I took a Japanese cooking class at the Family Readiness Center, and it was fun. They offer lots of things like that here on base, for free. Guess they have to keep us military families entertained! 
Anyway, 2 very sweet Japanese ladies volunteered to teach it. We made chicken cutlets fried with panko crumbs (delish and very popular here), cabbage and onions boiled in chicken broth (sound gross, but it is actually very good), plain diced cabbage w/ lemon juice (it's their version of "salad" and is great w/ the greasy chicken) and some really good sauce which is a combo of ketchup, soy sauce, and Japanese mayo. It was fun to cook with them and watch their techniques- I've never seen anyone chop cabbage so fine before!
It was also fun to meet a few other people on base (I think there were 8 of us in the class) and hear some of their stories of living here. One of the guys has been here about 2 years and was telling me several good places to go eat. It was a fun experience and I enjoyed cooking, and eating it for dinner! This month I'm going to a class to make wonton soup and another one on cooking gyozos. I may not come home fluent in Japanese, but maybe I can cook a few authentic meals at least!
It was also fun to meet a few other people on base (I think there were 8 of us in the class) and hear some of their stories of living here. One of the guys has been here about 2 years and was telling me several good places to go eat. It was a fun experience and I enjoyed cooking, and eating it for dinner! This month I'm going to a class to make wonton soup and another one on cooking gyozos. I may not come home fluent in Japanese, but maybe I can cook a few authentic meals at least!In baby news, I went to the dr yesterday (finally...it's been 6 wks!). He said things were looking good. Her heartbeat was a strong 150bpm, my belly is measuring 24 cm (perfect for 24 wks), and I've only gained about 10 lbs (yay!). He said my thyroid levels were fine, although he wanted to see them a tiny bit higher, so I just have to take an extra pill every 3rd day- no big deal. He also said he wasn't too concerned about the kidney thing w/ the baby- that it isn't a marker for anything other genetic problem and it almost always resolves itself before birth. We are having another sonogram in 2 wks to check and see if it is gone (so prayers that everything is fine would be very appreciated!) and I'm sure we will have them check again just to make sure that "she" really is a "she"! But, everything else looks and sounds great, so I'm just chugging along. I can't believe I'm 25 wks pregnant already- she'll be here before we know it!!!
Try not to worry about the kidney. The baby of a good friend of mine also had a kidney abnormality, but it corrected itself by the time he was born. Sounds like you are doing great and enjoying yourself in Japan!
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