David O = O-San = Lead Driver = Going Native

Today was a day of shopping, fellowship, shopping, eating, shopping, pictures, and shopping.


We also managed to do a bit of shopping.

We started the day as so many have began here with breakfast as a come-as-you-may type of event. Many people find themselves a nice resting spot alone or with a friend to read and pray to our wonderful Savior.


After breakfast everyone slowly got ready to head to downtown Nagasaki for a day of shopping. Megsumi decided not to come along today so our drivers were Doc (Sam Green) and O-san (David Overlin), with O-San in the lead-van position. Many thanks for our navigators Stephanie and Sam Huggins.

Once we arrived the photo shoot began...

Bre just had to have her picture taken with this cute little car

Not to be out done, Kaitlyn joined in the fun

Melinda, a creature of Grace and Elegance, showed them how professionals do it.

Jey attempted to apply what he learned from his studies of the "Morris Way"

The "Morris Way," as demonstrated in the 'Flamingo Pose' is best done with a partner. As I am not one to let my sister down, I helped show everyone how a true master poses.

Our first stop at the Mall was lunch. Since we are in Japan we thought we'd have traditional Japanese Imported Food: Indian Curry

One of the neat things in Japan are the food displays. Many restaurants will have a display of realistic(ish) looking food on display. Sometimes the display IS the menu. The dish I had is the one right next to Doc's hands. It was 3 different kinds of curry: Lamb, Vegetable, and Chicken.
You choose a "spicy level" between 0 and 10. I went with 3, which was a Medium. I should have chosen 0. Jey and Ellen on the other hand went with a spicy level of 7... and both mentioned that should they come back again they'll try spicy level 10.

After lunch we headed over to the arcade to play with the photo machines. It took a very long time. It was very noisy. It was very warm in the photo booth. It was very noisy. It was all in Japanese (i.e. I didn't know what I was doing most the time).

Did I mention it was noisy and took a long time? ;)

We eventually got a little bit of shopping done and then headed to the next mall.

Next on the agenda: Shopping

After a quick stop at the "Green Circle of Life" (Starbucks) we split up for an hour or so of shopping.

Geneva found some really neat postcards with matching pens. The little sets were very cheap so I bought a few (8 or so) for friends and family.
Note: For my close friends and family, take a close look at what Geneva is holding... you just might get something like that.

Dinner was Lasagna. God has truly blessed Mrs. Machiko Huggins with a great and tasty talent for preparing us with wonderfully delicious and beautifully arranged meals.

After dinner and devotional time we played a neat Japanese game in which Melinda and Will both won. Melinda got a very pretty doll. I think there are plans to set up Rupert (Kaitlyn's Gnome) with Melinda's new doll. There is definite talk of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend."

Will got a frustrating game of what I will call "Annoyingly Difficult Balance the Small wooden ball on an even smaller wooden instrument." He also got a couple of very nice teacups and saucers.

O-San bought a Japanese male summer dress-style and tried it on for all of us. It all fit for the most part except the shoes were a tiny bit small. ;)

Kate & Dave with thier Capybara T-Shirts.

Group shot of everyone who has a stuffed animal. In addition Ellen and Geneva are holding a non stuffed animal... however, should they chose to sleep with the umbrealla or fine china instead of a nice comfy red panda (which has been named: Aka, Japanese for Red), who am I to stop them?

As we arrived home the sun was setting. Here are a couple pictures O-San took as the sun set on the hills.