Sunny Saturday

It's been a good day!

This is my 5th top now with no completed ones. >.<

In the morning I finished my latest quilt top and rolled around in my ever-increasing supply of pretty fabric.

Then I got a call from Nody. We're having a lasagna night this Monday with a couple other teachers from school, so went on a mission to find the ingredients. YouMe Town, our fancy new mall, has a foreign import store with plenty of cheese varieties. That's where we started, gawking at the high prices while enjoying our free coffee, mango, and nut samples. Rather than buying huge amounts of the spendy Ricotta and Cottage cheese, we determined to make it ourselves!

But to make cheese you need a cheesecloth. Which happens to be headachingly difficult to find in Japan (just pretend YouMe Town represents all of Japan). After searching the grocery and home goods store with no luck, finally settled on 100yen gauze from the drugstore!

We had some Napolitan spaghetti for a late lunch. I made her do the unthinkable in eating unpeeled persimmons. Gasp! Although she claimed that her teeth are hard enough to knaw on walls, she still complained about the hard peel the whole time.

Then came the cheesemaking.

Can you guess which kind this'll be?

I never knew milk could smell so delicious.

We used a mixture of English and Japanese recipes, then let them sit in their warm, whey-y goodness for a couple hours while we went out on a walk!

Look, the sun is setting! 

The toilet paper is always nicely folded after she leaves.

(it took me about 5 minutes to recreate this scene on my own)

Post Script!

Everything turned out great. I may not be making it again anytime soon, but at least I know I can. : )

Tada!

Creative Japanese Inventions, 2

This is the other half of my students' work. More fun ensues. 

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Name: Eyewasher, ELHH (Eye-Lotion-Hitting-Helper), Glasses with Flask, Megusuri Sniper, Perfect, Eyewash Glassess 

"First, when you think that you can't put eyewash in your eye exactly, this product will help you. Second, how to use is only wear this product like normal grasses. Then, you can't miss! Eyewash goes into your eyes without floating. Your daughters, sons, husband or wife are crazy for you! Price is ... 980 yen! Ah?... expensive? Hah ... Ok. 490yen!" 

"I recommend this thing, "MEGUSURI SNIPER". With it, you can put a drop of an eyewash into your eyes without fail. First, wear this item. Second, put drops of eyewash into this item. That's all you have to do. How easy! It is reasonable. The price is 100yen, and spare parts are all 15yen each." 

Name: Sasumata, The Machine to Sleep, A Strong Man Under Jaw

"This is "A strong man under a jaw". When you are on the train and are very sleepy, but there is no seat you sit down, you use this product. First, bring this product into the train. Second, put it under your face and put you can sleep standing. The price of this product is 500 yen. If you buy this product within a week, you can get a cushion under a jaw." 

"I recommend you this product. This is the machine to sleep! When you cannot sit down in the train, it is hard for you to sleep in the situation, but it can assist you to sleep easily and comfortably. How to use it is only this. It is easy to use it. We can have ten sizes of it so if you are fat or thin, we can prepare one for you. The price of it is 10,000yen. Call "120-102-0035". Let's buy it!" 

Name: Cleaning Baby Clothes, The Baby Cleaner, Floor Cleaner, Useful Cleaner, Hai-hai Mop, Baby Mop

"This is new type of baby clothes. When you clothe your baby in this wear he cleans floor, so you don't have to clean by yourself. Thanks to it, you can save your time. When the clothes get dirty, please wash and you can use it again. Its price is just $4.98. Please take care of your baby when using. If your baby eats it, it's bad for your baby's health."

"This is the baby cleaner. I recommend you this product. First, if you use this product, you can save a lot of time. For example, when you are busy doing a lot of work, you have only to leave the baby alone to clean your room. Second, the baby might feel this work challenging when the baby is praised by the baby's parents. That's why you should buy the baby cleaner if you have a lot of work to do, and love your child."

Creative Japanese Inventions, 1

Today some papers appeared on my desk. "Can you correct these by Thursday?" The assignment was to advertise one of these 6 weird Japanese inventions and sell it to a customer. We customers don't know what it is or how to use it, so they have to explain. It's these kinds of things that make me love being an ALT. 

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Name: Hanakamikun, A Toilet Paper, Mr. Noseman, Anwhere Paper, Always With You, No More a Runny Nose

"You can use this product by carrying out the following procedure. First of all, put on your head. Next, when you want to blow your nose, you use as you like. Advantages of it is you can use easily whenever you want to use. After that it is not trouble because it is on your head. Lastly, it is large enough. A pocket tissue runs out in a short time, but it is a large oblong chest. So I recommend this product. If you use it, you may be a popular person because of the funny appearance."

"Do you have an experience that you want to blow your nose but you have no tissue paper? Then this commodity is of great help. What's this? This is a "Hanakamikun". If you set it on your head, you can use tissue paper whenever and wherever you want to blow your nose; during the meeting, on the train, and even during the test!It usually costs 20 dollars, but today, you can buy it for only 10 dollars. Get it right now! Thank you for hearing me."

Name: Mane of Lion, Ramen Hat, Eating Without Trouble, SHIFF

"First, hook this to your forehead and your chin. After that, eat noodles like ramen with putting on the SHIFF. It prevents being splashed with soup. So you can eat noodles without soiling your hair, and your clothes! The price of the SHIFF is 100 yen. And now, if you affix a SHIFF's prize seal to a letter and enter the prize contest, you may win ten thousand yen!"

"It are children that the products are used. When you shampoo your child's hair, please get your child put on this on the head, and shampoo won't enter child's eye. Also, if your child put on the hat, your child can transform himself into lion! This hat makes your bathing fan. Please buy this product."

Name: An Electric Fan, Cool Bringer, Ramen Cooler, Huu Huu Machine, Winds of Angel

"You may have burned your mouth with hot ramen. This is a good news! This machine is called "ramen cooler" and cools ramen. How to use it? It's easy. First make ramen (or go to ramen stand). Second, turn on this machine and hang it on your wrist. Lastly, enjoy ramen. This machine cools ramen by blowing over ramen. We sell this for 1000 dollers! Very low price! There must be no choice but to buy it." 

"If you feel hot, please switch it on, and you will feel cool! I'll show you how to use this product. First, set it on desk or flat floor. Then, switch it on, and change the direction of it so that you get cool wind. Cool Bringer has strong power to turn blades, though it is small. So you can bring it anywhere. The price of it is 1,980 yen. If you buy it in 3 hours, we can allow you a 10% discount. Let's buy it now and spend cool days!

"It's called electric fan. It is nice to enjoy uttering " A A A ... " in front of electric fan. If you don't have something to do during your summer vacation, you can enjoy by yourself. So electric fan is the most useful in consumer home electronics. Do you wanna buy the electric fan, don't you?"

The Happy[est?] Day

Let me tell you about one of the happiest days of my life. Bust first, I'll give some background to the story. 

In high school, I was a really busy student. I took honors classes, had club activities, and did volunteer work outside of school. 

It was overwhelming on most days, and I could never get enough sleep.

Although I liked my life, I couldn't wait for high school to be over. There were so many days that I longed for graudation day so I could be free from all the schoolwork. 

Finally, after 4 years, the day came! I went to school in the morning for the ceremony rehearsal, and hung out with my friends all day. We wandered the school, and told stories about old times.

Then, it was time. I dressed in the black gown and marched into the gym with everyone. All my family was there in the audience. When they called my name, I walked on stage to get my diploma. With the music playing in the background, I shook hands with the principal and got a hug from the guidance counselor.

Afterward we had a reception with cake and drinks, chatting with all the people who had helped my through the years.

When I got home, I reflected on the beautiful night. High school was great after all! And now I was free from homework, free from tests, and could enjoy myself. That is . . . 

. . .until college started 3 months later!

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This is just an example story I made for one of my English classes. They're supposed to make a story about one of their superlative (most ________)  days and draw pictures to go with the narration. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Autumn Arrived

In all my teacherly garb.

It's fall! Today is the official first day, but it's been sneaking in all week. To celebrate, I haven't taken my towel to school in a week. I switched from shorts to pajama pants. Even whipped out a comforter to replace my wispy summer blanket.

This is my favorite season, and I plan to make the most of it. We're looking at a pretty busy October up ahead. With preparation for English Day at school and chalk full weekends, I wonder when I'll ever get the time to do laundry again! I'm hoping to go rafting, visit Kyoto and/or Hiroshima for the autumn leaves (and sightseeing, of course!), participate in a big Aikido event, go to Culture Day at my tech school, and camp out on a mountain to see the sunrise. Weather may dictate the likelihood of each event, but I'm sure at least some will come to pass.

What are your plans for this fall? Let's enjoying!

Night after a typhoon last week. 

Turning Japanese

I'm young and impressionable. Here's a random list of the ways Japan is affecting me.
I know I've been in Japan for too long when...

• I throw up a "V" sign for every picture without a second thought
• I squat to pick things up from the floor rather than bend over
• I nod and say "un,un" throughout the length of someone's speaking to me
• I get shocked at people in American movies for driving on the right side of the road
• I eat meals at my coffee table even though I have a normal table in the kitchen
• I expect to get candy on White Day
• I brush my teeth at lunchtime
• I worry that people will feel uncomfortable overhearing my business in the bathroom because I don't flush to cover the sound
• I never go out in public with shoulders exposed
• I look forward to hearing other foreigners speak in Japanese just to hear their accents
• While on trips, I worry over who to bring omiyage back for
• I eat natto voluntarily
• I bow while talking on the phone
• I add random emoticons to my texts
• I think all bikes should have baskets on them
• I think of a "sandwhich" as a "sand" or "sando"
• I marvel at the deliciousness of soft cookies
• I can eat a whole fish or octopus without too much trouble
• When in public, I try to brush my hair on the sly
• When I see a guy and a girl alone together, I think they must be dating
• I say "karaoke" and "karate" in the Japanese way
• I can do seiza (sitting on knees) for 20 minutes effortlessly, 30 with determination
• I don't expect soap or papertowels in public bathrooms
• I no longer have to convert from military time
• I forget about American holidays like Labor Day, President's Day, etc.
• I introduce myself as Rosheru Homuzu
• I talk about the importance of replenishing ions and electrolytes

I could go on and on. Enjoy your Americanness! 

One Fine Day

Is it sad of me to do so much alone? You could say so, but I think what's worse is sitting at home pouting about it instead of going out and doing things anyway.

Here's another video of a recent trip to the beach.