Saying goodbye to a few more classes

Happy birthday to one of my best friends: Dre!! Love you and hope you have an amazing weekend!

At 4:30 tomorrow morning I will make 15/16ths!

T5B: 1) Another day down! I have only four teaching days left! 2) I will see Jerod tomorrow! 3) I got my last worksheet finished for tomorrow and only need copies now! 4) I got to read. 5) I ate some pickle sunflower seeds. I have salt bumps on my tongue but WORTH IT!

basal temp: 36.18

Morning:
- slept very poorly (was like Christmas Eve!)
- felt like a zombie (feel? lol I'm SO TIRED!)
1st - presented for 1.5, went well
2nd - worked on the last worksheet I need for tomorrow
3rd - presented for 2.2, went well
4th - presented for 2.6, went very well (they were the quiestest!)

Notes: I ended up showing my second (monster) presentation to all three classes. (Suzuki-sensei went with me to the first class I had as Hashimoto-sensei was absent. His poor family. I have been praying for them.) I'm getting REALLY sick of the first one, lol. -- I had a surprise when the bell rang during my first presentation! Turns out we had a shorter schedule today and they forgot to tell me.

Afternoon:
- ate lunch, was given cake by the students
5th-6th - finished the last worksheet and materials, made some copies and materials I needed for other classes
- cleaning time, worked on some French lessons I am teaching next week

Notes: Two of my female students brought me cake at lunch. I thought it was very sweet and I gave them chocolates and thanked them. :) I feel stressed out for tomorrow, as I always do with new lessons. (And since I only go to CS once a week there are new lessons every single time. Still, I love to see those students and it's my last day there. :c)

Evening:
- I read
- I printed my worksheets and materials for tomorrow
- tried to help Jerod (give him info)
- felt exceedingly exhausted
- period started, AH HA! (I mean I expected it, but not for another couple days - still explains the exhaustion, pain, and breakout! lol and period brain as I first had typed, "outbreak")

Notes: Man I hope I can sleep tonight! I need it! My best to all of you! XOXO, A

blast from the past: Originally when I was figuring out all these crazy fractions I told Jerod something like, "It's only 47 days until I've been here for 15/16ths of year!" "Who thinks in fractions like 15/16ths!?" "Someone who misses their family and friends like crazy!" "Oh right, that makes sense." :D I miss you all like crazy and like my mom, I have a countdown!! See you all very soon! (LESS THAN A MONTH!!!)

The cake I was brought (it was delicious)

The Students Shine

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod.) I got to work on my CS lessons today and have all but one and some materials done. 2) I got my birthday package from my family today! 3) I successfully butchered my way through Japanese to get that package redelivered! (Sorry woman on the phone. I really DID do my best!) 4) I got hand written letters in my package. They were phenominal. 5) I looked amazing today!

basal temp: 36.38

Morning:
- weird, vivid dreams again (felt like I was awake all night)
- got ready quickly, didn't forget anything
1st-3rd - worked on my lessons for CS, got another worksheet made and picked the music for my GIANT presentation
- lunch was early but I was hungry so it worked out (until later.. lol)

Notes: I was sitting at my desk and got to see one of my favorite Seniors, S. I was happy to see him but then I almost cried. He failed the exam for driving. I'm not sure if this is a driving vocational school or his driver's license. The look on his face.. I wanted to cry. He said he was going to try it again. I wished him the best of luck and gave him a "lucky" piece of chocolate. Sheesh my heart. I hope he does well the second time around. Go S! You're amazing! I believe in you! -- I found out this morning that one of the classes that I was supposed to teach today that had been moved from Thursday was moved back to Thursday. So tomorrow I will get to show my monster presentation (with 379 slides!). I chose the music and am ready to show that bad boy to them. (Hope it all goes well!) As it stands right now, I want to spend 7 seconds on each slide and that puts the class at 44 minutes. I have some videos I can show them then I'll give them the origami I made. I think it will go just fine. Hope they aren't scatterbrained to see another huge slideshow!

Afternoon:
- got a ride to Kyara Hall to see my student's hard work
- almost fell asleep during the play
- got a ride back to school
- worked on my lessons some more

Notes: At the hall they had painting, calligraphy, and photography displays. They were putting on tea ceremonies, then there were performances. The first was a 57 minute long play with seven screaming girls who did a lot of sitting. I have NO IDEA what was going on and it felt much longer than an hour as I didn't know what was going on and I was exhausted. Moniwa-sensei (one of the VPs) was sitting next to me so I couldn't nap. I was nodding and fighting to stay awake! Then there was brass band (enjoyed that very much). After that three girls who sang very well. Then came two rock bands. It was fun. I got video of everything but only 7.5 minutes of the play. That's why I realized it wasn't a skit. LOL Oh man... Also, Kanamori-sensei made sure that I got some tea from the tea ceremony. Their teacher, this little old Japanese lady, asked me if I wanted more. I froze. I didn't know which was polite. To say no or yes. So I went with, "Ok." LOL DAH! Kanamori-sensei bailed me out by saying, "Enough? Oh ok." Sheesh. LOL Then she told the teacher that my Japanese was very skilled. I thanked her but shook my head. Then she said my tone was excellent, like a Japanese person. I believe she meant my pronunciation and THANK YOU! I just copy Japanese people. :)

Evening:
- got home
- made a painful phone call (sheesh! I swear there are a trillion Japanese words!)
- made dinner
- got to talk to Jerod
- read a little bit
- my package arrived!
- I opened it and read my letters and ate some jerky and sunflower seeds
- cleaned up a little
- printed some worksheets for Friday (so I could make some materials tomorrow)
- wrote this

Notes: The phone call was ROUGH, but I made it! I felt bad for the lady. I loved my letters. Hope you all had a great day! XOXO, A

blast from the past: This story brought to you from my dad - hope he's ok with me sharing his words - (he wrote it in his letter to me, and this is the first time I heard the story): "The other thing that I just simply can't forget is the tag-team that you and Nathanael did in various situations. I remember being in Blimpie's (a place like Subway). About half way through our meal, one of the two of us [my parents] had to go to the restroom (I can't remember which), and when we came back, we couldn't find the two of you. You were 3 tables away...with you being so entertaining and sweet. (The people really loved your performance.) What they didn't know was that you and Nathanael had worked out a system. While you were performing, he was taking their food. When you finished your performance, the two of you walked off and shared the booty." AHAHAHAHA

AAHHH!!! So cute!

My wonderful loot! :D

SO ON TIME!

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) I finished my giant presentation (though it ended up not mattering). 2) I got some planning and one worksheet done for Friday. 3) I have no classes to teach tomorrow (new development I'll talk about below). 4) My classes went really well today (much better than expected). 5) I got my yearbook today! (Though... well more below)

basal temp: 36.38

Morning:
- may have kept my neighbors up last night singing
- had REALLY strange dreams, woke up early
- got ready quickly and didn't forget anything! :D
- totally was on time for the morning meeting!
- got the yearbook I ordered
1st - taught (presented for) 2.5, went super well
2nd - worked on my giant powerpoint
3rd - taught (presented for) 2.4, went much better than expected
4th - finished that giant powerpoint

Notes: So last night I didn't sleep very well. I tossed and turned a lot and I dreamed that I was trying to out-sing someone. Judging by my past experiences (and my sore throat), I believe I truly was singing loudly last night. Sorry my neighbors!! -- Next, that giant powerpoint ended up being 379 slides. I was all ready to go for tomorrow (other than picking the accompanying music). Then I found out some very sad news: Hashimoto-s's father passed away. :c He was gone today and will be gone tomorrow. Tomorrow is also a student performance day. So the other English teachers will be gone. Thus, I have three classes that I am contractually not allowed to teach alone. They decided to cancel them and give the students something else to do. It's relieving, but also I feel really badly. My favorite class was in that bunch! Dang it. :( So I'm missing my last class (well my last class with them will now be last week). However, that does give me more time to work on my Friday lessons. I'm also excited tomorrow to see the student's presentations and performances. :) -- Ok, the yearbook. I was SO excited they were letting me buy one (and it was EXPENSIVE). It only covers the seniors. :( DANG IT! It boggles the mind! (Ok, the American mind.) However, it is a beautiful book.

Afternoon:
5th - worked on lesson planning and made a worksheet for Friday
6th - Japanese lesson with Oikawa-sensei
- worked on my lessons some more after school

Notes: --

Evening:
- got home and ate dinner
- talked to Jerod for a bit
- the sisters came over and did an FHE with me (two hours long)
- I gave them half of my food storage :D

Notes: The sisters told me they had no food storage but that the president told them to make one. (The mission president) So I gave them all the rest of my water but one bottle (I'd been drinking them). Then I gave them half of my canned goods and all my candles and matches. :D This way they have a beginning. It made me feel great to be able to help them. In the FHE, they talked about being a member missionary. I can definitely be more valiant and will strive to do so! :) My love to you! XOXO, A

blast from the past: So Dave is not LDS. When I met him in Jersey he wanted to suss out the kind of person I was. So he asked me (and this was RIGHT after I had just met him), "So Ann, what are your plans regarding my friend Jerod here?" "To make him my sex slave." AHAHAHAHA Since then we've been friends. Thank you to my parents for a quick wit! :D

A strangely busy day

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) I got a ton of work done. 2) FOUR DAYS UNTIL JEROD ARRIVES! 3) My class went super well today. 4) I checked my schedule and I have eight classes this week and three next week (a very light load for me). 5) I got to read.

basal temp: 36.40

Morning:
- slept strangely
- got to message Jerod this morning on the bus
1st-4th - I worked for 5 hours straight on a pp (powerpoint)

Notes: Ok so I have to make an additional powerpoint (Ann in Japan II). Well, the last one I made turned out to be almost not long enough with 96 slides and me telling lots and lots of stories. They lengthened classes for the rest of the year! 0_0 SO, I started creating this powerpoint from the place of understanding how my other one almost didn't cover enough and that shouting over the classes almost lost me my voice. I decided I would do this one with sentences and music to back it up. I figured the most I could really spend on a slide (unless it had a ton of writing) was 7 seconds. To cover a 50 minute class period I would need some 429 slides! By the time lunch rolled around, I had 229.

Afternoon:
- ate lunch
5th - taught 2.3 (Music II), went super great (they are such a great class!)
6th - had a Japanese lesson
- helped with cleaning time
- the teachers had a big meeting, I worked on my pp again
- asked the front office to lock up after turning out the lights

Notes: So, I'm not yet finished with that powerpoint, but I am up to 321 slides! I may make it! Yahoo!! It's been chewing up my data like crazy though. :/ I'm just praying I will have enough to run the presentation on Wednesday and potentially Thursday (I'm thinking for the more disruptive classes that I ought to NOT try to shout over them and use the music presentation first). -- In any case, I felt pretty awesome when I took care of the teacher's room by myself. I was able to tell the front office all the teachers were gone in Japanese and the only English word I used was, "Lock." (I added a gesture just in case.) I felt like I handled business. YEAH!

Evening:
- ate a quick dinner
- went to tutoring, turns out I didn't email her back so she didn't show, oops
- came back and messaged Jerod
- read a little bit
- got ready for bed

Notes: I said strangely busy above because I worked almost 6 hours on that powerpoint and I'm not yet finished and taught one class! LOL Tomorrow I have two classes and lots more of that powerpoint to do! Wish me luck! I wish you luck with all you are doing! XOXO, A

blast from the past: Jerod and I were shopping at Walmart in Taylorsville one day (while we were dating) and his best friend called on the phone. As we went to check out, Jerod went to pay and handed me the phone, "Here talk to Dave." I was instantly petrified. The best friend test came sooner than I expected! We had a nice conversation though and Jerod made me Chicken Francaise that night. (Later we visited them in Jersey and ... OH! I will tell you a short story from that time tomorrow. Hehehe! Point was, I seem to have been accepted! YAY!)

Mount Iwate

Dang it! Forgot to take a picture sooner - gave myself quite the bump on my ankle/shin (the slightly green patch) - sorry I forgot to show its glory before!

Home Early!!

Happy birthday to my younger brother JT! He can now date and drive! Love you JT!

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) I got to skype with my Papa and my Maman! (Mostly Papa) 2) I got some AMAZING cake today. 3) I got home early!! 4) Ate an awesome lunch (spicy hotdog mac n cheese)! 5) Sewed a hole I found in my pants. (ON THE BUM! - and these are the pants I wear at school almost everyday! 0_0)

basal temp: 36.60

Morning:
- fell asleep quickly last night, slept fairly well
- got up and got ready
- got a ride to church (luckily since it was snowing today)
- sacrament was good but kinda crazy
- Sunday school was great - we talked about the Abrahamic Covenant

Notes: So, sacrament. Two elders spoke, then a ward member and suddenly there was still THIRTY-FIVE minutes left in the meeting! The poor branch president gets up and just valiantly tried to fill all that time. It was a little rambly (of course) but he did about 25 and then sat down. Poor guy! He thanked me from the pulpit though. That was kind of him. :) (For being choir director.)

Afternoon:
- we all said goodbye to Elder Fitz and ate some cake Fumie made (amazing!)
- had choir practice
- I got to skype with my family
- GOT HOME EARLY! (14h30)
- made lunch
- talked to Jerod
- read

Notes: --

Evening:
- patched the hole in the bum of my pants!
- read
- talked to Jerod
- showered
- ate dinner

Notes: Today was nice. It was low key (and my stress kept trying to intrude but I kept pushing it away). Tomorrow I will attack that second powerpoint and hopefully it will all go very nicely. *crosses fingers* Hope you all have a wonderful Sabbath! XOXO, A

blast from the past: One of my salient memories on being a child (in elementary school) comes from one day walking home. My younger brother was a bit ahead of me, and suddenly I saw this bigger kid push him. I went into full big-sister-attack mode and ran up and pushed this kid's head into the dirt and ground it in while yelling at them to leave my brother alone. My brother was mad but that kid left him alone after that (as far as I know). :D Big sister FTW!

CLEAN! :D

Valentine's Activity

T5B: 1) I got my laundry done. 2) I cleaned my sink and burner. 3) I did all my dishes. 4) I went to a ward activity. 5) I got to read a little bit. (Wish I had had MORE time but I'm grateful I got to read at all.) 6) I posted the stuff I want to give away when I leave Japan (the big stuff) on fb. Almost right away my biggest worry (the bed) was spoken for. YOKATTA!!! That made me so happy (and was SUCH a stress relief)! And it's going to my friend Tom so that makes me happy too. :D Yay!

basal temp: 36.09

Morning:
- fell asleep REALLY late (3 am)
- woke up early :/
- showered
- did dishes
- cleaned my kitchen
- started a load of laundry
- got a WEIRD visit
- read

Notes: So my doorbell sounds... it's a tall Japanese man. He's a Jehovah's Witness. The ones in Argentina were CRAZY. And they were super argumentative and combative. (Part of that I'm sure was that I was a missionary, STILL) I was pretty worried when I realized he was a JW. In any case, he starts to show me his book and opens to the English. I tell him I'm French (I guess I'm a little petty - just made his life a little harder and he was creeping me out). He opens to the French and I read it and he goes on for a few minutes. Then he shows me their site and asks if I have internet. I told him my apartment didn't have internet. That is technically true. Only my phone has internet. Then he asks me - well he shows me in the French where is says he'll give me his name, and he does, then asks for mine. I told him my last name only after briefly considering saying, "Squirrel." (Sorry, I just have had a LOT of bad experiences with JWs.) In any case, he then points in the French and asks if he can bring me material later in my language about their religion. I said no and that I was leaving for America in two weeks. It's actually, what?, five weeks? :/ I feel sort of badly about that. But I guess I had my first "positive" experience with a JW. He was very polite and not even CLOSE to as pushy as they are in Argentina. (My mom also had a REALLY bad experience with them so my paradigm got set a while ago. I guess it was nice to have a positive experience. It was weird for me though.)

Afternoon:
- hung up my laundry
- talked to Jerod
- read a little more
- talked to Limor on the phone
- got picked up by Fumie for the activity (an hour earlier than I expected!)
- helped the missionaries a little

Notes: --

Evening:
- Valentine's Day Activity at the church
- finally got home (it was nice to see everyone and to get a ride but 5 hours on a Saturday is a long time for a church activity IMO)
- finally got to eat dinner! (got home @ 20h30!!)
- got to skype a little with Jerod
- read

Notes: I know I listed reading a bunch of times but I kept getting interrupted! -- At the activity, I helped make the paper flowers. Then they sat me at the card table (for making cards) and told me to teach people origami. That is what I did. :) It was a lot of me showing, but it was fine. I got to make a card for Jerod and one for my family. I then wandered over to the cookie table and made a cookie and ate it (sorry didn't get a pic first, dang it!). Then I chatted with a girl named Karen (kaw-rden) from the Solomon Islands and Mikku-shimai (McGreevy-shimai). It was nice even though I was there FOREVER (ok that part was a little stressful). I then vacuumed for clean up and messaged Jerod about skyping for a bit. (We were supposed to skype when I first got there, but his phone stopped working and I was very sad, but we ended up getting to skype anyway, HOORAY!)

blast from the past: When I was in jhs (in ninth grade), my friends and I thought we were pretty smart. (We were in the oldest group at the school at that point.) There were some seventh graders who would RUN, full out RUN, to lunch. We would yell at them as they ran down the hall, "Hurry! The lunchroom is going to disappear!" I feel badly about that now. Sorry seventh graders. :/

Clean dishes and sink, hooray!

My view of the room (the far side is the cookies)

Candied faces for the cookies

I made it home!! :D

Friday, February 21!

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) My classes went super well. 2) The kids were SO great! 3) I got my grocery shopping done after it had snowed a bit and before it started again! 4) I had a funny conversation at school. 5) I got to play some board games. :)

basal temp: 36.22

Morning:
- I fell asleep faster but woke up a lot (still I'm glad I slept even if I only was in the 70s)
- got ready quickly but then spaced out (no worries, I caught my bus)
- was panicking on the bus the whole ride though (kept thinking I was on the wrong bus though I wasn't)
1st - prepped some last minute things for my classes (like putting those pictures in my graduation powerpoint - now 5 of my junior high school students know what Nathanaël and my mom look like! :D)
2nd - taught jhs, K & J, was a ton of fun!
3rd - taught elem, only A was here but we also had lots of fun
4th - taught other jhs students (Kf, R, Km, N, M) sooo much fun!

Notes: For K & J, we sang "Once There Was a Snowman" and then played a 5 w's review dice game. For elem, I taught a second lesson on "What do you want to be?" So we played Go Fish with careers. They were to pick someone then the person they picked had to say, "What do you want to be?" Then the initial person would respond with the card they wanted. "I want to be a doctor!" I also prepared a bingo game. Then only A was here today. I was so worried that we would breeze through the games and have time leftover. Then I thought, oh we'll just play go fish again at the end. Ya.. when the bell rang we were JUST finishing the go fish game (it had 72 cards!). It was really fun and there was a TON of English speaking practice so I count it a success. I left the candy with the JTE so she could play bingo with all the kids later. :) (That was my last lesson with them. :c) Then my last lesson was teaching about American graduation ceremonies. So first I had them do some matching for new words. We then played janken with our new vocabulary. :) (Twice) After that I showed them that powerpoint that I made. They really loved it and we got to talk a lot. :) They ESPECIALLY loved (thought it was hilarious) the idea of streaking. They even asked Km if he would streak. The vigorous head shaking and loud cry of no was pretty funny. Then I told him it was probably a good idea since there are only 11 junior high school students so not enough students that they wouldn't know who it was.

Afternoon:
- ate my lunch
5th - put all my materials away, brainstormed a little bit, had a funny conversation about crossdressing with the other teachers :D
- went to the bank
- went grocery shopping

Notes: So Sasaki-sensei (who always makes me laugh) was saying (in Japanese), "I have an evening" OR "There is an evening dress." (Japanese is fun like that!) So I interrupted and yelled, "Ebuningu doresu ga arimasu!?" (You have an evening dress!) He said yes, so I tried to remember the word for cross-dresser (which I had seen in Gintama) and finally learned "Omei" and "Danaka." AHAHAHA Then I brought up Mister Donuts. They are a donut shop whose "mascot" is a giant man in drag. They laughed REALLY hard when they thought about it. It's a thing in Japan and not seen as that strange. It doesn't seem to be seen pejoratively, but I don't know Japanese well enough to ask about it. Still, fun times!

Evening:
- got to message Jerod :D
- read a little
- Bruce invited me over for playing board games with him and his friends

Notes: The evening was good. :) It was like a game night with David Layton only missing my main man! (Sorry I didn't post this yesterday - just completely spaced!) XOXO, A

The crêpe M made!

Inside that is TOFU cream and azuki (sweet refried beans) <-- LOL - but it was good!

I made asparaguts! :D (Those five stalks were on sale for a buck - YUM!)

I'm a comedian!

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) One class made me feel like a comedian. 2) My lessons went really well. 3) One kid who usually doesn't participate and just makes fun of me actually did his worksheet today! (Michael Jackson brought us together! lol) 4) I am almost 100% ready for tomorrow. Just need a couple pics and I'm good to go! 5) I had so much energy today - I get so excited to see my Deaf kids. (I'm always super nervous about how my lessons will go, BUT at least I get to see them and be with them!)

basal temp: 36.41

Morning:
1st - prepared for my lessons and made some props for CS
2nd - taught 1.1, they made me feel like a comedian! SOOO GREAT!
3rd-4th - worked on my powerpoint for CS, spaced out a bit (just tired - hit that end of the week wall)

Notes: So I've been doing a powerpoint presentation entitled, "Ann In Japan" for my students (most of them - some will catch up next week). I tell some funny stories about being here and 1.1 was just WITH me the whole time. They just laughed and laughed at my stories and it was such a high!

Afternoon:
5th - taught (presented for) 2.1, went super well
6th - taught (music II), and had that student, D, come around :)
- had a Japanese lesson

Notes: 2.1 were SUCH good listeners. They didn't laugh as hard as 1.1, but they REALLY paid attention. It was nice (and a little unnerving when they just stared and I would laugh, lol). -- In 2.2, this one student usually just makes fun of me (it's only bothered me once), but today when I told him I was playing Michael Jackson he was SO happy. I guess he's a big fan. Then I played "Eat It" by "Weird" Al and he LOVED it. I'm so glad! (It's not an issue he has with me - just with English. I was told he's not doing very well in the class - failing abysmally :/ - but I'm glad he was into this lesson. :D) -- OH! Today was the last day that I saw 2.1 (:c) so I gave them the origami I made. They were SUPER impressed and grateful. :) (Not that that's why I made it, but it was nice.) -- While I was being tutored, Oikawa-sensei saw my phone background and asked, "Who is that?" "Jesus." "Oh... who painted it." "Wakaranai (I don't know)." LOL It was a short conversation. I wonder what he thinks.

Evening:
- bought some candies for my bingo game with my elem kids tomorrow
- my last episode of Shingeki no Kyojin won't work AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
- ate some delicious foods
- watched some Gintama
- talked to Jerod

Notes: It took me a LONG time to fall asleep last night. I'm just REALLY frustrated with my office right now. They informed everyone we need to make appointments to come in to see them. So I asked LAST WEEK if I could have five minutes in three weeks (from then, now two weeks) to drop off my books and introduce Jerod. I wasn't directly told no, there was hemming and hawing and then a company wide email about mailing our books. I have some 9 textbooks! And I live 8 blocks from the office. If they are upset with me for some reason, I wish they would just TELL me, and then we could work it out. They are being (at least from what I am seeing) EXTREMELY passive aggressive with me. -- There's LOTS more to this story (including them not helping me with an issue at the school I have reported three times). It's just really frustrating. I have tried really hard to be a good employee and thank them for their hard work. I usually brought them food when I visited too. So it feels a lot like being stabbed in the back for no reason. If there is an issue, JUST SAY SOMETHING. Then we can clear it up. :( It's REALLY discouraging for me too. I considered the office ladies to be my friends and was excited for Jerod to meet them and now all this. It's very disheartening. I haven't yet decided what to do about it yet, but I was really worked up last night (just super frustrated and discouraged). Anyway, my DAY was super great! Hope your day was as well. XOXO, A

blast from the past: One night I was over at my friend Sarajan's house. We were going to have a sleepover. Her mom okayed us having some mint chocolate chip ice cream and we were super stoked about it. So we grab the ice cream out of the freezer and an ice cream scoop. We were maybe 9-10. Here we are huffing and chipping away at this ice cream at her kitchen table. I was a year older so we decided I was stronger and I was going at this rock hard ice cream with all my might at the kitchen table. I FINALLY freed a small piece but because of my exerted effort I launched it over my shoulder, five feet away, right into a sink of dish water "bloop!" We laughed pretty hard but were also bummed at the loss of that little piece of ice cream.

P.S. Mom! My flight comes in at 1905 on March 29th. :D

Croaking away

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod!) My lessons went really well today. 2) I sort of signed Jerod up to teach a cooking class and he wasn't mad at me. :D! 3) I'm almost finished preparing for Friday (just a few more slides and need to print one worksheet that's already made and I'm good)! 4) One class sang happy birthday to me today. :) 5) Everything is winding down! Home is almost in sight and I can't wait to see everyone!

basal temp: 36.47

Morning:
- a little old lady says good morning to me and "Ittaras(s?)hai" (no idea what that would be in English but you say it to your kids or anyone who is leaving the house and they) and I have answered, "Itekimasu!"
1st - taught 2.4, went really well
2nd - taught 1.3, went really well
3rd - checked worksheets
4th - taught 1.5, went really well, started to lose my voice

Notes: 2.4 is the class that sang to me. As I was explaining the game for part 3 of the worksheet, this kid raises his hand. I ignored him, lol, and called on him when I was finished. Ya, they sang happy birthday. I blushed (that was my other contribution). Also in that class, I wasn't informed we were on a different time schedule. So I ended class three minutes early. Oops. :/ -- When I did my presentation for 1.3, these three girls in front FREAKED when I showed the slide of Shingeki no Kyojin and mentioned I watch it. After class, R and her two friends approached me and asked for my favorite character. :) YAY Conversation outside of class!! -- When I showed that slide to my 1.5 class, a ton of the boys went wild. I'm glad they were happy we had things in common! :) Also they talked REALLY loudly so I had to yell over them. Ouchie.

Afternoon:
- lunch
5th - taught 1.2, went really well (REALLY losing my voice at that point)
6th - Japanese lesson
- after school: worked on my powerpoint for CS, and did cleaning time

Notes: 1.2 is usually SO quiet. Today they were really loud and my throat STILL hurts. :/ I started to get really croaky in there. Dang it! I need my voice for the rest of the week! Hopefully it rests up tonight!

Evening:
- got home, ate some dinner, talked to Jerod
- went and taught an evening class at Zenrinkan
- signed Jerod up to teach (well I was ASKED if he would teach and I said "Sure!")
- got home and informed Jerod (he took it very well and is actually excited! whew!)
- watched a little SNK

Notes: Hope you all had an awesome day too! Today's schedule was actually heavier than usual (one class extra) but I have one class less tomorrow so it all works out! Oh, I had a sad moment today. I found out why I haven't seen my best student in a couple weeks. He's on suspension. :c I hope I get to see him before the school year is up. The rest of today was great though. XOXO, A

blast from the past: I'll just paint you a picture of me in junior high school. I didn't really have any friends (not until 9th grade). My favorite outfit was maroon tights, navy blue and white (horizontal) striped shorts, tennis shoes, and a peace/orange shirt with some brand name on it. Man I thought I was the coolest. LOL It's only NOW, looking back, that I remember I didn't have any friends then. But hey, obviously it didn't seem to bother me. :)

Another crazy day

T5B: 1) I got to talk to Jerod. 2) I got a TON done. 3) I got a nice gift left on my door from Shinoki-s. 4) My lesson amount decreased for this week (hallelujah!). 5) I watched some Attack on Titan.

basal temp: 36.22

Morning:
1st-4th - testing was still on, so did some more work

Notes: Between yesterday and today, I have created a GIANT powerpoint (86 slides), started another one, made three worksheets, made a card game, made a die (one dice), and ... ya.. I got a LOT done.

Afternoon:
- ate lunch
- got pulled into a meeting last minute
- the physics teacher played his guitar and asked Kanamori-s and I to sing along (lol)

Notes: The singing thing was funny. This guy is 65 years old (he told me) and he loves all these American protest songs from the 60s. I didn't know ANY of them. Finally he plays Edelweiss and I get to ACTUALLY sing along. LOL

Evening:
- had a nice chat with Jerod
- watched some Attack on Titan
- ate some foods
- belaxed (at least tried!) ;)

Notes: Because of my stress last night it felt like I went to bed with a bowling ball of acid in my stomach. Made it REALLY hard to sleep. :/ However, I have big plans for sleep tonight! :D Hope you're all doing well and enjoyed President's Day! Xoxo, A

blast from the past: Ok well this was earlier today but I didn't mention it til now because I forgot - So when he played Edelweiss on his guitar, He and Kanamori-s sang the melody. I made harmony and they looked at my like I was nuts. When we started to sing Amazing Grace, I made harmony and they stopped the song and were like, "Don't you know how it goes!?" Me: "Whaaaa!?" LOL

Walking home early for my birthday - that says "Please wait/Wait please" :D (cross walk)

Birthday wind!

Birthday noir :D

Birthday room!

The gift I found on my door from Shinoki-s :)

Inside the gift - SO BEAUTIFUL!

What I do when I get home.. :D

31

basal temp: 36.35

Today was ok. I got a TON done at work today (hooray), and even got off early. So that was a nice gift from the school.

I got home and had a lousy, stressful night. I guess it was a wash. Hope your day was all good. XOXO, A

Oh I forgot to mention, I passed 9/10ths last Thursday. Coming up on 15/16ths of a year. Crazy.

Presents!

T5B: 1) (I got to talk with Jerod!) I got to skype with my family! 2) Choir practice went well. 3) I got presents from some sweet ward members. :) (TOTALLY unexpected) 4) I got to read. 5) I had an AMAZING brownie!

basal temp: 36.71

Morning:
- got ready for church (woke up early)
- sacrament meeting was good (talked about missionary work again)
- RS was nice (talked about the Plan of Salvation)

Notes: I'm so glad Fumie-s has been giving me rides! It's so nice because it snows so much! (So far the pattern has been that it melts during the week but snows all weekend!)

Afternoon:
- choir practice went well :)
- got to skype my family
- played some piano and downloaded a giant powerpoint (for school) on the church's wifi (Thanks the church!)
- got to message Jerod a little

Notes: I got to talk to Jean-Mi, Nadia, Ang, Andy, Simone, my Maman, my Papa on skype. That was lovely - although there was some conflict at home that has made me REALLY worried. :/

Evening:
- got home
- made some dinner
- talked to Jerod
- watched some Attack on Titan
- read a little bit

Notes: I can't believe my birthday is tomorrow! Feels very strange... XOXO, A

blast from the past: The first time I made homemade fried chicken for Jerod, it was like What About Bob (his dinner with the family). LOL Very funny!

Wearing my new necklace (from Jerod)

DAH!!! NOOOOO!!!

Beautiful gift from Shiwa-k (my HT). He said it's been in his house for a LONG time! I have some Japanese history now! :D

A present from Uchizawa-k :)

What was in that cherry box (↑)

My present from Fumie-s (as you can see)

The BEST brownie I have ever had! Seriously. (It maybe because it's the first brownie I've had in almost a year... but it was STILL DELICIOUS!)

Early Birthday

T5B: 1) (I got to talk to Jerod today!) I got to open my birthday present early. :) 2) Jerod spoiled me and we had a really nice talk. 3) I got super exciting news yesterday (about which I'm still ecstatic - PM me if you'd like to know)! 4) I started watching an anime I'm really enjoying! 5) Finished my book and started another. :)

basal temp: 36.22

Morning:
- woke up early
- showered, put some laundry in
- finished my book
- hung up my laundry
- went shopping

Notes: It doesn't look like much, but I was busy this morning. :)

Afternoon:
- put my groceries away
- talked to Jerod
- read some more
- got permission to open my birthday present early :D

Notes: I have a picture below of what was in my gift. :)

Evening:
- read
- talked to Jerod
- started Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)
- ate some popcorn and treats

Notes: Today was a weird day and it was kinda tough so Jerod okayed me opening my gift early. :) I can't wait to see him! It's 13 days away and feels like a lot more! I hope you all have something to which you're looking forward. XOXO, A

blast from the past:  This is a story I posted on my other blog four years ago when Jerod and I first met and I thought of it tonight. Such a GREAT story:

I was talking to Jerod on the phone one night and mentioned Crocodile Dundee and asked if he'd seen it. "Crocodile Dundee?" He asked, "Never heard of it." (This was before I could recognize his dry humor.) So I told him there was this one great part where the guy brought a Donk, blah, blah, blah. To which he says, with a perfect Australian accent,
"-I've been looking for Walter Reilly. Haven't seen him around, have you?
-You shoulda brought a gun instead of a beer, mate.
-Nah, I don't need one. I've got a Donk.
-Got a what?
-A Donk!"

Yep, totally showed me up  - and tricked me! LOL Me after he did that: .... Great night! 

Forgot to post this yesterday - came home to treats and this sign that says "Love you!"

These were the cookies (that did NOT smell like cookies - I was worried what they were for a bit, lol)

The low down on the Japanese traditions

Going out for groceries (was VERY cold)

Shortly after I arrived

Acerola cherry drink I found and got (it's very good!)

My birthday presents!

One of the caramel wafers - yummy! (Sorry, I'm just being a show-off!)

The weekend cometh

T5B: 1) My students are amazing. 2) My lessons went super well and they were so much fun! 3) I'm down to 4 weeks of work left! :D And (because of work days) 13 teaching days! 4) I received a very sweet Valentine from one of the VPs. 5) I got to read!

basal temp: dang it forgot :/

Morning:
- woke up at 445 :/ couldn't sleep anymore so played games on my phone
- got ready and went and caught my bus (played games on the bus too)
1st-2nd - prepped for my lessons
3rd - taught 3a, went super well
4th - taught S & M (ahahahahahah! oh man, best ever and NOOO not THAT kind), it was a blast!

Notes: For 3a, we did traveling. It was really fun. I played an airline video for them and made sure they understood all the components. Then we went over commands (related to traveling) and then played a commands game. After that we drew passports and questioned each other about the purpose of the visit, length of the stay, etc. :) It was really fun! With S&M, we went over the history of Valentine's Day. Then I gave them American Valentine's Day cards to address and give to their friends. (M gave me one! :D) I also gave them sheets of pink paper with hearts. After that we played a boardgame that I made yesterday to review verbs. It was a lot of fun! (Well.. it was for me!) YAY! :D

Afternoon:
- brainstormed for next week's lessons :)
- received a Valentine from Anbo-s (VP)
- bus ride home was warm
- read

Notes: The Valentine she gave me says: "Anik, Thank you for loving our school and Japan. I'm so happy having you here. (In Japanese, but here is the translation:) Your Japanese is skilled! (Eng:) You inspire me! (Japanese:) ? (Something about her loving language learning too I believe.) Happy Valentine's Day!" I was very touched.

Evening:
- read
- ate some food
- meant to clean, was too cold to make myself do it

Notes: My students are awesome. XOXO, A

A chocolate Kawai-s gave me

Candies inside the chocolate (the thing rattled)

From M :)

Ok I sum up...

T5B: 1) I made all my worksheets for tomorrow. 2) I made and laminated a game for tomorrow. 3) I made supplemental materials for my lessons. 4) I THINK I have a pretty easy schedule next week (I haven't yet received it :/). 5) I fell asleep quicker last night.

basal temp: 36.35

Morning:
- woke up an hour early and had icky nightmares :/
- got ready quickly, was to the bus stop early
- the bus was FAST today (and almost on time! - only one min late) and I made it on time for the morning meeting
- blocked out and worked on making worksheets

Notes: I had a very busy morning and worked really hard. When I walked in on time for the meeting (bell rang as I was walking to my desk) - it hasn't happened in so long that the VP said into the mic that I was there too. LOL He goes, "Oh! Anikku-san mo!" (Oh! Miss Ann too!)

Afternoon:
- the work continued
- took a break to cry (having a bad day) and I swear EVERY female teacher suddenly had to use the locker room grrrr!
- worked some more while most of the teachers left :/

Notes: SO humiliating. I leave the staff room to cry ALONE and seriously six female teachers were in and out during that time. And Japanese people have this thing where they can't read the air, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM talked to me. I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to be left alone. So here I am trying to cry and move on with my day and I have to reassure them all that I'm ok. LEAVE ME ALONE!

Evening:
- got home, made dinner
- tried to chill, read a little
- made my t-shirts into v necks (as it's more flattering for my figure)
- printed my stuff for tomorrow
- talked to Jerod

Notes: Today turned out ok. I'm glad I got so much done! Oh and I finally got my schedule - it's messed up. :/ Monday and Tuesday I have nothing because of exams and then Wednesday I have FOUR classes (not my usual) and Thursday (which is longer schedule) I have FIVE classes. :< The thought is currently stressing me out. A LOT. HOWEVER, I am ready for those lessons (well mostly), so there's that. :/ Wish me luck for next Wednesday and Thursday, sheesh. XOXO, Ann

blast from the past: Quick story - one day I was at the library getting books. I was 12 or 13 years old. I had 22 books stacked in my arms, all the way up to my chin. I teetered my way to the circulation desk, set the books down carefully and asked the librarian, worried, "How many books can I check out?" "As many as you can carry." She smiled. "I bet I could carry more!" (I was serious.) She laughed and I left with 27 books that day. (Later on I found out that 99 is as many books as you can check out from the Orem library. Do I love reading? Ya... maybe. ;D)

I believe this poster is about pooping.. ya looks a LOT like it....

An example of my "new" v-neck shirts (this one was the hardest to cut and it a bit crooked, lol - BUT it shows off my collar bones :) )

Eep!

T5B: 1) I don't have any lessons to teach tomorrow! (Yay break and time for lesson planning! -- which I REALLY need!) 2) I didn't cry on the bus! 3) My new lesson went really (like super) well. 4) Iwamoto-s told me I have beautiful writing (Japanese characters). 5) Having no lessons tomorrow will hopefully mean that I'm able to sleep really well tonight (そだったらいいね - I hope so!).

basal temp: 36.22

Morning:
- had a stressful morning
- something was wrong with my bus card and the bus driver raised his voice and I had no idea what he was saying and my students were just staring and I wanted to cry ... it all worked out though (STILL, sheesh)
1st-2nd - made copies and materials for my lessons
3rd - taught 2.6, went SUPER well (I think this was their favorite lesson thus far)
4th - taught 1.2, went well

Notes: Today I taught 2.6 eating habits and as part of that, we covered the food pyramid. So first we did a matching exercise (so they would know the words "dairy, protein" etc). Then we played crossfire janken with a new rule: if they lost, they had to come be me (stand in front of the class). Then I had printed out a couple pages with pictures of food (that fit into the pyramid - three for each category). I made 6 copies of each page then cut them apart. Then I took one person from each row to the back of the class (before I had written the categories on the board). I turned over the six pictures and put my hands over them. I'd lift my hands and say go, they had to check the picture, then run to the front of the class and put it in the right category. They REALLY got into it. S, the boy who only recently started doing his worksheets AT ALL, REALLY got into the game. He kept taking his teammates' turns. LOL Watching them categorize some foods was pretty funny. They would look back at me while pretending to place their paper (looking for confirmation or shake of the head). When I gave them chips, they put it under grain, then vegetable, then grain, then fruit, then grain (LOL). Finally one boy walked over to fats, oils, sugars, and I was like, "YAY!" LOL Seriously good time for me. :) Each team got on the board too (thank goodness). After that they had to interview and write three sentences. That's when the energy sort of died out (the "boring part" started for them). Still, it went super well. :D I did directions for 1.2 and that went well. They're just a quiet class. Sometimes I don't know what's going on. But I made them laugh. I tried to toss my papers on the stand and they missed and scattered and I shouted, "Oh no!!" That made them laugh, and when I finally got them picked up I stood, held them triumphantly, and declared, "TA DA!" This one girl especially loved it. :) She cracks me up. She said something else that was funny but I can't remember it now. :/ Shimatta! (Dang it!)

Afternoon:
5th-6th - planned, started blocking out worksheets for Friday, prepared some materials
7th - Japanese tutoring
- cleaning time and short convo with the VPs (↓)

Notes: After cleaning time I was able to use one of my new words on the VPs when they asked how my lunch had gone. (I told them it was delicious and then I said my husband was jealous - urayamashii. They laughed at that. :))

Evening:
- got home, warmed up some dinner (leftovers from yesterday)
- read a little bit
- felt icky (too little sleep - I laid awake for TWO HOURS last night)

Notes: I hope that I am able to sleep really well tonight! I hope that for all of you too. (Hope you're feeling better Maman!) XOXO, Ann

blast from the past: When I was younger, (and I mean like 10-11) I started babysitting. I was on one of my first jobs and they had two kids. The mom had told me the kids could have a popsicle but that the snickers ice cream bars were for their dad. The oldest boy swore up and down he was allowed to have one. I finally caved and said, "Ok." He looked at me, suspiciously, "Ok?" "Sure. You can have one. When your mom asks I will tell her you said it was ok." (Because I KNEW he knew he wasn't allowed to have one.) Sure enough, he "randomly" changed his mind and went for a popsicle instead. TIL I played headgames as a babysitter. ;) - Nah, I just would make sure that the child knew they were taking full responsibility if they wanted to eat something their parent forbade them to eat. (Of course nothing extreme!)

Foundation of Japan Day!

T5B: 1) I got a holiday during the week. 2) I was treated to lunch at a sushi train (kaitenzushi) restaurant. 3) I got to ride the Dendenmushi (bus). 4) I got some good pictures of the station. 5) I finished my book.

basal temp: 36.15

Morning:
- woke up 2 hours before my alarm, BUT was able to fall back asleep (86%)
- got up, showered
- put my laundry away, made my breakfast, ate
- walked down to the station
- met Maruyama-s and gave her some music and fast finishers, we talked for a bit
- met Kanamori-s and Iwamoto-s (who showed up :D)

Notes: I saw some students on the way to the station. I smiled but I don't think they noticed me. Then I saw two students when I was AT the station, they saw me for sure. I waved at them and they waved back. :)

Afternoon:
- we put our name on the list at Seijiro (the restaurant) and waited and chatted
- ate lunch, they paid and said it was a birthday present to me :)
- Kanamori-s and I took Dendenmushi (a bus) to the bus center
- got home, read

Notes: It was pretty funny. I was the largest in stature and put away only 5 plates (6 pieces of sushi: 3 plates, 1 piece of tamagoyaki [eggs]: 1 plate, a scoop of ice cream: 1 plate), Iwamoto (a 65 year old physics teacher) put away 7, then Kanamori-s, who is this tiny 63-year-old Japanese woman, put away 8 plates! She told me she was going to skip dinner, lol. It was a very nice lunch and it was very kind of them to pay (you pay by the plate ranging from $2-$7.35). I'm glad I got to meet them for lunch. :) AND I finally got restaurant sushi (rather than just from the supermarket). Oh man it was AMAZING quality. The fish was practically silky. It was delicious!

Evening:
- finished my book
- ate some chocolate
- cleaned my apartment
- printed worksheets for tomorrow

Notes: I had a great Foundation of Japan Day. How about you? XOXO, A

blast from the past: This is one of Jerod's stories, but he told me that one time his (and his girlfriend's) ferret got out. They were looking for it everywhere and they thought they might as well check the roof. .. The ferret was ON THE ROOF. And not only that, it had begun to rain and lightning was coming down and in my mind I have always pictured this ferret doing a crazy ferret dance between flashes of lightning. LOL They were scared he'd get hit. Jerod had to get on the roof to get him down. LOL

Beautiful garden in Morioka covered by winter

The shrine where we met for Sansa

AHA! Barbershop (to show my students)

This is a waterfall most of the time (in front of the station) - now it's full of candles for the current candle festival

Morioka Station :D

This kid was the pigeon boy! LOL He kept chasing them down and trying to feed them snow.

The pigeons here are so chill ^ look how close he is to them!

AHAHAHA "Play snow!"

Igloo in front of the station

This pigeon almost walked on my foot!

A view of Morioka

Kanamori-sensei and I in front of the igloo

Kaitenzushi! (Sushi train!) - and check out the glasses on the second conveyor belt below.

Sushi coasting by

A better view of the various sushi dishes

Some incredibly delicious chocolate chip scones that Maruyama-s made! (Dang it! I wanted to buy some for Jerod!)