March Pictures!

So, it has been a busy and fun month of finishing up the school year. My last day of school was March 19th and will be on break until April 13th. I will keep you posted on my fun travels!

Here I am with a class of my 3rd year students at Tanabu Junior High School. It is kind of sad because now all these students will be moving onto high schools all over the prefecture (similar to a state). Also, teachers move around too so many of my close teacher friends have been moved to different schools. I have to admit my new heroes are the teachers here in Japan who work long hours (sometimes until 10:00pm) to help these students pass the test to get into their high school. Some are then moved to a different city away from their family. Wow. I truly admire them. Now I am gearing up for changes to happen.
It was so much fun to be a part of the junior high school graduation ceremonies. It was an honor to be considered one of the teachers and to be thanked by parents! Here I am with a group of 2nd year students (who will be 3rd year students starting in April) as we decorated one of the classrooms for the graduates.
I have to include this because I still think it is so smart! This is how plants, trees, etc. are taken care of during the long winter months. Why don't we do that in the U.S.?
I went out for a friend's birthday to the Korean Restaurant here in Mutsu. We had a great time. These are most of the people that I hang out with here.
On March 20th, I enjoyed a small concert in the little community of Ohata with my friend Wakako. This was also her 24th birthday so that makes me only 1 month older than her. Here we are with the dolls set up for the Hina Matsuri (doll festival) that was on the 3rd. Usually people take this down right away because if you keep it up longer than it means your daughters will not marry for a long time. This festival is to celebrate girls.

Sledding with Mana

So this fun event needed it's own posting. I spent one Saturday afternoon with little Mana and her mom. Mana is just like any other 3 year olds. We went for a drive, enjoyed sledding, ate dinner together, and played games. It was such a great day! Oh, and I realized that if I want my Japanese to improve...spend the afternoon with a 3 year old in the backseat of a car!
The ocean you see in the background is Mutsu Bay...we had a great view.
I love this picture because you can see the joy on Mana's face during our 30 minute sledding time. We had many giggle moments together.
This is the beautiful mountain that is here in my town (and where we went sledding). I think it looked so beautiful on this particular morning against the blue sky.

February Pictures

Okay, here are some pictures from the month of February. It was a fun (and cold) month!

I took the train into Aomori City to enjoying skiing for the day with some friends. I seriously had not skiied since high school but they kindly helped train me again.
I went with about 12 other ALTs from the Prefecture up North for the Sapporo Snow Festival. We took the night train up and explored for 3 days. People come from all over the world to see this event...now I see why. Here is a picture of me in front of a HUGE castle made of snow!
Here I am with some of my friends here in Japan. We had so much fun together. We ate a lot, laughed, went to a Chocolate Factory, enjoyed the snow festival, and went to this nearby town for another festival along the canal. It was a wonderful trip...definately something I will never forget!
Alright, so my 24th birthday was on Feb. 21st so the first picture is of my birthday party that night. These great friends took me out for dinner...it lasted 4 hours!
Here is a group picture from birthday party #2 (held on Feb. 22nd) at my favorite restaurant here. It was a combination of old friends from high school, new friends, and young teachers that I work with. It was a wonderful night....this one lasted 5 hours! A huge highlight from this night was talking with Mayumi. She would ask me things in Japanese and I would answer in English! It was hilarious but hey it worked.

January Fun

I have had some really great adventures these last few months. Here are some pictures from January!

After spending 3 great weeks at home for the holidays, I also spent a few days in Tokyo. The highlight was getting to explore Tokyo Disneyland with my friend, Yu! We had so much fun together!
Gotta love the tag on this hat! I love Tokyo Disneyland!
10 years ago, I first met this great group of people (we were all junior high school students then). They came to Port Angeles and my love for Japan began. I have forever been changed. We met here in Mutsu City for a little reunion party. It was so awesome!
Here is a picture of me with precious, Ayaka (now 4 months old). She is the little sister to some of the kids in my English play group. I love when she comes too!

Life in Japan

So, I have now been in Japan for 7 1/2 months. It would be so hard to try to go back to update you on everything that has been going on but I will do my best. Let's just say this experience has challenging in many ways but also wonderful. I am learning some very valuable lessons!

Here is my apartment complex here. I am on the bottom floor on the right. It is a great apartment...even if it did get extremely cold in the winter. This picture was taken last summer.
This picture remains one of my favorites. I am teaching at 3 junior high schools here but I love any opportunity to be around the little kids. On this particular day, some kids from a nearby kindergarten came to visit the school that I was teaching at for the day. We spent the afternoon picking potatoes in the garden with no worries about the language barrier. It was awesome and something that I will never forget.
A huge joy about being here has been my time at Tanabu with the softball girls. They always make me laugh after a tough day of teaching...plus I get to play a sport that I love (with students 10 years younger than me). It is so rewarding for me when they practice English with me too. A favorite saying by one student "I study English to speak Amy"...so cool!

Check Updates Here!

Hello everyone. Well, it is about time I entered into the world of blogging. It will be much easier for me to update you all. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures. I have some fun adventures planned for Spring break!