16 + teaching days

yes, that's right - i have 16 days of teaching left. i am starting to really be ready to be done here in the classroom. i wish i was doing more with the students but unfortunately i don't plan or lead many activities so my time in the classroom has become fairly boring. i will not be sad to say good bye to that but i will be sad to say good bye to my fellow teachers and the students. even though i don't know many of the staff or kids very well i have grown fond of them. i have started to receive little good bye letters from the kids. some of them are really cute and one even said "i hope that you teach us english next year." awwww, right? that did touch me but i don't actually know who wrote it cause i know the kids by face and not by name (feel kinda bad about that but hey - i see about 700 kids so i think it's understandable). even if i did stay on a second year i have heard that (and if my company did get the same contracts) they switch the AETs. why would that make sense? don't ask me so i wouldn't be seeing the same students anyways so i don't feel so guilty for leaving the kiddos hanging. i am in the process now of making certificates to give all the students. i designed them and across the top the say "Excellence in English" so they're a little corny but i think the kids will like them. i hand print in each students name in english, sign them and add some stickers too. i think some of the students will really love them. i think students that achieve here are recognized (i have sat cluelessly through a few assemblies where kids were getting plaques and awards) but i think it might be quite rare that all the students get something so i am really making them for the kid that doesn't think they'll get one. i hope they all like them though as it is a bit of an undertaking (700 students, remember!). that is keeping me busy.

i have found out more about the official move out of japan process. i think i will be flying home march 27 or 28th. the countdown is on - 68 days to go.

home + back again

i spent an absolutely wonderful three weeks home. it was awesome to see almost all of my family and friends. everything felt right again once i stepped off that plane. okay maybe i am being a tad dramatic but i loved being home. i loved loved loved it and i am excited to return to oregon for good in about ten weeks. it had been nearly 9 months since i had seen portland and wow, did i miss it?!

the visit started off with a nice welcome wagon at the airport bright and early at 7:30 am on saturday dec. 19th. with mom, dad, suzanne, grandma, liz and carly. then it was off for breakfast all together. it was only about 9 but i had a philly steak sandwich and it was nice! after that we drove home and i saw mom's new house for the first time. it is so cool. i was a little skeptical hearing she fell in love with and bought a floating home (up near savies island) but it is sweet. it really feels like you are at a resort on vacation. and it's only about 10 min from downtown portland. quite a package. it was a great place to relax and enjoy the northwest weather and environment.

i made visits to the mall to see friends and had some great meals out. i got my haircut. i also drove for the first time in 9 months. i was a little nervous but of course it comes right back. i went shopping at the nike employee store and that was quite a treat, as always!

christmas eve we went to my uncles house and celebrated with family. after that i met my dad, stepmom and grandma for the midnight church service and stayed over at my dad's house. on christmas morning i open gifts and was happy to find a new pocket digi camera. it's awesome! in the afternoon we went to my aunts house and i got to see my cousins. i had to leave a little early to go pick up charles (yay). it was so nice of him to fly to see me on christmas. we went back to mom's house and exchanged presents. i had to get him geared up in some green and yellow and also got him some sweet old school nike kicks. he searched high and low in LA to find me an big O oregon hoodie. what a guy!

after a few more relaxing days and a snowstorm charles and i pulled out for our rose bowl road trip. we left at 6:30 am and arrived in LA at 11:30 pm. it was one l-o-n-g day but we did it. the next morning it was nice and warm, quite a change from japan and oregon weather. charles showed me around LA a bit, took me to the best mexican place in town and we visited santa monica. for new year's eve we went to some of his friends house for a low-key party. we didn't want to do anything too intense since we had to get up and be at the big game the next day.

so... the rose bowl, it was AWESOME. sure, the ducks pretty much choked but it was such a sweet experience if you enjoy college football. the energy in the air once we got into the stadium was so electric. we happen to enter on the oregon side (yay) so there was tons and tons of green and yellow. i loved it. everyone was cheering and routing for the ducks. one of my favorite moments was as we were crossing over (on a little bridge path thing) a line of duck fans waiting to get into the stadium. everyone was smiling so wide, yelling "OOOOOOO" and giving the "O" hand signal to each other. such camaraderie. it was so cool! as we arounded the corner approaching section 22, it started to become more of a mix of green/yellow and red. in our section there were ohio fans to our left and front but duck fans to the right and back of us. the whole section was similar. the seats were awesome, row 37, right about halfway from the field and top seats (row 77 i believe) and we were on the corner section right above the "n" of the oregon end zone. we had a great view. i had charles cheering with me "OOOOOOOOooooo" and i was quacking away with my special rose bowl quacker. it was so fun. i think the ohios are jealous they dont have a cleaver noisemaker for their own. i was sure to quack about every 5 minutes or so (even as things went downhill for the ducks) and secretly the ohios loved it. especially the old man right next to me. he he he... 4th quarter was a little sad and i could have been really bummed out but i didnt let the loss get me down for too long (right, charles?). i'm glad we went but next time i want to see a W!

the rest of the time home was spent relaxing, seeing friends and eating my missed foods. the last night home i requested cinnabon for dinner and even took one home in my checked luggage (thanks ma) along with a 2 lb. brick of tillamook. i am set on good cheese for a while now, yay!

the flight back to japan was uneventful and on a rather crappy delta plane. the overhead movies quit working with 5 hours left so that was a tad annoying and disappointing cause i love watching the movies on planes. i got back to my freezing apartment about 9 pm and am now doing my regular japan routine. it consists of riding my bike to work where i do essentially nothing all day and freeze my butt off in the process. my main school used to give me a game or activity to prepare every once in a while but now i am hardly asked to plan anything so all i do is attend the lessons and assist as needed with reading aloud to the class for them to repeat. it. is. so. boring. this week i went to three lessons where 42 out of the 50 minute class the students did worksheets. the room was silent, completely silent for 42 minutes. why was i even there?! frustrating. i have 19 school days left.

the cold here is what gets me down the most. being bored is one thing but being bored and completely freezing is a totally different thing! the schools insist on keeping doors and windows open to let 40 degree F (or colder) air billow throughout the school. the halls are basically open air and the classrooms are hardly better. the teachers have, for the most part been using the gas space heaters but it hardly takes the chill off. i feel so sorry for the girl students in their skirt uniforms. they aren't allowed to even wear tights! and no one can wear jackets or scarves in the classroom. it's insane! yesterday when i got home from school the temperature inside my apartment was 46.5 degrees F. yes, that's INSIDE my apartment!?! have you ever even been inside a living space at that temperature?! it is freezing and an hour after i had the heat blasting it was up to cozy 49 degrees F. seriously, that's cold. i have to wear 4 layers, a beanie and get in bed under the covers immediately. i really do hate it. it's unnatural! but it's okay cause i know i will never have to spend another winter in a poorly insulated, inadequately heated japanese apartment ever again and there is some comfort in that!

i am definitely looking forward to moving back to portland, the city i love. thanks everyone for a great trip home!