Tea party and taco party and a trip

I can tell from the slew of comments from the last post that SO MANY people are excited beyond measure that I, Alan, might indeed be coming back to the States for a visit that I might need to close the comments section temporarily.

I'll be thinking about it - don't call my bluff!

K, anyway, we're hosting an all-girl (except Alan) tea party this afternoon. This has been a full Sunday, and it was looking to be a full Saturday except my ping pong club was cancelled. Too bad. Actually, I don't know if it was really cancelled but I knew like 4 of the core members wouldn't be there including the coach man and there was noone available to drive me. So I coulda gone there on bike, but I'm guessing that's a good 30 minutes one way, in the dark, no streetlights, on a road that I know fairly well but certainly nowhere near infallibly. And the possibility was strong that I would arrive after a tiring run and find nobody there. Yeah, staying home was looking pretty good by the time my potential departure was rolling around. So I didn't depart.

We got to hang out w/ some friends yesterday and eat keihan, which is Aub's favorite dish around here. When and if I come to the States, we're gonna eat some at a get-together - you won't be sorry you came! Then we went out to watch said friends and some of their friends fly some toy airplanes and helicopters around in a big open field. That was cool - the planes were like 4 ft long and the copter was at least a meter, so it was really interesting. I met a 32 year old guy who works at the kinda-secret military installation on top of the hill, so hopefully we can hang out some more. This installation exists to monitor radio transmissions from _____ and ______ ______ (think: the two big military threats to Japan and the US in our area. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm) and thus was controversial. One friend told me that 90% of the island's population did not support the installation at its construction, but the politicos didn't care. That sounds about right, to be honest, but you can never be sure.

Today we went to church for the 3rd straight Sunday and then I did kids' Sunday School w/ the pastor and his wife afterwards while Aubrey went home and prepared for the tea party, doing an admirable job of cleaning and reorganising the house. It was OK, but the pastor's wife looked at me at one point and abruptly asked me to come up w/ a game to play w/ the 18 kids present. Oooofff. Ummm, thinking quick, I came up w/ musical chairs, given the piano present in the corner. That seemed to satisfy. Aub later told me that often, as a JET teacher, she has to be ready at a moment's notice to come up w/ a quick game/activity to keep kids busy at the request of a teacher/boss. OK - good to remember. Tonight, after the tea party and then my class at 3:45-4:15, we're hosting a big taco party w/ like 7 people. Should be fun.

So still not sure that I'm coming to the US but it's looking likely. My JET interview is scheduled for 21 Feb in Houston, so if we decide not to renew for a 2nd year in Kikai, I'll be coming. I'll spend 2 wks in OK, Dallas, and Houston. I'll keep y'all updated. Please pray that we'd know what to do. Thanks!