Big plans today!  You see, today’s my birthday and I get to celebrate it in Japan!  🙂  Since the pastor’s son, Titus, has his birthday today as well, we (Samantha and I) were invited to join the family in an excursion to Fukuoka.  I’m pretty jazzed.  So, we have an early start, seeing as we need to be at the Haug’s house by 8am, we are taking the 7:29a train, which means I had to get up at 5:45a!  Ah…on my birthday too…oh well. 

  The schedule for today, which I will share in detail later, is to go see a movie (Indiana Jones), eat lunch at Hard Rock Café (oh yeah), go shop at Costco (oh the day when Costco is a birthda treat…I’m in the twilight zone), and then go shop and peruse around RiverWalk in Kokura (shopping mall). 

  Having your birthday in another country really exposes you to the different cultures.  Like yesterday, my kids drew me birthday cakes on the board and told me congratulations.  I am now subject to the “you must return giving a gift of 60%(or some such percentage) the value of the gift you received” maxim, so I’ll have my work cut out for me.  Tonight, when I get home I will elaborate on the various gifts I’ve received. 

  Yesterday, I went to Quixote and ate the lunch special.  No, ika (squid), but I did have “konnyaku”…not to be confused with “konyaku”.  The first is a jelly-type food that I think is made from beans and has no calorie…very healthy.  The second is engagment.  The difference is just one extra character of “ni” before the “ya” to signify that it’s the food.  I came in to Taka’s office to ask him about it and he about fell off his chair when he thought I said “engagement.”  No worries though, the cheesecake here isn’t nearly as good as the cheesecake back home, so you all are safe from having to worry that I’d get engaged over here.  🙂  Later!! 🙂