We're Leaving Already?!

Wow! I'm so sorry I haven't kept this updated while I've been here in Japan. We settled into a daily routine (for the most part) and I didn't have the time or urgent things to write about. Let me go back and explain what I've been up to this month! For the most part, we had classes every day - Japanese language and Japanese culture classes. Our culture classes covered Japanese lifestyle, literature, music, haikus, games, and much more. We also met with some of the Senior Seminars for English students at IC to talk with them and learn about each others' cultures together. They were all very fun and I know I learned so much about eastern culture and especially Japanese culture. At the end of the day I would always come home and talk to my host family about what I learned today and we'd discuss it more, and they would ask about American culture. I feel like I probably taught just as much or MORE than I learned this month by teaching proper English phrases and talking to my family about every topic under the Sun! About once or twice a week we would take a trip out to some other site around Ibaraki, so now I'll try to recap those visits:

Nikko... It's a really big mountain with a waterfall and some shrines and temples. We saw the tallest waterfall in Japan there then went to Tosho-gu temple where the tour guide explained to us how the Buddhist and Shinto religions work in Japan. Basically they are not exclusive from each other as we in America would imagine something like Christianity and Judaism. Shintoism originates from Japanese culture and involves worshipping spirits, and Buddhism follows Buddha or many Buddhas. In Japan, they are practiced simultaneously going to Shinto temples for some occassions - births or weddings - and to Buddhist temples for others - deaths.

Omika Elementary School... We went to sing and play games with the kids, and that wore us out so fast! I was with 4th graders most of the time, and we played one game where 6 people (me and 5 of the 4th graders) had to stand on a single sheet of newspaper. Then the teacher played rock, paper, scissors and one person from each group played along. If your group lost rock, paper, scissors with the teacher everyone had to get off the paper, fold it in half and get back on. Basically it ended up being a game of every kid climb and hang onto the American. It was hilarious and so much fun. Then we went outside and played Japanese style dodgeball, and let me just say those kids have no mercy! I was most impressed at lunch time when I ate with some 2nd graders. They eat in their classrooms and were very orderly and polite, speaking to me in such clear English. Of course they were also 2nd graders, so we were talking about Minnie Mouse and Pokemon... At the end of lunch the children all gathered their things and each took a different task - recycling the milk cartons, washing the rice bowls, rinsing all the chopstick, or getting water for everyone to brush their teeth with. I sat there watching with the other Americans with me shocked that these little kids were so disciplined and happy to take care of my tray along with theirs.

Dr. and Mrs. Ives' Party... One of my professors hosted a party for us at his house, and his daughter is a friend of mine back in Oklahoma. She had put together a scavenger hunt of sorts for me and one other friend to do, so while we ate and had fun we went around meeting people we didn't know (including her neighbor) to ask them random questions to solve the clues to find our prize - some cute Japanese socks. The other girl with me doing the hunt lives far away from the university so the professor invited her to stay the night there and me also so she wouldn't feel out of place. So we stayed around talking and helping clean up as everyone else headed home then stayed up later than we should have talking until we finally fell asleep on our pallets on the floor.

Halloween Party... Hosted by the IC English department, so lots of the people we've met in classes and meetings were there to hang out with. We had a costume contest and took tons of pictures and had fun just dancing around like crazy people in our silly costumes. I was glad I was able to borrow a costume from my host sister instead of having to buy anything. I did help put together two other costumes, so if you'd like to check out pictures I made the New York Yankees jersey and helped piece together the Where's Waldo costume. Unfortunately, my camera was dead so I couldn't take any pictures, but I know there are plenty in other people's albums as well.

Weekend with my Host Family... We got up on a Saturday morning and went to see another waterfall, and this one was more impressive than the first one in my opinion. It's shorter but wider and we got really close to it instead of far off. I wish I could remember the name of it, but it is one of the three most famous in Japan, and this one is in Ibaraki. Then we stopped at a little shop to eat some strange Japanese foods before we went to a restaurant for noodles and fish on a stick. It has taken some adjusting to be able to bite into a fish while it's head and tail are still on, but it was all delicious. On our way home, we stopped at a little apple tree place on the side of the road to pick our own apples. Haha, it was fun just laughing with Megumi while we humored her parents. When we got home everyone took a nice long nap just to wake up to to out to eat again for dinner. My host parents ordered so much food - dish after dish saying "try this...try this..." They are sooo sweet to me and my only complaint is that they feed me too much!!

Oarai Aquarium... Basically like Sea World Japan! It was really fun to see all the aquariums full of fish and have a day to act like kids. We went to the dolphin show also, which is always impressive. Those dolphins were so smart too...they know Japanese! We all enjoyed a day of corndogs, touching baby sharks and getting told to get off the statues outside. (Erin is apparently our trouble child on the trip) Haha!

Well, I know I didn't do our trip justice with those brief recaps, so I will do my very best to keep up with it better as we get back on the road tomorrow. Or to the air I should say. Saturday we are flying out from Tokyo to Hong Kong for about a 5 day stay. Before I leave Japan behind me in my blog I will also write another update tomorrow morning about the mission work we have done during our time. I hope from this update you can see how busy we were every day!

I love you all, and I love hearing from you as well!
Amy

Watashi wa totemo isogashii desu!!

Translation: "I am very busy!!"

It's been a while since I updated this blog, so I'll try to recap some of what's been going on this past week. It seems like we've settled into a routine, which is nice for a while. They keep us very busy with classes and activities with some of the IC English major students.

Last Friday we had a Karate demonstration during our lunch time, which was really cool. They did some things as a group and a couple individual shows breaking Japanese clay shingles or cinder blocks. That night we stayed the night on campus for an English seminar put together by Jim Batten, a professor at IC. We ate traditional Japanese barbeque and played games that emphasized the importance of understanding different cultures. I think the hardest part for our group was when we went to bed, sleeping on thin mats on the floor with rice pillows.

Sunday I went to the Mito Church of Christ where many of the graduated OC students attend if they come over as Assistant English Teachers. The Japanese government will pay native English speakers to come over to teach in elementary schools, so it was really fun to see them again and for them to see familiar American faces. The rest of the day I spent walking around Mito, shopping and enjoying a day to relax. That evening OC had a reunion in Mito that doubles as a recruiting meeting for IC students. I also received my iPod Touch from OC that night, so I was really excited about having my music to listen to again! (For those of you not familiar with OC, we are a wireless campus, and every incoming freshman receives an Apple Macbook. Apple also gives every student an iPod Touch with their laptop, but I wasn't able to get mine before I left)

Monday was a holiday for us! No...not for Columbus Day, Haha! It was National Health-Sports Day. It was also my host sister, Megumi's birthday! I put a whole bunch of Reese's in a gift bag for her and told her I hoped she liked American candy. She LOVED it! For lunch we went to my host mom's...mom's house. So, I got to meet my host grandma! Haha! She made some great food for us and invited me to come back again before I leave. Megumi's brother, Hiroki, was also in town for the weekend. He is 21 and goes to university in Tokyo. He also spent 2 months in Australia earlier this year, so he was very handy to have around with the grandma talking to me only in Japanese. She would ramble off in Japanese to me while I smiled at her hoping someone was planning to translate then look at Hiroki who would condense 2 minutes of Japanese into, "Do you want some of that?" So I'd look at the dish and recognize it as something I had tried before and really, really didn't like. So I'd ask him, "Do you like that?" and he'd laugh and yell, "I HATE IT!" So, I'd kindly (I hope) decline through him. Her food was delicious, but if you've ever eaten nato or...some kind of mashed up flower dish...you'll understand.

Tuesday we had class like normal, and was an overall uneventful day -- comparatively speaking.

Wednesday we did not have classes, but we left from IC at 8:45 to go to Ushiku to see the World's largest Buddha. Let me just say...it was big. I got dizzy staring up at the top from the base. There was a miniature head nearby that was about the same height as I am, and the sign next to it said it was 1/1000th the size of the head of the statue in front of us. Inside was an elevator so we went up to about the chest level and all the way down saw hundreds of smaller Buddha's. It was quite an experience seeing all of those idols and people worshiping them and offering money to these statues. I think seeing those things plants the urgency of telling the world about God. It was quite fitting that we finished off our night with another devotional at IC with more Let's Start Talking lessons. It's so foreign to all of us to tell people about the life of Jesus who have no idea about it. Stories that have become so second nature to us take on a whole new light again when you explain the miracles to someone for the first time.

Yesterday, Thursday, we had class like normal and afterwards I went with my host mom to a Japanese concert! I really had no idea what to expect, but she explained in the car on the way there that these artists were popular about 30 years ago. My host mom laughed when we got there and told me, "Everyone here is...um...old." :) It reminded me of my own Mom who went to see The Police last summer. "Sting was so old!" Haha!

Today, is business as usual again. Japanese language class this morning, and after a long break for lunch and computer time we'll have a Japanese culture class in a few minutes. I'm not sure what the plan is for this weekend, but I'm sure my host mom has something planned. I should get going so I'm not late to class. I'll try to upload some more pictures soon, and I miss you all!

Amy

Texas Treats / Let's Start Talking!

Thanks Nana for the package! I just got it today, and I was SO happy to see the contents listed before I even opened it. Mmmmmmmmmm!!!

I had forgotten to give my host family some of the jerky that Mom and Dad sent in their package until tonight at dinner. My host mom asked me how we cook salmon in America. (That's what I had for dinner tonight) I told her I wasn't sure because we do not eat fish very often at my house. I explained that my Dad used to go fishing more often, but now he doesn't. He goes hunting every year though for deer (Shika). They were very excited about that and we talked about it for a long time. My mom asked if it was for hobby, and I said yes. I showed them on the calendar that my Dad goes away for one week and gets one deer, then a month later he goes for another week and gets one deer. (I simplify things a lot when explaining) My host dad was so impressed and started typing away at his electronic Japanese-English dictionary. He pointed at it and I laughed and agreed when it said "envious"! I told them to wait one moment so I could run up to my room. I think I confused them, but when I came back down with "Homemade Jerky from Texas" they were SO excited!! My host dad said that jerky is rare, but his father used to make it also. My host mom was very impressed that my Dad had hunted the deer and my Mom had made the jerky. I had to convince that that you aren't a professional jerky maker, Mom. Haha!

After that I ran back upstairs and grabbed a box of cookies and brownies and brought them back down to share. Nana...my host family LOVES you. They think you are a WONDERFUL cook, and my host mom wants to know how to make brownies! If you could send a recipe to make them from scratch that would be very helpful, and I think one night before I leave I will work on making dinner for them. Complete with American brownies (if possible).

When I got the box, of course all 24 of the people on Pac Rim with me wanted to know what it was and wanted me to open it right away. I told them it was too hard to carry around a box that was open, and I would open it later. I ride the same bus as 2-3 other people, so when we got on the bus to go home I opened it to share with them. It was a great bus ride, and all involved thank you, Nana! You are a very famous person in Hitachiota, Ibaraki, Japan!! We had to remind ourselves that we hadn't eaten dinner yet, so while we were hungry and the food was so good, we would have to stop before we ate all of it on one bus ride! Thank you so much, Nana! It's like a little box of home.

Today we didn't have class. Instead we toured a Hitachi factory in Omika -- the same city as Ibaraki Christian University. Then we had lunch with the Hitachiota-Ro (or something like that) Rotary Club. It was very formal and nice. Some of our OC people gave speeches, one of which was a Junior Rotarian when he was in High School. They enjoyed that a lot, and then we sang for them. It seems that everywhere we go we are asked to sing. I'm glad at those times that our numbers of guys and girls is split evenly. They thanked us for coming with gifts of a Japanese silk cloth and a little Japanese toy. I have collected a few things here in Japan like that and some souvenirs/gifts that I will probably ship home from Hong Kong where postage is cheaper again.

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Wednesday night we held our first Let's Start Talking (LST) session. We are meeting in the chapel on the IC campus, and any and all students interested in practicing speaking English are welcome to come! We sing some songs in English, and then we work out of FriendSpeak workbooks reading very short sections from the book of Luke together with the Japanese students. It goes very slowly, but the workbooks are designed to help the reader understand. After we would read over one section I would ask Mio, the girl I was working with, if she understood. Sometimes she said yes, and would only have a few words that she didn't understand, so I would try to explain in other words and reread the section again pausing on those words to make sure the message was clear.

The workbook follows each passage with questions about the reading or about words that were probably new, just to make sure the meaning is getting across clearly. We would spend as much time as she wanted on each section, and I would try to make it clear to her what was going on in the stories. We were able to get through the first 4 lessons in the workbook that night, which got us through the introduction to the book of Luke, Gabriel appearing to Mary telling her she would have Jesus, Joseph and Mary going to Nazareth for the census and having the baby, and Jesus staying behind at the Temple in Jerusalem after the Passover festival. It was fun to watch her slowly understand the words and concepts we were trying to get across, and she was very quick to pick up on it. I told her I hoped she could come back next Wednesday, but she was noncommital. We are hoping that as more people find out that we are doing the lessons more people will come. We had about 8 Japanese students to our 24 American students, so we have a lot of room to grow. There are also long-term LST teachers that are on campus nearly 10 hours a day, 4 days a week. So while our short-term efforts may not be much, we are hoping to plant the seeds for someone else to water so God can grow them after we are long gone.

I love you all SO much, and I can't wait to tell more stories! Every single day is an adventure! Tomorrow we are going to the IC Junior High School to hang out with some 8th graders. We went on Wednesday morning also to a younger class, and the 4 girls at my table gave me a bag FULL of oragami flowers.

More stories later. Test tomorrow!!
Much love!
Amy