by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Wakakusa
Today was possibly the biggest and most important day of the year at Wakakusa Kindergarten: the annual Kindergarten Sports Fest ( Undokai ). This is the day when all of the parents (who either never visit the school or usually only come to the school long enough to...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions
Last Sunday (9/24) we (the Funehiki team) had an incredible opportunity to share our faith and our love for God in the most unexpected of places—a secular Folk & Pop Concert at the Funehiki Culture Center. Apparently, the concert organizer heard that the team...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events
Last Saturday (9/23), our employers arranged for us to be taken to the annual Samurai Parade in Aizu. Back in the states, lots of people love to relive the glory of the medieval days (you know, knights in shining armor and swords and fake English accents and all...
by Mike Costanzo | Sep 18, 2006 | Wakakusa
Many of you may have noticed that in the past month we’ve been posting lots of pictures of us, of our team, of local scenery, etc. But so far, we haven’t posted any pictures of our employers, and especially of Mr. Maki (we call him Encho-sensei), the...
by Mike Costanzo | Sep 13, 2006 | Japanese Food, Mike
It’s probably a safe assumption to make that pretty much everyone who knows me is aware that when it comes to food, I (Mike) have an insatiable flair for the exotic. Of course, that’s just a nice way of saying that I eat some pretty bizarre things...
by Mike Costanzo | Sep 7, 2006 | Mike, Teaching
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Japan? NO? Well, regardless, I’d like to share a few pictures from my job, in case there’s anyone who WAS wondering… Me at my desk at Takine Jr. High School (my...
by Mike Costanzo | Sep 2, 2006 | News
Hey everyone, We have incredible news!!! Remember last week when we said that maybe we would meet the Prime Minister and eat sea cucumber sushi on the Moon? Well guess what– it really happened !!! We never would have dreamed that it was possible, but in an...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 23, 2006 | Day-to-Day, Holidays/Special Events
Wow, what a week this has been!!! This week we set up our new apartment, met our new co-workers, went to parties, attended a Japanese festival, walked all around town, gone shopping, had meetings with our employer, met the mayor, the Chairman of the Board of...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 14, 2006 | Travel
Hey everyone!!! Here we are, all four of us (Mike, Jen, Benno, Nate), sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight. Praise God; we got through security with no problems, and in record time!!! The hand of the Lord was definitely with us. It’s wonderful to...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 13, 2006 | Moving
Remember when we said our computer was ok? Well, it’s not; it’s busted…again. Bad hard drive. So now we’ll be getting on the plane with a defective computer, and fighting our tech support battles with HP from overseas. What a nightmare this has...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 9, 2006 | Wakakusa
Well, here we are in the beautiful town of Mansfield, OH, just starting out week 2 of our two-week Japan orientation. What’s it like so far? Just like the rest of our life has been these past few weeks: crazy good!!! The first day we were here we got our own...
by Mike Costanzo | Jul 21, 2006 | Devotion, Moving
It’s all about You Jesus, And all this is for You. For Your glory and Your fame. It’s not about me. As if you should do things my way. You alone are God, And I surrender to Your ways. From Jesus Lover of My Soul by Paul Oakley It’s not about me...
by Mike Costanzo | May 19, 2006 | Christianity, Faith, Graduation
So, today is my official last day of school; I graded my last test, and recorded the grades, and I’m about to drop them off and be all done with school. Man, do I feel great! What a moment. But, I don’t feel great for the reason that you probably expect. I...
by Mike Costanzo | May 14, 2006 | Graduation
So close, and yet so far… That’s how I’m feeling right now about school. My graduation is just over 1 week away, and I’m in the midst of studying for my final finals right now. On the one hand, I’m stoked and excited; on the other, I do...
by Mike Costanzo | May 2, 2006 | Graduation
Three more weeks!!! Three more weeks!!! It’s May 1st, and that means that in three short weeks, I will be no longer be an undergraduate student, but a fully graduated alumnus of the University of Maryland. Incredible!!! It’s hard to believe, especially...
