Matsuri / Taiko in Ofunato

I've decided to post the pictures from today as my post. It was awesome! Jake and I got to participate! They had us pull the cart with the drums when they went up the mountain! Did I say mountain? Yes. I think they tricked us. Lol - it was heavy but it was fun! Oh! I also ran into my head English teacher from Morioka Minami! He's here visiting his mother-in-law. At some point Jake wasn't pulling and I was and the guys started freaking out so I flexed my muscles and they were so impressed. Lol and they invited us to eat lunch with them and then eat dinner with them and they have us a gift and they did an introduction of me and the guys were all freaking out "Ooohh!" And I was sunburned and kind of blushing and let's just say that they had a lot of fun at my expense! But it was so fun even if some of them were dirty old men - Jake is fluent in Japanese.  Anyway, here are the pictures:

Limor's group!

Some crazy people in the crowd ;)

The light was so bright it was making my eyes water!

Look at me! I'm on a horse. LOL

Shishi Odori (SO cool! - Deer Dance - which is ironic as System of a Down has a song with that title)

The lion dancers in Limor's group - they came back around the block :)

 I love this picture! I got her smiling!

When they made me part of the company! :D

Ya that's right - she does it all!

The Matsuri Three: Limor, me, Jake! :D

We had more fun than is probably legally allowed!

Jake singing Karaoke at the Doujo

He sang in Japanese and did great!

My day in the sun shows

XOXO A

Friday May 3

I got up early - not on purpose. I set an alarm so I could get up to get ready to take the train to Oshu. Well, I set my Saturday alarm. I got up and got ready and checked my phone to see if I was going to be on time to go to the library and the train station and saw I was TWO HOURS early! I'd forgotten that even though I had Friday off, it's not the weekend and woke up to my school alarm. However it made me glad that feeling so exhausted was in part due to getting up too early. I gratefully went back to bed and took an hour nap. It felt great! I set an alarm and when that went off, I got up, put on my shoes and was out the door.

I rode my bike down to the station and parked it. I had packed my overnight bag already (that morning) so I grabbed that and went to Aiina. It was on the way that I saw Angel (a coworker) and got to meet his family. It was kinda cool to meet them. (Sorry if this isn't making sense... I'm pretty tired, lol). So I went to Aiina as my library books were due and got a couple others. I then got my train ticket and waited for the train. (I wanted to make sure I was WAY in advance so I would have plenty of time if I had trouble.) A man at the ticket window helped me - I asked if it was platform 5 (since I was taking the same train as last time) and he said 7. So off I went to 7. Because I got there early, I was at the front of the line to get on the train. When it got there, I got on, grabbed a seat and started to read. (I also texted Limor that I had made my train and I would be in Oshu at 12h12). The train was RIGHT on time - but Limor was not. She had to wait for Jake to get there from Sendai. (Which is totally fine.) I got to read for another hour until they got there. LOL When I walked outside I saw Limor driving and Jake running after the car. I asked what was going on and I'm still not sure what was happening. Pretty funny to see though. Then we hopped into the car and drove to Ofunato (where Limor lives an hour and a half from Oshu). I tried to give her some gas money, which she refused, and I gave Limor and Jake a present I'd bought at the station: caramel Tim Tams.

When we got to Limor's we ate lunch and had tea and at the Tim Tams. We got to hang out and talk (the whole way there and then at Limor's place). I cannot for the life of me remember what we did for dinner...

On Saturday Jake and I had breakfast at Limor's place (she had to leave at 4 am), and then lunch and dinner were provided to us by her Taiko group. They were so kind and gracious to us. I'm pretty sure we went out for dinner Friday night ... but I really can't remember to where. Hmm. Anyway.. it was nice to be with friends and in a smaller group. :)

XOXO, A

Here are those two things at Aiina I told you about:

Dog Cupcake

"Tree" with light-up leaves! So amazing!

The holiday approacheth...

Today was the last day of work before the next couple holidays. I have tomorrow off and Monday off as well! Yay! Extra long weekend. EEEEE!

So, today was up and down for me. I was determined to eat a breakfast that wouldn't leave me STARVING within the first hour or two of being at school. This was my idea:

Is that bacon, you might ask - why yes it is!! I thought, "Meat oughta do it." Luckily I was given bacon because it is expensive and hard to find here. I made it extra crispy (as you can see). YUM! I also had a grapefruit yogurt. I was late getting out the door though. I was making excellent time and then suddenly I was just ... lost. I stopped and thought about I don't remember what but it sapped a lot of my time. I got to the bus stop just at the time my bus should have been arriving (noooo too late to be arriving) - mmm, the bus came a few minutes later.

The bus ride was great - I finished book 2 of that trilogy and spoke to two students. YAY! I finally broke that barrier with them. :) One girl sat next to me but she's very shy so I talked to two boys sitting across from me.

My first class (second period) went fairly well - though I wonder if classes take on the personalities of their teachers. The teacher is ... reserved and low key and the class was the same today. I'm very high energy. The students were sticks in the mud and I spent the entire class period trying to pull them out. Today was the first time I felt what others have described - it's hard to be ON all the time. I don't know if it's because I'm tired, or if it was just that "day before the holiday" thing that happens to students.. in any case, that class was ok.

Then, at ONE minute to the bell, while I was working on a worksheet for next week, "Are you ready to go?" *bewildered face* "Me!?" "Yes, you're teaching the next class." "I am!? It wasn't on the SLP." "Oh, well, let's go!" Oh man, I didn't have copies ready, I wasn't in the right mindset, I had to hurriedly put my things away. I apologized for being unprepared though I reiterated that I had had no idea I was teaching. It made my stomach hurt the whole first part of class. Last minute things are REALLY stressful for me. I also dislike being late. *shakes head* In any case, the class was fun - there's this one group of boys that are particularly funny. I had fun joking with them today. The class is also very intelligent - they breezed through a worksheet that we didn't even finish in other classes. In a way it worked out that we were late - although I could easily have added something. It was just a blessing for me that the only quick thinking I had to do was in regards to getting there and starting the class.

Then my last class for the day (sixth period). They were lukewarm today. I'm not sure if it's a class thing, or once again, the fact that the holiday is so near. HOWEVER, we played fruit basket and that went over VERY well. They caught on right away and loved it. :) We only got to play a couple rounds but luckily I had planned on playing it again soon. (For this class, since they are a bit behind, it should be 2 weeks from now but I think I may do it as the warm up for them as they loved it so much and I didn't even get to tell them about the "fruit basket" rule.)

One shining positive: I forgot to mention yesterday that as I went to go to the bathroom, I found the room (off which the bathroom is found) sealed off for a meeting. I reasoned there had to be one on the first floor and went downstairs. There IS one there -- and it has a Western toilet!!! So yay! No more worrying about potentially peeing on myself! Today (yesterday I was looking for a sink) I was able to use a (may I say?) REAL toilet. LOL I'm glad I conquered the floor toilet and I'm sure I will use it occasionally still - but I am QUITE grateful (mmm) to have a Western toilet in the building.

After class finished and I helped with cleaning time (a daily thing), I wandered out to the 3rd graders classrooms and followed (I'm such a creep!) 2 girls who had cheerfully greeted me. They grabbed something at the end of the hall and were a little surprised when they turned around and I was there. I then I asked them in halting Japanese if they were going to a club - yes, boxing. Ooh! "I watch?" - Mimasu ka? They nodded and invited me along - we chatted in simple English and Japanese and then some of the boxers saw us (boys) and walked with us to the ring. One was especially precocious. He told me he has 2 girlfriends - one in America and one here. *facepalm* He was an "international (japanese word)" - the girls filled in, "Marry!" LOL He was cracking me up! It was fun to talk to them though. I saw some of the drills the boys did - wow! It was really cool to watch and at ten to, I bowed out to catch my bus.

Now I'm home and feeling stressed still. I found out I have to be in Oshu earlier than I thought and I had plans for tomorrow morning and afternoon (I thought I was supposed to be there in the evening). *Sigh* It means I have to put off things I keep putting off because I never have time. I don't like feeling stretched so thin. I'm excited to see Jake and Limor though. :) We're going to see the Demon Sword dance and I will watch Limor's Taiko performance! Eeee! I'm so glad I am experiencing the culture of Japan - I hope by tomorrow I will be feeling less stressed about the whole thing. It's another train to another city .... I've got to get on the right one again! Eep! (sorry picture removed)

Funny moment:

Well, I told you the story about Mr. Toki and him yelling "Big Bulls!" And me laughing because it didn't not sound like he said "Bulls." Well, again today Mr. Oikawa yells "Big Bulls!" I laughed and said, "You like AC/DC?" He was perplexed and I said, "Mr. Toki said the same thing." THEN they enlighten Ann: "Big Bulls is the name of a team in Morioka." Oh. DOH! *laughs* But hey, now I know and can USE it! .. Now that I did that worksheet for the last time... but in the future! ;)

XOXO, A

This is me today (I took it 20-30 minutes ago for this blog):

Mmm?

The mass, or lack thereof hits, critical...

(Funny moments included:) So.. my pants will no longer stay on. Unfortunately I didn't realize how bad the problem was until I was at school. LOL During one class I discovered my zipper had fallen down. *facepalm* I almost flashed my stomach several times together. I spent the whole day hiking my pants up! I can't even keep them up if I puff out my stomach (I probably looked as daft as I am puffing out my belly trying to keep my dang pants on!)

Getting up this morning was rough. I was just sludge-y. I didn't get to read scriptures in my apartment so I read 2 GC (General Conference) talks on the bus. They caused me great reflection, for which I am grateful. I will continue to ponder the things that I read. The bus arrived at the school earlier than usual which was very nice. It meant instead of me sneaking in after the meeting started (usually I'm 5 minutes after the beginning), I was able to sit down and say good morning with everyone else. This is the first time the bus has allowed that. I'm grateful I was able to get there "early" (mmm). I hope that the bus will continue to make good speed. I feel so guilty coming in late. (In Japan ten minutes early is on time. So I should be there by 8h10 - riding the bus, however, makes that impossible. The school has made an exception for me, for which I am grateful, but it chafes to get there after everyone else. I don't want there to be special exceptions for me. I want to do what the other teachers do. I also suspect I have lost respect because I come in so late - but I'm doing the best I can. :/)

My classes went well. I used my new worksheet with the first graders. I had a lot of fun, as per usual, and the students at least didn't put their heads down and go to sleep. They seemed to enjoy the worksheet. :) I got good feedback from the teachers though one wanted me to change my warm-up. I explained why I had done it the way I had and he nodded. (I had the same idea as him but the students just lack the vocabulary at this point in their schooling.) The schedule was changed so I taught the first period, the last period, the period right before lunch, and the period right after lunch. It was really weird to me. Because I had all these "one-border" classes, if that makes sense? In any case, I was tired today but I didn't get the same magnetic-face-to-desk from which I usually suffer.

During my warm-up (and this will give my family great mirth I'm sure) - I had to use improper grammar to make it easier for the students to understand. It was almost LITERALLY painful. Seriously. I'm sure I made faces of pain and freaked out the students. I rarely notice my facial expressions anymore, they are that automatic. (I had to end a sentence with a preposition - and that is one of my ... picky spots. lol)

So I had great plans when I got home to go to a 100円 shop, but I was FREEZING. I looked for one in Sakanacho, but was unable to find one. So I declared shivering defeat and hurried home. I'm grateful for the cold but a little frustrated it has hindered my plans. Well, I will try again tomorrow. And if that fails, for sure Friday morning. :) I have Friday off! YAY!

Happy Golden Week (a time in Japan where many holidays occur together - I had this last Monday off, I have this Friday off, and next Monday off - also Sunday is a holiday but I already had that off obviously)! XOXO, A