Monday Again!

Well, it's Monday again here! Last week seems like it was an entire month! But this week is going to be different. Aidan starts back his swimming this week at school. So Aidan will be gone every morning from about 9:30 - 12:00. All of our 'camps' - cleaning camp, piano camp, and English camp - ease up a little this week. I have an English lesson today (at some point) and one on Wednesday too. We can't do one on Friday because of previous engagements concerning my student.

For the past two lessons I have cut out a big square and folded it into a triangle. Then I give them both the A-Bekah reader (we happen to have two copies) and have them read the words to me. Each time they read a word, I tell them what size triangle they may draw on their big triangle. The object of the game is to have drawn as many triangles on your paper as possible. When they're done, I cut along the lines of their triangles while they are copying a short story. If they do that well, I let them unfold the piece of paper and see that they've made a 'snowflake'. It works a lot better than I had at first imagined! I had them do that for two lessons partially so that they could see that no two snowflakes are alike. (Partially because I couldn't think of anything else for them to do.) :) Today I have cut small squares of paper, and each time they read a word, they get to draw a fish on whatever color I tell them. Then while they are writing their stories, I will cut out their fish and let the children glue them to the 'fish tank' I've made for each of them. I hope it works as well...

I woke up this morning rather late, because I couldn't go to sleep last night until really late. :( So I was really tired this morning... I also realized this morning as I was eating my peanut-butter and banana for breakfast that there are things I miss about the States more than I thought. For instance, (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I miss Wal-Mart! I don't know anyone who really likes Wal-Mart, but think about it... Everyone has to go out of town or out of state at some point. You probably don't realize how much it comforts you to find a Wal-Mart in every town! They all carry normal things you're accustomed to, and know what it is, and you can find anything you need in a hurry! I even miss unloading wal-mart bags from the car. Living on the 28th floor of a building gives 'bringing in the groceries' a whole new meaning! It is so easy to just go from the trunk straight to the kitchen!

I also miss singing in the car to my favorite CDs. I miss long car rides. I miss dancing to the Cupid Shuffle. I miss having friends at church that speak English! :)

These are just random things I was thinking about this morning... Besides all of this, :) , you already know how much I miss my family and friends! ...And animals, and grass, and pastures, and hot cattle feed bins, and getting accidentally soaked by water hoses, and stuck in mud, etc! :)

Well, I should go for now... I will post pictures from today's English lesson later...

All my love,

Hannah

Day 100!

Hello everyone, I just had to say hello on my 100th day in Japan!

Today being Saturday, I got to go to the beach with the college ministry group from Chiba. I had lots of fun, saw old friends, made new friends, and overall enjoyed myself. ...That's the good news...

The bad news is that I didn't have a swim suit, so I couldn't go into the water. There were 14 people crowding under the two umbrellas we had, and I feel (and look) thoroughly BAKED! I used 50 spf sun screen, but still I got sunburned pretty badly. I carried my camera with me but did not take a single picture. :( I have figured out that too often I get busy living in the moment and forget to step outside of it and take pictures... I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

I woke up this morning at 7:00 (which is a 'never' on a Saturday) with every intention of leaving the house at 8:00. Well, I got carried away helping grill cute little fish and frying mochi for breakfast and didn't start eating until 8:05. (By the way, mochi is a hard mashed rice cake that you fry in sesame seed oil. The outside gets crispy, and the inside stays mushy. Dipped in soy sauce they are REALLY good!) Then I hurried through breakfast and ran out the door as fast as I could trying to make the 8:12 train to my first line switch... Old story... I missed it... But I was able to catch the 8:16 train and make it to my rapid train on time. I was more than a little pleased! I do need to work on my timing...

I am really tired now although it's only 8:00! Tomorrow is Sunday, and I know they make me tired anyway, so I think I'll go to bed now.

All my love,

Hannah the red :)

Too much to write

Good morning everyone! I hope that morning has dawned fair for you! I pray that you have already seen, and continue to see God's blessings throughout your new day.I feel like so much has happened since Nikko! Two weeks seems like a long time! The pictures in this post are from Kyoto.
As you can see, it is rather photo heavy... The first photo is me, in front of an old style Japanese home. The Second picture is the VERY famous Golden Temple. (I did get several pictures of me in front of it.) Third, you can see the famous two dragons in one of the temples we visited... They covered the entire ceiling of one of the temples! It was really amazing to crane my neck as far back as I could, and still hardly be able to see the whole thing... We visited that temple on the day that it rained... We also got to see the rock gardens that day, and sit on the tatami mats and enjoy them... You can see the picture of Hinako and me with the ninja and Japanese lady too. I was watching the ninja show, and Hinako got scared. So she went out and met these two, so she ran back in and brought me out too. :) The picture of the flower is there just because I thought it was pretty. :) Last but not least, is a picture of Hinako that I took. It is better than any other picture I have of her, so I decided to include it as well.

We ate lots of noodles in Kyoto. I got pretty good at eating noodles with hashi. :) I also learned that it was acceptable (and even polite) to slurp while eating noodles! I just don't want to get into the habit... :)

I also enjoyed my four days in Chiba. It was nice to again be around people who speak English! I found out that I had something in common with my hosts. They own most all of the Dr. Who seasons I've seen!!! It was GREAT! I watched an entire season while I was there! :) On Saturday I helped around the house all day, and we went to church on Sunday. While I was there I also read all but the last 2 chapters of Elsie Dinsmore. It was fun to hear in my head the well known and well worn tapes I have as I re-read the pages. I remembered lying in my room one day when I was 8 years old as I listened to the book on tape for the very first time! I also had the first ham sandwich I've had in the last 3 months while I was there! It was SO good!

When I got back to Tsukishima on Monday (after navigating four train stations on my own) I was greeted with hugs from Eastin and Abi, a gasp and a smile from Aidan, and a shy grin from Coen! It was great to be welcomed back so warmly!

Yesterday life started back with staff meeting here. I took the boys to the park during it. Thankfully there was a light breeze most of the time. Today I had an English lesson with Hinako and Eastin. I thought it went really well. I tried something that I had not done before, and it worked better than expected. Perhaps in my next post I can explain my new teaching technique. :) But this post is already pretty long...

All my love,

Hannah

Back in Chiba

Hello from Kamatori, Japan. I arrived safely back in Tsukishima from Kyoto on Wednesday and then came to Chiba yesterday afternoon... Getting here was an adventure in itself, since I missed my train to Shin-Kiba and had to wait for the next one. That caused me to be just in time for a local train to the next stop, rather than a preferred rapid train. When I finally got to the next station where I was supposed to change lines, I found that there was a 30 minute delay on that line due to the typhoon! Overall, I was almost an hour late getting to the Kamatori station.
I enjoyed my three days in Kyoto, although I think I like Nikko better... I finally found one Japanese food that I don't like. I'm not sure what it was, but I did not find it to my taste. I have also come to the conclusion that I like raw fish better than cooked fish, a discovery rather shocking to me at first! I have lots of pictures from my last trip, but haven't had the time to empty my camera card since I got back. (I'll post those later.) Wednesday night I went out with Keiko and Iako for monjayaki, which was really delicious. After we got back to the house, we had donuts that Iako had brought! I had a green tea filled donut with no beans this time, and it was quite good! That night all three of us stayed in Tsukishima. Yesterday morning I washed a load of clothes (something I had really been needing to do) and hung them out to dry, after which I had a 7-11 lunch and finished off the last donut. :) Then I had time to chat with my family for a while. I really enjoyed it since it had been so long since I had been able have internet access. Then I was supposed to catch the 4:06 train to Shin-Kiba, but missed it by about 3 minutes! So anyway.... I got here safely.
Well, I should probably go for now since it is nearly lunch time here...
Love,
Hannah

Back From Nikko

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I have safely returned from Nikko. I had a great time! I really loved the mountains and waterfalls and farms that we saw and visited. I wanted to post just a few of my favorite pictures that I took as we traveled around Nikko on Wednesday. You can see the rice field beside my host's house with the beautiful mountain behind it. This mountain was actually one of the smaller mountains in the surrounding area, but I just had to snap this photo while I had the chance! The second picture is one of my absolute favorites. I took this picture while on top of one of the mountains. We visited a farm. This farm, while mostly famous for it's dairy, is a place where visitors come and get to pet the animals, play on a play ground, and buy souvenir type things. The last picture was taken over the Shin-Kyo bridge...the famous bridge of Nikko. Well, today we are headed off for Disney Sea to spend the day. Only Keiko, Yukiho, and I are going to be able to go... Last night we had lots of

fun! We went out for monjayaki, which is Tsukishima's trademark dish. I really like it. Today my allergies have been bothering me already, even though it's only 7:45 AM! Hopefully they, along with my sunburn, will not bother me much today...

Well, now I think I will go and fix everyone a true American style breakfast... We're having cereal, because that's basically all the food that was left here during the vacation... :)

All my love,

Hannah

Vacation Part 1

I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to check in and say 'hi' before I leave for Nikko. I made it all the way from Tsukishima to Kamatori by my self, using the train schedule I printed... On the way back, I made it all the way from Soga to Tsukishima by myself without a train schedule! (And I didn't ask anyone for directions either...) I felt proud of myself. :) Last night I had a lot of fun with Sayaka and her parents. (and her dog Chocola.) They let me participate in a green tea ceremony with them, and then we had sushi for supper. Japanese sushi is not like what you get at the local Chinese restaurant. This sushi is a square of seaweed, with some special sushi rice, a slice of raw fish, and sometimes a few vegetables or something. I even tried salmon eggs... Not my favorite... Then for lunch today we went to a Ramen restaurant. I decided that my favorite Japanese foods are probably ramen and gyoza. :) During supper last night, we talked a lot about Mississippi. We talked about animals, farms, visits, and hurricanes. I found out that they heard about Katrina, and remembered hearing how bad it was. Then we all agreed that they should name typhoons something besides 'typhoon 1', 'typhoon 2', etc. :) I also took my first real Japanese style bath... In Japan, you take a bath and a shower. First you get clean in the shower, and then you can soak in the tub. The bathtubs here are really nice! The water fills the tub, and the tub keeps the water warm. I have always wanted a tub where it's so deep that when you sit in it the water comes up to your chin... Thats the way Japanese bathtubs are! :) I have decided that I like it.

Well, I am probably going to be picked up in a few minutes, so I will go for now....

All my love,

Hannah

Off Again

Good morning everyone! Happy first day of August! The title of this post has two meanings... I do realize that it took me a whole week (day off to day off) to post something new. Things have been rather crazy around here this week... Also, I am off again on another adventure as tomorrow is the start of my two week vacation. Tomorrow I am leaving the same time as the family, except I am going to Chiba to spend one night with friends. Then on Tuesday I plan to come back to Tsukishima around lunch time. Between 2 and 3 pm Rev. Fukuda is coming by here to pick up his van. His family is taking me to Nikko where he grew up. We are going to stay there until Thursday. On Friday Yukiho is coming here with me so that we can meet Keiko for dinner. On Saturday we are going to Disney to spend the day and see the fireworks. Then we come back here and Yukiho spends the night with me so that we can go to church together on Sunday. Then on Monday morning I leave bright and early for Kyoto and get back on Wednesday. After that I spend the rest of my time in Chiba. Although it may sound a bit hectic, I think I will enjoy it. Most of it will be spent outdoors somewhere besides big city. Nikko is in the mountains, and Chiba is mostly a farming city, and Kyoto is 'classic' Japan... I just hope I can remember all of the tiny details such as who to call when, where to put what key, and what time to leave... :) Other than that, I'm looking forward to it! I will take along my camera, and hope to take lots of pictures.

My week went well, though, aside from being busy. I had 'English camp' with Hinako and Eastin. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Hinako came over and we had a short lesson. After that, I let them help me make something. On Monday we went to the park and played house. On Wednesday we made peanut butter playdough, and rolled into balls to take on the camping trip. Friday was a little different, since Hinako had to leave a little early. We had just enough time to get some brownies in the oven. I thought it was fun!

One day this week Eastin told me that he was going camping and that I was sad that I couldn't go camping with him, and that I have to stay here by myself until he gets back. I told him I was going on vacation with Hinako and Yukiho and Satoshi. He told me that I couldn't go with Hinako because he likes her. And Aidan told me I couldn't even be friends with Yukiho and Satoshi because he was their friend while I was still in America. :) They both still think I'm sad because I can't go camping with them...

On Saturday I slept until 8:30. After a nice hot shower and belated breakfast, I was able to watch a few Andy Griffith episodes before Abi and Aidan got back from Soccer. I had the house to myself from about 9:00 to 12:30. Then around 2:00 we started getting ready for the party that night. I made (all gluten free) meatballs from scratch, cream cheese brownies, and sweet tea. I decorated a fruit plate, and helped make rice paper/vegi roll things. I was in the kitchen from about 2:30 until 5:30. I'm not complaining, but I do have one suggestion for the future... When you plan to do lots of cooking and then have a party where you stay up 'till 10:00, stand on one foot while you cook. Then, you can switch for the party, and keep going. :) While I was in the kitchen, Abi was at the store getting ingredients and drinks for the party. I kept the boys occupied watching Song of the South, the movie about Brer Rabbit. I told them the Tar Baby story on Friday. They loved it and actually begged for more. I gave them some choices, and they chose to hear how Brer Rabbit caught Brer Fox with the cheese in the well. :) We had a party on Saturday for two reasons; reason no. 1 was that it was Abi's birthday, reason no. 2 was that from our window we have a GREAT view of some of the most famous fireworks in Japan. They were really incredible. They lasted for nearly two hours!

Today went well. This morning I made bread for communion at church. Then I made another batch for the family to take with them on their vacation. Coen got his appetite back today after about a week of not wanting to eat. He has had an ear infection this week, and as grumpy as you can imagine most of the time. Today at church he started fussing, so I took out a jar of baby food to offer it to him. I didn't really think he would eat it, but it was worth a try... To my complete astonishment he ate all three jars I had in the diaper bag!!! He also seems to be feeling much better this evening. This is the first time this week he hasn't minded playing with something by himself, and not insisting to be held every minute... (not that I mind baby hugs at all.)

Well, I should probably let that be all for now, since tomorrow will most likely be pretty hectic too... :)

My love to you all!

Hannah