. . : : Japan takes the QUEEN : : . .

Whenever I go to yoga retreats or meetings, they are right on time. The yoga meeting was in the next state down, Iwate. It wasn't too far down, so after the 2-hour drive to Hachinohe, then another 2 hours on another bus, we made it to Kuzumaki . It's known for dairy, wine and clean energy.

The yoga part was great. The sessions we paced really well and I didn't feel to lost even when I didn't understand what people were saying. After a couple sessions, we headed to dinner. I was not really looking forward to dinner b/c I just wasn't. I realized that J food and I do not get along very well. They told me that they spoke with the chef ahead of time and that thefood was already taken care of. The thing is that just b/c you say it's a vegetable, doesn't mean I am interested in eating it (especially if it look strange). As ususal with J cuisine, I had mad dishes in front of me. Out of the 15+ dishes, I only finished one of them. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for my stomach, I didn't mess around with the rice balls. I rather be hungry and wait to eat some thing later than have my stomach torn up from eating two blocks of tofu and two containers of white rice....no thank you! So needless to say, dinner put me in a funky mood, but I still enjoyed the rest if the day/evening.

The next morning, we had yoga at 6AM. Out of all of the dishes they had at breakfast, the only thing that I could eat was the sour grapefruit. Again, I opted out of the bowls full of rice...but not to fear for I, Ms. Preparation, brought my cereal and soy milk with me. So breakfast was pretty good. During our second session of the day, I heard drumming. At first I thought that it was the CD player, but then I realized (my teacher confirmed) that there were live drummers next door practicing. The drumming made the session significantly better for me. It felt comfortable. So after the session, I went outside to find the drummers. When I spoke with them, I found out that they were there to perform for US! YATTA! I was sssssssooooooo excited. We chatted a bit and they asked me to play with them! I played Kuku and Mandjiani. It was so peace! So come to find out that they are THE only Arican drumming/dancing group in Aomori. I will probably be hanging out with them soon b/c the are in Hachinohe. I was in great spirits for the rest of the day.

I was not in the best of spirits last week and was going to cancel the trip. I thought that I needed to just be around something familiar. Even up to a couple days before, I was thinking of other options. On teh drive up, I was feeling kind of dizzy in the car and was no sue how I woudl feel about the trip. I am really glad that I decided to go on the trip. Just when J gets on my nerves and I feel down, everything gets balanced again.

NOTE: I typed a really long re-cap yesterday however, blogger ate my post!

We're in the news...okay maybe not, but this a snippet of how things went down at DF vol. 19

Backtracking...I found out that the student teacher's 'adviser' here at my school, instructed her not to use English in her lesson. That's wild though...they are forcing her to teach the old way even though she wants to add soem funk to her classes.

Singpore has lifted the ban on chewing gum. I didn't know that the ban was only around for 12 years. The lack of chewing gum was definite not missed when I went to Singapore in December. I guess b/c I don't really chew gum that much anymore...i do miss making the bubbles though or annoyingly cracking it.

Today's weather is WONDERFUL! It's actually warm...as in 'spring-time' warm. I hope the weather stays the same for the weekend. I am going to a yoga meeting with my yoga class. I amnot sure what to expect and I will (most likely) be the only English speaker there...should be fun!

one of our student teachers just finished her lesson demonstration. she wants to be an English teacher. she speaks English very well and has good pronunciation. her mock lesson was...good. it would have been significantly better is she didn't try to fit herself into the J style of teaching. she didn't let herself shine at all in the lesson. she didn't seem nervous, so I don't think that's what it was. i really think a large part of it is that she is working with bad teachers. she is working with teachers that do not use Englis AT ALL in their lessons. in their 4 years of teacher education in college, they student teach for two weeks (and really that ends up being one day b/c they don't do much teaching while they are here). she invited me to the lesson, so I will let her know that it would good. I hope she asks for my feedback, so I can give her some suggestions that I wrote down.

i was thinking of doing all kinds of things yesterday b/c i was NOT feeling good. it began in the middle of the night an went all the way to my tech hs in the morning. they knew something was off, but they thought i had a cold. as a result of my mood, i did not have the energy to be the host of 'the english show'/classes. i went home for lunch and had a bowl of cereal b/c that's what i wanted. i spoke to a friend for a brief moment, then headed back to school. after a while though, i was able to put some thoughts down on paper. immediately lifted a whole bunch of teh weight off of me. the sun started to shine and i felt drastically better (maybe i have seasonal depression...eehhh, maybe not). so my last class got a smidge of the hostess with the mostest. i went home, then ran a few errands...ending the day in a lovely way...feeling great!

I watched a movie last night called 'my life with*ut me'. it was great. i saw the title in the previews. ::SIDE NOTE: was never into previews as much as I am now that I have to see which movies I can get here at my video store:: it is about a young mother who finds out that she is going to die. she makes a list of things to do before she dies, but she doesn't tell her family about it. i was moved.

1. i have written 60,487 since I began blogging. that's great considering that i am not much a of a writter.

2. went to Tokyo and had a great time this weekend.

3. something tells me that wrapping my body in fabric like I usually do, will not go over the same way (here) as it usually does.

4. my friends make me laugh...even when they are miles and miles away

5. i am just too excited that I have three business trips in the month of june...YATTA! i'm out of here Mutsu

6. why do people keep pretending that it really gets warm in this part of J.

7. why is today actually kind of warm (i have pants on under my skirt)

8. i really like the internet.

9. i really, really like the internet.

10. i hope we get some interesting new ALTs this August.

11. I feel like I left a certain space at just the right time.

12. i just learned what the word 'onus' means....look it up!

13. there's a good chance that DC will be a different place when I return.

14. will i still want to be there?

15. i'm done!

so I was just informed that I have to work two Saturdays from now (5th). of course, I already had plans, but it is a work day. the thing is that i get the 25th of june off b/c it's our school anniversary. although the 5th will be a work day, I am told that all we have to do is come into work and put our personal seal in the attendance book and leave (we'll see if that's how it really works out)...if that is the case, why not just give the 25th as a day off for the school anniversary? is that too direct? would it look 'bad' for teachers to...eeeehh, have a day off from school?

the 'day off' is on a day that I have a business trip so i get to select an alternative holiday. i am told that this 'alternative holiday' that I select should be on a day that I don't have classes...either a Monday or Tuesday. hmmm. so I have to come in on a Saturday, work on the replacement holiday, then chose a day that I don't really want off, so that it doesn't seem like I have a holiday...right?! *eyebrow raised*

in the end though, this is just a record of the current situation. it doesn't bother me much at all. when they make us come to work on non-school days, I usually do not do anything b/c tehre aren't any students around. i am there for GP...strictly just to say that I came to work.

i had a really great day today. it started out kind of gloomy b/c of the weather: cold and wet. i also had a lot of classes. four classes really is not a lot, but when you have to do most, if not all of the talking and answering and probing and questioning, it can be a bit much. i was wondering if the sister-city trip would have a positive effect on the students. i think it has...ALL of my classes today were genki and lively. they were volunteering, asking questions, answering questions, speaking English independently...it was great! it took a lot of energy, but it was worth it. i am glad that we are utilizing this energy that the students have. so often the excitment dies down, b/c no one taps into it...but not with my classes...i am tapping away!

Here's a photo of Kato-san and Tasha-san in action at my school...

The weather is nice today. I decided to go outside for lunch and to think. I am oustide for maybe 5 minutes before the students are hanging out the windows calling my name and asking what I am doing. On a couple of occasions, I wanted to say, 'Minding my own business'. I knew they wouldn't understand and explaining would take more energy than I was willing to invest. So I managed to yell across the field, 'Lunch.' So that was my lunch hour. What was supposed to be a peaceful outdoor lunch, turned into a famous person siting at THS...it's a celebration!

place: genkan [entrance to my apt.]
reason: just returned from my weekly Eikaiwa class
clothes: grey pants, grey jacket, cute white tank with lace straps
shoes: one burgundy clog (left) and one black open-back clog (right)

WHY?! Why did I leave the house tonight with two different shoes on? Why didn't I notice until almost 2.5 hours later? I didn't even look at my feet when I left the house, I just walked to the door and stuck my feet in the shoes there and rolled out! LOL! It's a good thing that I sat behind a table for most of the class today. The strange thing is that I didn't realize that those shoes feel the same. A no point did I feel any ackwardness in the foot area even though one has a back and the other just has a strap....strange....

i'm hungry.

i am encirlced by lemongrass...this haze is good though...it lifts me up!

I just returned from a "let's get good results in this year's athletic meets" staff party. For some "odd" reason, people tend to ignore my dietary requests until they see that while they have plates upon plates of food, all I can eat is a dry salad and block of tofu. I was asked for a list of food I can eat and was shown the food when I got there. The first thing that told me that the food was NOT vegan (as I was told it was) was that the servings were the same as the other dishes on the buffet. Now I KNOW that people would survive w/o that extra bit of fish flakes/pork strip/beef broth, however, I KNOW that folks at the my school are not trying to eat vegetarian Japanese food like that. So I asked about the batter coated edamame and was told by the organizers...."oh it's okay...it's vegetables fried in vegetable oil"....yes...it sure is...vegetables covered in egg batter, then fried in vegetable oil. I was then shown the croquettes..."they are potatoes only"....sure they are....they're only potatoes with eggs, and battered and fried with the rest of the fried chicken, fish, etc.

...how about we have a "let's TRY to get at least average grades for the next year" party the next time....maybe that will work!

In the airport on the way back to DC from FL, I met Third World. I saw their instruments so I asked a brother (Tony) what was the name of their group. By looking at them I had no idea of who they were, but when he said the name, I said, 'Hey! I like your group.' So we chatted quite a bit about different things and then found out that we were on the same flight. He was cool b/c he *jokingly* kept saying that he was going to request that his seat be moved closer to my seat. It ended up that his bandmates sat in front of me and he was a few rows behind. They come to J for shows so maybe I will have a chance to see them perform whenever the come here next.

Then in the airport I saw...Mr. Vanwinkle...Vanilla Ice. I thought that was him in the the corner with his head bowed reading the newspaper, but of course I didn't say anything. Plus what and to whom would I say it to....but anyway. Right before our flight, he got up and left, but when we landed in ATL for a layover, there he was....on the train to the next concourse. I thought is was mad funny to see him...I don't know why....all on the same flight.

I missed the Rape Blossom Festival this weekend...I really wanted to go too! On the train ride to Aomori on Thursday, I kept thinking about how pretty they looked and what happens.... no nanohana because I forgot.

In other news...today I was told that I would get a refund from the enkai on Saturday. Apparently, the JTE who invited me paid for me already and then I I paid again when I got there. So I didn't get got...eeh JTE did. It's still not good, but I guess he doesn't mind paying for me not to eat.

I was finally able to pass out the omiyage that I brought back from the US. I haven't unpacked my bags yet..but I guess it's a head start.

I took a drive up to Cape Shiriya today. Although it was cloudy, it was a really nice drive. Shiriyazaki /Cape Shiriya is only 27km north of me. I had a chance to see the ever-so-popular kandachime horses that stay outside year round. They were bigger than I expected and they were just out in the open...roaming around along the coast.

I got a lot of great shots in front of the light house. I am beginning to master the art of digital camera self-portraits. The ones I took of myself came out better than the ones where I asked people to take shots of me. I guess that's the glory in doing things by yourself...you discover new talents....LOL

I just came back from another enkai . This time, I got got by the international relations assoc. in my area. They invited me to this party to say farewell to the sister-city delegation. I get there and put my name badge on. I sensed some anticipation at the reception table. I figured that they wanted me to pay something...DAG!...no one told me that I would have to come out of my pocket with 3,000YEN. They had the nerve to comment oooh...RICH! when I pulled out a 10,000YEN note. I said no *you all are the rich ones here!* Of course, I just spent 3,000YEN to drink juice and eat 2 pieces of inari zushi ... a lot of these parties just waste my money. It was nice seeing some of my students without their uniforms though. PLUS I got to have a lot of uncomforatble nervous silences from people anxious to meet me with nothing to say AND I got to take many pictures with Japanese people that I do not know....that's always a highlight! *rolling eyes* LOL!

The following convo was entertaining....after finding out that she loved Beyonce and basketball (specifically Kobe Bryant)....

Haruka: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No.
Haruka: Really!*paused in shock* You're cute. Why don't you have a boyfriend?
Me: I don't know. I guess boys don't like me.

when asked if i can swim, i usually respond with "I can...to save my life"...i can swim, to save my life. the waters where i float are calm...with all of the waves, the waters are calm and i remain afloat. if the water gets too rough to float, i swim and make it until the water stills again...i am blessed

i surprised my family and friends with a visit to the US. the plan had been in motion for a while with the help of a friend. i arrived in DC and went to dinner with a friend then surprise RO. SHE thought she was seeing a ghost, it was good to see her face...unforgettable. i was in DC for a day then headed to ATL and SHOCKED my mother. she couldn't believe that I was there. it was great to see her smile. i stayed there for a few days , hung out with my older sister and met up with a few friends. i was so jetlagged that I slept until 5pm one of the days. i headed to FL after that. i couldn't do a drastic surprise for my father b/c i don't know anyone where he lives, thus no accomplice. i had a chance to relax (the usual, when I go to FL) and see my uncle. i haven't seen him since I graduated from college. he 's still the same 'talker' that he has always been. after that bit of relaxation, I headed back to DC for a few more days before heading back to J. I saw a lot of friends and visited my family. there were a good number of people that I needed to see but I didn't see them :( 2 weeks is not enough to travel to three states and head back to J. one of the highlights of my trip was going to market days and feelin' good vibes. it started off a nice visit in DC.

i was very sad when i left DC. i left DC with two sistah friends that came to J...YEAH! so once i made it through a whole lot of tears on the flight, I was greeted by RO and TW at Narita. our flight times were about the same, but we had different flight. i will definitely always cherish their presence, but specifically with this past week, it was definitely needed. as usual, the Creator provides when you need it.

we stayed in Tokyo for the weekend. our hotel was japanese styled and i think that it is about to be the 'Home Improvement' show at RO's house. she loved the J-style bath. our hotel had a cedarwood one. we did the design festa together. it was a good experience and we had a lot of fun. i didn't sell as much as I wanted, however I will definitely be back in the fall for the next DF. i have some plans in mind already. in general people loved our merchandise (wow! cool!pretty! great!), however many people were too shy to approach us. it was my first time at an event like this AND adding the cultural twist to it provided a great challenge...i am really looking forward to the next one.

RO and TW did self-introduction lessons at my technical school this past tuesday and similar activities at my regular school. i enjoyed it a lot. it was good having some extra brown girl flava at the school. one of the teachers said with a smile (after they left, of course), they seem like they are a part of high society . i know that my students really enjoyed them. at some point during the their visit at my regular school, a few teachers got on my nerve. although i asked them ahead of time if they wanted RO and TW to be in their classes (and they didn't indicate that they did), they started bustin' out with classes all over the place. i had to put my foot down and tell them that it was too much! i don't know why they decided to act out. i kind of feel 'some type of way' about it b/c although RO and TW were contributing a lot by being there, i felt like they were trying to go overboard with their requests (especially considering that they were volunteering)...but anyway. i was a bit disappointed with my English club students b/c they didn't speak English at the lunch-time meeting. seo we (RO, TW, and I) sat there for a while, then I told them that we were leaving....boooo.... in the end, everything turned out great and we had a good time. we went out with DM on Monday and BY on Tuesday. the only thing that i would have wanted to add to the experience would be karaoke...when in J the two things one must do is 1) buy something in pink and 2) go to karaoke...LOL....

GRANOLA MONOLOGUES:
RO and TW had a chance to experience (the difficulty in) Japanese dining. foreigners are accustomed to saying what they want and getting it. in J, that is NOT the way it goes...so of course all of us wanted to change items on the menus but it always became a long and drawn out process. in Japan, you order EXACTLY what is on the menu and you do not make changes...unless we come around....LOL

life is wonderful. sometimes you set yourself up for things and sometimes things just happen for you. i have been around on more than one ocassion when someone is hurt by the way that someone treated them, and the same hurt person turns around to do the same to someone else without noticing it. in the process of trying to 'save' someone from being hurt, they hurt them anyway. hurt and pain is inevitable . that is what an old friend said to me once. in a way I agree b/c there must be balance...in embracing the pains you must embrace the joys.

'a reader' asked a about whether I have had new revelations or just things I were unable to see before. i think that there is no 'or' they are the same thing. i am not good at analogies, however I will attempt to put my thoughts out there anyway....ahhh....maybe not.

i returned from the US this week. i really needed the trip. like with most journeys, it was a learning experience.