Day 18- First No-Ob Day!! 9/1/19

• Wakeup & Blog

• Call Family

• Bfast and Mass

• Target Run

• First Culver’s Experience

• Mall of America!! (Roller Coasters!!)

• Dinner

• Brosary; Rosary with brotherhood

• Call friends

• Bed

Today was our first No-obligation day. This means we dont have to be anywhere at anytime, a full free day to ourselves. Many missionaries plan to do fun activities, others just take the whole day to themselves in their room. I wanted to explore the Twin Cities, hence I had a full day while also calling friends and family at home. Here are the highlights. . . Actually, quick side story. For those who dont know, I am part Japanese, as my mom and grandma were born in Japan, specifically Okinawa, a small island south of the mainland. It is a military base, and they have a separate culture from Japan which they call Okinawan. Usually no one knows what it means to be Okinawan, so I typically simplify it to Japanese. On the way to Target, a girl who I hadnt met yet mentioned that she was 1/4 Japanese. Of course I replied “Me too!” and we both were impressed. She went on to say, “Well I’m not really Japanese, I’m actually Okinawan.” I freaked out. We freaked out once I told her I was too. We hadnt met another Okinawan outside of our family, and we really bonded over that. Learned later on her name is Skyler Wilkie from Arizona, and now we always have that connection together. . . When I finished my Target run, Juliana Lane (TX) and I were chilling in the van. She pointed out a restaurant called Culver’s, a Midwestern classic that reminds me of Dairy Queen. We had 20 minutes to spare, and because she was recommended to have their cheese curds, we quickly headed on over to grab a bite. I got the cheese curds and chicken tenders and IT WAS SO AMAZING!!! It was so high quality and I enjoyed every bit of it. They had way more stuff too: burgers, fries, and a variety of drinks and shakes. If you are ever in the Midwest, find a Culver’s, it is worth it. . . I had no idea what I wanted to do at Mall of America, but I just wanted to experience that too. There was 15 of us in the van heading to the mall, but I found a couple people who wanted to go roller coaster riding. I totally forgot about the coasters! So, I squaded up with Cole Jones (OR), Haley Sicking (TX), Amanda Lindayag (TX), and Jonah Zeko (CA) to go roller coaster riding. I learned it wasnt just a roller coaster or two, it was a whole theme park!! Nickelodeon Universe was astounding!! All the rides were themed to classic TV shows I grew up with: Spongebob, Dora, Blue’s Clues, Rugrats, TMNT, Transformers, and so many more. The two rides we had time for are Rockbottom Plunge and Brain Surge. Rockbottom Plunge had a 90 degree uphill climb to the roof of the 3-story mall, then a 90 degree drop down into a loop-de-loop along with a corkscrew and alot more fun twists and turns, which was exhilarating! The brain surge was a spinning ride where you can control your seat to do front flips and backflips, which was also such a fun ride! During the line for the ride I got to bond with these wonderful people, which was just as valuable as the rides, especially since in three weeks I wont be able to see them until December. Its a memory I will cherish with them.