i have been very fortunate to meet misao. she comes to my lessons with michiko and helps me speak japanese. she is studying english but i think she speaks it very well. she certainly speaks and understands english better than i do japanese.

toby is having such a wonderful time living at the cottage. their are many plants to hide under and trees to climb. last week we thought she climbed too high and was scared to come down. we almost called the fire department but then she just turned around and walked right down. going back to the condo will be hard for her but she is loved and cared for and that is most important.

i am finally getting better at hanashimasu to wakarimasu nihongo. mitchiko has been very patient as i’m very slow at picking up foreign languages. soon i will have more time to spend studying. i know i’ve probably masacared the japanese language here but i’m trying.

 the cottage where we will live is high up in the hills on the pali highway. the pali is famous as history says it is where king kamehameha defeated the opposing king on oahu and pushed his troups over the cliffs. it’s beautiful country but has no stores or restaurants close by. we will miss the convenience of the city and the beautiful beaches and our friends.

    we live in an apartment on waikiki beach in hawaii. next week we will be starting renovations and have to move out. we could not find a place in the city that would let us keep our cat with us, so we will be moving to a small cottage in the center of the island. it will be a nice change from the city and we are looking forward to it. there will be time for reading and studying japanese. and toby can once again chase bugs. toby is the cat. my husband’s name is ted.

    i have a toshiba computer. how can i get it to write in hiragana? thank you.

my husband ted and i love sashimi and osake. so does our cat toby-san. not the osake, just the sashimi. she is a very expensive cat to feed.