Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween weekend. We went to a Halloween party at a friend's house and then we enjoyed a Mexican fiesta, complete with delicious 7-layer dip, on Sunday. Such a fun weekend.

Here are some pictures from Halloween night. Hope you enjoy.

Travis and I dressed up as peace & quiet. I had a lot of fun doing his makeup, but I thought he looked super creepy. Especially without the red-eye taken out.

A couple of our friends, Zac and Emily, dressed up as a cormorant fisherman and cormorant. I thought it was extremely clever.

This picture is of some of the girls at the party.

And, here are the boys.

Brian and Lorie dressed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife, Beth.

Megan and Frank were Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

Ryan and Ayako (Ryako) are the cutest couple. Ryan's costume won the prize for the best. He wired the rabbit's eyes to light up, and he even installed a voice changer inside. He could stand against the white wall and blend in, but when he turned on his red eyes, it was terrifying! Ha!

This picture of Travis and Chris cracks me up. Chris and Jessica dressed as the Snuggie folks on the informercial. They looked hilarious, but I somehow managed to miss getting a shot of the two of them together. Jessica walked around carrying a ball of yarn with her knitting needles, and Chris had his duster and cleaning solution. Pretty funny stuff.

This last picture cracks me up, and it freaks me out at the same time.

See what I mean?

Thornsberrys do Japan

Hi, all! I know some of you are waiting to hear an update on my family's recent visit to Japan. So, here goes!

My mom, brother and oldest niece all made the long trek to Japan to visit us. We had a really fun time, and it was so great to see my family and to show them a little bit of our life here in Japan.

They arrived on a Saturday evening, and we left early the next morning to spend a few days in Tokyo. While there, we did a lot of sightseeing and went to Tokyo Disney Sea. After that, we spent a few days in Nagoya, made a short trip to Arimatsu and then visited Kyoto. I was so impressed with their willingness to try some funky foods and to walk a million miles. Their karaoke skills weren't too shabby either. My niece is only nine, but she is so mature and well-behaved. She's just a pleasure to be around, and I must say, my brother is a great dad, too. It was cool to see what an amazing father/daughter relationship they share. My mom was such a trooper and rode all the rides with us at Disney, climbed about 800 stairs and even tried some raw fish! Oh, and she arrived bearing gifts, which included a freshly baked batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Wish I had some more right now.

Here are several pictures from our adventure.

Here we are early in the morning waiting for the shinkansen (bullet train) to arrive. While in Tokyo, we walked and walked and walked. We explored the areas of Shinagawa, Asakasa, Akihabara, Harajuku and Ginza.

Here's a pic of Jonathan in Ginza. He really liked this area. Mom, Jordan and I skipped this little jaunt and opted to relax for a while instead.

The next morning, Jonathan and Travis woke up around 4:30 and headed to Tsukiji fish market.

They enjoyed some of the market's famous sashimi for breakfast before heading back to meet us.

From there, we went to Tokyo Disney Sea. I had been wanting to go there for a long time so I was so excited! I hadn't visited a Disney park since I was four.

Here's a cute picture of Jonathan and Jordan with some characters. Is it bad that I don't know who these characters are? Somebody help me out.

Me and Jordan at Tokyo Disney Sea. I love this girl so much!

Disney Sea was pretty crowded, but the weather was amazing, and we managed to ride three rides, enjoy a couple of shows, do a little shopping and eat some tasty treats. After a LONG day at Tokyo Disney Sea, we headed to the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel where the five of us shared a room. :)

This picture was taken in the hotel lobby. It was a really nice place to stay.

After the concierge showed us to our room, she showed us some pajamas that were left for our use. We said we'd brought our own and wouldn't be needing them. But then, we saw this:

That's when we knew we ALL had to put them on immediately.

Prison camp photo. Priceless in my opinion.

After our Disney getaway, we headed back to the city to explore Tokyo a little more.

We had some ramen for lunch, explored Asakasa and did some shopping, checked out some electronics in Akihabara and then made our way back to Nagoya via shinkansen.

After our exhausting Tokyo adventure, we spent the next few days in Nagoya. One morning we headed to Arimatsu and met up with my friend, Miyako, to make some shibori, Japanese tie dye.

Here we are with our finished products.

The night before my family left, we had dinner with what I now consider my Japanese family. You've heard me mention Miyoko in several other posts, too, but she has become a great friend to me and has helped me to enjoy Japan in so many ways. Once she heard my family was coming, she insisted on arranging a dinner for them. It was one of the best parts of their trip. We met up with Miyoko and her family and enjoyed a great and very traditional Japanese meal. We even ended it with some karaoke! Jordan sang some Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, and it was pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world. My mom busted out some Carpenters and did an awesome job with that one. My brother is now known to Miyoko and her family as a "great rapper" since he successfully performed "Gold Digger." They also requested he sing Michael Jackson a few times. Not sure he ever intended for that to happen, but we all enjoyed hearing his version of "Thriller" and "Billie Jean."

Here we are at dinner. Miyoko and her family have plans to visit us in Missouri after we return next summer, and I'm really looking forward to it. Her dream is to experience "country life" in America. I'm pretty sure I know how to help her with that one. :)

Early the following morning we headed to Kyoto. We did some more sightseeing and shopping there.

And, we bumped into some geishas on the way out. How cute is this picture?!

I think that pretty much sums up their visit. I am so so so happy they came, and I can't wait to see them again in December. We made some fun memories, and I love that I have pictures WITH my family in Japan. Thank you for coming to see us!

Typhoon, Travis gets older, Reese's and visitors! Wow, what a random title.

Has it really been two weeks since my last post?! Eek. So sorry about that. Anyway, here's a little update on what's been going on in Japan.

We experienced our first typhoon. When I first heard we were expecting a typhoon, I really wasn't too worried because it seems like most things are blown out of proportion here. But, then I began thinking about it and the catastrophic results from the typhoons that recently struck American Somoa and the Philippines. I still didn't take much action, and I didn't even get it after I went to the grocery store and noticed it was much more crowded than normal, and people everywhere were stocking up on supplies. Anyway, late on the night before the typhoon was set to arrive, I decided I should start doing a little research. Bad. Idea. I started reading articles about how the typhoon would be the biggest in ten years, and read that the last typhoon of the same size killed 95 people. Ahhh! We didn't even have a flashlight in our house. So, I did what any smart person would do, I put our passports in Ziploc bags, found a couple of head lamps we used for climbing Mt. Fuji, filled the bath tub with water and went to bed.

Travis woke up around 5 a.m., and told me it was looking pretty crazy outside. The wind was nuts, and there was lots and lots of rain. So, I had to check it out.

This picture is of a girls' school near our house. I believe our area received around 10 inches of rain in a very short amount of time. Strangely, after only about two hours all the water on the softball field and tennis courts was gone. The public transportation system in Nagoya was shut down for several hours but overall, very little damage occurred, and life went on as usual.

We also celebrated Travis' birthday last weekend. We had so much fun! I organized a birthday dinner, and 21 people showed up! Wow. He is a pretty popular guy, I guess. We went to an Okinawan restaurant near our house, and we had a really good time. We took lots of fun pictures, but this is the only one I have of the entire group. We were making funny poses. This picture was supposed to be "blue steel" from the movie, Zoolander, but someone made a funny right as the picture was taken so some people couldn't hold their pose. ;)

The following day, Travis and I headed to some mountains not far from our house to go camping. We had a really fun time, but it was much different than what we're used to. We paid a pretty penny to sleep in a glorified parking lot, and the biggest draw of the place was that you could see cows grazing. Anyone who knows my upbringing knows that seeing cows grazing isn't exactly a phenomenon for me. It's a funny memory, though, and we got to roast marshmallows so it was worth it!

Lastly, I received a fun surprise last week! My friends, Maya and Andrea, both of whom came to Japan to visit me sent me a really fun package. It was so nice and unexpected. It was full of all kinds of goodies, but I must say the photo below captures the highlight of the package.

If only you could see this bowl now. Travis and I just couldn't believe how many Reese's we had and thought we would never even be able to make a dent in the huge pile. Well, let's just say you can almost see the bottom of the bowl already. ;)

I know I said "lastly" in the last paragraph, but I can't leave this out! My mom, brother and oldest niece are currently en route to Japan at this very moment. I am beside myself with excitement, and I just can't wait to show them my Japanese life. We're heading to Tokyo early Sunday morning, and we'll be there for two nights and three days. Then, we'll spend some time in Nagoya before heading to to do some sightseeing in Kyoto. I am so happy they're coming, and I'm extremely grateful that my brother's wife, Holli, is so supportive of this adventure. She's a mom to four so I know these next ten days without her oldest daughter and husband will be a challenge. Thanks, Holli!

Black Eyed Peas

We recently went to a Black Eyed Peas concert! Oh, man, it was a blast, too. We hadn't been to a concert in ages so it was great to finally see a show again. I really enjoy listening to Black Eyed Peas' music because it typically puts me in a great mood. And, it makes me want to dance or push myself a little harder on the stairmaster. Or, sometimes it makes me dance ON the stairstepper, which I think Travis finds embarrassing. Anyway, most of the lyrics are rather ridiculous, and I'm sure I've lost a few brain cells in the process, but how can you not like rocking out to them?! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the fun we enjoyed.

Here's our group hanging out at the subway station before the show. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. It really was sad how excited I was, but man, it felt great. Oh, and I stole this picture from Ayako's facebook pictures. I feel like I should say that for some reason.

Here's a pic of me with my pretty friends, Ayako and Jessica. I'm pretty sure we danced for two hours straight.
The show was only the second of their E.N.D (new album) tour. I'm pretty sure they took their show to Japan first to work out all the kinks before going worldwide, but it was a really fun concert. It was extremely high energy, and Fergie was awesome, and super hot. But, I will say she looked like she recently had some work done. Her cheeks were really tight and puffy. I still like her, though. Even if she has an accident every now and again.

Here's another shot of the set during their show. This was during their song, "Generation Now," which isn't my favorite. But, they played a lot of patriotic video footage during the song. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Oh how I miss home these days...

I know what you're thinking! They bought shirts?! Yes. Yes, we did. I know. I know. But, they say all of the Japan cities on the back, and you're seriously looking at two Americans who miss their motherland. Little things like concert t-shirts make all the difference. Don't ask me how much they cost. The memories they represent are priceless. 

Chicago vs. Nagoya

Recently, my good friend, Heather, and her mom, Mary, made the trek from Chicago to Japan just to see us. Ok, well, maybe not just to see us. ;) 

Heather and I were randomly placed together as roommates our freshman year at Mizzou. And, we've been great friends ever since then. We lived together three out of our four years of college. The only year we missed was due to Heather joining a sorority. She had to put her time in at the sorority house. We had so much fun together during those four years, and I really can't imagine what it would have been like without her. We laughed so much, and cried some, too. She's a great friend, and I don't really believe our meeting was random at all. We were definitely put together for a reason. Oh, and I just have to mention that you should have seen the filthy apartment we shared in downtown Columbia our senior year of college. Domestic disputes, nasty carpet, homeless folks in the stairway, paper-thin walls, a rusty tub, mini-stove, irritable garbage disposal and wood paneled walls were among the luxuries we enjoyed. 

I derailed. Back to the trip highlights.

Travis graciously picked Heather and Mary up from the airport after work while I anxiously waited for their arrival. After they arrived, we went to a delicious sushi restaurant so we could win them over right away. The next morning, we headed to my favorite place in Japan, Kyoto. I think this trip marked my fifth trip there, and I have plans of returning next month. Just can't get enough of the place.

This trip was the most unique, though, because we stayed overnight in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. It was such a fun experience. Upon arrival, we were greeted with authentic green tea and some Japanese desserts. After that, we left the inn and explored the city a bit. After returning to the hotel, we put on our yukatas.

Here's Travis and me posing in our traditional Japanese room complete with paper screens, wood carvings and tatami floor. 

Shortly thereafter, Heather and Mary joined us for dinner. We ate dinner in our room in our pajamas! The food was a bit difficult to handle as it was very traditional. Much of it was raw, and some of it was unidentifiable. It was all presented beautifully, though, and I think I at least tried it all. It was certainly a very unique and authentic Japanese experience. We had a great time laughing through dinner. The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast in our rooms in our pajamas again! Breakfast proved to be no less challenging, but it was still a ton of fun.

From Kyoto, we headed to Nara. We walked around Nara Park and enjoyed lunch at a quaint little French cafe. Heather and Mary checked out the world famous Todaiji Temple, and then we headed back to Nagoya.

We managed to relax a little bit after returning to Nagoya because the next day we headed to Shirakawago, Takayama and Gero with my friend, Miyoko, and her husband.

We took this picture at one of the rest stops in Japan. The view was really beautiful. I love the rest stops in Japan. They always have very clean restrooms and lots of good snacks to enjoy. They also include a gas station, so they're quite convenient.

Our first stop was Shirakawago, a village famous for its thatched roof buildings and homes.

We took a little jaunt up a mountain and enjoyed this view. The photographer suggested we make triangles with our hands to resemble the shape of the thatched roof houses. We also enjoyed some really yummy snacks atop the mountain.

After Shirakawago, we headed to Takayama for lunch and sightseeing. It was my first time to Takayama, which is often described as a little Kyoto. The town was calm and beautiful. I definitely would like to return there sometime soon. After leaving Takayama, we headed to Gero, a town famous for hot springs. We didn't have time to fully enjoy the hot springs, but we did stop off to enjoy a free foot spa with a nice view of the mountainous region.

We returned to Nagoya and decided to spend the next day relaxing a little bit and did a bit of shopping. The following day, we visited my friend Miyoko at her home and dressed in kimonos for the day. I feel like I'm almost Japanese now that I've worn a kimono three times. As always, the day didn't disappoint, and we shared some good laughs together. 

My Japanese friends tried to teach us how to pose properly. This was our attempt. After taking a few pictures, we headed to a nice lunch and then to sing karaoke. Singing karaoke in the middle of the afternoon feels a little strange, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The following day, we headed to Gifu to watch cormorant fishing on the Nagara River. It was my second time, and I enjoyed it once again. The weather was perfect, and we had a really fun time.

We also got to see this beautiful sunset. 

The next day was the last day of Heather and Mary's visit. I was so sad they had to leave, but we had a great last dinner at a Brazilian restaurant downtown despite the fact that the owner was quite interested in Mary. That was a bit annoying, but she was a good sport. Afterall, it's not easy being beautiful. ;)

Here we are enjoying our final dinner. Several of our friends in Nagoya joined in on the fun, too, and we were able to enjoy dancing to some Latin tunes as well. I'm so glad they came to visit us. 

Malaysia

After spending a couple of days in Singapore, we hopped on a short flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We quickly settled, enjoyed some awesome Turkish food and began the Malaysian leg of our vacation. Here are a few of the highlights.

We went to Batu Caves, a Hindu shrine, near the city.

Travis and I posing before climbing the stairs. 

We climbed 272 stairs to get to the top, and it was oh so hot!

The inside was pretty neat, but it was really dirty. I was a bit shocked considering it's a revered religious site, but there were heaps of trash laying around and wild monkeys and chickens wandering. Oh, and there was a guy with a python. EWWWwww...

Here is one of the many monkeys we saw while visiting Batu Caves. We saw a ton of monkeys throughout the trip.

After visiting Batu Caves, we made friends with a taxi driver who agreed to take us to our next destination, a nature park with several waterfalls. We spent a couple of hours hiking around and playing in some natural waterfalls. Not a rough way to spend a day.

The waterfalls were quite impressive. 

We played in this one for quite a while. The water was freezing, though.

On the way back down, we stopped to feed a crowd of monkeys.

After returning to Kuala Lumpur, we managed to find one of my favorite stores, Forever 21. There are no Forever 21 stores in Nagoya yet, so I was absolutely thrilled! It was the biggest one I've ever seen, too. 

I could have been there for hours.

We stumbled upon a great Raggae Bar in Chinatown. The music was great, and it brought back sweet Jamaica memories for me. Bob Marley will always have a special place in my heart. I heard about three of his most famous songs twenty times per day for a week during our honeymoon. :)

And finally, here are our vacation buddies, Chris and Jessica! We had such an amazing time together. I'm so grateful for the memories we made on this trip. Definitely the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Malaysia and Singapore are well-known for durian, also known as the stinky fruit. Chris and Jessica ate it the night before we arrived in Singapore so Travis and I were anxious to try it. Chris described it as having a "spiral-perm-kind-of taste." And, I must say, he was pretty much right on.

I actually kind of liked it. It reminded me of an extremely sweet cantaloupe. The texture reminded me a little bit of a mango, but it was more slimy and stringy.

We really enjoyed the tea in Malaysia. It was super sweet  and delicious. This picture of Chris and Jessica was taken at a little hawker stall. We told a taxi driver we wanted to eat the best satay, and he dropped us off here. We were a little nervous since there were absolutely no tourists there, which is actually usually a good sign, and lots of cats were roaming around. But, I'd have to say his recommendation was perfect. We enjoyed some amazing satay. The funniest part, though, was when we asked what kinds of satay we were eating. The waiter knew a little English and told us, "Chicken and meat." So, we asked him what kind of meat we were eating to which he responded, "Meat." Oh, right... We tried a couple of more times to figure it out, and then we just gave up. Perhaps it was cat? 

The Petronas  Towers in Kuala Lumpur are awesome. Really beautiful buildings that certainly make Kuala Lumpur's skyline spectacular. Another sidenote to add, Al Jazeera has an office inside, which brings me to another topic.

We were told by a few locals that Malaysia is 70 percent Muslim. By the way, I have not verified that statistic, but I know it was around 60 percent in 2000, so it seems about right to me. I had never been to a predominantly Muslim country before so it was certainly eye opening. We saw many women wearing burqas, and many of them only had their eyes exposed. Even the bridges of their noses were sometimes covered. The most interesting scene was around the pool where the women would sit quietly near the pool in full burqa while their husbands enjoyed the water. Let's remember that it was 100+ degrees outside. Not. Fair.

Also, I think Kuala Lumpur has been experiencing a rise in fundamentalism  as well. As a result, we had to walk through metal detectors every time we entered our hotel. Additionally, all vehicles had to be searched for explosives. I didn't feel uncomfortable or unsafe for some reason, but the experience was a first for me.

We spent another night traveling to a neighboring town called, Kuala Selangor. We took a van taxi there, and wow, the ride was interesting. It was extremely curvy and the setup of the van required two of us to sit backwards. I don't struggle with motion sickness, but even I was beginning to turn a little green. 

Alas, we survived. We went to a seafood restaurant on the river for dinner. The food was okay, but not the best we enjoyed and unfortunately the most expensive. By the way, by expensive, I mean around $12/person. Not exactly expensive, but for Malaysia it was a little pricey. 

After we left the restaurant, Travis decided to inform us that we dined with an enormous rat the entire time. I guess I was kind of glad I didn't know beforehand because I would have been freaking out, but still! 

Our main motive in traveling to Kuala Selangor was a nighttime firefly cruise, and it was certainly worth the long and treacherous van ride. We boarded a nice wooden boat and enjoyed an hour-long cruise along a river lined with trees filled with fireflies. It was amazing. Felt like Christmas, but it was much greener if you know what I mean. No electric lights here. Just trees lit by thousands of fireflies. Awesome.

When booking our hotel, we found a really great deal. And, I thought I would just ask for a room with a great view of the Petronas Towers for kicks. It never hurts to ask.

This is the view we awakened to each morning from our corner room on the 22nd floor. We also had a corner window and could see the KL Tower as well. I was impressed. And just think, all I had to do was ask.

And, my favorite part of Kuala Lumpur might have been our hotel's pool. It was amazing. In Japan pools are rare, and if you find them they are packed full of rugrats. So, we spent several hours enjoying the amazing pool, which included a swim-up bar. 

Well, that does it for our Malaysia re-cap. If you're traveling to Kuala Lumpur soon, let me know. I'd love to give you some recommendations.