Field trip...or something like that

So I went on a "field trip" with my class on Wednesday. I use the term field trip VERY loosely...the Japanese teacher wanted to walk to the park so that the kids cold look at trees and bugs and whatnot to write a report....sounds fine to me so we all went with our lunches! Rocky is the English kids Japanese teacher so he led us since I have no clue where I'm going and I brought up the rear while Mrs. Takimoto waited for the bentos (Japanese hot lunch) to arrive and was going to meet us at the park. So we go down the stairs, through the parking lot and proceed to walk in the street (no sidewalks) around the bend, past some goats - yea, I live in a rural area...and a little further to the park. It was a little chilly with the breeze and no sun (it's been on and off rain, surprise surprise!) but we were ok. We all sat in a circle to eat our lunch and then the kids were off to look for things to write about. I on the other hand decided to climb the world's coolest jungle gym :) I was enjoying having 2 other teachers in charge of my class and I got to go around taking pictures and enjoying my time instead of my usual field trip stressing! So there is lots of yelling from a group of my kids over by the drainage ditch and they have found what appears to be a water snake. It was actually in the eel family and supposedly very tasty...eewwww...so they CAUGHT it in the bento box - YIKES, where am I again?? So they all drew pictures about it and wrote about it. Later they caught a grasshopper, looked at some spiders and plants. At the end we all got to play on the playground stuff...I admit to being a monkey too :) All in all we had a good time, no injuries or drama! We were so tired from all the excitement that they wanted a rest after math time so I figured what was the harm of a little rest before their math page...two of them fell ASLEEP! I was shocked, but it made for a nice quiet afternoon :)

Here we are walking into the road - oddly enough here, this does not panic me!



Lunch time
We had our little eel experience in the drainage ditch...here it is in the bento box
Mrs. Takimoto trying to catch the eel
EWWW trying to catch it...at least they didn't want to eat it!

Mr. Rocky on the toys :)
Playing in the sand
Risa and Mai examining a leaf
Kyle and I on the climbing gym
Kiana and Kai
The coolest climbing gym ever :)
Some of them are STILL eating
Swing sets are always fun!
Now here's a class picture you'd NEVER see in the States!


Ryuki is a monkey after my own heart :)
Kounosuke cracks me up - he rand and jumped on this and I made him lay back down for the picture!

Shuri Castle tour book day

On Saturday Adrienne and I went to Naha to see Shuri Castle and do a little touristy shopping :) The trusty tour book guided us to the castle no trouble at all thank goodness! We got an English map and set off on our walk - the grounds were beautiful and it was a gorgeous day out!

Adrienne outside the entrance with our map :)

The first of MANY gates :)
The view down the hill - funky steps on a very steep slant
The outside of the castle - the middle part is where only the king can go during formal ceremonies - the lines on either side is divided by rank (kind of assigned seating)
We didn't know we would have to pay 800 yen to go inside the castle, but we figured we'd come all that way and were half done with the walk, so why not pay the money to see the inside...so once we got past the courtyard and entered the actual castle we were given a bag and were required to take off our shoes. It was HILARIOUS to see all these tourists walking around in bare feet or socks!
This was where the king conducted his business - tea ceremonies, etc. - it was amazing to see the how the tatami mats fit perfectly into a room
The castle had been destroyed by fires and war four times and it now sits a bit higher to prevent further damage - it was cool to see how they preserved the original castle ruins (notice the bare feet!! ha ha)
This was where the king does all his official stuff - the grand child sits on one side, the child on the other and the king comes down the stairs and sits in the middle - the detailing is so ornate
Adrienne and I in front of the King ;)
This is where the Queen would sit - the 2nd floor is girls only, no boys allowed
I wanted to take a picture with this guy, but Adrienne didn't think he'd be to friendly about that so I just pretended to be taking a picture of the building

The view of the courtyard from the inside - the red building is the gate to come in and the gray building on the side is where we entered to go through the castle

These models are examples of what the New Year's ceremony looks like and the 2nd one is of the ceremony of a new king coming into power

We went exploring the outskirts of the castle after the walking tour of the castle - I saw the HUGEST fish ever in a very shallow pond - it was funny to me
Adrienne walking ahead of me as usual...my legs just don't go as fast as hers!
The shopping trip wasn't successful in the buying department, but fun to wander the street anyway :) We parked in a lot and we thought it was going to be 100 yen every 20 minutes so 2 and half hours later we were a SHOCKED to pay 1800 yen (about 18 dollars) for parking - OOPS! Oh well, I guess that's what happens when we can't read the sign - not to self, do not park in a place that has a machine for a parking attendant!

Week update...

Ahhh another week in Japan - I was thinking how long we've been here (almost 4 months...how that happened I don't know!) and we will be home in exactly 6 months from now - WOW! I can say I'm excited about that, but there are now things I will miss here and will continue to enjoy for the next 6 months :) Anyway - this week we had Tuesday off and we went to go get our re-entry stamp so we can go to Thailand and come back to Okinawa ($30 to come back here!!!!) That was a little adventure filling out the paperwork and they gave us a tag and we had to go buy the stamp next door and bring it and the tag and the paper all back before it all got put in our passport...Japan is taking over my passport with all my stamps and visa and whatnot. I'm excited to get my Thailand stamp though :) It was nice to have an extra day to run errands, go to the bakery and all that stuff - made the week go by quickly! We had our regular Tuesday Starbucks on Thursday and were happy to see that the gecko is still there...I think we're going to have to name our little friend soon - Gus the Gecko, Gavin the Gecko, Gustan the Gecko....I'll need to think more on that one ;) Anyway, church on Wednesday, I got a package from Aimee but we weren't there to get it so I had to make the very confusing phone call to reschedule for Thursday :) book and chai might be a perfect package (Adrienne rolled her eyes about more books...but I'll run out if I don't get more!) Starbucks Thursday, Lori had a bit of a mishap and got stuck off base so her and the kids, along with Dennis from my class were all over here for the afternoon and we went for McDonald's for dinner since we didn't have anything to feed them all! Thankfully it all worked out for them to get back on base after that! Then on Friday Adrienne and I went to the LON on Friday (Ladies of the Neighborhood) and it was so fun to laugh with all of the ladies we've been meeting at church. It was an informational meeting/fellowship. Everyone brought food to share and I've decided I miss chips and salsa the most - someone brought some and it was SO good!! Everything was so yummy - I miss American potluck's!! We have a Christmas party for LON in December so that should be fun - something else to look forward to. I marvel at how the church has made this place feel like home - I am incredibly thankful for all the people that have welcomed us with open arms - the hugs, the conversation, the fact that they notice if we don't say hi, even the teasing has helped me adjust to all of this crazy stuff so much more easily. Today we were invited to come fly the flight simulator sometime soon...definitely going to have to take Rocky (from church, not school) up on that offer! Anyway, it makes me happy that all my outside life is good and settled. Everyone keeps asking, so yes, Adrienne and I are STILL getting along - we laugh a lot, we cry less, we have a continuous banter that I can't begin to explain...but we're all good over here in Japan country (with no Japan man!) School is still drama - but my kids are continuing to improve so I'll count myself fortunate for that and let the rest go! Anyway - I'll post our latest tour book day later - miss you all and VERY MUCH appreciate your prayers through this whole crazy thing!!

Recap on the week...

I think this was the roughest week in awhile - good that there hasn't been as many downs! It made me glad that life outside of school has been so good - it balances the rest. Anyway - school got interesting this week with report card drama, parent letter drama, font drama, pay check drama, George Washington drama - all kinds of interesting mishaps...my kids seemed to think the answer to everything was George Washington - that was NOT amusing after the 4th kid had said it and we weren't even doing History yet!! Don't ask - I don't know! Thankfully the kids and I have gotten into a good routine and that was just an off day :) We started doing table marbles and that's been a GREAT incentive for them. I think everything has gotten fixed with all the other drama, but there always seems to be surprises here, so we'll see! I had parent-teacher conferences which went well for the most part. I had some parents that were a bit shocked by them...but I was glad to say that all the kids have been improving and grades should reflect that next quarter if we keep up the hard work. I think the biggest hit was that almost every single parent LOVES the snuggle bags the kids get to take home for the weekend if they turn in their homework on time. (thanks again Mom for sending them!) Although I was a sucker this weekend and they all got one since it was along weekend :) The parents and kids are so excited about the books and stuffed animals - it reminds me again how thankful they are for so little - it makes me wish I could do more for them just to see some of their reactions. Rocky was a great translator, by the end I was sure he could have done it on his own! All in all everything went well which was a relief - 3 more report cards and one more set of conferences to go! Sunday we went bowling with Lori and the kids, Dennis and his mom, and some high school boys that were staying with Lori for part of a cultural exchange. The whole afternoon and evening was fun including all 12 of us at dinner! We had lots of laughs and it's a nice way to wind down a weekend. We have Tuesday off for Veterans Day (yes it's odd to have a day off in the middle of the week, but we take what we get!) We need to go get our re-entry stamp for when we go to Thailand...might get to the laundry mat to dry our much to big clothes along with a few other things! It makes it almost like having a 3 day week which is kind of fun! Please keep the school situation in prayer - there's been a lot of stuff going on that's beyond our control but still effects our day to day lives. Small things I'm thankful for: chicken enchiladas in my adorable ceramic cookers, Sunday School (and spice cake), pumpkin bread from one of Adrienne's parents, unexpected hugs, a surprise treat of Skittles in the mail from Kim (a good end to a bad day!), yummy croutons on my dinner salad, Adrienne cleaned the bathroom


I wanted to do a good sweep of the classroom before conferences...my kids thought it was HILARIOUS to be squished up front while they did their math page and I swept :)

Heji Falls...OOOPS, nope!

Well, we set off for the long trek up north...yes it's not that far, but 2 hours in the car with 8 people is a bit long :) I'm losing perspective about being in a car for any length of time since everything is relatively close compared to LA :) Anyway - Rocky, Lori, Adrienne, Rachel and I along with Dennis (one of my students), Carolyn, and Izzie set off for Heji Falls on Saturday. We finally pulled in and discovered that even though it was supposed to be reopened, it wasn't! We drove a few minutes back to another waterfall that Rocky knew (thank goodness for him or who knows what would have happened!) It had been raining off and on the whole drive up but thankfully it had stopped for the most part (not that the rain is cold here usually!) We turned the seats all around in the van and dug into our bentos we had bought on the way ($4 lunch and I was full with enough to share) We ate and visited for awhile before we all peeled of our shoes and socks to go wading through the river to the waterfall. We plan on going again - but with watershoes! My feet hurt a little but we had so much fun it was easy to ignore! Dennis and I were on the fast track ahead of the rest of the group. We picked our way through the rocks and managed to not get too wet until Dennis slipped in the water towards the end of the trip (he was fine and the kids ended up swimming at the end anyway!) We had such a good time walking and talking - we were making up stories about if the rocks were turtles or crocodiles, or koala bears or a dozen other things :) We didn't get to the big waterfall because there's no way to cross the last bit unless you swim or have shoes...next time! It was a really fun trip - a must do again!


Dennis and Izzie and the beginning of our walk

I'm getting pretty good at the self portraits :)
Izzie kept insisting on picking up rocks along the way back - this one got the best of her and she ended up sitting in the water - I cracked up and she still wouldn't let go off the rock till I took a picture!
The kids in the "swimming hole"

The whole gang (minus Rocky the photographer!) and some Japanese ladies we met on the way

Dennis and I were the first ones to the end
The BIGGEST snail I've EVER seen


Photo session on the way :)
Rocky, Rachel, and I all managed to stay dry the ENTIRE time!! We got awards for being the driest (Caroline snuck in the dry people picture and was getting Rocky wet!!)

All I wanted was quiet so I could read...

So I apparently will do just about anything in order to have some quiet reading time...Adrienne has been increasingly antsy in our little wood box (hence the trips to the sea wall!) but today it was raining. What are two girls to do? Well, we had coupons to the new Starbucks down the road for free drinks - it doesn't count against the budget if it's free right? I am on a mission to read my book in peace so we decide to go for a couple of hours. We get to the car and it's not raining so Adrienne thinks we should walk, if it starts raining we both have hoods right? I make her promise that if we get caught in the rain we take a picture. So off we set - a few misunderstandings later we have our drinks and have snagged some of the comfier chairs. We quickly decide this will not be our new Tuesday place - no English conversation to eavesdrop on but we settle in with our books (yes, Adrienne has finally settled into reading...can someone send her books 2 and 3 of the Dee Henderson series she has, she has 1 and 4...I'm afraid if she stops reading I may not get to read my books!) So I glance outside a little later and it's pouring - GREAT...we read a bit longer and the rain is not as bad so we walk home...slightly wet, but not worse for the wear :) In order to get more of our wet clothes I made Adrienne stand on a chair for the picture (she complained the whole time about her head touching the ceiling) but the whole evening was a good giggle!
After our photo session I got in pj's and Adrienne settled on the couch to read some more so I decided to have an Adrienne moment and sit really close to her and ask what she was doing, I'm not supposed to bother her when she's reading apparently ;) I pouted and said FINE as I walked back in my room and Adrienne wanted to know what I was going to do, go home? And without thinking I said I was home...HUH??? I seriously stopped, backed out of my room and stared at Adrienne, did I just say that? hmmmm, I guess when a place stops feeling weird and you start letting it be the place where you are and where God has you...well, I guess that's a good enough description of home.

Report Cards and Sleep overs

Let's see, since my last post my eye got better - hot compresses made it itchier, cold compresses helped and so did eye drops...I really think it was a bug bite contrary to popular opinion. After that first day it really was better except for the insane itching...only I (in Japan) would get a bug bite on my eye lid! I finished quarter 1 report cards...I know I've kept parents in the loop - but I was a little depressed after seeing it all together on paper so I'm not really looking forward to conference...but I can honestly say we're improving greatly, if we can keep up the good/hard work we might just pull this off :) Pray for me (and the parents)(and Rocky who's translating for me) that everything that needs to be said is said with wisdom and grace and that it is received knowing that I have the best intentions for their kids! We had a potluck on Friday (half day) before we worked on report cards/preparing for conferences. Adrienne and I brought seasoned roasted potatoes - a big hit, but I miss being able to bring some of my favorites. I have to say I'm finally getting used to cooking here and accepting my kitchen's limitations ;) We did find a cute pink polka dot splash guard at the 100 yen store...it helps to have some more color in our wood box and it keeps my mind off the minuscule kitchen! Anyway, potluck was yummy, report cards done. We had invited Izzie and Carolyn over for dinner and then to our church's Harvest Festival and to spend the night. We made our Japan style personal pizzas which Adrienne and I have gotten down to a very yummy science! Izzie wasn't as excited by them though so she had chicken nuggets. Then they got dressed in their assorted fairy princess outfits and off we went. There were all Bible based games - throw a sponge at Goliath, find the lost coin in jello, fruit of the spirit face painting, jump for joy bounce house and on and on...all kinds of fun things, and food...we splurged on snow cones (they are SO much better here!!) and by about 8:15 the girls were getting tired so we headed home for PJ's a Halloween Pooh movie and stories before going to bed by 9:30 (ok, Adrienne and I stayed up whispering while Carolyn was in my room and Izzie in Adrienne's) Carolyn and I woke up MUCH earlier than Grumpy Pants 1 & 2 (Adrienne wasn't really grumpy, she's just not a morning person) We made pancakes using our new shape pancake things - stars and hearts...very cute!

Izzie discovered my shoes aren't so big on her...
She's SERIOUS about shoes!
The girls were camera "shy" at breakfast - yea right, shy!


We had a really good time and then headed to the base to take the girls home. We did a little shopping (almost have all my souvenir presents bought!) and then headed home for a nap for Adrienne and quiet reading for me...Adrienne gave me the homework (and we all know how I have to complete my homework!) to find something fun for us in the evening. Well first I looked up the prices for the rock climbing gym...not bad if I had a normal paycheck, but a bit steep for us (made me think of the book I'm reading the Julie/Julia project which is basically a blog from this girl named Julie who decided to cook all of Julia Child's recipes in a year - needless to say this got expensive so she asked her bleaders, what she called her blog readers, hee hee, to hit her donation button and through pay pall donate money to her grocery fund...Adrienne and I giggled at the thought of having a blog fund) Ok, back on topic, rock climbing was out, but somehow I figured out this place that has like 50 kinds of Yakitori which refers to grilling food on a stick over charcoal - we've had it at some of the MANY festivals here and liked it so we decided to venture out to a REAL Japanese restaurant ALL BY OURSELVES! Can you tell I'm proud? Anyway, after a bit of confusion on how to get there we find the place and what we believe to be the Grandpa and Dad (the owners) and the grandson are all out in the parking lot playing catch -it opens at 5:00 and it was only 5:30 (people eat LATE here) So we sit down with a menu and the man brings us our towels to wipe our hands and a plate. We've never been given real towels, just wipes before so we put our towels on our plates...the man kindly tells us it's for our sticks, not towels...OOPS! We giggle quietly at our faux pax and move onto the menu - I got chicken, ribs (the BEST ribs EVER), mushrooms (AMAZING) and beef and cheese...they were all good with the rice it was a perfect meal! It was reasonably priced and I'm already planning what I want to get next time :) We then made a few stops at the different Asian Markets - kind of Pier 1, but not expensive - we both got a $3 purse :) All in all a fun night - church today :) and grocery shopping of course. We had lunch at ZaZou (one of our new favorite bakeries) and shared the yummy chicken sandwich and I had a little ham and cheese thing and Adrienne had a little pizza thing and I had chai that was actually good :) Now I'm avoiding grading...sigh...Things I'm thankful for this week: eye drops, sleep overs, bakeries, a new restaurant choice, I got a new fun dress on sale (something fit me here so I splurged!)

Something I'm not thankful for...the geckos here are GROSS looking and this one took up residence on the inside of our screen door - we're avoiding laundry right now because of it!