Japanese Friends

While visiting, Shoko and Meg, were the perfect guests. We started off with a tour of the oh-so-famous Fuquay, which they seemed to really enjoy. Their first meal there was at one of my favorite restaurants downtown called Joyce's. If you are in the mood for unlimited real southern cooking, that is the place to go! After eating we enjoyed just walking around downtown, stopping in the new shops as well as those that have been there forever. Wednesday we spent most of the day touring downtown Raleigh. It was great to show them around, and learn more about Raleigh's history myself. They really enjoyed going by the Wake County Jail and taking pictures of the inmates waving from their windows. Not exactly what everyone would call fun, but it was a learning experience. We had dinner at a great little restaurant on Fayetteville Street called American Pita, where we all had shawarma's.
First Night Raleigh had a variety of events for us to go to before midnight. We chose to go to the NC Museum of Natural Science and to local churches where they had music ranging from jazz, opera, and "southern" gospel. At midnight when the acorn began to fall and the countdown started, we made as much noise as humanly possible. Because it was so cold we quickly ran to the car as soon as it was midnight and headed home (not quite the party animals).
Thursday was a very lazy day and we relaxed around the house. We also watched the traditional Rose Bowl Parade, which they loved. For dinner we had plenty of black eyed peas and collards to ensure a lucky and prosperous 2009. The day was finished with a few games on the wii and then we were all off to bed.
Friday was probably the day that they enjoyed the most. We all went to my Mom's school to give them a tour and let them see how American elementary schools are ran. They both plan on being elementary school english teachers when they graduate, so needless to say they had plenty to talk about with my Mom. After spending a few hours going through all of the classrooms, the girls and I drove to Duke University and rode around the campus. We took a few minutes to walk in Duke Chapel and take in its beauty. On our way back to Wilmington, we stopped at Southpoint so they could get a few things, I of course could not object!