Making friends in Japan

So I pride myself on my ability to easily make friends. A trait that came in quite handy while I was 5,000 miles away from home ... so far away from all my wonderful friends!

Before I left the states for Japan, I contacted a missionary couple serving in the Tokyo area and got the name of some singles attending the ward I would become a temporary member of. My first week at church was pretty overwhelming ... completely new environment and I was feeling pretty homesick. But luckily it didn't take long for the ward singles group to adopt me into their circle!

My second week at church I was invited, first, a convert baptism ... really a great experience no matter what country you are in, but even more exciting being in Japan. After the baptism all the singles headed over to the one of the bishopric members' homes for a Family Home Evening BBQ.

First off, I was so impressed at the beautiful, spacious home. I felt so comfortable there and thought I could actually make a life in Japan if I could live in such a nice home ... such a stark contrast to my temporary, compact and cozy home. I think I was most impressed with the kitchen ... a kitchen I would kill for here in the states! And, of course, very state-of-the-art, too.

So my second impression was how diverse the group of men and women were. Not only were there a couple Americans and quite a few English-speaking Japanese, but there a few people from New Zealand, an Aussie, a Canadian, and even a gal from the Dominican Republic. What an impressive bunch of people!

Over the next few weeks I had a great time hanging out with some of those singles. Yuko and Naoko were great about planning things for us to do. One night a bunch of people came over to my house and we munched on snacks and played games. Then Yuko, Naoko and another gal named Shannon and I all went to Fujiku Highlands ... an incredible, albeit seriously crowded, amusement park (more on that to come). Lunch dates, dinners at Outback, an evening of sushi and shopping along the way were just some of the fun things I was able to enjoy with my new friends.




Just some of my friends... Arlette (New Zealander), Naoko, Yuko, me and Vivian (Canadian). This was in Roppongi Hills on one of my last nights in Japan. We went to a great Sushi Bar, wandered around the posh shopping/dining area and then headed to ColdStone Ice Cream where we waited in line for more than an hour for ice cream! The ColdStone had just opened and everyone had realized just how amazing ColdStone is! Yummy ice cream!!