One of those weeks...

So, I must admit...I am VERY happy this week is OVER! This has just been one of those weeks where it seems like I can't handle much more. One of my friend's husband passed away this week here, which has been hard on a lot of people. I never met him before but my friend has always open up their home to us. We are all so sad for her. Another friend here had an uncle back in the USA pass away. This made me think about how much I adore my uncles and would be devastated if anything were to happen to them. Also, one of my students today at school was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Not sure how he is doing. On top of all this, my work schedule has been hard for me as I try to balance 4 schools (5 after next week). I have felt pulled in all different directions and trying to stay involved as much as I can. I am anticipating saying goodbye to these students, teachers, and friends so that has also brought on a few tears. I know that I will be so sad to leave here but yet part of me is also VERY excited and ready for my next adventure.

With these hard times, I have also had some amazing times! Monday night, I was invited to a goodbye party for an English teacher at a high school here. He will be going to England to study for 6 months. The party ended up turning into a goodbye party for me too! I had a great time with all these fun teachers. Last Sunday, Sekine was scheduled to have their Sports Day but it was cancelled due to rain. I was SO sad! Ohata kindly allowed me to attend on Tuesday though (changing my class schedule around). I cannot thank them enough! I had a BLAST at Sekine and even got to stay for the whole day. This day was pretty much the greatest because after Sekine I went to another school to play softball with students! I would stay here forever if everyday was like this! Teaching went well this week too. After lunch turned into "English-time" with some of my students. I visit them in their classroom and we just end up talking the whole break! I love it! The music teacher at this school is hilarious and had me laughing all day!

So, as hard as this week has been, I try to see the little blessings that God has also given me. Sometimes it is just hard to see the good through the bad. But, I am doing much better now that it is Friday night. I have lots of fun plans for the weekend too!

What Really Matters?

So, it has been a busy week starting up at a new school and therefore gaining about 300 new students! Yikes! It has been an overwhelming week but also one with incredible blessings. I now get the opportunity to teach alongside a dear friend of mine.

I wanted to share with you all about my little English play group, which has been meeting twice a month since October. There were 6 kids present yesterday but for some reason none of them were interested in our 45 minutes of English-time. I have come to realize with this group to come with ideas but to not stress if we don't do everything planned. Sounds like a big lesson on being a teacher, huh? The kids really just wanted to play with each other. I decided to not fight it but just do what I could to bring out my creativeness. As soon as we finished, one 3-year-old girl said (in Japanese), "Is it finished? I am hungry!" as she practically drooled over all the yummy food that was prepared for dinner. So, a table was set up for the kids and another table was set up for the moms (and Amy:-) As we enjoyed this delicious meal, prepared by Manaka's mom, the kids started singing! It was so precious! The best part....they were singing 2 of the songs we sing at every play group, "Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star" and a "What's your name?" song. It made me so thankful for this time and make me think about what really matters. What do I hope to accomplish with this play group? My desire for these kids is that they somehow remember this experience, continue to study English, and have wonderful opportunities to travel because of it. I know I am learning a lot from them as well.

Stormy Days

So, I had another great weekend going to the nearby Nanohana Festival (flowers) and to the Sports Day at 3 of my schools. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! For some reason, today is a very windy, rainy, and stormy day. But crazy me still rode my bike in it to go to the library and post office:-) This reminds me a lot of life and a great quote I recently heard "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....it's about learning to dance in the rain." Some days are just more stormy than others but it is about what we choose to do during these times that is important. I feel as though I have been faced with many storms during my time here in Japan but I have learned a great deal through it all. I ran into a friend of mine in the library and had a nice chat. Another lesson...sometimes we have to get through the storm in order to get to the good of what is to come. So, no matter what happens, I hope to make the most of everything in life....and continue "to dance in the rain."

10 years ago....

....I came to Mutsu City as a middle school student!!!! It changed my life. I came back from that trip with so many new friends, a better understanding of another culture, and a new dream. I told my dad "I am going to teach in Japan someday". Well, that dream came true. Since then, I came back to Mutsu 2 other times for more exchanges and to see friends. The sister city program between Port Angeles and Mutsu City continues with groups of students coming and going. I just recently enjoyed 4 days with the group from PA. I was able to spend a whole day at a school with 5 middle school students, which definately brought me back to when I was their age. Wow! I also studied Japanese for 3 years in high school, 1 year in college, and have stayed in touch with many of my Japanese friends. In college, I began to research programs that would help me teach in Japan. I applied for the JET Program and requested Mutsu. I was beyond excited when my request was granted. Now, I have been living here for 9 1/2 months and have been able to see old friends and do more things that I never thought was possible. I will be here for 2 more months and plan to continue to love the people here and experience all that I can. I am so thankful to be here in Mutsu City....10 years later!

Day Trip to Hakodate!

I know it is hard to believe:-)....but I just got back from another fun day trip to Hakodate (Hokkaido Island). We woke up early this morning to catch the first ferry from Oma for the day. Well, let's just say the adventures all started at 6:00am when we realized that the ferry actually left at 6:30 rather than 7:00. We were still 30-45 minutes away! It was so funny to see all the little roadblocks that got in our way as we tried to catch the ferry...old man crossing the street, a man walking with 3 dogs on leashes, slow taxi, and more. Hilarious! We were so bummed when we arrived at the ferry terminal just in time to watch the ferry leave! Sad. We looked into other options but decided to drive around the area until the next ferry (at 11:30am). Not much to do in Oma and Sai but we managed to have a good time anyways.
Here we are having fun on the ferry ride over. Good times. We were able to sleep a little (since the ferry was really rocky from the strong wind/waves). Don't worry...we got there and back safely:-)
Good times exploring Hakodate. We didn't get as much time as we were planning to have but we made the most of what we had. I think the WHOLE day was all part of the adventure...even if it wasn't exactly what we had in mind).
We walked up to the Hakodate Ropeway to see this awesome view. Here I am with my good friend, Lindsay.
Makiko, Lindsay, me, and Yoshika still enjoying the view....it was so much fun to be with these girls for the whole day. We laughed a lot!
And yes...still enjoying the view!

Weekend Fun!

So, I just finished up another AWESOME weekend and couldn't wait to tell you all about it! It was filled with sunshine, softball, laughter, sleep, friends, rain, cold, darts, and karaoke. God continues to bless my time here in Japan with some amazing opportunities and friendships.

I was able to spend the entire day with my junior high softball girls in Misawa. Thankfully they had enough room on the bus for me to ride with them the 1 1/2 hours. It was truly the perfect day....sunshine and softball! It truly doesn't get much better than that. I enjoyed watching their 2 games (they lost 1 and won 1), visiting with parents, and soaking up the sun. I loved every minute of it!...it was even worth getting up at 4:30am to catch the bus!
Here the girls are watching their opponents take infield before the game. A huge highlight for me was showing the girls pictures of my family and friends while in the bus. It was fun to share with them a little more about myself and the special people in it. These girls also take care of me (in more ways than I can describe). For example, we stopped at a convenient store on the drive back for some ice cream. I kind of understood what was going on. Some of the girls asked me what kind of ice cream I wanted but before I could respond they picked it out for me. They even showed me how to eat the ice cream (and yes it needed explaining:-) It was a wonderful day with these girls. Oh, one of the girls also yelled out "I like you" to me and others agreed.
Today was my 3rd Hanami (flower-viewing) BBQ. The weather was very cold (much different from yesterday) but we still enjoyed the food and awesome people. Here is a picture of the ladies.
We gathered at a park here in Mutsu but the cherry blossoms are starting to fade away though. Sad:-( We also had s'mores...thanks to my friend Yoshika who brought the marshmellows and cookies with a layer of chocolate on them. Yum!

This picture is so funny to me because it really captures my karaoke experience today. I learned how to play darts but soon switched over to singing. I sang several English songs, including Beauty and the Beast and A Whole New World. It was so much fun, especially when my friend Ayako joined in to do the other part. Good times!

Spring is Here!

So, today is also the very first day that it has felt like Spring here. So I dusted off my flip-flops and shorts to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was a whopping 20 degrees C which is equal to about 68 degrees F. Yahoo! Check back in a few days for more pictures of the beautiful Sakura (cherry blossoms). It is still rather cold in my apartment though:-(

At the nearby Sports Park.

Another Trip!

Yes, it is true. I just returned this morning from another trip. This time my travels took me to the northern part of Hokkaido. If you look on a map, it is the northern island and I actually went to the place that is the farthest north you can go! I took on the night train up to Sapporo then enjoyed a 5-hour train ride through beautiful Hokkaido. The entire time I was thinking about how not many people ever get to see this area.
I was met at the Wakkanai Station by Mr. and Mrs. Yanagi. I met them 8 years ago in Mutsu where Mr. Yanagi was a pastor of a little church. I helped out with the kindergarten there and we have stayed in touch ever since. We had a great day driving around Wakkanai. Oh, we also stopped at the Daisuke Matsuzaka Museum!!!! It was SO cool!
We drove out to Cape Soya to this monument, which marks that we are truly at the northern-most point of Japan. On a clear day, we would have been able to see Russia! Oh, also, many of the signs in Wakkanai were written in English, Japanese, and Russian! I stayed with them for 1 night, went to church with them the next morning, and enjoyed eating udon with some nice people from the church. They then drove me to Nakagawa to meet up with my friend.
The 6 of us enjoyed an exciting game of park golf! This was my first time by the way! It was rainy and cold but that didn't stop us. Here we are enjoying some yummy Chinese food after our fun game of park golf.


I had a great time exploring and meeting the local people in Nakagawa with my friend. Yesterday, I took the train back to Wakkanai to explore for the day before having to catch my train back to Sapporo. So, I took the city bus out to Cape Noshappu to this point that overlooks the Sea of Japan. It was beautiful! I felt like quite an adventurer heading out here.


I also stopped by the aquarium (in background).This is a picture of the Wakkanai Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Hokkaido. So, yes, I am tired from all this traveling but I would do it again in a heartbeat! I am so thankful to God that I have all these wonderful opportunities to explore more of this beautiful country.