Welcome to our personal web site! We started it in Feb 2001 after we moved to Japan from the States. Basically, it is a WORK IN PROGRESS. You know the story.... Check back with us now and then for more photos and interesting stuff.  Hope you enjoy a glimpse at our daily lives in Japan.   9000 pictures of our lives in Miharu!  If you haven't already, please check out my smugmug photo album.  It includes 9000+ pictures of daily life in Miharu, Japan living and working in the Rice Lake House.   Almost 8 years of exchanges and events, community activities, school, volunteer and paid work in a lovely little country town in northern Japan.   Looking at the many, many smiling faces in these photos, it's hard to believe I did such a bad job (they didn't renew my contract for year 8).    www.gna2000.smugmug.com   It has been an amazing ride!    Did you know?  The US Ambassador to Japan is a Schieffer? That's right, John Thomas (Tom) Schieffer of Fort Worth, TX became Ambassador to Japan in April 2005!   He's a distant cousin, but a cousin nevertheless.  Cool, huh?  Unfortunately, he's a Republican, so we won't be expecting any visits from him in Miharu.   Miharu Ensemble Foundation and String Quartet I've been having some trouble getting this home page to come up with on search engines.  So I am going to post a link HERE to the page. This is a group I helped start in Miharu to promote quality but family-priced classical music.  The page is in Japanese.  I designed and produced all the posters until 2007.  http://miharuensemble.at.infoseek.co.jp/   Click on here for a Memorial Page for my dad. Leave your memories to share with others.

Check out our VIDEOS at YOUTUBE What's New?   YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD WOMAN DOWN!!!!   April 2008 Update - Now working full time as Coordinator and Teacher of Immersion English at a private preschool (kids ages 1.5 to 6 in the mornings and 4 to 12 in the afternoons) in Koriyama City (about 30 minutes drive from Miharu).  Kevin is in 2nd grade Jr. High (8th Grade) and doing GREAT.   We are both enjoying life without international exchange responsibilities - still active in amateur theater club and Miharu Ensemble Foundation, but otherwise, taking it easy!   Mom teaches a little eikaiwa on the side for extra cashola, and Kevin is learning the electric guitar AND playing percussion!   Check out our YouTube site (search for tubeenzou) or SMUGMUG site (search for gna2000) for videos and pictures from the latest adventures of Jeana and Kevin is Japan.    Jan 2008   HAPPY NEW YEAR.  Kevin and I are doing great!  I am worknig at a Preschool in Koriyama called "Y's (stands for the family name of the owners, Yamamoto, and also WISE. Get it?) Preschool.     Spent two weeks over Xmas and New Years in TN and WI.   Got to see my mother for almost 3 whole days because for the first time in 6 years I WASN'T SICK!  Yeah!   She is doing OK - cannot speak but is alert and aware of everything.  Can write a little to communicate, but mostly we just enjoyed being together.     Pushed another 1000 pictures to smugmug AND loaded our first 100 videos onto YOUTUBE.   Search on TUBEENZOU or GNA2000 to find our videos and check out the latest in the continuing saga of Jeana and Kevin in Japan.     Sept 2007   Oh, NO!  BACK TO MIHARU!   Well, the dream job turned out to be a nightmare.  Or rather, my boss turned out to be a nightmare.   As Kevin says, "You sure can pick the crazy ones, mom!"   So, after 4 months (which was technically the original timeframe we talked about anyway) of working 60 hour weeks with NO overtime and nary a good word from the boss, I quit.  We have returned to Miharu and Kevin is happily enrolled in Miharu Jr. High.  See the page on Miharu PART TWO for more information.   Jan 2007   We are MOVING to Miyagi Prefecture!   After 20 years on the Miharu rollercoaster, Kevin and I are moving to new (and hopefully greener) pastures.   A wonderful woman named Keiko has offered me my DREAM JOB in the town of Ishinomaki/East Matsushima, just north of Sendai.  So, we are moving the end of March 2007.  Kevin will be starting Jr High at Yamoto Dai Ni Jr. High in East Matsushima.  Jeana will be starting up another English preschool in Ishinomaki.  (The first in a chain?)   Dec 2006  Added like 8000 pictures to the smugmug web site.  Wow!  Even I didn't realize how many GREAT events and exchanges and classes I have lead while I was here (in spite of resistance from my nemesis!)    Click on HISTORY button above to see prior updates.

Photo ...Here's a shot of Kevin during the Omikoshi Festival (Oct 2000). See the PHOTO GALLERY for more fun photos of this interesting Japanese festival.    A reflection on the 4th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States.... I love my country (the USA) and I mean no disrespect to the victims of the terrorist attacks or their families, nor to any member of the armed forces who are now or will be fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq.  But I believe that George Bush MISLED the American people intentionally about the need for a war.     I pray every day for the safety of our soldiers and ALL the innocent victims of our  campaign in the Middle East.   At the same time I pray for the speedy and natural, but painful (Sorry.  I can be very vindictive!), death of religious extremists of ANY denomination even though I know that extremism in any form is just ignorance, and the ignorant should be pitied (and educated, if possible) not attacked.  Violence resolves nothing, but perhaps pain can bring them compassion for those they tormented.

We could have built schools and hospitals with even a portion of the money we spend on a military solution.  I pray that those terrorists and other extremists (including our President)  that do not want peace between all the people of the world, will find reason and compassion.  The box of information (right) is from rikai.com.  Think about it!

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