The Circus -- Part 2

Like any circus, the one that visited school today encouraged audience participation. Like anywhere in Japan, I stick out in school. And, like in any school activity, I was volunteered. So, like any good ALT, I went along for the ride (literally!)

UP!

UP!!

And Over!!

UP!! UP!!

And AWAY!!!

But not for long....

The next Harp Car wannabe

Too bad its a little short :-( Love the color though!

Who would have thought!?!?

Today, after making an emergency run to the 100 Yen store (think Japanese Dollar Tree) for flyswatters (no, I don't have a fly infestation, I needed them for my class), I visited a new supermarket. As soon as I walked in, I could tell there was something different. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it really felt "western." Sure, there was an entire aisle dedicated to seaweed and another to dried fish, but there were also unheard of "treasures" such as sour cream, cheese, nuts, frozen lasagna, and even a bakery! As I was basking in my find, I walked around the corner only to discover the above bag. Yep, I had stumbled upon the Japanese version of Walmart. Upon closer inspection, I realized that even the milk in my cart was labeled with both Walmart's Great Value brand and Japanese Kanji! I got so excited (not that I'm a Walmart fiend, but it really felt "homey") that for a moment I forgot where I was. Unfortunately, that moment was a bit too long, as I soon realized that it isn't appropriate to divide a bunch of bananas in Japan.

Hina matsuri

Hina matsuri is the Japanese holiday known as Girl's Day (or Doll's Day) and is celebrated on March 3. Girls display their doll collection traditionally given to them by their grandparents and they host girlfriends over for tea and to view the dolls. I have read about this holiday in many books, and I personally have always thought it sounded like a "national tea party day." I also had secretly hoped to be invited over for a "tea party" and, yesterday, was pleasantly surprised to be invited to my neighbor's house for an entire meal of chirashi zushi (a form of sushi), miso soup, strawberries, and chocolate cake. Their almost two year old daughter, Nana, enjoyed helping her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother play hostest. During dinner, she also enjoyed adding various other toys to her doll collection (if you look closely at the picture above, you can see a teddy bear just to the right of my head). Unfortunately, I did not get a close up picture of the dolls, but they are handmade cloth dolls with intricate clothing and distinct faces. The two on the top are the emperor and empress while the below figurines are court attendants. A complete set ranges from approximately $500-$1000.

I Love English in Japan (Part 5)

Are you calm?

Happy Birthday Mommy!!

I believe that this picture was taken two years ago on Mommy's birthday -- a representation of how we wish we could celebrate birthdays now (all together). At least she did get to visit Japan on her birthday (even if it was at Epcot!). All kidding aside, dearest Mommy, I wish you the happiest of birthdays. When I think of your birthday, I also remember it vividly as the day, at age 7, you led me to Christ. For this, your Christian dedication and guidance, I am most grateful. Thank you, too, for your willingness to put Erin and I first in your life, for homeschooling us, and providing us with a wonderful warm and loving home. I love you dearest Mommy and wish I could be there to celebrate with you.

Spring is Coming!

The plum trees are blooming and the sakura (cherry blossoms) soon will be showing their beautiful pink flowers. Oh, how I love spring!

Purikura!

This past Saturday, two of my other ALT friends Sarah (from New Zealand) and Helen-Marie (from Scotland), and I engaged in a true Japanese female trend -- purikura. Following the meteorologist's technique of "green screen," purikura allows you to choose your background, pose in a little booth, and then get your picture superimposed into a fabulously crazy setting. After all pictures are snapped, the models get to digitally add props -- the tackier the better! The stamp-sized pictures are then printed to be shared with others, glued to your cellphone, pasted on pencil cases and kept as mementos of your dearest friends.

What I'm Reading Right Now

Today, in an attempt to improve my very poor Japanese, I asked my vice principal if I could borrow books from the school's library. She promptly took me there and asked the librarian to assist in locating a book. One of the seventh grade classes was using the room to work on a poster project so the three tripped over legs, arms, and huge pieces of paper sprawled all over the floor. The students found it particularly amusing that the librarian and vice principal kept on bringing me books to attempt to read while I stood there like a kindergartner sounding out words. Soon, I proudly took my new book downstairs and started practicing reading it (of course with the assistance of my really cool new electronic dictionary!) "The clock goes bong, bong, bong, whose awake at this late hour? The owl, the horned owl, the black alley cat..."

Like anything else I do at the school, it soon brought a huddle of other teachers around my desk curious to see what I was doing. They all laughed at the book saying that it was what they used to read to their young children before putting them to bed. Of course, I could only laugh with them and ask for some help for out of the 35 words, I only knew seven. According to my elementary education training, having a 20% readability level is in the frustration zone of early readers so it, too, is beyond my capabilities. Tomorrow, though, several teachers promised to bring me in their children's old picture books with one word per page. So, it looks like it will be back to board books for me. But hey, I can read them to Clara next time I see her because we will be at the same level!

Fashion Faux Pas

I received this outfit for Christmas and was really excited to wear it today for my first day back of teaching. Little did I realize that I was going to make a horrible fashion faux pas...

Scene 1 (In the teacher's office)

Vice Principal: Good morning, Emily. I think your neck must be cold today.

Emily: Good morning, Kyoto-sensei. Oh, I am fine.

Emily's Brain: (Why would she think I'm cold? I'm actually roasting, this sweater is wool and I have a thermal on underneath).

Scene 2 (several hours later -- In the women's bathroom)

Vice Principal: You must be so cold.

Emily: I'm okay.

Emily's Brain: (Of course when I wash my hands, the water feels like ice, and I would love to wear gloves in school but it is rude and I would never want to be considered rude or offensive.)

Scene 3 (Back in the Teachers' Room)

Vice Principal (placing her hand on Emily's neck): You must be so cold.

Emily: (Smile)

Emily's Brain: (Okay, I remember reading that the Japanese are indirect in their comments. Is she trying to tell me something?)

Scene 4 (In Emily's Apartment)

Emily's Brain: (Let's see what I can find regarding immodest dress in Japan...... Oh, no....)

The Discovery (excerpt from Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden): I must tell you something about necks in Japan, if you don't know it; namely, that Japanese men, as a rule, feel about a woman's neck and throat the same way that men in the West might feel about a woman's legs. This is why geisha wear the collars of the kimono so low in the back that the first few bumps of the spine are visible; I suppose it's like a woman in Paris wearing a short skirt...[it has] an erotic effect on men.

Emily's Brain: Oh my goodness! What was I thinking? Of course, I would have never guessed that a neck could be so...so offensive. Now I must add covered neck to my list of clothing requirements along with no makeup or jewelry, covered shoulders, long skirts, suits on certain days, socks at all times, special shoes.... there's got to be any easier way! Hmm... I could wear a burka and only have my eyes showing. Or, I have a better idea. I could steal one of my student's uniforms. Wait, I already did that once :-)

Calling All Photographers!!!!

So I got this really cool hot pink digital frame while I was home (I had been given a black one before I left, but it malfunctioned while in Japan and needed to be returned) and now I have to fill it with pictures. So, please send me snapshots of you!!! I want to see your smiling faces (or what else you want to share!) (Disclaimer: If the photos aren't horizontal, they will be)

When All Else Fails, Use the Ancient Technique

The gokiburi in Japan are huge, and one greeted me in my apartment at my return. Thankfully, I found this demonstration lesson to help me eradicate it.

My Newest Discovery

Isn't it cute?? It's a mommy cat carrying her baby. Its also the logo for my new favorite Japanese invention -- luggage transport system. Yes, I made it back to Japan without much difficulty, and I utilized this amazing service. All that is required is dropping off luggage at the service counter, paying a few thousand yen (1000 yen = $10), and walla, it shows up on your door the next morning. Yamamato Transport sure beats dragging suitcases on trains, planes, and automobiles!

I'm Doing it Again!

Yep, you read it right, I have been cleared for takeoff! I am no longer contagious, my spleen has returned to normal size (on a side note, an un-normal-sized spleen has a very strange feeling!!!), and my energy levels have increased (no longer do I need 19 hours of sleep -- I can function on 10!) So, I am going to return -- leaving Orlando at 6:30am on Thursday. I will be honest, I do have some concerns, I know what I am getting back into, and its not easy work, but I feel like this is the right time and the BOE has been very understanding and has been working towards alleviating my load. Plus, I am not in it alone!! I would be a hypocrite if I wrote yesterday's post and didn't embrace it today. Please pray for me, though. I really do cherish your prayers, and I would love to hear from you, too (I know how lonely it gets sometime).

Did You Know...

...that armadillos have furry feet? (Do you think they are related to hobbits??)

...that squirrels like Life Savers? (I'm not going to tell you how I found that out, but it does involve one crawling up my leg :-)

...that manatees and alligators can be friends? (We as humans could learn something about being kind to those different from us!)

...that "a big eye problem" in Japanese translates to a "big eye problem" in English (and three pairs of cute, nice glasses are cheaper in Florida than one pair of not so cute, not as nice glasses in Japan)?

...that swans not only like bread but fingers and camera caps as well? (I have proof!!)

Well, now you do...

Mono Mementos

It's amazing how things don't necessarily happen as we think they should or how we want, but after struggling with the events that occur in our lives, we can look back and say, "God knows what He is doing. He always does and He always will. 'Lord, I believe, help me with my unbelief.'" These past two and a half months have once again been a testing of my faith. "Why me?" I moaned. "I am a healthy person, why do I have to be literally incapacitated, sleeping for hours and hours a day. I have work to do. I have students to teach....." But in all of my complaining, God knew what He was doing. I have been reminded of so many blessings that I have often taken for granted and learned new things that I never could have have experienced in Japan. God knows what He is doing. Why do we always question His sovereignty?



Take my parents for instance. I could not have had any better nurses. If I hadn't been diagnosed in the States before I was supposed to leave, I can't imagine what would have happened (especially since the Japanese don't have medical term for mono). Mommy and Daddy are wonderful -- they pray with and for me, they encourage me to sleep and don't mind my inactivity, they take me out for changes of scenery and milkshakes when the cravings hit, but speed me home when the exhaustion takes over. Not only am I blessed to have them as caretakers, but I am blessed to have them as parents!

Or what about church? Being home has given me the opportunity to worship in my family's church several times and communicate more regularly with my dear church in Tallahassee. I was reminded that there is nothing more encouraging than worshiping in my native language. Although Christ love spreads beyond any language barriers, to be fed and participate in English is the ultimate blessing.


Or what about Grandma? Not only does she make the best Christmas turkey, but she also wins the prize for spaghetti, anything Cuban, bread, cakes, pies, fried chicken... In fact, she is so talented that her culinary creations are better than anything the entire country of Japan can offer. Who else can claim that kind of talent???


And my dear sister Erin. She has always been a wonderful friend and great older sister. Now she is also a mother, but I never knew that she had developed the "mother's touch" until she unselfishly stood by me as I cried over the white porcelain basin, holding my hair back and rubbing my shoulders. She brought cooling cloths for my fevers and made tea for my chills.

Dear Little Clara taught me to look at the world differently -- through eyes of wonderment and discovery. In fact, I learned that there are few things more amazing than bubbles except to hear her utter my name for the very first time!


Daddies, too. Both my earthly and Heavenly father are always willing to lift the tired and weary, carry them on their shoulders, and provide strength for those who need it. "Thank you Dear Father, for providing me with so many blessings and such a wonderful family."

A Merry Mono Christmas!

This is a very short update to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, at least not yet! I had a wonderful Christmas with my family even getting to see Erin, Nathan and my favorite and adorable niece Clara as well as my dear cousins from Chicago. However, for the entire two weeks I had extreme exhaustion, nausea, and a lack of appetite, which we first credited to jet lag. When it wouldn't subside and my parents couldn't convince me to eat anything (even my mommy's and grandma's yummy homemade goodies), they took me to the doctor. After an incredible battery of tests (and my first award as a "partial passer-outer during blood work") it was confirmed this past week that I contracted mono, from where and for how long, remains the mystery. Needless to say, I haven't returned to Japan yet. The Board of Education has been wonderful and currently I am on medical leave until I can regain the strength to return. I will keep you posted... In the meantime, its back to bed for me.

Update!

Okay, this is going to be boring.... no pictures or anything, but I thought I would give you a brief update of the highlights of the past two weeks:

1. Taught over 300 kids the true Christmas story at school. Planting seeds, planting seeds...

2. Got on the wrong bus, didn't know it was the wrong bus. Ended up on the opposite side of town, had to have a search party come find me. (sounds like a broken record huh?)

3. Lost my brand new glasses, didn't know they were lost. Can't find them (How can one see without glasses??)

4. Tried to fry some potatoes, didn't know the oil was too hot. Had a fire in the kitchen. Thankfully nothing burned down, but I have never seen flames that high outside of a fireplace.

6. Leaving for home today for the holidays. Have to take 1 bus, 3 trains, 2 planes, and a car (if I only added a rocket and bicycle I would have all modes of transportation covered!!) All joking aside, please pray I make each and every connection. I will be in Orlando till Jan. 2nd and would love to see/talk to you so please jot me a note or give me a call.

Hugs to all and Merry Christmas (or as they say in Japan "Meli Karisumasu")

Hamamatsu: City of Pines and Water

Making Mochi

Mochi is a traditional Japanese New Year's food made from pounded rice that is basically turned into a sticky dough. Although mochi is found throughout the year (covered in chocolate, wrapped around ice cream, in soup as dumplings, grilled and covered with fermented soybean sauce, etc.) at New Years there is a special ceremony for making it known as Mochitsuki. This method models the ancient technique for making the gummy treat. Today, I was invited to a Mochitsuki event coordinated by the PTA of my two schools.

Steaming the rice over a wood burning stove

Pounding the rice into a glutinous mass. The lady on the right would duck in and knead the dough between each of my swings of the super heavy kine as I attempted not to whack her head. (What you don't see in this picture are my cheerleaders -- some of my 2nd and 3rd year JHS boys laughing at my pounding technique!)

The PTA rolling the mochi dough around sweet bean paste and in soybean powder. This way was actually quite tasty.


Eating it!!
(okay, this picture was actually posed. The vice principal and principal of my elementary school insisted that I tried mochi covered in soy sauce with ground radish on top -- I don't like radishes by the way, but why is another story in and of itself! Anyway, as I am attempting to politely swallow this globby concoction my students asked me if I liked it and I gave them a truthful response. Then, one of their parents offers to take a picture and insists that I eat the mochi while my girls smile. They were so cute as they kept on saying, "not real, Emily not real, you don't eat!!)

Sometimes you just go with the flow....

Once a month I teach an evening adult conversation class at the local community center. This month, my darling "little old ladies" invited me to their Christmas party for some local school children. What they didn't tell me was I was going to be Santa!!! Oh, well... Sometimes you just go with the flow.... like wearing a Santa suit that's 10 times too big (and fastened with "rabbit" tape) only to have the pants fall down in front of all the kids, or singing an upbeat version of "Suwannee River" as the special feature without any prior warning (I didn't know it was a Christmas song, did you?), or eating pizza topped with hard boiled eggs cooked in soy sauce, or leading a Bingo game in Japanese and chasing the number balls across the room when the machine exploded, or folk dancing with spry ladies 3-4 times your age or.... Well you get the picture -- everything in Japan is an adventure!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Twenty guesses as to what the below picture is....

Actually, its an indication that homesickness in a foreign country is a genuinely true feeling -- especially around the holidays! Let me explain, when I first moved into my apartment one of my initial tasks was going through the very stuffed closest to see what I did and didn't have (old yogurt containers, check! cereal boxes, check! towels, nope!) In my digging, I came across this interesting table centerpiece of many little figurines standing around a basket "table" and eating magnetic vegetables (or as the fellow on the left is doing, smashing his garlic!) Due to the additional fruits, vegetables, and leaves on the bottom of the display, I could only deduce that this must have been a former resident's attempt to celebrate Thanksgiving in his/her unique way since American thanksgiving does not exist in Japan (no surprise actually!). As for me, I called home a gazillion times that week (yep, I'm homesick), worked all day, and then had the special privilege of seeing a 60 lb tuna being slaughtered in front of 150 sixth graders during a special presentation in the gym about fishing in Hamamatsu. I have never seen so many people salivate over anything (it was like they were all kids in a candy shop in America) as the fisherman chopped off the fish's tail and fins. As the resident non-Japanese, they provided me with the opportunity of cutting the flesh into sashimi as all my students cheered me on. Then, in true Japanese fashion, it was fish time!!!!! Yep, for Thanksgiving, this girl ate raw fish (and according to the teachers, it was one of the best fish you can possibly eat raw). I couldn't say though, I was still trying to get over the eyes staring at me :-)

Tokyo

This past weekend I decided to take my first "real" trip to Tokyo by the shinkansen (bullet train) to visit the missionaries I worked during my visit to Japan nine years ago.

next time maybe I should smile :-)

on Takashita-dori the center of teenage fashion and yummy crepes

in front of the United Nation's University

in the heart of downtown Tokyo (Seibu?)

with a local phone company's mascot



inside Omostesondo Hills a fashionable mall on Tokyo's Champs-Elysees (Omostesondo)

(on a side note, what you don't see in this picture, is the sign saying "do not take pictures." I didn't notice it until I walked away. Oops!)

Church

This posting is extremely long overdue as I actually located a church the first weekend I was in Hamamatsu. Another English teacher and I were "reading" a map that had a cross on it, but were completely unsuccessful in locating a church. So we asked the nearest pedestrian where the closest church was. She "happened" to be a member and lead us right to the building (in the opposite direction of our map. Come to find out, the cross was for a wedding chapel!) Although, I visited several churches, I have felt most at home at the first one even though it is totally in Japanese. Slowly, ever so slowly, I am relearning the basic components of a service -- hymns, the Lord's Prayer, Apostle's Creed, etc, and even though I still can't understand a word of the sermon, there have been several elderly ladies who have taken it upon themselves to translate as best as they can. Every Sunday, I have a designated "English" speaker sit by me. Their dedication has been most appreciated, although, I must admit I do miss being truly "fed" by the pastor. In the meantime, I have learned that Christ's love spreads beyond any language barrier.

Changing the subject completely, but on the note of food, the church had a bazaar recently and I offered to help. At first I was supposed to be the official "spoon passer-outer" but then someone realized that additional assistance was needed in the kitchen, so they assigned me to making yaki-soba (a fried noodle dish of sorts). It was quite an experience for me to attempt to follow a recipe in Japanese with only Japanese-speaking guides, and it humored many of the church members to see me attempting to fry noodles with chopsticks (they are slippery little buggers!) But all's well that ends well as nobody received gastrological pain from my cooking (at least I didn't hear about any hospital visits!) and several said it was the best yaki-soba they had ever tasted (of course, they could have just been being polite ;-)