Today was culture day, which means there was no school! You're probably wondering what happens on culture day. It's a national holiday and a day that churches have bazaars and schools have festivals. I did both. In the morning I went to a friend's church bazaar. There were some handmade goods as well as garage sale type items. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I was looking at a cute little tea set and making conversation about it with the lady next to me. The next thing I knew she bought it for me and handed it to me in a bag. Wow! The lady doesn't go to the church but was visiting as well. Random acts of kindness are little blessings from heaven.

I also ate udon (Japanese noodles) at the church. I ended up sitting next to a lady around my age who was an English teacher. We talked in Japanese for 20-30 minutes, but when all of my Japanese was exhausted we switched to English with occasional Japanese phrases. I even had an opportunity to encourage her to start going to church and asking God questions.

Then I went to the school festival at Baiko University. There I had my big "culture" event of the day. I went to a tea ceremony. Everything is done with grace and precise movement. I'm sure there are reasons for everything they do. My legs were tired from sitting on them seiza style, meaning directly under me, but it was really interesting. I enjoyed the o-kashi (Japanese sweet) and macha (tea).