Sunrise, Sunrise

Just got in from my two-day adventure up Mt. Fuji. It seems like it was all a dream, so surreal, except the pain keeps reminding me how real it was. I feel every jolt in ways I never imagined. Thoughts from the trip: I loved the parts were you need your hands to scramble over the rocks. I hate lose gravel. And stairs are my new nemesis.

July 30 began with a rocky start. I had over slept and woke up at 6am to Hideki calling to say they were ready to pick me up. Dressed and packed in five minutes. I was so out of it that when I jumped into the car Hideki asked where my glasses were I had totally forgotten them. The rest of the trip only improved. The woman sitting next to me on the bus was a God-sent she is Korean and speaks four languages including Japanese and English so she translated all the information for me. We arrived at Station 5 at 4pm ate supper and started to climb at 6pm. There were a group of Nova teachers also on the group tour so I climbed with them, Yeah for other foreigners! Arrived at station 8 around 10:30. We were suppose to crash for three hours. I couldn’t sleep then there was a mix up over which group was to leave at 12:30 so were got up a whole hour early. To pass the time the Nova boys had a farting contest. 2am we set out for the last leg of the upward journey. My thoughts of that time bitter cold and grueling. So thankful it didn’t rain. Saw a beautiful sunrise and arrived on the top of Fuji around 5:20. Looked around for about 20 minutes before the descend. It was so much faster going down but harder on the knees and joints. And arrived at the bottom at 9am. It was an awesome bang to finish my year in Japan. The next four days will be spent in packing and good-byes. Home is just around the corner.

Starting out 

Climbing Break 

Nova boys:
Passing time, passing gas.

I made it! 

Mt. Fuji from a distance...really impressed how clear the weather was. 

Last Days...

Classes are over and Grace is on summer vacation. This week each day was a good bye to a different group of students and today was the hardest of them all. It was the kindergarten’s finial concert. I think the year ended strong. They did "The Little Red Hen" very cute. The parents also got to see some of the activities we’ve done over the past year. Then came the good-byes. The whole thing is surreal, just odd. Really hard to believe especially because these children have been a large part of my life in Japan.

Started packing this afternoon. I hate packing, I still have a week here but I needed to start now. Then was supper with Steve, Tiffany and Maki. It was our last night as a group. Steve and Tiffany fly to Canada tomorrow for a month break. Tiffany will be taking on the kindergarten class when she returns in Sept. I will miss them. Tomorrow at 6am I set out to achieve a personal goal. I’ll have pictures when I get back…if I survive and succeed.

We Learn...

To help the children remember our weekly units we made posters. I was happy with how well they turned out so here they are:

I like the monkey and the frog.

Baby Hot, Hot, Hot!

It’s getting hot, very hot! Just thinking causes one to break out in a sweat. The humidity sticks like a thick blanket of heat. As a glasses wearer I’ve come to expect moments of "foggyness" due to moving from cold to hot. Traditionally this has been from outdoors on a cold winter’s day to indoor but not today. Tonight my glasses fogged up when I stepped out of Maki’s nice air-conditioned car into the muggy outdoors.

In other news: there have been more good-byes. Finished my last class with the ladies tonight. We had a movie night after as a last ha-rah. Kindergarten classes are going very well this week. We are preparing for the children’s end of the year concert on Saturday. Steve and Tiffany head back to Canada for a short vacation on the 30th. They will be returning to Japan for another year at Grace. I am dreading packing. Yesterday I learned to roll sushi and prepare okonomiyaki…yummy!

Word Up: Hashi -chopsticks

The First of the Lasts.

There are just twelve days left before I am back in Canada. Today was my last time to preach in Japan, last Sunday morning fellowship, last youth night, and the first of many hard good byes. My friends words encouraged me. They showed me a glimpse into how God’s been working in their lives. Looking back over the year all the struggles, doubts, and culture shock has been worth while. I will miss them.

Here’s the Sunday Morning gang:

Catch Up...

What a day: taught, finished the last parent teacher meeting, had a visit to city hall for some paper work regarding my departure, taught again, then sushi with Maki, busy but good. Seems like all of July has been like that. Hard for me to believe in two weeks I’ll be back in Canada. These last days have been just one big blur.
Highlights over that past two weeks have been:

Teawith Yoko-san and the owner of Pan World.

A movie night with my ladies class.

An International party for a local kid’s club.

And the most amazing Japanese meal ever. At the beginning of the month Maki’s mother took us to a very elegant restaurant in Nara. The woman serving wore all traditional kimonos. There were ten courses (only took pictures of eight). There were so many different tastes and new food. The whole experience was wonderful, it is past description. So I rely on pictures, pictures and more pictures.

Word Up: Onaka ga ipai –I’m Full

The Food...

The Story of a Fish

It scares me when my food is looking at me...
...oishidesune...
...yum the tails the best part...
... and gone.

The Sunglasses

Maki got these cool new glasses so we all tried them out. I think Steve's too cool for school.

Word Up: Megane -glasses

A Correction

Earlier I said that yukatas were only for girls. I was mistaken. While it is more common to see woman in yukatas and stores I looked seemed to only have the feminine style. There are yukatas for guys. You can even get matching patterns. And a small life update: time seems to be going crazy fast now. I have less then three weeks till I return to Canada. Today I started parent teacher interviews. All free time has been booked solid with all the friends and students who want to say good bye. It’s been fun but busy. There are some great memories being made. I’ve got so many pictures to share…when I’m not so sleepy. Night. Zzzzzzzz.

Independence Day

Happy July 4th to all my American friends this vending machine is for you:

On the topic of celebrating Happy Belated Canada Day. Maki helped us be festive with these very patriotic toenails:


I am still very excited about the recent addition to my wardrobe. Check out pictures and the account of the shopping trip on the pervious post…ikimashou!

Shopping Trip

The hot weather during celebrations, fireworks, and yukatas. Yukatas are thinner kimonos worn in the summer. Yesterday my friend Noriko and her daughter went shopping with me to help pick out a lovely yukata with traditional looking shoes. We visited five different shops with so many different yukatas. They were beautiful. There were every type of colour and different patterns. Some were traditional and less traditional. We saw one that was black with checked strips...for the punk-kimono look? Here is a some pictures from the day:

Noriko and her daughter.

Hello Kitty is everywhere!

And here is the days purchase:

Old MacDonald Had a Farm…

We’ve been doing farm unit in the kindergarten class. In the process I learned Japanese animals have their own unique sound. I think ol’MacDonald would be surprised to visit a Japanese farm. This is what he’d hear here, there, and everywhere:

Horses say "Hee Hee-n"
Cows go "Moe Moe"
Pigs say "Boo Boo"
Rosters say "Kokay-koko"
Sheep go "May May"
Dogs say "Wah-g Wah-g"
Cats say "Naw Naw"
Mouse go "Chew Chew"
Frog say "Kay-row Kay-row"

It’s all cultural.