Sad, funny goodbyes


Well, I am done being an ALT after three years of working in Taiki Town, Japan.
Wow!

My final days at my five schools were stretched out over three weeks. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride in a Belle and Sebastian song. I would break into tears at school, at just the thought of saying goodbye to my amazing students. Then I would actually say goodbye and cry more. Then I would walk to my car, sobbing. Then I would start driving and sob more. Sometimes I would even moan with the physical pain of the sadness and sense of loss.

I felt loved during my last days of school, but I also felt confused and at times frustrated. I suppose it was fitting, since those emotions were a normal part of my experience being the only foreigner working in my schools. I received drawings, letters, origami, posters and so on from my elementary school students. At one of my schools the students made a human tunnel with their arms that I had to walk through. I still remember when a sweet, little first grader told me that his first grade teacher and I were his favorite people in the world! Oh, melt my heart!

I knew that saying goodbye to my students would be difficult, but the reality of it was more raw and ache-y than I ever could have imagined.

I know without a doubt that coming to my little town, sight unseen, and working with these kids for three years was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I feel truly blessed by God to have experienced the good, the bad and the unbelievably blissful.





































As I drove away from the little fishing village for the last time, the clouds were heavy, like my heart.

Mom Sweet Mom

My mom has already left Japan, but the two weeks she spent here were soooo much fun, and sooooo needed! I hadn't seen my mom in a year and a half. That's a long time to not see your mom!
I started crying at the airport even before I saw her, and then I sobbed and sobbed once she left.

I kept my mom quite busy while she was here. Busier than she would have liked, I think! But I felt like I had 3 years worth of places and people that I wanted to show her in just 2 weeks! This included going to school with me for 3 days, so she could meet all my junior high school students and some of my elementary school students.

There are more pictures to come, but enjoy this one for now!


Here's mom on the bridge near my house, ready for a long walk around Ouchiyama!

The 2008 school year is off to a BLAH start for me.
This morning was the "nyugakushiki", or school entry ceremony for the new students at one of my junior high schools. I have an intense dislike (avoiding the word hate) for all Japanese school ceremonies. They always involve sitting for a long time in a very, very cold gym and feeling incredibly awkward.
I always feel very much like an outsider, and kind of clueless about what to do next.
Today was no different. Ah, can you tell I'm in a mood??

Year of the Eggplant

I have gone tawashi crazy! You may be asking yourself, "What on earth are tawashi?" Or something along those lines.

Well, tawashi are something you hold in your hand and clean with. There can be sponge tawashi, or kamenoko tawashi (a scrub brush made from palm fiber). However, I am talking about crocheted tawashi, or eco-tawashi. They are handmade scrubbers that can be created in all kinds of awesome designs! Here in Japan there is antibacterial, odor-resistant acrylic yarn, which is made especially for tawashi. If you make tawashi out of acrylic yarn, you can even clean without soap! Tawashi can be used to clean dishes, kitchens, dishes, shoes, cars, anything really!

Antibacterial yarn doesn' t seem to be available in the US, so I've been selling the yarn in my online etsy store. Etsy is a website dedicated to handmade goods, crafts, and supplies. If you haven't been there already, you've got to see all the amazing stuff available!

I've also been selling pattern books for making tawashi. Japanese crochet books use very clear charts, so if you can read a crochet chart, you should be able to read a Japanese crochet chart!

Tawashi are so much fun to make, and can be made sooo quickly! I've been making them every night! Check out some of my recent favorites...

This tawashi looks like an Ohina Doll, the doll representative of Girls Day (March 3) in Japan.
The pattern is available for free
here

Samugari no minomushi (sensitive to cold bagworm)

Puyopuyo Jellyfish

Bear mitten (made for Stan)

Stupidest Song Ever

The daily 7am stupidest song ever was just broadcast over loudspeakers near my boyfriends house. It is then followed by announcements for the "senior citizens club". Those are the only announcements that ever follow the loud, annoying song. As if old folks can't be contacted by mail or telephone! Ugh.
My town used to blare announcements every morning over loudspeakers, but then they came up with the clever idea to put a transmitter into every home, so they could invade your private space with useless announcements! Needless to say, that monstrosity was promptly unplugged!

I'm having a quiet night in.

My kerosene heater is blowing out constant heat, which is a blessing. However, the smell is a curse. My kerosene heater and I have a love/hate relationship. I wouldn't trade it for anything, well, besides central heating. November and December 2005 were cold, cold months back when I didn't have this kerosene heater. It's odd, because it doesn't smell much when it's on full blast. It's mostly when I turn it down that it stinks. I don't really understand the science of it all.

It's almost eleven pm and I am definitely ready for bed. I definitely stay up later during the past year and a half or so. In the past, I remember multiple nights when I would pass out at 7:30 or 8 from sheer exhaustion. But now, I am often up past 11, watching downloaded TV and crocheting. I honestly think it's that combo that inspires me not to nap and not to fall unconscious onto the couch in the early evening. I always want to watch another show, or finish a bit more of my current crochet project. Lately, I've caught the lace crochet bug. I have been making doilies in bright colors. I love following the patterns and seeing these beautiful things emerge from the thread in my hands. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like I am flying along and learning so much for a self-taught crocheter.

Ok, I think it's time to snuggle my fleece-clad body beneath my heavy covers and dream away the hours until I have to drag myself out of bed into my almost sub-zero apartment. O, how I hate winter mornings in Japan!

お休みなさい。

Elementary Christmas!

Every year I teach a Christmas lesson to my various elementary school classes. It's one of my favorites, because we talk about Christmas. The children are, without fail, shocked to hear that most Americans don't eat Christmas cake and Kentucky Fried Chicken in America on Christmas (typical Japanese Christmas foods). And we make Christmas cards, a novelty in Japan! I love watching the kids make cards, and it's a very low stress lesson for me. I also added a new level of fun by bringing in a CD of Christmas carols for us to listen to!

Everyone's very studious. That's the kerosene heater in the center. Yay, heat!

Anna's working hard to draw a cute Santa. I told her that I have a cousin named Anna. She was quite pleased!

Shunki (shoon-key) was not interested in smiling for my photo. He's usually a devilish class clown. I think his name suits him well, because it's cute and reminds me of the word "chunky".

On the fourth grade cork board, they had this poster about my Halloween lesson. It put a big smile on my face knowing how much fun my kids had!

After going to school in the morning on my birthday, I headed to Stan's house. I had been meaning to take a picture of the beautiful fall colors in the mountains, so I quickly stuck my hand out the window while on the freeway, and here you go...

Yes, November 30th is still fall here in Mie, Japan!


Stan got me an adorable, delicious birthday cake from my favorite bakery. Thanks, Stan!! The cake says "Happy birthday, Megan".

Later that night I met up with lots of friends for yakiniku dinner (grilled meat and veggies that you cook on your table).
Here's Mitsuko and I with some of the Rilakkuma bear heads that you can put a disposable heating pad in.

The strawberry gifts were flowing on my birthday!! Am I that easy to buy for? Yes, yes I am. Here I am with Anjeli and some of the funny strawberry goods she got me!

Jessica and I with the scarf she crocheted me and homemade chocolate covered pretzels. At every Mie Stitch and Bitch I've taught Jessica a new crochet pattern, so it was so sweet of her to make me a scarf!!

Youkou, Kasumi and I. There was lots more strawberry stuff inside that bag!

Chinatsu and I. Glasses are sexy!

After a fun and delicious dinner, we headed to Paradise for karaoke. It was so much fun, and I felt really blessed to be surrounded by so many great people on my birthday!

I didn't get pictures with some of my favorite Mie ladies, but the already know that I love them!

Thanks to everyone who wished me well on my 30th birthday. I am looking forward to life getting better and better from here on in!

My 30th birthday at Nishiki Jr. High School


I was tempted to take my 30th birthday off work, but I was scheduled to go to my favorite school that day, Nishiki junior high school. I also knew that some of my students knew it was my birthday and might bring me cards or presents, so I decided to just take the afternoon off, so I could see the students who had brought so much joy and laughter to my life during the past two and a half years. It was a wise decision. I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to make cupcakes, but I did bring candy for my students and we played English games during all my lessons.

These are my 8th grade students.


These are my 9th grade students. I don't know how Gou ended up on Chikashi's shoulders!


Here I am with my 7th grade students, in a bizarre formation. Why is Kenta sitting in front of everyone else? Who knows!! They were too hyper to even attempt to wrangle them into a nicer formation.


A few of my 9th grade students brought my presents and wrote me birthday letters. Look at all my cute stuff! The girls who did this for me have been my students since their first year in junior high school and will graduate in March, 2008. It has been a joy to watch them grow and learn, and I know that I will never forget them!

Crochet, crochet, crochet, crochet...

I've been busy crocheting. I can literally crochet for hours a day. I love to crochet while I watch TV, and I can even crochet while I read a book.
Recently, my mom told me that my grandmother and great-grandmother were talented crocheters. I remember my grandma making homemade clothes for my Cabbage Patch kids, but I couldn't remember if they were knitted or crocheted. Well, they were crocheted!! It made me so happy to know that I am carrying on a craft that my grandmother and great-grandmother had a passion and a talent for! I hope that one day I can team my own daughter to crochet, and maybe my mom, too!

Check out some of my fall and winter creations...

I made this scarf for myself in just about a day and a half. I used 2 colors of silk garden yarn by Noro, a Japanese yarn maker. The pattern is called "spider web lace".

I made this scarf for my friend Keiko. I used the "Catherine Wheel" pattern, which I am absolutely in love with!

Here's a close up of the "Catherine Wheel" pattern.

I made this scarf for my friend Mary, using hand-dyed cotton yarn for the scarf and wool on the border. She told me she wears it all the time. Yay!

I made this granny square scarf for one of my young cousins. I hope she likes it!


One of my first "technicolor doilies" made for Molly for Christmas.

I love Halloween!

As usual, I took some toilet paper to school, taught my students some body parts vocabulary, and then let them wrap each other up in toilet paper bandages this Halloween!


And then there was my favorite Mie JETs party of the year, the Halloween party!

Stan's easy-to-make Judo champion costume!

My "Supaa Ichigo" (super strawberry) superhero costume. I won the prize for most ridiculous costume at the party. Can you imagine why?


The sexy space Lauren and I.

Sam as Nintendo's Mario and Anjeli as Medusa. Look at that stare!

Jessica and I.

Molly dressed as her boyfriend, Chito, with handknitted wig, Kjersten as Cruella DeVille, and Angie with Christmas spirit!

Kasumi and I. I still haven't figured out what her costume was exactly. I think she was something like a walrus pre-school student!

I had so much fun at the Halloween party, and I felt so cool in my strawberry costume. Believe it or not, I was actually surprised when I won the "Most ridiculous" prize!! Looking back at these photos, I think I can understand it better now.

I'm back at school this week after 2 weeks off school, a snowboard trip to Hokkaido, an all-prefeture conference, and a long-weekend snowboard trip.
Needless to say, I'm struggling to get back into the school day rhythm. To be frank, all I want to do is take a big, long nap and watch TV. These endless hours of no classes and nothing to do are torturous!

I had a very sedate Christmas here in Japan this year.
I didn't order a Christmas cake or a box of fried chicken in advance (two very Japanese Christmas things to do) to eat on Christmas. I didn't have a party. I didn't sing Christmas Eve karaoke with Stan. I didn't even open any presents on Christmas!
So what did I do??
Stan was sick over the weekend leading up to Christmas, so I mostly sat around watching downloaded TV shows, crocheting, and waking Stan up from his feverish delerium to make him drink water.
I went shopping on Christmas Eve day only to discover that the grocery store had already sold out of their small, smoked turkey selection. Turkey meat only seems to be available during Christmas time here, so that was a real bummer! I did manage to have ham, orange sweet potatoes and stuffing for Stan and I to eat on Christmas Day! Stan was still feeling a little iffy, so I did most of the eating.
I also got to talk to my mom on Christmas day, which was my favorite part of Christmas! I was feeling very sad about not being with my family in the US this Christmas, so it meant a lot to talk to my mom, and to listen to her reaction as she opened the presents I had sent.
I hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

Whoa, Nelly!

I just calculated how much gas is costing me in Japan. Gas is currently 153 yen per liter at my local gas station. After several conversions and some calculating, that menas that gas costs me $5.07 US dollars per gallon! And I often drive between 1 and 2 hours a day! Oh, the humanity!

Dear friends and family in the US, please think of me paying over $5 per gallon when you feel the urge to complain about gas prices!

My excitement about India is building!
In March 2008 I will lead a Habitat for Humanity Global Village team to volunteer near Pondicherry, India. This will be my second time as a team leader, and my third Global Village trip.
I just found an absolutely beautiful collection of photos from another team who volunteered in the same area earlier this year. Please check it out here!

It's hard to believe that I'm going to India finally, and that I will be blessed with another life-changing GV volunteer experience!

I never could have imagined, even a few years ago, that...
I would be living in Japan,
in a relationship with a man I love,
lucky enough to do international volunteer work,
feeling so blessed by God.

Thanksgiving has passed, but I am truly thankful.

There's a cold, cold rain falling on my little village today. Brrrrrr.
I rushed into school without my customary down coat, because I was running late this morning. I soon found out that I didn't have to give a listening test until 2nd period. So, I sat at my desk, only to discover that long johns, corduroy pants, an undershirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and a long, wool sweater coat, and a wool scarf aren't enough to stay warm inside the school today! So I had to run back into the rain to get my long, down coat that I love so much. Now I am feeling much better.

It's my birthday eve!
I know that's not a real thing, but I am starting to get into the birthday spirit after a long week!
I weaseled my way out of school early today and headed to the decent grocery store, a twenty minute drive away.
After that I got my dishes done, started a load of laundry, and now I plan on watching lots of TV, drinking some hard-to-get Belgian lambic (fruit ale=yummmmmmy!), and making zucchini bread and chicken chowder.
Stan will be over soon. Looks like a great birthday eve!
Tomorrow morning I am planning on opening my birthday present from Lindsay, only going to work for a half day, and then I'll have my yakiniku and karaoke party in the evening! Yay, birthdays!

美人薄命/Bijin Hakumei


I learned a new saying yesterday, when I was talking to some teachers at one of my elementary schools, and trying to explain what a sinus infection is, without knowing the word. One of my teachers said "Bijin Hakumei" (美人薄命), and then explained it as meaning that beautiful women are frail. I laughed and denied the beautiful part, but then she said that she and I suffered together, so we both laughed more.
A beautiful woman is called "bijin" ( 美人)in Japanese. It's kind of weird to call someone a "beauty" in English, but it's not odd in Japanese. One of my town's catch phrases is even "Bijin no machi" (美人の町), which means a town of beauties.
But I digress. Sayings like "Bijin hakumei" are called "yojijukugo", or 4-character idioms. I always like learning them, because they are made up of only 4 kanji, but they carry a lot of meaning. It would be hard to express as much in such a compact way in English. You can read a few more "yojijukugo"
here.

Thanksgiving is coming!
Although I'm in Japan, where American Thanksgiving obviously doesn't exist, Lauren and I are planning a night of pumpkin pie, turkey and other delicious treats with our friends! I can't wait!

I always spent Thanksgiving with my family growing up, but I haven't had a chance (or the motivation) to celebrate it in Japan before now. I'm looking forward to that stuffed feeling with no American football racket in the background!

Every year I remember the excitement of my younger cousins when my brother and I would arrive at grandma's house, and feeling amazed at how much food one family could produce. Without fail, my grandma Marcia would serve cottage cheese, and chastize us for not eating enough of it. As much as I love, cottage cheese, I never understood the point of it at a dinner with so many yummy, homemade foods!

I wish I could see my grandma Marcia this year, but she passed away several years ago. I suppose Thanksgiving will be the perfect time to think about all the wonderful times I had with her, and to be thankful for the memories.