Neighbors

Michelle and I are lucky. We have awesome neighbors. The Migita family lives in a small house right across from our apartment building. They are both dentists and their two young daughters are adorable. We tutor their daughters in English every Thursday evening - always something to look forward to mid-week. 

Ma-kun and his wife Ai-chan (kun and chan are affectionate name add-ons that you use with friends) live next door to the Migitas. Ma-kun and Ai-chan are both 28, so about the same age as Michelle and I. Ma-kun is a huge basketball fan so we hit it off from the beginning. He invited me to come play basketball with him every Wednesday at one of the community centers on the island back in October, and I have gone at least twice a month with him since. Ai-chan is pregnant and due in July, but is about to move back in with her parents in Shimane Prefecture (far away) for the remainder of her pregnancy. Knowing that we didn't have a ton of time left on Oshima either, we all decided to take advantage of the great spring weather to spend some time together before we all go our separate ways.

The result was an awesome bar-b-que that we had on May 7th at a campsite overlooking one Oshima's beautiful beaches. A few of our other neighbors came out as well, so we had a good group of twelve people grilling meat, drinking beer and hanging out. 

Setting up - please note my neighbor's awesome Ford Truck that he had imported from America

Grillin' - Japanese bar-b-que is amazing

The condiments table

Getting owned in badminton

It was fun but a little bittersweet as well. We will really miss everyone when we return to the States.