RheAnn in Japan

(midnight-ish) September 24, 2010--
Tonight it's raining.  It's rained all day, actually.  The air is so cool and the city seems like a sleepy baby--past the point of fussy, nodding off toward peaceful slumber.

The full moon at dusk a couple nights ago

 
Today marked the first day of fall.  I wonder if there was ever a woman happier to welcome the end of summer as I am.  I am.  I sooooooooooooo am!  The black hole that was August seems far behind me now and I am happily moving through my days--in good health and with great enthusiasm.  I really have so much to which to look forward and I currently have so many wonderful things going on!!  I hardly know where to start!! ...But I also can't wait to pile all of my happy thoughts into one place, so here goes!! :)

GOOD NEWS: 

• I love my tutor!!!  I've been meeting once a week for two weeks now with a language helper/tutor.  Her home is not near mine, but the train rides are pleasant and the assistance is certainly worth it.  I see so many butterflies in the neighborhood as I walk from the station to her house and back.  Last week, three different types brushed against my arms during my journey.  ...It's a special time and place, I feel.  I also notice that the timing and pace of my lessons are really perfect.  I'm free from the stress I felt from getting so far behind in language school, AND we are focusing on bits of Japanese language that are most useful for ME, rather than merely abiding by a prescribed curriculum.  It's very good for me.  :)
• I love teaching!!!  Now that I'm not in school each morning, I have so much more time and energy to think about and prepare formy classes!  I am amazed how much more I enjoy my job when it doesn't come on the heels of a mentally exhaustive morning of language-learning.  I am really discovering my own style as a teacher, and I like what I'm seeing so far.  My students are incredible!  I love the questions they ask and the things they teach me!!

During my Friday "Japanese Culture in English" class, one student demonstrated the tea-making and -drinking portion of the traditional tea ceremony! :)

• I love my friends!!!  I knew I needed some, and I've been making many since arriving here. Visiting churches, I met so many great people.  The physical distance between us and the busy-ness of our schedules made socializing difficult, though.  Being alone for so many daaaaaaaaaaaaays in August, I suddenly realized that I need friends outside of "work."  Once I accepted this, it seems really good friends just APPEARED in my life.  I attended a very special New Year's party with some friends from Ethiopia and met many new friends there, and have used each Saturday since to relax and enjoy time with them.  ...I think this was key to making Japan my home. I really needed these friends. :)

With the Ethiopian ambassador and friends at the Ethiopian New Year Party in Akasaka

With my new girl-friend Tii at an international picnic with another friend Hideki (not pictured)

• I love art!!!  In addition to my ongoing pottery studies, (I return to Kunitachi for class tomorrow!) I've also begun to incorporate my love of art into other areas of my life and work.  I am flooded with ideas for a new photo project with a photographer friend of mine and just need to make time for a painting I'm working on for my home.  I also want to buy a video camera and start making mini-movies to share with all of my family and supporters back in the States.  I've already been using SOME art in teaching, since I make all my own handouts and visual aids and often have to teach through "Pictionary" when verbal language comprehension fails.  I also taught an art class to children one day while I was still sick. We made "sculptures."  It went very well and that's something I'm sure I'll do again some time.  My NEW idea, though, is to host an Open House/Craft Workshop at one of our churches here.  Ichikawa will move into a new church building in December, and it is my hope that we can invite people from the neighorhood to learn how to make Christmas decorations for their homes!  (Many people enjoy decorating for this holiday, even though they don't celebrate it in a Christian context.)  I want to teach them how to make wreaths and ornaments...but I don't really know how!! :)  So, send me some ideas, won't you?  My e-mail is rheann.in.japan@gmail.com  I think this will be FUN!  (Some CPWM groups mentioned they'd like to help by sending patterns and supplies for a project like this.  If you or your group would like to contribute, please contact me with your ideas before sending things, so I don't end up with too much of one thing and not enough of another...You know, small apartment and all.) :)
• I love storytelling!!!  As long as I can remember, I've loved telling (and even REtelling) stories of all kinds--stories I've heard, stories I've read, stories I've lived... I use this gift in teaching ALL the time--both as a means of explaining something and as an exercise in improving listening skills.  While I was sick, another of my bright ideas was to start a children's story time by familiarizing myself with the most popular children's stories in Japan and performing them in English at one or more of our churches.  I was beyond excited about this possibility but was quickly sobered when I presented it to the church leader and found it to be a hard sell. ..Turns out, there was a misunderstanding because there is not such a thing as "story time" in Japan. Finally, the group of adults said, "Can you just SHOW us what you mean?" so--on the spot--I decided to go with "The 3 Little Pigs."  I used a lot of voices and faces and looked at each person as I spoke.  They turned into little kids right before my eyes!!
  

  Kids and "big kids" play a silly game during open church at Den-en last week

  It was hilarious!  “Oh, NOW we understand!  We Japanese don’t do like that,” they told me and laughed.  Then they became as excited as I had been and we began to make plans.  The maiden Story Time will take place the first weekend in December.  Between now and then, I’ll be meeting with the children at Kibogaoka Church during church school and using songs and/or storytelling to correspond with their lessons.  I will also be learning about the stories and practicing them constantly.  If this event is a success, I hope to travel with this “act” a little bit.
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  I love dinner parties!!! Last night I accepted an invitation to a birthday dinner at a church member’s house.  There were 10 of us in attendance, and four had birthdays this month!  Two of the guests were Americans who live and work on the Zama military base—he as a chaplain and she as a teacher.  The food was deliciously tailored to my dietary needs which made me happier than words can express, and the conversation spanned more fascinating topics than I can name!!  I can assure you, however, it is a night I will never forget!  We talked about history and politics and religion and traveling…and then I began telling the group about the upcoming Story Time.  I mentioned that I told the story of “The 3 Little Pigs” since it is one I know well and had been using with my English classes here.  I said to the 2 Americans, “Sometimes there are words you just can’t explain when asked, you know?  Like, WHY do the little pigs say ‘Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin?’ What does that phrase even MEAN?”  By this point, 2 Japanese men at the table were laughing themselves to tears.  After much coaxing they finally revealed to us the cause of their laughter.  Apparently… “chin chin” in Japanese crudely refers to a certain part of the male anatomy!!!  Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah, you KNOW my face was as red as my shirt as I recalled how enthusiastically I’d been announcing this statement to Japanese women and children and church leaders over the past weeks!!!  ::BLUSH::  Anyway, it was a delightful evening, nonetheless!  I hope to have my own dinner party here next weekend, as it will be 14 years since my dad died this October 1^st.  Also, October 1^st here is September 30^th back home, and on that day my best friend in the whole world, Jason Baldwin, has a glimmer of hope for freedom after 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  I look forward to telling THAT story some day…  And I pray for a happy ending.