さようなら 2007！

As I'm typing on a friend's computer in Tokyo, we've been trying to get the most out of our last day of the year. We've already gone to a building that has an indoor theme park filled with nearly 100 types each of gyoza, dessert, and ice cream. I think that weve accomplished that feat.

Thinking about this year, I think I can safely say with Ron that this has been our happiest and most fulfilling year. So much has happened and so many goals have been put in place so that we can have more accomplishments for the upcoming years. I dont think many people can say that they have completed a Teachers Program, finishing college, Graduated, Marriage, Honeymoon, Travel to Japan, and teaching careers in a high academic school and sucessful English School. I think we've done pretty well. I can proudly say that I'm leaving 2007 with very little regrets. Hopefully with this year, we can see more traveling, more personal growth, and a better hold on the demon language, Japanese.

みんな、よいお年を！
Everyone, Have a great year!

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

Have you ever tried to decifer the meaning of some Christmas songs? Being an English teacher really makes you realize the insanity of your own language. It's the strangest thing to get the kids to sing "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly", they not understand it, you explaining that it means "Decorate the hallways with a lot of Christmas plants", and then them asking (in their heads, never aloud) why they can't just say that. Even with Christmas~explaining MISTLETOE, REINDEER, and ORNAMENT is both eye opening and hair-ripping worthy. The secrets of opening your own language is an amazing thing.

To everyone, have a wonderful Christmas! You are all very missed during this holiday season. Thank you for being such a positive support for us in our trip. Nothing feels better than having an adventure and knowing that there are people at your home that is cheering you on and wishing you a safe journey. We love you all.

Such stupidity needs no title

Everyone has seen Transformers, right?

You know that one scene where Josh Duhamel (the yummy army guy) rides the motorcycle towards the Decepticons, purposely falls off the bike, and slides while shooting his gun directly at the robots. Well, besides sounding like a complete dork, I had my own similar episode; minus the robots, guns, or the coolness.

So I was on my way to Ron's work on my Saturday off. I decided to take my bike because it was a beautiful winter day. The snow was starting to melt after heavily snowing a couple days before. Usually people don't bike in the winter time. The ice can really mess up the friction with the bike and there is a big decrease in traction...

What does that mean?

So I started riding. As I rode, I saw a patch of ice that I thought I can quickly go through before any of the "scary ice" can supposedly get me. As I rode through it, I did the natural regaining my balance by moving my handle bars a teeny bit. No sooner had I moved it a millimeter, when my bike completely slipped from under me, which created a beautiful (for other people) and painful (for me) slide on the ice. I must have slid a good 5 feet. I got up the same way ice skaters get up after they fall from their triple luxe. Although sadly, my reason for falling wasn't as graceful. It felt very Matrix and very Mr. Bean at the same time. Needless to say, I have full understanding and respect for the scary ice.

Ouch for Christmas!

Merry Christmas

So since there is a lack of white men in Morioka I have been chosen to dress up in a big red suit and go Ho Ho Ho. I will be putting up more pictures after the fun, but until then here is a teaser.

Get in My Belly! Wanko Soba

Today with Ron's coworkers, we competed in a Wanko Soba Competition. Wanko Soba is a very famous thing in Morioka. It's basically an all you can eat with soba noodles. Women constantly feed you bite-sized bits of soba until you finally put a bowl over yours to show that you are finished. Ron was on the boys team of three and I was on the girls team of three. Each team member had two minutes to eat as much as they could. Altogether, Ron's group got 165 bowls and we ate 75 bowls. We didn't win any prizes because if you can believe it the winning team was able to eat 192 bowls.

There was also a 15 minute single contest. It was the most painful thing to watch. Almost as hard as watching Joey Chestnut eating hot dogs. One woman won the contest by eating 340 BOWLS! The next person after her only ate 219. It was amazing. She was a Hoover. So after the competition we left with semi-full bellies and happy hearts. These are one of those things that make you feel like a native.
Ahhhh, yet more evidence to show that we have good lives.

Here is a link to ron pretending to be a vacuum at the competition.

The importance of family

As I was flipping through the pictures that I have accumulated over the past four years, I started to realize the importance of family. Regardless of your family's background or relationship, they are the people who you usually have the most memories with. And even if you don't have a very strong family or never see your family, there are those people that you make as family. I guess basic human instinct is to find people that you can have memories with. Being in Japan makes me realize how important it is to have the memories that I have of my own family. I'm starting to realize things that I haven't before; things that I was either too young to realize or things that I didn't realize because I was at home. I'm starting to understand the choices that were made in my upbringing or things that I often took for granted.

Right now in one of my schools, there is one teacher that is really interested in the Japanese-American experience. I've been teaching the class about my own childhood and things that make me special as a Japanese-Chinese-American. There are certain things that I never thought was special, until now. I've just asked my aunts and my father what their experience was growing up. Now, I feel like I've learned so many things about my family. I never knew my great-grandfather was an activist for Japanese workers, that my great-grandmother was a picture bride, that my grandfather was a "no-no" boy. I feel a little silly that it took this teacher to open up stories that I had complete access to before. For that, I'm grateful. I wish I had known this when my grandparents were alive. I would have liked to hear their stories. I feel that being away has given me a time to really reflect on my family and their importance. For them (my family), I am grateful.