It's Been Awhile.

Yes, it's been awhile since I have posted anything. It has been absolutely crazy the past couple of months.
I put in 27 ours of overtime in the first month of work. Our school has been involved in speech contests and we've had some festivals. On Saturday, we will have our music festival. I am hoping that will be the last Saturday that I will be required to work! The good news, is that Monday is a holiday and we will get Tuesday off to make up for having to work on Saturday ^_^
Tomorrow, we will be welcoming some Australian students (about 11 and 12 years old, I think) to our town. They will be here for a couple of days and attending classes at two of our elementary schools. The ALTs will go to school with them for two days. It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to it.
Today, I had an elementary visit. For the most part, it went well. The 5th grade classes are not exactly ideal, but I've decided to look at it as a challenge to be met. I am determined to find a way to get their attention. Today, I discovered that they will do a lot for some cool stickers. This encourages and intrigues me.
I am also (finally) becoming a little more confident in speaking the language. I feel relaxed around the elementary students because they are just happy that I am trying to speak to them in Japanese. Today, I had a conversation (in Japanese!) about some differences in Japanese elementary schools and American elementary schools. The girls were astonished that most American schools do not have rabbits and chickens outside in cages for the students to take care of and play with. You would have thought that I just told them that Santa Clause doesn't exist.
Today is definitely one of the up days on the roller coaster of emotions felt while living abroad.
I am happy and will enjoy it.

Over-worked, Overly Tired, and Happy

Over-worked, overly tired, and happy. That's about where I am at right now.
The fall session of school has started. I absolutely love the school I'm at (minus a few smart-alecs who like to make fun of the big gaijin riding her bike to school or the clothes she is wearing.). The teachers are very kind and most of the students are all around, good kids.
I started two weeks ago and every day, I have put in overtime. I have accumulated enough for about 2 days of paid leave (that's in addition to the 20 I already get^_^).
The students have a speech contest on Tuesday. This school is pretty gung-ho about the contest. It's nice to see the students show excitement about something too. Most of the students have done a tremendous job...far more than I ever expected. There is one who has waited until the last minute to memorize her speech. It's a pity, because I think that she's got talent, but there's not enough time to spend on pronunciation and gestures.
There are also two students who are pretty amazing. They are reciting pieces. If they had written their own speeches, I'm positive they would have placed high.
Finally, there is one student who is an actress. Her English pronunciation is absolutely amazing! She has amazing poise for a 15 year old and her speech is interesting. If I were a betting person, my money would be on her.
The speech contest is on Tuesday. There will be contestants from 5 junior high schools, so it really is anyone's guess who will win. As much effort as I have put into this, I would like to see one or more of my students place. BUT, if that happens, it also means more overtime in working towards the prefectural speech contest and possibly the national speech contest. Oh well, at least all 7 of my students can't place, so I shouldn't have to stay as often and as late, right?
Anyway, I feel very lucky and blessed to be at the school that I am right now. I will try to enjoy this session as much as possible, because the spring/summer session will definitely have challenges that come with it.
For now, as usual lately, I am content with what I have. ^_^

Survey Says...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds are a girl's best friend (I just watched Marilyn Monroe yesterday ^_^)
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Forbidden Kingdom.
4. What is your favorite TV show(s)? I don't really have one right now.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal or fruit.
6. What is your middle name? Marie
7. What food do you dislike? Mushrooms and natto.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Ne-Yo.
9. What kind of car do you drive? I don't drive in Japan.
10. Favorite sandwich? High Nooner's Sundowner (without the cranberry sauce). My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
11. What characteristics do you despise? Conceit, false humility and bigotry among others.
12. Favorite item of clothing? Anything in a light cotton at the moment.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? Well since I will be going to Hawaii in December, I will say Ireland.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I don't have one.
15. Where would you retire to? Hawaii.
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Celebrating my birthday this past March at Universal Studios Japan with my friends in Osaka!!!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball and volleyball.
18. Furthest place you are sending this? I'm posting this in my blog. I live in Japan and my friends live in the U.S., but anyone could see it.
19. Person you expect to send it back first? Whoever wants to.
20. When is your birthday? March 27th.
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night. That's why I'm still up and it's 1:30am.
22. What is your shoe size? Ginormous! I wear an 11.
23. Pets? Dust bunnies. ^_^
24. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us? I get to go to Hawaii in 124 days!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A singer.
26. How are you today? Very hot.
27. What is your favorite candy? Hi-Chu (it's like Starbursts, but better!).
28. What is your favorite flower? Roses (not red) or hydrangeas.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? December 18th.
30. What is your full name? Hollie Marie
31. What are you listening to right now? The Olympic women's volleyball match between Japan and Cuba.
32. What was the last thing you ate? A Country Ma'am cookie.
33. Do you wish on stars? I haven't seen any in Japan...I don't think it works to wish on a satellite.
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange. It's a happy color.
35. How is the weather right now? Mushi atsui! Hot and humid!
36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Wayne.
37. Favorite soft drink? Sprite.
38. Favorite restaurant? Red Robin.
39. What is your hair color? Reddish-brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos
41. Summer or winter? Winter in Hawaii ^_^
42. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs.
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
44. Coffee or Tea? Coffee.
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes. I love to hear from my friends.
46. The last time you cried? Not sure.
47. What is under your bed? My pet dust bunnies.
48. What did you do last night? I played with my DS.
49. What are you afraid of? Failing.
50. Salty or Sweet? Sweet.
51. How many keys on your key ring? Only two! It's a lot less than what I had before I moved to Japan.
52. How many years at your current job? I'm starting my second year...woo hoo!
53. Favorite day of the week? Depends on what that day holds! Saturday.
54. How many towns have you lived in? HAHAHA. Hold on and let me count. That's about 13 or 14 towns I've lived in.
55. Do you make friends easily? I'm a friendly person, but I don't have a lot of "friends".
56. How many people will you send this to? Again, it's on my blog for all to see.

This Week's Woes

Summer has been busy. It has mostly been hot and humid.
We have a new ALT. The other new ALT will arrive at the end of the month.
So far, I'm not all that impressed with the person who has just arrived. Although, if he would listen more than speaking, he might have a chance.
I honestly didn't expect perfection, but I did have higher expectations. It's been one week and we've already had two incidents.
The first was when he "forgot" to tell me that I was supposed to go to work with him (even though I asked him several times). He called me 5 minutes before the time I should have been there to tell me that he "forgot". Thankfully, I now have a schedule, so that can be avoided again.
The second involves a stolen bike. I don't like to be a nag, but I will admit that in the past week, I was sounding like a broken record: "You HAVE to lock up your bike. It's the biggest crime in this town. If you don't lock it, it WILL get stolen." Guess who hunted me down yesterday to tell me that his bike was stolen? Yup. You got it. Why on earth would you park a bike across the street from the train station, leave a grocery bag in the basket, and not lock it up? It may be a safe neighborhood, but it's also common sense to lock it. He will (hopefully) learn a lesson from this.
In the meantime, I could go on for a couple of hours about my complaints, but I'd rather not focus on them.
I will say that I don't like to have people drop by my apartment unannounced when I've already explained that I have an old woman who is stalking me for English lessons and the Jehovah's Witnesses who know where the ALTs live and harass them from time to time. I told certain people to text or call (it's free for us). I'm not going to answer my door all of the time. This is the only safe haven that I have and I'm not going to give that up! That also doesn't mean that, even though you can see my light on, that you can text me at 12:15 AM and then not have the courtesy to respond when I ask a follow-up question. That's just RUDE!
Anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing the returning ALTs. It's been too quiet without them here.
Also, I am especially looking forward to the winter holidays. Vacation, vacation, VACATION! Not only that, but I will be somewhere that I can blend in a little more than I do here.
ANYWAY...I'm just a little grumbly today. Don't mind me. I will find a way to work through this.
I shall look for that silver lining in the clouds. I shall make lemonade out of lemons. I shall shut up now ;+)

School's Almost Out!

It's the last week of school!
I'm both relieved and sad. It's sad because I will have to change schools again. Tomorrow is my last day at this school.
I'm very relieved, because there will be no more classes for the summer (I still have to work, but it will mostly be at the air conditioned city hall). I still have a lot to do, but I won't have to get up quite so early (I'm hoping).
I'm very excited, because I have survived my first year in Japan! I really hope that this next year goes by quickly, too. I'm anxious to get a career started.
I'm very happy and thankful to have this opportunity here, but I am also more thankful of the opportunities (I hope) that I will have as a result of being in Japan.
It's on days like today, when I wish that I was back home. It is so hot and humid here! I still haven't figured out the hows or whys to operating the A/C here. There are times when it hasn't been this hot and the A/C has been on. It's so hot right now, and it's really hard to breathe because of the humidity. I'm not really sure why they won't turn on the A/C in the teacher's room.
It's another mystery of Japan. At least, I could spend sometime in a shop or at the mall in a cool area back home. Also, chances of working at an air conditioned place (that will actually USE it), would be pretty good.
I've been really tired already (I haven't been feeling well). It's the last week of school. I keep getting asked to do stuff. I have lots of lessons this week. And I have guests from out of town. I'm happy that they are here, but I feel bad because I can't spend any time with them yet. Late at night when they're home and want to watch a movie, I am too tired to make it through the movie. I feel bad for them, but I am also functioning on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night. Add the heat and humidity to that and I'm already feeling worn out :+(
Oh well, this will change soon.
I think that the idea of no school is very nice. It will keep me going trough the rest of the week.

Since I Haven't Updated Lately

I had hoped and thought that the summer would be relatively quiet and slow paced, but I was wrong.
There's a little over a week left of school. I'm anxious for the classes to end, but I'm not anxious to leave this school. For the most part, everyone is laid back. It's a smaller school AND I have internet access here. I like it here. Some of the staff (my head English teacher and the vice principal included) told me today that I should come back for another term. That made me happy. It's always nice when people appreciate you.
In other news, I went to Osaka for a very short visit last weekend. I got to see my sister and I was able to stay and hang out with my friend. I really enjoyed last weekend! Everything about the weekend was great.
Also, I inherited a bed this week (thanks Nick!). One of my coworkers is going back to the States. He had two beds and offered one to me. Sure it's used, but it's pretty comfy. Especially when I've been sleeping on a futon for a year now.
The only problem, is that tonight I have an English lesson at my apartment. I currently have the bed and the couch in the same room, so it's very crowded. I have a second room, but I piled everything in there in order to get the bed in. I have had something going on every night this week, so I haven't had a chance to rearrange. I will have less than 30 minutes to clean and move things around this afternoon. I have a feeling that the bed and the couch will still be in the same room when they get there. (sigh)
I keep getting volunteered or appointed new tasks and I am about ready to collapse under pressure. It seems ridiculous that one person has to do the job of 5 for a month. Oh well, at least I'm employed right now.
I'm hoping that I will get some time to visit my friend in Nagoya for a few days.
Also, no matter how much I have to work, I am really looking forward to not having to eat the school lunches. It is enough to inspire me to try the Atkins Diet. Seriously, the lunches are loaded with carbs and little protein. The other day, we had rice, noodles, and potatoes in one lunch. Yesterday, we had potatoes and rice together. Today, we had noodles and bread. Every day, I feel like I'm going to be sick. I literally feel like my stomach will explode.
Only four more school lunches until September...

Exhausted

I'm feeling absolutely exhausted.
The heat and humidity are starting to kick in. Also, I've had an insane amount of elementary school visits. Sandwiched between the elementary visits lately, are no-class days at my junior high. This week, it's because of testing. There's always some excuse. I do get to visit one teacher's classes, but the other teacher is just really odd and only uses me to record tests. He did use me a few weeks ago when the board of education came to watch his lessons.
Anyway, I also teach language classes, so that's time-consuming. Recently, all I ever want to do is sleep. I thought that I would get to catch up on some sleep during the month of August, but I don't think that's going to happen. It looks like I will be the only ALT who is not going home for the summer. That means more work for me...woo hoo. Yes, I am being sarcastic.
It also seems that anytime it looks like I could possibly get a few spare hours in August, someone plans a meeting or schedules me to be somewhere without consulting me. Technically, I still have almost 2 weeks of vacation left. I had planned to visit my friends in Japan during that time. I also have a friend who will be visiting me. I thought that we would have a lot of time to do some sight-seeing and to hang out, but that's not looking so promising either.
Anyway, I'm exhausted mentally and physically right now.
One nice thing that will happen this weekend though, is that I will get to see my sister. I have to take the bullet train (shinkansen) for three hours, but it will be fun. I also get to stay with my friend, Claudia. I'm really looking forward to it ^_^
Maybe I can get some rest in a few years...ha ha.

Another Monday

It's that time of the week. It's a Monday...again. Why does it seem like Mondays are a 48 hour day?
The good news is that it's a payday. Woo hoo!
The downside, is that I am at school all day again with no classes. I do have to work overtime though, because we have an ALT meeting followed by another meeting. We are supposed to be meeting with the junior high students who will go to Australia this summer.
Anyway, I haven't been completely unproductive today. I am in the process of setting up an edublog for my students , friends, and anyone else who might be interested.
As usual, today has been pretty uneventful. Except that the crazy lady just came in to work about 10 minutes ago. She was having a conversation with herself out in the hallway and is still talking to herself as I am typing this. Nobody else seems to be aware of this (they are good at hiding emotion here), but she is driving me batty!
On the plus side, I was able to enjoy four hour of "work" without her. ^_^
Life isn't too bad, you know?

I Want My MTV...or BET, or VH1...

Remember in the early years of MTV when their slogan was "I want my MTV"?
As kids, we would joke about it, but I didn't really think about it until they started doing reality shows. At that point, I wanted more music and less reality (still do), but that's not what this blog is about today.
For the past year, I have been living in Japan. I have heard that there is a Japanese version of MTV, but I don't get cable (and cable is not an option for me). I have had no exposure to new artists or songs apart from Flo Rider.
I am aware that Ne-Yo should be coming out with a new album soon, but that is all due to my own research. Aside from that, I got nothing.
I have been feeling so disconnected from my own culture recently. Back home, we are exposed to so much that we are typically not aware of, or that we take for granted. You don't have to listen to a certain radio station to know what the number one song is, because it will come out on an ad over the tv, or it will be in a movie, or it will be blastin' out of your neighbor's stereo. Back home, you would pretty much have to be living under a rock to NOT know what's going on. Even my nearly ninety grandparents know about Madonna and Michael Jackson.
Well, back to my situation. Japan is an interesting place. My particular town has a song that you will hear in town when it is noon and when it is five. I guess this isn't uncommon in Japan. Each store has their own song(s) that they will play over and over. It is usually a muzak version of a song, but sometimes we get lucky. Oh yes, I am one of the lucky ones. I get to hear words. Over and over and over. My store's song happens to be "Up, Up and Away In My Beautiful Balloon". The song is so old that I remember my mother listening to it on wax. The other song is another song that was probably popular in the 60's or 70's. It was probably a one-hit wonder. It's worse that the first song.
I'm guessing that the songs are meant to keep people from spending a lot of time in the store. If so, then it works for me.
My friend's store has the Muzak version of the "Austin Powers Theme". It seems more shopper-friendly. Wouldn't you just want to break out into a dance while shopping, too?
Alas, that is pretty much the only exposure that I get to music. I have tried to access the MTV, BET, and VH1 websites. Unfortunately, almost all of the videos are blocked to those of us outside of the US...something about copyrights. I'm not trying to download. I just want to hear something! Luckily (or unluckily), I can still watch the reality shows on the MTV website (not VH1 for some reason...they tend to be more interesting).
At the moment, I don't understand this phenomenon. There are many artists who are incorporating Japanese influence into their songs or images. Why can't we just listen to their music?
I never thought that I would ever mean it, but darn it, to day I do: I WANT MY MTV!

Monday

I had two classes today. Woo Hoo! I'm happy to have had something to do today. The next three days, however, will be busy. I have three elementary visits back to back (to back? Not sure of the proper grammar here). I also have three elementary visits scheduled for next week, too. I think that I will be ready for a vacation after that.
As usual, I am feeling over-dressed among the teachers today. Aside from the principal and vice-principal, I am the only one not in jeans, long shorts, capris or track suits. I actually wore capris to work two weeks ago (but changed before school started). You would have thought that I colored my hair blue from some of the reactions that I got. So I don't understand why I can't wear capris, but the other teachers can wear shorts. Someone please explain this to me. Maybe I should just go get a track suit (or not).
Well, I think that the weekend was productive (sort of). I was in fight mode on Saturday: No more roaches!!! It was very hot and I had the fan going, but it is also rainy season here, so it's very humid. I got quite the work out scrubbing floors and walls on Saturday. I even moved some furniture. I got everything except the refrigerator area and the "stove". I scrubbed and scrubbed. My place smells like oranges from the orange cleaner (I hope that roaches don't like oranges). After scrubbing all of the floors and walls, I put out new traps. I'm hoping and praying that this is sufficient.
On Saturday, I also got most of my laundry done. I even washed the kitchen rugs. Unfortunately, before the rugs could dry, it started raining (very hard), so my rugs are still hanging on the balcony. I might just have to re-wash them.
Stupid roaches.
Yesterday, I slept in. I was sick most of the day. I think that I got too hot and inhaled too many fumes on Saturday. So, I basically vegged all day. I even tried to go to bed at a normal hour, but the rain started coming down so hard and the frogs decided to sing with the pouring rain. I was still staring at my clock at 1:30 this morning. :+( On the bright side of things, my lesson tonight has been canceled, so I can chill tonight, too. ^_^
Sometimes I wish that I could leave the school when I'm done for the day. Sometimes I wish that I could go for a walk outside of school during a free period. I'm starting to feel stifled.
I've decided that cities don't bother me very much, but when it comes to living space, I do like the wider (than Japan standard) area for living.
That's the end of this rambling.

Roaches

I guess it was only a matter of time (insert big sigh here).
The weather has become hot and humid. It is the perfect time and place for cockroaches. Unfortunately, two cockroaches chose a not-so-perfect place last night. They chose my apartment. For those of you who know me, you know how much I hate cockroaches and mice.
So last night, when I opened the sliding door of my bedroom and caught sight of a 4-inch cockroach next to my toothbrush above the sink, I was less than thrilled. Since I don't like to hear the crunch of big bugs when they are squished and since I sometimes miss, I decided to spray poison on the roach. I grabbed the first thing that was handy...the bathroom cleaner (with bleach!). I moved in a little closer and sprayed the roach. I made sure to spray a lot, but he ran away so fast, I didn't see where he went. It was late and I wanted piece of mind. I did not want to imagine that he was lurking in my kitchen somewhere while I was trying to sleep.
I cautiously moved my garbage, but didn't see him. I knew that I would have to move the little table I have near the sink. That is when I discovered there were two of them! I sprayed and sprayed until I knew they were dead. I sprayed a little more for good measure. I looked around to make sure that there were no more surprises. Not finding anything else, I scooped the roaches up with paper and flushed them down the toilet. I watched them swirl down the drain. I wanted to know that they were dead.
However, my imagination got the best of me. Since the roaches were so close to my bedroom's sliding door and I know that the door has a gap, I cranked the A/C (something that I was determined not to do until at least, July) and I slept with the TV on. I know, I know, I'm a pansy.
So now I'm at work and I think that I could really go for some sleep. The day is dragging and I haven't seen my teacher. I don't even know if I have any classes today.
In the meantime, I am plotting the best plan of action for keeping roaches out. Today after school is over and after I go to the post office, I will buy the little discs that you put around the house to keep the roached out. I will also buy some spray. I know that the spray will work, but I really don't know if I am up for finding the dead roaches in my apartment. Ignorance is bliss at this point. I'm happy with the "If I don't see them, they don't exist" approach. But I definitely DON'T want to see them. If I have to see them, they should not be alive.
In the meantime, I'll keep you posted.

Thursday

I have decided that I absolutely love the lunch lady/ office lady at our school. She is the most attentive and sweet lady. We both decided we would do our best to communicate with each other and it usually involves a mix of Japanese and English. (Honestly, when did I ever learn how to say something like, "I'm trying to print from the computer, but the printer isn't responding" or "There's a jam in the copier". Somehow, we manage to communicate and she NEVER makes me feel stupid.
On the other hand...there is a teacher who shall remain nameless. He is not an evil man. I just think that he is intimidated by me (the native English speaker). I have only been to his class 3 times. One of those was today and I had to find out from the other English teacher about it. The worst part of it, is that the city's board of education was here today to evaluate our classes. The class and its content had been planned weeks ago. I knew about the class with my regular teacher, but I had to hear it from him less than an hour before class was to start with the other teacher.
We managed to get through it, but I know that it could have been a lot better.
I think that we were supposed to have some kind of meeting, but everyone has disappeared and no one has told me where I'm supposed to be. So I'm sticking to my desk and we-writing the speeches for the students who will enter the speech contest.

Strange Dream

Have you ever had one of those dreams that you just can't shake off after you are awake?
I had one of those dreams last night. It was strange, but parts of it were so vivid. I won't go into all of the dream, but only parts.
One part that I particularly remember, is that there were soldiers (from France, I think) and they carried swords. I had be-friended them and became good friends with the captain. He and his men were staying near my family's place. At some point, because I had lived over-seas and my family hadn't, he was commanded to kill me. He said he had to. I said that I understood, but went to bed (WHY would I do THAT!?). In my dream, I went to sleep (knowing me, if I was worried about something, the last thing I would do would be to sleep). At one point of this dream, I am sleeping but aware of the captain standing over me in front of his men, with my sword. I continued to pretend to sleep. The captain raised his sword and put it down. I was sleeping on my side. Then, the captain raised his sword again and ran it through me from shoulder to shoulder. In my dream, I heard and felt the sword cutting through bone and muscles. It was vivid and gross!
The captain turned to his men and said, "She's gone. Let's move". After that, my mother came downstairs and I said, "I'm still alive." She said that she couldn't believe that the captain ran his sword through me. In my dream, I defended the captain saying that at least he spared my life. He had to make it look like he killed me in front of his men.
Continuing with the dream, my mother takes me to the hospital after pulling out the sword. The hospital experience was strange in my dream, but they only put gauze on my two shoulders and sent me home. During this time, I was panicking, because I was supposed to be at practice for Gospel choir and taiko.
I finally make it there and one of my friends stops everything and accuses me for being late and not having any respect for the other members of the group. I turned around with my shoulders in gauze and apologized and then said that I had been stabbed. She rolled her eyes and said that I would do anything to get attention.
At this point in my dream, another member (who in real life was one of my college professors) begins to pray over us.
After the prayer, we are asked to turn in insurance info for some retreat. It is only required for those under 25, but they kept insisting that I couldn't go without the info. I kept arguing that I was older than 25, but they wouldn't believe me. I was then accused of lying about my age. I was accused of being nothing but a lazy liar and bringing the group down. I was then asked how I even got into the group because I probably couldn't even sing. At that point, a former professor from Chicago and another one of my friends both stepped forward and suggested that I perform a song right then and there. At this point, it was very noisy because people were milling about, but I sang anyway. By the middle of the song, everyone was quiet and listening. The first "friend" who talked to me couldn't stand that I was the center of attention and began playing a drum.
So what does all of this mean? I have no clue. If I were to guess, I would think that it means I am too nice of a person (in reference to an actual conversation with a friend this week). My friends tend to take advantage of me and push me around. If I stand up for myself, I am accused of being selfish. I am guessing that the sword through the back means that I am the target of backstabbing, but I am also loyal to my friends because I make excuses for them.
But these are just guesses.
Weird, huh?

It's Wednesday

I've recently been staying up too late or just haven't been able to sleep. I don't know if it's a change in weather, anticipation of summer break, or something else. Whatever it is, it has left me absolutely exhausted!
Yesterday I had a full day of elementary school. I had been dreading this visit because one of the classes had been awful before. When I got to school, I was informed that this class had a substitute teacher (this didn't sound good, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway). I was also told that I was scheduled to eat lunch with this class.
Well, I have to say that I absolutely love the substitute teacher and I hope that she will stay. There was such an improvement in the class. I actually had an enjoyable visit! Also, the two students who were the worst kids before, somehow decided to be nice to me (I was still on my guard). I am hoping that this is a sign of good things to come.
So, yesterday was successful, but elementary school is always draining. The weather is hot and humid, so it doesn't help.
Last night, I went out with three other ALTs for our weekly dinner at Saizeriya. After that, I came home and went to bed. I actually slept for 10 hours!! It felt really nice to do that, but I think that I could have slept longer!
Anyways, nothing else to report. Oh yeah, as with other things that are sometimes strange in this country, this could be interesting. In Japan, there is a tendency to shorten everything. For example: hana yori dango becomes "hana-dan" or sexual harrassment becomes "seku-hara". Well, I saw a new one today that made me giggle: toilet paper is now apparently "toi-pe". I understand that there is an emphasis on saving the environment by not wasting things, but does it really have to be carried over to saving syllables?

Boring

By now you all know how completely bored I am today.
The good news, is that I got TWO phone calls at work! Hey, it's exciting for me.
I rarely get calls at work. When I do, it's usually my supervisor who is calling. Mr. Aono called me this morning to tell me that he needs my help in August for interviewing. I guess that new teachers are being interviewed. As a native English speaker, I get to test their knowledge. It could be fun.
After that call, I received another call from the elementary school that I will visit tomorrow. They wanted to know if I can bring some American money to school tomorrow. They think it would be nice for the kids to see American money. I have a lot of coins, but as far as paper goes, I've only got 1s and 5s. It should be enough though.
The crazy lady is behind me talking to herself again. She is singing and making some very strange noises. This time, there was actually the smallest of reactions from the teacher at the desk in front of me. We made eye contact and then almost burst out laughing. Currently, we are both trying to "concentrate" so as not to laugh.
It's not funny that she's crazy, but given this environment, one has to appreciate the humor.
School lunch was interesting today. The shark was good, but I'm not really sure what some of the other things were. I do know that my stomach didn't like the heavy starch and it feels like it is ready to explode. I still don't see how Japanese school lunches are healthy. They are heavy on the starch and everyone races to finish their food (teachers included). So the amount of air that is gulped down can not be good for anyone.
So that's really all I have left to say about my Monday so far. I will try to spare you all any further ramblings (for today, at least).

Take 'er cool!

Words Can't Explain...

This is a wonderful picture of...beer foam! (You thought that I was going to say golden poo didn't you?)
Yes, that's right. It's supposed to be the foam of the beer as it's blown away I guess.
I'm sure their intentions were good, but...it still looks like poo. Nasty.
I knew there was a reason I didn't drink beer. Can you imagine? Every time that you go to drink from your frosted mug, now all that you can visualize is golden poo rather than beer foam.
So if you ever get the chance to visit Tokyo, you might meander past the Asahi Beer Hall for a peek at the golden poo, er foam that is rising out of what looks to be a tall, black glass.
Honestly, I'm at a loss for words.

Monday, Monday, blah, blah...

Why yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am so bored. I decided to add another picture (just because I can).
This picture was taken in Shinjuku (Tokyo). It was a Sunday night and not as busy as it would be during the week. Kind of crazy, huh? I'm not going to lie. I know that when I move back to the U.S. that I will experience reverse culture shock. It will take me awhile to adjust to having more space. Let me tell you, I will enjoy it ^_^
In the meantime, I'm enjoying living outside of one of the largest cities in the world!

Weekend Adventure

This is a view of Tokyo from the Tokyo Tower. It was taken this past Saturday.
On Saturday, I met my friend Max, for some food and fun. The food part usually consists of a Hard Rock Cafe hamburger (yum!).
Max had never gone to Tokyo Tower before and it's something that we had talked about doing for a long time. I actually went for the first time on the previous Saturday (at night) right before they closed.
I was happy to get both perspectives. I was also able to go up to the special observatory that we were too late to visit the previous week.
It's amazing to me how big this city really is.Unfortunately, it was a little smoggy, so we couldn't see Mt. Fuji. I am definitely considering a visit to Tokyo Tower on a clear, winter day.
This is just one of many pictures that I have taken in the past 10 days. It is now time to upgrade my memory card for my camera :+(
Since I had a little extra time today, I thought that I would at least post a picture with this blog. I'm not exactly the most tech-savvy person, but I thought that a picture would add some flair.
That's all for now. Maybe I'll post more later today ^_^

I Have No Class

It's another fun day at work today. OK, so I'm being sarcastic again.
The main English teacher (or at least the teacher who likes to use the resources available to him), is away for a few days.
I had hoped to have at least a class or two today. I haven't been able to do much with the student teachers around. Thankfully, they have finished their stay here.
Tomorrow I have an elementary school visit. I like the main teacher there. She's very nice to me. I also like the teaching schedule there. What I don't like, is the fact that I will have to teach the bad class again tomorrow. I am hoping and praying for two things. The first, is that their class will be the first class I teach, so that I can just get it out of the way (the students aren't that awake for the first class anyway). The second, is that at least the really bad girl will be out "sick" tomorrow. Seriously, I'm thinking that one of the characters from the movie Mean Girls is inspiration for this girl! I have to remind myself that I am the teacher and she is the student. I also have to remember that no matter what I am thinking or feeling inside, I should never let her see when she is getting to me (a problem for someone who wears her heart on her sleeve).
At any rate, I'm going to try to not even think about it until tomorrow.
In the meantime, I should enjoy today. Even though I have no classes to go to, I can be thankful that it isn't hectic. Honestly, for a Monday, it really isn't a bad way to start the week ^_^

Laundry Lamentations

I know, I'm being a bit melodramatic. I have to say though, that one of the things I really, really, REALLY miss, is the way laundry is done back home. It's true that Japan has the same technology (and in some cases more advanced technology) in the washer/dryer department, it's just that they choose not to utilize the dryer most of the time.
Many people hang their clothes to dry. The reasoning behind this, is so their clothes will smell like the sun (I don't buy that in my neighborhood. Not for a second. We have neighbors who are burning trash 24/7. There's no way my clothes will know what it's like to smell like the sun. The only thing they smell like is burnt trash mixed with Febreeze!). Oh yeah, and some will add (as an afterthought), that hanging clothes to dry saves energy.
OK, sure. saving energy is important, but so is wearing CLEAN clothes. It is really annoying and disheartening to bring your clothes in from wear they hang to dry outside, only to see that they are dirtier than before you put them in the wash. If you have to wash your clothes again, you are wasting energy AND water.
Also, I have always been a proponent of washing towels, socks, and underwear, sheets, etc... in hot water and drying them. This process kills germs. I don't like putting this stuff outside to dry where little bugs often rest...EWW! I refuse to hang some of it outside. I now have a laundry tree for the smaller stuff.
All of those other issues aside, let's not forget that Japan is a humid place and the rainy season is upon us. It's hot and humid. Many times, we are walking to and from school in the rain. Because it is hot though, we often become a little sweaty. When we get home, our clothes are wet from the rain and perspiration. I often peel off my clothes and put them into the washer when I get home. So you can imagine, that hanging them to dry is not very effective when you have to hang them outside to dry (where it's raining!). The window of drying opportunity is really limited (especially when you're gone during most of the day). I think it's gross when my clothes are damp for 2-3 days because they won't dry :+(
So anyway, yesterday was a nice laundry day (aside from the neighbors burning). I washed clothes, I brought them in. I didn't have many bugs on my stuff (yeah!) I planned what I would wear today. Noticed that nothing needed ironing immediately and didn't worry about it.
Well, I went to get dressed this morning, I noticed that my pants had streaks (from the smoke that carried over from the neighbor's trash!). I didn't notice it yesterday, because the pants were damp enough not to see it. I had to spend extra time this morning using a damp sponge on my pants just to be presentable today.
I'm really tired of doing laundry this way! I just don't have the extra space that I need to hang all of my clothes inside :+(
Granted, I used to hang my dress pants to dry back home, I had a place to do this. I was also able to dry everything else, so space wasn't an issue.
Anyways, that's something that I miss and can't wait to get back to (although it will be another year).

Shakin' Things Up

OK, so we had ANOTHER earthquake yesterday. It was pretty big, but I am fine. Nothing is damaged and we weren't at the center of it, so I am very thankful.
I'm very thankful to live in a place that is prepared (including structurally) for earthquakes.
My sister should be in Japan now. She is studying in Osaka. Unfortunately, that is far from where I am, but I am hoping to visit her one weekend while she is here.
In the mean-time, we are both missing out on a family reunion back home. It is the first one in years on my dad's side of the family. My brother and his wife are missing it too. I guess that's what happens when you grow up. Still, it would be nice to see some of my family that I haven't seen in years.
Recently, I've been thinking about my life and my interactions with others. For so long, I've managed to do what is expected of me (except getting married). But I'm always doing what someone wants me to do. I'm struggling with living MY life. I'm always compromising for someone else and when I do try to stand firm, I'm told that I'm being selfish or that I should just get over it.
I don't want to be selfish, but I don't want to be a push-over either. I'm struggling to find the balance.
That has definitely effected the way that I interact with men. I will either not even try for a relationship because I don't know where I want to settle down, so I don't want to deal with the problem of separating in the future or I fall too hard and end up in a challenging long-distance relationship. Then there's the combo of school and long-distance relationships (been there, done that).
Even if you take all of that out of the equation, I'm beginning to think that there aren't many good guys out there. I'm not saying that they don't exist. I'm just saying that their population is dwindling. If you find one, he's probably got some pretty big baggage.
Let me back up a little. Is it really so impossible to find a decent, educated man who is single?
I know it doesn't sound like much to ask for. If I were to loosely define decent, I would include treating women with respect under it's definition. Honestly, I don't think that's too much to ask for nor do I think that I should settle for anything less (so when I am asked why I don't try to find a nice, Japanese man, I leave out the whole diatribe against the way men behave in this culture).
As I was saying...
Another thing that seems to present a challenge, is the amount of single men who have children (I know,women have them too, but I'm focusing on the issue of men with children for now). Since I began dating, I have always known of, at least a few men, who already have children. I've even dated men with children. This is where things get sticky. I have nothing against children (I was a nanny for more than 10 years. In fact, I adore MOST children). But when you're dealing with the behaviors of ex-wives or ex-girlfriends of your current man, it can be rough. Some women are just cruel and/or psycho. Aside from the ex's antics, it puts the new girlfriend in an awkward postion. For one thing, we want to be supportive to the kids and our man. On the other hand, most of us don't want to bad-mouth the ex in front of the children. However, when we can clearly see her manipulation and patterns of behavior and how they are affecting our new man, it is difficult. If we say something, we risk being accused of "not understanding" or "not knowing the whole story". Or we are sometimes told to mind our own business, or my favorite "I can't do much about it, because she's my baby's mama". The worst part is the way some of these women use their children to manipulate their ex-men. They have them so afraid of never being able to see their children again, that these men would do anything.
So what I see, is that the women who are acting like this, never should have been with these men in the first place. And the women who ended up with the dead-beat ex should not be in the position they are either. WHY do these extreme opposites attract!? I'm sure I could write a dissertation on this, but I will try to steer away from this. Anyway, all of that to say, that I am attracted to decent men with values. Unfortunately, most of these men come with this kind of drama. I'm no saint, but I don't have this much drama. Is it selfish for me to not want to choose this? Am I a fool for even accepting that this kind of relationship will probably be my fate?
I want a relationship that is 50/50. Not 75/25 or even 50/25/25. I don't think that an ex should be given so much power. I do think that she has every right to her children and that the parents should work things out, but I don't think that her power should extend to an exclusion from all holidays or important events. I say "C'mon people!We are the adults here."
All of that said, I feel like I have one of two options, I can either accept that I will most likely have to deal with an ex or two in future relationships OR, I can make a list of exactly what I want in a man and not waver from that list (and more than likely remain single for eternity).
Neither of these choices would effect my immediate future, because I am not "talking" to anyone right now.
I don't feel as though I am desparate either. I just like trying to be prepared for what may present itself in the future. That's all.
Maybe someday, I will be brave and post my list. Or maybe not. That way, if I do happen upon a decent man, I will know that there is no way he could have seen that list before. ;+)

Holy Shark Bite, Batman!

Do you know what you are eating? Usually, I do. In other cases, ignorance is bliss. I learned something very interesting though. There is one kind of fish that I like. I think it's because it isn't usually greasy and it doesn't have a lot of bones when we eat it. For some reason, I had the idea that it was a kind of perch (don't ask where I got that idea). Well, I just found out that it's shark!
I know, I was shocked, too. Apparently, it is cheap because you can get a lot of meat from one shark (makes sense). Of course, we live on a big island, so sharks are plentiful. So we tend to eat it a lot in school lunches (again, I didn't know this!). Now I can say that I have eaten shark and, in fact, I think it's delicious.

I Just Want to Sleep

Today, I left my phone at home. That sucks.
I have two classes today. Woot!
It's hot today. The temp has climbed 10 degrees in one hour.
It's Friday the 13th. Lucky me?
I'm so sleepy. Possibly due to the weather. Possibly do to the fact that I have too much going on outside of school. I don't know.
It's Friday. WOO HOO!
The teacher across from me keeps picking his nose. Gross
Today's menu includes chicken curry. Yum.
Did I mention that it's Friday? I'm excited to get some sleep!
I need a new memory card for my camera. One gig wasn't enough.
My sister comes to Japan in two days. Unfortunately, we will not be in the same area.
This quarter ends in five weeks. I feel like I just got here.
Tomorrow, I'm hanging out with Max. That means we get to eat hamburgers or something western. Yeah!
I'm having a hard time abstaining from caffeine. I had my first coffee in months. I loved it, but I am not getting into that habit again.
I'm having a very hard time saying no to soda right now.
I've had two weeks of quiet from my neighbors. ^_^
I just want to sleep.

Stuff

This past weekend, my friend Claudia came to visit. I really wasn't sure what to expect because we have always had another friend with us whenever we've done anything before. Also, I had previously canceled on her during Golden Week.
Well, I really don't know why I'm such a Worry-Wart. We had the best time! I really enjoyed spending time with her.
I've decided that I like living near Tokyo. It has allowed me to have a few visitors and to get to know these friends better. I only wish that they didn't live so far away from me.
I took two days off of work while Claudia was here. Our school still has student teachers, so there is nothing for me to do, except to sit at my desk. I'm not even allowed to observe the teachers unless they (the student teachers) say it's ok. Of course, they are all so nervous to begin with, so throwing in a native speaker probably wouldn't help matters. If it were me, though, I would want as much feed-back as possible. Needless to say, I am trying to be very creative at looking busy.
Sometimes I wonder why I am getting paid. On days like today, I rush to work in the monsoon, bring extra clothes because there is no chance of me getting to school even half-dry, rush to change my clothes...only to sit at my desk all day.
Oh well, I'm available if needed. I actually helped one of the teachers work through a grammar point today, but that took all of 2 minutes at my desk. After which, he thanked me in French. He said a few more words before I responded. Seriously, it freaks him out to speak English to me, so he speaks in French. It freaks him out even more if I respond. It's kind of fun to watch him squirm sometimes.
Well, I have a lot of time n my hands today, but I am really tired. It was raining so hard, that the noise woke me up at 4:30 this morning and I have been awake ever-since. Not to mention that I didn't go to bed until midnight. PLUS, it's Thursday. That means that I have to hurry home to teach two English lessons. I won't finish up until 9 tonight. :+( I'm seriously considering canceling my second lesson and just calling it an early night, but I'm still undecided.
Anyway, I'm sure that I'll have more to talk about later (as in today). I'm here with nothing else to do.

Typhoon

The weather has been really crazy lately. This week, we have had forecasts like: rain followed by showers, or partly cloudy, possibly sunny, etc...
Yesterday's forecast said showers, but it was sunny and hot. This morning, I was sure it would be sunny and warm. It was almost 80 degrees when I left for work this morning. There were scattered clouds, but the clouds did not look like rain clouds. I have heard rumors all week of a typhoon, so I have been taking my umbrella with me everyday. Well, about 30 minutes ago, the temperature quickly dropped and now it's raining. The wind hasn't picked up yet. It's only 11:00, so I'm guessing that by the time I'm supposed to go home at 4:00, it will be pouring.
I'm so happy that I brought my umbrella today.
As with many other things in this country, the weather is not always what it appears to be. I have learned that it's impossible to take anything at face value here. There are moments of brutal honesty (that are deemed acceptable), but mostly, people here don't say what they feel or think. It's very confusing. My head is always swimming.
On a kind of related topic, I have been wondering why all of the big sporting events for the schools are planned during typhoon seasons. It hasn't failed (since I've been here) that the events get postponed because of the weather. I don't get it.

Wednesday's Woes

Today is another one of those (wink, wink) busy days. I'm at school in presence only.
I finally figured out that the intimidating people walking around in suits for the past two weeks, are student teachers. I think that they looked imposing, because they were just scared to be here. Now they are beginning to relax. They are also starting on their student teaching in our school this week. The student teachers of English may or may not use me. So I'm pretty much on call today. Yesterday and tomorrow are elementary visits for me.
Yeah, about that. I've figured out (at least in this area of Japan) that something happens between the 5th and 6th grades. I understand why grades 6-8 were considered middle school for so long. I think that it's a great idea actually. Anyway, without getting into too many details, my last class yesterday was with 6th graders. The first class of 6th graders that I taught yesterday were pretty good. There were a few kids who were "too cool" for English class, but that's to be expected. My last class though, was a nightmare. I was heckled, mocked, and treated horribly. The teacher either ignored or was oblivious to what was happening most of the time. A few times, she intervened. I don't think that she realized how much I understood of what the kids were saying. I was so happy that I didn't have my regular class last night, because I seriously needed some time to myself after that.
On the bright side, I saw 8 of my former students while on my way to the elementary school yesterday. That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. They were on the tennis team and going to a match. They were on bikes with their helmets and school uniforms (it was cute). I should note that very few people wear helmets here, but during school hours and activities, they are required to.
Also, last night I went to the neighborhood grocery store. I saw another former student. She is now in high school. Her name is Aya and she always called me "midori" because my eyes are green. She would go around asking all of the teachers about their eye colors and would then say that there was only one teacher who had green eyes. She would then pose dramatically and then say "Hollie-sensei". She always made me laugh. We talked for several minutes yesterday, so that made me really happy. ^_^ It also reminded me that there are plenty of students that I've been able to make small connections with and who are just as happy to see me as I am to see them.
So overall, I still love my students...most of them anyways.

Another Day

Another long day at work today. There are still a lot of people around here and I'm still not sure why. The only thing that I can think of is that they are here to check up on the way things are being run. Of course, I think that this would be the perfect opportunity for the ALT to be used, but I guess that I am wrong.
I do have two classes today though. I was supposed to have only one, but the counseling class added me into their schedule (yeah!). So the hour before and after lunch are my only class times of the week at the junior high.
Last night, I was able to talk to my friend about him moving. I feel more relieved now that we have discussed this, at least. I still wish that there was something that I could do to help him out.
Today is another rainy day in Hasuda. I had another English lesson after work yesterday and then stayed up too late hoping to talk to my friend. So I feel very sleepy.
One good thing about yesterday, is that my second lesson canceled, so Katlin and I went to LaPark and had a crepe. As usual, it was good.
Today is payday...woo hoo! So after work, I have to go to the bank to transfer money. Hopefully, I transfer it to my account this time and not into a total stranger's account (again).
Tonight, we are also having an "office party". It was supposed to be a party for the ALTs and the people who work at City Hall (specifically the BOE), but somehow the BOE forgot. The ALTs had to clear their schedules so far in advance for tonight, that we decided we will go out anyway. It should be fun. I am only hoping that I get a second wind, because I am sooooo sleepy right now.
Anyway, I still need to talk to the principal about taking some time off, but he hasn't been in this room for more than 5 minutes in the past few days! Grrr.
Well, this is about the extent of my mundane life.
I'm sure there will be more to blog about later.

moving

After hours, days, and months of reflection and writing about it, I had devised a semi-plan for my life. No sooner had I posted my blog, than my best friend got online and i.m.ed me to tell me that he is moving. There are no details, just that he is moving.
I'm a little sad. I'm out of the country, and I knew that it was a matter of time before he would leave. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. I had hoped to see him at Christmas when I will be home next. It's selfish of me to want to see him, but I know that his family is in another state. I'm happy for him that he will be closer to his family. I don't think that he realizes that I am happy and supportive of him.
Sometimes, when we make changes, it doesn't mean that we are giving up. Sometimes, it is a means of survival, sometimes, it is to better ourselves, and many times, it is necessary. Usually though, it's a growing process. Whatever his reasons, I just want him to know that I don't begrudge him for leaving my hometown.

School or Not School

I'm back to thinking again.
I keep thinking about my future. You know, life after Japan? I keep going back and forth on the issue of more education and if so, do I immediately pursue a Master's or should I seek a second degree and then get a Master's in something else?
If I choose not to further my education, will I regret it? Also, where should I live? What should I do? Will I make enough money?
This decision is not an easy decision, but I feel the pressure to make it soon. As a woman, education is essential. But if I pursue a second degree, a Master's and possibly a PhD, I would finish in my late 30s or early 40s. My fear is that I will be too old to be hired. In my case, I truly believe that age is just a number. I am a hard worker and I am young at heart. A great combination, right?
While a 4-year degree is nothing to be ashamed of, I feel the need to have more. I think that I am more marketable by having a higher degree.
I come from a family who has always told me "It's not what you know, it's who you know." I agree that it helps to know people, but if you don't know anything, you don't have much help either. My family has also instilled in the womenfolk that we will marry someone who will take care of us. If we get an education, it's something to keep us occupied or we can get us a "little job" to help with some extra income. most of my family has quit vocalizing this to me, but it continues to be communicated non-verbally. I have serious issues with this mentality.
First of all, I am not set against marriage, but I do think it's important for men AND women to learn how to take care of ourselves. There is NOTHING wrong with supporting myself!
Second, I would hope that if I marry, that man would respect me as I would respect him. I would hope that we could communicate enough to support each other's careers. If it came to a point where one of us had to choose to give up their job, I would like to think that this is something that could be discussed rationally. Rational thought does not assume that I (as the female) must automatically give up my job.
Third, I would very much like to retire some day. The way I see it, is that (again, assuming I do actually get married) two people saving together is better than one. Rather than fighting and running each other down as you are aging because you don't have the savings that you thought you would have (only one of you was working full-time), why not work TOGETHER?
These are just thoughts.
PLEASE NOTE that I am not against marriage and I am not against mothers who stay at home. I am simply trying to dispute my own family's views.
I think that I consider myself old-fashioned in some ways, but I also am not naive enough to think that every woman is going to get married. Or that every husband is able and/or willing to provide for his family. I also realize that, even if I adhere to my family's thinking, I have not yet met the right person to marry to take care of me and my parents aren't going to take care of me until I find someone. That would be ridiculous!
So I say that I would like to have the opportunity to buy a house some day. I would also like to be able to travel when I have vacations. I would like to be able to work a full-time job with benefits and have a 401K.
Sure, I have ideas of what I would like to do. Now comes the hard part. Do I go back to school to pursue a degree in something that I would really love to do (even though I would be putting myself further in debt)? Or do I look for a job without further schooling? I am sure that there is something out there for me and that I just don't know what to look for yet.
I also have a tendency to doubt my abilities. The thing is though, that I think that I am a hard worker, well-rounded and a quick learner, so I'm sure that I could do a lot. I would just need for someone to take a chance on me.
Whatever it is that I decide to do, I feel the pressure to start researching now. If I choose to look for a job right away, I need to start working on a resume soon. If I am looking at schools, then I need to research all of my options. There are deadlines and requirements for admissions. Also, if I choose a Master's program, there may be requirements for the GRE.
Either way I choose, it's a gamble.

Nothing but Time

More random thoughts from a "work-challenged" ALT ;+)

Here is something that I meant to write about before. While I was in Taiwan and we were touring, my travel companion (who is Japanese) and I began talking about Hawaii. She then informed me that the Japanese invented the Aloha shirt AND shaved ice. I didn't argue with her, but I mentioned that I was pretty sure that it wasn't invented by the Japanese, but that it was probably influenced by Japanese fashion. Well, I decided to do some research (I had nothing else to do). Guess what I discovered? The Aloha shirt was in fact, invented by a Hawaiian. In the early 1930s, Elsie Das was commissioned by some Hawaiians to design the floral pattern. At the time, it was fashionable to make shirts out of yukata (Japanese summer kimono). After Ms. Das designed the pattern, the print was sent to a store in Japan where it was printed on to the same material used for yukata. The material was then sent back to Hawaii and made into shirts. So there we have it ladies and gentlemen, the Aloha shirt was brought about by the Hawaiians, but the Japanese had a hand in it.
Secondly, I decided to look into the shaved ice claim. I was pretty sure that this practice had been around for awhile, but probably has evolved over several hundreds of years or more. Well, I was actually surprised to find out that the practice is as old as it is. Apparently, the Romans were known to have made treats from shaved ice as far back as 27 B.C. according to the site: http://snow-cones.com/history.htm In 1934, a machine was designed by a man from Louisiana that makes the ice into the texture that we currently know as shaved ice and snow-cones. To my friend's credit, a Japanese man (born in Hawaii) made this treat famous in Hawaii about 60 years ago. So I would concede that he started a craze in Hawaii, but I don't think that he should be credited for inventing shaved ice.
I have no problem crediting people IF they did in fact do something, but I learned a long time ago not to believe everything you hear. I have also become a little wary of what I am told in Japan. Ethnocentrism is rampant. Rather than get offended, I take these instances as a challenge to learn more about something and then to discuss it again when the opportunity arises.
In the meantime, I think all of this talk may have had some bearing on my Wednesday night English class. Recently, we had one woman drop the class (she is taking 2 classes. Her husband recently retired and wants her home more, so I understand. Another person left the class to begin a year-long study in New Zealand). Well, the "leader" of our class is a nice woman, but she doesn't like to be challenged. She is also the worst offender for NOT speaking English in my class even though her level is good. She is often like a child...everything is in one ear and out the other. I guess that she has been a member of this club for many years. Most of their teachers have lasted for about a year or less. My frustration, is that she is always complaining about the activities that I choose (only one was a real flop). They knew ahead of time that this was my first time teaching an English class (I have done tutorials and assisted) and they don't want to use a set curriculum.
Anyway, because of the decrease in members, I was informed that my pay would be less (I expected that to happen eventually). Well last night, I was getting ready to leave and this woman looked at me and said "You can go home now. We have to have a meeting." I don't know if she meant to be rude, or if it just came out that way. I have a bad feeling about this though. I know that I have done my best, but I also know that I can't please everyone. In Japan, there is an order to do things (that doesn't always make sense to us foreigners) and the decisions are usually deferred to the sempai (senior members). If that's what will happen in this case, then I will accept it. All of the other members have been pleased with my work and I have met most of them outside of the class. So why is there a problem? I think it's because I don't focus all of my attention on her. Also, it is a conversation class, so I play devil's advocate a lot.
"F" as I will call her, usually states her opinions as fact. For example, last night she said that there aren't many gay men in Japan. It doesn't take much to know this is incorrect information. In fact, everyone looked at her like she walked around with her eyes closed all of the time. So, we had a lively discussion about that last night. In the past, we have also had discussion about her belief that all Americans carry guns or the belief that Americans don't like rice, so we eat bread with all our meals (what about potatoes!?). So with things like this, it may mean that I have put myself in a position to be replaced. I may also be reading too much into this.
Whatever the result, I am actually fine with it. I have so much going on now that I think that I might actually welcome the opportunity for an extra night to myself. I would still have two conversation groups. Also, I know that I would still have the opportunity to meet with most of the current members if I choose to. I'm strangely at peace about the whole situation (they may be nothing at all). So I won' t worry about it. I've done my best and I leave the rest in God's hands. He knows what I can and can't handle.

Thinking

Ramen again. I'm quite sure that we have had some form of ramen at least 10 times in the past 2 months. It's not that I don't like ramen, it's that the "soup" that is made to put it in is far too salty. Aside from that, I am not very adept to eating ramen "properly". I can't slurp my noodles (the right way to eat noodles in Japan) and I always manage to splash someone else in the process of trying to eat it. The one saving grace now, is that I have at least managed to eat noodles with chopsticks. As embarrassing as these lunches are for me, I think that it's probably very entertaining for my coworkers. In fact, I know that there are times when they openly tease me. I just smile and do my best. (Gotta love me).
Today, I had a difficult time wake up this morning. I was up, but I just couldn't wake up. I had everything prepped last night. When I did my hair this morning, I somehow grabbed the wrong scrunchy. Not really such a bad thing since most of my colors are neutrals, but somehow today, I ended up with a burgundy scrunchy and a coral colored blouse. It's not bad, but it's not my first choice. I thought that I had reached for the beige or black scrunchy. I don't even remember pulling this one out of the basket recently. Also, I put on white socks and am wearing black pants (that are a little short because I had to buy them online before finding out they were too short). So I feel like I am trying to revive the Michael Jackson look (yes, my shoes are black. All I need is a white t-shirt and a black fedora to complete the ensemble. Then again, MJ wasn't wearing a burgundy scrunchy ;+)

I was cornered today by one of the teachers (who also wasn't busy). It seems that Japanese people are really fascinated by women who are 25+ and not married. Once they find out that I have no boyfriend, they want to know what's wrong with me, or if I'm gay. I expected to be asked these questions, but as soon as I told her that I don't have a boyfriend, I just said that I was enjoying being single. She then said "Oh, so you don't have a boyfriend in Hasuda." I told her no and that I had been in a very long-term relationship but was no longer in one. I told her that I didn't feel a need to rush into anything right now and that I just wanted to enjoy being single.
This answer seemed to please her. Then she looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes and said, "God has someone special for you and you will know it when the time is right". I was a little surprised to hear this from her. This is Japan, so I don't usually hear a Japanese person refer to God. It was culture shock for me (or would it be reverse-culture shock?). At any rate, it was a refreshing change to hearing all about how I am old and need to find a man to take care of me. Or that if I become too independent, no man will want me...etc, etc, etc. But you know, I think that she is right. I'm sure that there is someone out there for me and when I am ready, I will look for him. In the meantime, I am content with my life. Besides, how unfair would it be to start up a relationship (long-distance or not) when I have no idea myself, where I will be (literally) in 2 years!? I've narrowed it down to the US, but I can't narrow down to whether or not I will go to grad school, or look for a "real" job, or something else. I put my life on hold for someone for so long and I would not want the same for someone else.
Basically, it would take a very unique and patient man to deal with me. I have a feeling that he is the one who might be ready for me, but that I still have a lot of things to improve on ...and I'm fine with that. ^_^

Wednesday

For the most part, today is a boring day at school. I have no classes scheduled until Friday afternoon, but I am still expected to show up and "work".
The students are testing this week and there are a lot of people in suits shadowing the teacher. I know that they're not from our city's board of education (BOE), but they might be from the prefectural BOE. I have no clue. I am just trying to stay out of everyone's way and blend as much as possible (I know, that was funny).
I brought my laptop to work with me today. It keeps me a little busy. I was able to prepare tonight's lesson for my adult class, I've read half of a book, and I've even done a spyware scan on my computer. All of that and it's barely 11 :+(
One cool thing has happened at my school that I forgot to mention in the last post. Our school has a counseling center. There are four students who belong there. They aren't the special students, but they are either bullied in class or have other problems that keep them from being a part of the norm in their classes. I visited them last week. They were shy, but were happy that I was there.
At first, they were a little uncomfortable (maybe they felt ashamed?), but they relaxed as we talked. I told them that I was nervous to be in there too. I explained that I can understand a lot of Japanese, but that I am nervous and bad about speaking it. I quickly found out that one of the students is actually the same at English. He understood a lot of what I was saying and would respond in Japanese. We quickly found a great way to communicate, so we all relaxed.
The teacher told me only a smidgen of why they were in this class. It was mostly because they don't fit in. So I explained that my family moved a lot when I was younger and that I went to a lot of schools. I mentioned that it was hard to change schools and sometimes hard to make friends.
Later that day, their teacher came to me and said that the students would like to have me back. I was surprised. I've also noticed that these students go out of their way to say hi to me now.
I know that there is nothing special on part that was done, but I am happy to know that I have at least had a tiny, positive effect on them. I really do remember how hard junior high school was. Not necessarily on an academic level, but how hard it was to navigate the social aspects of it.
Anyway, I am happy to have another class to go to . There are two English teachers here, but only one likes to use me. The other teacher is nice, but really odd. He is very insecure in his English, so he doesn't use me (this makes me sad). So my schedule is usually hit or miss.
I have felt like such a bum at this school. The teachers and the students really are wonderful, but I feel like I am often reading a book or writing e-mails or something. I don't want to be known as the lazy ALT. Whenever I can, I look for things to do. Usually, they don't let me do anything though.
Our lunch lady is recovering from a broken foot. She also does work in the office, so she lets me help her quite a bit. I enjoy that, but it doesn't usually take me long.
I think that because I don't speak much Japanese AND that I will leave this school in about 6 weeks, they are just not letting themselves get attached. That's fine.
The next session will be the long session, so I'm sure to have more opportunities to get involved there.
So all of that to say that I am really excited about having another opportunity to do something at this school. I'm more excited, because it's not necessarily an English class, but just a time to hang out. Hopefully, it's a chance to help bridge some cultural gaps. In any case, I am looking forward to getting to know them.

Today Was a Better Day

Today was a good day.
Yesterday, I literally felt like all of the wind had been let out of my sails. Today, though, was a new day.
I had an elementary visit today. Sometimes I dread these visits, because I am unsure of what to expect. This particular school has a teacher in charge who is not very organized, so I tend to worry.
I usually come prepared with a back-up plan, but it's not always age appropriate.
So today I went to the elementary school and found out that there wasn't a plan other than to review the vocab for the days of the week (that's NOT going to take up an entire class!). Then the teacher said that I will be in new classes, so I can do my introduction (that can definitely take up a lot of time!) and then he told me that I will have the 1st and 2nd graders (this means a very SHORT intro).
I had less than 10 minutes to think of a lesson and activities. Somehow, I was able to make a full lesson and two games out of vocab cards, a cd, and two fly swatters (never used, of course). I never thought that I was creative, but I think that God answered my prayer today when I asked Him for help.
Anyway, I usually have a handful of students who like to act up or who are just bad in class, but today was unusual. There were no bad kids. I REALLY enjoyed school today. A few of the boys kissed my hand because they saw that greeting in a movie and assumed that foreigners greeted each other that way.
I was able to have a basic conversation with the 2nd graders who invited me to their class for lunch, too. On the way home from school, they raced to catch up with me. As we passed the rice field, the boys were catching tadpoles and showing them to me. One boy even found a baby shrimp ( I have no idea). We walked and talked together for quite awhile. At one point when the sidewalk narrowed, I had about 20 kids behind me...I wonder what the people in the cars were thinking about the gaijin leading their children.
Little kids are so cute and so accepting ^_^
Since it's Tuesday night, that unofficially means ALT night at Saizeriya (a family restaurant). The four of us who live in this building try to meet once a week for dinner, because we don't always see each other and we do get along. We actually enjoy being around each other. We hadn't had a Tuesday outing in a few weeks, so it was really nice to visit and chat. The restaurant wasn't even crowded (Very Rare). We talked about our schools, but we laughed a lot. It was really nice.
Today was a better day.

FRUSTRATION

Well, I was very happy that my neighbor came to talk to me on Saturday night, but I should have known that he was up to something.
First of all, I want to point out that I think it was strange that he waited until after 9:00pm on Saturday to come to my door. I'm pretty sure that is considered rude in most cultures (except in an emergency), until you've actually met the person.
At any rate, the neighbor came by to apologize to me. I know that my Japanese isn't great, but I understood enough that HE was apologizing for the noises that HE was making. UNFORTUNATELY, he turns around and says to our landlords, that he is making noises, because I am the noisy person...WHAT!?!?!? How much noise can I be making while I am sleeping (or hoping to) in my bed at 2 am. He is the one who is vacuuming, hammering, playing DDR, watching comedies at high volume. How does he figure!?
I had been warned that this neighbor is quite different, so I was afraid to say anything. I didn't want problems to get worse. On the other hand, I am tired of being tired all of the time. The past few days have been wonderful. My neighbor has been quiet, so I've been getting full nights of sleep. It's amazing how great it is!
I like our landlords and the last thing that I want to do is stir up trouble. I really don't appreciate being treated like this and it is so frustrating because of the language barrier. Now that my neighbor knows how limited my Japanese speech is, I really think that he will take advantage of this.
The thing that concerns me though, is that I am still here for another year.
It seems that it is OK to be here as long as I'm a visitor, but a lot of people don't like outsiders living among a homogeneous environment. It often feels that, even if the problems are instigated by one of their own, it's automatically the foreigner who is a trouble maker.

It's Getting Hot in Here

So suddenly, we are back to warm weather. We went from cold and rainy to sunny, hot and humid. Bleah. I bought a fan today. I actually got a good deal on it and it puts out quite a bit of air. I'm very pleased with my purchase.
I am trying to hold off for as long as possible from turning on my air conditioner. My work place isn't air conditioned and it is only May. Therefore, I shall stick it out.

I think that my summer is going to be pretty lonely. My friends all seem to be leaving me and I don't think that anyone will be visiting me. It's a shame that nobody can come to see me, because I do get a lot of free time. I understand that it is expensive to visit AND it is too hot for a lot of people.

I'm just going to stay positive.

Is Double Better Than Half?

Today was the retreat for the English Speaking Society. It was actually enjoyable. It became more enjoyable after I finished my speech and could focus on what the others were saying.
There was a family from Nepal that was invited as English speaking guests. They were so nice and so friendly. I really enjoyed talking with them.
I really enjoy my time at the ESS events, because the people are so genuine. They are very kind and accommodating. My locals are kind, too. It's just that I live in kind of a country town and my adult students are more apt to ask or say things that are a little rude.
Anyway, I had a good time listening to the speeches, enjoying dinner, and then enjoying small group discussions with the ESS members.
The first discussion was easy for me to debate many angles. One member even pointed out as part of his argument that Japanese are not trained to be good debaters. He mentioned that the ease with which I could support an argument for either side of our conversation was proof that Japanese can learn something from our education methods (go figure).
The most impressive part of our conversation, was when we were talking about whether it's an advantage or disadvantage to grow up speaking more than one language. One man used the example of Japanese men marrying American women and then coming to live back in Japan when their children are about 7 or 8. Mr. Toyama pointed out that a lot of people would label these children as "half", but he likes to refer to them as "double", because they have two cultures, two language, and they are usually envied for being able to speak two languages with such ease.
I've been thinking about that all night. That comment really made me just step back for a minute. I mean, what American adopted this policy? "Double" seems richer and more humane than saying "half". Would it change things if the connotations sounded more positive rather than negative? "Half" sounds less than human, but "bi-racial" or "multi-racial" doesn't seem right either, because we are all still part of the human race (one race), so maybe something like "double", not necessarily "double" would be a better choice. (Wow...that was quite the run-on sentence). It's certainly something that I would like to ask others about. I want to know their thoughts on this.

Slow Progress

I finally talked to my supervisor and asked him to talk to the landlords about the downstairs neighbors. I've noticed a change in the noise level (they are still pretty noisy). Instead of being noisy until sometime past 4 a.m., they are stopping around 2 (baby steps). Last night, I only heard the hammer for about 2 minutes and it was before midnight. So I am hopeful that things will improve some...woot!
This weekend, I have been invited to an English club's retreat. I am really regretting having agreed to this. I was just informed that I must give a 5 minute speech. I know that it's in English (which should make me feel better), but I really DON'T like speeches. Oh well, I guess I'll do my best though. I'm just a little worried because I have a tendency to speak quickly when I am nervous. Since I am giving the speech to non-native English speakers, I have to focus on speaking slower than usual. In about 36 hours, it will all be over. In the meantime, I think I can, I think I can...
I think that our spring is finally here. I thought that it was here before, but we had a week of cold and rain. Yesterday was actually a beautiful day! I went to bed on Wednesday night with my heater on (the timer was only set for it to be on for two hours). When I woke up, it was so warm, I had to open my windows. Today is another gorgeous day.
On to some great news...
My birthday was in March, but I got two packages yesterday from my family for my birthday. The best part was, that some of my friends pitched in too. I was so excited and overwhelmed with happiness. ^_^ I was also thankful that everyone was so thoughtful! (My family has a tendency to NOT be thoughtful when it comes to other family members, but I'm not going to get into that).
Anyway, I had casually mentioned some movies that I wanted to see, and I got two of them for my birthday. I also got some books (I <3 books!). My sister sent me a hoodie (yeah, Kimmee!) and a t-shirt. She also sent socks (I can't get my size in Japan, so I was VERY happy ^_^).
My parents also included a box of Girls Scouts Thin Mint Cookies (yum) AND some Rice Crispy Treats!!! I have to be careful or I will go into sugar shock!
My brother even included something for me (if you knew how my brother is about "remembering" birthdays, you would understand my shock). One friend and her daughter included a card, a necklace and a guide to Mario Galaxy for my Wii (this gift is extremely thoughtful, because my game is in Japanese. Sometimes, I need some extra help, so I thought that this was amazing!). Then, another friend sent some jewelry and a card.
All of this was so unexpected, it was really nice and appreciated. It felt like Christmas.
Actually, I can't even begin to describe how I felt. I had been having a hard time last weekend and at the beginning of the week, but things have been getting better. I have been trying to focus on positive things and then I get a package. To have notes and gifts from friends and family made me feel like I was missed and appreciated.
It also reminded me that I am very blessed.

Stuff

OK, so I haven't been very good at updating this blog. In my defense, I have been really busy. When I did have some down time, I was in a funk.
First off, I had the opportunity to go to Taiwan for about $300 US. That price included round-trip airfare, hotel for 4 nights, a one-day tour, and a foot massage. I definitely got my money's worth!
I went to Taiwan during Golden Week in Japan. I went with a friend. (Her mother is one of my conversation class students). We crammed so much into the short time that we were there, so I feel like I got a feel of Taiwan. We stayed in Taipei and explored the night markets, but we also bussed it to a small mountain town for a day and then went by train to a sea-side town. It was great! We also went to the top of Taipei 101. It is currently the tallest building in the world. I thought that this was cool, because I went to the top of the Sears Tower (when it was still the world's tallest building) when I lived in Chicago.
I came back from Taiwan and only had a 2-day work week. I had elementary visits at two new schools. It was so much fun! As usual, the kids have a LOT of energy, but I really enjoyed it. They even allowed me to go out and play dodge ball with them at lunch time. One boy was really disappointed when I wouldn't take off my glasses. He told his friend that he wanted to hit me in the head (yeah, they can be snot-heads sometimes, but they are still adorable). I told the kids that I needed to wear my glasses so that I could see. One kid said that it would be more interesting if I couldn't see the ball coming...I'll bet!
The weekend was too busy. It was cold and rainy all weekend and it hasn't warmed up any.
I went to a soba party on Saturday at a former English student's house. It was nice to look at her rose garden and eat some really good food. It came up during lunch that I am lactose intolerant and that I am allergic to strawberries. One woman actually told me that my body was selfish. WHAT!?!?!? That's the second time I had heard that during the week. Do they really think that I just decided to be selfish and that's why I can't eat strawberries or milk? Do they even know what it's like to have to give up things that you really like because it causes pain and suffering?
I wouldn't call that selfish at all! Anyway, that really bothered me. They also continued to talk about me as if I wasn't there and as if I were some freak of nature. For example, they can't believe that I'm as big as I am, because I don't eat much (I've been saying that for years). They suggested that I'm not eating enough Japanese food. I suggested that the Japanese food I've been getting isn't exactly healthy. So they accused me of eating fast-food all of the time. Umm, yeah. I've been to our McDonalds MAYBE 5 times in one year...that's a lot. I usually cook for my self. I like salads, but I like meat, too. It's all about balance. Why can't they just accept that my body is messed up? I'm also a good 8+ inches taller than them and my feet are ginormous, but they aren't talking about any of that.
So yeah, I'm guilty of stewing over that all weekend. I'm so tired of being TOLD what ALL Americans think, say, do, believe, eat, etc... I keep trying to reiterate that part of the beauty of America, is that we are ALL DIFFERENT. We are not a homogeneous country like most countries in Asia. A lot of my friends and co-workers here just can't seem to grasp that concept. We have been raised with a focus on individual accomplishments, whereas Asian countries focus on what's best for the group. Consequently, there is a great deal of time and money spent on trying to conform. Then there's me. I never wanted to be labeled or put in a box. That's exactly what they are trying to do, because that's how things work around here. So yeah, that bothered me.
Lately, my allergies have been bothering me (and the neighbors are STILL burning trash), so I have been getting these terrible headaches. I don't usually get headaches and I am a little concerned. I made the mistake of mentioning this to one of my Japanese friends. She suggested that I eat certain Japanese foods. When I heard what she suggested, I asked if she was trying to kill me. Everything listed was high in salt or saturated in soy sauce (which is extremely high in salt). I know enough to know that if there is too much salt in your system, it can cause headaches. If I already have a headache, why would I want to make it worse? I don't get it.
Anyway, I've been trying to get more sleep. I haven't slept well for several months because of my obnoxious neighbors (what are they building in the middle of the night). So I slept more than usual over the weekend. It seemed to help. I'm going to try to add on an extra hour of sleep every night this week to see if that will help.
In the meantime, I'm going to try not to let too much get to me right now. I understand that I am tired, I'm not feeling quite right, and I am on a downward slope of that roller coaster ride that comes from living abroad.
I just have to get through this. I know that it's temporary. If I really wanted to, I know that I could also quit right now, but that wouldn't really solve much. I re-contracted and I'm going to honor that. Things WILL get better. Overall, they are good, I'm just going through a rough patch.
I'm just going to focus on getting through this year and figuring out what it is I want to do next (because I have NO IDEA!). Yikes!

Blaaahg

So far, I am comfortable at my new school. A little too comfortable.
I've been feeling guilty because, even though I have been busy with other things, I only had 7 classes this week (all with the same teacher).
I've worked and played on my computer and I've read a book. I've definitely got a lot of down time.
I'm not complaining, I just feel guilty. I would like to have some classes with the other teacher though. There are two classes that I haven't been in yet and I have been at this school for three weeks sow.
I think that next week, I am just going to be bold and ask him if I can have classes with him next week.
In the meantime, I have walked several extra miles this week. I have also put in a little extra time because of elementary visits after my normal junior high days. Add this to the increased business of this week, and I'm exhausted.

In Japan, there is a string of 5 days that are national holidays. This is usually referred to as Golden Week. This year, it's more like two half weeks. Most people come to Tokyo or go to Kyoto for the holidays. There are also a lot of people who travel outside of the country.
I honestly can't imagine Tokyo having more people milling about than are already here. That's just insane!
Anyway, my friend Tomoko sent me a text late Wednesday night. She found a tour to Taiwan that is 5 days, 4 nights, flight, hotel, some meals, a massage, a one day tour, and a party for $298 (+ tax)! It's one of those last minute deals and the agency wanted the tour to be full. The hotel isn't fancy, but that's about the same price as it is for me to go to Osaka round trip! Needless to say, I am really excited about going to another country.
As a child, I dreamed of traveling the world (mostly because we rarely went anywhere other than Idaho [that's not very exciting if it's only the next state over] to see family). I have only been to Canada (B.C.) and to Japan. I am really excited about seeing another country and getting another stamp in my passport! The cool thing about this is that I only have to use one of my paid days off. For $300, I don't have high expectations, so I'm probably going to be pleasantly surprised.
I will definitely let you know how the trip pans out.
That's all for now...it's going to be another Friday night in bed before 10. Which brings me to this question. Why is it that I can never get to sleep before midnight during the week when I have to wake up early the following morning, but on Fridays, I tend to be in bed early? It doesn't seem right.

Another Fine Mess

Yes, I have gotten myself into another fine mess. (I really have too much going on)
I have been wanting to see a sumo match for years. Since I live in Japan, I thought that I should take advantage of this. One of my co-workers is a sumo fan and promised to plan a time when some of us could go with him. I was very excited when he sent us a text message that tickets were on sale. I dropped off money for him, told my friends, and then last night, it hit me.
I had forgotten that I had agreed to go with the English Speaking Society on their spring retreat. As their guest, they have already made arrangements for me and paid my way. As much as I want to see sumo with my friends, I am already obligated to go to this retreat. I am hoping that my co-worker will be sympathetic and invite me along the next time. I feel really bad, because he went out of his way to include us in his plans and now I've messed it up.
I haven't talked to him yet, but I probably will this afternoon. I'm just hoping that I got the dates wrong and that I can do both. Guess will find out soon.

Monday, Monday

Today is turning out to be a nice day.
For the past two weeks, we have had typhoon-like rain. Today is a little cloudy, but mostly sunny. It is also warm (not hot), so I am very happy about that.
I am back at work after a semi-productive weekend. I only have one lesson today and it isn't until after lunch. Woot!
My Japanese lesson is canceled for today. So I have (hopefully) plenty of time to plan Wed. night's conversation group activity AND have time to veg.
While looking at my elementary school schedule, I noticed that my visits are on Wednesday and Friday. I originally thought that they were for Tuesday and Thursday. The Wed. and Fri. visits make me happier.
For a Monday, I think that things are going rather well (knock on wood).
The only thing that I would like to change if I could, is to give the annoying teachers extra classes today (or put me in more classes) ;+)

Hmm

Does anyone ever really know what they REALLY want to do?
There are so many things that I want to do. The one thing that I want to do more than anything else would not provide for me. (I had a chance to make money at it years ago, but I was not willing to sell out and become something I wasn't for a "shot at being big".
Anyway, there are so many things to try and do. I'm just not sure where I fit into all of this. I want something that I will enjoy, can excel in, can pay the bills, and possibly allow me to travel. Is that too much to ask?
Sometimes I think that I should continue my education and work towards a Master's. Other times, I think that I need to try and find something that will suit me and that I can work at for awhile. After all, I don't want to be starting a career five years before retirement age. ;+)
I love my current situation. I think a lot of my attitude about it, is that I am accomplishing something that I have always wanted to do. I knew ahead of time that it was temporary. I am pleased with that. I am choosing another year of this life, but I will most likely, not choose a third year. I don't want to become burnt out. Also, I've learned to truly appreciate where I come from (even its flaws). I even decided today that, if I could find a job that I like and that pays enough, I would even consider moving back to my hometown(I know that some people will probably keel over from reading this and knowing how I feel about my hometown). Of course, I would have to have at least 2 weeks vacation and make enough where I could afford to go to Hawaii, Boston, Disney World, or something. I need to be able to have the time and the money.
As a single person, I don't expect that it should be too difficult. I think that I just have to find a place where the cost of living isn't astronomical.
So yeah, I'm thinking "out loud" this way. Just looking for some answers.