Finally... sleep

Hmmm, well this cafe is my new internet home... I entertain myself by *shudders* studying among other things - cleaning, sleeping, cooking, cleaning.... hahaha did I mention cleaning?

Oct 24 - I wished desperately that I was well enough to teach - but still with my voice half gone and hacking everywhere.... This week I was going to one of the main schools I would be rotating in. I happen to meet the other japanese teacher there today, she seemed very nice... boy does she like halloween! It looked like a store front! she went all out... I couldnt resist and took a picture...
(Students walking past from a nearby elementary school all I could hear from inside the class room was, "Sugoi!!!")

Oct 25 - Still sick... and not sleeping, just keep coughing up every night... I think a coworker visited to see if I was sane... I think he decided I wasn`t... really though the cats here sound like crying babies desperately hungry, and the dogs really do go wan-wan here than woof woof.... serious!!!....

Oct 26 - I subbed at a school closer to nagoya in another district today... I:m just glad I was got there and was able to teach! I was so sick of coughing and not sleeping... why won`t the coughing stop? Interestingly, Gods strength indeed, I dont feel homesick or really crappy about myself.. just physically dead.... errr....

Oct 27 - My goodness this is the best class Ive ever taught... awh I love these kids...

Oct 28 - ahhhh final teaching before meeting week... just need to make it through..... another sleepless night... I even left my phone at home and stumbled to the bus stop barely making it on time... I got to see a movie at a coworkers place.. ahhh english movie... Then we chatted till like 2am about stuff... and he asked me about being christian with questions like - dinosaurs how do they fit in, or how are jws different, or other things... that was cool...

Oct 29 - Sunday!!!! yeah, another sleepless night, really feeling it now.... I coughed my way to the church for service... thinking I was late again, but actually it starts at 10:30 not 10 am... so good... awhhh... Yoshida the woman the speaks english sees me... in my seat dying of stupid cough and goes out to buy me cough medicine! I get food - bread and fruit, juice and cough medicine! An older member ran home to grab me mints for my throat too.... God bless these ppl... so good... they took care of me... I think they thought it was strange that even though I looked so crappy I was still trying to make it to a service that I couldnt understand... The pastor`s wife lent me her english/jap bible again and we covered the service, Lords Prayer (Luke 11) and they had a confession which they read a passage, Westministers something er other... and Doxology! Yes that song we used to sing at the end, they do it here too!! How cool is that.... I wrote her the lyrics for the song, and she taught me some words like waga sui yo = Oh my Lord, Sui meaning God, waga meaning my... I was excited. Then I went home and finally was able to sleep.... I was out till mid-afternoon and then actually studied some japanese excited about learning cool christian words....

Oct 30 - Today, I woke up to find feeling so much better wow... sleep.. so good.... I find out that Yoshida spent 20 bucks for those cough pills for me!! ACK I feel so bad... but at the same time Ive never physically felt better... finally.. getting better.... Just in time too, because my dad is coming in tonight, I hope he gets here safely, I told him the wrong directions to get out of the station!!! Today I walked to my coworkers place to use his iron to iron my work shirts - needing them for the meetings. I spent some time there checking out his euro trip pics, and then first time riding on the back of someones bike... I felt like I was in China!... hahaha

I:m so greatful God got me through this week.. keeping me calm despite feeling like crap

I:m thinking about ppl at home... Sandy how are you doing dear?
Missing and appreciating you all...

Moving In...

I have pics on my camera... I`ll add them later when I get internet in my apartment.
[EDIT: don't have internet yet but cool business trips with hotels and free internet.. BWHAHAH - pictures added]

Oct 8 - I went to Kyoto with Michelle... we only saw the rock garden but went nuts seeing nature in a very building oriented country...
We got a chance to talk more about spirituality,　and she was asking me about how I pray... I thought that was really cool...


Also I saw one of the campuses to the sister school of UBC - Ritsumeikan (sp??) university.

Oct 9 to 10 - continued training... will add more when I remember

Oct 11 to 12 - more placements to schools - taught an awesome 7 year, 11 old class.... so genki

Oct 13 - we learn the curriculum for this month - Halloween! Which actually got me on the spot when the trainer brought up how some people religiously refuse to teach it... `why is that?' and 'why are you okay with it?' which made me think... should I be okay with it...

Oct 14 - Office/test day... long long test but easy, we could double check with our peers - got 102%


Oct 15 - We went to Osaka to a club for the night missing the trains... this is probably where I accumulated the most brown phlegm ever... which i will discover later...
I had fun though... good night of dancing, which I would never do....
arghhh some of the guys got this horrible picture of me... and they use it as their desktops... the reign of teasing crystal continues... HAHAH.... `everyone blinks crystal` they would say... then laugh.... one of them calls me little pink baby because I get so red after 1 drink... I`m glad to be getting along with them...

Oct 16 - Moving day - Said my goodbyes and felt a bit sad because I was building bonds... or what I think as bonds with some of the other trainees... I didn`t get to meet my supervisor but his girlfriend met me and showed me to my apartment after some coworkers showed me around a bit... good guys, they were very nice.... and still are nice
I had to buy some things to eat and when I was heading back it was dark and of course I got lost.... tried to ask someone where to go and luckily!! I was just behind it!!! I was then God blessed me to meet my landlord and his wife!... very nice ppl... told me why I wouldn`t have hot water yet (well tried... as they spoke mainly japanese only) and gave me some food and a light bulb to replace one that was out.... I was told it was good to meet them soon too... I was thinking maybe 2 weeks in... but yeah... very good I met them earlier...
My place is huge, Julian says its bigger than his place.. hahaha...
but very old and dusty... I`d be brushing my teeth and tilt my head and be like is that mold???

Oct 17 - My day off. I didnt get anything done - bank, cell phone... but I managed to get toliet paper the day before... so I did everything this day... luckily... or God working... one of my coworkers had jap lessons cancelled and was able to show me around and help me get everything.. I managed to buy lots of stuff at this place called Seria - 100 yen shop
(not as pretty as everyone elses, or as heavy but it has my needs met...)
Oct 18 - My first day teaching.... it was pretty good actually... not too bad... the children were energy full but learning... this halloween curriculum is so easy.. hahah 20 mins out of 60 is for the craft... bwahahha... Coworker showed me to a kind of community center where I can get japanese lessons for 2 dollars!!! sweet...

Oct 19 - more teaching... not too eventful... I think my coworkers stopped by at night... my place is big enough for many visitors...I`m glad someone to talk to that can understand me...

Oct 20 - my first incident with the children... they were supposed to be older - like the older classes (which are usually quiet, tired, and studious) but they were acting like they were 7 years old (supposed to be 10-12). Kicking, hitting, pulling limbs, private areas and calling each other names in japanese like baka... very bad.. and they wouldn`t listen to me when I said stop.... I just force played/played lots of games to distract them and so happy to bring out the craft....
One of the kids ran into my head too... head to head... I had a headache.. but later I realized it was because I was getting sick and loosing my voice!!!

Oct 21 - Teaching with another teacher today... more laxed day... hmmmm but woke up early to spit out.. yum brown phlegm...... and then.. more phlegm later.... gahhhhh I`m sick already!!! croaking voice and everything.... errr...

Oct 22 - My first day off.... slept in till 11am... needed the sleep.. more phlegm.... cleaning... aghh realized that the smoking I was smelling wasn`t because I left my balcony open but it was coming through the walls!!! Went to the library and read a book (managed to only burn 2.5 hours... I read slowly too).... shopped at the 99 yen.... felt kinda lonely.... then went home to cook... then remembered passing a church down the block from me (of course getting slightly lost again from the supermarket) and stopped by at 6:45 during a service.... sat in... wierd.. all in japanese but very nice! I tried to recognize some hymns and the pastor`s wife had a english/jap bible she let me use to kind of know what the pastor was talking about... Solomon and the building of the temple. I could recognize which passages he was refering to, unfortunately I couldn`t figure out his message.
I hope to go next week again for the morning service... the pastor told me about 200 ppl go there on sundays with 2 services... that is very exciting.....

Oct 23 - there`s a cafe that if I buy a drink I can sit here for a long time to use the internet... but I have my cell phone too now so that people can email me if they like... hopefully I`ll have something to do tonight...

In my head..
- strangely calm and at peace... God willing...
- sick... want to have my voice tm for the children!!
- want to meet more ppl to have something to do around here..
- need to make my apartment more home-ish... so I can actually sleep better, I keep waking up at night....
- really thankful for all the emails keeping me alive through the week from home...
- I really do miss everyone... my eyes are tearing up just thinking about everyone... I really miss the fellowship... doing things by myself, no matter how cool/new it is simply isn`t as fun as doing it with ppl...

Things to note...
- Happy birthday to everyone in October!!! (Steph, Van, Wyns, Sarah.... whoa is there anyone else? hehehe...)
- I will not get internet till about mid nov... after I recieve my ID card.. boo boo.....
- My dad is visiting Oct 30... sweet.

Eating from a Kettle.

Currently I'm not sleeping on a floor, I'm in a hotel in the Osaka region of Japan. As it has been exactly (and only?!) 1 week since I left and since I get free internet here, I will share my week with you. Really, I'm super bored and don't want to think about home.

Warning - My english has degraded terribly since leaving Vancouver for Japan (believe it or not it can actually get worse)... Struggling between 2-3 languages its difficult not to sound foreign in all 3... my cantonese.. sniffles.. you will suffer this year...

Observation - Why don't people die younger here? MSG galore and processed foods. Pollution and constant smoking. Drinking beyond excess...

Sept 30 - Arriving in Nagoya city and finding out that I've forgotten my AC charger for my laptop. Tired, overwhelmed and wondering why I decided to go to Japan...

Oct 1 - Spent the day on a all day pass for the trains to Nagoya from the suburbs where our company training apartments are with Shan. We got our inkans and made curry from the 99 yen store. Still both of us tired etc... and didn't have anything to do so to try and forget we took a nap. --


Oct 2 - Training begins. Humidity is gross here... all sweaty in business attire, accustomed to breathing in cigarette smoke all day (ohhh there will be more of that... 5/6 coworkers in Osaka smoke heavily...) and endless paper work, proceedures from the company.
:( Seperated from Shan for training (she stays in Nagoya, I go to Osaka) and some of us take the shikansen to Kyoto and a JR Train to Takatsuki. Didn't go out that night with the others (drinking/smoking) and felt homesick. - ARRRRR too much time to think!!!!

Oct 3 - More training and then off to places to classrooms for a full afternoon of observations. I when to a suburb in Osaka called Tada. I got to know my co-worker Greening better. It was cool because she asked if I was religious - I answered and asked why she thought that - she said she couldn't explain exactly but that I was sincere, similar to christian friends back home... It was cool to know God is shining through me no matter what or how I was/am doing.



Oct 4/5 - Training with curriculum. We get to go along with the trainer's demo lesson and act as children then teach our own demo. It was fun acting like kids and trying make each other's demo miserable.... HAHAHAH.... Got super lost on the second day and was a whole hour late... We can now say we are the first ppl to ever get lost at this location ...

Oct 6 - AHHH First lessons day in Kosei (east of Kyoto)... I was almost late!!! (they have a super strict late policy) Stupid train that only comes every hour...I forgot to do some major steps in procedure during the lesson- but I made it through my two classes (8 yr olds and 11 yr olds). The observing teacher was very nice and let me know anything that i could improve on. To wind down we all when out to karaoke -



Oct 7 - I got to see Raph! We hung out in the shopping district of Osaka. His internal GPS needs some work... but he's certainly using/learning more japanese than me!


and then hung out in co-workers room... Got to talk to Michelle a bit about spirituality and chrstianity....

Full thoughts -
My head still feels like lead....
I'm hoping Shan is okies....
I need to work on my devos/learning japanese

Good hearings -
Placement is a biggest apartment in the area? Apparently some other people there already are vying for it?
Business trips to natural mountianous areas in Gifu Prefecture...?
Nice Supervisor?