felt was just a personal belief. I have come to the realization that its ridiculousness to bottle up everything I feel about God, when in fact I have this strong burning explosion in my heart that wants to pour out of me. I have a strong feeling that I am being called to bring people to understand God's love. I have no clue how why or what I need to do but its a feeling I can't shake. Its my hope that in sharing this with anyone and everyone that cares to hear that I won't  be afraid to follow HIM. So even though this makes me scared like a lost kitten at a dog pound (I don't know where that analogy came from but just go with it), I feel I need to share my walk with God and how I got to this point.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives
Growing up I found myself always believing in God but not seeking him unless, I really needed or wanted something. I prayed for things I wanted but not necessarily needed. Going to church for me was a duty. I knew that every Sunday I needed to go to church because God expects us to be there. I figured if I go to church and zone out, at least I'm there right? Its better than Joe Shmoe sitting on his couch eating potato chips watching Bozo's Grand Prize game. But as I've found, if you're not seeking its very easy to get yourself pulled away. Maybe this Sunday, I'll sleep in or the next Sunday I'll play video games instead (God understands I gotta beat that level on Grand Theft Auto Right?). All of a sudden, you fall into the problem of being a ChrEaster or maybe just weddings/funerals. 

Between high school and College, I found myself not necessarily turning away from God. I always had a belief there but not really seeking. I was in the mode of God is there but I gotta live my life, I gotta find my own happiness.  At this time, God was this big powerful boss that always told me what not to do. I think everybody has had that feeling where you are constantly walking on eggshells around someone. Its bound to crack. Then its mistake after mistake after mistake. At this point, I didn't quite understand how wrong this notion really was. 

My thought for college was that I'd fall in love get married and have my 2.5 children (ya .5) a dog and a cat and life would be great. But toward the end of my time there, I began to realize it wasn't going to be that easy for me. I felt a strong need for change and to see the world. I couldn't just settle down. Heck I can barely sit down long enough right now to type this. 

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise...instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

After graduating, I had a degree in Education but felt completely lost as to what I truly wanted to do. Then God sent me exactly what I needed. I was subbing long-term at Muskegon Public Schools and a teacher fair was coming up at my college, Central Michigan University. The problem was, I needed to reach 60 consecutive days in order to raise my pay from $65 a day to $100. This is huge when you live on sub pay. It just so happened that I reached 60 days two days before the teacher fair. Not only the raise but I got a professional development day that I could use to go to the fair. So I was paid to be there! (God's great!) I saw all these crazy lines for different schools and met with lots of people that seemed interested but I just didn't feel the same way about them. I just happened to strike up a conversation with a lady (Melissa) who was just smiling all by herself at a booth. She worked for MeySen academy. As she told me about it I thought oh cool, this sounds like fun. But when I got home, it found its way into a pile on my floor never to be seen again....until June as I was applying for anything and everything that sounded interesting. Some of you may know, I even started to apply for "Survivor."  I found the MeySen pamphlet and thought: why not apply? 

Two days after applying, I got an interview and it just felt right. Everything fit in for me to get this job. I actually stopped applying anywhere else even though, I knew I'd have to wait until February to get the job. 

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. .

When I came to Japan, I thought of it as my chance for adventure and to see the world. I knew MeySen was a "Christian" Academy but never really thought of it as I applied. I sure never thought of myself ever being confident talking about God let alone sharing about the Bible. Then things started to change...

6 weeks after we got to Japan, the biggest earthquake/ nuclear meltdown happened. I found myself an hour away from nuclear catastrophe and 15 minutes from torturous Tsunami destruction. By the grace of God, we were all protected. Through this experience, I began to see a difference in Christian life and the life of nonbelievers. I can vividly picture, the look of complete hopelessness on people's faces like there was no light on in their eyes as they waited in endless lines for food and water. But at my school, we had no power, water but were still singing worship songs and bringing each other's spirits up. We even held a worship service and as soon as we stopped power came back on. God just wanted to tell us we sang well (haha).

Shortly after we reached Misawa and the feeling that I may never come back to what was deemed a disaster area. I flew home and felt helpless and lost but also knew that I had to try to come back. I actually left all my luggage in my apartment just so I would come back. In coming back, things went back to normal. I still wasn't at a place where I'd say that fire for God was burning in me but I could feel he was here in Japan and I wanted to get to know him. 

More unexpected moments started to happen, a frantic/lonely man came up to myself and a few other teachers on our way to a meeting and told us his life story. He said he wasn't doing well and asked for us to pray for him. It was one of the most random but real experiences with God I have felt. Also, around this time, I began to make a better effort to being a church goer in Japan. Its not easy, there arent many and when you grow up with a certain view of how church should be its hard to change your perspective. On top of that, when you work 6 days a week and you feel like church is a duty it becomes less inviting to be a part of. 

Then, I was put in touch with a Japanese conversation partner who genuinely wanted to understand Christianity. I felt I was at no place to explain it to him but for some reason as I started it just felt right to explain things. He even started attending church regularly. As my friend asked my for my views, it forced me to really start to try to actually understand what my views were. 

A few months later, I started to really feel a strong need to be involved in my pursuit of God. It just started happening from little things like listening to Christian music regularly to reading Christian books to watching sermons on Youtube. (This is a change from reading "I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell," listening to Jay-Z (still listen btw) and watching Tosh.0.) Then after  last summer vacation, an explosion started to well up inside of me. I felt God just taking me. My thoughts on certain things and how I viewed things from relationships with others and with God completely started to clear out. I joined a Bible study and read probably the most influential book on my understanding of the Bible and God, "Desiring God" by John Piper. Things just started to make sense. 

I've come to a point where I realize God is not this big scary beast that is out to smite you but He's out there looking for you to LOVE him and to PURSUE him. I realized that if I can put my joy in God and making him happy that it in turn reciprocates to me. From this any relationship you want should be met in the same way. I'm not going to do something nice because I feel obligated to do it. I've found doing something nice to make someone happy in turn brings me the same joy. 

Now of course, its not all rainbows, sunshine and koombaya's here. Truly trusting in God takes a lot of effort and pain. Sometimes it can be completely heart wrenching, sometimes you can feel completely lost in what you are supposed to do. Its easy to give up on things but truly believing and truly seeking God in everything though at times difficult is truly beautiful in its fruition. 

I'm not even going to begin to say I'm close to where I need to be with God. And I definitely don't want any inclination that I am being a holy than though type person here.  Trust me, I have A LOT of growing and understanding to do in everything. I know this pursuit is not an easy course. But in simple moments when I have completely felt God's presence, its this beautiful feeling that is like nothing you can create without HIM.

 I know that I will never force someone to understand what they will not allow themselves to understand. Honestly, many people may have finished reading my blog after the first sentences about God. However, I hope that my ability to make myself vulnerable for God will help me to follow Him even more closely than ever before. I have no clue what/where/why or when my next step in my pursuit of him is but I pray that I will follow Him wherever and however he needs me. 

2 Peter 1:10-11 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Overdue Post: Badabapaba I'm Lovin' It

I know its been a while since I've posted but I need to talk about something I wanted to write about for a while so hopefully its been worth the weight (intended). The subject is something that is near and dear to my American heart. A wordly icon that is more recognizable than Barack Obama...MC DONALDS!

For those of you that haven't stopped reading after that last sentence, this isn't your normal everyday Mc Donald's. I'm talking about Makudonorudo's, the Japanese Mc Donalds. If you're an American in Japan, you've undoubtedly craved a burger at some point. There's Lotteria, MosBurger (the name is appetizing right?), Freshness burger (its ok but super greasy), and probably others. All are overpriced and all tasted like cardboard and have horrible child size portions.. But alas, there is Mc Donald's. If its a burger you're craving, don't settle for those other places.

Honestly, Mc Donald's tastes much better here than anywhere else in the world. And believe me, I've tried it in France, England, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and probably other places. (Side note: England is probably the worst place). The burgers have more flavor and the fries taste less like a tub of salted grease. Its also the cheapest place, you'll find a burger in Japan. Most things on the menu are comparable to prices in America.

Mega Mac

The other great thing is their seasonal menu. Its literally a burger genius explosion. Of course, they do have the Shrimp Gratin burger for the Japanese food fans. BUUT they also have a Mega Mac (double Big Mac) a few times a year. That's 4 patties of Cow (not to be misread as cow patties which is what London Mc Donald's tastes like).

I've also been a huge Mc Donald's breakfast fan. If they served it all day I'd be a whale and looking toward my second triple bipass surgery. In Japan its no exception. On top of the normal stuff. They also have a Mega Muffin thats got TWO slices of sausage, BACON, and an egg with cheese.

Idaho Burger

But literally, the best time of year in MACU world is Big America (they think we're fat, surprise) Time. For a few months, they roll out with random sandwiches that are supposed to embody the Japanese perception of each location. I've had too much of a food coma over the last few years to remember all of them but its back right now. Recently, there was the Texas burger with bbq sauce and onion rings.

 The best burger in the biz right now is the Idaho Burger. This is perfection in the culinary standard that is Mc Donalds. You got your bun, beef, cheese as usual but then they add a hashbrown, bacon and two random sauces I have no clue whats in. The result is a flavor explosion of perfection in your mouth.

Just remember, if you're looking for a good burger in Japan for cheap don't forget about the golden arches.

Christmas Vacation: A Japanese Tourist in America

After being away from the United States for a year, I finally made the journey home. Honestly, going into it I was a little hesitant about going home. I missed my friends and family but I just kind of felt I'd be out of place after being away for a while. Its also easier to block out homesickness the longer you are away. I didn't really want to go home because I felt I might miss it more. As I closed in on the trip home, I kind of felt like it was time to go there.

so close!

The journey was a relative breeze. Kind of a been there done that feeling. I woke up at 7AM to take a 5 hour bus ride to Tokyo. From there, I went to the train station and took the narita express for 90 minutes to Narita Airport. I got there with 2 hours to spare. Just enough time for the 12 hour flight to Chicago. In Chicago I had 3 hour layover (that turned into 5). Then I flew the 1 hour it took to get to Grand Rapids. Then I rode in our van for an hour to get home. Piece of Cake right?

The only real hitch to everything was when we got on the runway in Chicago and the captain says, " I had to make a tough call to choose either people getting to Grand Rapids or some of your bags. I chose the people." Long story short, I was missing a bag with all of my clothes that didn't come until midnight Christmas morning. Luckily, that meant that I got to open an early Christmas present so I didn't wear the same clothes I wore home. (Travel Tip: Always pack at least 1 change of clothes in your carry on. Its saved me at least 3 times off the top of my head).

monster medium on the right

For the first few days, I felt like a tourist. All the Americans were loud, the roads were big, the portion sizes for the food was ridiculous.  I got a medium drink at Wendy's and I'm pretty sure I could have jumped in the cup and took a bath.

family visiting 

Most of my vacation was visiting friends that I haven't seen for the past year. Its great when you see people and can just pick up like we saw each other yesterday. It was always tough saying goodbye though knowing that I wouldn't see them again for a while. But I know when I do, we will pick right back up.

Chicago

The only other thing I did besides visit people and buy clothes that actually fit me, was a random out of the blue trip to Chicago. It kind of went like this between a friend and I: "Hey I wanna go on a random adventure, lets go to Chicago" "Ok". We had no map or plans just kinda went on whim which was pretty cool.  Life is more fun when you stay in motion.

All in all, it was good to be home. It was amazing how quickly, it kind of felt like I never left. I was really excited to see so much family and friends over the two weeks. By the end of the trip, it was hard to leave knowing I wouldn't see everybody for a while. However, the greatest thing about the vacation is that it reminded me how lucky I am to be where I am and doing what I'm doing. Its easy to get caught up in this job and forget how truly unique and awesome this experience is. God has truly blessed me with this opportunity that felt like it just fell into place for me. I'm very thankful for being in this moment in my life and knowing that more is to come. I glad I was able to visit home but I know that I have another home right now and its right here where I type this post. It feels pretty great!

• Random things I'm doing in the next few weeks:  Watching a sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo this weekend for the first time, doing English voice over work for peoples testimony about the major earthquake, going sledding down a mountain with my students, saying goodbye to my old students and hello to new students,..  (hopefully)taking a vacation somewhere warm with a beach!! 

Things I've done since the last time I was home

Most of the time, I take for granted the lifestyle that the job here allows me to live. As I look back on the fact that its been a full year since I've been to America. I thought it would be interesting to see the places and events that God has allowed me to see.

• I went skiing with high schoolers at Mt. Zao

March

• I completed my first full year as a teacher at MeySen even though I wasn't sure about coming back after the earthquake.
• Visited Malaysia and Singapore, where I walked across the Langkawai Sky Bridge, went up the Petronas Towers, and visited the southernmost point in  continental Asia.

May

• Climbed Tokyo Tower, then visited South Korea (for a 4 day weekend).
• After always saying we would go to the Philippines together, I went to one of my best childhood friend's wedding in the Philippines.

June/July

• Went camping near Fukushima (yes that Fukushima) where I went canoeing and park golfing. 
• Surfed for the first time and fell in love. I can't wait to try it again next year!
• My brother and his wife moved here to teach at MeySen!
• 
  

August

• Went to Europe for the first time. I got to be a part of the Olympic atmosphere.  I watched the Summer Olympics live during the marathon and race/walk. I visited Dublin, Ireland and got to drink Guinness straight from the factory. I saw Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower. I stayed with a great family out in the French countryside and felt like I was home. 

September/October

• Went back to Misawa, where we stayed right after the Earthquake, to watch an Airshow. 
• climbed Yamadera, the mountain temple
• Experienced Disney magic in Japan at Tokyo Disney
• Ran a 5k in Matsushima

November/December

• Dressed up like Santa and passed out candy canes to random people at the Ichibancho (shopping district). 

I know I'm forgetting a lot of awesome things that have happened. I get lost in it all and don't take enough time to think about  all the really cool things that God has allowed me to experience through this job and life here in Japan. 

So in less than a week, I will come back to America, older, skinnier, balder, grayer, wiser(?). Its been interesting to look back at where life has taken me since my last visit home.

3rd Time's the Charm: Outsourced Again!

Though I have yet to officially sign the contract, I have made the decision to stay here a 3rd year. Even in college, I would have never expected that I'd ever move to Japan let alone be contemplating a 3rd year here. To be perfectly honest, deciding to stay for a second year was a lot easier than deciding to stay for a 3rd year. I can see myself falling into being here for 30 years doing the same thing mindlessly, which scares me. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of change within me over the almost 2 years I have been here.

The experience here in Japan has forced me to learn a lot about myself. What I like and don't like. Sometimes its good sometimes its bad. Its kind of like trying sushi for the first time. You eat a couple and its like an eye opening explosion of wonderfulness. Then you try that Sea Urchin that just sits in your stomach for a while and you just want it to pass through.

Ultimately, I feel like I've grown a lot in the time I've been here. I don't think I am the same person that I was when I came here. My passions and outlook on many things have changed. Most importantly, my relationship with God has grown. I've basically went from "christian" to Christian. Someday I'd like to be CHRISTIAN but that's still a work in progress. I feel fully confident that God put me in Japan for a reason. It wasn't just to try the sushi either.

There were so many coincidences that led to me even getting this job. Its amazing how little I actually knew about MeySen before going all-in for the job. Then within weeks of being here one of the biggest earthquakes hit right by me and a nuclear meltdown happened two hours away. Many will take that as a sign that its time to get out. When I went back to America, I don't know of a single person there that thought it was a good idea to go back. People were even trying to line up jobs for me. But God had other plans for me, I felt compelled to go back.

Coming back, I was just looking to finish my job and move on. Things went back to normal a lot quicker than expected. Last summer was one of those moments where I had to reflect on it. I was sitting on the ocean at 5AM watching the sunrise. It all kind of hit me, I was sitting in the water that caused so much damage and destruction yet here it was so peaceful. It also made me reflect on my decisions. What if I never came back?  Would I have learned how to surf? Would I understand the beauty of seeing the sunrise on the Pacific Ocean or the countless memorable experiences? Many people will think to themselves, well if you never knew you wouldn't care that you missed it.

In choosing to stay here another year, I've realized that's just not how I want to live my life. For me, life is meant to be a verb not a noun. Its something you gotta do. I still have that hunger to explore the world and see all God has to offer. When it comes down to it, I want to say I lived instead of I was alive. Honestly, I don't know when or if I will want to just "settle down". When the time comes, hopefully it will feel right. Its just not in God's plans today. I barely know what I'm doing for next week so I don't have any plans for the next step in my life. BUT I'm very excited in the unknown.

So Kompai (cheers!) to the interactions and adventures of the next year! The hardest part about making this choice is that I miss all of my family and friends back home. It never gets easier but we all have our own lives to live. Just know I still care about all of you and can't wait to see as many people as I can December 23-January 7th!

5K and Tokyo Disney

First of all, for my avid readers (Read: mom and dad) I apologize for not really blogging much lately. I think of random things I want to talk about but then get too lazy. Well last weekend we had two extra days off but it was super busy.

Sunday, I woke up at 6 AM to head down to Matsushima to run a 5K. To be honest, I trained about as much as the guy sitting on his couch with a box of donuts reading this right now.  I was a little nervous that I'd just fall down and get trampled by thousands of athletic Japanese grandmas. There were about 10 or so other teachers that came out to race as well so I had a good support group if those grandmas got the best of me.




When we got there, there were thousands of runners all over the place. Of those thousands, probably 50 were American. You'd think we'd clearly stick out until you saw how people were dressed. There were costumes ranging from Mario and Luigi to an Eggplant.

We finally got to our turn at the race with several hundred people on the starting line. As you start running, it becomes more of please don't trip me than how fast can I go. I ended up turning it into more of a game of Frogger, hopping in and out around people.

I finished in just over 27 minutes which I felt pretty good about. I was just hoping to be under 30 minutes. Once the race was over,  my legs felt like I was doing the "stanky leg" everywhere I walked (youtube it if you're brave). In the end, I was happy I raced and would do another in a heart beat.

DISNEY:

MeySen, where I work, has been doing lots of cool things for us foreign staff lately. Most recently, it was setting up a trip for us to go to Disney. So about 20 teachers and I headed to Tokyo on Monday afternoon. We then had the next day to spend at Disney.

Disney has always had this special grip on me since I was younger, just like most people. I never actually made it to Disney World in Florida until after I graduated college. Its still got that atmosphere that just makes you happy to spend $20 for a bucket of popcorn.

In Japan, Disney is broken down into Disney Land and Disney Sea. From what I hear, Disney Land is much like all the other Disney Lands but Disney Sea has better rides.  All my students were telling me Disney Sea is much better than Disney Land so I chose it. At first, it looked like everyone else was choosing Disney Land. I was kind of nervous I would be wandering the park by myself. Luckily, a few great friends decided to join me at Disney Sea.

We got there 20 Minutes before the park opened and there were thousands of people waiting outside already. It was pretty crazy for a random Tuesday. Once we got in, everyone is racing all over the place to try to get fast pass tickets to rides. We were planning on booking it to the new Toy Story ride, unfortunately so was everyone else. Within 5 minutes of the park opening, there was a 2 hour wait there. Instead, we decided to wait for the Indiana Jones ride.

The interesting thing about the park is though it feels like Disney, most of the rides are in Japanese. I can now say I've heard Indiana Jones speaking Japanese. However, the actual Disney Character actors are usually American who only speak in English. They also love when Americans come. You get the celebrity treatment because you can actually hold a conversation with them.

The sad part of the day was that it had to end at 4:30 because we needed to get back to Sendai that night. I only got to ride a few rides but would definitely go back!

Next Adventure...AMERICA FOR CHRISTMAS??!!

Summer Vacation: Paris

After 4 days in both London and Dublin, we hopped over to France for the last part of the vacation. Ever since Mrs. Schramski's French 1 and  2 class in high school, I've had this urge to go to France.  The funny thing is college hit and I decided to stop taking French, take Spanish until I realized it would take forever. Then I moved to Japan and am now learning Japanese. Moral of the story, I don't really remember French.

My first reaction getting out of the Airport was that, compared to Japan, Korea, Singapore, and now London the rails are more complicated and the trains are much older and dirtier looking.  Still with the rail pass, its the cheapest way to get around town. When we first got on the train, we were bombarded by a panhandling, accordion player. He gets off and all of a sudden a lady pops on exploiting her baby singing some French song. Honestly, she didn't even sound good but then went around trying to get a tip.  I'm starting to think what did I get myself into.

After leaving Dublin at 7 in the morning we get to our hostel at around noon. We stayed at the St. Christopher. The place was nice and the people were friendly but they tried to nickle and dime everything out of you. Of all the hostel's I stayed at, this was the first place that charged you to keep your bags until you could go in your room. It was 4 euros for a few hours. Also, you couldn't get wifi ( Travel tip: this is the only way you should use your iphone traveling abroad) anywhere but down in the lobby.

After waiting and wandering for a few hours to check in, we went to the Louvre to meet up with my families former exchange student from Finland. We had no way to actually get a hold of her so we figured we'd just wander around looking American until she found us.

The Louvre was pretty awesome. You could probably spend days in there alone and not see anything. Knowing we had only two days in Paris we headed straight for the Mona Lisa. She's much smaller in person.

From here we went on and walked to the Champs Elysee. This is where tons of really expensive shops are and street performers are. There was this huge guy who was doing all kinds dances from OutKast to  Bollywood. He was pretty entertaining.

*Tangent Time:
France was just plain hot and no I'm not talking about the French girls. It was near 100 degrees everyday I was there. On top of that, French don't seem to believe in AC. Our hostel had none and the trains were pretty stuffy. The Saturday we went to the Eiffel Tower was probably the hottest I've ever felt outside of playing basketball in  the Philippines.

Tangent Over

The Eiffel Tower was that moment where I just had to stand back and say "Wow I'm in Paris looking at the Eiffel Tower." When people think of France, this is the first thing they picture and there I was. Unfortunately, about a million other people were thinking the same thing so we didn't get to actually climb the tower.

That night, we went to see a movie which has turned into a thing for me on vacations. It started as a way to watch movies that Japan doesn't get until months later and generally waay more expensive. Now I've been to a movie theater in  Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Ireland, and  Paris, France. It's interesting to see the random differences between places. For example, you salute the king before the movie in Thailand. In Malaysia, people talk through the whole movie. In Japan, they stay until the credits are over. In Paris, its pretty much the same as the U.S. except they've got a few more candy options and less English movies. We saw "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," its pretty interesting if you're into biographies (jk).

Sunday, we finally headed into the country. If you ever visit France and only see Paris you're missing out. The countryside is beautiful. My family happened to have an exchange student from France last year, so I thought it would be cool to spend a few days out there with her family. I was really looking forward to getting a feel for how French people really live. From the moment, we met them we were welcomed like family. It was a welcome relief from bouncing from hostel to hostel sharing rooms with 8-12 random strangers and constantly being conscious of your possessions.

The town they lived in, Ernee,  was this beautiful town you'd picture out in the French countryside. Stone walls and rustic buildings were everywhere. Sunday evening, we hung out with the whole family and grand parents. They were all great people. They did not speak much English (which I'm used to) but really tried to say a few random words. I attempted French at times with my thick American accent. We played a game that reminded me of Boccie ball, which my team won! ;) Then we had dinner.

One thing I've learned is that dinner is usually after 8 or 9 and lasts into the night. The food was delicous. The first course seems to always be bread, then the meal, then cheese, then dessert, then coffee. I made the mistake of putting cheese on my bread at the beginning. Apparently, you don't each cheese until after the meal.

On Monday, we went to Mont St. Michel which was pretty much a huge church/castle in the Middle of nowhere. I had never heard of it before but it was beautiful especially as you drive up to it. Its also very famous in Japan. As we toured the castle, there were tons of Japanese people there and directions were even in Japanese. Nowhere else during the entire vacation did I see that many Japanese people or signs. It was the last place I had expected to see so many. It was a clear reminder that my vacation was soon coming to a close.

We then went out to the beach out by Normandy on our way home. I had thought it was going to be my first  big vacation outside the US without going to the beach. Luckily, the streak is still alive. The beach and its surrounding town was very nice and kind of reminded me of Grand Haven back in Michigan.

That concluded our vacation. We headed out the next morning and plowed right through China without any problems this time and caught our flights all on time.

All in All a great European Vacation. Now the question is...WHERE NEXT?