Happy Fourth of July!

Vanilla ice cream sandwich topped with dark cherry compote (a surprise belated birthday present from my new vice-principal) topped with blue sprinkles and silver edible glitter!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

My birthday was a lovely day of surprises starting at 1:30 am with a birthday wish from one of sweet girls from church.  Then it just kept on getting better and better:

At 6:30 am, my doorbell rang and  I was met by pj-clad Sarah holding candle-bedecked doughnuts and flowers

At school, my secretary and several students remembered my birthday with cards and wishes!  Then after lunch, I received a fabulous treat!  The school librarian shared Frango chocolates from her recent trip to Chicago.  What a yummy surprise!!!

That evening I was greeted to a huge pile of presents sent by my family.  I received so many lovely pairs of pants and shoes -- the dreams of tall people in Japan!  And a beautiful pair of earrings from Erin that I had wanted for a long time -- but failed to tell anyone.  It is amazing how well she knows me!!!

The newest masterpiece hanging on my wall.  An original Clara Polderman!

That night Sarah, Helen and I dressed up and went out for dinner

We enjoyed rosemary chicken, potato pizza amongst other things (including an accidental ordering of goose liver risotto -- Japanese is difficult after all!)  The pizza was delicious though I can't say the same about the liver!

On the veranda, enjoying raspberry sodas and comfy white couches

The evening ended with fruit tart, balloons, and more beautiful presents including a harp necklace from Sarah and yummy goodies from my former vice-principal

Mission Impossible meets the Sound of Music...At Camp!

Several weeks ago, I arrived at school to find the following letter on my desk:

Good morning Emily.  Your request to attend the 2nd grade camp has been decided.  You may go to the school ground or the building.  But you must write the school.   If the dog bites or the bee stings, there is no insurance.  We will disavow any knowledge.  You must be careful.  Have a good day.  This pate will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

I stood there stunned and read the letter over and over.  Was it a joke?

Long story short:

Due to some crazy insurance policy that I still don't understand, I, as the foreign teacher, am not allowed to travel with my kids.  But the first (not second) grade teachers, unbeknownst to me, wanted to invite me to come along for the kids day camp.  After conferring together, my vice-principal and principal decided that it would be as long as I promised to be careful.  And promise I did!  Before I left, I was asked and re-asked, did I have a water bottle?  Yes, two.  A hat?  Yes.  Sunscreen?  Check!  Towel?  Check.  Bug spray (just in case the bee stung or bear bite)?  Yep! Jacket? Umm...(after digging in my locker), Yes!  Then, right before the bus left, my vice principal came running out with a pair of working gloves and asked if I had gloves -- No, but I took them along anyway.  As we left the school parking lot, all the remaining teachers came outside to wave goodbye.  My vice principal looked worried.  My principal reminded me once again to be careful.  I promised him I would keep my seat belt fastened at all times and  silently decided that if a bear did attack (not likely since Japan doesn't have any outside the zoos) I would make sure I ran faster than an insured Japanese person.

Thankfully, nothing of significance happened.  We successfully drove 1.5 hours up into the mountains playing English games on the way.  Once we finally reached our destination, we spent the remainder of the day hiking and cooking lunch (rice balls) over the fire. 

Cute kids ready to go!

It took four buses to get us all there

Waiting to begin hiking

And we are off!

Over the river...

...and through the woods!

Cooking rice over a campfire

Waiting for the rice to cool (upside down!)

Kids in a tent

Mountain crab

Washing rice

Carrying hot metal pots

Making rice balls

Nursery Rhymes Gone Awry

Thirteen pirates fighting on the bed.  One stopped and loudly said, "OH NO, we just BROKE the bed!"

One pirate all alone, now has to sleep on a floor of stone ;-(

Buried Treasure

Happy June!

Soba Sunday

So my school nurse invited me, my former vice-principal, one of my English teachers (Mr. Nakamura) and his wife over this afternoon to make soba  (Japanese buck-wheat noodles).  Here are some pictures from the experience.

My nurse kneading the buckwheat flour

I had a chance too!  (They kept on commenting on the size of my hands)

After we finished the dough, we rolled it out in thin sheets folded it over many times and then cut really thin slices (or tried to cut thin slices while not cutting pieces of the wooden board!)

Mrs. Nakamura cooking the noodles.  We knew they were done when they floated to the top.

The finished product.  Don't they kind of look like worms?

Lunch.   We had piles and piles of noodles that could be eaten cold with soy sauce and green onions, hot in pork soup, or as a side to tempura.  We finished the meal by drinking the water we boiled the noodles in which was a nice grey murky color!

Pirates on the Loose!!

Recently I joined my church's "event planning committee."  It has been a blast for me to once again share my enjoyment of planning events.  This past weekend, in honor of one of the guys at my church 30th birthday, the young peoples group had a pirate-themed scavenger hunt around the city (planned by yours truly and Sarah).   Here are some of the pictures...

Blackbeard

Pirates on the loose in front of the train station.  We attracted so much attention!

Eliciting the help of a random, this team successfully spelled the birthday boy's name!

One of the teams full-filling their assignment of taking a picture with a "uniform."  This particular train master looks quite threatened by the prospect.

The other teams "uniform" though more like a "damsel in distress."

The highest points were if the teams could be "Pirates of the Koban (police)" and have a policeman join in the photo.  This team, although they tried, were unsuccessful in convincing a policeman to join in the fun.

Dancing the "unagi" (eel) with another set of randoms.

anti-gravity

acting out a scene from the "Titanic" but maybe more like walking the plank?

No matter my disguise, my students still recognized me in front of the mall!

Getting attacked by Captain (Alex) Hook

Due to the rain, our plans to eat cake in the park couldn't happen.  So everyone (all thirteeen people) squished into my tiny apartment!  We fit (because the furniture was in Sarah's) but the bed collapsed!

The crowdedness wasn't the only fire hazard!

The yummy chocolate cake made by Joanna -- my pastor's daughter

Blackbeard (minus the beard) strikes again!

We all realized that my apartment wasn't so tiny after we attempted to squish into a photo booth for a group shot

And the best memory?  Going into the local game center in attempt to collect "doubloons."  After cleaning out their entire collection of 100円 coins, I was told I had to give them back ;-( 

The Mysterious World of Sports or Why the ALT Doesn't Play Volleyball!

My inability to play sports never really bothered me growing up.  Neither of my parents are interested in them and so sports were never an integral part of my life.  Being homeschooled, I never had to compare my physical ability to others and so it didn't bother me.  That was until I took P.E. in summer school at the local high school.  Those six weeks were miserable -- it was hot, the students were mean, and we had to run track every day!!!!  Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, but me -- I had no basic idea of the game of volleyball, basketball, or any other kind of ball.  If I remember right, I was laughed at when I asked which ball was which!  However, I was determined to succeed.  Our grade was based on both participation and the written tests not our ability to play sports.  So while others moaned that they were too tired to play in the heat, I volunteered to be on each and every team.  Of course, I was the last to be chosen by the captains, but at the end of the summer, I got the last laugh.  The worst athlete was one of the few who actually got an "A."  Once I finally could leave the critical eyes of my summer school classmates, I was fully comfortable in my non-sports bubble.  I was a harpist and in the musician world, that was cool!  Plus, playing sports could injure my hands...

However, the older I have gotten, the more I have become curious about the mysterious world of sports.  Here in Japan, the P.E. curriculum is quite intense.  All students learn all the sports -- from baseball, to soccer, to basketball, to badminton, to swimming, to you name it!  It isn't unnatural to see the kids running around the periphery of the school at 7:45 a.m.  before school even starts.  Seeing their in-shape bodies and well-toned muscles has made me feel like a piece of flabby fat!  So I decided to do something about it!

I was going to join them... oh if only I knew what I was in for!

First up, was the boy's table tennis.  Now table tennis isn't that hard, right?  Wrong.  Unfortunately, the goal is actually to hit the ball -- not chase it!  And, unlike basketball where you actually try to aim for the net, in table tennis you try to aim OVER the net......  So I guess I'm not a tennis tabler.  (That's what they are called, right?) 


Next,  came girl's basketball.  Purely by beginners' luck I managed to get the ball in the basket not once, but twice!!!  The girls were elated, and ask if I would I give them hints.  Oh, how they wanted to be just like me!  Tall and agile.  If only they really knew...

JUDO.  After watching one match, I realized that it probably wouldn't be that good if my fourteen-year-old boys knew that they could beat me in a wrestling competition.  It just doesn't seem like a good secret for them to know that their teacher was petrified of being tossed and slammed in the ground, and that they probably have the strength to do it!

Boy's volleyball.  My joining came by invitation from the teacher.  (Come to find out later, I think maybe he wanted to hook me up with the assistant coach.)  But no worries, I wasn't going to impress anyone!  Did you know it was possible to actually get caught in the volleyball net?  Yeah, neither did I... but it is.

The girls' volleyball team didn't want to be left out so they invited me to join them too.  A handstand and head-splat later, I'm definitely not impressing anyone anytime soon with my agility!

Swimming. While the kids are eager for me to join them in the pool -- and in the middle of the summer it is tempting --  I'm guessing that wearing a bathing suit in front of middle-school boys is not the best move either.  I think I will just be a cheerleader!


Soccer.  Well, I definitely can't kick a ball, but I can run laps!!  Of course I was tired after 5 and they had fifteen more to go....

Track and Field.  Okay, all the other sports I kind of understand now.  But why on earth would I ever agreed to join the kids in track and field.  Come on, I am the individual who actually has difficulty walking and has been known to trip just standing still!  But here I found myself running hurdles (thankfully not running into hurdles!) until the inevitable happened... not one, but both shoes fell off!

Shinohara Elementary Sports' Day (A.K.A. The Battle of Shinohara Onions and Sweet Potatoes)

Stretching

"Rainbow" Exercises

Shoes and socks -- a chance to show individuality!

Here we come!

You know you are in Japan, when all the shoes are neatly lined up

The intense cheer leader!

First graders enjoying their first Sports Day!

Bamboo Relay

My favorite shot of the day

A close second

Getting ready to dance a traditional Japanese dance

The "big pants" race

Courtesy of one of my kids!  During the course of the day, I was asked whose mother I was, if I was a girl or boy, and informed that the English teacher at the same school had the same name as me!!  I guess nobody recognized me!!  No wonder, I hardly recognize myself, too!

The shogun of the battle

Tamanegi Jyo -- Onion Castle

Preparing for the battle

The battle has begun

What happens when there is an explosion, fire and smoke -- the photographer gets startled and takes an "awesome" photo of the sky

Take Cover!!  Satsuma Imo Jyo (Sweet Potato Castle) is under siege

The damage minus the burned teacher and student -- Wonder if they will have the battle again next year?