funniest picture of me ever

so normally i wouldn't post drunk pictures of me, but this picture by far takes the cake. this kodak moment is brought to you by jayne/lurch/david south or whatever we're calling him today.


this almost looks like a Homer moment:


(to jayne: despite your skills, i should still go over there and CUT you for taking pictures of helplessly inebriated people =P)

10 hours and counting...

i'm officially 10 hours away from the start of my winter vacation.... Thailand and Cambodia, here I come!!

Please forgive the hiatus in my blog for the next two weeks. i will hopefully be enjoying warm weather before reluctantly trekking back to the bitter cold here in Tsushima.

Hope you all have an awesome Christmas and New Year's! Don't get too drunk!

*muah!*

--ev

my first snow

so this is winter.

this morning, i woke up to the sun shining over the exact spot that i rest my head at night. figuring it was sunny outside, i thought about how one of my teachers told me on thursday that it was supposed to snow today. yeah right.

an hour later, i finally dragged myself out of my bed, and doing my morning routine, opened my curtains briefly to see what the weather was like. and lo and behold -- it's snowing!!!

if it's one thing i've heard just under a billion times since arriving in tsushima, it's 1) "It's cold here in winter," and 2) "The snow doesn't pack down in Tsushima," or some roundabout way of saying that snow melts pretty quickly, so you dont really get to play in the snow.

as soon as i saw it was snowing, i called my closest neighbor, Jayne/David South, probably woke him up, and yelled out, "Look outside your window!!!" Both of us being Californians, we've been mutually looking forward to seeing snow fall. while i have technically seen snow fall, it's never snowed where I live. looks like things have just changed.

the weather today truly is bizarre though. it's either lightly snowing, or it's sunny. i can't explain it. right now, i'm looking out my window and seeing a greyish cloud, outlined by the sun, and in the background, a very blue sky. i just dont know what to make out of the sky here. usually, back in the bay area, i could wake up in the morning, look at the clouds, and figure whether or not it would rain that day. but here, i can't tell anything at all.

in a stroke of retardation, i thought it'd be a good day to do laundry. so i did. except with the on and off snow, i can't hang my clothes up outside, so i've been hanging them up in my bedroom with the window and sliding glass door open. i finally couldn't stand how cold my room is, so i've shut all the windows, and resigned to the fact that it's going to take the next few days to dry my clothes. blargh.

i'm now officially four days away from my trip to Thailand. according to weather reports, it's something like the mid 80sF in Thailand (~29C), while it's been about highs around 14C over the last week. while i look forward to going to where it'll be pleasantly warm, i'm NOT looking forward to when we come back and are greeted by the blistering cold here. *sniffle* at least it'll be a glorious 2 weeks in beautifully warm weather.

and i officially can't type my hands are so cold.... must... warm.. them... now....

insane christmas lights

highlight of my day, and proof that i'm easily amused:

Christmas Lights

i laughed so hard i was crying already when i was only 5 seconds into the video, and it's 3 minutes long. that's 3 minutes of nonstop crying, pointing, clapping, and enjoyment. it's THAT amazing. watch it! it's enjoy! =P

a classroom no-no

a few days ago i was teaching my third and fourth graders in an elementary school how to say their birthdays in English. After gauging their ability level, it seemed all 10 of them were able to say their birthdays for the most part, so i went around the circle and asked them to answer "When is your birthday?" out loud.

when it was this one boy's turn, he just stared at me in fright, and couldn't seem to say anything. so i tried to break it down for him, saw the slip of paper i asked everyone to write their birthdays on, and tried to help him pronounce his month and date. he just sort of murmured "uhh... uuuh.." without forming any real words. after about 15 seconds, i decided that i should move on and went on to the next person.

as i went down the line, i had the typical reaction that almost all my students have. that is, if there's an adult around who can help them, they won't try to think about what to say first. they will immediately look to the adult for help.

just my luck, the principal was watching all my classes that day, so she was speaking into each student's ear when it was their turn. it normally wouldn't bother me that there was an adult helping them out because that means less of me using my voice (which is really the only valuable thing i have to offer all my schools), but the fact that she was the kind of adult that because she thinks she has such a grand mastery of English and the children dont, that she assumes that the children need her help. i honestly believe that if given a moment, these kids can produce what i'm asking. literally, if the child didn't start responding within half a second, the principal would start feeding them what to say. and it reallllly started to bug me. the kids just look to the principal, she tells them slowly what to say, their turn is over, and the child can happily forget what i've been working the last 40 minutes to teach them. splendid.

call it tough love, but i think if you put someone on the spot, they'll remember those moments better. if you ask someone to achieve something in front of the class and they do it successfully, it'll stick. kids and adults alike will relive it over and over again and they'll remember what they did. in the same way, i believe that if these kids can try and say their birthdays just once in front of the class, just so they can hear their own voice speak in english apart from their voices drowned among their classmates when asked to respond as a mass, and they accomplish that feat, that it'll stick and at least they'll be that more likely to remember what they learned.

what probably bothers me most are the kids who don't try. i know these kids are only 9 years old, but that's not an excuse to not try. the kids who look immediately to that adult behind them... those are the ones that break my heart. i believe they can do it. i wish they'd have a little more confidence in themselves.

anyway, back to my earlier reference about the boy who didn't say anything on his turn to say his birthday. after class, i talk to my English teacher/correspondent at that school, who's the Special Ed teacher there. he told me in english that that boy, "He can't speak Japanese."

well, that changes things a little. he looked full japanese to me too. maybe he just moved here.

and then he goes on to correct himself in japanese. it wasn't that the kid couldn't speak japanese. it's that he can't speak. at all. my first encounter with a mute. i still dont know much about that kid's situation, but i'm really curious how teachers know if he's learning anything without feedback...

anyway, the teacher apologized for not pointing out his 2 special ed kids and warning me ahead of time not to put them on the spot like that. i apologized for being a jerk, and took a mental note to be careful the next time i return.

but this kid got me thinking. the other special ed kid was one of the people who immediately looked to the principal for help. that's fine. she's a special ed kid. hence, she needs more help. but what are the normal kids' excuses? if you're a capable human being, act that way. how am i supposed to know who's special ed or not if everyone acts the same damn way? what distinguishes the normal from the special needs kids? they're not all helpless. i know they're not. kids, here is my bottom line: if you're capable, then try. you may actually learn something in the process.

rant over.

Minikui

So i totally forgot about this, but my roommate from university wrote this song for our japanese class presentation back during sophomore year. the tune and lyrics were all written by her, and if you understand a little bit of japanese, you'd probably find it a riot. during finals spring quarter of senior year, i finished on the first day, so i had tons of time to kill since everyone around me was cramming. sooo, i decided to make a music video for her song.

enjoy!

Click here to see the video!

"Killing Me Slowly"

due very much to the influences of my fellow islanders, i have finally reworded my first song!

granted, i didn't reword the ramblings at the beginning of the song, and i think i added an extra verse, but you'll get the idea and i *think* you'll forgive me ;D Enjoy!


Killing Me Slowly

(To the tune of The Fugees – Killing Me Softly)

I heard it snowed a little

I heard it was minus 5

And so I went back home and laid in bed for a while

And then I heard the rain come

No stranger to my ears

Trapped in my home and it's winter

Watching my day just go by

Killing me slowly with this cold

Killing me slowly with this cold

Longing for Western insulation

Killing me slowly with this cold

I felt a little dizzy

From my kerosene high

And so I got up and sat under my warm kotatsu

I prayed my walls were thicker

But coldness kept right on

Trapped in my home and it's winter

Inhaling kerosene fumes

Killing me slowly with this cold

Killing me slowly with this cold

Praying for summer to come soon

Killing me slowly with this cold

And as I cooked my dinner

My hands were over the fire

And weak person I am I washed dishes with hot water

With my big ugly jacket

I try to beat the cold but I'm

Trapped in my home and it's winter

Lacking feeling in my toes

Killing me slowly with this cold

Killing me slowly with this cold

Seeing my breath as I sing this

Killing me slowly with this cold

cold feet

i sometimes wonder if i'll have 10 functional toes and 10 functional fingers by the time i return to the States.

the weather here is pret-ty harsh. because i'm cheap and determined to un-wimp myself, whenever i use my sink, it's always cold water running. and by cold water, i mean water that feels like there's been 10 ice cubes floating around in a single glass of water cold. there's really no point in refrigerating water; i can achieve the same coldness by just drinking my tap water.

if i wanted to use hot water, i'd have to flip a switch that turns on the hot water for both my sink and shower. but if i'm only going to wash off my hands really fast, and it takes several minutes for the water to heat up, i may as well just use the cold water.

the other day, for the first time ever, i washed my dishes here with HOT water, and it was glorious. i can't begin to tell you how long it's been since i've done that. for once, as i rinsed off my dishes, i saw steam rising up and disappearing... one of the most beautiful things i've seen in a long, long time. tragically, my hands were so cold that i couldn't even appreciate the hot water. my hands and feet get so cold sometimes that it takes super hot water for me to even begin feeling anything. this is in fact the system i use to judge whether something i've reheated is hot enough. if i can tell that the plate is going to burn my hand if i hold it too long (because it's hot enough to tickle my nerves past the layers of frozen-over epidermis), it's ready. sad, no?

luckily, there are remedies to the cold. there's my wonderful kotatsu (which i'm baking under, despite it being sunny yet cold outside, and 1:30 in the afternoon), kerosene heaters (which make me feel like i should wear a gas mask), and although out of the way, an onsen (hot spring/public bath) about a 20 min drive away, which i'll hopefully hit up later today. but until then, i'm comfy sitting where i am =)

feeding the OTHER addiction

just when i thought my chocolate addiction was taking off, someone has tossed a stone in my bowl of soup to stir things up.

being a friday afternoon, i:m at my BOE as usual. when i walked into the bat cave, what:s that thing sitting on my desk? none other than my very own, brand spanking new laminator! my boss then came into my office and said that i could take it home if i wanted to.

alas, my days of dragging oversized laminating sheets to school and back are over.

with the advent of this laminator (it:s a nice one too; the kind all my schools have), i kinda feel obligated now to use it like crazy. they went through all the trouble of getting it for me when i asked like my third week here... my people rock =)

if you have suggestions for stuff to laminate, or want me to laminate anything for you, just lemme know, k? =P

super parking garages

as usual, i was watching my daily 10 minutes of tv in the morning. today they talked about new-age parking lots, and i have to give them credit -- they sound pretty cool.

first, it's valet. duh.

second, it's 1000 yen to start, and 300 yen per 30 minutes.

let's say you're shopping in the mall. you buy something. you buy a lot of stuff let's say. carrying it around the rest of the afternoon is going to be a pain, yes? instead of carrying it around, your bags can be passed along to the parking service, and one of the valets will bring your bags to your car for you. this is included in the price of your parking.

next, say you buy cake or something that requires refrigeration. they will keep your items in a fridge until you're ready to leave.

as you're paying for parking at a machine, if you have kids, a clown will sneak up on you out of nowhere to entertain your kids for you.

when you're ready to leave, you walk up to one of these stations that has a large barcode (hard to describe.. not the skinny bar, fat bar types you see in the States, but instead, it's square and looks like some sort of decorder with all these black blobs). some phones (like my kick-ass one) have built-in barcode readers. soo, hold up your phone to the barcode, tell your phone to read it, and on your phone, you'll see a map pop up of that parking lot, telling you how to get to your car. nuts.

apparently, they have the garage also divided into female and male drivers. the female spots are slightly wider than the male ones, because apparently, we don't know how to pull out of a parking spot (i slightly took offense at that one).

at the end of the segment, the commentators said something to the effect of "with the advent of these parking garages, i guess we'll see less fathers at the mall." haha... stupid, but i think it's a fair statement.

the whole time i sat there watching this, i couldn't stop shaking my head, partly because i thought, "this is soooo japanese." partly because i was fascinated that they seemed to have thought of everything. and partly because a little part of me was dying inside, wondering how japanese people can think it's ingenious to come up with the ultimate parking garage, and still fail to realize that hey, insulation in your home ain't a bad idea after all.

quality day of engrish

i went to two elementary schools today, and for some reason, i kept seeing quality engrish, which i just have to share...

- at my first school, we were doing a Christmas lesson, which included flash cards, memory, and BINGO. it took a while for the kids to fill out a 3x3 BINGO card, especially since some were trying to be fancy and write out the words in English as opposed to hiragana. words to choose from included Santa Claus, bell, angel, wreath, socks (it was written on her card, and i felt bad about correcting the teacher...), tree, cake, star, and present. as i peered over one girl's shoulder, i nearly died laughing: she had written "wrath."

- at my second school, one of the teachers handed me today's lesson plan, which was apparently food themed. as i scanned the list of words that i would be teaching, something caught my eye that totally threw me off. look at this list, and you tell me what doesn't fit =P :

• tomato potato lettuce cabbage carrot onion cucumber
• bread bum rice
• flour egg

I still have no idea what it was supposed to be.

- during lunch with the 4th and 5th graders at my second school, i was looking around the room at my students, when i noticed a large boy with an English sweatshirt on. written in Oakland A's script was the single word, Sturdy.

- on my way home, i walked by a bicycle with something written on the seat. when i looked closely, it read: Hip UP Saddle.

gotta love my island =D

japanese middle schoolers and uniformity

if you're wildly opposed to generalizations and stereotypes, then please read no further.

despite being in a very neutral mood right now, i feel the need to share my thoughts on japanese middle schoolers, and my occasional frustrations with them.

but first, think back to your days in middle school and high school. if you semi-cared about what the teacher was talking about, what would you do? you'd nod, right? or squint a little if you didn't know what was up? or if the teacher asked a question, and you weren't positive your answer was right, but you wanted to take a chance anyway and be heard, you'd raise your hand and answer the question, right?

that's what i feel class should be like. you pay attention, send the teacher signals that you're understanding what's going on or not, and on occasion, dare to be different, raise your hand, and try answering the teacher's question. at least that's what i feel classes in the States are like.

but not in japan. at least not in junior high school. maybe it's just because i'm teaching the foreign language class that i get so many blank stares and non-moving bodies aimed in my general direction. it's so frustrating to know that most likely half or more of the class knows the answer to my question, but no one dares to speak up.

which brings me to the point of this rant: uniformity is [in this case] bad.

let me explain a bit more. seeing how i'm constantly jumping around from school to school and classes ranging from 1st grade in elementary school to 9th grade in high school, i've gotten a little sample of what classroom atmospheres in japan can be like. from the time japanese kids are in their beginning years of elementary school, they're taught to be a part of the whole. to be one in a unified mass.

there are 3 things i can think of off the top of my head that i feel are unique to the japanese student experience. the first is cleaning. everyday, every school will have a "cleaning time" where every student and teacher has to clean a certain part of the school, from wiping windows, sweeping or mopping floors, emptying garbage... everything but scrubbing toilets. everyone has to work together to clean the school; hence, everyone's role is equally important.

secondly, there's the recent development of kyuushoku (給食）, which is the school lunch that's served in the classrooms. each student helps in the picking up of the class's food, delivering it to the classroom, serving food, cleaning off desks if necessary, bringing trays of food to each person's desk, and bringing dirty dishes and utensils back to the distribution point where they picked up the food to begin with. so no cafeteria; you eat in your classroom with your classmates and homeroom teacher. again, everyone has to work together to pass out food and clean up. plus, you can't start eating until everyone's ready. you start and end your meal together with unified chanting of set phrases.

thirdly, in at least middle schools here, you don't move around from classroom to classroom for every subject. instead, your teacher comes to you. soo, your classroom is your home. you and your classmates have the same schedule. you take the same classes, move around as a flock, eat together, breathe together, work together; everything but sleep together (that's not meant to be dirty).

with that said, back to my point. uniformity is sometimes bad. why? at least from my perspective from the front of the classroom, it looks like if everyone doesn't know the answer together, no one can know the answer individually. this is a grave overstatement, i know, but i sometimes get that feeling from some of my schools.

similarly, i was in one of my second year classes the other day, and i asked them, "What to you want to be?" and to say one more thing in addition to what you chose, but they all lacked creativity in their answers. They dont quite get yet that in a foreign language class, you can make up stuff. lie like crazy. have wild answers. that's what makes a foreign language class fun. I was trying to give them examples like, "I want to be a baseball player so i can be famous," and "I want to be a cat so i can sleep all day." instead, they bit off the example i put on the board (I want to be a nurse so i can help people), and was getting answers like "i want to be a taxi driver so i can help people," and "i want to be a police officer so i can help people." frustrating i tell you.

i just think back to one of my first days of class with one of my junior highs. i was doing my intro, and said, "this is my mother. what is 'mother?'"

*silence*

moments like that just made me want to HULK SMASH! them all. you're telling me a room full of 3rd years who've studied English for 3 years didn't know the word "mother?" i'd think we have more serious issues than learning to speak up.

days where students either dont know how or dont try to make crazy/amusing statements, or even try to break away from the mold on the board and experiment with the new grammar point, make me long for the days when i was in a language class. i can understand if you haven't a clue what's going on and don't raise your hand, but kids, look alive sometimes. nod. or blinker faster. give me a little hope. dare to be different once in a blue moon. individuality isn't such a bad thing. a little confidence sometimes doesn't hurt.

A 短歌 (tanka)* for the Jimny

Suzuki Jimny
Piece of crap finally gone
No more feeling bad.
Situation just dragged on.
Thank you Ushijima-san!**


*A tanka is a type of poem that goes 5-7-5-7-7. In other words, two lines longer than a haiku.
**Ushijima-san is the mutual friend who found a buyer for me

ridiculously good day

He’s finally out of my life. After 3 months of seeing him multiple times every single day, he’s finally gone. Thank god.

Who’s this mystery person I speak of? None other than Jimny. My Suzuki Jimny I should say. The big hunk of metal i bought off of my predecessor. Through some miracle, a mutual friend managed to find someone who would buy my car, and tonight, my friend and the buyer came over. There were issues starting it up (the battery was shot), but after replacing it with a new one, the engine FINALLY started. The man got in the car, drove it off the driveway in front of my home, and now it is finally out of my life. What a wonderful day =)

Even though i sold it for much less than i bought it for, at this point, seeing that car angers me so much that i would pay someone to get it out of my sight. The money i’m getting feels more like a bonus than anything else at the moment.

Also due to some freak happening of nature, the weather was beautiful today. For the first time in what feels like a month, i woke up from the SUN filling my room. It’s been freezing and super windy for the last few weeks, and seeing sun on a weekend nonetheless is quite miraculous.

Bored with nothing to do, David and i went furniture window-shopping. I think i may have found a cabinet for all the plates my predecessor bought (and i suspect never used). It was awesome though. David, being a 6’2” hairy white guy, and me being a 5’4” undercover gaijin, the lady who runs the store totally thought we were married (lol) and that i was japanese with exceptionally good English. David also being a goofball, would not stop with all the married-couple-looking-for-furniture-for-their-new-home jokes. Needless to say, i was dying of laughter the whole time. Just about the best joke he came up with was this:

Me: (pointing at a wooden baby high chair) What baby needs an excessive wooden chair like this?
David: Our baby does.

Indeed, it’s been a good day. And now i’m off to make some yakisoba. Mmmm mm!

--Evelyn

quintessential island songs

as karaoke is one of the few pastimes on this island that's readily available (and by available, i mean a 30 second walk from my front door), my friends and i have had multiple excursions just singing the night away. and till now, i've noticed that there are usually one or two songs that always show up, and they're always one of the only japanese songs any of us will attempt. and after having them both stuck in my head the last week or so, i thought i'd share them with the rest of you. if you ever want to impress people who've lived on an island in japan (yes, i know, all of japan is an island), sing these songs for them ;D

島唄
THE BOOM

　　でいごの花が咲き　風を呼び嵐がきた

　　でいごが咲き乱れ　風を呼び嵐がきた
　　繰り返す悲しみは　島渡る波の様
　　ウージの森で　あなたと出逢い　　　　（※ウージはさとうきび）
　　ウージの下で　千代(ﾁﾖ)にさよなら
　　島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
　　島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
　　私の涙

　　でいごの花も散り　さざ波がゆれるだけ
　　ささやかな幸せは　うたかたの波の花
　　ウージの森で　歌った友よ
　　ウージの下で　八千代(ﾔﾁﾖ)の別れ
　　島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
　　島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
　　私の愛を

　　海よ宇宙よ　神よ命よ
　　このまま永久(ﾄﾜ)に　夕凪を

　　島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
　　島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
　　私の涙

　　島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
　　島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
　　私の愛を

　　ララ　ララララ　ラララララ　・・・・・

(taken from http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/momose/mu_title/shimauta.htm)



島人ぬ宝　（しまんちゅぬたから）
BEGIN

　僕が生まれたこの島の空を
　僕はどれくらい知っているんだろう

　輝く星も 流れる雲も
　名前を聞かれてもわからない

　でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
　悲しい時も 嬉しい時も
　何度も見上げていたこの空を

　教科書に書いてある事だけじゃわからない
　大切な物がきっとここにあるはずさ
　それが島人ぬ宝

　僕がうまれたこの島の海を
　僕はどれくらい知ってるんだろう

　汚れてくサンゴも 減って行く魚も
　どうしたらいいのかわからない

　でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
　砂にまみれて 波にゆられて
　少しずつ変わってゆくこの海を

　テレビでは映せないラジオでも流せない
　大切な物がきっとここにあるはずさ
　それが島人ぬ宝

　僕が生まれたこの島の唄を
　僕はどれくらい知ってるんだろう

　トゥバラーマも デンサー節も
　言葉の意味さえわからない

　でも誰より 誰よりも知っている
　祝いの夜も 祭りの朝も
　何処からか聞えてくるこの唄を

　いつの日かこの島を離れてくその日まで
　大切な物をもっと深く知っていたい
　それが島人ぬ宝　それが島人ぬ宝
　それが島人ぬ宝

　　　　　　※　「島人」の読みは“しまんちゅ”

(taken from http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/momose/mu_title/shimancyunu_takara.htm)

good day

despite the wet and cold weather, i:m having an unusually good day. yes, i:m typing from work. i have to retreat to the bat cave every friday afternoon, and since i have nothing to do, i thought i:d tell you about the good mood that i:m in.

first of all, i:d like to point out what a weird week i:m having. last week was my birthday, and that meant seeing a lot of my fellow foreingers. since they have to venture all the way down the island, they tend to stick around and hang out the following day. that meant seeing english-speakers all weekend.

i had work mon-wed and thanks to Labour Thanksgiving Day, i had thursday off. but here:s the funky thing: i had to go back to work on friday (now). so thursday felt like saturday, but all of a sudden the next day was work. and today feels like a thursday since i:m in such a good mood, but lo and behold, it:s suddenly the real weekend. yeah, i have no sense of what day of the week it is right now.

i had a really hard time motivating myself to come to work today, but i:m super glad i did. i went to my second largest elementary school today, and since i had the 1st, 2nd, and 6th graders on monday, today was the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. all of my students were so well behaved today.. it was awesome. i actually had a fun time teaching today. not that i never have fun, so much as it:s rare that i come out of a day of teaching and still feel good about all my classes. a good day indeed.

for lunch, i ate with the 4th graders, and it was the class with all the girls i hung out with at the school picnic i went to. those girls are hilarious. after lunch, they figured out how ticklish i am, so several of the girls in the class and i started dying as we ran at each other trying to out-tickle one another. wow, if i were a guy, that:d sound so wrong, but anyway, i was laughing like a maniac and so were they. good times. times like these make me really happy i decided to take a chance and come to japan to teach.

my good day comes with interesting timing too. last night i saw the majority of the ALTs on the island, and we all started talking about recontracting. up till now, i:ve been thinking that i:ll most likely stay for a second year, but after talking to alicia, for the first time, i started thinking, maybe it:s not a good idea to stay. at our mid-year conference, the pref. advisor was saying how not knowing what you:re doing the rest of your life is not a good reason to recontract. that and procrastinating from entering the real world back home is a bad reason.

honestly, i dont know waht i want to do with the rest of my life. i still tell people that i want to go into nursing, but i:m just not sure. i like the thought of helping people, and being able to translate for people on occasion. but the nightmare stories i hear of getting crappy work to do... that deters me. friends have suggested being a physical therapist or physician:s assistant before too. i definitely dont want to be a doctor, and thats about the only thing i know for sure. will staying here an extra year make a big difference in the grand scope of my life?

my main goal while being in japan is to learn japanese, and i feel like in the 3 months that i:ve been here, i haven:t learned much... yet. now that i:m settled in and getting my nerd on, i foresee myself really sitting down and starting to study again (my brain is hungry...). gut instinct says that two years of living here will improve my japanese tremendously. maybe even become fluent. i:m tired of packing up my life and moving every year. it:d be nice to know that all the work i:m putting into making my apartment my home has long term benefits. it:d also be nice to know what i:m doing next year as opposed to always starting my augusts/septembers at square one. decisions decisions.

sorry for the rant... i have until january to decide, so until then, i:m probably going to have this conversation with myself countless times. for those of you who know what you want to do with the rest of your life, i applaud you. one of the consequences of being the youngest of 3 kids: too much flexibility. necessary when one is younger and needs to niche pick, but only leads to indecision later.

...and now my brain feels like mush.

hope everyone back home is enjoying thanksgiving dinner! go to bed early and prepare yourselves for black friday. oh, how i miss getting up at 5am the day after thanksgiving to road trip with my siblings down to gilroy to shop. sorry i:m breaking tradition this year, guys. have fun! be thankful!

--Evelyn

feeding the addiction

hands down highlight of my day: coming home to a care package filled with 3 POUNDS worth of Plain M&Ms, an assortment of gummi rings, and a tube of Blistex (har har...).

thank you sooo much Harrington!!! o(^ ^)o

--Evelyn

PS. I've been shivering allllll day.... *sniffle*

realizations

today has been a day of random realizations and for me, rude awakenings. maybe that's an exaggeration. it's suddenly hit me that..

1) this is the first november in at least 17 years that i haven't been enrolled in school. isn't that crazy?

2) i can't stand trying to be tough and resist the cold anymore. i finally gave in and set up my kotatsu (basically a coffee table with a built in heater) in desperation. my masochistic goal was to make it to december without using it, but i'm sick of cold feet, so i finally took out the kotatsu blankets and plugged it in. and it is sooooo nice. november 21st. not bad. close enough to december, right?

3) today is at least the 4th or 5th time i've felt like i'm borderline losing my voice since starting to teach. today was particularly bad in that i really wouldn't have made it through my 3 classes had i not been chugging water and sucking on cough drops the whole time. at the rate that i'm going, i'll sound like hole-in-her-neck-from-years-of-smoking Debbie by the time i return home. whenever that is.

4) i am not invincible after all.

quote of the day

during lunch with my 2nd graders at one of my junior high schools (in Tsutsu, my southernmost school), i asked everyone something and got one of THE most randomest responses ever:

Me: So were all of you born in Tsutsu?
*pause*
Boy: I love you?

birthday surprises

i had last night, which can only be described as one of the best birthdays EVER. the only other one that can compare was the time my drawmates and i all went to San Francisco, and at the end of the day, 3 more of my friends magically appeared and we all went to see The Lion King on stage. All sorts of great memories.

Yesterday was equally as shocking. So on Wednesday, i talked to Sujin, the Korean CIR from Pusan. She said she had something to show me on Friday, but that it'd be around 8pm. I figured we'd eat dinner together or something along those lines first.

After going to my junior high in the morning, from 2pm onwards i'm usually at my BOE on friday afternoons. i sat there and didn't do much of anything, but since i was in my bat cave by myself, it didn't really matter (the office is in the new shopping mall building, and since the outer room is small, my and Aaron's desk has been left in the backroom which i've deemed the Bat Cave). Around 3:40, Ueda-san (the young guy that works for Aaron's city at my BOE) comes into the batcave holding a tray with a cup of coffee and a plate with just a plastic yellow fork.

Thinking, why is HE serving ME coffee? He disappears out the door, and 2 seconds later reappears with a box that obviously contains pastries. After thanking him like crazy, i asked if anyone else in the front room wanted any cake, and he said, "There's a lot of people there that can't eat sweets, so go ahead."

After he left again, i was in that room by myself. I looked around, saw a bunch of boxes and stacks of paper laying around, and thought, "Somehow, i can't bring myself to eat this by myself. I think that would be the saddess caking-eating i've ever done." So i didn't. i decided to wait until after dinner to eat it with Sujin and hopefully Jayne (David's new and more appropriate name after a character from Firefly) and Aaron.

Determined to call home, i spent about an hour after coming home trying to setup Skype, and i would highly recommend it! Talked to my parents for about 15 minutes and it cost less than 40 cents! Excellent, excellent.

Afterwards, i gave Sujin a call, and finally decided on eating okonomiyaki at my place before going to the thing at 8. I had promised her when i went to her place for dinner, that the next time we ate it would be okonomiyaki since i'm a big fan. So, i went out, bought some materials for the okonomiyaki, made a salad, and called her over. They turned out huge and took a while to heat up, but we both thought they came out well =)

Then, it was off to whatever she was going to show me. Now keep in mind, Sujin is the type of person who is genuinely SUPER nice, very accomodating, very responsible, and honest. Which is why when we ended up in front of Roxy's (a burger joint in town), she said, "I have to talk to the old guy here really fast," i believed her. I followed her in since i know the waitress there, and as i step inside, i look off to the right where our gaijin troop usually sits, and see a blond head of hair.

"That's odd..."

As i walk in further, i realize, "Wait! i know that blonde head! Whoa, David North is here too--- wait..."

And then i realize that EVERYONE is there. Even the way northerners came down!! Everyone but Oliver was there (to be expected). I was soo touched.... speechless in fact. Aaron had apparently contacted everyone and told them not to say Happy Birthday to me all day unless they had to, that way i'd think they'd all forgotten (which i did...), and had organized the surprise party. Surprised indeed.

The wonderful and excessive people they all are, they got me presents!! Honestly, i take birthdays as a time to spend with people that mean a lot to me, and it's more about being surrounded by good friends and good company than about cake and presents. Maybe i think that way because my parents never got me anything; they feed, clothe, and shelter me. They always believed that was enough, and i totally agree.

But yes, my islanders = AMAZING. Panda slippers that look super warm from Sujin, candy and a compiled CD from Master Lees (a mixed tape, dare i say =P [sorry, Avenue Q reference...]), my favorite Japanese omiyage of all time called Hakata Torimon (below)

and a head-bobbing toy (see below)

that i've wanted for a while because it's soo adorable and sooo soothing from Rob (i've named it Bob.... ingenious, no?!), and last but not least, the most impressive thing of all from Aaron: a Hanshin Tigers Akahoshi 53 jersey!!!

So i can't find a picture of it at the moment, but it's basically the above jersey with a 53 on the front, and AKAHOSHI 53 on the back. Seriously, this is going to be a family heirloom. You laugh, but i'm serious. Literally, back in April or whenever it was, i told several people, when i go to Japan, i'm going to get this jersey, i'm going to wear it all the games i go to, and this WILL be a family heirloom. Yes i'm crazy. Yes i love this team to pieces. Yes, i love Akahoshi. No, i dont know why.

While we were still at Roxy's, all of a sudden the lights dimmed down, and the owner came out with a huge ice cream sunday with a paper Happy Birthday tiara, candle, and sparklers coming out of it. Quite awesome (and delicious!).

After Roxy's, we swung by the Coco's (the ONLY convenience store on the island), and then it was off to karaoke. Lots of fun songs were sung; quite a few japanese songs too. i completely butchered "Eternally" by Utada, but it was the only song slow enough for me to read. And speaking of trip down memory lane, i sang Waterfalls by TLC, and not even the radio version, but the real one with Left-Eye's rap in the middle. Somehow, it's become my thing that i HAVE to rap a song before a night of karaoking is done. Though honestly, i'm running out of songs that i know.... I'll gladly take suggestions though =)

By the time karaoke was over, it was 1:15ish, and deciding to be random, the Davids, Rob, Aaron and i went to get Aaron's car then went for a joy ride. We went up to Kamizaka, which is a lookout point over the ria in Mitsushima. Since Aaron has a kei car (small), and since there were 5 of us, needless to say, it was quite a cozy ride. But i must say, it was one of the most hilarious and enjoyable joy rides i've had in a long, long time. Being 1:30 in the morning, it was pretty dark out, and seeing how Tsushima only has windy, narrow, mountainous roads, deer and ten coming out at night to play only make driving all the more scary. Many, many good memories made.

As was my whole evening. From okonomiyaki to a surprise party to karaoke to joy-riding, all very, very memorable and fun. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, and especially to my islanders for the trek down south and the amazing love and joy you've brought to this poor soul on a cold November day. Thank you!!!

--Evelyn

Hmm...I still have yet to eat my cake...