TT

First: Happy Anniversary Maman & Papa!! Love you both!!

I believe they will all be Toki Tuesdays - but next week I will try to think of a different title. :)

Today started well though I dragged my feet a little and got to the bus station much later than I would like to arrive. (One minute before the scheduled bus arrival. Too close for my comfort - though the bus was 3-4 minutes late.) On the bus I did something new - I read a book. I'm reading the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I'm really enjoying the books. I was enraptured the whole ride and was loathe to put my book away. In fact, when I got off the bus I felt quite disoriented since I had been a magical world away! It was an odd sensation.

Once inside the school I went upstairs and quietly slipped into the teacher's room. They were saying sports and then numbers and then there would be applause. I assumed (and checked with Toki-sensei and this was the case) that they were reporting how the school had done in various sports. (Minami is well known for their sports.) I clapped with everyone else but couldn't figure out the numbers fast enough to know if we won. Also, I wondered if the Japanese do what Americans do - list the home team's score first then the opposition. So even if I figured out the numbers I would be unsure who won. LOL

In any case, I taught three third grade classes today. I made a matching worksheet that turned out to be REALLY hard. I worked SO hard to simplify the definitions - it was HARD, but the definitions for the most part were still too hard. *facepalm* Sorry guys! Toki-sensei made a comment that it was pretty hard but he also said he thought it was a good activity for them. I felt really bad. :/ They're all words from their reading! So I guess if nothing else, maybe they'll understand the reading really well now. In fact, part 2 required them to illustrate two of the words (a good check for understanding). The students were VERY creative with their drawings. I was so impressed. My only real problem during the day was that I was STARVING, oh and the midday "iron eyelids" thing. Today it was a physical fight to keep my forehead from banging onto my desk. I don't know what it is! It's like a net cast over me - it suddenly hits me and it takes a herculean effort to repel! In any case, after I ate my lunch I was hungry again fairly quickly. That was frustrating for me but lunch time was over and too bad so sad.

Suddenly I had a thought that jolted me awake: my work report was due by 17h00 and I wouldn't even get home until 17h30! I hadn't brought my computer so I pulled up google drive on my phone and hoped that they wouldn't get upset with me. I was working. So after a bit I was able to figure out how to do it and turn in my report. However I also remembered that though I had some shopping I needed to do (and had planned to do) when I got home, I had to turn in my travel receipts if I wanted to be reimbursed. Considering those receipts total over $150, I was motivated to get them turned in.

So after school, I impatiently (well more like worriedly) waited for the bus. It was 5-7 minutes late so I was feeling fairly anxious about getting home and then to the office to turn in those receipts (they leave at 18h00). I read on the bus as long as I could and I was enjoying the book but then I got freaked out thinking I might miss my stop and stopped reading. In any case, luckily the office is only 14 minutes walking distance from me so I knew I could make the trip in 5-7 (depending on lights) on my bike. I arrived home around 17h30, grabbed the receipts and pedaled off. Though before I did that I noticed a "missed delivery" slip. I grabbed that and took it with me (I ordered a case for my phone on amazon.jp)

On the way, I noticed people gathering on the street. It was Ishiwarizakura!! (Rock-splitting cherry tree) It's very famous in Iwate (and probably all of Japan). The Japanese see it as a symbol of who they are as a people. It was beautiful and I had been meaning to see it (especially since this is the blooming season and it doesn't last - and actually Kanamori-sensei asked me THIS MORNING if I had seen it yet and when I said I had not yet done so, she came by my desk THREE TIMES to tell me I needed to see it. LOL). I'm so glad I ran into it! Here it is:

Ishiwarizakura

Rock-Splitting Cherry Tree

(mmm) I'm, again, very grateful I ran into it! Then I continued to the office. I turned in my receipts and said hello to everyone. They asked me about school and I told them a few anecdotes and told them how much I loved teaching. Bryan, who is amazingly awesome, called the delivery guy for me and arranged for him to come back. He told the guy I would be there by 18h30 (35 minutes from then) to be safe.

Then I'm cooking dinner and Bryan calls me. "Why aren't you home!?" "Uhh, I am home." "Oh, well the delivery guy said he knocked and you didn't answer. He left your package on the ac unit." *I look outside.* "Ya, nothing here." "Uh oh. Maybe check around back? Bruce's side of the building?" *I walk around the entire place* "Ya, not here." "Ok, I'll call him back." Then Bryan calls back a few minutes later. "Ok, he's coming back. Maybe wait outside for him?" So even though I had JUST sat down to eat my hot dinner, I went outside into the cold to wait. The delivery guy stopped and made this shocked face and then said, "Sumimasen!" And ran to a different apartment building. LOL He came back with my package apologizing profusely. I shook my head and said, "Ok, ok." -- And that was my jolly roger. (Maybe that belonged below?) Anyway, then I went back in, ate dinner, read a little and now I'm writing. :)

Funny moments:

One boy got a "great idea!" He was frustrated with the matching worksheet and decided he would guess. He asked me to come over 3 times to "check" his answers (his guesses). SO funny, he didn't make any correct guesses. I would point down the page "No, no, no, yes (an answer he already had), no, no" and he would wail in mock despair. Thank you for entertaining me kid! LOL

My phone case lights up! It was unexpected and REALLY not me - but it's funny to me because I'm sure it was listed in the details but since I don't speak Japanese that well... ya. LOL It's a jolly roger too! Who gets a psychedelic jolly roger!? No wonder it was cheap! Sheesh.

When I first arrived - well, first I biked a block past the office since I was still thinking about the Cherry Tree. Luckily I noticed quickly and turned around. When I got to the office I chained up my bike, got in the elevator... and stared at the buttons. I couldn't remember the floor at all! I thought 6 sounded right so I pressed that button. When it got up (and they have an elevator camera), I must have looked suspicious poking my head out of the elevator and looking around. LOL But it was the right floor so yatta!

I'll share a coworker's funny story. I may have done so already (and if so, sorry), but I mentioned before that we talked and shared stories. One of which was Tom's. (He's from England.) He said that his class was being slow coming to the front so he said, enthusiastically, run-run-run-run-run! He said that now his students say "rub-rub-rub-rub!" (imitate him and the sound of "run"). - This story would be better if I could tell in person. Maybe I can get a video! Just sec...YAY! Here you go:

Oh yes! One more thing! I got to use my fast finishers in the first class. This one bright girl just BREEZED through the definitions and so I pulled out the word search and the family (かぞく) crossword in which all the clues are in kanji. She excitedly chose the crossword. Then her friend finished and I gave her one too. Then 2 other girls finished and they took the same puzzle. Then the boy in their group called Toki-sensei over (he had worked mostly on his own - I think he was shy about working with 2 girls) and asked him something in Japanese. "Ask her!" Toki-sensei replied. They both looked at me and this poor kid's face went scarlet. Toki-sensei kept goading him to speak to me, giving him different sentence/question starters, "Can I have..." "I would like.." The kid sort of looked at me miserably, lol, and I took pity on him after a minute. "Would you like one?" He nodded morosely (which made me laugh since he was so somber about getting a game), but he happily accepted the paper. :) So yay!

I've been here for more than a month (I think it's been 39 days) but this is the first entire calendar month. Feels crazy! As usual, I hope all is well with everyone! XOXO, A

Ohanami with the ward

This morning I got up feeling better than I felt yesterday morning though I hadn't had as much sleep as I wanted. I was excited to have a day off and to also see the ward. I warmed up the ham as I got ready. I then put the ham in a tupperware and off I went on my bike (I'm still pretty saddle sore but SO grateful to have that bike!). I got to the church pretty quickly and hung out with the members at the church building until it was time to go pond-side and sit and eat.

They brought a lot of yummy food! And (yatta!) Elder Preston said I could take pictures of the ward members!! So I present to you my ward:

I don't know everyone's names - but my home teacher Brother Shuwa is sitting at the center of the photo (white shirt, vest, tie) next to him is an Elder .. Matsuzuki? Something like that - this is his last transfer (he speaks fairly good English), his comp is next to him and the guy in glasses next to HIM is a recent convert :)

Ward members to my right

Ward members to my left - the sister in blue is the one who said I remind her of the missionaries (or one of) that taught her - she's very sweet :)

This guy is a crack-up and he barely speaks any English - he's one of the zone leaders

Elder Preston - the other zone leader

I was there too! (That's seaweed on my lip from an onigiri!)

It was fun to talk and laugh with them. Elder Preston sat next to me to act as translator. I was asked some interesting questions. One of which was "The best part of you?" I was like.. whaaaa?? I was tempted to say "My bum!" But I didn't want to embarrass poor Elder Preston, lol. So I said my intelligence. The women were all like, "Oooooh!" And started calling me a word that E' Preston said meant "Wise man." Uhhh maybe I misunderstood the question? Still, I had fun being there. I got to eat lots of new Japanese foods and I got to be out on Takamatsuno-Ike. Here's a picture of the pond and the road along it:

Ohanami at Takamastuno-Ike

The road that runs between the church building and the pond :)

A woman (LA) came to the activity and we got to speak for a while. She teaches English as well and was wanting to brush up on it. :) It's REALLY nice for me to have someone in the ward who speaks English (since E' Preston will be leaving in 2 weeks).

After that, I rode home quickly hoping to Skype but didn't quite make it home in time. :/ That's ok! Next weekend. I had a good, easygoing day. I did some cleaning, some emailing and chatting, and caught up on my blog! Next I will be printing a worksheet for tomorrow. :) My best to you all. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

XOXO, A

Odds and ends:

Limor & Geoff in the Ofunato paper for their Taiko group (I'm going to their performance this coming weekend)

Taken April 26 - just another random picture :)

Melon Pan Engrish: "Chocolate Chip Melon Pan" is reputed to as a good taste. LOL It was pretty good though!

Sunday!

Sunday I woke up in the spare room at James' apartment. I had woken up a few times during the night panicked because I didn't know where I was, but morning came finally! James offered coffee but I ate the sushi I had brought in my bag for breakfast. (I didn't want to shop on Sunday.) We all sat around joking and telling stories and THAT was a blast. Everyone was telling about the ways that their students make fun of them and I didn't have any stories to share. I said, "Well, ya know, my students love and respect me. What can I say?" LOL I think it would be great if they imitated me (and they may do so) but anyway.

After that, James and Devin took Allie and Tom to the station. Limor and I stayed back and hung out and talked. :) Then suddenly Limor gets a call. She turns around to the table, picks up a key and says, "I'm holding it right now." Ya, Allie left her car key at James' place. James and Devin had already left. Then a LONG while later Devin and James showed up. They had stopped by McDonalds and bought themselves breakfast. I'm glad I had brought that sushi! Poor Limor didn't get any breakfast! Though James had served coffee.

Then off Limor went to a music festival she was attending. Since I had an Ohanami celebration with the ward Monday morning I planned on getting home early enough to prep some food to take. Turns out that James and Devin were going to a beer festival in Morioka so we were able to take the train together. On the train everything just sort of hit me: the remarks made to me, other stresses, and my lack of sleep. I just started crying on the train. Luckily I had my sunglasses and James and Devin were asleep. I just wiped my tears and tried to get control of myself. I'm quite blessed to have friends in whom I can confide and who love me (mmm)! Even if they are all in the states. By the time we got to Morioka I was done crying. I led us through the station and left them near the taxis. I told them to text me later if they wanted to hang out after the festival and took off. Then I found my bike (where I'd left it the day before - it was chained!) and rode home. As soon as I got home, I showered and washed all my clothes. I had done laundry the day before but all those bars plus some members of our group smoke so even my skin and hair smelled of smoke. Then I relaxed. It was great! (I had missed church but I was able to sit and just chill. I read a little and Brother Shuwa - my home teacher called. It was pretty funny for me to see that he was calling because he doesn't speak a lot of English. But he soon handed the phone to Elder Preston and I told them I had been in Kitakami and that's why I missed church.) I cooked up the ham I received from the real estate company and put it in the fridge so I would only have to warm it up Monday morning for the ward party. I also defrosted chicken and made white stew this time with carrots and potatoes. Shortly after I had finished that I sat down to write my blogs and received a text. Everyone was down at Pirates (the bar where the owner was really cool to me and gave me free OJ) and they said I could come down for free. (The other time I had to pay a cover charge.) I wanted to see the other Interac people who had come up and I was eager to Karaoke again (I cannot get enough of it!). So I told them I would head down in a little bit and straightened my things, told Bruce about everyone being down there, and then jumped on my bike and headed down.

It took me a bit to find the place (as I'd only been there once before and had followed a group there), but I got there! Johnny was there (Scotlando) already SLOSHED but not running into walls. Then Scott and James and Devin. I don't know where everyone else went! In any case, we sang some karaoke, I played some electric guitar, and made some Japanese fans. This woman ran up to me and asked me to sing again. Aww! This other group of Japanese men really loved our group (this time I tried to pick songs that everyone would know) and sang and talked with us. I kept smelling my jacket trying to get out before my clothes smelled again. (Also, since I had washed my jacket, it was all wet and riding there had been COLD!) As it turns out, Wanted Dead or Alive is a good song for my range. I ended up singing that one solo, but most of the bar clapped for me when I was done. Aww shucks! - The Japanese ADORE Bon Jovi. One of the Japanese guys asked me to duet "Always" by Bon Jovi with him, but I don't know it. So I was unable to do so. I sang a couple duets with Devin who was kneeling on the floor by a group of Japanese women and causing them to blush and giggle and then he went over to Japanese men and did the same. Ya, I stayed in the same spot. I chatted with some people and then some things happened that told me, "Time to go!" So I said my goodbyes and headed out.

I rode home and to my chagrin, I smelled of smoke again. So I washed my clothes AGAIN and washed my hair over the tub as I didn't want my pillow to pick up the smell of smoke. I read Elder Uchtdorf's conference talk (so amazing) and went to bed. Then at .. 3h30 I got a call from James. He and Devin were looking for me place. So I tried to give them directions. James said they were on the 4. Devin said there were on the 106. I finally went out in search of them (with socks in my hair) but after 30 minutes of walking around town they informed me they were just going to catch a train to Kitakami. I wished them safe travel and got back to my place ASAP - after all my jacket was still wet and freezing. Back to bed I went. What a day!

Funny moments:

Allie started the night sleeping close to Limor (I was between Allie and the wall) and at one point I woke up and Allie was RIGHT THERE, in my face. Maybe I have more body heat? LOL Startled me though!

XOXO, A

oh p.s. happy birthday to Matt Bockholt!

All washed up!

Feels good to be clean!

I love making goofy faces!

Ann takes Kitakami!

So Saturday I planned to go to Kitakami to meet with my friends and coworkers. Hurdle #1: get on the right train. Since Devin was coming up from Sendai (well that branch he's actually in a different city) and I was coming down we decided to schedule it so that Kiwi James (who was picking us up at the station) would only have to make one trip. Devin's train ride was 2 hours long and he kept pushing to time back (which was fine for me as I was able to clean my apartment and do my laundry in the meantime).

So finally I got on my bike, pedaled down to the station and tried to get a train ticket. Luckily there was a nice officer in the train that helped me find the ticket office and then he told me platform number 5. There was a train waiting at platform 5 but as I was 12 minutes early I wasn't sure if it was my train. So I got on, and asked some teenage boys if it was the right train. All I said was, "Going to Kitakami?" They shrugged and then nodded. They got off the train and then they got back on and told me it was the wrong train. I had a momentary panic attack then this elderly gentleman sitting down was like, "Kitakami? Hai hai!" He, I'm assuming, chastised the boys for trying to trick me and they just laughed and high fived and got off the train again. Uhh... thanks. What's the point in doing that!? If I'd gotten off and missed my train... *shakes head*

So as the train started moving (I STILL wasn't sure I was on the right one) I watched its progress on my maps app. Gratefully it was the right train. Then I thought, "Hurdle number 2: get off at the right station." However with that maps app I realized that I would be able to easily see at which station we were stopping. So I listened to music and messaged some friends. As we approached Kitakami (it was a 50 or so minute train ride for me), I turned off my music. Sure enough they announced it was the Kitakami station (hurrah!), so I got off. I texted Devin to see where he was and he was still en route. So I waited for him to come in and 2 minutes later there he was stepping off his train! We then went to the East exit of the train station and Devin called James. Well apparently we got off at the wrong station (and exit) but considering James didn't tell us it was the OTHER Kitakami station, how were we to know!?

James' car

James and Limor picked us up and, get this, we drove to James apartment, then we took the train BACK to the station where we had JUST been (so we had to pay for another train) and then we walked to the ferry from there. Oh, before we went there, we went to the store. I bought popcorn (surprise!) and they all bought liquor.

At the Daiso - Some things are too funny to pass up. 'Nuff said!

Anyway, the ferry was expensive! But we thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and bought a one-way ticket (since Tenshochi is accessible by bridge we planned on walking back across that). So we paid our money and they took us to the other side of the river.

James, Devin, Limor (and me) waiting for the ferry

View from the ferry of Tenshochi

It was relatively easy from there to find everyone else. I took pictures of our group but they were more people there. With the laws the way they are I didn't feel safe taking pictures of Kelly's friends. (They came over from Australia to visit.)

A portion of our group - I love how Devin seems to be jealously eying James' cup

Marta, Patrick, James, Devin, and Limor

So we hung out in the rain in freezing FOREVER. Everyone brought food and we piled it up and shared and chatted and everyone drank except for me. James and Limor and Devin got pretty tipsy over some gin and tonic. So by the time we were walking to the bridge it was getting dark and most everyone was sort of stumbling around while I walked and enjoyed the trees and scenery.

Fish wind socks hung from Tenshochi to across the river

Our group walking in Tenshochi (which means "A site with superb views" according to a leaflet we got)

I love the rain!

The bridge we crossed

View from the bridge - fishies!

(I'm so sad this turned out blurry!) Our group (round the circle starting at the left) - Devin (with a sign he stole and dragged for blocks), Patrick, Marta, James, Allie, Kelly, Tom, and Limor

They decided we'd go to a restaurant and then a bar. It took us a LONG time to find a restaurant that had room for us and we actually ended up in more of a bar that had more food selection but more of a restaurant setting.

Walking to the restaurant - James & Devin arm in arm (that's Tom's back)

Had to take a pic for the name - Liquor Big Red (uhhh for what were you going?)

 In any case, they had beer after beer and I sat and ate some chicken katsu with Kelly. When the bill came they told me I owed and luckily Patrick spoke up and said, "But all Ann had was water and some chicken!" I still paid more than I had technically eaten but luckily not as much as everyone else. Everyone was fairly sloshed by then. Then off we went to a bar that James and Marta loved. There everyone drank some more and Devin ordered a burger. He got one bite of it - then he took off to have a walk around the block and everyone else finished his burger. They said it was really good. I couldn't in good conscience taste it. Without his permission - plus HE paid for it - I just dislike VERY much when people just take food off my plate/from me, so I don't do it to other people. At least, I try very hard not to do so. After that we went to karaoke. Karaoke was frustrating for me. I had ALREADY spent more than I wanted to spend and was feeling a little painted into a corner and they got the "all you can drink and karaoke" option and I wasn't allowed to pay a different rate for no drinking. They showed me all the soda they have (ya, I RARELY drink soda because the carbonation gives me migraines), and they had ONE juice. So Limor paid for me (I owe her $25 for that *sigh* SO expensive!) and I ordered the grapefruit juice and up we went. (The grapefruit juice was NOT grapefruit juice. It was FUNKY. It tasted like grapefruit juices smells... if that makes sense? It wasn't grapefruit juice at all.) The karaoke was pretty fun though I guess I picked obscure songs because everyone would sing everyone's songs until we got to mine. So I got to have several solos. When our hour was up, they called up and I said, "Let's go!" No no! Another hour. So that was added to my tab and we sang some more. When they called a third time, I tried to talk everyone out of it but they wouldn't listen. So when they guy came up to collect the money, I pointed to my nose and "smells bad." (Waved no Japanese-style) So he adjusted the price and I told Limor I would be downstairs reading. I made my excuses and ducked out. Allie ducked out at the same time. She had lost $60 from her wallet and had to go to an atm to get more cash. She left the building and I ended up going back up to sit on a bench near the room where everyone was singing. I could hear them through the wall! LOL In any case, I read my book (that mmm I had in my purse) until they were ready to go. Then we went downstairs and no Allie.

We waited out in the freezing for her (at this time it was after 2h00) but she didn't come and didn't come. Finally we decided we would go find her. Everyone else was starving so we went to a 7-11 and got food (well, they did). We looked and walked and called and walked and looked. By the time we found Allie it was 3h50! Then we all got cabs (yay! more money I hadn't counted on spending *sigh* - but I understand. The fines and jail time for drinking and driving here are quite severe. And if you're in a car that is driven by a drunk person, you also are persecuted for allowing them to drive. You suffer the same punishments to only a slightly lesser degree for riding a bike drunk!). James didn't know his address so we got dropped off at a 7-11 near his house. Then we walked to his place. While we had been on the street looking for Allie I confided to Devin that I felt like I was going to vomit. I was so intensely cold that my muscles were spasming and the ones around my stomach were making me SO nauseous. It would have been intensely ironic if the one sober person in the group was the first one to vomit! Luckily I didn't.

So when we got to James, we all tumbled into bed (bedding on the floor in James' spare room) and everyone fell asleep pretty quickly. I was just on edge. Some comments had been made during the night (of course everyone was drunk but they were still disconcerting - quite), and it just took me a while to get warm and feel safe and fall asleep. The rest of the story is in the pictures. :)

Funny moments:

When I was at the train station and finally had my ticket, I started to go through the gate and the machine turned all red and angry and started saying things at me in Japanese. I turned around, eyes wide, and that same guard who had helped me before was running up to me. I shook my head in confusion and he took my ticket and put it in for me. I apologized and he said it was ok and off I went. So then when I got off at Kitakami, I asked Devin what we were supposed to do with our ticket stubs. We saw those same kinds of gates we had entered before and put our tickets in. The machine spit them out and then made blaring sounds at us (like in game shows - uh uh)! Then we saw that everyone else was turning their ticket in to an agent and we sheepishly backed out of the gates and gave him our tickets apologizing. LOL I know what >I< woulda thought if I were a Japanese person watching us. Just WHAT do they think they're doing!? LOL

XOXO, Ann

Deaf School Days Part 2!

I confess that I was a little worried to come to the Deaf school again as I made a girl cry last week. :/ However I was also excited to meet more students and potentially redeem myself. Also today was my first time teaching junior high and elementary school children in Japan. I had prepared the last couple days but I still felt a great deal of trepidation as I left my apartment. Hurdle number one: get on the right bus. As many of you know, I got on the bus I was told to take last week and luckily I talked to the driver because it was the wrong bus. *facepalm* So this week I was going to try again. Last Friday I was called twice by the office with them confirming with me the bus number I should take for the next week. Then they also called me yesterday after I got out of school. "Do you remember which bus to take? Did you get my email?" Ya, I pretty much memorized that email the second I got it. So this morning I was off to spot #3 at the bus station headed for Otobe. As soon as I got on the bus, I approached the driver. "Otobe ni?" -"Hai!" YATTA! Right bus. So I sat down and sent an email to my parents' phones stating that the first part of my mission was a success. I couldn't help but feel super nervous though. I was slated for a half hour bus ride so if it wasn't the right bus, I was headed for 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Then I would have to get off, THEN call a taxi, THEN for sure I would be late. So I was anxiously watching out the window and thankful for my dad teasing me as it helped to make the mood a little more light for me. Well, in front of the Choukaku Shien is a public junior high school. So when some young students got on the bus, I felt a lot of relief. I kept watching my watch and my cell phone clock as the bus should have been arriving at my stop around 7h51. Well that time came and went and suddenly there was an announcement for "Otobe." Well, it didn't look anything like the stop that M-s had shown me. I was SO stressed at that moment. I asked one of the school kids and they nodded that it was indeed Otobe and I asked the driver, he said yes, then I said, "Otobe Sakai?" To my relief, he gestured further down the road. I think I frustrated him a little but hey I was trying! (SOOOO glad M-s had written "Otobe Sakai" on my paper or I wouldn't have known to say that (mmm). It was the next stop. I was HUGELY relieved. I don't think I can express the amount of relief I felt. Another guy got off on the same stop. Ya, he teaches at the same school. ARGH! How come he didn't help me!? LOL Well, I guess it's because he talked AT me for a few minutes and then jogged on. *shrug* I lagged behind to get a couple pictures. In any case, I made it! To the right school. Using the bus. And I got there on time. (mmm) Huge, huge blessing! Here's the school (sorry not legally allowed to post :/, removed the pictures):

When I got to the school I saw Sugita-sensei but since I was teaching jhs and elem today, I told her I was going to go to the jhs staff room for the beginning of the day and return after lunch. Then off I went to the jhs staff room. They were all in a meeting so I organized my teaching materials until Ito-sensei (woman) showed up. She's so much fun! She knows some ASL and is of course fluent in JSL. We chatted and I got the names of the students.

Then off to teach! Today was GREAT. The kids were so wonderful, I was able to change my lesson. In fact, two of the kids in my second lesson were in my third! So I changed what I was doing on the fly! It just went so, so well. Three parents sat in on my second lesson and one of the two elementary girls made me cookies! I was SO touched. She hadn't even met me but made me almond shortbread cookies. They were SO good. Back in the staff room Ito-sensei gave me tea and cookies and then another teacher came back and gave me a bean bun and THEN when I got back to the hs staff room (which has my desk) there was a chocolate cookie thing (it wasn't really chocolate but that's what the package said) on my desk AND THEN, they gave me another little cookie! Sheesh! The Deaf school seems to have noticed my weight loss and it displeases them. ;) OH! And the best presents I got today? The kids made intro sheets that have their pictures on them and I get to keep them! EEEE! Here's a picture of my presents:

the little bag with hearts is the cookies :)

So I was told that I could, again, catch the earlier bus. I was so excited to get my weekend started early. I chatted for a bit with that girl who sits next to me and is helping me learn Japanese and then off I went. As soon as I got home, I sat down and ate the rest of my sushi (that I had brought for lunch) and was just settling in with a book. Then the office called me. I left my computer cord at the school. AARRRGGHH! I would have just gotten it later but then I wouldn't be able to work on or print my worksheets AND I'm not slated to go back to Choukaku Shien until May 10th (because next Friday is a holiday). So, back on the bus I went. (It's a 1.75 hour round trip.) So I ended up getting home later than usual. However, (mmm) the school noticed I had left my cord and called Interac. If I hadn't noticed until my computer was dying... oh man. I don't know when I could have gone back as the school is closed on the weekends and it will be for the holiday too. So I wasn't thrilled about going back but I was grateful that what could have been a DISASTROUS situation was only an annoyance.

So when I finally got home, I cleaned a little, made my dinner and then sat down to read. I was just about to start writing my blog when my doorbell rang. -For me, this is a scary situation. Who is it?? It was Bruce! He invited me to a game night with other English speakers - yay! So that's why this blog is written so late - I went to a big game night where we played German games. LOL (The guy who brought the games is from Germany so ya.. they were German games.) It SO reminded me of game nights at home. Only instead of Dave it was Markus explaining these really complicated rules! Yeesh - but it was really fun and I'm glad I was invited.

Funny moments:

One of the Deaf kids told me he didn't like frogs. I told him I really liked them and then he went on to sign a story (and sign being so visual even though it was Japanese sign language I was able to follow most of what was signed) about how when he was a little kid a frog jumped on his face. Oh man! Poor guy! I told him I would feel the same if that had happened to me.

One of the games I had the jhs students do is to guess the order of siblings by writing numbers underneath the sibling picture we took at the American Fork Amphitheater. The first class guessed Nathanaël was the oldest and put me third and Jerod fifth. The second class put Jerod first and me seventh! They put Simone before me both times! Both classes got the last 4 correct (Josué to Ava).

And so... I got to making faces again... it's so fun! And I got a couple nice shots too. Enjoy! XOXO, A

aww nice and professional post-work face!

angry face! I made this for Devin and Limor

creepy face!

oh reary!?

whaaaaaaa!?

oooooh

pretty face in pajamas!

Sushi Day!

Today was pretty great. Well I had some bad dreams and I was tired this morning and later than usual getting to the bus stop (still a few minutes early but it feels like a chance as in America I've had buses come early and I miss them because of that. I don't know how they get away with it, but I'm paranoid about that happening here.) In any case, once I got on the bus, I was feeling awesome! When I got to the school I got my stuff and got started. I already had my copies made so I continued working on my fast finishers. I am proud to say that I have 3 crossword puzzles ready to go (and on one all the clues are in Kanji so it took me FOREVER to make), and 1 word search. From creation to printing, I did all the work myself. :D I hope I get to use them!

Today I had only 2 classes as Oikawa-sensei had business to take care of today so one of my classes was cancelled. I had asked around yesterday and I had asked around a little bit this morning for the SLP for next week and I finally got some information. My information for the third years was, make something. Done. I had already made a worksheet for one class on my own (just in case) and then I made another one for the 2 classes in a different textbook. Then I finally received word on the first years. I made this beautiful worksheet and I just tried printing it... it won't work. *sigh* So I will have to change it. Dang it! *sigh* Oh well. It was funny, Hashimoto-sensei had told me about the worksheet and what they were thinking. I put it all together and at the end of the day he came to me with another similar idea. "Let me show you what I have." I totally wowed him. Then he asked, "What about the 2nd and 3rd graders?" I pulled up my worksheets for the third graders and told him my second grade class had been cancelled the following week. He just looked at me. "I like to be prepared." *blink blink* "I'm a very organized person." LOL He shook his head in amazement?, anyway he shook his head and walked away.

Anyway, my classes went really well - and Fujieda-sensei said, "That was a really good plan! The students liked it and it was fun!" YAY! Because classes are longer on Thursdays and Fridays I was able to play a game with them at the end of class. We played Fruit Basket with the new words I had taught them. (They got to practice their listening comprehension and the person who was "it" their pronunciation.) They LOVED the game. YAY! :D I am not having 100% success at every turn, but when I was showing Hashimoto-sensei my worksheets it struck me how blessed I am. (mmm) The worksheets were hard work to put together but the ideas were there. I even have a great warm up idea. I've been blessed with good ideas and plans and I am quite grateful for that.

I helped the students when it was cleaning time and when it was time to go I said goodbye to the teachers and took my leave. My bus ride home was exceptional and when I got home even better! For dinner I had miso (that I made myself) and (drumroll please) sushi! Sushi I made all by myself with no help or hints from anyone here. Well, other than M-s helping me to get the right kind of seaweed (nori) when we went shopping before. My avocado was finally ripe. I'm not sure how to get the right fish to make sushi so I made a vegetarian roll. I cooked up some carrots in some water and seasoning I have (no idea what the seasoning is but it tastes amazing and it's the sauce that when I asked M-s what the staple spice was, she came back with it and said, "I always cook with this."). I left them a little crunchy and then cut up my avocado and made the rice. I then spread the rice, added the veggies and rolled them up. I had some trouble with cutting the roll afterwards but man it was DELICIOUS. A package of nori comes with 7 wraps so I made 7 rolls. Dinner for tonight and 2 lunches. Sooo good! Man I am an accomplished woman. I got a lot done today! Here's pictures of my sushi making adventure:

During the process

The finished product :)

(Btw if you're wondering why I made sushi on my bed -- no counter space! And the little bit I've got is 3' high!) Welp, I've got some more lesson planning and things to take care of and then off to bed! :) Hope you all had a wonderful day or will have one! XOXO, A

Funny moments:

So, I finally managed to rid myself of my garbage stash! I was (accidentally) like one of those hoarders I hear about on tv. I got help from my home teachers with reading my garbage schedule and as of this morning, all my saved up garbage is gone! Yatta!

One of my third grade classes, during their warmup (which was to use magnets I'd given them - at least 3 - and make a sentence) made this sentence: I love pink sausage. I laughed so hard. Today one team of 3 boys came up with: I belong to the blue spring club. They hooted and laughed like it was the best  and funniest thing ever. I was so proud of them and couldn't help but laugh at their laughter. :) Japanese kids are so great!

Weird Wednesday

Today was a weird day. Hashimoto-sensei was going to be away so he scheduled for Suzuki-sensei (male) to take his place. That was fine - great! Suzuki-sensei is the cute little old Japanese man who put himself in the corner last week. LOL

So, the first class went really well. Suzuki-sensei is a real ham and he made me and the kids laugh. Everything went very smoothly and in fact this class was the best one at the warm-up. They loved it! I told them no cheating - no copying for the worksheet, but ya... they didn't listen. *sigh* Well, I hope they learned the concept!

Second class, with Suzuki-sensei (woman). This is the class with all boys. I had this really great lesson planned but the boys were too busy yelling at each other and 2 of them got into a fight a couple times (it was scary for ME) and they damaged some of my belongings. It was hard not to scream at them or break down into tears. I felt that neither would do any good so I tried to lower my voice and persevere. It was heartbreaking for me though. I really tried to come up with a lesson these boys would like and they stomped all over it. :/ Rough class and I feel sort of bad saying it but when Suzuki-sensei informed me that the next week the second graders would be visiting universities and that class was cancelled I felt immense relief. Hopefully this will give me enough of a break to regroup and come at them again. They are all very rowdy boys and they all seem to loathe English. I guess at the base of it, my feelings are hurt. I really worked hard to think of a fun, engaging lesson that was tailored to THEM and it didn't matter. :/ Well, live and learn

Then it was Suzuki-sensei (man) and me again! The dream team lives on! This class was much quieter and worked harder on the worksheet. Going around I could see that it really had clicked for some kids and that made my day!

Then as I was gearing up for the next class with Suzuki-sensei (it was a Suzuki day for me!), he informed me that Hashimoto-sensei had changed the schedule again and they were not slotted for English. So I kept working on my fast-finishers. For final products, I have 2 crossword puzzles and one word search. I'm quite proud of them. Especially since one of my crossword puzzles has kanji for all the clues. That took me FOREVER to make. I only knew one of the kanji the puzzle required so I've been doing a lot of research. The other puzzle gives clues in English and the word search is fruits. I'm immensely proud of them. :D I'm working on 2 other crossword puzzles now and thinking of doing another word search. I hope the students like them as much as I liked putting them together. :D

After work I was supposed to go help the elders teach English class but then I FINALLY got my lesson plans for this Friday. Eep! So I stayed home (also it's pouring rain and pitch black out so I felt safer staying in - hope the elders forgive me :/) and atm I'm writing this but I also will be making lesson plans. I'm excited to go back to the Choukaku Shien (in spite of leaving last week feeling like the worst person ever)! They are so kind to me there and everyone really tries to engage me in conversation.

Oh also: while I was waiting for the bus, the baseball team jogged by. Most of those teenage boys took off their hats as they passed me/greeted me. I was really touched. :)

Well I'm off to make lesson plans! XOXO, A

Funny moments:

(slightly inappropriate) I forgot this one from yesterday! While I was teaching Mr. Toki was walking around and checking for understanding. On the fill in the blank worksheet (in which I put new words into the text they've been studying) one of the blanks was changed from "men of ninety" to "bulls of ninety." I made the whole story about cows with extraordinary longevity as opposed to humans. Anyway, while I was reading, I got to "bulls." I slowed down and enunciated it to help the students write it down. Mr. Toki followed up with, "Big bulls!" It was hard not to burst into laughter as it didn't sound like he said "bulls." I turned to him and said, "AC/DC?" - To check if he understood what he had said and he just blinked at me. "Nevermind!" Oh man it was hard to not bust a gut!

Today one of the vice-principals approached me and (he speaks a little more English than I speak Japanese) asked me about a nickname. I told him my nicknames are all longer than my name. He didn't understand what I was trying to motion and what I was saying so Oikawa-sensei stepped in and translated. Then Oikawa-sensei asked, "What does your name mean?" -"Gracious and prayerful." -"Gracious and powerful!" I laughed and said, "Powerful *flexed my arm*, no. Prayerful *put my hands together* yes." Then they asked me several times to say both words and attempted to say them themselves. I never realized how closely they sound until the Japanese pointed it out to me. I said "prayerful" so many times it started to sound like a pseudoword to me! In any case, good times!

Toki-Tea-Tuesday

So far in my very large amounts of teaching Tuesdays here (2 total now), I have been with Mr. Toki all day. Today was the same. I taught 3 classes with him. The SLP said that I would only be teaching the first half of class, but as it turns out, I was teaching the whole time! It actually was fine - I was able to adapt and change things and the whole time was filled without issue.

Today we got to test out my other set of worksheets I made. The first set went really well, the second, not so well. I picked words that I thought for sure they would know (like ninja, sheesh!), but it was a lot of blank stares and quiet. It was almost excruciating. One student took it upon himself to answer all the questions. I'm grateful for him as I would give in on hard words but easy words (like ninja)... I waited. And waited. And waited. Painful. I think at the root of it is a dislike for English - but then there's the fact that the class laughed when I did my first read-through. I mean both sheets were funny (to me), but the other classes were so stoic about it. *facepalm* In any case, class overall went well. I just learned and am going to recalibrate. I have one other class who is in the same text and I am changing a few things but I also am going to keep some things the same to see if it's a class problem or if it's my instrument. I am more than willing to change and I think I may take dice with me to that class always. Sheesh. I hope they don't dislike me. :/ Anyway...

The teachers all sort of scattered after 6th period and Monday - Wednesday there are 7 periods. So I asked Kanamori-sensei if school was over. "No, no. It's cleaning time." -- Which happens after school. Ya, school was over. Well, there was cleaning time then bicycle inspections! I went outside to participate. Well, it amounted to me talking to and distracting the students who were in line. But they taught me some new Japanese words and we talked about bikes. :D It was really great. I feel like a celebrity with all the students calling out "Hello!" whenever they see me. :) After the students were told to put their bikes away it was club time. Kanamori caught me on the way back in (thank goodness as I wasn't sure which club I could visit or where they would be meeting, etc). She invited me to the Ceremonial Tea Club. It was SO COOL. They had a traditional tea room - well, a traditional tea room but bigger. Most traditional tea rooms are 4.5 tatami big. This one, since it services a school of 600+ students (ya, that's how many students I have!) is bigger. Here's a picture I found on the internet that shows what they look like:

They all have tatami and that nook with the flower and wall scroll

The one at the school did not have a flower but Kanamori-sensei showed me in her book that there is a traditional sweet and flower for each month of the year. If you want to have a real tea ceremony, you have to order the sweets ahead of time and she said they are quite expensive. We used a sweet from the local market. They used the correct tea though - powdered matcha/macha (green tea). She took us all outside the room and showed us the correct way to enter. The only boy in the club went first then they made me go next! o.0 I'm glad I got a turn but I wasn't ready to go second! *laughs* The girls helped me though and so I entered the traditional way. Then we were served. Kanamori-sensei helped me with the phrases I needed to say. There's a lot of bowing (of course) and when you pick up the sweet it has to be done a certain way. There are hand movements around the ohashi that must be done. Then the same with the tea. One has to move it and pick it up and hold it a certain way and then turn it, say a phrase, bow again and drink. The macha tasted much better than the tea bag green tea I've been offered. The girl serving the tea also goes through rituals as well.

The school has all those utensils but ours were on an ornate table

Powdered macha is used in the ceremony - the instrument on the right is a whisk

Overall it was a humbling experience. Hundreds (thousands probably) of years of tradition and I was being allowed to participate and was told about the aspects and helped through the ceremony. When I had to leave to catch my bus I thanked them and bowed low and long. I was so grateful to be included.

On the way home Bruce ended up being on the same bus so we got to talk shop a little. He was telling me about the way he's going about teaching pronunciation and I thought it was a great idea but I don't have his 4 years of experience here. He sketched out his idea but I would never be able to flesh it out. Still, it was cool to talk about teaching.

After I got off the bus I walked down to Maruichi (the grocery store). I needed groceries and I was under the impression that I would have guests this weekend for Hanami so in an effort to save them money, I bought food that I could cook for dinner. Shortly after I got home I found out no one is coming. :/ *Sigh* But as our family says, "Do you know what this means monkey-boy!? ..." :D

I had miso and these veggie patties I saw at the grocery store for dinner. Oh man they were SO good!

Oh! I forgot to tell you - on Sunday I ate an aloe yogurt. I didn't realize it, but when I bought a yogurt pack that had a fruit assortment somehow aloe made that list. It's funky. It doesn't taste bad but it tastes like aloe smells... it's just a strange experience. You know how smell evokes the strongest memories? Smelling and tasting that yogurt took me right back to Argentina. We were trying to reactivate Miriam (reactivate: help start coming back to church and encouraging someone to become fully active again) and she loved us. One day I had some sort of burn or cut and when she saw it she said, "I have just the thing for that!" She ran out to her yard with a machete and came back with this HUGE aloe leaf! It was about 2' long and at the widest part of the blade 1'. She squeezed the aloe out (and there was A LOT) right onto me! Aww I miss Miriam. What a wonderful woman! Anyway, funky.

I had a very good day and hoped you all did as well. Tomorrow I have my class of almost all boys. :D I've planned a musical chairs activity so hopefully that goes well! Here's wishing you the best all the way from Japan with love always! XOXO, A

Funny moments:

When Kanamori-sensei was describing the instruments to me she called the whisk a "whisker." English is a funny language. That should be ok to say as it describes what the tool does, but we never say whisker unless referring to animals!

Super Monday!

Today was just awesome. I felt great!

The day started off ok - I was really tired and sort of stumbled around and left my place forgetting to pull out chicken to make some curry for my meals to take to school. I remembered that at school. *facepalm*

In any case, I got to the school and got upstairs and started getting ready for my classes. I was making copies to teach 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 7th period. Two third grade classes studying different material and 2 first grade classes (3rd and 7th). Then Fujieda-sensei found me and said 1st period had been cancelled. She said that they had to do exam preparation. "Oh ok. Should I still keep these copies for next time?" -"Yes." Then my other 3rd grade class got cancelled. I feel neutral about the whole thing. I love teaching but it's hard not to feel like you got a free pass when someone takes work away, lol. In any case, I am prepared for next week for them! Yatta!

So I dug in to wait for 3rd period. Then I discovered not working SUCKS. I don't have my schedule next week yet so I was sitting around and trying to find anything to do to look busy. Well, I prepared some things using the texts for "just in case." I thought about making all my copies for the week but I thought that might be a bad idea as I had walked in and had 2 classes cancelled out of the blue. I don't want to waste paper if possible. So I organized and reorganized my desk and I made some crossword puzzles. I think I am going to make a bunch of them and use them as fast finishers. Hopefully the kids will like them. It's a bit of a problem making them though as I'm not sure the common English words they learn. For example I started to make one on fruit and I stopped after listing 7-8 because I wasn't sure which they would know! I have proof of how tired I was! I wrote this (and I'll take a picture so you can see how squiffy my handwriting goes): holyfrak I'm exhausted and with nothing to do, I'll go mad! Well I might fall asleep on the job and that would be completely disastrous for both me and Interac. I feel like I'm perpetually in trouble here. I get here late because of the bus -- not sure if I'm forgiven though(scratched out t) fei(changed to an e)ls a little anti-Ann. =( Doin the best I cun (sloppy line across the u to make it an a) and falling asleep doing it. Oh man I'm exhausted past the ribs! Yeesh." LOL The handwriting at the end looks all small and crooked. I finally got up and went to the bathroom. I didn't really have to go but it gave me an excuse to walk (I'm becoming a floor toilet pro, btw). Here's that note:

Sleepy note

So, YAY! I was invited to be in the yearbook. I'm in! :D I'm hoping since I'm in, there will be a way I can buy one. I'm teaching every student in the school eventually so I really want a copy! I'll see if I can get one.

The classes I taught went really well. One class cheated on their worksheet (showed each other the answers rather than asking.. doh - luckily I had enough other stuff on the worksheet). I hope they all enjoyed it. It's a verb sheet, but I tried to make it funny/fun. Anyway the classes were great.

I helped the kids clean up at the end of the day (as I always do) and then I asked Fujieda-sensei about "Otsukare sama deshita" - It's a goodbye but she couldn't give me a direct translation. In any case, she taught me how to say, "I'm going to visit the clubs!" So I used it but people looked at me funny so I think I learned it wrong. :/ I ran into some girls in the hall and used my phrase and they were like, "Crabbu??" And invited me to go to theirs. So I showed them my feet (I needed to get my outside shoes). They laughed at me and I met them outside.

I went to Brass Band club! It was so cool! The girl sitting next to me was playing the Euphonium. She asked if I had ever seen one before and I said, "Yes in a movie!" She's never seen Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Also, it was really hard for her to say. Oops! There were 2 trumpeters, 2 girls on clarinet, a tenor sax player, a tuba player (who was only 2 feet taller than the tuba!), 2 girls on mallets/drums, a flautist, a french horn player, and an alto sax player. They were all girls and man they were TALENTED. I was awed and it was so cool to listen to them warm up and practice. They were really excited that I knew all the instruments (except for the Euphonium - I recognized it but didn't remember the name!). They chatted with me and I made them laugh and told them my family members who had played their various instruments. Then came, "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Uh.. a lot. :) I had to leave while they were practicing to catch the bus but I think it will make a big difference that I am going to these various clubs. I really do think I have amazing students and hopefully this will also allow me to learn some names! I LOVE technology. It lets me stay in contact with close friends and family (mmm).

I caught the bus home and as soon as I got in I put submerged the chicken package in cold water to thaw. I then made and ate dinner and read a book. I just finished making spicy chicken curry and am letting it cool so I can use my one medium saucepan to cook some rice over which to pour the curry. I'm excited to try it as it's the spiciest one you can get! :D

Anyway, waiting for the bus at the school some students passed me and said, "You look happy!" -"I AM happy!" And I thought about that on the bus. I AM happy. I love teaching. I loved spending time with the Brass Band. I just felt so empowered and successful and happy. I'm so grateful for that feeling. :)

Funny moments:

Man the photographer was CONFUSING. He would tip his hand one way so I would lean my head that way and he would say something at me in Japanese and tip it the other way so I would tip my head the other way. Then he would say something in Japanese at me. It must have looked like I was dancing moving my head back and forth and back and forth! Make up your mind! He then took 3 pictures. Those of you who have taken pictures of me probably suspect the same thing as me: my eyes were closed. I am REALLY good at blinking right when a picture is taken!

The girls who invited me to their club, one of them, (finally!) asked my age. "Watashi ha san ju sai desu." Ya, they didn't believe me! I guess it's flattering but my students think I added years to my age! Is that a thing in Japan?? LOL It's funny to me that they think I padded my age and lied to them.

XOXO, A

Big Day!

First of all:

I called today a big day because I had a lot to do. My body FINALLY relaxed and only woke me up twice last night. So I was actually asleep when my alarm went off. That was nice (well, it would be nice to wake up 1 minute before it went off, but I'm happy getting the extra sleep)! As I sat up I felt what I knew what coming... saddle soreness. Oh man I'm so saddle sore from the long ride I had yesterday. However, I'm very grateful for my bike that let me sleep in an extra half hour. I got ready for church and got out the door a little later than I wanted, but excited to get to church.

I made it there on time, but by the time I changed into my church clothes I was a minute or two late. :/ Oops! I will get ready earlier next time! They read my name in this week and I was officially welcomed and became part of the ward. YAY! I was invited to the stand after Sacrament to do a short self-introduction and to bear my testimony. I did the self-intro myself (other than the word, "oldest"), and then Elder Preston translated my testimony. In my self-intro (jikoshokai) I said, "I am called Ann Carlisle. I am from the US, California and Utah. My family is big. I'm number one! (I was trying to say that I was the oldest, so then I turned to Elder Preston and said, "Oldest?" And he translated.)" I think that's it. Then I bore my testimony. I can't remember everything I said but I can bear another testimony! - I know that my Savior lives and I am grateful for His sacrifice for me. I know I was supposed to come to Japan. I bear testimony that my Heavenly Father is aware of me personally. I love the gospel! - and closed. :) Elder Preston sat next to me and translated the meeting for me. I'm grateful for that! (mmm)

Then I went to RS. It was nice and since they had given me a Lorenzo Snow lesson book in English I had been able to read the lesson beforehand. (GREAT lesson - #7 on trials.) I could tell by heading placement and paragraphs where they were reading so I was able to follow along. They even asked me to read twice. :) - In English. I was very touched at how hard they tried to include me. It was hard not to let my mind wander when people were making comments. I was trying to listen and then I would find myself thinking about whatever. So I would pull myself back to the moment.

When RS finished I pulled out 8 peanut butter cups that I had left over from my omiyage to give to the sisters. They were all so pleased and grateful. I was hoping they would take it as thanks for them inviting and including me. But no, I triggered that, "Must give back." *facepalm* I felt really badly as one sister pulled out cookies and shared then gave the rest of the box to me. I didn't know how to turn it down politely. I mean cookies are great and all, but they were HER cookies and I felt badly taking them. Then I received more apples from another family who also owns an apple orchard (and I found out that the ones who do live near the Choukaku shien!). THEN, my home teacher came in and was talking to me. He saw the chocolates and made some remark about them. So I dug in my bag and brought one out for him. They all exclaimed, "Ruki! Ruki!" (lucky) And I'd only brought 10 so ya.. Then he leaves and comes back with this weird cheese snack. Maybe they were all planning on sharing food anyway but I feel like I obligated them to do so and that wasn't my aim at all. :c They've already given me so much! I was trying to give back. It's like some twisted game to get even. *shakes head woefully* AARGH!

After that I hung out a little bit with the ward members and got to know them a little better and tried to talk myself into going to this cooking class I had said I would attend. I love to cook and it's run by a group that tries to get together English speakers and Japanese people who want to learn English so ya... It was at .. Aiina. LOL I told myself I would go so I finally got up the guts to get going and looked up a route to Aiina from the church. Off I went on my bike (after changing back into pants). Ya.. I got fairly lost. Following the navigation while on my bike is a joke! However I just made it reroute me. I actually only had to do that once so that's good. Then I got to a part of town I recognized. My long bike ride yesterday was a blessing in disguise! I came to that side of town and knew exactly where I was. My route directed me another way in which I would be able to take my bike all the way to Aiina but I felt more comfortable doing what I had done the day before. I parked my bike outside the station and walked through it to get to the upper part of town and then Aiina. I was 30 minutes late, but I made it!

When I walked in (I got directions from the front desk - thank goodness the mean girl wasn't there), they asked me if I wanted to do meat or veggie. I said either so they put me with a veggie group. Angel (one of our Interac guys) was in that group so we got to catch up. He knows some sign and it was nice to just be able to speak about whatever I wanted. He pointed out a few guys he thought were cute and we cooked the lasagna with our group. I was able to talk to some Japanese people and message someone back home. It was a really nice experience. The class was slated to go from 1300-1700 but my home teachers were coming at 1700 so I wanted to leave by 1600 to get home with enough time to do some prep work. Our lasagna finished right at 1600 so I ended up leaving at 1610 so I could eat a piece. It was delicious! The noodles were premade for us, but homemade. And one REALLY cool thing? Tofu all the water squeezed out plus salt, pepper, oregano, miso, spinach (cooked), and garlic spun up in a food processor was like a creamy spinach-oregano ricotta. Sooo good. So our lasagna ended up looking like this when it was finished:

Our vegetarian lasagna

So I cycled home and got here in record time! It's a 40 minute walk from Aiina to my apartment but only a 20 minute trip back and it's that much because I had to walk back through the station to my bike. It was a 15 minute ride at most. YAY! (And it was only that long because I have to stop at the lights.) I am SO sore, but I was so glad to have 20 minutes to prepare for my home teachers. I started to warm up the miso but thought that that would be too much. So I put it back in the fridge, and I boiled hot water instead for tea. So when they got here I offered them tea (apple and fruit) and sandwiches and that sugar bread. They happily accepted. Then we had a sort of weird-long conversation because Elder Preston was translating. It was slightly arduous even for me and I wasn't doing any work! Poor guy. He and his companion and Shuwa Kyodai are my home teachers. All in all it was nice visit. Then they helped me decipher some of my mail (thank goodness as there was a bill and there and I didn't even know! And Shuwa Kyodai offered to take my money down for me. I have to go to a bank to pay and they aren't open on the weekends and they close at 15h00. I was like, "How am I supposed to pay this!?" Then he offered to do it. I gave him the money and much gratitude. mmm I'm SO grateful for a church that is spread around the world. It's so nice to have a ward family!). They also helped me decipher the garbage schedule as I've been hoarding (not on purpose!) because I don't know when I can put the garbage out and at what time. Yeesh! However, they helped me with that too! (mmm)

After they left, I washed my dishes and then sat down to eat some dinner (miso, mmm) and read a bit. Then I wrote this post. I will now get my stuff back together for tomorrow (lay out my clothes, put my stuff back in my bag, etc), probably read a little more then go to bed. Today was a good day. :) It was perhaps busier than any Sunday I've had since the mission, but I am telling myself to be thankful as I have many blessings and things for which to be thankful. Next weekend I will see some friends for Hanami and go to a ward party a week from tomorrow so there isn't much "relaxing" time in my future, but I am happy to be busy and not think on what I wrote in RS. -They asked us to write our trials on a piece of paper and I wrote: loneliness. Today I was not lonely and I'm so grateful to a Father in Heaven who puts people in my life who I can help and people who can help me. <3

Funny moments:

I realized when I was dressing that I was in BIG trouble. To bicycle to church, I had decided to wear pants. The members last week were saying that's what I should do so I wasn't feeling too awkward about the whole thing. I have 2 pairs of pants that aren't slacks. One pair is my Black Ops ones that I wore ALL the time at home but here I can't because I have to wear slacks. The other is my jeans. Since it was raining, I went with jeans. I put them on then they starting sliding down. I've lost enough weight now that this coming Saturday, I HAVE to get a belt. I considered tucking my jeans into my tights that's how badly they were falling down. However, I had wearing tights going for me as they are a bit... stickier? They hold to other fabrics. Needless to say, there were a few nearly identical experiences to the one I had when I was 12. (When my pants fell down in an intersection while I was walking my bike across the street.) Eep! I got pictures of my figure at the church to prove it and they are below.

When they had me stand up to welcome me to the ward, I had been asked to do a self-intro. I wasn't sure if it was yet so when they all welcomed me, I didn't sit back down. LOL I started to make as if I were going to go to the front and the sister sitting next to me was like, "No no! Sit down." Only in Japanese - and that's just a guess at what she said. But she was waving me back and looking panicked. LOL Whoops.

Also a funny moment I forgot from last Friday - I mentioned I had met some of the elementary and jhs students at lunch time. One of the elementary students came up to me and shook my hand then said to her friend, "Ookiii!" -She was saying my hands were big. I nodded and made a face of commiseration. She then was startled as she didn't think I would be able to understand what she had said. :D

[photos removed]

XOXO, A

First weekend

This is my first weekend since I started teaching. And I had a LOT to do today. When I woke up it was hard to motivate myself to move! LOL I was tired and though I could sleep in (and technically I did as I didn't wake up when I usually do), I only got 7 hours of sleep. *facepalm* I tried to go back to sleep for a little bit, but was unsuccessful and anxious to talk to my mom as we had planned to skype. It was so nice to see and talk to her. I also got to talk to Maycie, Ava, and Micah! :D Also Papa, Nadia, Josué, and Anjo!

After that, I finally convinced myself to get up and started to get ready for the day. I got to talk to some close friends - which was LOVELY, and I also cleaned my apartment. I deep cleaned the place and washed all my linens. After that I got ready for the day, ate some food, and got out the door around 16h15. Two of the things I needed were a printer and computer speakers. The school will allow me to use the copy machine (thank goodness) but their network is off limits. And though they offered me the use of a printer, I turned it down as I am given a small allowance for copies every month. After 3-4 months, that allowance will pay for the printer and then it will cover the paper and ink. Most everyone I know has gotten a fancy printer/scanner/copier but I just couldn't justify it to myself. I can make copies at the school, I can't think of anything I would need/want to scan. If I want a record of something, I will take a picture with my phone and email it to myself.

So, I had been told the electronics store was near Aiina. So I set off for Aiina. Well, I rode and rode my bike (yay! Almost crashed a few times. Oops. I haven't ridden a REAL bike since I was kid!). So here I am, riding and riding and finally I realized STOP. And sure enough, I had gone WAY too far. I guess that's my tendency the first time, eh? My first walk into the city was a forever walk, and my first bike ride into the city took me near the West edge. *facepalm* So, I turned around and went back. When I got to the MaxValu (that I visited in my pjs while we stayed at the R&B - the hotel in Morioka), I got off my bike. Thank heavens for an iPhone5! I checked my maps, and I was still too far. However, this time I was able to ride to where I could enter the station and I left my bike there. I hadn't seen the electronics store but I was excited to go to Aiina as I'd been told they have an English books library.

I walked through the station and on to Aiina. I went up the 5th floor where their International Center is located. I told the girl at the counter who, mmm, spoke English that I had brought a book to donate to their library (she was very surprised and pleased) and asked to check out some books. She said they didn't have much and pointed to some shelves. Their selection was indeed small, but it's books in English that I can check out for free. So, mmm! I checked out 5 books. A trilogy and 2 books by Stephen King. I stopped reading Stephen King a while ago because of some material I didn't like in his books, but I'm going to give him another shot. One is a novel and the other is a collection of short stories. *crosses her fingers* Hopefully they will be good! Anyway, when I brought the 5 books to the desk, the girl asked for my Aiina card. "I don't have one." -"3rd floor."

*Sigh of grief* I not only had to leave without the books, the girl at the 3rd floor spoke NO English. Usually here people will speak the few words of English they know, but this girl refused to utter a word that wasn't Japanese. I was trying really hard to communicate with the little Japanese I know and she kept speaking fast and then stopping and looking at me like I was an idiot. It was a demoralizing experience but I was determined to get those books! She got my information wrong at first and then spoke at me again and finally I realized I had to wait. The girl on the 5th floor said 10 minutes. This girl (who spoke only Japanese) told me, "Ju gofun" (15 minutes). AN HOUR later, I finally had my card. I was so upset. Not only did I feel I was made to feel like a fool, it was around 18h00 and everything closes then. I had seen the electronics store (it was behind Aiina and both are far from the main road I had been on) and figured it would stay open later. However, I have home teachers coming over tomorrow and I wanted to grab some sort of treat or something to have to offer to them. I just prayed in my heart that the station stores would stay open later than the ones around my apartment, dashed upstairs to check out my books, then dashed back down to get to the electronics' store.

As I was walking to the electronics' store I felt such panic and fear. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get back to my bike (that I had left in front of a store near a station entrance), I didn't know how I was going to find a printer, would I be able to afford it?, would I find something to get for my home teachers?, how would I get home with all that stuff? I wanted to sit on the sidewalk and cry. I was SO panicky and so stressed. I actually threw up twice today because I was stressing so much about being able to do this on my own. I finally got to the store and entered it. I went upstairs and I wandered back and forth at the front of the store feeling such immense fear and panic I wanted to run, crying out of the store. I was self-talking the whole way to the store and in the store, "You can do this. You can do this. You can do this." Finally I pulled out my phone to use my translation app to spit out the kanji for printer so I could be pointed in the right direction. When I typed it in, it showed Katakana (the characters used for borrowed words). That actually calmed me considerably. That meant I could find it on my own. So I wandered in the store until I found the right section. Japanese printers are EXPENSIVE. Well, maybe American printers are as well; I've never bought an American printer. The cheapest I could find was $40 (which was the amount I had been told to expect to spend so, mmm, I found that one). The next cheapest was $79 and the one after that $145. Sheesh! In any case, I looked at it (the one on display) and started to panic again. I didn't know if it had ink, if it came with USB, etc. Earlier I had fearfully brushed off a salesman as I was barely keeping my panic at bay and then suddenly I had to go find one. I don't know what it is about today (well the bike ride out to nowheresville started me feeling out of control and stressed) but I just stood in front of that printer praying my guts out. I was so terrified to approach anyone. I stood there (looking miserable I'm sure) in front of that printer praying and telling myself again, "You can do this! You can do this!" for a good 5-10 minutes. Finally I caught the attention of a passing salesman. "Sumimasen, mmmm?" I pointed to the price tag and then the printer. "This one?" He nodded. "USB ga arimasu ka?" (Is there USB?) I pointed to the printer. He took me over to a cable and handed it to me and pointed out the price. I gratefully accepted it. "Ink ga arimasu ka." -"Hai. Ichi - one pack." *big sigh of relief* Then I pointed to boxes under the model. He said something in Japanese and motioned for me to wait and went into the back. He came back with a printer under his arm. I took it from him and started to walk to the front. He stopped me quickly and took the things from me and carried them to the front for me. I thanked him and then at the register I remembered I needed computer speakers. Man I REALLY didn't want to get them but the thought of coming BACK was much worse so I asked the girl ringing up the printer and cord, "Conpuuta no spiika ga arimasu ka?" -"Hai!" She called over to the salesman who had helped me to the front and explained what I wanted. At this point I was feeling much better as he had been so kind to me. (That girl at Aiina must have shook my confidence a lot more than I realized!) When we got back to the speakers, he (huge difference between the US and Japan) pulled out the cheapest ones and showed them to me. He was so sweet - he pulled the pricetag off the shelf so that I could see it better. I then paused, realized I didn't know the Japanese word for loud and so went with the English and said, "Loud desu ka?" He moved his head back and forth like, "So-so." I then said, "Watashi ha (then paused as you're never supposed to refer to yourself as "sensei" but I didn't know how else to tell him I was a teacher and what I needed) eigo no sensei desu. Ongaku (music) .. I want to use ... watashi no kurasu (my class). Chiisai ga arimasu ka? (Are there small?)" He nodded and started looking through the selection with me. Then I chickened out and grabbed the ones that he had shown me first. I saw they had a USB connection and it looked like a connector for the headphone jack (which made me happy because that means I could get away with just using my mp3 for class rather than lugging my heavy laptop to the school). I pointed to the picture and said, "Arimasu ka?" He nodded and then pulled out speakers that were only $4 more and pointed out that the ones I was holding were .5w and the ones he was showing me were 5w. Having a dad who does speakers pays off! I thanked him and took the 5w ones. He walked me back to the front and I was rung up. I spent a little over $60 but I had what I needed so SUCCESS! I also didn't cry in the store, mmm!

Outside it was already dark! I walked quickly with my printer and tried not to worry. I kept telling myself the worst part was over. Stores are open Sunday but I want to keep the Sabbath day holy - plus how backwards would it be to break the Sabbath to do something nice for your home teachers! Maybe they would cancel each other out? LOL In any case, I knew I wouldn't make it to MY bakery in time (which saddened me as I had been looking forward to going there but it was 40 minutes from me - and that's at a jogging pace). So I decided I would grab something in the station. It was good timing too as everything was closing (it was around 19h00 at this time). I saw they had some bento on sale and grabbed one for my dinner. I then saw La Vie de France and happily entered. However, they didn't have any of those apple tarts and the bottom of the barrel wasn't looking good to me. So I left without getting anything. I went to another bakery I had seen and wasn't super happy with the selection (but that's my fault for coming at closing) but I found some things. I grabbed a small loaf of bread (hopefully it's crusty and yummy - it was my celebration loaf for surviving the world out there), a donate or bread twist thing with sugar for my home teachers, another braided bread thing that was savory that I may or may not offer them (I don't want to overwhelm them), and a small box that was on sale that had 5 little sandwiches in it. I bought those and on the way saw Jupiter (the store that sells food from around the world.) I've been craving TimTams so I went in, got some dark chocolate TimTams, some fruit tea (that I could also offer to my home teachers), and some gummy candy for myself. After that I started my grand trek (I put my bento bag, and my Jupiter bag in my bakery bag) with my food and my purse (in which my books could be found), and my printer to find my bike! It took me 5 minutes, but I found it! I got turned around a couple times but found it faster than I expected and am sooo grateful to have found it at all (mmm)!

From the station, walking would take me 35 minutes to get home. I was determined to put my bike to use. I put my food bag and my purse on the right handle bars and held the handle they put on my printer (mmm - thank you to the ingenious Japanese! I have a picture below of it.) on the left side. It was sort of scary as my bike being a mountain bike, the only brakes are in the handles. I wish they were in the pedals (is that the correct spelling?)! In any case, I was sort of a wobbly mess and at one point I almost knocked over someone's scooter. Yeesh! When I got to the center of town, I walked my bike. It was 10 or so blocks but I felt like there was a 90% chance I would injure myself, someone else, or the things I had just bought if I tried to ride through the busy sidewalks and streets of that part of town. So I did fine walking (mostly - some near spills and almost ran into a few people -- too much stuff to wheel the bike easily) and actually walked a bit further on the outskirts as there were more people than I expected on the sidewalks. However I was finally able to ride and I rode the whole way home from there (well I had to stop at some lights to wait to cross... but you know what I mean). What a relief it was to get home! I got here at 19h24. I put away my foods and then thought about what I would give the home teachers. (They are composed of a member of my ward and the zone leaders.) I had those sandwiches and the tea and I thought, "I should make miso!" So I did. This second batch is SOOO good. It's much better than my first batch. (I used too much miso last time :/ waaay too much. LOL It was an accident though! I had no idea how much to use... should have been more careful.) I'm not sure what they'll think when I offer them soda, tea, miso, and sandwiches. At this point I don't think I'll offer the bread as I'm practically feeding them dinner! I hope I don't create a feeling of "Must give equally back!" in them. Really, my home teacher gave me and my bike a ride home last week as the bar is so high there's no way I could have ridden it home from church in a skirt! Also I think all the food may scream, "I'm lonely!" But, it's not lying. :/ In any case, I'm excited to have people coming over tomorrow. :D (mmm)

Today was rough, but I came off conqueror! I hope to report tomorrow that I got my printer easily set up and was able to print all my worksheets without a problem.

Funny moments:

The station here in Morioka is HUGE. It has floors and floors and connects to a department store that is ENORMOUS. So when I first got there (after I had left my bike), I went inside and started walking in circles - circles that took in floors and floors. Oh man. Finally I got out of the store and then pulled out my phone. Aiina was on the other side! After that I used my phone like a divining rod and finally got through the station! LOL

When I first got to the 5th floor this guy approached me while I was at the desk and started speaking to me. I had NO IDEA what he was saying but could hear that it was supposed to be English. I apologized and told him I didn't understand in Japanese but he just kept trying. Finally after the 5th or so try, I understood (I won't put an approximation of his accent just know it was very heavy): "North Korea is going to kill you." -"The United States? America?" -"South Korean general will kill you." *blink blink* He was staring at me so intently I finally said, "Good thing I'm here then!" He just kept staring at me while I laughed. Ya... creepy and weird. LOL After that I felt I had fulfilled my social obligation and walked away from him quickly.

My poor neighbors! I promised one of my students (at Walden) that I would make a video with me singing and I finally got the guts up to do that. The walls here in Japan are paper thin so they got to hear me rehearse and then record. The first time, I hadn't pressed record. DOH! The second time, while watching the recording I could hear that I had sung VERY quietly, so I redid it. Anyway, now I have this video for my students at Walden but I need software to compress it as it's too big to upload! I wonder what my neighbors were thinking. "Seriously!? That must be her favorite song! She's singing it again!!"

Above I said that having a dad who does speakers pays off! Well, really my understanding was, this one is a half watt and that one is 5 watts! YAY! I'm assuming that means output and volume will be affected. For all I know it concerns only the electricity... papa? LOL (5 is better than .5 right? At least 10 times better! ;D)

Limor called this morning and we talked for a bit. We told each other about our first week and made each other laugh. I made her laugh especially hard when I told her about my Batman and Superman antics. I did my Batman voice for her and then told her I pretend to fly for Superman. "I just run back and forth on that wood platform." She laughed and laughed and said, "This is for elementary or junior high school?" -"Oh it was all high school kids!" She then gasped and laughed even harder. :D But I was able to tell her my reasoning - I said, "I don't get embarrassed, I had fun doing it. This is how I see it: the kids will say, 'What a fool our teacher is willing to make of herself!' and they won't be worried about looking bad in class. I've already shown I am the biggest "fool" there so them trying to speak English and potentially not doing it correctly is NOTHING." :)

So, I have some funny pictures I took last night I will put up as well as a few nice ones. Then my printer and my bento box (as the bentos in the US are HUGE). Then I am going to eat dinner and hopefully get my printer up and running as I need to print my 7 worksheets for next week! Love to you all, XOXO, A

big eyes!

kapow!

look what I can do!

chssssh!

anime face

aww smiley face

I love you!

a whole (n)other smiling face! ;)

my bento box dinner - I finished it while these pictures were loading - soooo delicious - the veggies in the corners are pickled yuuuuum

my printer with the handle they kindly attached :)