Great Food!

After teaching some adult ladies at Marugame City Hall Thursday afternoon, they invited me to lunch. Went to a new  restaurant below is sweet potato tempura and some kind of seafood tempura. Mmmmm.

Must...learn....to make....

I went shopping at an awesome super center today. Clothes, shoes, electronics, baby stuff, food, pharmacy...it was great. Interesting highlight for today: The stores here use what we would call "gift cards" to pay. You give them 10,000 yen and they give you a card worth 10,000 yen. Each time you use it it auto-deducts the amount due from it and stamps it with the remaining amount available. You must pay for shoes in the shoe dept, hydrogen peroxide (below) in the pharmacy, food in the food department, etc. Good thing I ran into one of my students...otherwise I would be a little confused and embarrassed at the checkouts. Above is a small assortment of the fish department.

Fish, anyone? Pick a fish...any fish!

Live eel in the top right.

My new indoor shoes (yellow-about 400 yen) and some really cute new slip-ons which were only 1,000 yen ($10)-they are brown/white plaid with white daisies...yes, Lorinda, I will pass them down to you when I'm done.

Super good candy bar for only 88 yen (88c)

In loving memory of my dearest Sarah. Of whom I thought when I saw this beautiful Japanese mango in the store. After which I bought it and ate it on her behalf.

Post mango dental floss.

The hydrogen peroxide I mentioned above. The largest bottle is the size of a small one in the U.S. and it cost 460 yen ($4.60). Oh, and next to that is the stuff AAA gave me when I got my international drivers permit which explains road signs in Japan...which I did not read. Ha...oops.

Lost

So, what is being lost? How about not being able to read Kanji and ending up on another island? I accidentally took a wrong exit/branch and it took me to a one way toll bridge entrance. I got the attention of a worker and he kindly gestured for me to stay to the left. At least that's what I thought he was saying. It turns out he meant for me to pull over to the left. I didn't understand and ended up on a very big bridge. Although the speed limit was 50 km/hr (about 35 mph) everyone was going about 120 km/hr. I ended up on the other side about twenty minutes later and tried to explain to the workers on the other side that I was lost and accidentally got on the Seto-Ohashi Bridge (picture above).They gestured how to get back to Shikoku and took down my plate info to call the other side to prepare them for my arrival. They were all so nice and understanding. How bad do I feel that I don't speak Japanese at this point? Pretty bad. The whole drive over the bridge the first time I was just telling myself "what an adventure! Oh well that I'm in a fix...look at the beautiful ocean, islands, clouds, and sunset whilst on this crazy journey."

My work schedule is crazy. Most days I start at 8:30am and don't end until close to 9:00pm with little breaks-depending on the day. I have Sundays and Mondays off. The kids in the elementary schools are a kick. Funny how you can tell who the class clowns are without even knowing what they are saying. One little boy in particular at Utazu Kita Elementary is quite a character. We have been learning how to introduce ourselves at UKE. The teacher introduced a new song to teach the word 'tomorrow' to the students. It's the famous song from Annie. It was the first time I've heard the words clearly enough to understand them. What a sad song. I got teary eyed thinking about home every time I heard it. We listened to it 3 times each class period for a total of 24 times over the last few days. Yet, it opened my eyes to a new idea. Annie was a sad little girl who always had hope and optimism that tomorrow would be happier. The sad part was that tomorrow was always a day away. Tomorrow's happiness was always postponed. It never arrived.

Last night I was out late with a new friend from the Marugame Branch, Kristin, who was kind enough to spend 3 hours shopping and showing me how to prepare a Japanese dish. I met a friend of her and Kevin, Adam. Several of my students are very hesitant to talk. As I've talked with more of them I've learned it is because they do not have a good vocabulary. I definitely need to take my dictionary with me to explain what things are better. 3G or 4G would be great in these parts for my job!

The Branch here is very friendly, just like all the other Japanese people I've met to date. Half of the Branch Presidency is American. The R.S. teacher did not show up to teach so the RSP had me and another sister bear our testimonies...for only 10 minutes!! After my testimony they had a Q&A session. One of the questions reminded me of my stereotypical impression of the Japanese culture. The sister (shemai) asked "What is you life motto?" I was sort of taken off guard but replied that my motto was to love and serve others as Christ would love and serve them if He were here. One shemai said something in Japanese to which several shemai nodded their heads. The translator said 'they say you are cute.' Many Japanese men and women have asked if I am single. When I say yes they seem somewhat surprised. One of my 6th grade students called me a 'beautiful woman.' Then said, pointing to me then himself, "beautiful woman, handsome man, love love love love." All of this was in Japanese of course. Troy was translating for me. I wonder what they are saying because they know I don't understand.

My boss continues to be difficult to understand and many times just assumes I know exactly what I'm doing and need minimal instruction. That's a little frustrating but I know that for most things I can turn to Troy.

Flight Hangover

At 8:00am on Wednesday, April 13th my two brothers drove me to the Hart Building on BYU-Idaho's campus to catch the Salt Lake Express to the Salt Lake Airport. The drive didn't seem all that long. We made a stop to get gas just an hour outside of SLC where another SLE driver was also fueling up. He just happened to be my nephew's paternal grandfather. We arrived at the SLA at around 12:40pm, I checked my bags and proceeded to the security inspection where I removed my shoes from my feet and my laptop and all liquids (which I placed into a plastic ziploc). This was one of 3 times I would do this. I also had to do the aforementioned in the SFO (San Francisco Airport). The Tokyo Airport did not require me to do any of the above. As a matter of fact, when I took my laptop out and placed it in a plastic inspection crate, they looked at me a little strangely.

My flight to SF was just under 2 hours. I had a layover there for about 2.5 hours. As I waited I wasn't sure when the flight meal would be provided so I caught a bite to eat. Everything at the airport was expensive. I bought a 10" (at least they said it was 10 inches) pizza with almost nothing to it for $9.40 then a yogurt parfait for another $6. I went to the terminal where my flight would leave to eat the parfait. I smartly spilled part of the yogurt contents on my pea-coat and a very nice Japanese man saw me and went to the bathroom to get me paper towels. I boarded my flight to Tokyo at 6:55pm. It was an 11 hour flight during which I couldn't really sleep. I did, however, watch Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows (for the first time) as well as Tron: Legacy. For some reason the seats on Japan Airlines are labeled "A" "C" "H" "J" "K". They skip B, D, E, F, and G. Not sure why. I sat in "H" and there was no one in "J" or "K". This flight was the most comfortable because it was a much bigger plane, hence, less noticeable turbulence. The flight attendants were all very kind and helpful.

I arrived in Tokyo at around 9:30pm. It was already dark but the weather was great! It was about 60 degrees F with slight humdidty. I took the free transport bus from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal just to find out I wasn't allowed to stay there and had to go back to the IT to "rest." I "rested" there until about 5:30am when they would let me go back to check in. I wasn't able to change my U.S. dollars to Yen because the currency exchange center was closed until 9:00am and my flight was boarding at 9:30.

I arrived in Takamatsu at around 11:30am. Fumi and her husband Shigeyoshi were waiting for me. Fumi was so sweet as to think of me and bought me a bag of groceries to get me started. They took me to "Joyful" for lunch and pointed out my apartment building just down the street. We then went to MIA and City Hall to do my immigration...stuff. I was able to register as an illegal alien :-), register for health insurance, and do tax information paperwork. I also received a statement so that I could open a bank account as a foreigner. After City Hall we went by another CH building where I will be teaching adults on Thursday afternoons. We then went to the bank where I changed my Dollars to Yen. All except one $100 bill passed. There was a stamp on it that the machine didn't accept. They sent it to their corporate office to verify authenticity and will put it in my new account as soon as it is done. We then proceeded to my apartment when I was able to "relax." My word for unpack and keep my mind preoccupied so I didn't melt-down. Fumi drove to MIA once and expected me to remember how to drive there on my own. I was also expected to know what and how to teach every age group and start the following day. Add to that the expectation that I would be driving the following day as well...on the wrong side of the road....the wrong side of the car...in crazy traffic with no signs in English. I was sufficiently overwhelmed.

I found out when I got there that I was the only female teacher so I would live alone. Sad. I was looking forward to having someone to chat with and go on little adventures together. I tried to get on the internet but there were no trustworthy wireless connections in the area and I didn't see a router. I cried and wanted my mommy. Then, the great miracle happened...I found the router but it was only 6 pm my time which meant it was 3 am in Idaho. I unpacked about half my stuff then felt tired around 8:00. I noticed that the sun goes to sleep as early as 7:00 pm. I also happened to notice that the sun comes up around or before 5:00 am. I slept until about 7:00 then exercised and showered. I was able to talk to Dad, LeAnn, and Mary for a few minutes before Fumi called to say Shigeyoshi couldn't pick me up and I needed to walk to MIA. Which is a few miles away. However, as I started, I got lost and Fumi had to come pick me up.

I had 4.5 classes today. Half because one of the class members from earlier in the day decided she liked me and she wanted her teenage daughters to learn English under me. I found it easier to do this because they were starting out so I began with the ABC's and words that start with the letters etc. Three of the other classes were all adults and the class just before the teens were 18 and 19.

I took pictures of my apartment, it's view, etc. I will upload them soon. The view from the balcony is of the northeast side of Marugame. The view from the balcony outside my front door is of a well packed-and well populated- cemetery.

Something I learned today: the Japanese Characters for "Entrance" and "Exit." I also learned that the best way to learn an area in a completely foreign country is to get lost. You remember things better that way. I drove for the first time today also. Troy was God-sent. He had to wing it when he came also and understands so he is going out of his way to help me acclimate and give me teaching hints. Tomorrow: church and finding creative ways to teach children. Ie games and activities. I'm starving so peace-out.

Monitors on the Japan Airlines flight from SF to Tokyo

In flight entertainment.

My initials: HJK. I sat in H.

Modern Japanese toilet.

Public doucher instructions.

Traditional Japanese toilet, complete with balance pole.

Japanese hand dryer. Tokyo Airport.

Care package...complete with alien paperwork.

The following are pics of my apt.

Short but deep enough to cover knees and chest.

Dryer (as in washer and dryer)

view from my apt.

No English.

The 'oven.'

My neighbors.

Flight Plans

Last night I spent the evening with my brothers, sister-in-law, and some friends. On the way home my brother asks, "what happens if you get your visa tomorrow?" I responded that I would book a flight for Wednesday. He then tells me that I'm going to get my visa tomorrow. I doubted it only because the consulate said it would take a week to process and then it would take 2 days to get back to me. Alas, at eleven o'clock this morning FedEx pulled up and left my passport at my door. I went online and looked for flights available on Wednesday to Takamatsu, Japan. By the end of the day I had paid $922.50 for a flight and $48 for a Salt Lake Express shuttle to the SLC airport! Woot! I'm more at peace and more excited than I've been to date. Tomorrow: laundry, packing, and a stop by the bank.

I'm also getting excited for my post-Japan adventures. I know I am jumping the gun but I am excited about living in Barcelona to do the CELTA. Oh, Spanish how I love thee....let me count the ways...in my heart. It will be such a great experience and adventure to live in Spain for a year or two teaching English and traveling around Europe. What a dream! I'm sure after just a few months I will never want to come back. And if God does not have a specific desire for me to find an American boy somewhere in the U.S. then I may just stay in Europe indefinitely.

From Eligible to Visa Holder

On Thursday, March 31, 2011, I received a letter via Japanese air mail. It was my long awaited working visa...or so I thought. As it turns out, what was really sent to me was a Certificate of Eligibility which I must then take to the Japanese Consulate assigned to my area (which is in Portland) for them to process the actual visa. I contacted the consulate in San Francisco to see how long this would take since I will have a 6 hour layover in S.F. It turns out it takes another week or so to complete the visa application process. So with slight chagrin I sent off my passport, visa application, and Certificate of Eligibility via FedEx priority. At this point, I have decided that although my employer seems to be in a huge hurry, there is only so much I can do to speed up the process and she'll just have to accept that.
I am feeling a little better about the situation and my decision to go. About two weeks ago I felt that I did not belong in Japan and that there was somewhere else I needed to be...and just didn't know where or why. I wracked my brain over this thinking that God was trying to tell me I shouldn't be going to Japan. About a week ago I was doing my normal daily scripture reading. I just happened to be at Moroni chapter 7 in the Book of Mormon. The following verses in particular stood out to me.
13: But behold, that which is of god, inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which enviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love god, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
16: For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing whcih inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
Verse 19 states that we should search diligently in the light of Christ to know good from evil. I did not feel a strong peace, as I'm sure all would like to feel when trying to determine if an action is right or wrong, but it was what it was. If it is good, it is of God. I continued to struggle as I had a terrible day and nothing seemed to fall into place. I couldn't feel God. I couldn't feel the Spirit. At one point I was so frustrated that I thought "I've always tried to be where I feel the Lord wants me...and it never gets me anywhere! Maybe I should just stop going to church and forget God" actually passed through my brain. At that point, I knew that my thoughts and frustrations were not of God.
On Saturday, I watched General Conference with a friend, Miriam. Sunday I was feeling out of it and only watched Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar's talks. They were both on personal revelation and guidance. Just what I needed. I was so frustrated that I spent the rest of conference talking to my mom trying to figure out my feelings. I went with her to babysit my sister's kids in Pingree, Idaho that afternoon. It was a God-send. I was able to teach Braydan how to do Sudoku and get Morghyn to eat all of her dinner. We spent a good part of our time talking about what I should do and cleaning. The cleaning helped me keep my thoughts away from my own problems for a while. Sunday afternoon I sat outside in the backyard in the semblance of warm sun pondering about what I should do. The scriptures above came back to my memory and I felt the anxiety slowly melt away.
For a few days I had not felt at peace. By Sunday evening I felt peace again and as I read my scriptures the Spirit returned. I don't know exactly what happened to make me feel so separated from God but I know that when I recognized it and went to the Lord knowing I need help He will always help me find Him again. I will always be grateful to have a Heavenly Father that loves me so much that He sends His Son to gather me in each time I feel lost, faithless, or hopeless. Christ lives. He is my Savior. He is my Brother. He knows me perfectly and I will serve Him until He tells me 'the work is done.'