Where Did the Week Go?

Wow, this week flew by in a flash.  I guess that old saying, 'time sure flies when you're having fun' is true.  Having this 16 year old girl living here has kept me running in many different directions and having a lot of fun.

Thursday I helped take the group to Riverside Community College where the girls got an escorted tour of the campus and an opportunity to meet with students to discuss the differences and similarities between the U.S. and Japanese educational systems.  They had a great time!

We had been home about an hour when a transformer in front of our house blew and we lost power for the next 13 hours.  What an adventure that was.  We ate dinner and spent the rest of night living by candle and flash light.  The good thing was it was the coolest night we had in the past 30 days.  We were able to open up the house and have a decent breeze which cooled the house to about 77 degrees so we could sleep.  All of us camped out downstairs since the 2nd story was still too hot to sleep comfortably.  The power company worked all night to get things going again and by 4:30 the next morning our power was back on.

Friday, we had an afternoon activity at a large market where the girls could see how Americans shop for their groceries.  They were pretty amazed at the selection of items we have.  They couldn't get over the beef section of the meet counter.  In Japan, it's about 1/4 or less of what we have here.  They have a lot more fish than we do.  After the market, we had time to stroll around the little mall for an hour.  They enjoyed going into a store that sells accessories and then they went into an ice cream shop for a cold treat.

Today, I went to the mall with 3 of the girls and two 16 year old daughters of other host families.  I let the girls go off on their own while I did some shopping.  We spent 4 hours at the mall.  They had so much fun.  We met around 4:30 and I took Mika and her friend Tomo to buy post cards, to the market to buy the stuff to make spaghetti and then back home.  While I fixed dinner, they showed Sam and Cari how to make origami cranes, hats, boxes, etc.  We sure had a fun night.

Tomorrow is a down day.  I'm in need of a day to catch up on house work and to just do nothing.  Monday, Dennis and I are taking Mika to see an Angel game.  Tuesday Mika is going to Disneyland with another family but I still may have to help car pool some of the girls to an afternoon activity.  Thursday night, I'm going to take Mika and Tomo back to Anaheim for another baseball game.  Friday is the farewell party and Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. I have to take her to the bus that will shuttle her and the group to the airport and back to Japan.   My head is spinning!  LOL 

It's sure going to be quiet around here when she goes home.  I'll have 3 weeks to get ready for our cruise to Alaska.