My World from Vertigo to Felicity

Tyndale President's Dinner 2008

2008-03-12T18:03:00.001-07:00

I'm happy to share that Andrew and I went to the President's Dinner for Tyndale last night. It was a fantastic time!

Andrew was selected to be interviewed on stage during the dinner, one of three students! What an honour, and let me say he did a fabulous job. I was so very proud of him.

Phillip Yancey spoke after the interviews were completed, and gave a wonderful message. He talked about his new book entitled 'Prayer'. Basically told us about how Prayer is the key to remaining in God's presence and the truth in our crazy crazy world.

Another cool thing was that I won a prize in the draw! It was just a light jacket that has Tyndale embroidered on it...not too sure how much that'll get worn. ;)

The night ended in slight disarray when the bus taking us back to Tyndale left without us, basically stranding Andrew and I in a snow storm and our fancy clothes. Luckily after walking for about 30 minutes in the cold we found a Tim Horton's and awaited for my angelic roommate Miss Sarah Barry to pick us up. What a dear she is!!!

In short, I wanted to mark this event in my blog. A beautiful night that brought a challenge and success, for Andrew and Tyndale itself as well!

Engaged!!!

2008-01-13T18:53:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to more publicly announce my engagement!

Andrew asked me to marry him December 28th 2007. It was a wonderful day.

Please stay tuned to our Wedding Blog , where we will be posting more about our current lives, mostly focusing on the wedding. I may at times still blog here, but as you can see I haven't really been doing much of that lately.

Lots of love,
Megan

Grape and Wine '07!!!!

2007-10-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I was able to get home to celebrate the Grape and Wine Festival!! And the best part was that Andrew was delighted and able to come along! We had a fabulous weekend together, tasting wine and listening to music. ;)

Saturday morning we saw the Grape and Wine Grande Parade. What a wonderful pasttime of mine, with it bringing back wonderful memories from my youth. Andrew quite enjoyed it as well. The only thing I missed was the baton throwing they usually have.

Saturday night we took a gander downtown to scope out the festivites. We went to Montebello Park where there was a crazy wine-tasting festival-ish thing. You bought 10 tokens for $25 and then bought a special little wine glass as a souvenir. Then you paid either one token for an ounce or two tokens for a glass of wine. Rather expensive ya, but very fun. Andrew and I just shared the 10 tokens and had various selections of wine. We both tried the icewine from Magnotta which was divine. There were also other booths set-up with food and things to buy. We saw Brian Byrne play (the ex lead singer of I Mother Earth) some of his new country stuff. Not that amazing to hear since Andrew and I both despise country. But nonetheless, a very cool atmosphere. I forgot to mention there were probably close to 10 thousand people there in the park!

Going to the Festival was such a fun alternate to usual weekend plans. It made me happy to really feel like I'm still a part of the Niagara Region and my upbringing there. I plan to try and return whenever I can in the future.

To Yoga Or Not To Yoga

2007-09-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

So...I got a membership at the Y!!! It's pretty exciting, and I am very pumped to get in a little more shape and meet some new people.

Yesterday, I went to my first Yoga class. Ya, it was pretty intimidating and a little nerve-wracking, but it ended up to be quite fun and challenging.

Now, being a Christian, I've heard tons of things about Yoga and whether or not it's a good practice to get into, and what spiritual things may or may not be attached to doing certain moves and all that jazz. Doing it at the Y isn't as intense or meditation-focused as you might get at other specifically yoga studios, but still I had a lot of questions.

So today at work I've been asking and wondering and doing research on it. I want to know what you all think.

I've talked to a number of people at work who have reaffirmed my thoughts in that yoga can be and is what you make it. Prayer is always a powerful thing, and so why not use the physical strengths of yoga along with prayer, to provide you with the physical and spiritual exercise you are looking for?!

I've ordered a book online called 'Yoga for Christians.' I'll let you know what I think.

Please please post your thoughts.

Proof on Nova...

2007-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

From the other post I made, here is a article on Nova and their situation. Enjoy!!

Who Needed a Bird-Bunny Anyway...

2007-09-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, Nova Group, the company I worked for in Japan is in extreme financial trouble. I was very blessed to have left the company when I did, because if I had stayed just a month later, I might not have been paid on time.

Here is an article on the situation Nova finds themselves in. They haven't been able to pay out their salaries to foreign and Japanese employees, and they've been evicting people because they haven't been able to afford to pay for their rents on school and apartments. They are shutting down 200 branches as well.

The article is a decent one. With regards to the comments at the bottom, the last two, but especially last one is most conclusive and accurate I feel.

It will be interesting from a personal and a business standpoint what happens in the next few days.

To my friends who are still there...Zoe, Kiki, and Maoko - you girls need to get out! Kiki, just move back to Canada, but Toronto this time.

I knew when I was there that Nova couldn't be treating their employees and students in that way and continue to thrive as a company. It was inevitable that they would fall. Glad i'm not there to be affected by it.

A Little Trip

2007-09-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

So there is much to be updating you on, but i'm going to do it in bits because well I haven't been on here in a while.

I'm back in the city now and will be settling down in a 3 bedroom townhouse with friends in North York next month. I'm super pumped and happy about living more life in Canada and being so close to friends and family.

Andrew and I are very excited to be spending a few days in October in Myrtle Beach! So if you would like me to get you anything that's sold in the states only, please let me know before mid October. :)

There is much more to talk about...and i'm getting back into the swing of blogging.

Please drop a message to let me know how you all are doing.

Why is it THIS cold?

2007-07-02T04:58:00.001-07:00

Hello All,

So, It's been a while, but things here are camp are just beginning to fall into a routine, so i'll be able to post more hopefully. Anyway, I wanted to post some thoughts even though i'm so behind.

The first thought is: WHY is it so cold in July????!!!!! My weather forecast says right now in Parry Sound it's 9 degrees. In July?!!! I have my heating on in my room at camp for goodness sake. What is this!!!!

The second thought is that I love my job. I really do. I'm working on a team with Steph, Cathy, and Heidi, and it's great. Just absolutely a blast. The parents this year are happy and easy to talk to, and I have my own desk and new email address. It's just great.

My living situation couldn't be better either. I'm living with my friend Lori in the coolest room (or so I think) on property. I'll have stories or exciting things to share about that later i'm sure.

But I should make it known that I still really do miss Japan. I miss the heat. ;) I miss my friends, and chilling with them or going out or going shopping or just living the life I had in Japan. I miss cooking in the ridiculously small kitchen, and hanging out my laundry on the balcony. Better yet, seeing the mountains from my balcony. I miss day trips and long train rides, and seeing such amazing new things. I miss being a gaijin. I miss walking around Namba and seeing the Hosts or girls so crazily dressed.

I miss so much more, but I know i'll go back there one day.

It Hurts

2007-06-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm back in Canada.

There is so much that has happened in the last 10 days, but I feel that I have to blog right now with how i'm feeling because maybe this feeling won't last, but it's so important to me.

I woke up just now for the first time again in Canada. And i'm so sad. Of course i'm so happy to be home, and i'm so excited to see everybody, but all I can think about is my old life in Japan and all my friends and what i'd be doing right now if I were back home there. My life there was so simple and straightforward, so independent and so easily controlled. Everything like that has changed now.

I woke up and instantly missed my friends so bad. Logging into my email led to crying lots. All of the emails were so honest and sincere and loving, and I could totally feel what my friends were saying. I don't want it to be like this! I want to go back!

But I'm just remembering what Mark said to me the night before i left. He said: Megan, it's okay. We (english teacher's) can't stay in Japan forever. It's fun, it's another world for a while, but it has to end sometime. Our futures aren't here. We have to move on at some point. But of course our fun doesn't end here. We'll all see eachother again, and we have made friends for a lifetime.

I just have to remember those words, because I know they're completely 100% accurate.
Thanks Mark.

Thursday

2007-06-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

What a day. And it made for an even stranger night.

So today was officially my first day of vacation I guess. It started with an appointment with my esthetican Raddi at 10am. I am now officially prepared for the swimsuit season! It was nice to see Raddi again and we had a few laughs.

Then I met up with Mark again beacuse we had to get Malaria tablets. Boy oh boy was that frustrating. We went to the information place that Mark always goes to and we just asked for information on the doctors in the area. It took us quite a while and the ladies were kinda of freaking out over where would be open (sometimes they're a little TOO helpful) and it was all so overwhelming. We left half an hour later learning that so many of the places were closed and having no real leads on doctors in the area. We didn't even really talk about it or think about it further. It shouldn't be a problem though because there isn't Malaria in the main cities and we're going for such a short time anyway.

After that I had to get a few things for the trip and I got my sisters WICKED presents that I just stumbled across. That made me quite happy.

Then I had an enjoyable time trying to pack a box to send home so I have enough room in my suitcases for my trip home. I was pretty successful and it wasn't too expensive either. It will go by ship home and will take approximately a month. I just hope I still have room to take everything else home. I've bought a few pairs of shoes since being here. ;)

Then a bunch of us met up at 5 at Mark's place to all exchange our pictures and some music too. Me, Mike, Mark, Kiki, and Kiki's brother, Hiro were there. It was a fun time and we looked at some video footage Mike had taken over the 10 months. Pretty funny. We all had a big plan to go out for dinner and then to a Martini Bar and then to my favourite club to dance for just a little bit.

So we first went to El Pancho's for dinner. It's this cute and romantic Mexican place in Shinsaibashi. We had quesadillas and tacos and fajitas. Mmmmmmm. It was so yummy. Then we planned to do print club for one last time so we headed there.

The night doesn't end there, but i'm going to stop writing for a few reasons. Tiredness is one of them. It was a really great night though meeting Hiro and talking a bit of Japanese with him and just hanging out. He's a really cool guy for sure. I will miss Kiki and all the adventures we have when we're together. She'll be one of the hardest to say goodbye to.

Anyway, we leave for Cambodia at 11am tomorrow morning, gotta get up at 6:30. Thinking of you all at home and I can't believe i'll be home in basically a week and a few days. How is that possible!

I'll be away for the week, but sure to update the blog soon after. Not sure if i'll have much time on the computer between getting back and flying home though!

Until Next Time!

Wednesday

2007-06-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today was crazy.

Today was my last day of working at Nova. I worked a short shift from 10 - 2 just with Mark and it was a great time. I happened to have all my favourite students. First Aya, a university student (who got back from Melbourne about a month ago) - we talked about friendship. Then I had Yoshiko, one of my favourite students for sure! Yoshiko is a retired dentist and she has recently put together a book of all of her art. She does parchment paper work and acrylic paintings and watercolours too. She had translated a story for me from her book, about her old dog Yamato who she loved dearly. It was a great translation, and such a wonderful story. She and I had a great time talking and at the end of the class she gave me an envelope of postcards of her art. I was just delighted! What a wonderful surprise.

My final class at Nova was with probably my favourite student. Her name is Tokiko, and she's an older lady, I think maybe was a housewife. She is a brilliant woman and is a G level (the hightest level) and we always have a wonderful free chat about our lives. Sometimes we talk about religion and God and other times we talk about our families. Today we talked about cultures around the world and adopting. My favourite class with her was the one before last where we talked about love and life. She shared with me a wonderful story about her life that I will always remember. At the end of class today she gave me some traditional Japanese crafts her mother in law made. Two Japanese Paper Dolls and this beautiful decoration made of multi-coloured threads. I love them!

After work, Mark and I went out for lunch at the okonomiyaki place we frequent in Nara. I had Yaki-Soba curry flavour and Mark had the Mega-Jumbo Okonomiyaki. It was good. After, we did a bit of shopping and then met Mike and Miyume at my favourite pond in Nara Park. Maybe Nara Park is my favourite place to hang out in Japan, and this pond is absolutely beautiful. It's so peaceful and there is a huge bridge and gazebo in the middle. We talked and read and saw the water spiders and an egret and took pictures and walked the perimeter of the pond. It was a wonderful afternoon in the sun with friends. A perfect way to spend one of my last days in Japan.

I realized today that I only have just over 2 more days left in Japan. Tomorrow, the 7th (shopping and then serious dancing) and the 15th (we'll go to USJ and then out for dinner in Nara) and the 16th (packing/organizing) and then I go home on the 17th. I can't believe it. It's just coming too fast.

After Nara Park I came back to Osaka and went out for food with my friend Mayumi. I met Mayumi the first week I was in Japan, through a friend from home. She and I have seen eachother probably 4 or 5 times despite living in Osaka due to our busy schedules. But I went to her church a few times, and we spent Christmas Eve together so we bonded very well. Tonight I said bye to her which was hard. She lived in Toronto for 9 months and wants to come back to Canada so I have hope to see her again soon. We talked all night about our lives and reverse culture shock and how she felt when she came back and how it was the same or different from how I might feel. It helped me a lot and I'm so thankful for her advice. I will miss the chats I had with her. Then we went to Starbucks to talk more. She gave me a beautiful pair of Japanese style earrings, handmade. :)

I should go to bed now because i'm ultra tired, but this was an incredible day. Crazy and filled with goodbyes and sad times but also great memories in the sun and meaningful music and so much love. I will remember this day for a long time to come.

Tuesday

2007-06-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

Today was good.

I woke up and went to Japanese class for the last time which was sad. When I got to OCAT, Naru-San, my teacher was there and she invited me to lunch with her daughter! It was great. Her daughter's name is Yui, and she's 21. She's really cool, I wish I met her earlier. Anyway, Naru-San and I had a wonderful final class. I will miss her for sure. But we exchanged email addresses, so we will talk and I think she will come to Canada. She likes to travel.

She actually gave me a wonderful gift. She gave me this book of Japanese onomatopoeic expressions. It's ultra cool. For example the first one is 'Atsu Atsu' which is what a Japanese person might say when describing something that looks piping hot or a couple who are head over heels in love. There are about 200 of them. It's pretty interesting. And she also gave me a book on Origami which i've been wanting since being in Japan. She gave me extra origami paper too which is so cool. :) It's like she just knew what I wanted.

Then I got to work and they were playing the karaoke compilation that Mark made of all the songs we sing at Gak Chill. It was great and everysong brought special memories. They also had a U2 album in the player and I haven't listened to U2 for a while, so that was great too.

Work went fast, and I said bye to a lot of people. It was Mike's last day today so he said bye to more people maybe. It was a hard day with regards to that, but the special students we will keep in touch with. I taught Akari for the last time, one of the man to man kids. I didn't bother telling her I was leaving though, I forgot how to say it in Japanese and it's just too sad anyway.

Tonight I've just been packing for Cambodia and organizing my Sayonara parties and making plans. It's pretty crazy, I'm going to be so busy over the next say 12 days. Well, basically for the next 2 weeks. So much change. I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. So many final things and final goodbyes and official changes and life-making decisions. How can one person handle it all!

I miss everyone and everything.

Monday

2007-06-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the best Monday ever.

Usually Monday's are already great, because Mike, Mark and I work the exact same shift, but this monday was especially amazing because Sachiko gave the three of us the same break. :)

So Mark Mike and I worked from 1:20 - 9, and we had early break together and we went to the fancy Italian place in Gakuemmae Station. We each got a pizza. Me the Margherita (in Japan that is the name for a plain pizza...weird I know), Mark the Carbonara, and Mike this Broccoli Meat Pizza. I liked Mike's the best and Mark liked mine the best, and Mike would eat anything, so we all ate off eachother's plates. It was really good.

I want to mention that there was this lady sitting across from us doing these really weird actions though and it really scared me quite frankly, but I just decided she was doing some type of therapeutic healing thing or something. When I asked Mike to look she had stopped.

After early break I was feeling rather sick because I had gone on a run in the morning and I think I was just incredibly dehydrated. But I got through the day with one free class and I also taught Hikari (which was a little trying a times - Hikari's a senior kid, man to man) and I also taught Kanami who is this super smart high school girl who I gave a level up to maybe a month ago. She's really cool and hates using the textbook so we usually just talk the whole time about music or travelling or her grades or school or stuff. I will miss her tons.

The coolest part thought - oh I should mention that it was Mike's last monday too because we're both going to vietnam and we're both not coming back to work after the trip, so it was cool we both were going through all this together - but Mike's second last class was with Takayuki, this maybe late 40 year old man, level E. Anyway, Mike had him second to last and I had him last class, and we both decided to level him up as a goodbye gift. He's a super cool guy and I've seen him go through two levels since I started at Nova. We had a great lesson, mostly just free talking - I taught him all about Muskoka Woods and how the company works - and we reminisced about past vacations (we did the reminiscing class). It was a great class to end the day on and he was so happy to have received a level up. I'm so proud of him and I hope he passes the test. I told him that when I come back to Japan in a few years, he'd better be in G. (G is the last and highest level).

So yes, those are the highlights of my day. It was quite a successful day in the end. I will miss Monday's and all they entailed. I will miss sometimes going out with Mark and Mike for coffee or cake after a Monday shift, and especially the train ride home where we laugh about events from the day or just listen to music.

Bye bye Monday...

Sunday

2007-06-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a bit of a stressful day. I got to work and had basically 4 completely full classes (4 people in each), so that's a little overwhelming since on sundays our breaks are a little shorter, and there are so many teachers so it's hard to plan classes and evaluate students. This is especially hard when you have a G level class because usually they take a little more preparation because the students have often taken each class maybe up to 6 or 7 or 8 times, so they get bored easily and we always have to think up new ideas.

But I got through my morning and it went fast due to busyness so that was nice.

I can't really remember any details from throughout the day, but afterwards everyone met up and we held our final Gak Chill. It was quite the evening. We went to Karakaja and they hated us as usual (we had 14 people), but they gave us the huge room with the dancing booth which was awesome. But of course our machine broke once and I think we got like 5 mic replacements because they kept giving us duds. But all that aside, the night was great. The hit song was 'Don't Go Away' by Oasis which was sung to Gillian Mike and I by Mark, Chase, Darcy and Kiki who were on their knees. It was really sweet and thoughtful. We also sang the regular songs like Journey's Don't Stop Believin and well...there are tons others. Some Mariah Carey and tons of the Beatles (in my life, sgt peppers - 40 year anniversary, little help from my friends) and more Oasis (champagne supernova) and Bloc Party, Sarah McLachlan, Blur and Meatloaf ( i know i know) and Queen, Madonna and Kelly Clarkson, A Whole New World from Aladdin and Smashing Pumpkins (tonight tonight), The Strokes (last night) and Franz Ferdinand and tons of others...

It was a solid night and it was hard to seek Gak Chill end, but all good things end I guess. I will miss you guys and thanks to everyone who came out, your names are listed below...

mark, mike, gillian, kiki, monica, manu, sachiko, darcy, darcy's mom, hiroki, matthew, chase, miyume...Gak Chill Sayonara 2007.

Saturday

2007-06-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today was my last Saturday working in Japan. It was just a regular Saturday...everything was as expected.

I had a decent day on the schedule. I enjoyed a full G class which was hard, but we talked about trust and who you trust with certain things and who you wouldn't trust. We talked about what countries you think are trustworthy and which are not. It was good.

I also had a couple kids classes with the usual children, my 4 junior boys who are super rambunctious but super sweet. My favourite is when I ask them where they live and then I teach them to say: I live in Gakuemmae, and they just roll on the ground laughing in stitches. I think maybe they can't understand that I leave Nova, or they know that Gakuemmae is a place I could never afford to live in, or I just have horrible Japanese pronounciation.

I also had my junior class with 3 girls, 2 of which are complete angels and the other who is the perfect picture of a bully-girl. Hissy fits and slamming books and sulking in the corner and screaming out random Japanese comments. It's really cute though because she has a huge crush on Mark and throws balls at him unexpectedly, and she's got quite an arm. It's rather hilarious.

Voice was nice today, we played a lesser version of Scattegories! It was good.

I also went to church after work, and it was for the last time. I will miss going there, and seeing the people there. It was such a great way to learn some Japanese and get to know people, aside from the usual functions of church.

So that's my Saturday. It was very typical and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

My last week starts in a few minutes...

2007-06-01T07:45:00.001-07:00

So right now it's the end to my weekend before my last week at work. I will try and blog each night before bed to tell you about my days, and any exciting events.

I can't quite believe how fast it's approaching. I just had one of my first full weekends in a long time, and I made the most of it. Yesterday we went to Himeji Castle, also known as The White Crane. It's one of the only castles that has so much of it intact, like the outside grounds and other structures are all still there (of course having been rebuilt), but it's quite huge. It's really tall, taller than Nijo (Kyoto's Castle) and has 6 floors inside. We went all the way up to the top and saw the small shrine where the princess used to go and worship everyday. I wish I could have been a princess with no cares but dressing and worshipping and eating and talking and being in love. :)

We also took a look through Kobe and I saw the memorial for the earthquake victims which was pretty amazing. 6000 people died in the Kobe Earthquake, it was also sad to see some English names on the plaques of people who were on vacation or working.

These days i'm working on souvenir shopping for family and friends, let me say it's hard work. Spend $60 on socks the other day, as presents. ;) Japanese socks are cool though.

I'll keep you updated over these last few days. Man it's going to be hard to leave. I can't believe it's here. To my friends, thanks for the support over these last months and your continued support in these last days.

Japan will always have my heart.

2007-06-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

so I have roughly 16 more days left in this country...and well 7 of those are in Cambodia and Vietnam, so I guess 9 days left in this beautiful country. I'm going to miss so much about Japan. Let me tell you first what i'll miss and then what i'm looking forward to finding at home. Just as a disclaimer, i'm not mentioning people i'll miss from here or people i'm looking forward to seeing when i get home. If you are reading this i'm probably either going to be missing you tons or am so pumped to see you soon. So, of course this is people aside.

Things i'll miss from Japan (in no particular order):
- being able to ride your bicycle anywhere and just the bicycle culture in general
- being able to wear anything you want because the fashion is weird
- custard pastries being sold everywhere
- fresh baked goods at the convenience stores
- amazing customer service
- the trains and subway
- how the trains and subways run so often and on such a tight schedule
- karaoke every sunday night with the salty fries and the people at KaraKaja being rude to us (the things i'll miss about karaoke are endles)
- the little dress socks
- hello kitty
- the japanese yen
- speaking japanese
- having an excuse for everything...being a gaijin
- my phone and emailing from it :(
- purikura (print club)
- Coco's curry house and the girl at the one at Tsuruhashi who knows my order off by heart
- day trips to see amazing new things everyweekend
- the stationery!!!
- Loft the store
- Japanese writing and sounding out signs
- meeting new people who are gaijin just because they're not Japanese
- going out in Namba until 5:30 am
- the convenience of living in the middle of the city
- the shopping at Shinsaibashi
- the sheer convenience of the convenience stores...faxing, buying concert tickets, alcohol
- chu hi and it's cheapness
- hi chu
- Lawson's
- The Emporium at OCAT
- Free Japanese classes with Naru-san
- Getting to know people so easily in class, just meeting new people all the time
- Of course my students, but especially the kids i love teaching
- Okonomiyaki (and going to the place in Nara)
- the smell of yaki-niku and piss when getting off the train in my dirty dirty station
- the deer in Nara!

I think there's more, well i'm sure there is...but i'll have to continue later... and also with the other list at another time. :)

Angkor Wat and Halong Bay Bound

2007-05-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

So I know it's been a while since I have posted to here, but that's because things here have been incredibly busy with preparing to come home.

I worked 13 days in a row a few weeks ago, and i'm happy to say now that i've completed all my shift swaps forever! I also only have 4.5 days of work left at Nova. There are so many students and coworkers and kids that I will miss, I don't even want to start thinking about it.

I'm off to Cambodia and Vietnam next weekend! Mike, Gillian, Mark, and I are going travelling for 7 days. We will see some pretty amazing sights such as Angkor Wat and take a walk in the jungle! I will also ride an elephant in Cambodia. In Vietnam we will hang with Mike's people and see Halong Bay and Hanoi and the Perfume Pagoda! I'm SO excited!

Then I will have 2 full and final days in Japan before flying home. I can't believe it. :(

I will be posting more over the next few days.

It's For You.

2007-04-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

____________________________________________________________________
So I guess I should make it known that I'll be returning home the 17th of June. Yes, perhaps that is a little earlier than expected, but there are a number of reasons as to why I will be home for the summer. It was an unbelieveably tough decision to make, but i've decided.

Of course one of those reasons is the thrilling anticipation of seeing Andrew again.

I am so happy to be spending another summer in the sun spending time with my boyfriend and close friends. Can't wait to share moments like in this picture again.

Saying goodbye to Japan will be one of the hardest things i'll do, but I will try to focus on all the amazing positive things I learned through this experience and the people I met. I never thought it would be this hard to leave.
_________________________________________________________________

Hashimoto's The Man.

2007-04-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

So when my parents left, I thought i'd take the opportunity with a final afternoon of free time to get my hair done. I headed over to Grace, where I'd accompanied a friend before. I was familiar with it and also, Zoe my roommate gets hers done there too.

So I walk in without an appointment and luckily they were able to take me despite how busy it looked inside. I was told to sit down and then this super cool guy hashimoto came over and lead me to a seat so we could talk about what I wanted done. We settled it, a few inches cut off and bangs.

So next he showed me to this little change room in the back of the salon, and he gave me a cape to put on. Now, it was quite strange to me. For why on earth would I need to be in a private little cubicle to put a cape on overtop of my clothes? I had no idea... so I asked, him with motions: Do I need to take off any clothes??? He was of course in shock because I didn't need to do anything of the sort. Of course it didn't make sense, but I didn't want to come out of the cubicle with having done the wrong thing, you know?

So after that confusion, Hashimoto, brought me to the washing area and sat me down. I had never had such a thorough cleansing of my hair before! He was like an angel, perfectly handling my head with such ease. First he did a normal wash, and then he did what I would like to call a 'power wash' where he furiously scrubbed each square inch of my scalp, kinda massaging it. It was at this point that he leaned over so I could tell he was going to talk and said: Do you like my power? :) I smiled and he started laughing and I began to giggle and then we just were laughing full-on, he knew his english wasn't the greatest. I tried to correct him thinking he was meaning to say: Do you like my technique? But later I learned from some students that he probably meant to ask if he was being too rough. It was just so hilarious. After that he gave me a full-on head and neck massage and then cut my hair. That is the norm here, to always get a massage! How wonderful.

So my hair is kinda in a Japanese style cut. The girls here wear their hair long and layered, and they cut it kinda in a V in the back, shorter on the sides, and then layers to frame the face with long bangs swept to the side. So mine is like a not-so-intense version of that. I love the way it falls, it's much better than the regular square haircuts I get at home. Perhaps I'll get another before leaving.

What a cool experience though...props to Hashimoto.

しんばしどり - Shinbashi Dori

2007-04-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

This is Shinbashi Dori, in Gion, the geisha district in Kyoto. This is a very old and traditional street in Japan where the geisha still live today.

After Nara for 4 days, we spent 5 days in Kyoto. There is just so much to see and explore in Kyoto that I wanted to allow a lot of time.

Also in Kyoto we visited Kiyomizu Temple, Kinkakuji (Golden) Temple, Nijo Castle, Kyoto Station, Funaoka Onsen, The Botanical Gardens, The Museum of Traditional Crafts, The Museum of Modern Art, Fushimi Inari, and Byodoin. It was a wonderful time, despite getting a sore throat at the end. I'm confident Mom and Dad had a good time!

Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit and taking such in interest in my life here in Japan. It really was great to have someone to share it with from Canada. I'll see you in a number of weeks.

Nara Ichiban!

2007-04-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

So after Hiroshima and Miyajima, my parents and I stayed in Nara for 4 days. Nara is a small city in Kansai where I work. It's home to hundreds of deer and many National Treasures. Nara is the oldest capital of Japan and so has much historical value. Due to it's size and 'county-ish' feel, it was my parents Favourite part of the trip. And their love for it made me appreciate Nara even more.

The sights I took them to are some of my favourite. Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Shrine, Sagi-ike Pond, Kofukuji Temple, and of course we did lots of shopping in Nara City. We also went to Nara-Machi (the oldest part of Nara...called Nara-Town) and Gangoji Temple where there are roof tiles that are 1400 years old.

Here is a picture of Mom and Dad at the first gate to Todaiji, of course with the deer. :)

Deer and The Floating Torii

2007-04-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

Miyajima is a small island just south of Hiroshima. It is most popular for it's floating Torii gate, which is part of it's much bigger 'floating' shrine, Itsukushima Jingu. It is said that people who wanted to enter the shrine weren't allowed to from land, so they had to approach from sea and were instructed to pass through the floating torii. (The entrances to shrines always are signified by a torii gate.) We spent a night on this island in a very cute traditional japanese ryokan with yukatas and a private onsen. What a wonderful little treat. I'd go back again and again if I could.

More pictures will be added to my site soon...once the vacation is over. We have since been to Nara and are in Kyoto for 5 days now, but i've yet to download the pics. Stay tuned.

Our Heavy Hearts

2007-04-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Of course we wanted to see the Peace Park and A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Both are symbols of such tragedy and loss for the Japanese, and all of humankind. This is us at the A-Bomb Dome. It was directly over this building where the bomb was dropped on August 6th 1945. The first atomic bomb used against humankind. After seeing this, we bravely went on to the Peace Park which includes a few sights, including the Peace Museum. We spent a good 2 and a half hours in the peace museum, learning all about the war and it's effects. What an eye-opening experience.

The Carp Castle

2007-04-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

We took a two day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. This is mom and dad at Hiroshima Castle, otherwise known as Carp Castle because there are huge carp in the moat. There really are huge carp all over Japan, so i'm not sure why the name took to this particular castle. But anyway, I don't have a pic of the castle to post because they're all vertical, and it's too hard to see on the blog. But here are mom and dad amidst the cherry blossoms, and you can see the river in the background. We had a little make-shift picnic on the bench in the castle grounds! It was just a beautiful day...wearing short sleeves and all. : )

Dad Found His World of Fun

2007-04-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

This is Nippombashi, otherwise known as Nippombashi Den-Den Town which is the biggest electronic merchandise district in Japan. It's about a 10 minute bike ride from my apartment. Of course I was excited to take dad here, and I also hadn't even seen it myself. He loved it and we found a few nice cameras, there weren't really any amazing deals. The prices aren't any cheaper than in the West, although you are expected to bargain, even at department stores.

Yoshino

2007-04-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad and I went to Yoshino on their second full day in Japan. It's a lovely mountain town where the best cherry blossoms in Kansai are found. The blossoms bloom up the mountain, and so it's where you can see them for the longest. We took the bus up the mountain and then walked along this touristy street and found this beautiful temple at the end. This was mom and dad's first experience at a temple, they were impressed.

They Arrived!!!!

2007-04-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

To everyone who's staying in tune...my parents have arrived!!!

It was quite the arrival as well.

After waiting for about 2 hours at the airport, I turned around to hear my mom yelling my name and running toward me. It was just maybe the best feeling in the world. :) She had her arms out yelling, "There she is!!!!" We jumped up and down and then she said, "It's just like the MOVIES!!!" Lol. It was a great reunion.

I have tucked them into bed, and tomorrow we'll do something easy with lots of resting. They said the flight was good and dad was super impressed with the dinner he was fed.

More updates to come, with pictures too. :)

The Beginning of the End?

2007-04-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

So last night we said goodbye to a dear friend, Matt Bare.

Matt taught with us at Gakuemmae for a long time, he was at Nova long before I started. Anyway, he's off to accomplish greater things in the world!!! We had a sayonara party for him last night, and Matt, you will be greatly missed.

Here is a pic of the cd that Mark burned for Matt. I designed the cover and then we all signed the inside. It's a compilation of all the songs we sing so passionately at karaoke on Sunday nights. It's a tribute to the Gak Chill.

I said it's the beginning of the end because it's the start of a long long line-up of people who will be leaving Gakuemmae, so sad, but just a part of life. It's kinda like a camp world...it'll never be the same.

The Exciting Arrival

2007-04-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

So my parents are arriving in about a week. I'll pick them up from the airport this coming Saturday!!!

I'm so very excited about them visiting. I'm a little nervous however becaues I want them to enjoy themselves. I just learned that they can't use chopsticks...that should be interesting!!

I have a great plan of sightseeing for them for the next 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to a break from work as well.

I'll keep you updated on their holiday!!

Almost Experienced an Earthquake

2007-04-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

So last week, on March 25th 2007, there was an earthquake in Japan. It measured a whopping 6.9 on the Richter Scale. It mainly hit Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata prefectures which are on the main island, but in the North region.

My friend Mike said he felt it, and his girlfriend felt it too. They live in Nara. My roommate felt it because she was at work in like a 17 story building and the building was shaking. I was home at the time, getting ready for work, and didn't feel a thing. I'm slightly sad about that because it would be cool to experience a slight earthquake, but of course i'm not actually disappointed.

You can check out more about it here.

All For An 'Adventure'

2007-03-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last night was pretty crazy. But not only crazy...disappointing at times and for the most part, very TRYING.

We went out after work because it was Sunday night, and we always go out Sunday nights.

We went to Saidaiji for Indian which was a delight!! I had the Butter Chicken and Naan of course.

Then we went bowling. I bowled a 40. The start to the disappointment. Also, it was just hard to co-ordinate things because there were so many people there, and no one was really being assertive.

So then after bowling maybe the worst game of my life, we went to take the train home, but realized that we'd MISSED THE LAST TRAIN to Namba. Disappointment #2.

At this point we realize we can take the train as far as Higashi Hanazono. This is approximately halfway between Saidaiji and Tsuruhashi (home). Of course anyone in their right mind would do that and then take a taxi. There were three of us; Mark, Chase, and I, so it wouldn't be too expensive. But noooooooooo. Mark dreams up the bright idea that we should walk. All for an 'adventure'.

And so I didn't mention that I was wearing 3 inch heels.

Luckily we made it to an AM/PM (conveny) and Mark bought me 3 pairs of socks and chocolate with peanuts to shut me up. From here I walked home from basically the outskirts of Osaka in socks...which we later called 'sock shoes'. 2 and a half hours. Total piggy-back time being around 4 minutes, if that.

A night to remember for sure.

Japan Never Fails

2007-03-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

So against all odds...something spectacular has happened.

The other night I get an email on my phone from my good friend Cathy. She says that Sasha was impounded and that she's been returned to the house she was registered at!!!!!!!!!

I was so confused but elated.

It's quite a strange story becuase Cathy's roommate who i've met maybe once apparently knew that I bought Sasha from this girl who went home a while ago...and her friend was saying that this bike that her friend (the girl i bought the bike off of) was returned to her house and they don't know who the owner is. And so Cathy's roommate told Cathy who told me. HOW BIZARRE.

Anyway, apparently the Koban (Police) found Sasha or something and realized she was stolen and returned her to her 'rightful' owner. How amazing is that!!! With thousands and thousands of bikes in Osaka...I never thought I had a prayer in finding her.

Japan. Always on top of things.

I'm going to miss this country.

What A Crime!

2007-03-23T01:55:00.000-07:00

So a horrible thing happened. Sasha was stolen!

I don't even really want to talk about it because it depresses me, but the other night I came back from work and as I exited the station, I noticed that I didn't have her key on me. So I thought, oh I must have left it in her (that's how it works in Japan...while you're on your bike the key is in and then you take it when you leave your bike). And then I walked up and down the street where I usually park her and she wasn't there. I was mortified.

So now I have to wake up earlier and get home from work later. Sucky.

I hope Sasha is okay out there in the world. The time she and I spent together is a fragment I will never forget.

A Two-Day Bath, No Joke

2007-03-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

So my cousins visited from Canada! While they were in Japan the three of us took a 3 day trip to Kyushu, a huge island making up a large part of South West Japan. It was a wonderful trip.

We first went to Beppu, which is known for the glorious Onsen. I think i've mentioned the Onsen, but incase I wasn't clear, i'll explain it again. It's basically a public bath where you bathe infront of people and you're naked. Men and women are separate of course. So you go in and wash your body and then hang out in the hot hot pools (some in door, some outdoor) and relax. We went to about 6 differen Onsen on this vacation. Basically bathing for 2 days straight. :)

I'll tell you about all the cool stuff we tried. First we did the dry sand bath. This one was the best because although you have to bury yourself in sand, it is surprisingly easy, and you get VERY HOT under the sand. I was so relaxed I fell asleep for like 15 mins. Maybe I have never been this relaxed in my life ever. It's relaxing just talking about it.

The next special bath we went in was the wet sand bath. This one wasn't as impressive as the dry sand bath because the sand is so heavy and you don't get as hot. We were only timed to be in it for 10 mins...but I was actually in pain because my pelvis was tilted weird, so I was glad to get out.

Then we tried the mud bath! Seriously so cool. Andrea and Jessica were maybe a little weirded out, but I loved the weirdness. It was just such smooth water and the mud felt really cool. This bath was mixed, and there were just 2 men in it with us. It was night time though, so we didn't feel that weird.

Lastly, we tried the sulfur bath. This one was super hot, and yeah in the beginning we thought the smell was kinda gross, but then it grew on us! The sulfur water felt really smooth and it's apparently really good for the skin. I would do it again for sure.

So in between all those special baths we were in various regular hot water baths, indoor and outdoor. If you ever come to Japan I highly recommend experiencing this at least one time.

The second part of our trip was to visit Aso-San (San means mountain) in Kumamoto Prefecture. Aso is a small town in Japan that is in a massive crater that holds some volcanoes. The currently active volcano is called Naka-Dake, and this is another major tourist spot in Japan. We went to Kumamoto Prefecture to specifically see this mountain and what an amazing experience it was. I have many pictures up on my website of the volcano!!!

So please go there to check it out. I've also posted more pics from various events. They are dated because I can't change the order in which they appear.

Happy viewing!!!!

A day in Kyoto

2007-03-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

This is Kyomizu Temple in Kyoto. I went there with my friend Mark a few weeks ago. It's one of the most beautiful temples i've been to. It's been nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We were very blessed to be there on such a goregous spring day.

Me on the steps at Kiyomizu Temple.

I saw a Maiko (a Geisha in training) on the street and Mark asked her if I could get a photo because I was too shy. Pretty cool though.

This is Kinkakuji - The Golden Temple. I don't really feel it's a temple though becuase you can't go in it or do any regular temple things in it. It's just a tourist spot becuase it's gold. It's cool to see but then just seems superficial in some ways...

Sayonara Club Flat...

2007-03-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

So I have some sad news.

Since I've been in Osaka, a few friends and I have found our favourite little club. It's called Flat, and it's this super dirty, super crappy place with holes in the wooden floors and ripped posters all over the walls, and one bathroom that is so brutally dirty and disgusting. The scent of stale tobacco in there has completely seeped into the walls and floors, I don't think you could ever get it out.

But on random Thursday nights for the past 4 months, it's been our home. Dancing all night until we fall up the stairs to see the sun out at 6 am in America-Mura. Learning random Japanese and meeting gaijin. Slumping on the couch at the back when you feel just a little sick, and requesting random songs that they'll ALWAYS play. Listening to Pounding by Doves and Banquet by Block Party while jumping + twirling around and just being so blissfully happy and carefree. Meeting Nova teachers in line for the bathroom. Sweating so much but not even realizing it at all. Watching little Japanese girls do their fancy leg swinging dances while standing in a line facing the front. Yelling at friends and taking random photos that just never work out. Learning about music. And then finally making the call to go home...

So Flat is closing. :( We will miss all the good times! Luckily, Pat brought his camera and took videos...they'll be posted soon.

Serena-chan

2007-02-19T06:04:00.000-08:00

Isn't she beautiful! My first baby niece Serena. I can't wait to see her. Already got tons of gift ideas...

St. Valentine's Day

2007-02-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

Happy St. Valentine's Day!!!

So in Japan, things are done a little differently for Valentine's. First, it's called St. Valentine's Day for some reason. Second, St. Valentine's Day is NOT for the girls. It's where the girls buy the boys chocolate. Specifically chocolate...it's not common to buy them anything else.

Then, there's 'White Day' on March 14th where it's the boy's turn to buy the girls chocolate. Kinda weird. Probably just another random commercial holiday that was created by some major chocolate corporation or something.

But you're probably wondering what these flowers are all about in the picture. Well, I'll have you know that Andrew sent me flowers for Valentine's!!!!!!

That's right! He used an internet company and spent the big bucks just so I could be like a regular girl in the West who gets flowers for Valentine's. They are my favourite, white daisies. Also there are yellow tulips in there too, and tulips probably rank right up there with daisies for my favourite flowers. I'm just so thank-ful for them. They are absolutely beautiful. Thanks Andrew.

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day!

Finally

2007-02-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

Okay, so finally I went to Todaiji Temple.

Nara City is home of Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the world. Inside this HUGE wooden structure is a gianormous Buddah. Seriously, I couldn't get over it's size. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of it because my camera was acting up. I figure I'll be back a few more times, so i'll get pics later.

Todaiji Temple was burned to the ground twice, and when it was rebuilt they only built it 2/3 of the original size, but as you can see from the picture it's still huge.

At New Years they open these wooden windows and the Buddah looks out...pretty cool. I wasn't there at New Years because the line-up to get into the Temple was like a 2 hour wait.

Making Me Happy

2007-02-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

So, here is something I haven't blogged about yet...

It's my man. Andrew Brendan Snider.

Here is a pic of him at his volleyball semi-finals. See, he plays for Tyndale.

And right now as I write this, he's sleeping because I'm in Japan and he's back in Toronto. He might just be the best long-distance relationship-keeper/progressor I have ever met.

Not only has he been my support in my journey out here, but he also has become one of my closest friends. Always there for me.

He makes me so happy.

Who Would Have Thought

2007-02-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a day in Japan I will never forget. Who would have thought that doing something so normal would have been so very special!

Yesterday after work, Kiki picked me and Mark up in her car (SUV) and took us to the movies. Yes, that's right. A) I was a passenger in a car, and B) I went to the movies!!!!!!!!

As we were driving, Mark and I couldn't get over what was going
on. It was just so strange to be in Japan and in a car, let alone going to the movies. It felt like I was in Canada with friends again. It actually made me sad for a bit.

How could something so natural feel so weird?!!!

Let me tell you about the movies. Ladies night is Wednesday where we only pay 1000 yen. In Japan it's basically the same, except the seats are assigned. We went to see The Pursuit of

Happiness, and it was really good. Since it's pretty new, I won't say anything more. After the movie we went to Marks neighbourhood and met up with Mike and Gillian for Pizza. It was absolutely fabulous food.

I will never forget this day in Japan, and a huge thanks to Kiki who made it all possible. :)

Out

2007-02-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the 280 bar!
Me, Kiki, and Becky.

Kiki is my new friend, she's Japanese. She spent the last 5 years abroad, her first 4 in Vancouver and the last one travelling around Australia. She works at my Nova branch! We have become great friends and her English is fabulous. I'm excited because she is the first person i've met in Japan that has a car! So finally i'll be able to ride in the front seat of a car that drives on the left hand side of the road!

Becky is a friend that I met through my other friend Mark. She's from LA and got to Japan around the same time as I did. She's super outgoing and really fun to chill with!

So this is at the 280 bar in Amera-Mura in Osaka, where everything is 280 yen. All drinks, and food too. Super cheap, so we usually go there before going out for the night.

Sakana, Sakana, Sakana!

2007-01-31T02:48:00.000-08:00

Okay so the other night at karaoke I was introduced to this song. It's called Osakana Tengoku.

It's about fish. Fish = Sakana.

So basically the lyrics go:

Sakana, sakana, sakana, sakana o tabe ruto. And then the next line is Atama, atama, atama, atama...which is Head, head, head, head.

So the song is saying: Fish, fish, fish, it's healthy food (or something) and then talking about how it's good for your brain or mind. Then the next line is about your body, and how fish is good for your body.

The BEST part is that there's actions along with it. My friends and I are going to learn them so we can always remember them.

I will soon post a link to the song...whenever I learn how to post a link. I think I was taught before....
Too bad I don't actually like to eat fish still.

Look How Little He Is

2007-01-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

I LOVE YOU LIKE THE COLOUR RED

2007-01-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

A great thing happened today. It took something negative for me to see it's greatness.

Without going into detail of the negative thing, i'd like to share with you the great thing.

I had a bit of frustration at work today, and it left me feeling down. Shall I say I was feeling disappointed and defeated, yes, those are good ways to explain it.

Anyway, I talked to a good friend about the situation, and when she was praying for me, this is what came to mind and she said to me:

"Jesus felt this way too... and we are supposed to rejoice when we go through trials of many kinds because it produces perseverance, and hope and hope doesn't dissappoint us.

and then I thought... you know, Japan isn't a Christian nation... and you are a Christian... so you can identify with your saviour in this... he went through this as well...

If you think of this job as a way to fulfill yourself it will be difficult and it will hurt when this happens... if you think of yourself as an ambassador of the most high God... you'll be able to stand up to the hurt.

But darlin'... all that aside, I understand how you feel and I empathize and I will pray that things get easier and you get stronger...

and I LOVE YOU LIKE THE COLOUR RED."

How I love the advice of friends like this!!

Sasha is quite something!

2007-01-20T02:27:00.000-08:00

So I learn something new about Sasha everyday. She is just always impressing me!

Yesterday I learned that Sasha has gears!!!! So hooray! I can actually ride her up the huge hill on the way to Namba!! I have done so twice, although let me say I was going unbearably slow and struggling all the while.

Sasha also has a kickstand lock. Before I was just putting up the kickstand, but now I know to lock it and it's even more secure.

After leaving Sasha in Namba for two nights...I found today garbage in her basket. A little mortified that someone would do that to defenceless Sasha...but at least I was there to rescue her.

The BEST thing i've found on Sasha so far is a light!!! Yep, I can see at night folks. She is just full of bells and whistles. A better deal everyday.

I just have to get an umbrella stand for her so I can ride with my umbrella open.

Her name is Sasha, courtesy of Dr. Dorion.

2007-01-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

So, today I decided to take advantage of my bike and free time. I rode to Namba (the best part of downtown) from my apartment. It's about 30 mins on the bike. Pat had mentioned to me before that there is a huge hill between his place and mine, but I had never experienced it. Today was the day.

Well, maybe i'm building this up a little too much, but basically, there is a huge hill. Not crazy steep, but just so very long. And I couldn't ride my bike up it. I'm that out of shape. Yes...I walked it.

As I said before, I was looking forward to seeing Osaka from the streetlevel, and amazing it is. I'm excited to bike to my friend's houses and maybe church and also out on the weekends.

I forgot how fun it is to ride a bike down a hill. I also just love seeing new and amazing things everyday. What a luxury I will miss when i'm home.

She's Mint Green

2007-01-12T03:16:00.000-08:00

Here she is!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-12T03:11:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce the arrival of my bike!!!!!

I have been very lucky to buy a bike off one of my roommate's friends. She's gone back to England and gave me the bike for a measley 2000 yen. I am just thrilled.

I'm so excited to see more of Osaka from the street-level instead of taking the subway or trains everywhere. It will be nice to be able to venture out a little further, or visit friends who just live a few stations away.

I just love her handy little basket.

I hope she's good to me and will last at least until I leave...

I should probably name her, does anyone have any good ideas???

The Great Barrier Reef

2007-01-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

I got creative and took this pic at the aquarium, just think it's kinda cool. Wish I actually went there...

Another Day Off...

2007-01-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I took the day off, basically just for fun.

You see, my friend Mark and I went to see Kasabian here in Osaka!! It was a really good show. I have only got to know Kasabian's music since coming here to Japan, and I really enjoy listening to them. I think they're kinda like Oasis. They're from the UK.

You should download them and check 'em out.

We had some time to kill before, so we quickly checked out the aquarium that is close to the concert venue. It was super cool even though I had just been to the aquarium in Okinawa.

We saw another whale shark and also this ridiculous looking fish called the sun fish (which is remarkably ironic because it's a deep-sea creature and never sees the sun). Anyway, it's basically this super ugly and awkward looking and HUGE fish that is isolated in a tank all its own. I don't really get how it survives in the actual ocean. I thought I took a pic of it, but apparently I just got a video...sorry...

Please stay tuned for more blogs, because some important ones are coming your way...

Nagano

2007-01-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is the view from our hostel in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.

2007-01-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Cathy when she fell in a hole with her snowshoe on...

2007-01-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

The snowman that Cathy and I made. It's her first, because she's from San Jose!

Christmas Holiday Part II - Nagano!!!

2007-01-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

After New Years, we had another 5 days to spare, so a friend and I decided to take a trek up North to Nagano to do a little skiing and see some snow. Little did we know there wasn't so much snow...

So we took the night bus on the night of the 1st and spent the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Nagano while taking the night bus back on the 4th to arrive back in Osaka early on the morning of the 5th. It took us about 9 hours to get there...but we stopped a lot.

Nagano was good, and we were happy because after being warned that the trip might be cancelled due to lack of snow, it apparently had snowed a few feet right before New Years. Anyway, let me explain how the trip unfolded.

Day 1:
We arrived at 5:30 am on the morning of the 2nd. We had a slight problem because check in at our nice-ish hostel (not a hotel, but not a crummy hostel) wasn't until 3:00pm. SOOOOO, we went down to this dark and dank cellar-like room and took out our sweaters to act as blankets and pillows. We tired to relax in the basement and maybe get some more rest. It was hard though because it smelled musty and there were a bunch of random Japanese people eating smelly foods and making their good old Japanese noises, the way they do.

Anyway, Marita and Emily (Marita's friend who I met on the trip and she's super cool!) ventured off to find a cafe where we could get some tea and be warm while Cathy and I stayed in the basement.

They surely found a place rather quickly! I can't remember the name of the cafe, but it was a kind of small hotel-ish type place. It was our little haven. Very homey and comfy, and it was there we met this guy named Tom (a fellow gaijin) from Australia who served and lived at the hotel. He obviously spoke English (which is just a relief when in Japan). Anyway, he treated us really well and invited us to chill upstairs in this lounge area until we were ready to brave the cold and the not-so-snowy mountain. (Ya, that's right, the runs were pretty dirty at the bottom and the forecast for the next day was rain.) The lounge was cute with big windows and a huge flatscreen tv with tons of movies to watch. The four of us (Marita, Emily, Cathy, and I) played a couple games of Yahtzee up there and talked and rested for the morning.

Then we braved the mountain where everyone snowboarded except me, because i'd rather ski. Anyway, we all stared on the end of the easiest hill...and Cathy and I stayed there the longest. Then we got tired and made a snowman at the bottom of the hill...which was an event in itself. After this, she and I tried to do a big-kid run. Wow, honestly I haven't sworn that much in a while. It's so scary and I was getting really frustrated with having been fine at skiing 6 years ago and now literally having to start from the beginning. I mean...yeah it was 6 years, and I should be patient with these things, but usually i'm just not.

That night Cathy and I went to the Onsen (it was her first time). It was a cool one with a cedar bath and a regular sauna. Still I think it's just the best way to relax.

Day 2:
Emily, Cathy, and I slept in while Marita hit the slopes early. We were tired and lacked sleep from the bus ride. Our muscles hurt that day. Cath and Em's hurt more because they just tried harder the day before I guess. We woke up, watched a few episodes of Scrubs on my computer and then headed to the hills. As I was leaving the room, I realized I lost BOTH the right hands of the two pairs of gloves I had. Ahhhhhhhhh....these were the gloves that I had JUST bought in Nagano, AND my roommate Zoe's gloves. Not a good situation.

So I let Em and Cath go off to board. Honestly, I didn't really want to get back on the hill and I didn't feel like having my muscles ache the next day, and I was scared of wiping out and really hurting myself. Also, that day it was supposed to rain, so I didn't want to get caught in crap snow and again be at high risk of hurting myself. Plus, I had lost my only gloves.

I went to the lost property booth and reported my gloves. After this I retraced my steps 2 or 3 times, all the while still convinced that the gloves were in the room somewhere. I went into other hotels and asked if they were turned in from the street or whatever. Still with no luck, I just went on a nice long walk alone for about an hour and a half or so. I took many pictures of the mountains and just thought about stuff. It was nice to be alone and breathe the cold mountain air...

That night, I met up with the peeps again and we took the train to a bar to meet some other Nova teachers. What a blast. We watched some pool and just talked a lot. It was so cool to be in a completely remote part of Japan in the freezing cold, while drinking with friends. The whole night just had such a warm feeling to it although we were in such a cold place.

Day 3:
The last day was officially the BEST! Marita went to the slopes again, but Emily, Cathy and I woke up at a reasonable time and headed to the Onsen. The day previous, they both had horrible experiences on the hill and had to be brought back down on snowmobiles by rescue services!! (Pretty positive it was a blessing I lost those gloves) Anyway, they didn't really want to snowboard on the last day, thankfully. So, we went to the Onsen again. At the Onsen they had this little room with amazing massage chairs and vending machines, so we just chilled there until just after lunch time.

After the Onsen, we went to the rental shop because I really wanted to go snowshoeing!! They guy gave us a deal on the rental, so that was lucky. Then we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain where the hiking trails are and we snowshoed on the trails for like 2 and a half hours. It was just a breathtaking experience. It's so quiet and peaceful up there. We made it to this little hut place and took a few pictures and then headed back before the runs closed.

For dinner, we met up with Marita again and went over to Tom's cafe. We had previously arranged our dinner with him and he offered to serve us early because our bus was leaving at 7:30. Emily is a vegetarian, and I am loving meat less and less, so they made us all a creamy curry-flavoured pasta and we had wine with it. I scarfed mine down in like 7 minutes...it was borderline embarrasing when I realized it. Then after the dinner we went up to the lounge area and watched Shrek and played Yahtzee again until the bus came to pick us up. Such a perfect ending to a beautiful day in Nagano.

So that's the end to my winter holiday while in Japan. I'm thankful to have been able to experience both the (sub) tropics and Japanese snow.

I bet you're wondering what happened to the gloves...

The morning we were packing up I requested everyone to lift up their foutons to see if they were hiding. As Cathy kicked hers up we found both right hands sitting perfectly underneath the corner of her bed. A little freaky to say the least...

Kasuga Shrine

2007-01-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

The line-up at Kasuga Shrine just maybe 20 minutes before the clock struck 0:00 hours.

New Years in Nara

2007-01-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

I returned from Okinawa on December 31st with a few hours to spare before needing to meet some friends in Nara to celebrate New Years.

It was going to be a tradional Japanese New Year for us. Why spend it any other way!!!

Here in Japan, New Years and Christmas is kinda switched from how it is in the West. Their Christmas time is when they hang out with friends and have parties and then New Years is spent with family.

So at New Years they usually go to either the Shrine or Temple with their families. Here they burn their old good luck charms, receive a new fortune for the year, throw money into this thing and pray for good fortune, and then buy a good luck charm that will last them for the year.

So me, and Gillian and Mike, and Gillians two friends who were visiting from Korea (they're teaching as well) went to the huge Shrine and Temple in Nara. At Kasuga Shrine, there were probably like 500 people there...and we waited in line for a while. They were letting people into the Shrine in large groups. We got there and threw in a few yen, and then just walked around. Basically were just there and didn't actually do anything. It was a cool experience to just see how it all unfolded however. Gillian has this journal where she gets it signed at each of the Shrines or Temples she goes to, by the head Monk. It's a pretty cool souvenir I think.

Then we walked over to Todaiji Temple. Todaiji is a famous famous Temple in Japan, and it holds the largest Buddah statue in the whole country. I'd never been yet, which is pretty crazy seeing as I work in Nara. Anyway, when we got there the line-up was monstrous so we just canned it and stood by the fire to warm up. Man it was cold. I'll tell you about Todaiji when I go there.

So that was about it. Mike and I celebrated with Chai Lattes which was fun because it was his first.

Happy New Year!!

Okinawa

2007-01-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

The view from Moon Beach Hotel. So beautiful...why is it so overcast?!

2007-01-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

I spent the last morning here at the shoreline...so peaceful.

2007-01-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

The view from the plane. This is just a random Okinawan Island.

Christmas Holiday Part I - Okinawa!!!

2007-01-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I was lucky enough to go on vacation to Okinawa!!!

So, it was a 5 day vacation. Two nights in Naha, the largest city on the main island in Okinawa, and two nights at a beach resort up the island.

For those of you who don't know, Okinawa is a part of the sub-tropics. It's the southern most part of Japan and is made up of a number of islands. It is the home of Karate!!

So of course there is a lot to tell about the trip to Okinawa. I will simply outline a few of the highlights though.

1. It was cold. You're probably laughing now...but i'm not joking. The first day was alright, but then we had to wear longs sleeves for sure. I think the sun was on my face for maybe 15 seconds.

2. We saw lots of Shisa. These are lion figurines of all sizes, they always come in a set of two. One has his mouth open and one has his mouth closed. They are a symbol of Okinawa and are most often placed on the tops of houses to scare off evil spirits.

3. I learned about the Habu. The Habu is a snake special to Okinawa. It is very dangerous and can kill a human. The Okinawans take a lot of pride in this creature...they even have a store called the Habu Box. You can get t-shirts all over with Habus on them.

4. We found a BEAUTIFUL garden in Naha and went there twice to take pictures. There was a waterfall with a cave in behind it! So cool.

5. We went to Shuri-jo Castle. It was quite beautiful although completely rebuilt since Okinawa was flattened in the war. The grounds surrounding the castle we beautiful and there are a number of gates along the path.

6. For dinner we ate at an AMAZING restaurant. It was called Sam's Anchor Inn, and it was completely free with a coupon received from the travel agent. I stored in my celly all the food they made us so I could blog about it.
Here goes:
-Indian Soup, a favourite of mine. Spicy and creamy!
-Salad: iceberg lettuce (which we don't often have here in Japan), with veggies and blue cheese dressing. If you know me, you know I LOVE blue cheese.
-THEN, this dude came out and started cooking our entire meal right in front of us (the table was a grill top)!!!!!!! It was so cool. He was all formal and would do trick for us with the seasonings and he would cut everything all fancy. First he did our veggies: green pepper, onion, and potatoes.
-Fish, this was just served already made
-Steak (it was a steak house), which I requested to be well done. Honestly, it was the most tender and most perfectly seasoned steak I've had in a while.
-Bok Choy and Bean Sprouts were what he grilled up next. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
-Peachy Mango Sorbet to cleanse our palettes afterwards!!! Yummy.
-To drink I had guava juice and mizu (water).
Seriously, a long awaited healthy and tasty meal!!! That dinner has got me set for a few weeks now. I'd go back in an instant. And to think we just paid 300 yen for our drinks. Incredible.

7. On the third day we took the bus up island to Moon Beach. We were paying a little extra to stay at the Moon Beach Resort which honestly was a breathtaking establishment. I think I took 60 pictures of just the hotel in general.

8. I went snorkelling!!! The higlights of this were seeing a Manta Ray (Sting Ray) and feeding the fish. Oh, and I also touched a sea cucumber and a starfish. It was great because it was just the guide and me. Probably people thought it was too cold to go in the ocean. It was nice to be in salt water again (last time was my first time when I was 9ish).

9. I got a massage! This was amazing and ultra Japanese style. The style over here is to keep your clothes on and then they also put towels over you, and then they just go to town. The lady who did me was probably 55 and she even jumped on the table straddling me to work at my back. It was full-body massage, haven't had one of those in a while!

10. Went to the onsen. This is basically a public bath. Quite crazy actually...because you're just completely naked in front of random women. I must admit when I went alone it was better because there aren't anyother friends to be weirded out about seeing naked. It was cool though. You just shower and then sit in a hottub for a while and then maybe sauna it (they had a hard-core pore-refining 'Mist Sauna') and then shower and take your time getting dressed. A super way to relax and treat yourself.

11. It was a very relaxing and rewarding vacation. I was able to do the relaxing things I wanted to and I also spent a lot of time alone! It was nice to just have things quiet and not rushed. The last morning I spent sitting on the rocks at the shore of the ocean. It was also just nice to spend time taking pictures and reflecting on life...

I think those are all the highlights of my vacation to Okinawa!! Oh, one more thing...
At the airport on the way home I found a beautiful designer purse that was on sale, so I just had to buy it. My Christmas present to myself!

Stay tuned to my pic site for more beautiful pics of Okinawa.

2007-01-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Counterclockwise: Gillian, Darcy, Me, Mark, Mike at Christmas Day dinner in Tomio, in Nara!
Do you love the Christmas Cake I found?!

Christmas Day in Nara

2007-01-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Day I had to work. That was a first for me, but I liked it because all of my friends had to work too and also I didn't want to be at home just missing family and wallowing...

It was a great day at the branch. We had a lot of no shows and TONS of food that students or other teachers or the staff brought in. Way too much chocolate.

My friend Mike finished work at 2 or something and went home to start cooking a dinner for a few of us teachers. My friend Mark and I finished work at 6:30 so we took the train to Mike's place. Mike and his girlfriend Gillian and Darcy were waiting at Mike and Gillian's apartment for us. I brought the Christmas Cake, Mark brought the wine, Darcy made the mashed potatoes and this amazing dip stuff and Gillian and Mike made the stuffing and veggies. We picked up KFC along the way.

I'm still yet to get pics from this night, I let Gillian take most of them. But I will get them soon.

Anyway, we ate dinner and then listened to Stuart McLean tell the story 'Christmas with Rasheeda and Ahmeer.' Boy that brought me back home and made me miss having a White Christmas with the family. But honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to spend my Christmas anywhere else this year...we all really had a great time. It's so great to have such good friends here to rely on when there's no family around. :)

Merry Christmas!!

2007-01-08T05:21:00.000-08:00

Mayumi and I at J-House in Osaka on Christmas Eve

My Christmas Eve In Umeda, Osaka

2007-01-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I want to go back a couple weeks to Christmas.

My first Christmas away from home was a very nice one. Of course I missed my family and friends and just being in Canada, but really I got to do a lot of great things here in Osaka.

On December 23rd, I met up with my friend Mayumi after work. I went to her church which is called J-House. It's so cool...I can't go every week though because I work on sundays. But, both times I've been I've been blown away by the number of young Japanese Christians there...it's just really amazing. Anyway, on that night, I was supposed to go to her Christmas concert, but I arrived just as it was ending...we got the times messed up. It was okay though because afterwards I met lots of new people! Although I haven't seen them since that night.

After mingling, Mayumi and I went for a walk in Umeda down by the river where there was a beautiful lit path. After that we got coffee and talked all night at the church. You see, her church is a 5 storey building where there are floors for boys and girls to live when volunteering there. It's a whole huge operation and really reminds me of home and being in a church community. I can't say I have that with OIC (my church here, because its so small), but it's nice to experience it once in a while at J-House.

So we slept over until December 24th! It was just Mayumi and I in a room, so fun...I hadn't had a girly sleepover in a while. I got the 24th off from work and we went to church and then had tea and coffee with her friends there. I must admit that by the end it was getting hard for me to be around japanese conversation all the time, but i guess it's just something to get used to. It can just be overwhelming and frustrating at times. I feel bad for Mayumi because she wants to translate all the time, but of course it's just not feasible.

Anyway, that was my Christmas Eve!! It was so very nice to get to go to church. Definitely a Christmas Eve to remember for a long time.

Miss You Etty

2006-12-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

So I got some news today from Canada. My Aunt Etty died yesterday. She died of T-cell lymphoma, the fast path. I think maybe her white blood cell count was super low and her lymph nodes couldn't help clean out her blood. (I'm really not sure)

Anyway, she was 53 and died pretty suddenly. The funeral is tomorrow and of course it's hard for me to go through all this across the world. Not only is it Christmas, but i'll never see my aunt again...

I think back about when just before I left for Japan Etty called me to wish me farewell. We had a chat and hung up the phone and immediately she called back. She had forgotten to tell me she loved me, and she wanted me to be sure I knew that... I'm so glad that she just made that little effort to tell me that.

Your prayers are appreciated...

Aimi and Yuuko

2006-12-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

So today I had two of my favourite students. The first is Aimi, she's 7 years old, and the second is Yuuko, her mother.

I taught Aimi in a one-on-one lesson today. I have taught her the past couple of lessons, and she's a prize student. She's so absolutely adorable and smart and we have our own certain things we like to do together in the lesson. Last week she drew me a picture of the Nova Christmas Usagi (Bunny).

Then I taught her mother in a one-to-one class. I chose to teach her a lesson on holidays so we could talk about Christmas and New Year's. She told me about Children's Day (which is actually on two different days for boys and girls) where for example the girls dress up very elaborately in kimono's and make-up and celebrate being a feminine girl (I guess), the boys wear swords and celebrate their strength and masculinity. The surprising thing she told me is that Children's Day for boys is a national holiday, but it's not for girls. Surprising for Westerners, but not for the Japanese.

Anyway, Yuuko used to be a reporter for a news station in Japan...not sure if it was in Osaka or what, but I think that's pretty cool.

As soon as I can get a pic of Aimi, I'll put it up. Yuuko told me she'd bring me a pic of her all dressed up for Children's Day (in March). :)

Isaiah 9 and then some...

2006-12-16T04:11:00.000-08:00

Even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, your perfect love is casting out fear
Even when i'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life i won't turn back, i know you are near

I will fear no evil, for my God is with me
If my God is with me, whom then shall i fear?
Oh no you never let go, through the calm and through the storm, every high and every low

I can see a light that is coming for a heart that holds on, a glorious light beyond all compare
There will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes, we'll live to know you here on the earth...

These are the lyrics of a song i've been listening to recently...it's simple but good.

Miki, not Melissa

2006-12-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

Hello loyal friends,

I have another cool story to share.

Today I taught my FIRST private lesson! It was a blast, and I can't believe I got paid for it.

So I met this young Japanese girl named Miki at the Seattle's Best in Uehonmachi Station. I arrived at the cafe before her, and when I first saw her I did a 'I bet that's her' to myself. I saw her kinda just walk around the place and then get out her cell phone. She didn't see me because I was inside ordering. So then I ordered and got her email that said 'call me when you get here'. So I called her and watched her order and not pick up her cell phone. All the while still not positive if it was her or not, but simply having a hunch.

Finally she walked out of the ordering area to come and sit when I caught her attention and asked, are you Miki?!! And she of course responded: Yes!! Yes! Hello!!

So from there we basically talked. She started by asking me questions and then said that basically in her lessons she wants me to ask her questions so that she answers and practices her English. She doesn't care about writing or learning new vocab because her grammar is pretty good and her vocabulary is strong. Sometimes if she doesn't understand a word i'll write it down, but then she usually knows it right away. It was really a great time. I basically don't have to prepare at all to teach her, which is nice.

She said that her father is the owner of a company that has many factories that take fibers to make thread and fabric and then he sells them to clothing manufacturers (i'm guessing). It was really amazing. She works for her dad.

Okay, but the coolest thing is that she reminds me of someone from home! It's my good friend Melissa Roswell (now Wilms) from Waterloo, she was my roommate in Grebel first year. She just got married before I left Canada. It's really weird because i'm always so surprised when Japanese people remind me of friends from home, although it actually happens often. She kinda laughs the same way Melissa does and she also kinda looks the same way...if that's possible...

Anyway, that's my story for today. Tomorrow I teach another private student for the first time. She wants me to help her learn the english for making bread so she can show others
in english. Sounds cool.

Tsuri = Fishing

2006-12-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

So today was an exciting day!!! I had my first actual Japanese lesson.

The offer community classes for free at most community centers, and I decided to join the one in Namba because it's relatively close to my house and my friend Cathy goes there.

So in the beginning it was really frustrating because they are kinda disorganized. But I can't blame them because all the teaching is volunteer and there are students of all different levels and really the whole thing is a huge undertaking. Anyway, finally we got organized after seeing oldish Japanese ladies running around yelling things in Japanese. I got moved from table to table and finally ended up at a table with "beginners".

At the table there were 6 people. This older lady who was running the class and teaching us, then 2 other people helping to teach (a girl college-aged named Yuki and an older man), and then three students (two guys and myself). It turns out that I actually knew the one guy, he's my roommates friend and came over to fix our internet a few weeks ago. It was surprising that he was in the same class (in the entire session there's like 80 people I would say).

Anyway, so the other two guys knew SO much more than me. But let me tell you first that I basically know nothing. I have a vocabulary of probably 20 random words, and I can count to ten. These guys couldn't make sentences, but they had larger vocabularies than me.

The Japanese girl Yuki was so very nice!! I'm SO happy I met her. She is in college right now, I think she's maybe 22 or 23. She goes to school in Kobe which is about an hour away from Osaka. She is majoring in Russian and minoring in Economics. She flipped out when I told her I was from Canada because she stayed in Vancouver to learn English for 10 months. We became friends really quickly and she helped me along in the class. She basically was teaching me everything because I would ask her whenever I didn't know something. Her english was surprisingly good for living in Canada for only 10 months. I think we will be friends which is just so cool. After the class she photocopied some beginner lesson plans for me to teach myself during the week.

So yes, I love the class, although at one point I seriously did want to cry and I almost felt the tears welling up because I was just so frustrated and didn't understand a thing the woman was saying. Like I felt the same way I did in grade 4 when I returned from missing a day of school and the class had learned long division and I had no idea what was going on. I started bawling and then my teacher taught me and I was okay. I just am like that with learning I think...

Thanks to Yuki and her translating everything for me. Japanese is just seriously so freaking complex. You really have no idea...

p.s. The guy beside me is from England and one of his hobbies is fishing and so I learned that it's 'tsuri' in Japanese.

p.p.s. I learned how to spell my name in Hiragana!!!

A Little Soul

2006-12-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

I guess I haven't really told you all about church. S'abou time.

So I go to church in Osaka on saturday nights. It's at the Osaka Christian Centre (OCC) which is a building and organization. My church is Osaka International Church (OIC) and we rent out the OCC each week for our services. I work every sunday morning, so I must go to church on saturday nights.

It's SO SMALL. Seriously, like tonight there were 6 people total including Pastor Dan and his wife Karen. It's just like this for saturdays, sundays there are about 35 or so people i'm told.

So anyway, it's amazing because Pastor Dan translates each thought or idea he's explaining as he is giving his message. I love it because it gives me time to actually think about what he's saying while he's speaking the Japanese part. It really blew my mind the first time, but now i'm just used to it.

Anyway, the real reason why i'm posting has nothing to do with church. AFTER church tonight I was with my friend Junko and I saw on my way there that in the main sanctuary there was a Christmas Concert on!!!!!!!

It was put on by the Private Christian College that is just across the street from The OCC. The concert was called The OJC Gospel Choir Live 2006. Wow was I pumped to see the word Gospel.

So Junko and I snunk in the back and watched the second half. They basically had me in tears (well, almost). In the beginning the solo parts were a little shaky, but as a group these girls were something to write home about. Of course after like 2 songs I had my favourite member picked out, this girl that was dressed oh so cooly and just has so much passion and soul. It really got me emotional when she conducted a Gospel version of Joy to the World. I hadn't seen someone so passionate about God and music yet in Japan as that girl was. It made me miss home.

What really got me was remembering being in the Embassy choir first year of Uni. I was picturing all the old leadership people...and Sarah down front leading us...awwww, what great times those were! Sarah Wit, Hannah, Erika Sorensen, Jodi, Amber, Steve (hahahaha), Regan, Chung...i'll never forget! And if I'm leaving anyone out, i'm sorry...

Please comment to me about the good old choir times...Hann i remember our freak trip to Cambridge between services...and our shared love for Eminem...(weird, i know)...

Anyway, for a split second tonight I was brought back to those great days, and also I was just so very happy to see such a jubilee over Christmas in Japan. I guess I just wasn't expecting as much as this...

Looking foward to the J-House (yes, that's the name of this other church my good friend Mayumi attends...) Christmas Concert on the 23rd!

Post back...

What's the name for a society that's the opposite of individualistic?

2006-12-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Today in voice, I learned something so cool from my friend Nike. (Yes, this is his nick name that he uses at Nova. He loves basketball and Michael Jordan...and his real name is Naoki.)

I asked him why in Japan if you meet someone for the first time they introduce themselves with their last name. Because that is what they do, they use their last name until they know you better. (in Japan they call it their 'family name') He said it's because in Japanese society the family comes before the self.

Now of course I knew that Eastern cultures are less individualistic than those of the West, but isn't this just the greatest example of how it is so?!! Like to actually introduce yourself to someone using your family name...because your family name identifies you MORE than your own personal name. Crazy.

Of course it should be said that this is a much older tradition and it's strength has been lost over the years, but it is definitely still practiced today, even with the young people.

True Love and the Human Condition

2006-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

So the other day my roommate was talking to me about a friend of hers. What I got from the story wasn't what she was trying to express, but it was really cool.

So there was this couple who were dating, and had been for a while. Then the guy started to like another girl. And not just have a crush while knowing it would never be anything...but like really like another girl. Anyway, he told his girlfriend, and actually asked her what she thought he should do.

Now this seems unlogical, doesn't it? But now that i've told someone and they agree it's logical, I feel...well of course it's logical.

But in reality you'd just expect him to ask his guy friend what he thought and then either dump his girlfriend or decide to forget about the other girl.

Isn't this just a perfect example of true love and the human condition?!!!! Wasn't he doing exactly what Jesus would do if in that position??!!

There's no lying no cheating no other crap. He was being completely honest and went to the person who knew him best, his girlfriend, for help.

I love that story. Basically because I love things that don't make sense, but underneath make TOTAL sense. Sigh.

I want to be like them.

Schwa...What?!

2006-12-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

Today I was studying during one of my free lessons. Yes, that's right, going over a list of English Literary Terms in order to hopefully better assess my students and where they need help.

I came across the coolest thing. It's called Schwa.

Schwa - The name given to the most common vowel sound in English. It's 'ah'... like what you say when you go to the doctors and he depresses your tongue.

How cool! To name a sound!! I just love it.

Takayuki and Luck

2006-12-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

So last night I had a class with one of my favourite students. His name is Takayuki, and he's about 45 years old, a husband and father.

I like Takayuki so much because he's so very happy all the time. He loves to laugh and make jokes and he's just an easy-going guy. Also, he recently got 'levelled up' (he is making progress with his english) and I was the lucky sensei to give him his Level Up Slip!!! I almost had a tear.

The lesson I chose for him last night was on Superstitions. I just wanted to talk a little about it because the things he told me were very interesting.

Now i'm not sure if you know this, but in Japan luck is very important. There are many lucky and unlucky things and Takayuki said probably 99% of the Japanese believe in luck, for real. The main way this is explained is that every January 1st all the Japanese go to the shrine and pray and then buy a little good luck charm that they carry around everywhere with them for the year. At the end of the year, the burn them. Pretty crazy when you think about it.

Also, another interesting thing he said was a little phenomenon called chabashira. This is when a tea leaf is found vertical in your tea...it brings good luck.

If you didn't know, the Japanese have four leaf clovers all over, you can get anything with a four leaf clover on it.

They also believe the colours black and white are unlucky because they represent death. For example, you would never give a wedding or baby shower gift that is just black and white.

Those are a few of the lucky traditions they have in Japan. Oh and I also wanted to mention that the numbers 4 and 9 are very unlucky here. Four is 'chi' which means death and Takayuki couldn't explain why 9 was unlucky to me...it's too hard to explain I guess. It's crazy though, at Nova we have 5 rooms for classes on the main level of our branch. Never has anyone ever taught in room 4, ever. They just don't use it!!

The last thing that I wanted to share about that class doesn't have anything to do with luck at all, but I just think it's cute.

So in the listening exercise I used the term 'stuff'. For example: 'You really believe in that stuff?', stuff meaning superstitions. Anyway...Takayuki didn't know what 'stuff' meant. And before I started explaining, he said, does it mean 'jinx'?

I was like...what? First I was shocked he knew what jinx was and then in my head I was like...what does that really mean anyway, and then of course it was funny because it doesn't mean anything close to jinx.

But then I said to him, 'uhhhhh...what does jinx mean??' I don't know, I just thought jinx was kinda inexplainable...like what do you think it means?

And then he gave the perfect answer, that I never could have come up with. He just said it meant that if he says something, it will happen. And I was like ahhhh yeah...

And then I explained what stuff was to him and he laughed and laughed at how he thought it meant jinx.

Hahaha...oh Takayuki.

The ball is rolling...

2006-12-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

I would just like to congratulate my friend from uni, Shealyn Omstead. Last weekend Shea got married!! She married her boyfriend Matt and how they live in Chicago together. This is a pic of Shea and I during the old times at Paddy's in Waterloo. I know I look ridiculous but I don't have another pic of us...i'm hoping to get a few pictures from her wedding.

Congratulations Shea!!

Also I would like to congratulate Jordana Lenk and her boyfriend!!! They are recently engaged! Congratulations Jords and all the best in the next months with your wedding preparations. Please don't get married while i'm in Japan.

Congratulations Jords!!

2006-12-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

This is a picture from when they were singing Pride I think. There's more from where this came from. Visit the link on the right to 'My Japan Pictures' and go to 'U2 in Tokyo'.

U2 in The City of Blinding Lights Escapade - Uncut

2006-12-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

So after going to work today and recalling the events of last Wednesday over again, there are a few more things that I would like to mention about our little escapade.

First of all I TOTALLY forgot about the most exciting part of the night. Where's my head at.

Now when Bono came out for his encore, during Mysterious Ways he decided to call up a beautiful lady on stage. I was so happy when he came over to our side of the stage. Now as he reached down for my hand, I had no choice but to be completely honest with him and explain to him that it's better he chose a Japanese woman instead of a regular old North American like myself. Of course he played it wise and took my advice while pulling up the most beautiful Japanese woman in my vicinity.

Welllll, obviously that's a little stretch from the truth, but I WILL have you know that the girl he chose was scarily close to us.

But I was kinda shocked through the whole thing. You see, I have the Elevation - Live in Boston DVD, and he does the same thing in that concert. Everytime I watch it I get the heebie-jeebies because he's just SO CLOSE to this girl. Anyway, I was just as uncomfortable when he did it this time. He danced with her for the end of Mysterious Ways and then got on one knee for With our Without You. Yeah it was all romantic and dreamy, and she played the part well, AND he gave her his Captain's Hat...but it was still just a little weird. I know that I was thinking about the whole thing so much because I totally stopped taking pictures although he was SO CLOSE. Just as they parted and she went back down into the crowd I realized how stupid I was for not taking pics. Oh well...

Part of me is like...whatever, it's just a show, a production and he's working and it's just artsy or something like that...let me know what you think if you have an opinion.

Second of all, I want to mention one more thing.

If you have the opportunity while in Japan to see a concert, I strongly advise you to. First of all, no one is singing really loudly in your ear because they don't actually know the words. Second of all, you can see everything because they're all so short. :)

Christmas or Not.

2006-12-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am being forced to abide by officially one of the stupidest rules this side of the International Date Line...so basically in the world. Anyway...

I was told today that our bosses boss has said that we (The Nova staff at Gakuemmae) are NOT ALLOWED to have Christmas decorations up in the staff room (the staff room is only where the teachers go). Well, we CAN, but they are not allowed to be visible to the students (like not within sight from either door of the room).

I would just like to notify you that there are at least 3 fully decorated Christmas trees in the entranceway of the school and probably 4 wreaths up on the walls around the classrooms. There are Merry Christmas signs and perhaps even a decorated garland or two.

SO, WHAT???!!!!!

I just don't get it either.

It's just so weird because the people in the staff rooms are all from countries where Christmas is actually celebrated for it's purpose!!! How many Christians are there in JAPAN??????

My Christmas Vacation - Updated

2006-12-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

I would just like to announce that I'm going to Okinawa!!!

Okinawa is a collection of islands in the Tropics at the very bottom of Japan. It's the most southern part of Japan. Okinawa is a beautiful place known for its beaches and scenery.

This trip will happen after Christmas until the 31st of December with my good friend Marita who is also from Canada (Toronto). In Okinawa we are spending the first two nights in the city centre where we will do lots of sightseeing and shopping. Then we're off to the beaches for the third and fourth night. Our hotel on the beach is a resort and spa where i'll surely be getting a massage and a seaweed wrap or two. Also, there are traditional Japanese Onsen (hot baths) there!! It will be an awesome experience. A Special Thanks goes out to my friend and comrade Mayumi (the travel agent) who planned the whole trip for us.

After spending New Years in Osaka, Marita and I will be taking a 4 day ski trip to Nagano for the latter half of our Christmas Holidays. We will be skiing/snowboarding in beautiful and snowy Nagano to start off the new year!! Marita is planning this leg of our vacation, so there will be more to come with regards to our plans.

Merry Christmas!!!

Please let me know of your plans, interesting or not...

U2 in The City of Blinding Lights Escapade

2006-12-01T03:25:00.000-08:00

I am proud to annouce that I saw U2 last wednesday night. :) All the risk my friend Mike and I took on was rewarded to us fully. Although it cost maybe an arm and a leg, we got to see Bono.

So right after work on Wesdnesday (at 2:00) we headed for Kyoto to get the Shinkansen. For those of you who don't know, the Shinkansen is a type of train here that is unbelieveably FAST. It usually takes about 6.5 hours to get to Tokyo, but on the Shink it's 2.5. It's really incredible, and an experience in itself. It's kinda pricy of course, $127 each way...but it's probably the same price and time to fly there.

So we got to Central Tokyo at about 5:00. We then jumped on another Shinkansen train to go North to Saitama...the concert was held at Saitama Super Arena. We got to the Shinkansen Terminal there at about 6:00 because we had to wait for our train and figure out where to go. From there we had to take another local train back a stop to arrive at the Arena. We thought the concert started at 7 so near the end we were cutting it close...but it pretty much worked out perfectly. We arrived at The Arena at 6:50 after running from the station. We were SO EXCITED.

Then...things got a little frustrating. We walked around and couldn't easily see anyone selling tickets. I thought we wouldn't end up getting tickets at all. We wondered if they did it a little differently in Japan or how we would even talk to the scalper...all we knew was 'makete ku da sai' which means, 'lower please'. Just as we were scoping out where the best place was to chill and look ticket-hungry, this gaijin (foreigner) appeared right in front of us. She was selling for tonight. Now Mike and I were prepared to spend maybe 20 000 yen or $200. The tix were $100 face value, and she gave them to us for $150. She claimed they were standing room on the floor and then she apologized for probably standing beside us and screaming in our ears. We didn't care even if she was lying and they were super far back...we were in.

After many people telling us we were up at the top, we eventually realized that the crazy lady was right and we were on the floor!!! about 10 feet from the arm that came out from stage left. They didn't have a heart shaped thing anymore...just two big arms where they would walk out and perform from.

So once in, it was simply a blast. Here's the set list:

Main Set:
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo - She Loves You
Elevation
I Will Follow
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Beautiful Day - Sgt. Pepper's
Window In The Skies
Walk On (acoustic)
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Bad - 40
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One

Encore(s):
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
The Saints are Coming
Angel of Harlem
One Tree Hill

Window In the Skies was premiered at this concert! That was exciting, it's a good track for sure...looking forward to it's release. Also, Love and Peace or Else was dropped...too bad.

I took tons of pics at the show, all of which can be seen at meganinjapan.spaces.live.com.

After the show we weren't sure of what to do with all the trains in Osaka not running past 11:30 pm. If we took the Shinkansen back, we would be stuck in Umeda and not able to get home until 6 am. To remedy this we just took the overnight bus back to Osaka. It was cheaper than the Shink and we arrived at home at 8:18 am. We also were able to sleep all the way back so as to not mess up our sleep schedule. So before jumping on the bus we ate some food and took a short rest. The bus left at 11:50 pm.

So that is the story of U2 in Japan. Probably should have made a bigger trip out of going to Tokyo, but we'll do that next time! Mike had to work on Friday and I had basically run out of money anyway...

I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Although I spent waaay too much money, there are no regrets in taking this chance!

A Spontaneous Risk...

2006-11-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Alright people. I'm trying my best to not get my hopes up...

But this Wednesday (November 29th), U2 is coming to Tokyo, Japan. And it's just been decided that my new friend Mike and I are going to jump on the train to Tokyo to try and see them!!!! We don't have tickets and the cost of even getting there is rather expensive, but we both feel the benefit of seeing U2 live in Japan will outweigh the costs.

Can you believe it? I'm just so pumped to even take the risk...

I'll let you all know how it pans out after Wednesday.

:)

Put To Shame

2006-11-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

I have been sick. These last couple of days have found me mostly in bed. So for the first time since arriving to Japan i'm finding myself bored. So when i'm not sleeping i'm on the internet organizing my millions of photos or checking out the blogs of friends.

As a result of this free time I have been put to shame...I can't believe how cool some of my friends blogs are. And here I am in Japan having a wicked experience...I NEED to be recording this part of my life! I WILL regret it later if I don't. Thank goodness I'm realizing this NOW.

Now i'm trying to think of what to write about...

My Japanese Tunes

2006-11-22T05:28:00.000-08:00

I have been very fortunate to meet a number of good quality friends here in Japan so far. One of which has awesome taste in music as far as i'm concerned. So let me share and recommend my two new favourite bands to you.

First, it is imperative that you check out Doves. My absolute favourite new song is called Pounding. It's on the album The Last Broadcast. Seriously addictive.

Then, please check out The Bloc Party if you haven't already. I've been listening to the whole Silent Alarm album. And the song Banquet is a keeper.

I'm also excited to know that I have the opportunity to go and see Kasabian in concert. I also today just bought tickets to see Snow Patrol here in Osaka in February. So i'm looking forward to that.

Nova is Evil

2006-11-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

Some of you may or may not know about the company I work for. It's called Nova, and it's the biggest private English teaching school in the country. It's also the biggest money-sucking corporation in Japan, in my opinion. They really don't give a rip about their employees (Japanese or International side) and the turnover is so high you would have a bird. For example, two of the 12 people I work with have been with Nova for more than 3 months.

Recently I've been facing some minor frustrations at work. Although if I can put the organization aside, I do love it. However, some of you might know that I don't put up easily with completely nonsensical rules at work, or rude people working above me. I can give examples of jobs where i've quit due to situations of this nature...like at the bookstore and also at the Huether Hotel Cafe. I simply just won't let myself get pushed around in that manner.

Anyway, when i got here i was shocked to learn just how ridiculous Nova actually is. Now honestly, I could go on and on and on about all the crap they've pulled already, but i'm just going to share with you this one mind-blowing story.

So during the week it's not really busy at Nova. Mind you I work at one of the busiest schools in the area, but still, from time to time we get 'no shows' - when your student just doesn't come to class.

Therefore we get a 'free class' which we call 'non-teaching time'. In this time you are instructed to follow a strict protocol as i've found out. After I found out about this protocol, I followed it. However i've still been warned THREE TIMES that I haven't been using my non-teaching time wisely.

Grrrrrrrrr. I've officially given up on trying to use my bloody non-teaching time wisely.

It's because of today. Today I only taught 5 lessons. My last lesson was a no-show, so I approached the manager on the Japanese side and asked her what I should do. Just like I ALWAYS do.

She had me draw lines in a new notebook.

Honestly. Imagine a regular Hilroy notebook. Drawing lines on each page, to make columns. I think they have 20 of them that are done and ready to be used from us teachers having to make them in our free time.

AFTER I was done drawing the lines with her coming into the teachers room every 8 minutes to be sure I was doing work, I immediately went up to her to ask her what else I could do although there was only 6 minutes left until my shift was over.

She had me rip up paper, yeah that's right, MANUALLY shread because the 'shreddo' wasn't working. I almost bore a canary.

So I sat there for 2 minutes and manually ripped up paper that isn't even confidential. Things like our schedules or ads or teachers comments from 4 years ago. I then used the bathroom card although I didn't have to go.

At least I got paid roughly $19/hour to do nothing. But it's just so pointless...

I Was Cinderella

2006-11-21T06:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Iwanted to post this little story a while ago, right when it happened.

I was riding my bike back from the station one night after work. It was maybe 10 pm. I was wearing heels while peddling, doing it the Japanese way.

I got just up to my street when on the sidewalk another bike was coming toward me. I went to bow my head and as I passed this young man, I somehow kicked off my shoe. Reacting with an 'ahhhh' I slammed on the brakes and stopped maybe 9 feet away, with my shoe having flown backward. I looked back and noticed that the Japanese boy had immediately stopped his bike and reached down to get my shoe. He saw he couldn't pass the shoe to me so he dutifully set up his kickstand. I then was shocked to see him walk over to me with the shoe held out on the palms of his hands. He then bowed to me and offered for me to take it from him.

It took a few minutes for me to realize what happened. I think i'm becoming accustomed to the extreme etiquette in the Japanese culture. It's so astounding! What a shock I will be in for when i return home...

What I Will Miss

2006-11-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

So here is a list of things that i've decided I will probably miss when i leave Japan...thought you all might be interested.

1. custard cakes everywhere...in all convenience stores and subway stands
2. the ridiculously low price of really cool and fashionable shoes
3. being able to get lace on everything

now for a few more important things...
4. the remarkability of convenience stores and how brutally convenient they are. you can fax, photocopy, buy concert tickets (and other tickets), buy groceries, baked products, charge your phone card, buy hot food
5. the low rates of crime and high levels of trust in this country
6. the annoying way japanese people speak and make sounds when thinking and hesitating
7. the cheap cheap curry
8. getting warm towels before dinner wherever you go
9. automatically getting water when in a restaurant
10. the amazing timing of the trains
11. being able to talk about people loudly when they're sitting right beside me
12. the mountains
13. seeing such beautifully new things all the time
14. my friends here
15. going out until 6:00 in the morning...like i would ever do that at home...
16. beer and vodka coolers in vending machines...passion fruit chu hi
17. club flatt and hot staff (which says a lot since i've only been to hot staff once)
18. my monday kinders...Nene, Kanna, Souta, Asumi, and especially little Yuuji
...

i think this list will only continue to grow...which is so crazy to say seeing as i of course miss so much from home. i guess that's just the way things work...

Osaka is my Hometown

2006-11-02T22:40:00.000-08:00

Hello all!!!

Finally i am able to blog while in Japan. I have been so very busy this far and also the day after I moved in, the internet went down. We have been able to 'borrow' it from the neighbours for the past few weeks, and are getting our own next week.

I've finally set up a site where you can view my pictures. Please bookmark this as it will be updated regularily... www.meganinjapan.spaces.live.com. I already have a number of pictures up there from a few trips and other events.

I have been sending out emails periodically. If you haven't received any, please let me know and I will add you to the list!

You will be hearing from me on here more often now...

The Burden is Lifted

2006-07-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

So I have finally graduated from University. I honestly thought that day would never come! On Friday June 9th 2006 I officially convocated from Wilfrid Laurier at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Centre. I was handed my Bachelor Of Business Administration on that fine day. And for the record, I concentrated in Finance with a double minor in Math and Psychology (although it doesn't actually say any of that on my degree). It was a good time and thanks to all my family who came to celebrate. I would also like to extend my appreciation and thanks to my friends and family who supported me through university and through all the struggles and trials that went along with it. It was an amazing, but trying 4 years for me, although of course 4 years that I will never forget. I have already started to miss Waterloo and student life there, as well as all my friends in the area.

2006-07-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

This is Meghan Tallevi and I. Meg also took Finance and we had a lot of classes together in 3rd and 4th year. Good times in class drawing pictures of our profs and being obsessed with Napoleon Dynamite Meg. And thanks for encouraging me to not skip class, I wouldn't have gone to as many if you weren't there. :) Miss ya!

2006-07-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

My sister Michele and I

Evan avec le Francais

2006-07-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

I miss my nephews. Sadly I don't have a pic of them here that I can put up to show you all...but in time it will happen dear friends.

I talked to my sister Milja today for the first time in a while. She updated me on Evan, he's at a french day camp this week in Waterloo.

So the first day he comes home and says to my sister: "Je M'appelle Evan"
Then he continues and repeats: "Je M'appelle Road" while laughing hysterically.

I didn't think it was possible for a 4 1/2 year old to be so smart and witty. He will never cease to surprise me. I miss being around him.

Eyes Open

2006-07-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share with you all my favourite new album. It's Eyes Open by Snow Patrol (this pic is not the cover).

Let me just say that it could be better than their previous record, Final Straw. This band from Belfast pulls through again on their second album...evey song is a keeper.

They are coming to Toronto in September, and after hearing the album, I'm desperate to go. I'll have to think about that a little more. I've seen them twice, but nothing could probably top the last concert after which we had backstage passes and actually met Gary. What good times.

Leadership Fun

2006-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Leadership at Muskoka Woods started 5 weeks ago. It was just as fun as it has been for the last two years. This is a picture from staff week. The day our 300 staff arrived, the leadership team held 'Carnival Wars'. This was a rendition of Street Wars, where you got your picture taken and a few key pieces of information about you put on a card and sealed in an envelope. Everyone gets an envelope and has to soak their target person with their own personal watergun. This went on while we had a carnival. Steph and I ran the Flip'N Frogs station. It was good times all around.

The States is Shorter

2006-07-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

In tradition (this being the second year) Steph and I get together in June to drive across the country in order to bring little Poppy (her car)over to camp for the summer. This year we decided to take the route through the states. This is us in South Dakota after pulling over to take a picture of the beautiful sunset. We travelled through many states including Washington, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.
Poppy broke down a number of times on the trip...she smoked most of the way as well. Her ailments included a broken headlight, an oil leak, lack of antifreeze, and most importantly the air conditioning quit on us. This made for some fairly hot days, especially in South Dakota when the temperature was in the high 90's, even in the shade. We were really impressed with all the people who helped us along the way with the car. Wyoming has the nicest people by far.
One of the highlights of the trip was driving through a traumatic thunderstorm. This happened in Wyoming. We were approaching a town called Gillette. Little did we know that it is the Ethanol capital of the Nation and that every business man in the Ethanol industry was there for the week. Out of the 14 or so hotels they had, there wasn't one room to spare. With no other choice, we headed out onto the highway again. The lightining was nothing that I had ever experienced before, it was completely surrounding us.
We got to the next little town that had 4 little motels, but there were still no rooms. Having no choice but to drive in the storm for another 40 minutes, we finally arrived at a Best Western in the next town. Wow, were we glad that was over.
All in all the trip was a success, although we spent four 14 hour days in the car. I didn't mind though, driving is fun, and we got to listen to tons of music. : )

(Get Dressed Up)^10 for Immi

2006-07-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, my great friend Meagan and I went to see Imogen Heap at the Guvernment in Toronto. It was such an amazing show. Imogen is absolutely fabulous on stage and is so talented as a musician. She played all our favourites including 'Goodnight and Go' and 'The Moment I Said It'. She also sang 'Broken Hallelujah', but kept messing up! It just showed so much of her character and that even though she's a top notch vocalist, she's not always perfect.

2006-07-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is Immi playing her key-tar. She used it for 'Hide and Seek'. It was pretty cool.

Wow, it's been a long time.

2006-07-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

To all my friends and family who have been encouraging me to post more, this is for you.

I finally am completely bored out of my skull here at work, so consequently I am available to blog. I'm just not sure what to write about because I think a lot has happened in my life since January 23rd.

How about a short recap of the highlights:

-Finished 4th year and Graduated with a BBA
-Moved to Toronto and worked for Muskoka Woods
-Saw Imogen Heap
-Flew to BC and drove back across the States
-Started at Muskoka Woods on Leadership
-Decided to go to Japan

The posts following this one will be each of these events in a little more detail, hopefully with a picture to accompany. Enjoy!

Stepping OUT Spectically

2006-01-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Deciding to take a step out of the box has left me sitting on the fence for the last week. Initially it was sketch, but getting a better feeling for popular opinion and my own confidence has changed my mind. Aside from my eye sight fading, I really just wanted to go for a dramatic personal change. Here's what a few of the people around me had to say about my new and edgy specs.

~ "Well, I wouldn't buy them." ~
-Hannah Carter, Roommate (has good style, but apparently doesn't buy a lot of things her friends do)

~ "Yeah...they're alright, maybe they'll look better with your hair down?" ~
-Silas Pedro, Former Fashion Consultant of a store in Britain

~ "Yeah, they're emo." ~
-Taylor Neill, Friend

~ "They are eccentric, wide too." ~
-Scott Rinkoff, Friend

~ "You look like Dad in the 60's." ~
-Milja Gillespie, Sister

~ "You look like me in the 60's." ~
-Robert Saari, Father (without prior knowledge of the above)

~ "Ya! They're perfect!" ~
-Evan Gillespie, 4 year old nephew

~ "Where's your Bunsen Burner?" ~
-Gerald Gillespie, Brother-In-Law

~ "Oh Meg, they're high fashion!!!!" ~
-Meagan Tutti, Good Friend (very fashion savvy)

~ "They're the best thing in history. Bar None. The best ever ever ever." ~
-Rob Butcher, Friend and Drummer from Shaker (check them out at www.iloveshaker.com)