Weekly Re-cap

Since my last entry, I have experienced so much!
Last Saturday, we experienced another lovely typhoon. The ALTs did not let it stop us from trying to have a Halloween night. We went for coffee and dessert at Chestnut Grove and then did karaoke afterwards. Only a few of us showed up (those of us within walking distance), but we had a lot of fun.
On Sunday night, we had an earthquake. It wasn't too strong, but I fell out of bed because of it. I was sleeping on the edge of my bed and woke with a jolt. Since my bed was shaking, I ended up falling off the bed. Another one of my graceful moments.
Monday was awesome! For years, I have dreamed of going to Tokyo Disneyland, and it finally happened. To be honest, I could have chosen a better companion for that day, but I made the most of it and refused to let it rain on my parade. I had fun.
It seems that I have struggled for so long to make things happen in my life and the past two years have brought many good and exciting things into my life. How can I not appreciate or be thankful for what I have? I have chosen to focus on the positives rather than to dwell on the negatives.
Tuesday was another Halloween lesson at the elementary school. I LOVE my students! After my elementary visit, I went back to the junior high and finished the day. I was invited to another impromptu lesson for the second years. Since Mr. Abe (pronounced Ah-beh) is interested in teaching his students something more useful than the textbook English. He asked me about some useful slang such as, "What's up?" and how to respond to it. So I made about three pages of slang and responses over the weekend. Nothing too outlandish, but things that would be very useful if traveling abroad or if watching an American movie, etc... I gave the list to him on Tuesday and we had a lot of fun reviewing the list. Throughout the week, I have caught him studying the list. It's great to know that it was appreciated. In the meantime, he has been including me in some of the Japanese grammar part of the lessons and his students make a kanji quiz for me once a week. I think my lemons have turned into sweet lemonade!
Wednesday and Thursday were JET conference days for us. It was in Omiya, so we didn't have to leave as early or go very far. The best part about the conference was on Thursday. We were coming back from our lunch and encountered the Saitama pigeon-dove. It is our mascot and it seems to be on everything "official". So, I got to have my picture taken with the pigeon-dove. I was very happy! Yes, it really is the small things that make me happy.
Friday, I went back to the junior high and only had one class because of some work experience day. I really enjoyed hanging out with the second grade class (7th grade) and somehow found myself imitating Elmo for the students. The thing that I love most about being in the second grade classes, is that I never know what will happen there. I spent my lunch time with the 2-1 class. At first, they pretended to be shy, but they quickly came out of it. They began playing with my hair because I wore it down that day. They were commenting on how soft and long it is. When I told them that I would cut a lot of it off on Saturday, one of my quietest boys began to choke on his food and then shouted "You can't! What a waste!" After that, he quickly became embarrassed, but when I convinced him that my hair would be shoulder-length, he relaxed a little. I have passed this boy practically every morning on the way to school and I always wave or say "Hello", but he is always so quiet. Last Saturday, I saw him at Family Mart and I waved and said "Hello", he gave me a tiny smile and nodded, so I was very surprised by his reaction. Several of the girls were also shocked and said it was a waste to cut my hair and then they ran to Mr. Abe to and told him that I am cutting my hair and that he should talk me out of it (because of the language barrier). I found this amusing because the students are trying to get Mr. Abe and me together. Also, Mr Abe likes to keep his hair in a close-cut do, so the students joke about me giving him some of my hair to have a wig. He seemed shocked that I would cut my hair, but he didn't say much about it. He probably thought that I was playing around with the kids (I had just been doing my Elmo voice, so I wouldn't blame him). Anyway, it was fun. Friday was an enjoyable day at school. Even the third year teacher was nice to me. I could get used to it.
On Saturday, I actually did go and get my hair cut. It wasn't very healthy, so it needed to be cut. I had several inches taken off. It went from being waist-long to shoulder-length. Quite a change! I also had it colored. It is a dark brown. I have no more red in my hair (very strange for me), but I actually like it. On my way home, I met some of my students. They were shocked, but they said they approve, so I guess I passed some kind of test. I am sure that by the time I get to school tomorrow, everyone will know about my hair. Word travels fast in this town. In fact, while I was in the beauty salon, one of the customers came in and said "Oh, you must be Hollie-sensei!" He then turned to my friend, Saori who was cutting my hair and said something in Japanese that I didn't understand. He then tried speaking some English to me and Encouraging his 2 year old to talk to me. After he left, Saori went and got her dictionary. She then said that he told them that "Hollie-sensei is very popular with her students. They idolize her. Everyone knows who she is." I really didn't know how to react to this. Sure, it's flattering, but it's scary too. I know that I am here as a cultural representative and I really enjoy being with the students (even the bad kids...they aren't as bad as they want others to believe), but I don't think that I should be idolized. I just want to do my job to the best of my ability and have fun doing it. The students are great and they love to play around, how can I not have fun? Now though, I feel like I have to put extra censors on while I go around town because people are watching and I do stick out like a sore thumb.
Anyway, Saturday night, Saori came over for dinner and I made steak fajitas (thanks to my sister for sending me some taco seasoning, beans, and tortillas. I really miss Mexican food!). It actually turned out OK even though I didn't have everything I would normally have. Saori enjoyed herself too. It was really nice, because she comes to my Wednesday night conversation group, but she is usually too intimidated to speak in class. Last night, it was just us, so she could relax and take her time speaking. She spoke for 4 hours! It was really enjoyable and I was very happy to have had a great and relaxing day in Japan. She was really worried that I really didn't like my hair. I was the first non-Asian she had cut hair for. She said that she was worried because my hair was very soft and wavy. She wasn't used to this and she wanted to do a good job. I think that she did an amazing job and I told her as much.
Finally today (Sunday), I went to church. I can't even begin how good it felt to go to church. Three are not many Christians in Japan so finding a church is difficult to begin with. One of my English supporters is a Christian and invited me to go with her to church this Sunday. She interpreted for me when needed. It was also very cool to know the songs they were singing. I didn't know the Japanese words, but I knew the melody. That in itself was very comforting.
So that pretty much sums up my week. I know that there is a lot that I am leaving out, but this is really long already and I will try to make up that info in another blog.
When I think about how much I write about every week, I realize how thankful I am to be where I am. I am realizing that being optimistic is more rewarding than being pessimistic. I'm sure that there is something good to be had in every experience that I have, even if it doesn't seem so at the time.
With that said, I am ready to greet a new week.