Japanese Weddings, Haircuts, and Pregnant Cartwheels

So I think one of the reasons why I don't blog very much is because I never really know what to write about. I am doing so many new things daily that it is really hard to decide what needs to be told and what is really of little or no importance. So within the last few weeks I have done things such as:

1. I ran sound for the Kindergarten Graduation
2. I attended my first Farewell Party for the teachers who were moving back to America.

• At this party, I did a cartwheel on stage while wearing a wig and a kick ball under my shirt in honor of Kari! (She just had a baby, but I played pregnant Kari). Immersion stole the show!

3. I went to a Sendai 89ers Game!

But I have also done other things that are worth talking more about such as:

1. I went to my friend Hiroe's Wedding Party!

• In Japan, weddings are done quite differently than in the states. It is basically just a more formal reception. And, the bride and groom actually give you gifts! If you want more details you will just have to ask me specifically to explain because it would be to hard for me to explain on this I think (I really need to work on my writing skills). My friend Hiroe looked absolutely GORGEOUS though! She looked like a princess (she wore 2 different dresses) and she looked so happy. The love between her and Takeshi was so evident!

2. I got my first haircut in Japan!

• I went with my friend Aki to get our hair done! I got it short again. I was a little nervous because of the language barrier and everything, but Aki was able to help me communicate with my hairdresser. The guy that cut my hair was very nice. He tried to talk to me a couple of times and I did my best to talk back. I am gettin used to awkward conversations!

Ok so I will do my best to keep you all posted on my life in Japan! I am still compiling my list of 24 things to do before I turn 24, so please let me know if you have any ideas! In my next post I will let you know some of the things that have made it on my list! Well good-bye for now!

List It Up!

Hello again. I am so sure that all of you have missed me deeply! It has been forever again since my last post and I have so much to say. So much that I don't really know where to start or what to emphasize the most so I am going to make a list again. I like to make lists so here ya go:

1. Have had 2 very successful meetings for my book club! (my friend Katie Wendland and I started it)

• 1st meeting: Persuasion by Jane Austen
• 2nd meeting: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

2. New teachers came which means I have new friends!

• 2 of which I am hanging out w/ right now... shout out to Melanie & Ally

3. Endured 2 weeks of formal training for the MeySen Curriculum.

• consisted of long talks, study guides, reviews, final exams, and many many sweets

4. Successfully celebrated by 22nd Valentine's Day of singleness!

• to celebrate, I wore a kimono... they def aren't made for American girls, if ya know what I mean...

5. Decided I am going to make a list of 24 things to do before turning 24.

• I turn 23 on July 10th. I have time to make a list, any suggestions?

6.. I survived a tsunami, it was only 10cm!

7. I ate raw whale, and it was good!

• The boy who was selling it looked good too!

8. I'm sick of snow.

9. I got bored one day so I cut me some straight bangs.

10. My friends and I have found a great burger joint called Kame House.

• The manager is also very good looking and I will refer to him as mohawk boy.

11. My future students found out that I will be their teacher and only 1 kid said, "No!"

So here are the top 11 things that have happened since my last post. Like I said before, I suck at blogging. Don't expect much, but do expect a little.

I'm Sorry Folks

Ok so I apologize for my lack of blogging. I knew that I would be awful at this, but I will still continue to try. Right now I should be sleeping, but I just don't want to. It is 11:32 pm and I am waking up at 5am! I started to do the workout, Insanity, last week. It is INSANE! I have been getting up at 5 every morning with the exception of Saturday and Sunday. Sunday I don't have to do the workout and then on Saturday I just do it whenever I wake up. Week 2 is going good, but man it is rough. I can do it though! I just have to "Dig Deeper!" (that is for those of you who have done Insanity yourself).

I didn't have hot water this weekend! It stopped working on me mid shower Friday morning! That was not fun! But luckily I have a great neighbor so I was able to shower at her place while I was waiting for mine to get fixed. Yeah, I was the only one in my whole apartment complex that didn't have hot water! I'm telling you, weird things like that always happen to me! But it just makes life a little more interesting.

I was able to go home for Christmas! It was fun to get to hang w/ my fam and friends! It was harder to leave this time knowing that I probably won't be home for a year...

My BFF came back w/ me to Japan! She helped me at work for a few days and then we hit up the streets of Tokyo! It was fun! We tried sushi and stayed at a Hostel! Two firsts for me! We met some great people there! YOu never know what kind of characters you will come in contact with throughout your life, but I can tell you that I am truly blessed that I got to meet the individuals that I did on this trip! Shelby and I had a blast!

It was hard to get back in to the groove of things as far as work goes, but I think I am basically there. I got the list of students I will be having when the new school year starts in April! I am SUPER PUMPED! We will have a great class!

Well I know that this blog is super random but this is what happens when people like me get a blog. We just try to cram as much info we can into one blog so that we can wait 3 months till we write another one! Ok, I will try harder this time to keep all of ya'll up to date on my life! I know that you will just be anticipating the next post!

Oh and I love onions now!

SLACKER!

Ok well for those of you who know me, did you really expect me to keep up to date on this thing? I did really well the first few times but then I just kinda let it slide. So since I last wrote, many things have happened, so I have decided to just list some highlights. If I feel like I should explain, I will! If you won't to know more, then just ask. For example, if you want to know more details about #2, then ask! Real simple, I think you can manage! So here is what has happened:

1. I drive to work almost every other day! (We have 2 campuses so I alternate)

2. I ate 4 grasshoppers

3. I am subbing now.

4. I pull kids out to work with them individually on the things they struggle with the most.

5. I was walking around campus one day, when one of my students yelled my name and came running at me to give me a big hug!

6. I joined a gym!

7. I have visited the Pacific Ocean!

8. I survived Kids & Parents Day (much like an open house)

9. I have not gotten the flu!!!!! (knock on wood)

10. A few of the classes have been cancelled because of the flu.

11. I ran into a glass door today because they keep them super clean!

12. We are about to work on the Christmas program and I get to help w/ choreography for the Christmas Dance!

13. I talked to my brother about his ENGAGEMENT! CONGRATS AGAIN!

14. This weekend is Jamboree (much like a halloween party) so I will hopefully be Dorothy if the costume fits!

15. I have received 2 packages! Thanks mom and shelbs!

16. I wake up at 6:00am everyday so that I can talk to my friends back home! So get online at around 4 or 5 your time... ask me if you want to know the exact time you should get on!!

17. I bought pink toilet paper!

18. The school lent me a guitar! It is a 9 string though... I need to tune it!

19. I have begun my Japanese lessons.

20. I startled some Japanese high schoolers on a train and it was really awkward! I got embarrassed.

21. I went on a field trip to Michinoku Park, which has play areas called the jumping donut, the hanging balls, and the ball pit..... it was awesome!

22. I thought I lost a couple of kids during playtime but it turns out they were just playing with the bunnies.

23. I can't complain about anything.

24. I experienced a typhoon, school was cancelled.

25. It is getting really cold here, but I did buy a rain jacket.

26. I have to ride my bike to the gym, its rough!

27. I went hiking at a place called Omoshiroyama Koen

28. My picture is on the MeySen Website: http://www.meysen.ac.jp/

29. I booked my flight home for Christmas!

30. I miss you all very much, but I absolutely love it here!

Ok so I hope that this works out for ya! I will try to do a better job at keeping things up to date!

Oh and the picture is me with a couple of the girls on Animal Day!

The Mirror Image

So today was my first day of training. Hope, Deborah, and myself met with the 3 main curriculum designers for MeySen. They have both given up so much of their time to this school, it is ridiculous! These people deserve my utmost respect. Today was filled with so much information, but this information will help me tremendously with my own teaching. Sometimes I feel like this world does not appreciate a teacher for what he or she is worth. To be a successful teacher, you have to invest so much of your time and energy. I aspire to be this teacher that is passionate about everything she does!

I learned two very fun things that I would like to share with you. One is air writing and the other is... you will just have to wait to here about that one! Air writing, that is pretty self-explanatory! You can try it right here and right now! Stick out your arm and hold out two fingers (think stewardess). Now, write the letter "a". Way to go, you just learned how to air write. Easy, right?! Now, stick out your opposite arm and hold out two fingers. This time write the letter "a", but a mirror image of what you just did. Easy?? Not so much! Try it with "s", that will get you to really think! We learned how to write the mirror image of every letter of the alphabet today, you really have to think about it! I encourage you to try. Then once you have accomplished that, try to write a word. Remember, that when we read or write, normally we go from left to right, so if we were mirroring that, you would write your word from right to left. GOOD LUCK!

Well, my 2nd exciting event today was driving! Yes, the Japanese drive on the left side of the road. Yes, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Yes, I survived! So not only did I mirror writing today, I also mirrored driving in the states! I was nervous of course, but no one was hurt, so that should say something!!! I did however get very close to a guard rail at one point (the roads are very narrow here). I also accidently hit the windshield wipers instead of the blinker. They are also reversed in the car. But since it was sprinkling today, the windshield wiper mishap did not give away my American self. Now, if it were a bright and sunny day and my windshield wipers started going off, that probably would have made me stick out like a sore thumb!

So all in all, those were my exciting adventures in Japan today! I found out that I could mirror a lot of different things and I like to think I was successful at it all! Feels good!

I get to drive more tomorrow......

My New Adventure!

Well, as most of you know, I now live in Japan. I have been here for about a week. I will be teaching at MeySen Academy in Sendai. You should Google it, it is absolutely fascinating. MeySen has 2 campuses. They are both like tiny little amusement parks. BEAUTIFUL! It is hard to believe that this is what I am doing with my life now. If you were to ask me 8 months ago what my plan was, this would not have been it. You never know where life may take you. This is very exciting though. I will be teaching Japanese Kindergartners English. These students will learn the skills they need to learn at this level, but through the English language. It is an immersion program so the only language we will speak in the classroom is English. No worries, for my job, I do not need to know Japanese. However, I will do my best to learn the language so that I will be able to communicate with parents and to get around in Japan. I begin my official training tomorrow, but I will not get my own classroom until April, which is when the school year will start up again. Well please stay posted, this was more of just a general info passage of what I will be doing here. I promise that there will be much more exciting entries to come.