noelle blogs from japan

Thursday, March 11, 2010

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

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

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!

Monday, March 8, 2010

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

Saturday, March 6, 2010

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.