Niigata

Hello,
Well, I am back from Niigata! the trip was really really great. It was one, nice to see more of Japan than just Tokyo, two, was nice to see some countryside, and three, gave be a great sense of peace. Before going to Niigata I had been slightly anxious about my site placement when it comes around, because I like Tokyo so much that I had really wanted to stay. However, Niigata was so great also that I now would have no qualms about either site. The people were great, the area was beautiful, and the food was just incredible. I was able to stay with a few different host families. The first place that I stayed was another (former) missionary. Her name is Gretchen. She marries a Japanese man, and now teaches english while he is a rice farmer/moche maker. Check out my pics from Niigata to see it take place! The second night I stayed with another family who were congregants at the Lutheran church there, the Satos. This too was great. We had about a 4 hour conversation over dinner that ranged from music to mission service to just about anything we could talk about in my poor japanese and their much, much better english! The whole experience was just very uplifting and a really great time.
Long story short, fun bullet trains, great missionaries, delicious food, friendly people. You should go visit Niigata too!