tokyo weekend highlights

amazing burger & fries for sunday lunch

vintage clothes shopping
a clean, comfortable place to sleep
karaoke with sarah and "fross"

okinawan folk dance show where the entire row behind was sleeping!!
...jealousy
taking a taxi THREE times in one day
city life
city art

not having to speak japanese all the time
dressing up & eating out
clean, english-speaking roommates who didn't smell bad or snore

laughing with a&m between 2 train cars when we didn't have seats

getting stuck on a motionless train for 4 hours [okay, DEFINITELY not a highlight!]
getting a ride home at 2am after said train fiasco!

sayonara tokyo!!
i'll miss you!!

the graduate

from this... to this...
my baby brother's graduating from high school this weekend. i wish i could be there to celebrate. but if i can't be in loudonville, i guess TOKYO is second best!!!!

CONGRATS, al* i love you, bud!

4 week mark

four weeks from tomorrow i will be in the united states. how do i feel, you ask?

Excited to eat familiar food, have real hugs, explore new places, use a cell phone instead of a web cam, & drive. Anxious about finding a job, reconnecting after such a long time, meeting the expectations of others, paying bills, medical/dental insurance, jet lag, & riding a bike on the right side of the road. Anticipating great summer memories, a long plane ride, missing my cutie students, seeing some new places, local ice cream shops, & showing off my photos. Ready to be done with school lunch, endlessly boring hours at school, confusing measurements in kilograms, Celsius, and meters, riding my bike in the rain, cooking the same foods over and over, & not understanding conversations around me. Can’t wait to go to Target, Borders, Breuggers Bagels, Applebee’s, & Old Navy.

biggest waterfall in japan...??

bike ride boxes

confession: during senior year of college, my friends & i took a giant U from what we thought was the garbage pile at a recently remodeled superstore. a few weeks later we drove by and noticed that the store was missing a U on its front display... oops.

it seems i'm still fascinated by giant letters. in my latest obsession with home decorating websites, i came across this room. mmm i'm in LOVE.

my talented friends

this weekend was the final production for "snow white and the otaku", the ??th annual toyama charity show. basically everyone besides me was involved. the show was phenomenal and i was lucky enough to party with all my talented friends afterwards* sarah the ninja spaz

some students thought takuma was an american girl. i have no idea why.

japanese boy & company :)

rebecca sang the theme song to "my neighbor totoro" in japanese. i was so proud

ichan rocking the guitar

mandy-chan in all her knock-kneed glory

ann busting the ninja moves

linda showing that prince what's what

from the mouths of babes

だれおに? けり-せんせい!! [translation: who's the devil? kelly teacher!!] dont worry, thats just the term they use for whoever is IT in tag

"you get tired quickly!" [1st grade boys during our game of tag yesterday. i couldn't remember how to say "old" in japanese, so i said "i'm not young!"]

can you use chopsticks?
No. i use... fork.

me: what day is it today?
it's sunny
me: what's the date today?
it's sunny
me: how's the weather today?
it's friday

"very very no thank you!!" [6th grader to his teacher about being served more nasty salad @ lunch today]

"i'm ninety nine"

me: how are you?
cute girl: you are kelly

questions asked of me in a 3rd grade class today [translated from japanese]:
1. in which country did you find a boyfriend?
2. why do you have blond hair?... and eyebrows also?

that's what i'm doin these days

foods i'm into lately: yakiniku [korean bbq] i ate tonight with ann&mandy. it was SO delicious and reminded me of the serious commitment i've made to myself: in the future, i will seek out ethnic restaurants and continue to expand my culinary interests. edamame which i eat for dinner nearly every night in my apartment. it's frozen so i just heat it in a pan with a tiny bit of water for about 7 minutes. then add a little salt and get to snacking. white betty crocker cake with chocolate chips added in before baking. it's taken me 5 days to eat 1/2 of the cake, but i'm making progress.

websites i am obsessed with lately: cookie mag [a magazine i may possibly buy a subscription to once i'm back within mailing range]. this cool girl who seems to spend all day looking online for cool stuff, simply to share it with the world. craiglist which i shamelessly check three times a day. i'm currently scoping out apartments and beds in philadelphia, in addition to bikes and beds in albany. this is one serious obsession...

photos i love lately:[mandy's such creepster...]things i've purchased in the past 4 days: a plane ticket from osaka to boston [arriving around 3:30pm on wednesday, july 23rd]. unbelievably soon!! wicked cool aviators [see photo of ann, above] for 10 bucks. a super cute retro-ish tank top [see photo of me, above] for 25 cents.

accomplishments i'm proud of lately: applied for a long term sub position at an elementary school in philly. found what appears to be an AMAZINGLY perfect [for me!] grad school option. completed a major cleaning of my entire apartment, which included a fascinating de-clogging of the shower drain... so gross yet so cool.

a birthday story

once upon a time there were two little girls. they went to elementary school in Massachusetts together for about a year. then one of the girls [the short one] moved far away, to the deep southern boonies. when the girl came back to town for a visit, the two girls sat together in church and exchanged addresses. they didn’t ever write. 5 or 6 years later, the short girl moved again, this time to New York. she decided to go on a trip to Ecuador with her old church. she didn’t really know anyone, so the group leader assigned her a friend. it just happened to be the same little girl [the tall one]she exchanged addresses with so many years ago. of course, the two girls were no longer little, but they remembered each other well. it had been years since their last contact, but they began chatting online and made plans to get together when they had prep meetings for their trip. they started hanging out and realized how much fun they had together. they had so much in common- their passion for people, their love for laughter, their interest in cute boys…

in Ecuador that summer of 2001, everything changed for the two not-so-little girls. as they grew to be better friends, they got accused of being exclusive to other people. both girls felt bad [because they both love people so very much!] but probably deep inside didn’t feel too bad. in their hearts they probably knew that it was just time to start being best friends. okay, they probably didn’t know that. but it makes this part of the story sound a little less mean.

following the trip, the short girl began making journeys to massachusetts. it was about 2 ½ hours each way, but the miles didn’t matter because she was going to visit her best friend. every once in a while the tall girl made a trip to new york to visit the short girl and spend time with her family. it was always fun to hang out together, especially when other people pointed out the similarities between them—“you guys talk in the SAME voice!!” J they had many sleepovers in the neighbor’s attic apartment… sharing detailed stories, listening carefully, learning about each other’s dreams, and of course, talking about boys.

when the two girls went to college, they talked on the phone every week. a couple times the short girl got a ride to visit the tall girl at college and met all her friend’s cute boys in person. during school vacation, the two girls often met halfway between their homes. they disturbed the peace & quite of innocent bystanders reading in Barnes& Noble. they shopped together at target. they looked at cute boys at the mall. and they talked about the things most important on their hearts. during one such meeting, the short girl’s brother came along to join the fun. when the girls dropped him off so they could chat alone, he was so disappointed to not have more time to hang out all together. this was an eye-opening experience for the short girl. she realized how special this friendship was. and she wanted others to be able to see it and understand its significance.

then one year the short girl decided to spend a year in japan. she knew her friendship with the tall girl would remain strong since they had been friends long distance for the past six years. but she had no idea how their friendship would grow. the short girl loved that year in japan. she was lonely, too. she changed. she was rearranged. yet her tall friend [the not-so-little girl from that one year of elementary school] stayed consistently the best. the short girl was amazed and so grateful for her friend who spoke the truth when nobody else could speak it clearly, who understood her sadness, who laughed hysterically at her funny stories, and who listened without interrupting no matter how long she talked [about boys or otherwise…]

the two girls are looking forward to living in the same place [for once in their lives] after the short girl returns from japan. they are excited to talk EVERY DAY and to hang out with each other’s friends and to explore new places.

so today is the tall girl’s birthday.

[happy birthday, best friend!]

joyous male parent 24-hour period

my dad is the king of finding new ways to express standard phrases. one summer he found a different closing greeting for each email he sent to al. so, since it's father's day, i'm honoring my dad with a mixed up [and admittedly very lame] blog title.

i can't list EVERYthing i love about my dad, so here's a miniature photo roll that will help to spell it all out. he loves surprises!!!
since i was a little girl, he's consistently taken me on dates so we can have time to chat just the two of us. he lets me choose the restaurant [naturally, after showing me any coupons he might have or filling me in on special bargains...] and i can wear whatever i want.
he loves my mom. he works hard for her. he encourages mom and challenges her to grow. he listens to her. he cares for her southern family. he sends her on super fun adventures to places around the world [like japan!!]he's full of music and has encouraged [forced?! ;)] musical opportunities for both allen and me. in addition, he's challenged me academically with car trip quizzes on the.6.new.england.states, their/there/they're, jersey-heiffer-herferd-gernsey-etc-etc-cow breeds, and the like. how would i ever have made it through 17 years of school without him?
he takes my big group of friends to rad places in boston. he asks questions about my friends. he thinks i'm funny. he helps me think about the other side of things. he faithfully sends my applications to jobs far from where he would prefer that i live.

dad, you're the best. i love you!

たかい [expensive]

"it's an awful feeling to feel like you've abandoned the people who care about you most (and who you cherish the most) to follow your dreams"


i stole this from jess meigel's blog, which i found bc i'm an expert online stalker. i couldn't have put it any better...

this year in japan has been absolutely life-changing for me. and in the meantime, the lives of my loved ones have changed as well. some for the much-much-worse.

so i've followed my dreams. and i'm eternally glad for the chance to travel, experience the beauty of japan, teach english to wicked cutie kids, meet really rad people, understand a different culture, learn japanese slang, and develop my independence. but it hasn't been cheap.

all in a day's work

i realize that after 10.5 months, some of you devoted readers may have no idea what my daily life looks like. some of you [ahem, vicky, ahem!!] live similar lives so you shouldn't bother to read this post. unless for some reason you can't fall asleep tonight. in that case, read it and give me credit for helping you out.

ride my red bike amid the obas and ojis in their fields. the wide brimmed hats shading their leathery skin. some smile with a few teeth, or nod a greeting. a few boys bike slowly up ahead, one holding the backpack of a lone guy jogging in the center of their group. a few echo my "good morning"s while others shyly avoid eye contact as i pass. park my bike, lock it, grab my bag, kick off my sneaks, put them in my dust-filled locker, and change to indoor shoes. a few more "good morning"s to students before i switch to japanese as i enter the teachers room. it's pretty quiet at 8:10am, only a few voices and some comings and goings. i read or shuffle papers for 10 minutes before the vice principal announces our morning meeting. we stand, bow slightly, say "ohayou gozaimasu" in unison, and sit down as the invididual announcements begin.

i have around three classes per day at junior high. some are what i consider to be better than others. today i read some sentences and the class repeated me. i handed out a few stickers when kids were brave enough to raise their hand and answer a question. i led a warm-up game for 7 minutes. i elbowed a few kids [or tapped gently on their arms, depending on my mood at the moment] to wake them up. i took a hard-cover comic book from the hands of a 14year old in the back of the room. he quietly put his head down to sleep. i gave it back 3 minutes later, motioning that he should put it away and not continue reading. he set it on the desk behind him and went back to snoozing. on my next walk around the room, another boy had a mini comic book in his lap and i gave him my best "i'm not impressed" look. immediately he responded "sumimasen! sorry!! i don't read a book", put it away, and picked up his pencil. seriously, what's a girl to do?!

3:30 is cleaning time. it ends 15 minutes later and the kids have homeroom for 5-10 minutes. i anxiously watch the clock till 4pm when the last bell rings and i gather up my stuff to head home. i say the equivalent of "sorry for disturbing you" to the high-ups at the front of the room, wave bye to a few genki kiddos, change into my sneaks, & unlock my bike. past the obas and ojis STILL in their fields, admiring the glorious art they've created out of soil and seeds. if its a special day, i get to go to the board of education and attempt communication with an office of 5 people who can't speak english, including our ALT "supervisor". hmmm... then its home sweet home to eat an ice cream bar, catch up on all the emails i've received since i last checked it on my cell phone [probably about 45 minutes ago...], and count down the hours till i have someone to talk to on skype.

picture perfect

i'm leaving japan in just over 6 weeks. naturally, my head and heart are filled with a hundred thoughts, concerns, worries, doubts, and joys. the idea of updating this blog with a summary makes my head spin. i'll just leave it to the photos...

kanazawa castle @ night
fight!

sugoi!! wish i were this talented

mandy was really digging the japan-style swimwear. just in time for summer!
some of my favorites exploring kenrokuen at night!
i hope i'm this cute when i'm old and gray!!!
you can take a ferry from shiminato to... shiminato...? who knew?!
essie got her very own coffee plant and learned how to care for it every day!!

super.short.list.about.my.fun.life.lately- historic festival in kanazawa with some favs; night swimming WITHOUT a jellyfish attack; playing hide&seek in the dark with adorable children; soaking up every second of sun before the rains begin; online apartment hunting in philadelphia even though i said i wouldn't do it yet; buying a super cute engrish shirt and cutting off the sleeves/neck so i could wear it without sweating.

looking forward

i go back and forth every minute of every day.

i can't wait to return to the land of the red, white, blue, all english, easy communication, my family, and my best friends. but i absolutely dread leaving this land of red/white, nasty-fishy food, engrish, my friends, and my adorable students. one of the suggested activities to deal with reverse culture shock is to think about things i'm looking forward to. i've made a million lists, so of course that has been one of the topics to list. in no particular order, here goes...

the hammock. english on signs. brueggers bagels. family dinners. canned soda easily accessible in the fridge. driving. communicating with waitresses, salespeople, and check-out aisle workers. the town library. real simple magazine. borders trips with al. calling people in the same time zone. hugging all my favorite people. swimming. children i love. road trip. mom's garden. english tv. hollywood video. wendys. mom's pizza. chatting without a microphone. piece of cake ice cream. ice cappuccinos. turkey sandwiches.

okay so basically, i'm a glutton. every other item in that list is food related. haha.

will&wont

i wont miss squat toilets and the perpetual urine smell in bathrooms. i'll miss heated toilet seats. i wont miss riding in the rain. i'll miss riding the train. i wont miss random men speaking himi-ben. i'll miss random boys saying "you are cute". i wont miss the lack of central heating. i'll miss my kotatsu [heated table]. i wont miss eating alone 2 meals a day. i'll miss eating lunch with the sweet kiddos.i wont miss the staring [especially from old fogies]. i'll miss the staring [especially from attractive young guys]. i wont miss school lunch of rice&death. i'll miss shangri la [my FAV indian restaurant!!]. i wont miss impolite english. i'll miss engrish. i wont miss cooking without an oven. i'll miss my super microwave oven which can bake oishii banana bread and chocolate chip cookies. i wont miss sitting alone in train stations waiting for my connection. i'll miss playing word games with ann at takaoka train station.

i wont miss the whistling noise my sliding porch door makes in windstorms. i'll miss my amazing view during windstorms. i wont miss having no anonymity. i'll miss having no anonymity [bc its like being a movie star]. i wont miss the sun streaming in at 6am making me sweat before i wake up. i'll definitely miss seeing that sunrise on the rare occasion that i come home at 4:30am. i wont miss not being able to drive. i'll miss sitting shotgun when someone fun is driving in the seat next to me.i wont miss j-pop. i'll miss live jazz. i wont miss annoying teachers. i'll miss my amazing friends.i'll miss himi like whoa.