Brunch

Glenn and I are big fans of the TV show How I Met Your Mother. I highly recommend the show if you're not watching it already. The other day we watched the episode where Marshall takes his guy friend to brunch since he and his girlfriend broke up.

"Who doesn't love brunch?"

Everyone is the correct answer.

Coincidentally, we had plans to meet my former Tuesday night class for brunch in Tokyo on Sunday morning. The New Sanno hotel puts together a pretty massive Sunday brunch buffet and I was happy to spend the morning with our Japanese friends.

Farewell Keita, Hatsuki & Mariko!

I've been teaching my Tuesday night class for over two years and we had our final class the week before my parents came. As Keita put it, "little progress, but good friendship and always enjoy time." So I'm not the greatest teacher, but we always had good conversation and a nice time.

I got Keita a flight jacket with his own name patch and Liberty Bell gear. He was SO cute about it and called it his "treasure". He didn't even want to try it on at first and just kept smiling and smiling.

Around 8:00 every Tuesday night after class ended, Stella would jump up on the back of the couch to say goodbye. My students loved Stella and they would bring her treats and rub her belly throughout class. Keita said goodbye to Stella as he walked out the door every Tuesday.

 

Good-bye!

Takoyaki minus the Tako

My good friend, Yuki, took me to a fun restaurant in Yamato last week where we can make our own takoyaki. Takoyaki is a gooey dough ball that usually contains octopus (tako), but at this restaurant they had many options to choose from. We had the mochi and cheese balls.

They pour the dough in to the heated pan and you have a metal stick that you use to flip, rotate and form the takoyaki.

A little sauce and you are good to go! Now, if only they had an English menu...

Goodbye Nanako!

I had my last class with my sweet, sassy, 4 year-old student, Nanako, yesterday. She's smart and funny and Princess Ariel obsessed! I am going to miss her so much.

 

She's going to become a big sister in October and I am so sad I am going to miss meeting her little brother. This is the card she gave me yesterday and when she told me "Bye bye sayonara" it brought both of us to tears. The Okanos are such a sweet family and I hope we can stay in touch!

Futaba English Circle Farewell Party

Last Thursday was my farewell party for one of my favorite English classes. I've only taught them for a year, but it was a lot of fun. The first class has 8 members and most of them lived in the States at one point or another so their English was great. In fact, many of them even have their own English schools in their homes. The second class was more beginner, but they would write a "topic" for each class and share sometimes the funniest stories about their life. I'll miss them very much!

We went to an Italian restaurant in Ebina that serves locally sourced produce and food. How 2011 of them! It was delicious! We had salad, 3 courses of pasta, pork and dessert! The food was amazing!

Of course, it wouldn't be a Japanese party if there wasn't some sort of game or scheduled event. Next, we played a game where a person had a word on their back and we had to give them one-word clues to help them guess. I noticed while we were playing that the first letter of each word was red while the rest were black. I started figuring out what they were spelling in the middle of the game and thank goodness because I would have been there for awhile otherwise.

All the letters spelled out: WE WILL MISS YOU. Too cute.

During dessert, they presented me with gifts and a book of notes that they had written for me. I think it will be my favorite souvenir from Japan. So thoughtful and in their broken English, it is just perfect.

I hope to stay in touch with many of them in the future. They gave me their email and mailing addresses so I could write to them. I told them if they write to me, I will write them back so they can practice their English.

While saying good-bye to all of them, I, of course, started crying. I can handle many situations, but good-byes are not one of them. They all commented that "normally, you are so cool, but today, you are like young lady." Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but either way, I am going to miss them a lot!

The 3 months of good-byes continues...

Sumiyo Snacks: Potatoes!

I had class with my student, Sumiyo, this week and as usual, she brought me some sort of edible gift. This one was better than those in the past (dried fish snack mix? No thanks.)- homegrown potatoes from her garden! Sumiyo and her family have many projects they work on including a large farm, silk moth collecting and an air-conditioning business. I'll be making Traxler family potato salad for the 4th of July BBQ just like my grandma and mom always made. It will be my first attempt though so I hope I do it justice!

Farewell Keiko!

I had my last class with Keiko Suzuki on Monday. She is one of my favorite students by far. She studies hard and always has the funniest stories to tell me despite her limited English. Each week we had class, it was a combination of dictionaries, charades and a more speaking little by little. She represents so many things that I love about the people of this country. Their generosity, how hard they work, her loyalty to her family and so many other things.

We were both in tears by the time I left on Monday and so was the new teacher who was there to meet her. Keiko told me she was going to keep studying English so she could come to America and visit me. I hope she does!

The Sayonaras Begin

Last Wedneday, I had my last PALS English class in Machida. They had a small farewell party for me during each class. It was very sweet and they all had very nice things to say. They are like my little Japanese grandmothers and the other teacher calls herself my Japanese mother. Her card even said "don't forget to tell me when you have babies." 

During a class a couple weeks ago, one student described how she "liked to do weed." I just chuckled to myself. She meant she likes to weed her garden. I feel sometimes like I've learned to speak another language. Unfortunately, it's not Japanese, but an English-Japanese hybrid with many missing words.

I never thought I would be an English teacher before I moved to Japan, but I have really enjoyed the opportunity. They would share stories with me about the vacations, family weddings, new grandchildren and everything in between. It was so much fun. I'll miss them and their funny stories.

More Merriment

 My Thursday morning class had our annual Christmas party a few weeks ago. We had lunch and a gift exchange at the Officer's Club.

My favorite part of Japanese parties is the schedule. I haven't been to a party yet where there wasn't a schedule. At this particular lunch the schedule was as follows:
              11:15-12:15 or so: Lunch time ("and of course, talking and talking, that's most important")
              12:15-12:30: Introductions
              12:30-1:10: Gift Exchange
              1:10: Sing Christmas Carols
              1:20: Group Photo

The schedule was explained when everyone arrived and the class leader was keeping track of the schedule. I love it! I guess it makes it easy and no one has time to be bored.

They are a fun class and a few friends got to come as well, including Glenn. That's new!

A winter fairy is melting a snowman

In my Tuesday night class last week, my students asked me about a Docomo cellphone commercial they saw on tv. They said, "she is singing English but I don't understand what."

So, I got out the laptop and found it on YouTube. Once, I heard it, I just started laughing and wrote it down. I required a few explanations and this lovely drawing for them to fully understand what I was talking about.

It's a fairy with a hairdryer or a snowman in a microwave, your choice. By the end, they were laughing too. 

"Who is a winter fairy?"

"Good question," I said.

Really?

I sent out an email to find a replacement English teacher and this one of the responses I got...

hi ms kelly,
i am very interested to have a communication class with her and at the same time i can make friends with japanese people :) i am living near sagamino station, and i can meet her up at hon atsugi station, please give me info and contact no. thank you so much

k****

Sent from my iPhone

 

Really? You want me to suggest you as an English teacher with that email? I'm not saying I don't have grammar mistakes and spelling errors, but I'm not requesting an ENGLISH class. I'm pretty sure iPhones have a shift button. :)

Merry Machida Christmas

This is a picture from my Wednesday afternoon class' Christmas party. A Japanese party wouldn't be a Japanese party if everything wasn't planned and scheduled. First we played Bingo, then we ate and I talked about Christmas. Then we exchanged presents. This class is the more advanced class and we did the whole thing over again for the second class. With different decorations and food of course. They are such a fun group and I've enjoyed teaching them for the last year and a half. This is my second Christmas with them. I made mini loaves of banana, cranberry, ginger and pumpkin bread for all of them. They were big fans! I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away now!

Sumiyo Snacks Part II

A new snack from Sumiyo!

A few weeks ago she brought me yuzu- a Japanese fruit. In theory, yuzu sounds great. As a tea it is pretty good. In alcohol, also good.

In this form....not so much.

She instructed me to drain the pouch and then mix the sauce with it.

The fruit in the sauce smelled fishy. The sauce smelled like honey mustard.

Mixed. Tasted.
Result:

That was the second package. Sorry friends! Not a winner.

Sumiyo Snacks Part I

One of my students brings me a random Japanese snack each time I see her. It's very thoughtful of her and it's always new and entertaining. Not always delicious though.

Our first class, she brought me Japanese rice cakes. They are fine and all. I tried a few. The other 50...not so much. They are like potato chips to the Japanese though. Everyone loves them.

The next week she brought me yummy chocolate cookie things. I love dessert so I ate all of those no problem.

Our next class she brought me this trail mix.

Did you look close?

Cause it's looking at you!

Yuuki and Miyuu

I had my last class with Yuuki and Miyuu before I left on my trip. My schedule has gotten just a little to hectic lately and I've had to unload a few of my classes. I passed this class on to an elementary school teacher who just moved here. I know they'll be in great hands. I love how their little personalities are conveyed perfectly in this picture. Shy, reserved Yuuki and outgoing Miyuu. I've enjoyed being their English teacher so much. I hope I can take them trick or treating in October or maybe substitute a class here and there. Sayonara girls!

I had an iPad for 3 hours...

One of my students is obsessed with Apple. Ridiculously obsessed. To the point that he couldn't wait an additional 4 weeks for an iPad after the release date in Japan was pushed back. His solution? Ask me to order one from the US. Which has all English apps, requires use of American itunes (which requires an American credit card and mailing address). He went through all that for an iPad 4 weeks early. Ok! So here's the iPad I had for 3 hours...

He of course paid me back for the iPad, shipping, taxes, forwarding service (since Apple won't ship to FPO addresses..boo!) and my trouble, but when we made the exchange, he brought me the cutest Japanese cakes. That is true Japanese style. Do something for me, I will give you something wonderful or edible. Or wonderfully edible.

PS. Did you notice it has a little ice pack since it was hot out last week. So smart. So J.

Thanks Osami! And no Annie, I didn't take his picture, but I wish I would have! He was very excited! He drove all the way to base to pick it up!

Sagamihara Giant Kite Festival

I went to this festival with my former student, Keiko. Keiko has started graduate school so we no longer meet for class, but I was so happy she invited me to go to the festival with her! When I say giant kite, I mean seriously giant. The biggest kite was the size of 128 tatami mats. Why the J's use a tatami mat as a measurement, I will never know, but a single tatami mat is 90 cm x 180 cm and it weighed 950 kg! We're talking over 2000 pounds for all you Americans! Here is Keiko and I in front of the giant kite.

The kites were all on display for picture taking and viewing and while we waited for the wind to pick up. Keiko and I had some yummy food while we waited and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a beautiful day. The wind wasn't too strong so only the smaller kites made it in to the air. They were still the biggest kites I have ever seen!

This is as far as the giant kite ever made it-

Keiko was worried the whole time that I wasn't enjoying myself simply because I didn't see the big kite fly, but it was still amazing. It took 80 people to try and fly the biggest kite. Take a look at the rope they are pulling!

The team of 80 people was orchestrated by team leaders with red and white flags. Red means wait. White means ready to go. Surprisingly, to get the kites in the air, they simply lifted the front edge and waited for the wind to catch it, then they would push up the next section and finally push the edge of the kite up. It was pretty simple for the smaller kites. The hardest part was keeping all of the ropes straight and untangled!

I also loved the carp fish wind socks that were hanging all across the fair grounds. They used these to measure the wind speed and said when the fish were parallel to the ground, it would be time to fly!

We weren't quite ready yet at this time of the day. A beautiful way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!

Hanami with Keita and Hatsuki

When the cherry blossoms were still in full bloom, a couple of my students took Glenn and I to Tokyo to check out a few places and to see more cherry blossoms. It was a long day, but fun to hang out with them outside of my house where we have class.

First, we had burritos at our favorite Chipotle knock-off and then went to Asakusa where Glenn and I had both been before, but never together. Oddly enough, we had the burritos last on Christmas Eve. Apparently we like having burritos on Jesus-related holidays. It's a tradition. :)

Then we walked to the nearby Kappabashi district that is known as the "Kitchen District". You can buy anything restaurant or cooking related along the major street. Many of the stores were closed since it was Sunday, but we still have fun checking all the places out. One of my favorite stores was a plastic food shop. Most restaurants in Japan have plastic food displays of what the food looks like so that you can see it before you order. Many of the stores in Kappabashi were supply stores for restaurants. Looks like a grocery store, right? Since everything is hand made and hand-painted, some items were pretty pricey. This hunk o' meat was over 157,000 yen. That's approaching $2000!

Next we took the train over towards the Imperial Palace to check out the cherry blossoms. We wanted to see them under the lights, but we got there a little early so we checked out Yasukuni shrine which was next door. Since the cherry blossoms only last a short time, everywhere was packed with people. I'm getting used to it though. It doesn't bother me so much any more. You just wait your turn and weave your way through everyone eventually.

We stopped for a few snacks and a sakura (cherry blossom) flavored chu-hi. Keita got the octopus legs- oishi! Then back to the cherry blossoms.

Once the lights came on, there was a collective "ahhh" from the whole crowd. No where else have I ever seen such excitement over some foliage. I was right there with them though. The cherry blossoms are really beautiful. For a week.

We took the train back towards home and went to Keita and Hatsuki's favorite izakaya near their house. Thanks for such a fun day!

Our whole day was ended with our car being impounded and booted because our tags were expired. That part wasn't so fun. Ugh.