Update...

Ohayo Gozaimasu (good morning). I suppose everyone has heard our sad news by now. I want to thank everyone for all of the nice phone calls, e-mails, and prayers. Chris and I are really lucky to have so many people who care about us. He headed back to South Carolina last Thursday to retrieve our cats. Because of Japan's quarantine laws, Glenn and Judy have been keeping our "children" in Charleston until they're able to enter the country. He'll be back with them on October 3rd, and I can't wait to have them here! As for me, I'm doing OK. Each day is getting easier. I'm going back to work next week and work Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work (as crazy as that sounds). At least it'll make the time pass quickly until Chris gets back.

I've been keeping busy since Chris left. My friend Wendy came over Friday evening to spend the night with me. We got some dinner from the sushi restaurant across the street and watched some movies. Yesterday I went to Emerald Beach with Wendy, her husband Evan, and their kids Anthony and Elizabeth. Wendy and I spent the afternoon sitting in beach chairs under an umbrella sipping some Japanese beer. What a great way to spend the afternoon! Then, last evening, I went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner with a co-worker and some of her friends. The food was good, but definitely NOT as good as Benihana's or Miyabi's. I guess I'm just used to Americanized Japanese food.

This morning I went jogging along the Sunabe (pronounced Sue-knobby) Sea Wall, which is about a block from our apartment. Most of the island is surrounded by a wall. You've got to climb up some steps to get to the wall, which extends about 8 feet above street level. On the other side of the wall, they have these odd-shaped concrete structures that I assume are supposed to protect the wall from heavy surf. During low tide, a lot of the coral reef is exposed. You can usually see a lot of scuba divers walking out to do a dive. I put some pictures below....

The sea wall is covered in some very creative and ever changing graffiti. I saw some reminders of home that I had to get pictures of. Apparently we have some neighbors from Indiana.

Anyways, I'm sorry that my writings are not literary works of art, like those of my future Pulitzer Prize-winning husband. I just wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to lately. Hope all is well back in the states. I love and miss you all!