We have heard from our predecessor, and he has been most helpful in answering any and all questions related to the village and program.  He has also offered us some furniture free of charge and purchase of his air conditioner and car.  We took dibs on the a/c, and will take until Tuesday to decide about the car.  Because of the remoteness of the village, and how far we would have to go to get basic supplies or participate in extra curricular events, we will hopefully end up taking it.  But driving in Japan is not something I was hoping to do, and it means more cash up front which I am not sure we have.  However, it's lucky that we have an offer, as if we get there and decide we want one later, I am not sure how to do that, because of our lack of language fluency.

In other news-- hooray for the fact that Amazon delivers to Japan, and even has it's own Japanese site!  That means I do not have to pack multiple boxes of toiletries to be sent off to us at regular intervals.  It will save me from buying dish detergent, thinking it's facial wash, and burning my face off, because guess what?  We can order the same stuff we would buy in the U.S.!  Amazon is my new best friend.

Though our stress level grows in leaps in bounds, these tiny little victories are what get us through the day.:)