Funny Korean singers

Okay, this is Korean, not Japanese, but it is hilarious!!!

It's moments like these...

Today we started interview tests with my students. I test one by one on their english communication skills. During this test I ask them questions like how old they are, what their name is, where things are on the map I show them. I like the interview tests because it gives me a chance to talk to the students one on one and really find out their english level. This also proves to be very funny at times. For example, just today when I asked students, "Where are you from?" They would reply "I am Japan." If I put some of the strange things I have heard from them, the conversation would go like this....
Me:"Where are you from?"
Student: "I am Japan."
Me:"How old are you?"
Student: "I am twelve (pause) hundred (pause and looks at fingers)."
Me:"What color is your hair?"
Student: "I am black."
Me:"Are you Japanese?"
Student: "Yes, it is."
Me:"Am I American? (pointing to myself)"
Student:"No, you aren't."
Me:"I'm not?"
Student: "No, you aren't."
Me:"What nationality am I?"
Student: "You are (pause and thinking face) African."

Yep, so that's my life. It's moments like these that make teaching so enjoyable.

a cute and cuddly Surprise!

Okay, this is my LAST post about Valentines Day. But I just wanted to post this picture of me and Toby (although his ribbon says "Tiny Bear"), a Valentines Day present from this handsome guy I know (*blush*) Before any of you start throwing up, I'll end it here and post the pic.

Happy Valentines Day

This past weekend I had a movie night with my friends and after the movie (a romantic one of course) we talked about what love meant. There is a verse in the Bible that says it perfectly. I am sure many of you know it. It's from 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is...
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

愛はきわめて忍耐強く、親切です。 愛は決してねたみません。 また、決して自慢せ
ず、高慢になりません。 決して思い上がらず、自分の利益を求めず、無礼なふるまい
をしません。 愛は自分のやり方を押し通そうとはしません。 また、いらいらせず、腹
を立てません。 人に恨みをいだかず、人から悪いことをされても、気にしません。
決して不正を喜ばず、真理が勝つ時は、いつも喜びます。 だれかを愛する人は、どん
な犠牲をはらっても、誠実であろうとするでしょう。 また、いつもその人を信じ、その
人に最善を期待し、いのちがけで、その人を守り抜くでしょう。

Many people have never heard of this kind of love. But this is the kind of love that God gives us and wants us to give each other. This is real love.

So, on a different note, Valentines Day is celebrated throughout Japan. There is chocolate EVERYWHERE!!! But, unlike America, Valentines Day is primarily a day for girls to make chocolate for boys. In March there is something called White Day where boys then in turn give girls something. Last year I got lucky and my students gave me chocolate on Valentines Day even though I am not a boy (Oh, Happy Day)! Last week we had a Culture Seminar (it was more interesting than it sounds) on Valentines Day. Here are some pictures of my ADORABLE students making cards.





Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Shmily

This is a cute story I found on the internet. I thought it might be a nice story for Valentine's Day.

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word "shmily" in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving "shmily" around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

They dragged "shmily" with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. "Shmily" was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave "shmily" on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places "shmily" would pop up. Little notes with "shmily" scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. "Shmily" was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love-one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky experience.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew "how to pick 'em." Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other.

But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

"Shmily." It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

Karaoke!

Katie, Ririko and Chihiro singin' away!




















Are we still in Japan? Yes! A little taste of home

Iterashai

This past weekend we held a surprise farewell party for my friend Yukiko who is leaving for Australia to study there for a year.

surprise!

Yukiko and I

A going away present...a halloween costume (one can never be too prepared :)

two cRaZy girls...oh, wait, and who is that in the back...yep, it's Katie!

After the party, as we said goodbye I realized that it might be the last time I see her again. It made me appreciate the time we had together and want even more not to waste the rest of my time here in Japan, or anywhere for that matter. Tanoshikata!

It's the LiTtLe things

Today as I left school and started walking home, one of my eight graders saw me and ran up to walk with me. She is one of my favorite students, always cheerful and really likes English. Occasionally I get to walk home with students, but most of the time they go home earlier, or it just isn't cool to walk with your teacher. But today was one of those days that reminded me how much I love teaching and I love my students. Noriko (my student) talked the whole way, a little in English, but mostly Japanese. We talked about what my dream were when I was little (being an actress of course) and her dream of being a flight attendant (even though she says her brain doesn't work so she is not sure if she can do that). Her desire to be an exchange student and how a cat ate her uncle's bird (after I shared my story of a cat killing my hamster). We even almost got eaten ourselves by this BIG scary dog. Okay, well not really eaten, but it was stinkin' scary! It was a great time. And as I walked away to my house, I prayed that God would give her an opporunity to learn about His Son, Jesus.