fiesta!

today (after i clean my room and shower) i am having some friends come over for tacos!!! i brought back soem stuff from the US (its sooo much cheaper over there!) and so i cant wait. in japanese tako (pronounced taco) is octopus. we will NOT be eating that kind. we will be eating the mexican kind. yeah!!!

its already september. that means rachael will be moving here in 1 month!! (for those of you who didnt know, rachael heald is moving here to teach english. fun times will be had. we will be roommates. yeah! let the countdown begin!)


and on that note, i need to start cleaning

sneak peak into jens classroom

jen to students:

what did you do for summer vacation

(high school students 1: study
HSS 2: slept
HSS 3: nothing
HSS 4: huh?
HSS 5: club activity

(lets keep in mind that these students have been studying english for at least 4 years in school and who knows how many years of english lessons before that)

question 2

Jen: what subject do you like? Why?

HSS1: P.E, because P.E is interesting
HSS2: no
HSS3: Science becasue i like science.
HSS4: english. japanese. english. no. japanese. no. uhhh
HSS5: i dont know



ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i like the little kids. they say more.

fun plans!

well now that my ohio trip is finished, ive been thinking of some places i am going/want to go in the next couple of months.

sept:
oct: nowhere-but rachael is coming
nov: Ibigawa marathon and tokyo to see jim and travis
dec: india(last week of dec)/ gero?
jan: india (first week of jan)
feb: (hopefully) tokyo marathon/if not, maybe hokkaido or shirakawago
mar:
apr: some spring marathon
may:

i want to go to okinawa and kyushu also. but not sure when. if any of my japan friends have some fun ideas, please let me know!

ohio rocks.

so i've been back in japan for almost a week now. i'm giving myself a week to be sad and complain, then i'll love japan again. i had such a great time being back and seeing everyone, that its been a little rough getting back into my (completely) different life in japan. the more i travel and live abroad, the more i have no idea what to do. so many options. knowing everywhere i live, something will annoy me about that culture. wishing i could combine different parts of different countries together. nowhere is perfect. sometimes i want to split into 3 people and do 3 different things at the same time. if you could do that, what would you do??


i need to get a sidekick to go around the world with me.

i look like a boy.....

so apparently i look like a boy. after trying 3 different pictures. i still seem to look like a man or an old woman.

i give up and admit defeat. i look like a boy.

fotografia

lucky girl

i must be lucky... all i have eaten since i've returned to japan are lucky charms. haha.

i need to go to the grocery store.

tonight.

back in japan

I'm back. It took 2 attempts and over 30hours of travel time, but im back in the land of the rising sun. itll take me a few days to write about all my fun times in ohio-so be patient.

its hot and humid here. my ohio friends-you dont know humid. when i got out of the airport and headed home, i was a sweaty mess. i felt like i was in a sauna. i miss ohio weather!

i forgot my ticket on the train and the man at the gate was nice and just let me go.
two girls helped me get my 2 50lbs suitcases on the train. thankfulness.
i went for a run this morning. after 30 minutes, it looked like i had jumped in a swimming pool.
i have to go to work in a few hours.


overall i had a great great time in ohio. it was so wonderful to see my friends and family. i miss everyone. ill put up some pictures over the next few days.

stuck in ohio

yesterday i got to the airport, waited for my (late) plane and boarded. we waited. we drove around the airport grounds. i started to sleep. the guy next to me says "thats not good" and i open my eyes to find us back at our gate. the loud speaker comes on and we are told that we are going to unboard the plane and will have more information in an hour and a half. i look at my watch and realize, there is no possible way i will make my connecting flight in chicago. (apparently there was bad weather in chicago and only international flights were able to leave) so the man next to me and i (he was also headed to japan) got off the plane and ran to the ticket counter to find a way to get to japan. nothing. we tried to fly to texas, los angeles, wherever, to get a flight to japan, but we wouldnt be able to make the connecting flight anywhere.

so in short, i was not too upset to spend one more day in ohio. my dad came and picked me up and i got one more day of vacation. i was the only happy one on the plane! now i'm about to try again. this time i picked a really early flight so once i get to chicago, ill have more choices if needed. I've got to get back to japan one way or another...

so i guess ill arrive tuesday night. if all goes well.

leaving the USA

so ill write more when i get back, but this has been a fantastic week. i have loved every moment of being home and hanging out with family and friends. i wish i had more time. cara and JT's wedding was great. ill be getting on my plane in approximatly 10 hours. thats waaaaaayyyy too soon.. so to my friends in the US, ill miss you and hopefully see you soon. to my japan friends, ill see you soon...

ohio love

i love ohio. its been so great to be home. i have shopped, spent time with family and hung out with friends. yesterday we had a cookout at my dads house. my mom and dad and step mom and step sis and her husband were there along with tim, chuck, travy, stan, lisa, cara, jt, joe dirt, kathy. it was so nice to see them all. ive really missed them. it was also fun to just hang out and be 24 again. be stupid with my friends. eat hamburgers and swim. love it love it love it. its so nice to be able to hang out in a backyard. nature. trees. blue sky. sitting outside int he cool night. lightning bugs. stars. ill admit it. i've missed it. cereal choices. many choices for everything. wearing a size small. tall attractive men. reading things again. im looking forward to my next few days. lets hope they go by slowly. im not ready to go back!

wednesday

i started packing. got my last minute gifts. now i have 14 more hours of work. 2 more hours of the gym. then its vacation!

this morning i had french time. the last one, becuase the guy is moving so now ill have to find someone to meet with and itll probably be so much more expensive. ugh. oh well.

now off to work. fun fun fun.

excitement

when i was little, i would get so excited for christmas that i would actually throw up. this is why i cant start packing yet for my trip to the US. if i see my suitcase, i may have a happiness overload and i will be worthless for the next few days. (i probably wont throw up)

so many things to do beofre i leave.

1. clean
2. highlight my hair
3. pack
4. get some last minute gifts
5. email people (cause ive been horrible at that)
6. exchange money

so after 21 hours of work, 4 more hours at the gym, 2 more hours of french time, 3 more dinners, ill be getting on a plane to go back to the homeland for 8 glorious days (dont get me wrong, i like japan, but i need this vacation and time to see my fam and friends.)

marathon pictures

family pictures.

this week, i was teaching my first graders about family. They drew pictures of their family and then we took turns asking "who's she/he" she/he's my mother brother etc. most pictures turned out fine, but i took one look at little shusuke's family drawing and burst out laughing. hes a first grader. can you find his sister? (side note: his sister is like 3 years old. and yes, its his sister, i asked)


gotta love little kids. today i made a bunch of my 1st graders do a little dance to their homework song. i should have videoed it, but trust me it was cute cute cute.

tomorrow is friday. its also boys day. ugh. all boys. plus i start teaching french tomorrow. lets hope it turns out well.

soon ill be back in the US!