On WEDNESDAY I learned that my Japanese Car Inspection was due by Friday. I don't know why I thought it wasn't due until May, but I did. So I was pretty surprised to learn that it was actually due 2 months sooner. The JCI is a car inspection that is required by Japan every 2 to 3 years. It's similar to a DEQ inspection that some states have in the U.S. It checks your car for functionability and usually costs between $500-$900 depending on the make and model of your car, as well as the quality. Needless to say, my car had many things wrong with it and required LOTS of repairs. I ended up dishing out $730 bucks for this thing on Friday. The only good thing about the whole circumstance is that the next one isn't due until after I'm done with the military. So I only had to pay for it once the whole time I was here. But yeah, that was a bit of a surprise that Dave and I had to work around. We carpooled the whole next couple of days.
THURSDAY and FRIDAY we both had volunteered for an elementary school event called Space Day. We were assigned to the Egg Drop event, which was really fun, and sometimes messy. The first day we saw kindergardeners and first graders, 6 classes total, throughout the day. The object of the event was to use their supplies (an 8x14" piece of cardboard, 1' sq. piece of bubble wrap, 2 pcs. of string, a plastic bag, 2 pcs. of newspaper, and 2 meters of tape) to make a "space craft" that would safely transport their Eggstranaut into space and onto another planet, ie. would prevent their egg from breaking after having been dropped off the second story. So yeah, we broke everyone up into groups both days and let them work with each other (sometimes), to make these shuttles. It was really cool to watch what they all came up with because they ALL did really well. The younger kids didn't have as wide of a variety of shuttles as the older kids did, but they're success rate was equal, if not better! Dave and I were talking about why that might have been, and we think it's because the younger kids, while they had a little more help from us than the older kids, were thinking in a more simple manner than the bigger kids, and were less likely to complicate things. But again, everyone did really well, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!
Lastly, yesterday (SATURDAY) we went to Adrienne's 1st birthday party. We took rice crispy treats, which were delicious and we got Jess (Adrienne's mom) a necklace, because we figured the baby's first birthday is really more about the mom than it is for the kid...right? Anyway, so yeah, we went there early so we could help Jess with last minute type things. And boy was she happy to see us! We got there and she looked frazzled, and stressed out. She put us to work right away, too! We blew up balloons, set the table, finished goodie bags, and taste-tested her cake (bummer, right?). It was an awesome cake, too! She made everything herself, including all the frosting and icing. She really went all out, and the whole day turned out really well. We had a lot of fun. Dave cooked the burgers and hot dogs and we both got our fill!
And that's about it! Our week was SUPER busy and flew by, and we enjoyed it, but are really tired today. This next week isn't as packed though, so we should be able to get our routine going (hopefully). So on that note, see ya soon!
