day 23 + 1,000 cranes!!!

today i finished my cranes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whoo hooo, i was so excited as i folded the last few cranes. my friend kim came to my apartment to see the cranes and to take some photos. for the last crane i picked out a bright yellow (my favorite color) hello kitty paper. i wrote my wish on the inside of it and was so giddy as i made the final crane. then i started to string together the rest of the cranes. i had 9 sets of 40 that were not strung together so i finished the day doing that.

i feel really happy to have met my goal of 1,000 paper cranes (and in 23 days at that!). i think it's a pretty crazy thing to do but am really happy to have completed my 1,000 paper cranes. next i will carefully package them up and airmail them back to oregon where i will figure out how i want to display and hang the strings of cranes. i am looking forward to showing everyone my hard work once i am home! i will never, ever forget how to fold a paper crane.

YAY!!!

folding crane 1,000

the last few cranes. the final crane was yellow hello kitty paper, my favorite.

crane 1,000!

me and some of the cranes on the strings!

total count: 1,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

day 21 + cranes

slacked on the blog posts the last few days but i have been getting very close to my goal. last sunday i skipped cranes because i had a busy day meeting with friends. some japanese girls taught me and another girl how to make gyoza and tempura. i can't wait to try it back in oregon! we made avocado tempura and it was delish. the gyoza was also super tasty and didn't look that hard to make but we'll see about that.

on monday march 15th i went to a famous fertility festival called honen matsuri. it was a very interesting cultural event. it was held at tagata shrine, a place where people pray for a healthy baby or to give thanks for a healthy baby. check my facebook album for photos ;)

today was day 21 of the cranes and i passed the 900 mark. only 2 more days left of cranes! whoo hoo, i am excited to get so close to being done. then i will pack them up and mail them home! :)

day 21's 40

total count: 920

day 15 + cranes

i can see the end in sight! whoo hoo! today i made 40 and also did 5 more strings. not too much left now!

day 15's 40

total count: 720

day 14 + cranes

day 14's 40 cranes...

total count: 680

day 13 + cranes + graduation

today i went to the school for the 3rd grader's graduation ceremony. it was a little long (about 3 hours) but it was interesting. it was nice to see the students. i took so many photos with students and signed some year books. i felt like a celeb. ha ha... the ceremony was what i expected. everyone getting a diploma from the principal, a few speeches and then a few songs. what was different is the soldier like precision these kids have down. they are on point! it looked like they rehearsed many times. perfectly timed lines of people, super uniform, evenly spaced at all times and precise as heck. when the students recieved their diplomas they accept them with both hands, raise it in the air then place it under their arm, do a soldier like 180 spin on the ball of their foot to face the audience and then walk down the stairs off the stage. the exact same perfect thing done by all students who are all properly put together except for one girl who i dont think came to school one time since i have been there. she had orange-ish dyed hair (not allowed in JHS) and hiked her skirt way way up to mid/high thigh (big no-no, all the JHS girls are required to have long knee lenght skirts (highschoolers wear them extremly short though)). i saw her get a little big of a talking to and then when she left, the skirt had suddenly become knee length!

after the ceremony, all the teachers, parents and non 3rd grade students went outside (with umbrellas) and lined up on the front drive way and courtyard. after getting that all sorted (20 min in cold rain) then 3rd graders had a procession through everyone - i guess it's the last time they leave the school but i'm not sure cause as always, i was told nothing. lol.

after that the school "secretary" (more like tea lady) and the school nurse (my movie friend) went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. we had okonomiyaki which is a vegetable sort of cake thing with batter, cabbage, rice crisps, ginger and topping of your choice (i had potato/cheese, they had octopus and oyster). i had this once before and thought it was good. i think it had pork in it so maybe it was more flavorful but it was just okay for me, not too much flavor. maybe i should get meat next time (no thank you to octopus or oyster, though). then i headed home and cracked down on the cranes.

the 3rd graders singing at the end of the ceremony

accepting diplomas. check the gigantic floral arrangement on stage! wow.

okonomiyaki. you make it yourself at the table.

makino sensei and me! she's so nice and is my movie buddy for cheap 1,000 yen thursday ladies special!

today's 40 cranes.

total count: 640!

day 12 + cranes

today was a "day off" from cranes so i could get a jump start on cleaning and clearing out my apartment. i did quite a big, sorted through tons of papers from school, bills, etc. and started to pack and sort things to take home, trash or give away. i got a lot done. i'm just about ready to start actually packing my bags. whoo hoow. light at the end of the tunnel for sure! :)

even though it was a day off i still made 30. whoo hoo!!!

rainbow rainbow! in addition to sorting my room, i sorted my cranes by color and by pattern.

day 12's 30.

total count: 600

day 11 + cranes

today i had lunch with two japanese friends and after went shopping. guess what i got? more origami paper! :) yeah, i know, i'm obsessed. ha ha but i sort of love it!

i am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel after passing 500 yesterday. tomorrow i am planning on making it a no crane day in exchange for working on my apartment. time to start sorting through things and do some final paperwork for my company. i am getting so close to being home it almost feels like i am almost there! yay, can't wait!!! 19 days left in japan.

day 11's 40

total count: 570

day 10 + 500 cranes!!!

today i hit the half way mark! whooo hooo! 500 done. now i'm over the hump. i'm excited to see so much progress in such a short time. i'm looking forward to seeing the second 500 come together next! :)

here is a photo of each step it takes to make one crane, 29 in total! it definitely is somewhat of an involved process but worth it for the finished product.

all turned into cranes! (started watching brothers & sisters, too)

the 500th crane!

day 10's 40.

total count: 505

day 9 + cranes

day 9's 40!

colorful origami paper. i love it!

total count: 464

day 8 + cranes

made 2 more strings today (9 total) and 42 more cranes. will post photos tomorrow. it's been really crappy weather last week, this week and is predicted for the next week, too. this is good for my crane project - i feel way less guilty for sitting indoors all day making cranes when it's cold, windy and drizzly out!

i'd like to try and amp up tomorrow and get to 500. better set my alarm - every minute counts. we'll see!

day 8's 40

surrounded domo holding a mini crane!

total count: 424

day 7 + cranes + festival

today i went back to school for the first time since my last day. i went to watch a farewell festival for the graduating 3rd graders. i didn't quite know what to expect and was only told to be there at 8:30 am. i was thinking it would be an hour or two thing. well... 4 hours later the assembly ended. it was so l-o-n-g but it was interesting and a little entertaining. i was somewhat bored about midway though since i couldn't understand a thing. there were skits, lots of musical performances (solos, duets, choir and a few photo video montages with lyrics over the top that seemed kinda like a sing-a-long), a few dances, speeches, more skits, speeches from the teachers, and two videos (one thanking the 3rd graders and the 3rd yr teachers and one showing the 3rd graders during their 1st and 2nd years at school). everything was cute but it just seemed like so much fanfare considering this wasn't the graduation ceremony. (my 8th grade promotion sure wasn't as elaborate or as long, heck my high school graduation was way less of a deal!) next tuesday i am invited to the graduation. i'm going to go ahead and prepare for a full morning four hour event! i am glad i went, it was fun to see the students again and i did enjoy some of the performances, especially the dancing ones.

i didn't get home until about 2pm and got a lazy, late start on the cranes. but i finally got them done about 11pm. keep pushin' strong!

the decorated gym and all the students watching.

the 3rd graders singing a thank you song (or so i assume :)

my lunch. giant uncut sushi roll filled with bbq meat and lettuce. super tasty!

day 7's 40 cranes... git 'er done!

total count: 382

day 6 + cranes

i am starting to hit the wall with the cranes. i am getting a little bored and craned out but i must push on! i have only been making 40 the last few days and only making more than 40 if i need a crane in a certain color or pattern to complete the pattern on the string. i know i can do this but it is seeming daunting as of right now. i know i can do it though! can't want to hit the half way mark in a few days!

the strings are adding up!

yellow bead stopper.

day 6's 40!

total count: 342

day 5 + cranes

three cranes made from a super colorful LOFT ad.

fun with cranes!

today's 40. red/purple squared off against green/yellow.

120 cranes all prepared to be strung together. this will make 3 strings. i am going to start this later tonight.

total count: 285