Mending!

(Thanks for making October at 769 views my most popular month! - Beat out July's 711 :D)

T5B: 1) The elders gave me mikan, aquarius (electrolyte drink), and saltines, and visited me! 2) I got to talk to Jerod and Dre this morning. :) 3) I finished my planning for tomorrow in record time (I only had today to work on it so good thing!). 4) I talked to Limor on the phone (fun to catch up). 5) I had a real dinner!

basal temp: 36.35

Morning:
- got ready
- had a quarter of an apple for breakfast
- talked to Jerod and Dre
1st - prep
2nd - taught a class, (1.1) went very well
3rd-4th - prep (making worksheets for tomorrow and correcting 2nd's worksheets)

Notes: --

Afternoon:
5th - taught a class (2.1), went well
6th - taught a class (2.2), went very well
- prep
- the sun went down at 16h35!!

Notes: My 2.2 class was food again. Got some funny responses again. (Sorry nothing sticks out in particular.) I made them laugh though because when I was describing milk I said "This is disgusting (one of our vocab words) in America and delicious in Japan.." They were shocked and very interested. :)

Evening:
- got home
- ate some dinner
- the elders stopped by :)
- I got to talk to Limor (more than 2 hours 0.o)

Notes: Maybe a boring day to read, sorry, I'm just exhausted. However, I'm on the mend and yay for that! Thank goodness. Hope you're doing well, as always. XOXO, A

P.S. One quick "I are dumb" story. So, I went to print some worksheets for tomorrow, and my black ink was out. Luckily I already had ink. So I drop it in. I hit print and ... it prints SUPER lightly. I think, "Maybe there was a tab on it." So what do I do? Print two more worksheets, each lighter than the last. Pull the ink out, YEP a tab. DOH. LOL Pulled it off, BINGO! :) Success. I can own a printer. :D

Me last night

Mist this morning

Halloween mists!!

The candy my students gave me! :D

Funny day and a clearing head

T5B: 1) I got to talk to Dre and Jerod today! 2) My students made me laugh. 3) I'm feeling a little better already! 4) I kept ALL my food down today! 5) I got to skype with my parents last night.

basal temp: So I forgot and took it anyway after I'd been up and walking around (which makes it higher) - it was only 36.05!

2 forgotten stories: So one day (and apologies if I've already told this story - my head is very fuzzy still) a woman came into the office and was "selling" something. She was very tenacious with me. She kept asking for my name. At first I went to give it then I saw she wanted to write it down. I then changed to, "For what?" She explains in Japanese and asks again. No way lady, I didn't understand you! She keeps trying and trying and then asks for my birth date. Alarm bells are going off in my head now. So finally I say loudly, "Oikawa-sensei, what is she saying to me?" Then he gets all mad at her and shoos her away with some stern Japanese. Turns out she's a life insurance lady. She was going to "help sign me up." >:( Thanks to Oikawa-s for saving me! Story #2: Yesterday I told Kanamori-sensei the thing I told the nurse (Even if I don't eat, I throw up), she gasps and exclaims, "That's terrible!" It made everyone look at us. LOL

Morning:
- got ready for school
- ate half an apple and took my pills (I think - they were suddenly gone and I couldn't find them or remember taking them... hope I took them!)
- when I got to school everyone kept saying how my color is back!
- accidentally told the VP I had surgery instead of an IV - went back and corrected that mistake, oops lol
1st-2nd - prep, walking a bit to keep myself awake
3rd - taught a class (2.6), went awesome!
4th - more prep

Notes: So two funny stories from 2.6. We were playing food bingo. I would give hints about a food and they had to raise their hand and tell me which one it was. Then only that group could mark it off. In any case, I said, "This is white and small. It comes from chickens..." "Hot dogs!" "Uh.. no... it's hard on the outside, yellow on the inside (eggs)" LOL Then at one point I said, "This comes from the sea (wakame)..." "Lemons!" LOL We all laughed about sea lemons for a while.

Afternoon:
- lunch was ok (it felt like I was STUFFING myself with one apple and a handful of rice :/ - the rice tasted great, the apple was too sweet)
5th - taught a class (1.2), went great
6th - taught a class (1.3), was awesome
7th - corrected worksheets
- took a pain pill that I almost threw up (and kept thinking, "A lot of good a pain pill will do me in the toilet!" Hard to keep it down though. :/)

Notes: So two quick stories about the same boy in 1.3. So we had a warm-up where they were supposed to write one English word for each letter in the word "September." So for example: Student, English, Pet, etc. So this kid stands up (first in his row), after I've told everyone "S" word. He writes, "Five." ... LOL No IDEA where his head was at. Funny though. Then at the end of class we got to play one round of telephone. He gets up and writes, "The cat was she." ... We're doing passive voice. The sentence was "The cats were seen." So close! Most rows wrote "The cat was seen." I told them close but no cigar and that we would play it next time. :)

Evening:
- got home
- made dinner (white stew)
- had TWO bowls of stew! YAY!
- messaged Jerod

Notes: I'm still feeling pretty icky. The last two hours of school were TORTURE. Correcting those worksheets, I had to keep stopping to make the room stop spinning. HOWEVER, I am feeling better and I kept all my food down. That's what counts! Hope you're all doing well. XOXO, A

Me in my socks talking to my Maman! XOXO

The French people were eat(t)en!? LOL

My pills for after dinner (though I skipped the white one ~painkiller~ since I took two nasal decongestants instead (not pictured) - I'm a pill farm! Dang it...

My white stew - started off caramelizing the onions in some butter and then added water, potatoes, carrots, stock and then the milk MMMMMMMMMM

A visit to the clinic

T5B: 1) I got lots of medicine from the doctor (this bothers me a little, ok maybe a lot -- BUT I'm supposed to feel better now! YAY!). 2) I got to talk to Jerod. 3) I got an anti-emetic IV. 4) I had just enough money to pay for the clinic and my medication (though I had to use my savings :/). 5) I survived today (I know I keep saying it, but every morning when I wake up so sick, it feels like I'm not going to make it).

basal temp: 35.96

Morning:
- I was up puking most of the night (I was so desperate I drank some baking soda water to calm my stomach)
- When my alarm went off, oh man... fought myself all morning about going to work
- skipped breakfast
- when I got to work, asked Hashimoto-sensei if I could leave after my last class to go home
- they rearranged my schedule so I was done in the morning, called the office, set up for me to go to the clinic
2nd - taught a class (2.4), went fairly well
3rd - taught a class (2.5), 2/3rds of the class took advantage of the fact that I was sick and it was pretty rough
- left the school, got to the bus stop, bus card gone
- walked back praying and hoping, FOUND my card right by the school
- walked all the way back to the bus stop (an hour later by then)
- the office calls and says they're picking me up because it's taking so long
- Chihi drops me off at the doctor

Notes: -- it's all there

Afternoon:
- SUCKED being there alone
- I was told I had a 2 hour wait (excruciating but the shortest wait yet)
- after 45 minutes the nurses took pity on me and let me lie down in the back
- one of the nurses got info from me, ended giving me an IV anti-emetic

Notes: --

Evening:
- the IV took an hour (I peed during that time - that was an adventure asking and getting there)
- after that, waited, talked to the doctor, waited, paid for the visit, walked back to the office
- at the office they directed me BACK to near the clinic for the pharmacy
- the "girl who speaks really good English" was not in :/ got directions for taking the meds
- walked home (took FOREVER)
- talked to Jerod
- ate some soup (got a bowl and a half down and a little popcorn ~I didn't have saltines which is all I wanted but the grocery store feels miles away esp since I walked home in the dark)
- typed this

Notes: Ok one quick story. Meeting the doctor was .. weird. He told me my CRP was .6. Ok? What does that mean? He forgot it in English. Oh. Then he writes down his phone number (personal number!) and says, "Pretend to call me." Me: looks at him. "Pretend to call me!" Me: puts up a hand in the shape of a phone next to my head, looks at him, "I'm calling! Are you going to pick up?" Him: looks at me incredulously. "No! Pretend to call me!" I then proceed to "dial" his number. I guess he wanted to make sure it was legible. !? What the heck dude!? That was weird. THEN he tells me he's giving me a medicine for nausea. And send me out. I'm thinking, "Only one med? Well, he knows best." Get the prescription sheet: 5 medicines are listed. What the!? Thanks for telling me in English! In any case, I have the anti-nausea stuff, one is for pain since I've been having migraines (the office told me this), I think the other two are anti-biotics and there's a beige pill... no idea. Took my concoction after dinner. Not feeling so hot atm. :/ Hopefully I feel much better tomorrow. Love you all! XOXO, A

When in Rome, and all that (here everyone is concerned not only with their health, but the public's health as well)

So great! One of my students drew/wrote that :)

I love it! Soon the house will be happy! LOL

Who's the teacher now!? LOL So glad some of them are getting passive voice down!

I got to talk to Jerod

Jerod face!

My anti-emetic IV

Being sick is AWFUL

T5B: 1) After I threw up in the middle of the night I got back to sleep. 2) My students were champs today. 3) I got to talk to Jerod. 4) My students made me laugh. 5) Today is over.

basal temp: 36.05

Morning:
- woke up in the middle of the night VIOLENTLY ill - grabbed a bowl and started puking :/
- coughing, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, the works
- almost called in sick
- sucked it up, got ready, went to work
1st - taught a lesson (2.3), went well
2nd - worksheets (altogether I corrected 335+ worksheets today)
3rd - taught a lesson (1.6), went VERY well (considering)
4th - taught a lesson (3.7), went well

Notes: The funnies come from both 1.6 & 1.4 so I will list them below. 1.6 is the class that has made me cry so I was worried but they did really well today. In the meantime, I started to lose my voice and just felt awful. -- Oh but when I was teaching 2.3, we were doing occupations. As an opener, I gave hints to jobs and they were supposed to guess. In any case, I was doing the second to last one and said, "They work at hospitals, they use stethoscopes." At that point I drew a stethoscope on the board and said "They're always cold! Ok let me hear you breathe, AAAH!" I yelled louder than I intended and most of the class busted up. I guess cold stethoscopes cross cultural borders.

Afternoon:
- lunch was ok
5th-6th - worksheets, and made a worksheet
7th - taught 1.4, went very well
- cleaning time
- more correcting
- bus ride was .. hard being so sick

Notes: Here are some funnies from my student's worksheets: "My dog have been broken by the plates." "Batman can be eaten by All the food." "My mother will be sold by my skateboard." "My book is taught judo." LOL The first three were scrambled sentences that they students put together slightly differently than intended. The last one was FIB (fill in the blank). My _______ is taught judo by me. He asked if he could put book, I said yes and laughed. Then he read the rest of the sentence and laughed too. Good times. I have some a couple pictures too but I will post them tomorrow (I'm trying to get into bed quickly).

Evening:
- ate some dinner
- (been taking medication all day)
- still feel SO awful :/
- I hope I feel better tomorrow!

Notes: Hope you all feel well and I envy your health. :/ XOXO, A

Sunday

T5B: 1) I survived today. 2) I did dishes. 3) I made my lunches for the week. 4) I picked up a little bit. 5) I talked to people.

basal temp: 36.57

Morning:
- woke up too early, slept far too little
- got ready slowly, but still on time to church with a minute to spare
- church was good (today was the primary program and during sunday school we talked about pride)

Notes: I'm getting some sort of really bad cough. I'm wheezing when I breathe and coughing a lot. :/ It's painful.

Afternoon:
- had food with the ward
- skyped my parents
- messaged Jerod a little bit
- rode home in the rain

Notes: --

Evening:
- made my lunches
- did dishes
- took a hot shower
- watched an episode of Gintama

Notes: Glad today is over - it was not so great for me. I've had a fever all day and I'm teaching four classes tomorrow. :/ Feeling pretty apprehensive about that. I still have a migraine and now I'm just achy everywhere. At least I'm mostly prepared for M-Th. I still need to make one lesson for Tuesday and then I need to know what my Friday lessons are. Then I have next week stuff. It's all very overwhelming to think about right now. Ick. XOXO, A

My lips have been sort of ashen today - not sure what it means

One of the books I bought yesterday

Tough Day

T5B: 1) I had a ten minute nap. 2) I got to see my Deaf kids! 3) I got to record their performances! 4) I'm feeling a little better at the moment (huzzah!). 5) I got to read extra scriptures today.

basal temp: 36.35

Yesterday: I forgot to mention! I won a giftcard. I got first place in complimenting someone. 0.o We did an activity where we met people and then wrote two sentences about them. Our boss then asked for really good compliments people had received and then rewarded the best ones. I got gold! ($10 giftcard to a conbini ~ convenience store ~ lol everything but tabacco) -- Also the day before yesterday, my allergies were going CRAZY. It's harvest time right now and oh man... I was sneezing all day. My eyes itched like crazy and my nose was running. Yesterday it rained and today it rained so I only had some itchiness in my eyes and maybe one or two sneezes. Thank goodness for rain!

Morning:
- big, long earthquake at 2h03 (i tried to record the rattling of my window)
- got up EXHAUSTED
- got ready, was confused as to what day it was (Friday vs Saturday)
- late leaving my place, thought I missed the bus
- I was ok (it wasn't there yet) - got to school
- walked around, took pictures, opening ceremony, watched a bunch of plays

Notes: My kids are the cutest and best!! -- Oh! I also met a Deaf woman. She was sitting next to me for the performances. Since I don't know JSL very well it was a bit slow going, but we communicated and it was awesome! :D

Afternoon:
- walked around some more
- bought lunch
- Kawai-sensei gave me a sandwich and some black sugar things (sorry the name is Japanese - picture below)
- bus ride home was pretty good
- did my grocery shopping
- did my laundry

Notes: --

Evening:
- took a short nap
- drank a small Coke I bought at the grocery store (my migraine from yesterday carried over into today - I was dizzy and super nauseous and just felt awful all day, plus cramps!)
- got to message Jerod
- did a little reading, and scripture reading (since I was feeling down)
- ate dinner, took another pill (hoping the extreme nausea is being caused by my migraine not the new pills)

Notes: I'm trying to think of a funny story from today. Oh! I bought two children's books in Japanese for cheap. I teased one of the teachers (since all the students had performed) about when the teachers would all perform. That being said, it was actually a fairly lonely day for me. I did that "alone in a crowd" thing. Everyone had their families with them. I almost cried looking for somewhere to sit at lunch. :/ (And this is all amplified by my period, but) It was a hard day for me. I'm feeling a little better, thanks to the scriptures, but I'm still down. All of this is slightly moot anyway as I have been SICK (puking) so it's not like I felt like partying anyway... just added to it that's all. Hope tomorrow is easy and relaxing and that my weekend isn't too short with all the working and running around I had to do. Love you all! XOXO, A

I took 17 videos today and tons of pics and these are the ones I'm allowed to upload. :/ Still, enjoy!

Some of my Halloween treats (from last night)

This thing is cotton candy with pop rocks in the center. It was SUPER fun to eat - it made me VIOLENTLY ill though.

No data on my sleep last night - I think it's because of the earthquake!

The giftcard I won yesterday

That black sugar thing I told you about - from Kawai-sensei (karinko - it's good!)

Training Day

(No I have not seen the movie)

T5B: 1) I got to message Jerod a little today. 2) Training was decent. 3) My bathroom is clean. 4) I get to see my Deaf kids tomorrow. 5) No one stayed at my place (which was going to be potentially problematic since I'm working tomorrow).

basal temp: 36.37

Morning:
- woke up way too early with way too little sleep
- Limor and GG (Geoffrey) arrived at my place before I was ready
- we walked to the bank/post office
- we went to help set up (it was already done)
- training

Notes: --

Afternoon:
- lunch
- more training
- training finishes
- I'm invited to a Halloween party

Notes: Training was better than any of the others I have attended but I still felt a large lack of helpfulness. I wrote down seven words. So at least there was that little bit of help! Also it didn't feel like it was ALL DAY except that I was anxious to be able to message Jerod before he went to bed. As we were leaving, LaToya, a Jamaican girl who lives in Morioka, invited me to a Halloween party tomorrow night. I'm feeling quite torn about the whole thing. I love Halloween and I want to do something special, HOWEVER, I have no costume to wear, I don't drink, I don't know the local teachers that well (I don't have much in common with any of them), and I'm worried there will be a cover charge. Oh also I only vaguely know where this place is. Oh AND I have my period, and two more typhoons are on their way. So I guess there is a VERY small chance I will show up but ... not feeling it. :/ I'd rather be alone in my apartment than alone in a crowd. The latter is much lonelier to me. -- So I learned in training that even posting pictures of my school can be grounds for termination. :/ Sheesh. I gotta go back and delete all those pictures (hope you have seen them already!). I was in a panic thinking I'd be fired before I could even get home to erase them. Then I got a migraine during the second half of training... ya feeling crappy (and my cramps were SO awful today). -- Also as I was leaving they wanted to take my picture. I wanted to cry. Seriously!? I have a migraine, I feel fat (period does that to me), and I'm so exhausted. I couldn't even smile. I probably look like I'm about to cry in the picture .. and I was. I almost cried before the training started. Sheesh what a day. I survived though! And I gleaned seven words!

Evening:
- message Jerod
- get home, SURPRISE!
- eat dinner, pill #2
- eat some Halloween treats
- DANG IT! I had a birthday gift for Limor and totally forgot to give it to her DAH!!!

Notes: I was wracking my brain but can't think of a funny story from today. Sorry. :/ So ya two more typhoons headed this way... OH! And the surprise I got? The elders Halloween-ed my door! It's SO great! I left it all but their picture. :) I got pics (below). Love you all! XOXO, A

My door :)

With the flash

Pretty sure this is Elder Norawong because he busted a gut when I said something similar to him the first time

Aww! E' Akagi, E' Temanahamo, E' Norawong - you can see part of E' Temanahamo's note to me (in French above :D)

LONG day (not bad, but long)

T5B: 1) I made it through today! 2) I had a funny moment while teaching. 3) I have another worksheet done and am only one lesson short for next week (one lesson to think up/make). 4) Tomorrow is training and I will get to see everyone in our branch! 5) I took my first pill (of my new prescription).

basal temp: 35.85

Story from Tuesday: So funny, Kanamori-s was trying to tell the students to clean the board for me (they are supposed to do it after each class) and instead she ended up saying, "Shut up!" LOL

Morning:
- tired
- in so much pain on the bus I couldn't do anything but focus on breathing
1st - prep (mostly trying to calm down and stop being in so much pain)
2nd - taught a class, went well (1.1)
3rd - taught a class, went very well (1.5)
4th - prep, finished that worksheet

Notes: So, during 3rd period I had a period brain moment. I'm walking down the row (and this is my ONLY class that has a kid that has a native English speaking parent) and I am loudly reiterating the instructions. "Please notice if the sentence is in piss!" Quietly say to myself, "Did you just say piss!? Did anyone catch you? That's a bad word! You're teaching your students bad words!" Then loudly, "Check if the sentence is in present or past!" No one said anything to me.. I think I totally got away with it. (Other than ratting myself out to all of you, lol)

Afternoon:
- ate lunch (finally was hungry for it!)
5th - taught a class, went very well (2.1)
6th - taught a class, went very well (2.2)
- the teachers went to a meeting, I sat with 127 worksheets to correct and couldn't make myself do it
- left the school at DUSK! (and it was only 16h40)
- bus ride home was nice

Notes: I've been meaning to tell you all, this week I started listening to my MP3 player on the way to and from school (before was only to). Most of the songs I have on there, since I cleared it out, are hymns. It's made a huge difference in the start of my day (the initial stress) and the end (unwinding). Two days ago, I got on the bus and first song? Come, Come Ye Saints. It's one of my very favorite hymns. It may be my favorite for how often I listen to it. I repeated it after it finished and both times I sat there with my eyes closed just listening to the words and feeling the love of my Father in Heaven.

Evening:
- got home
- messaged Jerod for a bit
- ate dinner, took that first pill :)
- mostly laid on the heating pad (super exciting I know)

Notes: So, training tomorrow. We got a seating chart and I'm not with Limor. I emailed my boss back and said something like, "I see you decided not to sit me with Limor. Probably a smart move, but I am still quite sad about it." He messaged back something like, "You can only talk to her on the break! Also, Odette is near a river, please be careful." (LOL Did I tell you he told me Limor confessed that she set up the whole "me falling through the dock" thing? He's such a funny guy!) I replied something like, "Ok and no worries. I saw my student's judo demonstration yesterday and I think I could take her!" LOL In any case, I am going to get up a little early and clean my bathroom since I am working this Saturday. Also I'm not sure if I will have company this weekend. Limor asked me to call her, I did and she didn't pick up, so she may be asking to spend the night. If that is the case, it's extra incentive to get that place clean. (I've wanted to clean it, just lacked motive with the pain and everything.) Hope you're all doing well. Much love! XOXO, A

update: Just talked to Limor, she's not spending the night

(taken from a moving bus) - Here it is! Crazy Booger hair salon! Sheesh! LOL

Ok Day

(Mom I have flannel pjs and blankets -- I was cold at school!)

T5B: 1) My part time job went well today. 2) I had enough money to pay for my new medication (it's the most expensive one yet!). 3) I got tons of videos (15) today of my students performing! 4) I didn't have to teach today (I love teaching, but man I am in MAJOR pain right now). 5) I finished my posters for Chokaku Shien's school festival.

basal temp: 35.85 (lowest yet!)

Morning:
- TIRED, woke up an hour and 45 minutes early and couldn't sleep again
- was able to message Jerod and Noland a little :)
- made my posters when I got to school
- found Dre online (gmail - I was working on some worksheets), we chatted for a while - yay for my awesome BFF!
- @ 1030, went to the gym and saw an hour and a half of student performances

Notes: My students did AWESOME!! I got videos of every segment except for when the boy came out and closed the session. Unfortunately, I am legally not allowed to post them. People back home, when I get home I can show you! :D -- I made a couple mistakes (missed the beginning of two sections), and by the end I was very dizzy. In fact, when my phone started swaying I knew I was too lightheaded to be standing anymore. Sheesh.

Afternoon:
- ate lunch (again not hungry)
- worked on some more worksheets
- trashed my worksheet ideas and started over (feeling better about this one)
- got to leave early :)
- walked to the bus, caught one
- went to the hospital, wasted my time (GRRRR)
- went to the pharmacy

Notes: I waited AN HOUR AND A HALF for a piece of paper! AND I got billed for it (fine whatever but come on! I paid $5 to waste my precious time!?). I thought I would be in and out so I didn't bring anything on which to work. So by the time I left (and it was only an hour and a half because at an hour I said, "I'm leaving. Give me back my card." THEN they got the doctor. GRRR) it was like getting home at the normal time. It was frustrating because I HAD the extra time and I wanted to use it for work or for me but instead I wasted it getting angry (at about 40 minutes is when I started to get upset). Anyway, two hours later I had the pills. They better help! After spending $550, it makes me quite upset that I don't feel better. On what am I spending my money exactly!? (Sorry... I'm in a lot of pain today. :/)

Evening:
- ate dinner
- messaged Jerod a little
- went to my other job, went well
- came home
- trying to wind down in the little time I have left before bed

Notes: Hope you all have a great Wednesday. I think mine was a wash. Some really awesome stuff and some really crappy stuff. Love you all! XOXO, A

As I said on fb, onions have layers, ogres and cakes have layers, and me too! And it was a good move - I was only a LITTLE cold at times at the school :)

Here is my "about me" poster for CS

Here is my ASL poster for CS

A new street

Classic Japan

Idai Hospital (the one to which I've been going)

And here is where I have my part time job - Zenrinkan :)

In the height of pain

T5B: 1) I was able to sleep well last night. 2) I didn't turn on the heater yesterday at all! 3) My students made me laugh today. 4) I finished a big worksheet (I need to go back and change a bunch - the teacher didn't want it the way it was set up, so I changed it... waiting to hear back...). 5) I get to see my students perform tomorrow and I was told I can take pictures! YAY!! (Of course I can't legally post them. But I will have them!)

basal temp: 36.15

Story I forgot from yesterday. One of the lessons I'm teaching the second graders (juniors) is prepositions. As part of it I did an activity where I would describe the location of some secret object in a picture and they had to draw a shape around it (so I could teach them some basic shapes too). When I drew a pentagon on the board a girl in the first row called out, "Kawaiiiiii!!" (Cuuuuute!) .... It made me laugh. Yes, I guess pentagons ... are cute? What the!?

Morning:
- a bit slow going because I was in pain
- Donut ate all his breakfast!
1st-2nd - made that worksheet and additional information sheets to go with that lesson
3rd - taught a class (2.5), lesson went really well

Notes: (Today's schedule is weird. 3 morning classes and 3 afternoon classes.) So my class that made me laugh. We were doing a ladder game with some basic English phrases. One card said, "I can ________. What can you do?" I told them the Japanese way to say it and to put in a verb. I heard two boys in the 5th row: "I can speak Japanese! What can you do?" "I can walk! What can you do?" Good to know they value the basic things which most of take for granted. LOL Made me laugh though.

Afternoon:
- ate lunch though I wasn't hungry (super nauseous :/ -- the kampo for during my period tastes like aspartame)
4th - mostly tried to not pass out from pain :/
5th - taught a class (2.4), went very well
6th - again tried to not pass out (pain)! Also, I tried to work (make those changes) but my internet refused to work :/ It was really frustrating.
- after school there was a meeting, I went to the teacher's locker room and finally got my internet working
- computer died... AARGH!

Notes: --

Evening:
- got to IM Jerod for a long while
- ate dinner (egg drop soup)
- kept down my soup!
- suffered on the heating pad
- talked to my head teacher on the phone (Ann Marise)

Notes: I meant the evening to be productive but I just felt SO awful. :/ I always forget how much I hurt. It feels like I'm going to die every time and that my organs are failing and I can't keep hardly anything down... anyway, no classes for me to teach tomorrow, hurrah! I hope I can sleep! :/ Love you all! XOXO, A

The view out the window of the bus on the way home - it's only 17h14! Sheesh. Now I know one of the reasons winter is so cold here! The sun isn't around long enough! (Today was freezing!)

Oops

T5B: 1) I got to message Jerod (and Anjo AND got an email from my oneechan!). 2) I got to listen to some comedy to unwind. 3) I was able to run an errand. 4) I had some funny moments at school. 5) I made it through today!

basal temp:

Story I forgot from before: (at least I don't remember typing it up) Back when I was teaching my last class with 3.3 (Toki), we were playing our review games for their term final. We were playing Jeopardy and a few kids in there I know by name. When I called on one girl I commented, "Sorry I saw M's hand first!" Toki-s freaked. He did a cartoon double take and said, "How do you know her name!?" LOL

Morning:
- did not sleep well :/
- weird IMs from some dude that I used to know 4 years ago
- put the rice I cooked late last night away (wasn't aware I was out but luckily was inspired to put my lunch together for the following morning so I knew last night I didn't have rice and was able to make it then - meant I had to stay up past bedtime though)
- forgot my lunch - but luckily wasn't too far and ran back!
- didn't miss the bus (I was worried about that!)
- found out one lesson was cancelled (so down from four to three)
- messaged Anjo and Jerod a little
1st - My lesson went really well (2.3)
2nd - prep and correcting worksheets
3rd - Another lesson, rough but made it! (1.6)
4th - Another great lesson (3.7)

Notes: Oh man, we did a warm-up activity in 3rd and one kid was trying to write "T-shirt" (warning language) and wrote instead, "T-shat." Oh man, lol. In 4th we played a bunch of English games. As I was standing in the back, keeping time, I called out, "One minute left!" "Thirty seconds left!" THEN "Fifteen minutes left!" Took me about three seconds to catch it.. "Not minutes! Seconds!" LOL Oops. Also the boys cheated on the ladder game. They kept moving other team's magnets! LOL

Afternoon:
- lunch was good and during lunch I saw S & D
5th-7th - filled out paperwork for Interac that was SOOO confusing (read: all in Japanese)
- had a funny bathroom experience
- worked on prep
- was given a "spearmint" candy - it tasted like a cough drop!
- helped with cleaning time
- got to show D & S the ASL stuff I gathered for my ASL poster :D

Notes: So, during lunch when I saw D & S (the two boys who love ASL and whenever they see me they saw they're "Super great!" - something they took from me, lol) they commented on my hair. (Today was REALLY hot, and then it was freezing! When it got really hot, I braided my hair.) They pointed to their own hair and said, "Change! Very cute!" Aww! So sweet! -- My funny bathroom experience. So I went to the bathroom, then I had to go back. I finally started. Well luckily THIS MORNING I threw my lunette into my bag. So I went to put it in and passed Fujieda-s on the way. Then I got into a stall, put it in and .. there's no toilet paper. Then Fujieda-sensei comes into the bathroom. "Ann-sensei?" "Yes?" "Do you have toilet paper?" "No. I don't really need it. I'm .. I'm putting in a ... tampon." LOL Figured she didn't know what a lunette was, didn't know if I should be saying anything. In the end, I was trying to make something LESS awkward and made it MORE awkward. LOL Anyway, I admit there's no TP and that I always forget to look. Then she says, "Can you see the toilet paper?" There's her hand, holding a roll. I grabbed it, thanked her and she left. *facepalm* I am SO smooth. LOL -- I had all my ASL pictures with me and D & S think ASL is awesome so I thought, if I see them I'm going to show them. So I see D across the room about the leave the teacher's room. So I started motioning him over (Japanese style). He stares at me FOREVER. Finally he points to his nose. I nod vigorously. I pull out the pictures, as I assumed, he's loving it. Then he tells me, "Little wait!" He comes back with S. They loved all the pictures. I started showing them the Japanese versus American signs. It was really fun. Fujieda-s came by and was asking us about it too. :) So fun!

Evening:
- IMed Jerod
- get off the bus, run an errand
- get home
- make dinner
- lying in a broken heap on my bed (I'm being a little dramatic but sheesh I hurt right now)
- forget tutoring (stood up my tutor) ~ I feel SO badly!
- listened to some Bill Cosby then Jeff Foxworthy
- now

Notes: Man I feel wrecked (pain and exhaustion wise). Thank heavens I'm getting that new medication this Wednesday. Hope you're all doing well. Love you! XOXO, A

My hair looked so amazing this am I had to document it!

Aww! Smiles!

The road by my house is sparkly! It's so pretty during direct sun or moonlight! I'll get a video later so you can see how it shimmers as you move!

Weird Day

T5B: 1) I got to skype my family. 2) I got to skype Jerod. 3) The Fujimuras gave me some apples. :) 4) I listened to some Bill Cosby. 5) Relief Society was nice (missed my oneechan though -- hope she's ok!).

basal temp: 36.44

Morning:
- my sleep was crazy!
- I got ready for church
- I got soaked riding to church (raining all day!)
- church was nice

Notes: Oh man, my pants were almost dry and I thought "Oh I know, I'll wear them and they'll dry with my body heat!" Uh... ya it rained on me all the way to church. DOH! -- RS was fun. Sister Gas translated from Japanese and I translated into French for Sister Mataoa. :) It was pretty fun. :)

Afternoon:
- got to skype my family
- got to skype Jerod
- rode my bike home (got wet all over again)
- ate lunch and IMed Jerod

Notes: I feel bad. I didn't give my dad a chance to try out his new laptop on Skype (since we skyped on my mom's laptop). I got off so I could ride home while it was still daylight and then it occurred to me: I should skype Jerod! Since he's at his mom's house right now, and I was at the church (I use their wifi so I can use my data on my worksheets)... so I skyped him too! :/ It was good to see him but it was a fairly sobering talk. Teresa is sicker than I realized -- also I'm always hoping for the best. I'm going to try to get to church early next Sunday so I can skype her before she goes to bed. I felt badly because I did a lot of crying. :/ I'm constantly praying for Teresa and for her kids and her husband who are all spending time with her right now. I hope they know how much I love them all and am hoping for the best for them.

Evening:
- bid Jerod goodnight
- ate some dinner (feeling crappy so was only to manage some soup and an apple :/)
- listened to Bill Cosby to lift my spirits (did this last night too)

Notes: I'm feeling awfully powerless right now. And I've gotten into that trap of worrying about my circle of concern rather than influence. :/ I don't understand why being sick and tired makes everything SO MUCH HARDER. Anyway, I hope my mom got some good sleep - she was EXHAUSTED. (Love you Maman!) I mostly skyped my Papa and that was really nice for me to talk to him for a long time. :) He usually has to run an errand shortly after I start skyping them. (Picking up one of my siblings typically.) My poor Papa got to spend some time with Windows 8. What a monstrosity! He's already got 8.1 though. I'm jealous! I need it! He told me about his laptop saga and also the BYU game. Sounded epic. I'm sad I missed it, but at the same time I'm glad I did. I woulda been ripping out my hair in frustration! Glad we won though! Go cougars!!

Positive thought for the evening: Jerod watched President Eyring's priesthood session talk (he felt inspired to do so) and I read it so we could talk about it. Oh! Today I got a calling! I am the choir director .. we don't have a choir. Yet! LOL In any case, I thought about President Eyring's call to love one another more. Sometimes I feel like my heart is already too big, but then I thought about the students (that have hurt my feelings ~ made me cry) that I dread seeing. I thought, "I'm sure I can love them. I just need to pray for that." I also thought about how he talked about the Lord (and our leaders) asking us to do things for OUR benefit. I've always looked at my callings as an opportunity for the Lord to work through me. And I tried to magnify them. Now I feel like I've wasted a lot of time (as it were) missing out on looking for the things the Lord had for me. That is, not magnifying myself (per our RS lesson today - Lorenzo Snow lesson 18), but being open to what the Lord wants me to learn. So I've been thinking about that. It makes me think the Lord wants me to get closer to the members. I only see them once a week. I don't really speak Japanese. I love them, but I don't know much about many of them. So this is my chance to spend some more time with them, to share my talents and ask them to share theirs with me. I love to sing and I look forward to a learning (I've never been a choir director before! At least I've been a choir member several times!) and edifying experience with them. I will continue to pray that I am fulfilling my purpose in Japan. In messaging Jerod this evening I made a discovery about myself. I told him, "I'm not here to teach English. I'm here to teach my students that they are capable." I dearly hope (with the suicide rate being fairly high in Japan) that all of my students believe in themselves. I already can think of two students whose attitudes did 180s in English class. Often I am feeding them answers, but my role, as I see it, is for them NOT to give up. When those two smile and laugh all class period (and we're working on hard stuff!), it's so worth. I thank my Father in Heaven in my heart for His help. I get down a lot lately but I'd like to lay that all at the feet of feeling so icky (for various reasons) for so long. I'm getting a new medication on Wednesday and I feel really hopeful about it. In the meantime, I'm SO GRATEFUL for my Father in Heaven's patience with me. I swear I'm like a kid banging their head against the wall constantly asking, "Why does my head hurt!?" But I'm trying to learn, I'm trying to grow and I continue to pray that I will be the teacher my students need me to be. Love you all and hope you have a wonderful Sabbath! XOXO, A

Look at that! I didn't get enough sleep - but that says to me that my body has realized it's in dire straits and needed to do some repairing!

My Papa! I tried to get him smiling but I missed!

Jerod's hello :) (although this may seem racist, he was making a bunch of faces and this was the one I caught)

My turn to make a face!

Another face from Jerod :)

Rain anyone? -- Ironically it's now just about 2200 and I think the rain has stopped. Take that 100% chance of rain!!

Fabulous day!

First of all, mom don't send a package now! It's so expensive - just send one for Christmas. :) When you send the one for Christmas, please include cranberry pills (if you can).

T5B: 1) I got to talk to Jerod for a VERY long time today! I'm so grateful!! 2) I got an email from Dre. :) 3) I've arranged with the doctor to get the newest medication prescription on Wednesday (I hope it's not too expensive! :/). 4) I have a very yummy dinner to eat (when I am done typing). 5) I was able to do my grocery shopping, and get some cleaning done today. :)

basal temp: 36.54

Morning:
- slept for EIGHT HOURS! MIRACLE! (for me)
- did some reading
- talked to Jerod
- ate breakfast

Notes: --

Afternoon:
- talked to Jerod some more
- did laundry
- did some cleaning
- worked on my displays for next week's festival
- ate lunch

Notes: --

Evening:
- talked to Jerod
- sewed a little thing to block the gap under my front door
- went grocery shopping

Notes: So, my dinner! I can tell I'm getting sick (I know I'm getting a cold). Since I was grocery shopping ANYWAY, I decided to spoil myself (mostly) and get what I felt like eating for dinner. I ended up with grapefruit (also some grapefruit juice!), shredded green cabbage, strawberry yogurt drink, and kimchi ramen! LOL vitamin c, vitamin c, vitamin c, (does cabbage have vitamin c?), and spicy to burn out the cold! :D I also got myself dessert: strawberry koala bears. Ya.... LOL Also I noticed as I was putting away my groceries, I think I've fully accustomed myself to Japan. Everything in my cupboards (except for some popcorn seeds the McDonald girls brought me) is highly Japanese. I have azuki beans, miso soup, sticky rice, umeboshi rice mix (SO EXCITED TO TRY IT!), etc. :D (Umeboshi is the sour plums - yuuuuummy!) In any case, hope you all have a productive and wonderful Saturday like I did! XOXO, A

Oh! Forgot one funny story that happened as I was putting away my groceries: I commented on a friend's fb picture. She responded and since I wasn't sure what was said to me, I said: 日本語をわかりにくい！ (Japanese is hard to understand.) She responded: そんなことないですよ and I had to ask Jake (a friend who speaks Japanese fluently) what it meant: "No it isn't!" Irony at its finest!!! LOL

Ok so maybe it wasn't exactly 8 since I was awake a long time at the beginning and in the middle... STILL!

My life hacks! I cut a portion of my old towel (that got moldy and I have to toss out - and I cut a non moldy portion) for the fan and stuffed it in there - I'm going to get some cardboard and tape that over the whole thing too. THEN today I cut a long strip off said towel and rolled it then sewed it so it wouldn't unroll. That's what is sitting in front of the gap under my front door. I feel SO resourceful AND it's already much warmer in my apartment! YAY!!!

The grapefruit juice I bought came with an ice cube maker! (So I can make a grapefruit ice cube so my juice won't get watered down. Genius!)