Developments...

Life in Japan is changing. Fall is here, and the weather is cool. The infamous spiders are coming out in full bloom (that's a bad thing, by the way), and the students are changing into their winter uniforms (all the students here have to wear uniforms). Kim and I are getting more and more used to things. Kim is picking up additional work, tutoring a young girl in the residences near us, in addition to her classes on Thursdays. She's also doing informal tutoring with a Japanese woman every Friday morning. I'm keeping busy working on lessons and trying to improve my Japanese, which so far has consisted of studying over 200 Kanji characters in two weeks (not such a big thing when you realize I have previously studied most of them). This is Marc writing, if you haven't noticed!

We are getting more friendly with the people at KBF (Kobe Bible Fellowship). I also recently RSVP'ed for a luncheon at the Osaka American consulate. Maybe mingling with the people there will lead me in a new direction for a job later on in life (who knows, maybe I'll work at the consulate). Kim and I also plan on getting connected with a local church here in Kakogawa, especially me since they are predominately a Japanese congregation (KBF is international, with many Japanese, middle eastern, Indian, Australian, American, Canadian, and other kinds of people).

Kim's latest craze is trying to find little presents to give people for various occasions. Meanwhile, being cheap as usual, I am trying to persuade her to buy less, but she makes her own money so it's her choice!

We'll write again soon. I'm prodding Kim to write a few articles, so look for them soon!