Week 8

May 17, Day 49:
Another day, another adorable bento at lunch. In preparation for our field trip to the zoo on Friday, we’ve been singing songs about animals, reading poems about animals, and making lots of animal art. Today we made hippos and they turned out sillier than I expected. We laughed a lot today at school and my heart is quite full. Here are some things that made me smile:
– a boy brushing his teeth with a chopstick at lunch
– feeling like a comedian when I used a silly voice in a story
– when practicing the sentence, “I see a ____”, a student said “I see a baby!” so I said, “Where?” and she pointed at me… ???
– students saying bippo instead of hippo
– a boy falling asleep in his lunch
– the two students who noticed my Miffy earrings
– kids bobbing their heads up and down to music at lunchtime
– hearing the shy girl use a big loud voice
– getting hugs from my students when they returned from Japanese class 🙂
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May 18, Day 50:
50 days in Japan?? I’ve learned so much about Japanese language and culture already, but I still don’t know how to say “no thank you” politely. When I go back to America, I’m going to read every single label in the grocery store, just because I can. Living in another country has taught me a lot about what I take for granted in the States. Like being able to ask for help. Today was an 10 hour day at work and I came home to more work (lesson planning and studying next unit’s content (which I will be tested on soon)). But I’m in Japan.

May 19, Day 51:
Today at recess I had to pry open a little tiny hand only to discover the boy had been collecting ANTS. Opening a fistful of hald-dead-half-alive ants is not something I would like to relive… ever. I think he fully intended to bring them inside, so it’s a good thing I insisted on seeing what he was holding. Just another day in kindergarten. Thursdays used to be my least favorite day, but for some reason, I like Thursdays here. Students are in routine-mode and things run smoothly. I brought a lunch from home today: chicken salad sandwich, carrots and cucumber coins, and a sliced Fuji apple. As soon as I took out my food, I heard a bunch of whispered, “sandoitchi” (sandwich in Japanese). Isn’t it funny that fish and pumpkin croquettes are just another bento filler but eating a sandwich is strange and rare? Quite the flipflop from American lunch. I don’t like when people stare while I eat, but when it’s kindergarteners, I don’t mind at all.

May 20, Day 52: Zoo Trip!
Have you ever seen a group of kids holding onto a bunch of rings on a rope being led around by a teacher? That was me and my kindergarteners at the zoo today. The rope is quite effective in leading kids around crowded spaces and making sure no one wanders off into the lion enclosure. It was a very hot day and we did a lot of walking (which is challenging for little legs), but I would rate it a 9.5/10 experience! There were no meltdowns, no bathroom accidents, no lunches dropped on the floor, and no children went missing. Success! We saw elephants, zebras, penguins, monkeys, hippopotamuses, lions, giraffes, flamingos, rhinos, turtles, gorillas, a polar bear, tigers, snakes, and lots of birds. At each exhibit, we would say, hello and goodbye to the animal which kept us moving at a steady pace. While walking through the snake exhibit, one of my kiddos didn’t see a snake up against the glass until he got closer and literally jumped when he realized how close it was. It’s funny because we saw all of these amazing zoo animals but my students were complaining about not seeing a rabbit when we walked back to the bus. Seriously? 12 of my 16 students fell asleep on the way back to school, but showed no hesitation in joining a game of tag when we got back. So. Much. Energy. All. The. Time. I told some of their moms that they will sleep well tonight. Not sure if I was understood, but I know at least the word “sleepy” made it across the language barrier. Ms. Melia will also sleep well tonight. 🙂

May 21, Day 53:
If you give a mouse a cookie, chances are, he’ll want a glass of milk. If you give Melia a Saturday night free, chances are, she will cut her own hair. I enjoyed my Saturday off; I went on a walk, cleaned my apartment with the assistance of my new Swiffer, picked up some essentials from my favorite store MUJI, did one of those living room workouts, and bought apples on sale. I also went to Daiso (the Japanese dollar store) to buy red glitter, red ribbon, and an assortment of stickers. Can you guess what these items are for? I’ll tell you on Tuesday. I’m feeling a bit exasperated about these unknown social norms. I don’t know which side of the sidewalk I’m supposed to walk on and sometimes my Japanese filter is too slow when I need to say “excuse me” at the store. Here are some of the things I really miss from home: my mom’s homemade waffles, chili lime tortilla chips from Trader Joes, dark chocolate chips, pizza, cheese sticks, red chili flakes, cinnamon rolls, my friends, my pets, my plants, my overalls, my grandparents, my siblings, my parents, my car, blueberry lemon bread, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, Portland., my bubblegum pink beanie, my watercolors, The Great British Baking show, breakfast burritos, board games, the smell of my crayon collection, coffee shops, and my mom’s cooking. I typed these out in a random order, but my family, friends, and Portland are at the top of the list. And pizza. I burnt the heck out of my toast today. Glad I had four windows and a door to open. Also glad I had more bread to try again… after the smoke had cleared.

May 22, Day 54:
Thankful for FaceTime! This morning I was able to connect with my group of gal-pals AND my grandparents! I mean, not simultaneously, but it was so nice to see their faces and hear their voices.♥️ It’s often difficult to coordinate a time to talk to my friends because I am at work during their evenings and they are sleeping during my evenings. On weekends, it works out a little better, but it’s still strange to be talking to someone who is getting ready for dinner while I’m preparing my morning oatmeal. I kinda love it though. It makes me feel like I’m living in a sci-fi, time-travel movie. On another note, it rained a lot today and I took a walk through the park to get some fresh air. Since the drizzly park was pretty empty, it was a good time to engage in one of my favorite hobbies: 4-leaf clover hunting. If there are people around, I get weird looks as I hover over the clover patches, searching for luck. Plus I don’t know if there’s some Japanese rule about not picking four leaf clovers. Anyway, I found one. Just letting you know, it’s bad luck to pick two four-leaf clovers in one day, so I left the park immediately after finding mine. I passed by a happy snail on the way home which made my day even better. The rain reminds me of Oregon.

May 23, Day 55:
The Japanese teacher told me that my students were talking about me during Japanese class today. They were saying that my shirt made me look like a princess. Best second-hand compliment I’ve ever received.