a brand new day.

Hello everyone,

This is actually a blog started back in my study-abroad days in Hong Kong, but I have returned to it each time I've returned to Asia, and this time is no different. Feel free to browse below for some of my past Asian adventures if you're so inclined. This post will be a new start.

Today marks three weeks I've been in Japan. It's pretty much flown by, mostly due to my six-days-a-week training schedule. Tomorrow will be the last day of adult class training, followed by one day for discussing and signing contracts on Friday. Training has been quite intensive, with one week devoted to learning about kids' English classes, and this week focused on the how-to of adult English courses. While I know that my first day of teaching on Saturday will bring with it another set of stressors all its own, I'm eager to start interacting with real students after all the theory and practice of these past two weeks.

A few dramatic events have occurred since i got here--most notably revolving around roommates. My roommate has been quite interested in Japanese street fashion and punk bands, so she figured a year job in Japan would be pretty cool. All seemed well--then we started training. On the second full day of training, she cracked, and decided that teaching kids' classes was too much for her. By that evening, she'd made up her mind to return home to Australia instead of completing training. Needless to say, I was quite surprised. Over the next few days, details had to be sorted out, but thankfully I knew they'd be able to find another roomie for me. You see, the academic year starts at the beginning of April here in Japan, meaning they've got tons of trainees coming over in the next few months. As God's providence would have it, another girl in my training group that I get along with quite well was a bit underwhelmed with her tiny single-occupant apartment. I asked the realty guy if she could slide into the slot at my place, letting a new person take her apartment, and he agreed! Things have been great with her--she's a friendly, beautiful, Australian blonde named Jess. She taught in Sydney last year, and is a couple years older than me. We've been having a lovely time together so far.

That sums up interesting living situation stuff 'til now. Training has been harrowing, what with having to prep mock lessons and dress in business clothes (who knew looking good could be so restrictive??), and having to be 5 minutes early everywhere. I have to admit it's a bit more pressure than I'm used to, but I think I'm meeting the challenge. I already miss hip-hop. And pork barbeque. The food here is quite tasty, though. I'm even slowly building up steam on cooking for myself--eating out is easy and delicious to do in Japan, but of course not the most economical of choices. Getting used to timing my laundry in order to account for my lack of a dryer has been a bit of an adventure, too. My balcony turns into a clothing zoo once a week.

That's about all for now. I'll try to update pretty regularly--I hope this will be a good way to stay in touch with all of you in the States, my dear friends!

大学生とカラオケ [college students and karaoke]

Hello again, everyone! Sorry my second entry has been so long in coming--I've definitely been busy getting settled here. Let's see... so much has happened since my first entry! Well, let's just dive right in, shall we?

My first week was a little uneventful, the first half of it being dedicated to getting orientated and shaking off jetlag. I did help with a few things here and there, though, and I began going to a Friday lunch that the local Campus Crusade team leads at Gai Dai University near our church. It was great to meet and begin getting acquainted with the students there. Some of the Crusade team invited me to go to karaoke as a social ministry outing that night, as well, so I talked with various students throughout the afternoon until it was time to go yowl out some pop songs. Interesting karaoke fact--the whole idea of singing to instrumental versions of popular songs as entertainment actually orignated in Japan, and the word "karaoke" itself is Japanese. It literally means "empty orchestra," with "oke" being short for "orchestra." :)

The karaoke place we went to was nice--with two stories of rooms to sing in, a full food menu, and dramatic decoration, it was pretty much a karaoke palace. I wish I'd taken pictures! Ah, well, perhaps I'll have another chance before I leave. We met several medical students from a nearby university there, in addition to some Gai Dai students. As I'd come to expect from past experience, it was a blast--everyone sang their hearts out, and there was lots of laughter. Amidst all the fun, I even got to invite one girl to English classes at the church. As we were leaving, two other students asked me about a button on my jean jacket that shows an Eastern Orthodox icon. I found myself very naturally telling them about what the picture meant and relating its story of Jesus and the woman at the well, explaining to them the concept of Christ as the Living Water. Thinking about this afterwards, I was shocked by the natural flow of it all. Praises be to God for using this little decoration from my friend Kerry as a gateway to genuine sharing!

I have much more to share, but my other stories will have to wait for a day or two--for now I have to take care of a few errands before dinner. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. じゃあ、またね！I'll see you later!