Epic Tegan - Living her life

Towels and Bamboo!

2011-09-11T18:31:00.002-04:00

I love good, solid, soft towels. I might be a bit of a towel snob. Lucky for me there are some quality stuff out there for me to covet! =) Bamboo Forever (which does more http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifthat just towels btw) is just the stuff I love! Even Better...one of thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif blogs I read, Two Classy Chics, is doing a giveaway of their towels!
Check both of them out! Good, quality products and good quality blogging! =)

Sweet!

2011-09-11T17:21:00.002-04:00

So I love sweets! Not fruity or hard candies, I like the chocolate cake type sweets. Lucky for me, Pillsbury has some new yummy treats for people like me! Even better, Outnumbered 3 to 1 is doing a giveaway so you can try it out!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Go here to check out the sweets and enter to giveaway!

We all need more fiber

2011-09-11T16:21:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking about how to get more fiber in my diet now that protein is under control, and Leslie Loves Veggies has provided an excellent suggestion for how to get that fiber in: Konsyl Fiber Supplements sound like a great way to get http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifin that fiber:
Here is a link to more about Konsyl AND about how to get a prize package of Konsyl products through Leslie Loves Veggies!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Old Navy Giveaway

2011-09-04T20:31:00.001-04:00

Family Centsability blog is doing an Old Navy Giveaway!!

http://familycentsability.blogspot.com/2011/08/2000-fan-giveaway.html

check it out!

Girard's Salad dressing

2011-09-04T18:44:00.002-04:00

According to Leslie Loves Veggies "Girard’s is a premium quality line of dressings that was created in San Francisco by Chef Pierre Girard in 1939. Chef Girard started with a recipe for Original French dressing, and gradually added varieties. Girard’s dressings gained prominence for their premium quality and distinctive triahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifngular bottle"

I did not know about their dressings before this, but after going around their website I am amazed and really want to try it out.

good news for me (and you!) Leslie Loves Veggies is doing a giveaway!!

Click here to go to Leslie Loves Veggies.

Leslie Loves Veggies Giveaway!

2011-09-04T18:34:00.002-04:00

One of my fav sites is doing another fantastic giveaway...this time for yummy and gluten free cookies by Lucy!! http://www.drlucys.com/.

The giveaway can be found HERE

Good luck all!

Leslie Loves Veggies

2010-01-21T17:53:00.002-05:00

Just letting people know that one of my favorite bloggers is doing an exciting giveaway!

Cedar's Mediterranean Foods Prize Package Giveaway
Win a Prize Package containing a set of 12 totally FREE product coupons from Cedar's Mediterranean Foods - 3 Winners Giveaway at Leslie Loves Veggies Ends 2/4
Check it out here

While your there you should check out her other giveaways! =)

Why Paramount Pictures won't get my money.

2009-12-20T20:23:00.003-05:00

You probably have already gotten a good picture about what I mean...

In the summer of 2008, as my husband and I were preparing for our move to Japan, we found this TV show called 'Avatar The Last Airbender' I remember hearing that the show was amazing, despite being a cartoon, originally geared toward children on the Nickelodeon station. By the time I saw it, the show had completed its run, so after returning to America in 2009, my husband and I rented the DVDs and immensely enjoyed the story Avatar told.
My interpretation of the show-
A boy name Aang from a Buddhist temple in some place like Nepal is chosen to be the next Avatar. He is the one person who is able to learn the ancient art of ‘bending’ of each of the four countries or cultures of the story’s world. The four nations each had the ability to ‘bend’ one of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. It was clear to me from the beginning that the all the nations were representation of Asian cultures, except Water, which represented the Inuit people or Eskimos. Fire nation is clearly Chinese, Earth is Korea, Air is Nepal. Each nation had warriors gifted in the use of ‘bending’ and used martial arts, clearly another culturally Asian practice. The people in the world of the TV show all read Chinese characters as well, completing the 100% Asian vibe of the show.

When I heard about Paramount Pictures making a motion picture of the TV show I loved I was ecstatic and immediately ran to learn who would play the roles of the characters I had loved on the show. I quickly came to realize that I could not watch this clearly racist movie. You heard me right, RACIST. I learned that all of the main characters, were to be played by white people. Even worse, at one point the main ‘villain’ of the show would be played by Jesse McCarthy…blond haired blue eyes pop singer, far from the Chinese Zuko of the show. When Jesse McCarthy was able to make the shooting dates as a result of tour date conflicts, the role of the villain Zuko was given to Dev Patel of Indian ancestry. That’s right, now all the good guys were white people, NOT Asian as in the popular TV show, but also the main villain, and now in fact the entire ‘bad’ nation are the only people of color in the film. This is just horrible. Are American and international audiences unable to accept Asian actors as hero’s and main character? I don’t believe this to be true, but I believe that Paramount Pictures thinks that casting white actors would be best.

Though I really wanted to watch this movie, I can not bear to support this company's racist actions by paying to see this film. I see this movie as teaching Americans a number of wrong messages. The TV show had it all right, the movie has it all wrong, and it is a true shame.

I soon found an organization that is protesting The Last Airbender movie and hopes to show Paramount Pictures that what they have done is indeed wrong. I hope other people will choose not to support this movie as I, and those at www.racebending.com, have.

Racebending Binder

Best Buy GC anyone?

2009-12-16T22:34:00.002-05:00

Parent Trend is working with Underwriters Laboratories to encouraging fireplace safety in the home this holiday season. After reading the helpful tips below be sure to go to Parent Trend's website and comment to win a $100 Best Buy Gift Card.

1.Do NOT hang stockings in front of a burning fire. Remove them before using the fireplace.
2. Keep combustible materials such as greenery away from possible flames.
3. Be sure that your tree is 3+ feet away from the fireplace, radiator or heater.
4. Be sure to keep out of reach of children and extinguish any time you leave the room.
5. Recycle wrapping paper, NEVER throw it in the fire place!

HP Computer Giveaway

2009-12-16T13:02:00.002-05:00

As some of you know, my current computer is broken. It gets way to hot, has the loudest and most ineffective fan, and the broken back light often results in not being able to see anything on the screen. It is frustrating to need or want a computer but not really have the funds to buy one. Good news! There are several blogs you can sign up to possibly win a new HP computer. The new touchSmart600 from HP...very cool!

If you want to try and win one like I hope to, you can visit Totally Together Reviews or Kelly's Reviews or Boo Mama or Mckmama

Isn't that cool! Good luck to all who enter. =)

FUJI Q!!

2009-06-26T21:33:00.006-04:00

Fuji Q! click it! They played this video all over the park.

I went to Fuji Q Highland Amusement Park in April...I know its June and I am just now talking about it...oh well.

I went with Kim and Beth, other ALTs from Hokuto, at around 9am Saturday morning. I had fun having a girls day out.

I went on this thing

Eejanaika, 249 feet tall, 78.3 mph. Opened in 2006, it is only the second "4th Dimension roller coaster" ever built (the first being X² at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California). As a "4th dimension" roller coaster its seats can rotate 360 degrees forward or backward in a controlled spin, thus allowing Eejanaika to invert 14 different times, even though the actual track inverts only three times. It surpasses the first built "4th dimension" roller coaster, X², in both height and speed. (according to Wikipedia)
...never again. I like traditional roller coasters. The ones that you sit down in a cart and they drop while your stomach reaches for your throat and you get those negative Gs going. This 4th dimension stuff was a bit out there for me. Therefore, we then went on this
Fujiyama, 259 feet tall, 80.8 mph. Opened in 1996, it was once the world's tallest roller coaster. As of 2007 it is the world's 8th tallest, 5th longest, and 10th fastest roller coaster.(Wikipedia)
Fujiyama was by far my favorite ride. It was a traditional style roller coaster with all the drops and negative Gs a girl could want, and it was EXTREME! =P

Here is a better pic

Later on we went on Dodonpa, 170 feet tall, 106.9 mph. Opened in 2001, it was then the world's fastest roller coaster. As of 2007 it is the 3rd fastest in the world but still has the highest acceleration at launch time.(Wikipedia). This was a good rush. The launch reminded me of a Jet taking off. I think, if I could ever convince my mom to get on a roller coaster, this would be the one she would like.

your looking at the tunnel you get shot out of to reach those crazy speeds, and in the background is Mt. Fuji. I wish I could have taken a picture of Fuji while on Dodonpa, it was amazingly beautiful then.

Last, but not least, let us not forget about having a nice refreshing Snow Corn while visiting Fuji Q! I haven't taken a picture of this, but in Japan corn dogs are called "American Dog". Don't know how they got Snow corn for shaved ice but this is Japan. =P

28 Days!!

2009-06-21T02:20:00.003-04:00

Hi all three of you who read my blog. I know it has been a while since I wrote. I was planning to write about my trip to FujiQ amusement park in April....and then never did. Then I was planning to write about my trips to Tokyo and Kyoto in May...and clearly that did not happen either. When I get access to my computer and pictures (Matt is currently using my computer) I will do a quick write up on those events.
So for now you can read my ramblings on Part 1- funny Japanese commercials I get stuck in my head and Part 2- how I feel about the move from Japan in 28 days!!

PART 1

First are these Fanta commercials-working in a JHS in Japan has made these even more funny to me!
FANTA

I especially like the soap opera teacher and DJ teacher. =P

Next up are the Pretz Commercials!! The sumo guys are great but I like the creepy commerical at the end the most, the song gets stuck in my head. Oh, the girl is saying something along the lines of "open you month wide and munch" Hey AN AN!

PART 2
Matt and I will be leaving Japan in 28 days. Though I am sad to leave some of the people I have met in Japan, and I will miss some aspects of the Japanese culture, I am ready to move on to our next EPIC ADVENTURE!!! =P
Now that we have a place to live in Rochester, NY, I am more excited about the move. The neighborhood we are living in, Southwedge, appears to be the closest thing to Asheville as we can get in NY, that is a big plus for me.
I still have some fears about our move. The biggest fear I have is making friends. How does one go about making friends?!!? There are all these really fun events happening in Rochester when we get there , hopefully I will be able to meet people at these events.
This will be my first time moving to a new city, not knowing a soul, and not having an organization to integrate me into a community right away. When I moved to Asheville I had the University and all the social events as a freshman to meet people. When Matt and I moved to Japan we had the JET program and our local social organization for foreigners in Japan, YETI. In Rochester Matt will have the University, but I am an outsider there as well./(end)pity party. It is pretty intimidating moving like we are, but hopefully I will be able to find some friends in Southwedge. =)

Owarimasho (let's finish!)

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-15T22:43:00.004-04:00

Matt has been an amazing husband lately due to his new interest in spring cleaning. He had turned our messy messy place into something presentable. I am very proud of his hard work. Matt and I had a good weekend in part because of this spring cleaning attitude, but also because we have bonded over a new television show addiction. Since scrubs moved to ABC it has been a pretty lame show, I rarely laugh at their jokes. I had heard good things about the show Chuck but the premise just seemed silly, I assumed I would not like it. Oh how I was WRONG! Chuck is hilarious and action packed, plus a good pinch of family togetherness and a good deal of romance. When I first began watching the show Matt did not care to watch, but did not mind hearing it in the back ground while he did other things. As the show progressed I began hearing more interest on the part of my husband with questions about the plot. THEN in a shocking turn of events on the show, a character that everyone thought would be out of the way for a while suddenly returns. As I gasp in shock of the events taking place and I state aloud WHO has returned to the show I hear my husband yell in anger....for he too is upset about this character....my husband had finally been sucked into the show and has been watching it with me ever since. =)

Another good thing happened this past weekend. I had a nice long lunch with Mrs. Hayashi, one of the JTEs at my JHS. We were able to bond a bit while eating at a macrobiotic restaurant in Oizumi called Serphim. I was also able to tell her about my leaving Japan at the end of July. She was sad that I was leaving but was also very excited for me.

In Takane, down the mountain from where Matt and I live, flowers are beginning to bloom in some places. Some mornings it smells like spring...and my nose reminds me I need to start taking my allergy medicine again. Then again, Friday evening, March 13th, it snowed a bit where we live. Another couple weeks and I feel that spring will take a strong hold over Hokuto. I am excited about my last 4.5 months in Japan. I know the time will pass more quickly with the weather improving and with us having so much more going on. I am going to try to live the rest of my time in Japan to the fullest.

Not so fun Friday night.

2009-03-06T20:08:00.005-05:00

Every Monday and Friday Matt tutors two elementary school kids in English for an hour while I go to the grocery store and read a book or listen to music. This Friday was just like any other, until it wasn't.
I dropped Matt off at the boys house and then drove to the store. After buying our food I sat in my car and read Paper Towns by John Green, who is mostly responsible for my renewed interest in reading quality books. With about 10mins to go before Matt's lessons end I decide to drive over and wait in front of the students house, like normal. I had been nervous every since I dropped off Matt because if he needed me he wouldn't be able to reach me by phone. My cell phone had died at some point during the day and I just learned about this fact 2 mins after my husband left the car. I promise I charged my cell phone that very morning!
Anyway...I put my book away, moved the drivers seat back into position for driving, and turned the key in the ignition. That's right...nothing happened...well my car did make an awful "my battery is dead" noise but that's about it. Not only am I stuck in the store parking lot, I have no way of contacting anyone for help. stupid cell phone! At this point it's dark and cold and I am looking for anyone who walks by who might be willing to help a foreigner with their clearly (have the car hood up) broken car. After a few minuets of no success finding help I walk back into the store trying to figure out what I can do. My Japanese is horrible and I don't know anyone in the area. Did I mention the store is about a 35 min drive from my apartment?...closest grocery store. At this point I have begun to panic a little bit, my husband is waiting for me, I can't get in contact with him, I can't contact anyone, and I have no working mode of transportation. This was not fun.

Here is when my luck changes...and why being an English teacher is awesome! I see one of my students, a third year, well, a third-grader from Nishi Takane Elementary school. She is walking out of the store with her mother and little sister when I am walking into the store. I smile and say hello but keep walking...why would a mother with two kids, 9 and 5 I believe, want to deal with helping the foreigner with car trouble on a Friday night...she clearly has places to go and things to do. She clearly did not feel the same way. My student's mother comes walking back into the store and asks me if I need help with my car. Now I have someone who is willing to help me! What's interesting about my interactions with my student's mother (still don't know her name!!) is that I don't speak Japanese, and she doesn't speak English. We had a little bit of vocabulary in each others language but it was enough. I explained my car, my cell phone, and my husband. She explained that she didn't have what I needed (a jumper cable) but that she would call her friend and he would help. So for the next 15 mins I am sitting in this lady's Land Rover with her two children talking about where I live, where I am from, what food people eat in America, where I teach English, various ideas about the drawings her 5 year old was making in the back seat, along with drawing pictures of food with my student (also don't know her name!) Her friend eventually arrived and jumped my car back into shape at which point I did a whole lot of bowing and "Domo Arigato Gosaimashita" before I drove off to pick up my husband.
On the way to pick Matt up I see him walking down the road towards the store. I was over 30mins late to pick him up and he had begun worrying about my safety to the point of attempting to walk to the store to find me while our neighbor JD was on his way to pick him up to go check the hospital, if I was no where to be found at the store. My husband had a plan! Matt and I got to explain our stories to each other on our drive home.
It was a horrible experience I do not want to have again. But I did get to experience the kindness of strangers. Since I am an English teacher at local schools those who know that fact, though might not actually know me, are not afraid to greet me at the store, and in this case help me on a cold, dark Friday night. I often have my students and their parents see me at the store and stop to bow and say hello, though I never know their names. To be fair I have so many students at three different schools, two schools I only visit twice a month.
I feel guilty that I don't know my rescuers' names, but I already have plans to provide them with thank you gifts when I teach at Nishi Takane elementary again.
I am so glad my car trouble was only a 40 minute inconvenience. I don't know what I would have done if this mother of two, who doesn't even speak English, wasn't willing to stop and inconvenience herself by helping the local English teacher with her car on a Friday night. Thank you lady!

SNOW!!

2009-02-09T01:33:00.003-05:00

That's right flavoury tea!

These are the two pics I was able to take in my car of the snow at our house... before the camera's batteries died.

The rest of these pics are from our little trip to Hakuba in Nagano, Japan. =) enjoy!

Culture Shock aka Culture fatigue

2009-02-09T00:28:00.004-05:00

Everyone experiences culture shock, (or if you want to be more PC)culture fatigue. I'm sure someone out there will tell you they lived in another country for a while and didn't have culture shock AT ALL. This person just doesn't understand what culture shock really means, or was not in the country long enough to experience all the stages of culture shock. (I have a reason for preferring the name shock over fatigue which I will get to in a bit)

Quoting from the Culture Shock page of Wikipedia:
"Culture shock refers to the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country."

I am honestly an expert on culture shock. I had several weeks training to deal with culture shock in 2004 and 2005 in preparation for my first trip to Japan. On my 2005 trip to Japan I experienced culture shock, along with the 5 people I was traveling with, though we all experienced it a bit differently.
In preparation for my return to Japan, this time being in a Japanese workplace setting, my contracting organization sent all the new ALTs to special training in Tokyo geared to help with culture shock.

With my expert knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that my husband and I are both suffering from a bad case of stage two culture shock. Stage two is "Irritation and Hostility―Gradually, your focus turns from the similarities to the differences. And these differences, which suddenly seem to be everywhere, are troubling. You blow up little, seemingly insignificant difficulties into major catastrophes. This is the stage generally identified as culture shock. People experiencing culture shock often
feel homesick and have a negative attitude toward the host culture." (JET General Information Handbook 2008)

Let's break that down a little more- the key being that this stage is all about the person's irritation with and hostility towards the new culture they are living in. With the amount of time Matt and I say "Silly Japan" or other not so nice terms, it is clear that we are finding faults in all the differences between our home culture and the culture we currently find ourselves living in. We are both HOMESICK. We have lists in our heads of things we want to do, places we want to go, and even food we want to eat when we get back to America. In case you were wondering, because we will probably be arriving in my hometown first, we will probably have McAlister's as our first real meal back in the US is all goes according to plan. =P
I miss my cat much more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I knew I would miss her, but I thought with time I would miss her less...that has not happened.
I miss sleeping on a real bed. I have already begun looking at shops online to see what the going price for a decent queen sized mattress is in America.
I miss doing any daily task or errand in ENGLISH. My Japanese is not so good and I have very little faith in it ever getting much better. As a result of my lack of Japanese language skills I get frustrated by the simplest of things. Simply leaving the house is exhausting because of the cultural and language barriers.

I know I have brought some of these things up before, but I just wanted to get a summary of my culture shock symptoms. I like calling it SHOCK and not FATIGUE because I am a dramatic person and FATIGUE does not express the true emotional rollercoster this is like the word SHOCK does.

So yes, the low of culture shock has hit us both hard and we are very excited to tell everyone now that we will be moving back to America in end July/ early August!!!
None of the specifics are in place yet. Worst case scenario is still not that bad for us because of this strong desire to be home again, it beats out any financial concerns...which we still hope not to have. I will update with more information when it becomes available. =)

In case anyone is interested, here is a pic of how some people believe culture shock looks like. Though I would like the say the JET General information handbook does have a better graph with the more detailed ups and downs that an ALT feels while in Japan...I just can't post a copy of it.

I'm Sick

2009-01-31T06:39:00.003-05:00

I have gotten sick FOUR TIMES since I have been in Japan. ugh. The last two times have actually been back to back. I was sick the Thursday before last and have been trying to recover ever since BUT got sick AGAIN this past Thursday. My JHS actually asked me to go home and rest...I had a fever =( I am still sick, though feeling better than I was Thursday or Friday of this week. I really wish I were in America dealing with my illness. In Japan EVERY illness is a doctor visit illness. I don't WANT to go see a doctor here, especially since they speak Japanese and I speak English, it's just another frustration I don't want to deal with ESPECIALLY when I am sick. In America I could just pop on over to the nearest CVS or Wallgreens or whatever and buy some over the counter medicine and that be it. It would not require a 30 plus minuet ride ONE WAY only to become frustrated that they don't use western medicines and the doses of drugs are not what I am used to...because that is what I get in Japan. SIGH. Being sick away from home is hard. I have a piece of home since my husband is with me. I honestly would be at a loss if he weren't with me. But I still miss the comforts of home.

On a different topic. I got to go on a fun ski trip with lots of other young foreigners living in my prefecture in Japan a few weeks ago. I didn't actually go skiing. I have never skied before so I didn't want my first time to be in Japan where if I hurt myself I would be in a Japanese hospital (heard too many horror stories). But I had a lot of fun just talking with people. It made me miss my friends from home. I miss nerding out and I got to do just that. =)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T07:48:00.003-05:00

2009 is here now. I am amazed with how much has happened in the past year. My life has changed quite a bit. I am married now, that wasn't the case this time last year. and, oh yeah, I am living in Japan. Daily life has changed dramatically for me over the past year. I have three big things on my to-do list for 2009:
1- celebrate my 1st wedding anniversary
2- visit the US for a few weeks- most likely during the summer
3- get in shape!- since moving to Japan I have lost all my strength- I used to be able to do sit-ups and push-ups--I need to exercise.

Now, on a completely different note, here are some pictures! (admit it! that is why you are really reading this! =P )

Mixxie up Matt's shirt sleeve. eewww. =P

This is Mixie. She is the hamster Matt and I (mostly matt)are looking after while our neighbor is away. Mixxie likes crawling through tubes...its fun. I get to play with her without havint to touch her. =)

I am wearing my new winter coat I bought because my other coat is just not enough for winter here. After two days inside, due to lots of snow and icy roads, I was happy to be walking around near our house.

The roads were STILL icy two days after the snow fall. This road is covered in ice. We did not drive for a while.

Oh! one last thing! My mom suggested I mention SparkPeople It is a great website (and FREE) for those who are looking for help and support in their weight loss or fitness efforts. I would have to say it is the best site out their right now. Check it out. =)

A White Christmas!

2008-12-25T21:54:00.002-05:00

We had a white Christmas this year!

It is kinda nice. However, I could do without the ice on the INSIDE of our windows upstairs. Single pane windows are apparently the way to go in Japan. sigh.

Anyway...here is a pic of the snow outside our house. =)

Thanks Wes!

2008-12-18T03:20:00.004-05:00

I kinda forgot about this blog about our time in Japan. Matt and I were talking to Matt's brother Wes on Skype, when he mentioned the blog. Oops! I forgot!

So now I figured I would give everyone an update. We have pets!! Temporarily. Our two ALT neighbors are going away during winter break and needed someone to take care of their animals. So now we have a turtle, 3 fish, and a hamster. They are cute and fun to have around. However, Matt is completely in charge of them, he is the one responsible if anything where to happen to the pets. =P

I have now also been informed that I need more pics on this blog. Sadly, I haven't taken very many. But, what I do have I will share now.

Did you know you can buy fake chest hair at the 100 yen store? Well...you can. Japan is a bit strange eh?

My 12oz of Skippy peanut butter (costs 398yen=$4) beside a anime figurine on top of my Nintendo DS....how much more Japanese can you get! =P

No bake cookies Matt and I made a few weeks ago. It is pretty expensive to make, seeing as 4 cups of oats is about $4. But when you need some treats that remind you of home, it can be worth it. We also don't have any wax paper. I don't know what it is called here, but I assume they have some...I hope Japan has wax paper.

Two of the fish we are taking care of.

The turtle named Kazu we are taking care of. The turtle is the most interesting of the animals in my opinion. =)

Okay. I will try and take more pictures now that some people seem to really like them. Until next time....have a Merry Christmas!!

I had a good day

2008-11-22T19:56:00.002-05:00

I am surprised by this fact because my day was spent mostly shopping. I hate shopping. I always get overwhelmed by the crowds and the noise and the traffic getting to stores, plus having to give my money to stores when I know what I am buying is either a.) not worth what I am paying or b.) made by slave labor or something just as horrible. So yeah, I have a hard time with shopping. BUT I REALLY needed some things. It is getting colder and colder here, and I realized I did not have enough warm clothes to last me the winter. I was in desperate need of a big winter coat, some winter tops and a pair of pants that actually fit me. Since being in Japan, I have lost too much weight for any of my pants to look decent on me. So with these needs in mind, Matt and I ventured to Kofu and spent a number of hours battling traffic and crowds. In the end though, I got what I needed. I got a good, warm, jacket, three sweater/long sleeve tops, and a pair of pants that fit. Only odd thing was, the pants only fit in the waist. The pants were...you ready for this one?....too LONG!! Isn't that just crazy. I am pretty darn tall in Japan, and the pants I found were too long. I think I have realized why that was the case. The store I bought the pants at actually has a tailor company as well. You can buy your pants and get them tailored at the same time. Conveniently for the store, most people need a bit of tailoring to their pants.
Anyway, I got what I needed, though I am still on the look out for a good pair of winter boots. I think that having a list of actual NEEDS, as opposed to just browsing/shopping I felt a lot better about the situation. I got to spend some quality time with Matt and accomplished something.
PLUS to top it all off, I ate about 650 calories worth of sushi. Yeah I know that's a lot, but I hadn't eaten all day AND I had been craving the rotating sushi place for about a month now. It was great. I had a good day.

Life in Yamanashi!

2008-11-21T21:03:00.004-05:00

You may have been one of the people to hear my complaints about Japan "I miss Panera Bread and Brugers Bagels!"
Right now, despite the food situation, I am loving Japan. The elementary school kids are adorable and fun to play with, while my elective English classes at the JHS are quite funny and I am learning more about Japanese culture...apparently this band ARASHI is THE Jpop band right now...who knew? =)

Okay! Pics time!!

BTW, I did not take these pictures (except for the last one) Matt took them while I was driving. I think he did a pretty good job! =)

One job thing I am concerned about, but can't do anything about, is what will happen with the elementary school visits come August. When new ALTs are brought to the area in August, we expect some changes to all ALTs schedules. The Japanese government has decided that elementary age children need more hours of English instruction. I believe its something like quintupling the amount of hours these kids are receiving now. So I am interested to see, and nervous to see, what the Board of Education is going to do with us ALTs. Will some ALTs ONLY have elementary schools? Will more ALTs be brought in to take on the elementary classes, leaving some ALTs ONLY at JHS? I don't know. I honestly don't know what I want to happen. I am pretty happy with my schedule, 3.5 days at JHS and 1.5 at elementary. I like all my schools in different ways, though everyone is nice. The elementary kids are great, but more than an extra half day with them, I might go crazy. It is just sooo loud and crazy! Though fun, I need headache pills due to the noise levels sometimes. So I will try and keep you all updated as to what the BoE decides to do about the new government English requirements.
=)

Our beautiful town

2008-11-02T02:39:00.004-05:00

I know I complain about living in Japan. Maybe I don't complain on this blog, but in everyday life I wish, as a vegetarian, eating in Japan were easier. But, there are some great things about where we are living now. That is what I want to show you guys.

Cute and odd shops in "downtown" Kiyosato

cool clock building

beautiful mountains

My wonderful husband AND beautiful mountains.

Mt. Fuji!

Pictures!!!

2008-11-01T21:05:00.011-04:00

This is my post of a whole lot of pics I have failed to put online so far. Since people are bugging me about my lack of pictures, this post is going to be a picture extravaganza!!!

Almost everywhere you look in Kofu there are signs telling people not to park their bikes there. Everywhere you see that sign you see at least 5 bikes parked underneath it. ha!

Japanese version of final Harry Potter book!! I'm such a nerd!!

When Matt and I were walking around Tokyo we saw a huge can of grape Fanta being sold in one of the many, many vending machines around. We bought said Fanta then 10 of 15 feet further on our walk we saw the following fanta for sale, for the SAME Price as the one we bought....this wouldn't happen in America.

Here is Matt watching some Sumo. We had fun.

More Sumo.

Me posing as a stupid American in Sumo Town.

Sumo dudes walking the streets in Sumo Town in Tokyo.

Sumo Ceremony. Pretty cool looking.

Matt and I having fun at Sumo still!

Matt took this pic while we were walking to the Ghilbli/Miyazaki Museum.

We made it to the museum!!

Outside the museum! We weren't allowed to take pics inside...though i saw many people doing so!

I loved this character from the movie, Castle in the Sky.

Matt being cute and humoring me in my desire to take a picture of him.

Grand Golf!!

2008-10-21T23:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, from 3:30 until around 4:30, I played Grand Golf with teachers from my school district. Not all of them came and participated, but a good number did sign up and played. I was honestly surprised. I was placed in a team of 4 and had a fairly good time.
Grand Golf- for those not in the know (everyone)- is a bit like putt-putt golf. We used a soccer field (with sand instead of grass on it) for the playing area. Instead of putting into a hole, you try to get your ball inside a circular metal area under that "hole's" flag. Does that make sense? Also, instead of a normal golf ball and club, you use something that more resembles a crockett (is that the right word?) ball and club, though you don't want to hit other players grand golf ball.

I got the lowest (best) score in my group at 25 points. But there were a number of people who scored under 20!! I think 7 people actually got a hole-in-ones. Apparently “hole-in-one” is the term the Japanese use as well. After the game a teacher asked me if “hole-in-one” was an English phrase. =)
So anyway, my school came in 2nd!! (even though the chorus teacher got a score of 33!!) She was embarrassed by it, but also took it in stride and thought it was funny, as did everyone else. So it was a good time, and now I know what grand golf is….Putt Putt on a random piece of ground. =)

I am a nerd

2008-10-21T00:34:00.003-04:00

Today, during my lunch break, I went to the Asheville Chamber of Commerce website's demographics section to catch up on the current economic indicators of my old home. (I love Asheville!!)
I'm sitting in Japan, thinking about Asheville...but my way of connecting with Asheville is to check the economic indicators. "oh, hotel sales are only down 1.3%" and "I wonder how much further the Asheville Airports numbers will go, given the economic downturn?" Thus, I must be declared a nerd. =P

On a completely unrelated note, I will be playing "grand golf" this afternoon with the other teachers in my school district. What's "grand golf", and what makes it different from "golf"? I do not yet know....hmmm

If anyone has been wondering how difficult it is to live in a country and not know the language let me tell you....it's WAY too EASY to get by knowing only three Japanese words: "sumimasen- excuse me, sorry, oops" "Arigato- Thank you" and "Wakarimasen- I don't understand".
Because of this, I have really been slacking on my Japanese language study. Good thing my Japanese coressepondence course has arrived...now I might begin learning Japanese. =P I hope!!

Who wants to come visit us?!?!!

2008-10-08T00:15:00.002-04:00

Okay. I have decided that instead of going back to the USA (where I have lived for the past 24ish years) to visit family and friends, I instead have a fantastic offer for you all.

Here it is....come visit us in Japan!!!
How often do you have the opportunity to visit a different (1st world) country on the other side of the globe with so many cultural differences like Japan when you are living in the US? I mean this is JAPAN(!!!) sooooo cool!
Even better, when else do you have an opportunity to experience this different culture with your very own (English speaking!) tour guide who actually LIVES IN JAPAN?!?

Going even further....not only do you have an amazing opportunity to come to Japan and have your own tour guide....you also have FREE room and (most) board during your stay!!! A typical hotel room in Japan would cost around $300 a night...but if you come visit us you don't have to pay a thing for a comfortable (and BIG) room (with a closet!) for as long as you stay!! you can't beat that!!!!

So now you are asking “what do I have to do to take you guys up on the amazing offer?”
Well its simple!
First: tell us you want to come visit! We would like to know ahead of time when we need to clean up for company! =P And plan fun things to do when you get here!

Second: purchase your plane tickets… granted this is the most demanding part of getting to Japan. Keep in mind, you are going to the other side of the world so it will be more expensive than any domestic flights…but again FREE room and board once here!! And this really is a once in a life time opportunity. =)

Third: let us know when you are coming…..so we can provide you with a list of a few items we would like you to pack in your bags for us…small things like Peter Pam creamy peanut butter….yummy peanut butter! (Tegan begins to drool)….You know, since we aren’t going to the US, its nice to get a little taste or smell, or sight of home. =)

So that’s it! 1-2-3 and you are here!! Enjoying seeing two people you know to be amazing, plus a free place to stay, tour guide, etc, with just the cost of the flight over.

So plan your trips now!! Let us know!!
May I suggest Vayama, Priceline, Orbitz, etc for your ticket finding needs? I got a good deal on a domestic flight on Priceline, Matt got a good ticket to Japan from Vayama, and now Orbitz has a guarantee: if someone buys the same tickets you buy…but at a cheaper price, you will be refunded the difference...soo cool!

So please come visit us!!

Tokyo!

2008-10-03T00:43:00.005-04:00

I am going to make this post as short as I can, sorry. I will try to post pictures on here at a later time.

Matt and I went to Tokyo in September (thanks for my 7 day work week I had a 3 day weekend). We stayed in a really cheap Hotel in Ikebukuro (http://www.sakura-hotel-ikebukuro.com/) that has English speaking staff and cateres to the Cheap/poor foriegn tourists in Tokyo. The place was not fantanstic, but it was a place to sleep and it was clean so it worked for us (and will probably be working for us again on our next trip to Tokyo).
We took a bus from Kofu to Shinjuku (one of the sections of Tokyo). The trip was not bad, about 2.5 hours and we got into Tokyo pretty early. I had two goals: 1.)Watch some Sumo and
2.)Go to the Ghilbli (miyazaki) Museum.
Matt had two goals also: 1.) Watch some Sumo and 2.) go to Akihabara (the electronics district in Tokyo)

We succeeded on all fronts....though we were both the happiest with the Sumo.

Sumo does not happen all the time in Japan. They have tournaments throughout the year, but (other than in September) the next time there would be Sumo in Tokyo is in January. Needless to say we took the opprotunity to go to sumo (which can be an all day event). We bought the cheapest (and poorest) seats in the house for approx. $21 each. Luckyily, not many people watch the entire day (a weekday) so we were able to watch some sumo from *cough* a better view than our tickets would normally provide *coug*
=P

There were a lot of foreigners at the sumo event. Most bought the same seats we had bought, and were also fortunate with the improved views the empy day matches provided.
At our hotel we had a TV. We watched some sumo on there as well and pointed saying "we are going there tomorrow!" It was fun and I have officially become addicted to Sumo (I even have a 3d moving sumo players cup!)

Next, we went to Akihabara....matt might have something interesting to say...all i can say is that my feet and back hurt. =P oh! and that there are a number of boys in Japan with strange interests....

Finally we went to the Ghilbli Museum and I had fun...but wish I had allowed for more time to look around. I think we both felt rushed to get to our bus stop (our ride home). We are going to go back there again and provide for more time.

Okay! enough for now! Life is good.

Ahh! sorry!

2008-09-19T22:59:00.014-04:00

I know, I know....it has been a while since I posted. I honestly blame my lack of regular internet access. Many things have happened, so I think to updated you all on what Matt and I have been up to I will need to make this a 2 part entry....the second part (about Tokyo!) only when I have more time. So for now, I will try to entertain you all with pics and stories of my first time experiencing a Japanese JHS festival weekend.
Every morning since I began working at my JHS I have walked across the school parking lot to the sound of children singing...the same three songs. Every week I have worked at my JHS has been a "special shorten class schedule." Then after class I would see (when it wasn't raining) hundreds of kids practicing strange "sports" out side. If it was raining I would see hundreds of kids running around inside, usual with paint brushes or construction paper in hand. These weeks of preparation were all for a two day event called the school festival. The 283 kids at my school must have spent 12 days at school working toward this festival. I honestly wasn't very excited about going, since it meant I would be at school all day Saturday and Sunday, but once there I can not say it was a bad experience. Below will be the pics of what happened, along with my explanations.

Okay this doesn't acutally have much to do with the festival, but it does have lots to do with the JHS. For several days in a row, I have been able to see Mount Fuji from my school, and even on my drive to school. To be honest, it has been pretty exciting to see, and so clearly. In the mornings it is so clear, though unforutnately I didn't have my camera on me until the afternoon, which means this pics of Mount Fuji isn't as clear as I would like...but its still there! =)

So all the painting I saw the students doing over the past few weeks has been for decorations for the HUGE gym during the festival. Along with decorations, each class (there are 3 grades with 3 classes each -9 classes total) created their own flag with a class moto. The above pic is of class 3-3's flag (3rd years 3rd class). I thought it was funny that they chose to use the Japanese train exit sign as their focus. Many of the flags had English on them also.

The first days events were all held in the gym. The day consisted of team spirit exercises and sentimental pieces on the fun time they have had together so far this school year, along with class plays...which had lots and lots of dancing. My elective English 4 class did a shadow puppet show which I video taped and edited together to present at the festival. At first it was thought that I would actually have to perform, live, with them on pretty short notice. I am so glad my school has a new 30GB hard drive Sony handy cam. I had lots of fun filming and editing that play. =)
Anyway...there were lots of plays and dancing and loud music and team spirit etc. At the end each class sang a song for the audience (the teachers and parents). Finally, all 283 students got up front and sang "Hallelujah" for everyone. I was impressed by how much they had improved in their English singing skills. Though, "and he shall reign forever and ever" didn't exactly sound like I am used to it. =P

Wow...all that writing and I just finished talking about the first day of the festival.

Okay...I promise I will finish the festival....

DAY 2!!!!

day 2 was a bit more fun for me. Less watching plays in a language i don't understand, and more laughing at my students acting crazy during tug of war and other games.

Remember those flags i mentioned earlier that the classes made, you can see them above, held in front of each class. Those flags became a big deal for the day two events.

before the games begin, everyone did exercises on the sports grounds.

The morning consisted of girls of each class in the gym playing basketball against one another. Their scores actually mattered towards the days goal of best performing class and classes. There was the best performing class and then there was the best performing group of classes so class 2 would be all the 2 classes, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, so you have all age groups competing as one as well as against each other.

The boys spent the morning playing soccer for the coveted points.

Here is another class flag. some students spent the majority of their morning switching out to wave this flag around to cheer on their classmates.

This is one of the art pieces the students worked on for the festival...though I was unable to take pics at the end, I am sad to say they actually burned this, along with anything else they made that was burnable and then we all danced around it (folk dance...guy leading girl) as a way of closing out the festival. I felt like it was a shame to burn something they worked so hard on, but they didn't seem to mind. =)

Of all the games they played that you wouldn't see in the states, this one would never make it to a US school field day, too many injuries, too many upset parents. The idea of the game is to get as many of the items from the center line over to your teams zone. There are two teams with these items (mostly tires since they can hold up to the attacks best) in between them. When the gun sounds everyone runs to grab a tire. Needless to say some people grab the same tire and then fight it out. By the end there are usually one 2 tires left to get and 30 kids to fight between them. People got hurt, and dirty, but man it looked like some fun, rough fun, but fun non the less. =)

The other games included:
jump rope with an entire class at once, which was pretty fun to watch
Tug of War that had different rules then what I was used to...the students had several ropes to fight over...but it only made things more interesting
Mukude (sp?) race, where each class (boys then girls) are tied together and then race the other teams
All in all I say I had much more fun on day 2. =)

I know, I know....blogging has been on the back burner

2008-09-03T03:53:00.008-04:00

Hello all!
Sorry its been so long since my last post. Let us see if I can quickly wrap up what has been happening since my birthday. I had my first week of school, where I did the same introduction lesson oh, about 30,000,000,000 times. =P I still have one more school to go to, my second elementary school. So, after next week, I will be officially done introducing myself and my home. Part of my intro has been to explain that I am a vegetarian. I tell them what it means and that "many people in Asheville are Vegetarian" Ha! I thought it was pretty interesting to show these kids that there are people who not only speak a different language but have completely removed, what the kids consider to be, what makes a meal a meal, meat/fish. Ha!
Moving on...the little kids are very cute, 1st and 2nd graders especially. It makes me want to be a elementary school teacher...in Japan at least. BUT these kids have yet to realize that I do not speak Japanese. As I walk the halls I get swarms of children asking me all sorts of questions in their soft spoken, yet quite fast, Japanese. Sigh. I wish I could understand them! That is just more motivation for me to study the language.
Okay...the rest of the blog will be the usual. I will share a picture and a (hopefully) brief explanation....brief because I am using my neighbors internet still.

so on my way to pick up matt in Kofu, I saw Mt. Fuji! I am not sure how well you will be able to see it, but the mountain in the background is Mt. Fuji. I was excited to finally see it. I live on the completely other side of the prefecture, so it is very rare for it the sky to be clear enough to see it.

Matt went into a store to kill some time, when we saw these great "Engrish" slippers. That's right people...it says "where are you doing?"! hee hee!

These are the promised cake pics that I took on my birthday. I was craving a Ingles or Harris Teeter style cake. But, alas, there aren't any of those places near our home here. To get a real birthday cake here, you have to order pretty far in advance from what I understand. These three slices of cake were a nice substitute, but still not the same. =P

Here it is! one of the famous cigarette vending machines. This one requires a certain id to be swiped to get the cigs, but have no fear under aged hooligans, there are plenty of beer vending machines with out any id requirements, just pay your 200 yen and let the drinking commence! (ps. I do not condone underage drinking k? but I do think its pretty funny to see beer and cigarettes being sold like this. I have a friend who lives near a vending machine that sells eggs...eww.)

Key chains are big here. You put them on your cell phone, your Nintendo ds, your keys...etc. You find lots of these key chain machines in Japan. I thought this one was pretty funny. They are selling mos burger key chains. Mos burger is the Japanese Burger King. So if you wanted, you could have a hot dog, or a hamburger attached to your cell phone...sooooo coool! =P

Lastly, Matt and I went to Kofu to experience the "I love Kofu" Festival....really, that is what it was called...in English and everything. We ate festival food (yay pork free Yakisoba!!) and watched Taiko (Japanese drumming) on the main stage. We eventually ended up at a karaoke place. It was...interesting. =P (I can't sing)

I'm a year older!

2008-08-20T20:39:00.002-04:00

I had my birthday yesterday. Though, in the states it is still august 20th. It was a nice birthday. I spent the day with my husband. We bought some pieces of cake, chocolate, strawberry, and melon flavored. I took pictures of them, because they were so small and cute, which I will post at a later time. I just wanted to say a quick hello to everyone. Getting internet here is a very big hassle. In America you would just call the company and the very next day they could come out and flip a switch or something and "ta da!" Internet! Here, it takes about a month...and you most prove, as a non-Japanese, that you are legally allowed in the country, by sending a copy of your Alien Registration card...which takes at least 2 weeks to get. Sigh. So I hope that help explains why it seems so long between posts. My internet access is quite limited. I hope everyone is doing well. I am sooo happy now that my husband is with me. I think he will be jet lagged for a while, but he is doing well, though possibly a bit overwhelmed by the fact that we are two fairly intelligent people who are now considered illiterate. =P

Spending more time in Japan

2008-08-14T19:45:00.006-04:00

I went to the capital city of my prefecture this week, Kofu, for another orientation. There were some helpful workshops and it was fun getting to spend more time with other new assistant language teachers(ALTs). In total, for the prefecture, there are 36 new ALTs.
Here are some pictures and explanations of what has been going on here in Japan. =]

Here is a VEGETARIAN bento (boxed lunch) that a Japanese restaurant prepared for all 8 of us odd balls who don't eat meat. Apparently, when you say you are a vegetarian, restaurants will try to feed you fish...why do people think fish is a fruit, vegetable, or grain...I always thought it was an animal. =P so thankfully, those in charge of our orientation made extra sure that fish was not included in this cute little bento.

On the second day of the orientation we took a trip to a very large temple. Actually this temple had several, HUGE, temples on the property. this is just the entrance to the stairs...the evil, evil stairs. I couldn't even get the entire entryway in my picture, it was HUGE!

On to the evil stairs. There are two ways to get to the top of this hill/mountain where the temples were located. The first, drive up to the parking lot higher up on the mountain. The second, go up the steepest, most uneven, stair case EVER. Needless to say, for the "fun" of it, our group went up the stairs. I say they are evil, because each of the 287 steps is actually the height of 2 or 3 normal steps. You have to push yourself up to the next step, its not exactly easy. I was among the group of about 10 girls who finished last. =P I don't believe this picture can really capture how impressive those stairs were. I was extremely proud of myself for not giving up. I don't believe you can actually see the bottom of the stair case in the picture; it just kept on going!

This is how I felt once I reached the top. hee hee. I was completely worn out.

My time at the temple did improve though. I took some pretty pictures and I saw ridiculous amounts of gold leafing on EVERYTHING inside the temples...which we weren't allowed to photograph.

This was one of the gardens among the temples.

Once I got back to my town...I am actually calling it home now =)... I went to my JHS's festival and met my predecessor.

This is a view of some of the mountains that surround Takane JHS. I say some of the mountains, because the area is completely surrounded with beautiful and very large mountains. Because it is the season for the Obon festival in Japan, there were these paper lanterns all over the place.

On the sports field at the jr. high school there were vendors and a stage and lots of people. AND...that's right America...the Power Rangers are still going strong in Japan. I saw the red, green, black and blue rangers kicking evil butt in front of a group of 3-6 year olds....so adorable!

Before I left, I was able to watch the JHS students perform a few songs on Taiko drums. It was pretty good, and fun to watch.

That is all for now. I hope you all are doing well! =]

It's okay...I'm still alive

2008-08-06T20:06:00.004-04:00

I know it's been a few days since I have blogged, but honestly, there hasn't been much to blog about. I have been cleaning my new home, and learning how to cook on a gas stove.
Because I am feeling pretty lazy, I am just going to throw up some pictures I have taken and talk briefly about them.

Last night I went to one of the revolving sushi places and had some fried tofu wrapped around rice, along with some cucumber rolls, which were delicious.

Here is a view from my bedroom window. There is a preschool behind my apartment, which is uber cute. What you are seeing here is the baseball field next to my place. It was pretty comforting to hear baseball teams practicing over the weekend. It was strange as well, because in addition to the familiar sounds of baseball I would hear the less familiar sounds of guys yelling in Japanese. =)

Last, but not least, I did laundry!! I took a pic of my first attempt at drying my laundry. I have a washing machine but there isn't a dryer. Most homes in Japan lack a dryer, everyone hangs their clothes up to dry....like me!

2008-07-31T18:59:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! I am finally in my new hometown and I finally have access to the internet!! Sadly, I am only borrowing internet, I yet to have it in my own apartment, but my neighbor, another American teaching English here, is being very generous and helpful. Yesterday I signed up for a bank account and got my Japanese cell phone! It has been a crazy few days. I am honestly exhausted, and its only 8am here. Thankfully today I do not have anywhere i need to be. I am just going to clean my new home, and make it feel more like a home.
But first, I would like to share a few pics with you all of things I have experienced since I have been here:

this is a display promoting a festival nearby in the Tokyo hotel lobby...its huge and pretty I think.

This is a pic of the opening ceremonies (ceremonies are VERY important in Japanese society) for all the new English teachers through the JET program. More accurately, this is for Group A, Group B&C will be flying in over the next two weeks for their own orientation and cermonies. Needless to say, this is a very large program. It was a nice expereince however, because everyone was so friendly and willing to meet new people and were pretty positive despite the jet lag.

In a shopping area I saw this cute display of a kid in traditional grab...which was for sell, because the Japanese still dress in these sort of clothes for some occasions.

I some how found myself on the 43rd floor of the hotel and found a huge window and amazing views of Tokyo...it appears to go on forever.

Finally home!! The 2nd closet apartment is mine. It smells a bit funny to be honest...I have bought cleaning supplies which I hope to begin using in the next hour or so to make my apartment more like home. =)

Hope you all are doing well!!

I am in Japan!!

2008-07-27T18:05:00.009-04:00

This will be a quick post because i am using a shared computer. I am in Japan. The flight was only 12 hours long and it honestly was not that bad. I splet through most of it which i think helped a lot. I got to the Keio Plaza Hotel in downtown Tokyo around 7pm japan time..or 6am eastern US time...keep in mind I left at 4am saturday and got here at 6am the next day crazy!!
Apparently the sun rises at 3am...which I learned the hard way since my roommate and I failed to close the blinds in our 36th floor hotel room. I have been up since 4 and I just know I will pass out due to Jet lag eventually.
Being without my husband and mom during this whole experience really stinks. I miss them both very much, but I love how the internet is able to keep us much more connected.
And now I will show you the pics I have taken since I got here..which is not much since I forgot to take pics for a while.

Other JETs I flew over with. Funny enough there were four or five of us from the Asheville area. apparently, Allie, with the long blonde hair, had calc2 with me a few years ago. Small world!!

One of the many JET helpers at the airport...which was soooooooooo humind..I have never experienced such intense humidity!!!

Traffic going into Tokyo.

Veiw from my hotel room...it looks better in person. =)

well that is all for now. I have workshops and meetings all day today and tomorrow. Then I am off to my new home!!

Packing and Leaving

2008-07-25T06:52:00.004-04:00

All I have been doing for the last 3 days is packing a freaking out about going to Japan. The only reason I didn't have a mental break down is that my mom and husband are the best, most supportive people ever. I love them so much.
This morning I woke up at 5am and could not go back to sleep. The moment I woke up I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep, my mind was not going to stop turning over all that needed to get done or what was about to happen.
Right now I am a ball of nerves. I am getting pretty emotional also, especially about my family and kitty! My mom made me a photo album all with pictures of my cat. I love that silly cat.

Well, I still have some packing to do...not to mention I am going to attempt to get a hair cut this morning! Ahhhh!

crazy few days

2008-07-21T20:18:00.003-04:00

So much has happened in the past few days. Lots of big changes, that I had hoped I could go into some detail about on this blog. However, time has just been flying by and I haven't really had the time or energy to really get into how I have been feeling or what I have been experiencing. I can tell you this, Thursday was my last day at the Chamber, my first job out of college. I really will miss the people I worked with.
Friday Matt and I ran around doing last minuet errands and just enjoying the last little bit of time we had in Asheville.
I love Asheville. It really is a great place. If Matt could get a good job in the Asheville area in a few years we would definitely move back there...but the biggest hurdle to going back is, sadly, the job market for those in math or science fields. However, we have seriously thought of the possibility of moving back to Asheville at some point.
Friday night we saw the BEST Batman movie. Heath Ledger was amazing as the joker, and two face freaked me out as well... I can honestly say that movie gave me nightmares. =[ but it was soooo great.
Saturday consisted of moving...lots and lots of moving...then lots and lots more of moving...sigh. We were all exhausted by the end of the day.
Sunday and Monday Matt, kitty, and I have been in Morganton getting our cat used to her new home. I AM GOING TO MISS HER!!! Thinking about leaving her makes me want to cry. But she is doing okay and I know Matt's parents will take good care of her.
We are going to Charlotte soon so I can finally PACK!! I know I am crazy to put it off to the last second, but I really haven't had the time or all my stuff in one place to be able to pack.
So that is a quick summary of what is happening, not complete, but the main thing is exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed with so many life changes happening at once.
Sigh... I think after the next three weeks things will be a lot better. For one I will be over the jet lag and my husband will be with me again! My life is always better when I am with my husband.

KUNG FU!!!!! (plus mexican food!)

2008-07-18T23:27:00.001-04:00

Wednesday was Matt and I's last night at kung fu (grammar police...is that a proper sentence?)
I love Kung Fu. Sure I would whine sometimes, especially when Shifu (teacher) would give a slightly evil laugh or look...which meant hard work was ahead of me...hard work is...you know...hard. =P But in the end I would learn something new and felt like I had accomplished something. Kung Fu has been pretty fun and rewarding, plus the people are crazy/hilarious/great. As I was telling someone at the Chamber, Kung Fu people are great because they, at times, have punched me straight in the nose or have thrown me to the floor and have then showed me how to break there own arm...good times! =P

After our last Kung Fu class (Matt got his White Sash!! yay!!) we went to Chapala's (spelling?) and had food and fun. My only big regret about that night was not taking any pictures. =[ I really need to make sure I bring my camera with me more often.

Kids+mud puddle = hilarity

2008-07-13T19:20:00.000-04:00

Quick update. Matt and I went to Black Mountain to hang out with Matt's parents and go to a free concert at Lake Tamahawk on Thursday. While hanging around, Matt's dad took this hilarious video of kids in a mud puddle...that these kids parents allowed them all to do this for so long is amazing. =P One note, this video was taken using a cell phone so the quality isn't that great.

Can't Sleep

2008-07-11T05:30:00.002-04:00

I have too much on my mind. Since, you know, I'm GOING TO JAPAN in about TWO WEEKS!!
To celebrate my insomnia, I will post a cute video of my kitty cat, Smokie.

Musical Marriage Proof

2008-07-09T14:00:00.002-04:00

Since its been about 2 months since the wedding I figured I should present proof that said wedding occurred. There is no better way than with a Music Video!!

+100 to Matt for picking the song

3 day weekend fun!

2008-07-07T21:37:00.001-04:00

What a great weekend! Matt and I had such a productive and fun weekend; just thinking back to it makes me feel more alive. Due to fourth of July, I had a 3 day weekend, which gave us enough time to go visit both sets of parents, watch some fireworks, pack and move things out of our place in Asheville, and buy clothes etc. for Japan.
Though there were a number of times I wished I could blog about what was going on, I just did not have the time, or the energy to do so until now.
We first went to Morganton, where Matt's mom had an amazing little device that could digitize VHS tapes. I fell in love with it, and was thus allowed to bring it to Charlotte with me to continue turning my old home movies and high school marching band VHS tapes into files on my computer. soo cool!
While in Morganton, we also got to watch 4th of July fireworks. See the below video for the opening of the fireworks... I got tired of taping...but the fireworks got even better...and it was pretty adorable listening to all the young kids "oohing and ahhing" over their favorite types of fireworks. I believe this was only my 4th fireworks 4th of July. (Well, official fireworks anyway).

Saturday we ate Vermont buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup, a wedding present, courtesy of the Sease's (friends of Matt's family). Obviously we started our day out right. It continued to go right when we got to Charlotte and were able to find great deals on the vast majority of the clothes I still needed to purchase for Japan. Poor matt had to wait about in a store for 2 hours...but it was worth it as we also got him two coats.
I love going to Charlotte and spending time with my mom. She is so fun to be around. She makes me laugh. I love being with my two favorite people in the world my mom and matt. Of course when those two get together I am in trouble. I get picked on so much!! But I love them both so much, even being teased has its fun side!
Early Sunday morning we met Kelly, Chris, and Clay (step sister, sister's fiance (?), and step dad) for church service at Elevation. There are a number of "odd" things about this church. First being it has three campuses, one of which is my old high school, which is where we go. So, when I get up and go to Church I end up parking in my old high school parking lot, and if I am not fully awake yet, I get the strange feeling that I am about to head into Calculus class...eek!
Some other odd thing about this church are that the head pastor is a 28 years old guy who wears jeans and t-shirts to preach, and the musical worship is quite similar to a rock concert, and the vast majority of the songs they sing are written by the band and pastor...pretty cool in my book.
NEway...church service was great, and heart breaking. the worship leader and his wife have twin baby girls in the hospital that were delivered at just 26 weeks. Things don't look so good for the girls, especially the smaller one. Steven (the pastor) decided that, since they were releasing their second worship CD that day, that all the money (not just the profit...but everything) earned from the sell of the CD on Sunday, would go towards dealing with the twins medical bills. Needless to say my mom and Matt both bought a copy. =) of course I am pretty sure they were going to buy it anyway, its just that much better when the money goes to help is such a visible way.
Okay okay. I am getting a bit to long on this entry. It is several days worth of activities all rolled into one writing secession so it is a bit much. All in all Matt and I feel so connected to each other and to our families as a result of a fantastic weekend of fun and family.
I am going to choose to ignore all the deadlines staring me in the face tonight due to going to Japan. Except I will say, I have ten more days until I stop working at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, and 18 days until I fly out to Japan!! eeeeekk!

Just finished crying...

2008-07-02T20:56:00.003-04:00

Everything is okay. I am fine; everyone is fine. I just read a story and saw a short video that was pretty touching here and here about a girl who was so touched by hearing the robot wall-e say his name in the Pixar trailer she begins to cry...but the story does not end there...I recommend reading her story. I saw wall-e last weekend. I liked it, though I don't really think kids will enjoy it, at least not the first 30 mins worth, its a bit too adult (aka slow and quiet) in the beginning.

Moving on...
I am so excited about moving to Japan in about 23 days!! Everyone keeps talking about what a big adventure it is, and I have to agree. The only problem is I have soooooooo much I need to get done between now and then. I will have to be completely moved out of my condo, getting the utilities out of my name, selling my car, packing my bags, still buying things I need to bring, getting my visa, the list goes on and on and on....
At the same time, I really want to enjoy these last few days here in the US, specifically in Asheville.
I will really miss Asheville, it is just a great place with such amazing people and a feel to it that I love so much. I love going into a restaurant (Lucky Otter, Noi's Thai Kitchen, Jack of the Wood, Laughing Seed, BurgerMeister's etc.) and actually having vegetarian options. Not an iceberg lettuce salad, but real, filling, meals. I know I will miss that a whole lot.
I will also miss the fact that in Asheville I can go downtown on a Friday night a watch the hippies dance and play in a drum circle or Saturday see ...well...the people of Asheville, enjoying life.
I think that's a big part of the feeling you get when you are in Asheville, those around you are truly enjoying their lives, enjoying the world around them.
This past weekend my mom came to visit. We went downtown a bit on Saturday, ate tempeh Reubens at Jack of the Wood, then we walked around and my mom fell in love with a lady's dog.

I really like this pic because Matt looks so cute when he is laughing. I love him!
Here are pics of the dog w/ my mom. To be fair, my mom has been in love with these little dogs for years, and this one is pretty cute with that little bow.

Well, I am tired now and have to get in some Jon and Kate Plus 8 tv show watching in as there won't be any in Japan.

Testing Testing

2008-06-30T21:09:00.004-04:00

Just got back from Kung Fu. It was falls and throws night, my absolute least favorite night, yet I feel so good because I also got to practice staff. yay! It reminds me of my years in color guard, but... you know...slightly more violent. mwwaahaaha.

Tangent over....
The real reason I am writing is that I have been asked by my beautiful, wonderful, amazing, magnificent, fantastic, incredible (have a gone too far yet?) MOTHER to make a blog for Japan. I figured now is just a good a time as any to begin witting about my Japan experience, after all things are already happening

I found out my address, who my predecessor is, and where I will be teaching. Matt and I will be living in Kiyosato / Takane in Hokuto-Shi, Yamanashi-Ken. Apparently it is in the middle of nowhere...kinda excited about a rural placement, but kind of worried that I might go crazy with nothing to do. On the other hand, I think it will really challenge me to be more creative with my time... especially since Matt and I have decided not to buy a TV *cue drama chords*
I know I will need to find something like Kung Fu to become involved in when I get there...I just don't know what it will be yet.

Okay! I think this was a successful first post....questions, comments?