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!)