Yes! We made it, been here a whole day now , somehow feels longer than that. Must be the jet lag. Incredible first leg from SFO. Ask your kids about the tour group from Japan we sat with (20 grandmas/grandpas returning from tour of Yosemite/GrandCanyon who just couldn't get enough of our kids - the feeling was reciprocal!) Customs went fine, almost missed our connecting flight from Nagoya due to an near airport evacuation (Dawson can fill in more details about that one). YWF met us with a bus and took us all to Yamauchi to all the waiting host families - way cool. All go home and crash. The fresh oysters and cold beer from my hosts are most welcome first (I am one of the grownups).
Next day comes quickly, off to Yamauchi Middle School. They are very ready for us with an assembly, tours, our kids teaching Enlish, our kids learning Japanese, the school lunch. The kids get their first shot at performing their dance and song, and pull it off great. The Saga TV News covers our visit, we make the news that night (yup, I saw it!). Then a visit to the local ceramics factory with some hands-on time...fun time for all. Another big day tomorrow...kids are doing great, not to worry...
Gotta go now, running out of energy， still working on the time shift. And I need to share this computer with my family. More to come as time allows...good night. Btw, its 10:30pm on Friday here now.