I was trying to think of a good title for this post, but since I'm planning to catch up on writing about major events in the last week or so, there really isn't a good way to put a title on that.

The only event I didn't get to last time is our Fourth of July party. We really wanted to do something to celebrate, even though it's a purely American holiday, because we'd been seeing fireworks for sale all over the place. (Also, it was a good opportunity to invite some students to share food and the fun of getting to light things on fire). We were able to go to a friend's house by the beach to grill some chicken and vegetables (also pineapple!) and enjoy some time eating and talking before heading down to the beach to light some fireworks. We ended up with a ton of really tasty food, and even though I didn't talk much with the students who came, I think everyone really enjoyed it.

This past week has been a good one, mostly normal, but with a few exciting events. First, on Monday night, Samuel missed coming to the Bible discussion at the Ogawas' because he had a minor accident in the car we were borrowing for the summer. He was totally fine, but the car's axle broke, so it's totally out of commission. We were told when we got the car that it would be junked when we were finished with it, so it's not too bad that it's wrecked, and we were able to get a replacement car that will help us out with getting around for these last three weeks or so.

On Wednesday night, the girls of the team and one of the students had a girls' night at Joe and Julie's house, which was fun. We ate dinner together, played a little bit of Wii, and talked about things like which job we would have if money didn't matter and where in the world we would most like to go. (Two weeks ago, Stephanie, Samuel, Dustin, and I went to Joe and Julie's for dinner for the first time, where we played Wii with the kids, which was also fun).

Yesterday evening, a small group of students went downtown with us for a little bit of shopping, dinner (we went to a Thai restaurant), and ice cream (at Coldstone, which is a lot like it is in the States, but with the addition of flavors like green tea and white peach ice cream). Later this afternoon, we're headed to karaoke (it will be the second time we've gone -- the first was for GUYS club, with a much larger group). I'm looking forward to it.

I don't know when I'll get a chance to post next, but I'll try to include some more thoughts about my experiences here instead of just relating the experiences themselves.