I  OSAKA:

ah... but before i get into the update, just thought id post this up to jahlang heh my brother... oniichan chwego~! ^_^ ill take you on a tour through all the goodies (mostly from our childhood) he got me at the aiport last week:

1. Tabasco (necessary for all mission trips)

2. Keebler EL Fudge Cookies (original flavour)

3. a card entitled: "Sister Choi" (the best part ^_^) thank you oppa~

4. Toblerone (i wonder what the big deal is about Toblerone anyway...)

5. Mother's Cookies (english tea!!! my favourite childhood cookie)

6. Butternut Squash Babyfood (can only be appreciated by true F.R.I.E.N.D.S superfans- Squatternut Bosh)

7. Gerber Chicken Sticks (exposed: i still love these... much healthier than Vienna fake sausages, yet still so tasty)

8. First Aid Kit (i already used to the gauze... see below for reason)

myTEAMMATES: lily (kangaku), sooyun (kandai, gaidai), and jenn (handai)



Osaka University (aka: Handai)
Osaka University- Foreign Language Studies (aka: Gaidai)
Kansai University (aka: Kandai)
Kansai Gakuin University (aka: Kangaku)

Ah~ my first week in Osaka went by in a...very brisk jog... and I have a feeling the upcoming year will be the same... Hrm the past few days have been pretty uneventful. The fall semester for most of these students started this past Friday, but since our regular ministry and english/korean classes won't be starting until next week, it's been pretty chill. I spent most of last week just getting organized and settling into my new home ^_^

myROOM: tatami mats, futon, sliding door into my lovely roommate's room, tiny tiny desk, bookcase with all kinds of books including (yes) the GREs... [have to learn english on top of trying to figure out japanese], snacks (of course), dresser, and a fan (that we had on 24 hours a day but TODAY!!!! our AC is finally fixed!!! horay~!!)
 


myROOM2: the other side of my room ^_^ kekeke~ this is where i like to sit and think about how cool jack sparrow is... hehe just kidding. (i can just hear jason cheung now: "don't lust") hehe~ anyway... every one of those pictures has a story and a testimony i think... i hope i can share those stories with new friends and esp. non-christian students when they come over~ ^_^



myROOMMATE: this is yeonkyung... in one word, she is a 'unique' person. ^_^ originally from 을산 (near Busan), when she's excited or family from korea calls- her heavy heavy native accent comes pouring out. hehe~ she's incredibly gifted at creating a warm/welcoming environment (even if it's at her own expense) ^_^ everyday with her is like watching an episode of some anime... she has an obvious kind of love for the japanese students that enourages me to be the same. she's loud and crazy, so easy to get along with, and again... kinda crazy. hehe 연경아~사랑해! This is my lovely roommate- who has found a solution to Japan's tiny tiny products: hehehe~



aside from the fairly relaxing week, my second day in japan- i was getting a ride home on a motorcycle when my leg accidently touched the muffler. must have been mebbe half a second before i pulled it off. at the time (and even that night) it was just a discoloured circular area on my leg but in the morning..... >_< it looked something like this... [that would be a blister...] of course, i had to go the hospital the next day where they (details censored) and learned that it'll prolly be noticably yucky for at least one year... -_- *sigh* girls can understand this 'sigh' a little better than guys huh? -_- it's very sad... TURN AWAY IF YOURE EASILY GROSSED OUT!!!



met up with several old friends already and met many news ones. it's been really great to see them again. hasn't quite sunken in yet, that they're all just a phone call away. ^_^ ????? ive noticed that in a regular conversation here, most of the people involved can speak and understand a decent amount of all three languages: japanese, english, and korean. it's tough on the brain sometimes but it's pretty amazing to see all kinds of people speaking in different languages. where would i be without this dictionary? this is me trying to figure out what's inside the 20 different kinds of omelettes they had at this restaraunt.



lastly, from Sunday to Monday (last night) the staff, stinters, and several christian students from each of our 4 campuses had a 2 day Prayer Camp where (personally) God restored my purpose, expectations, and heart for this year. I must admit that in the midst of last goodbyes and preparation for this trip, I had lost focus on the bigger picture. While I was stressing about how to 'fix' this dried up feeling, God reminded me through John 15:5 that all I needed to do was simply 'remain' in Him and HE would bear the fruit through me.



the weather was awesome today... it's been a sauna since I arrived last week but after some rain yesterday, it was very breezy and... crisp? =^_^= ah~ how i miss california weather. i hear it's gonna start getting colder in about a week... friends here have been telling me (california girl) that i might just die from cold (japanese) winter. >_< we'll see how it goes~ hehe ?????????????

my team in front of Kandai's new park (so pretty~!)