A Very Japanese Christmas

Woooo, I went to Japan for Christmas. My life is so awesome, I seriously just can't even stand it. Christmas. In Japan. Amazing. Of course, some of my friends here are posting their bathing suit pics of themselves in Thailand or somewhere warm...but whatever, they can suck it. :)

Anyway, I met up with my awesome friend from LA who was the best tour guide ever. Not only did she bring me goodies from the States, but she can also speak Japanese and had lived in Osaka before, so there were no issues trying to figure out how to do things. It was fantastic. Plus, she knew all the good eating spots so we had some amazing food. Of course, I don't remember the names of anywhere we went or what we ate (for the most part), but everything was fabulous and delicious. Oh, I do know we at okonomiyaki, which is an Osaka specialty (which I've been told they have in Korea), and went to Kyoto and Nara. So that's something.

I hate to say it, but I think I like Japanese food more than Korean food. I know! I feel like such a traitor, but I am part Japanese, so maybe I'm just genetically disposed to it. Also, there isn't really any spicy food in Japan and yall know I like my food bland. Korean food is a gamble because all Koreans say, "oh, it's not spicy!" and then laugh as my lips catch on fire. Anyway, I pretty much ate tofu rice balls and potato sticks every day for breakfast, which may sound unappealing, but you don't know what you're missing. I forgot what the tofu things are called in Japanese and I don't know how to spell it in Korean (uboochubap is what it is phonetically), but they are delicious. And hopefully nutritious because I ate at least 50 of them while I was there. Every lunch was something fantastic...gyoza (Japanese dumplings of delciousness), ramen, okonomiyaki, etc, etc. And dinner was always amazing as well. Except for Christmas Eve..we were supposed to eat KFC (that's what all the Japanese do) but my friend fell asleep so I ate candy in the hostel instead. But, the next night, for our Christmas feast, we had sushi and it was fabulous. We also got some "fried cheese" and I'm pretty sure they just threw any random western looking food they could find on the plate, because it came out with lemon, popcorn and a tomato on the dish. So random. Our Japanese friends even found it strange. Whatever, it was totally delicious.

Christmas day was spent trying to take Christmasy Japanese photos, and I got some good ones. I tried to find the most Japanese looking things I could. I could have done better, but I was embarrased to be taking so many pictures. In Korea, they are all about taking pictures of everything, all the time, but not in Japan, so I felt out of place, haha. It was also interesting to see the differences in Japanese and Korean culture. They are similar in a lot of ways, but soooo different in a lot as well. Koreans are much more conservative in how they dress, hair styles, etc. I also personally feel the Korean men are better looking...the Japanese men are a little smaller and some of them have some crazyyyy hair styles. I saw so many mullets, it was a little ridiculous. I wish I had gotten more photos, but I was too stunned. Also, wonky teeth seem to be the norm there...not sure if there are any orthodontists in Japan. I did see some cute guys, though. None with mullets, though. Take a hint, friends.

There were other random things I noticed about the differences in the two countries, but I'm guessing no one cares. I just find it interesting because a lot of people at home lump Asia all together and that is not the case. A lot of people do it with Europe as well, and it's also not true.

Anyway.

Another night we met up with our Japanese friends we met in LA (they were students at my school there) and had a great time. Oddly enough, we ate at a Korean restaurant since all the Japanese ones they wanted to go to were too busy, but it was a lot of fun. I drank soju...no sake this trip..weird...but it was gross because here they always have cider but there they only had club soda and tomato juice. YUCK. I got it down but it was rough. We also did karoke and wandered the streets laughing at Japanese mullets. A good time.

Thursday I spent most of the day in the airport, but it was quite entertaining. We did some shopping, wandered around, did a lot of people watching (more mullets!) and ate sushi..where I witnessed the most fantastic restaurant situation of my life. Behold:

Right???!!! It's an express train! TO YOUR TABLE!!! Sooooo awesome. First off, they have sushi that is just cruising around the restaurant on a conveyor belt and you just grab off whatever tickles your fancy. And if that isn't cool enough, you can use the COMPUTER at your table to order things from the kitchen. Then, they put it on the express train and zoom it out to your table. Fantastic. I thought nothing was cooler than the call your waiter button at Korean tables, but this wins for sure.

Anyway, I had a great time in Japan and did tons of shopping. I was never much of a shopper before but lately, I've been losing my mind in stores. Maybe because it's cheaper, or I have more money, or I'm just getting old, but I love shopping now. Kinda lost my mind in Japan, but hey...how often do you go to Japan? Ok then. Plus, a lot of the stuff was gifts. Even though, I ended up keeping one (or three) things that were meant as gifts. Whoops...sorry friends. Next time!

Pictures are coming soon! My internet is on the fritz and the wifi isn't strong enough to support picture uploading. My apologies, I'm sure yall are dying.

So now it's time to ring in 2013. Insanity! Can't believe this year is over and 2013 is here. Time flies when you're having fun! My resolution: to use all the Kakao and WhatsApp emoticons. There are tons of them and in WhatsApp especially, they are suuuuper random. I don't know if I'll be able to use them all in context but I'm going to do my best. One of them is a syringe! When does that come up in conversation? We'll see...I have a year. And my theme for 2013? "Don't stop me now, cause I'm having a good time!" Thank you, Queen! It's also my new go-to norebang song. It's a crowd pleaser AND fun to dance to. Woo!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your year was as fantastic as mine and I hope next year is EVEN BETTER! I'm pretty confident it will be. It's all about the meals you start/end the years with. This year started with Waffle House and this one will start with Korean BBQ. Good things are coming in 2013. So go welcome 2013 with something delicious!

Dream big people!

Merry Christmas Baby

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!! This year has FLOWN by and it just keeps getting better and better!

I'll admit, I had a little break down earlier today because being away from family on Christmas is hard. I love it here but my family is not here and it hit hard today. After a nap and some candy canes, I'm feeling better and am now excited because I leave for JAPAN TOMORROW!!!! AHHHH!!!!

Woooo, life is so damn awesome. Plus, the last few days have just been so great. We had our Christmas party with the kids on Thursday and Santa came! They were so cute and excited! One of my girls whispered to me, "Jacky teacher, Santa is soo cute!" Love it. I told her to tell him and maybe he'd give her some extra presents. She was too nervous, but it was still funny. The kids also said goodbye to our elf, Patty and we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which they loved! It was an extremely hectic and tiring day, but they were all so excited about Christmas, it was cute. I'm not going to lie, though, I was a bit on the sad side because I only got a Christmas card from one student! Maybe some of them aren't big on Christmas, I don't really know..but oh well. My one card was lovely, so at least I got that.

Friday was our teacher's Christmas party and that was a lot of fun as well. There were no students there Friday so at lunch our principal ordered pizza and had wine for us. My friend and I declared ourselves the party planning committee, so we decorated and organized a white elephant for the lunch. It was actually a lot of fun and everyone had a great time! I am was very happy because I get upset when people aren't enthusiastic about things I plan, but this worked out great! There were some sad and awkward moments though. All the assistant teachers at our school left (long story, contractual disputes) so it was sad to say goodbye to all of them...they are all so nice and the whole situation was just a mess. Also, the new assistant teachers that are taking their places were all there, which was awkward. Mainly because no one told the party committee so we didn't have enough gifts for them to participate in the white elephant exchange. It would have been really easy to grab extra gifts for them (they were all from the dollar store), but we didn't know so they just has to sit and watch. Weird, right? Oh well. I just hope they don't think it was my fault and all hate me now since I was the one running it.

That night was a special friends birthday so about 12 of us celebrated with sushi and soju. I finally got rid of my huge bottle of soju!! I was petty happy. I drank a little too much of it, but nothing too crazy happened. Some of us went to noreabang (karoke) after and it was a blast, as always. I'm just going to assume that it's a requirement to sing "Creep" at every norebang session because someone always sings it. It's a downer, but I guess I'll have to get used to it.  On the way home I tried seeking revenge on my apartment complex by yelling in the courtyard, but that is about as crazy as things got. I am always getting woken up by people yelling and carrying on at random hours and even more random days. Hopefully I woke up one of the people that has woken me up before...that was my logic anyway. I'm sure I just angered random, very polite residents. Sorry Acrotel!

Well that's that. A good holiday season so far. Although I am just about out of Christmas spirit. School was just Christmas craft, stories, movies, songs, everything overload. I love Christmas more than the average person, I think, but I think I'm at the end of my holiday cheer rope. It was also a very DIY Christmas this year and I don't think I have it in me to make another card, craft or ornament. Just can't do it. I'm hoping someone can send me some Valentine cards because I'm not sure I can handle making those either. I don't know if I'll be able to cut paper again for quite some time.

Ok, JAPAN TOMORROW!!! Got some Yen yesterday and I'm super excited because it's really cool looking! Also, one bill s worth like, $12. Trying to convert from Won to Dollars to Yen is going to be interesting, but good thing I have my handy dandy smart phone!

Dream big people!!! And MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!

No Words

There are literally just no words for the horrific shooting that happened in Connecticut  Just none. It makes me so damn sad to just think about it and pretty much anytime I see or hear anything about it, I just cry. I can't even imagine what friends and families are going through. Unbelievable.

As a teacher, I can't even comprehend someone coming in and harming my class. I couldn't take it. I also can't comprehend having and/or carrying a gun around with me in the classroom. The chances of something like that happening here are lower, as they have really strict gun control laws and pretty much no one has one. Of course there is violence, but nothing like what happens in the US.

In addition to being sad, I am truly shocked at the hatefulness, tactfulness and disrespect people have when making posts and/or commenting on it. People are disgusting and I am embarrassed for them. I had to defriend a load of people and force myself not to read and/or comment on what people say, on facebook and otherwise. I really don't think comments should be allowed on news stories. People are just awful. I don't really know stats and I don't really have a viable solution and I know I'm sounding naive, but I really really wish people would just BE NICE. And if you can't be nice, at least be respectful and show some tact. For instance, I have a lot to say about this entire situation and the way people have reacted to it, but I really try to avoid internet controversy. So for a positive note, it makes me happy to know there are also decent, amazing, wonderful, kindhearted people out there that would take a bullet to protect others. It hurts my heart to know some of those people are gone and that some of them were my age.

I am trying to just be respectful and sad instead of getting political  But, in my opinion, if you think violence is going to be solved with more people having guns and more praying, you need a reality check real quick. That is all.

Wishing there was something more I could do than just hurt for the families, but some hurts can't be fixed.

Dreaming big with a heavy heart. And in the words of one of my favorite people, "Be kind to one another."

My So-Called Organized Life

Yall. I have no idea what has come over me this week but I have been crazy productive. I am quite proud of myself.

Today I reorganized my entire desk area, labeled all my materials, graded two books and am about 3 steps away from being finished with the book we have to make to have published. Self high five!

Yesterday, I went to the gym AND actually wen to the grocery store and cooked dinner. Whoa. Today was even crazier. I went to the gym, showered, washed clothes, cleaned my house and restocked all of my bags and purses. Um, what? So I am tad bit on the...weird? side, I guess. I don't what you call it. Either super organized and awesome or just strange. Anyway, I like to have all my bags (bookbags, purses, school bag, etc) stocked with anything I might need in a crisis situation while out on and about. This includes medicine, vitamins, tissues (dry and wet), make up, tweezers, stain remover, a mirror, chapstick, sunscreen, bandaids and hand sanitizer. So now all my bags, including my travel toiletries case, has everything I need. I am pretty much a walking pharmacy. Weird? Don't know, don't care. Of course, the times I need these things are always the times when I decide not to bring my bag with me. Luckily, there is a convenience store literally on every corner and in every subway station here so I can usually get what I need.

Anyway, like I said before, we started doing an Elf on the shelf type thing in my class. First off, my parents totally did that when we were younger so we were way ahead of the game. Second, no one here as heard of it so that's sad. But, this random elf looking thing randomly showed up in our classroom (seriously, I have no idea where it came from), but we named it Patty and she has started leaving notes for us. I don't think the kids completely get it, but they seem to enjoy it. Want to meet her?

That is Patty next to the super awesome Christmas countdown I made, and below are the letters my class wrote to her. Well, the dictated it and I wrote it, just to save time.

Anyway, there is still snow on the ground today which is depressing because it's still hard to walk AND even more depressing, it's supposed to snow more tomorrow. Make it stop!!! Unless they cancel school...in that case, bring it on! But stop on the weekend because I have things to do. Like go buy more winter clothes.

Oh yes, and here is further proof that I do not mess around when it comes to penny pinching:

 Gotta save up for some Japanese Yen, yo!

Time to make dinner! Whaaa, I'm on a roll!!!

Dream big people!

Video Skills

I don't think I posted this before...but this is the video I made for our pen pals. It's not the best editing or videography, but I'm pretty proud of it nonetheless. For someone that has zero experience with a camera or any editing program, I don't think it turned out too bad. And to boot, the entire editing program is in Korean and I didn't have anyone helping me translate. It was all trial and error. It took longer than it should have, but having pulled all this together in about two weeks, I would say I'm well on my way to becoming a professional video maker.

And this is a video I made on my phone today:

Nevermind it won't load. Just enjoy the other one until I can figure out how to get this one.

All I Want for Christmas....

...are some Christmas Tree Cakes. And actually a million other things, but I am actually pretty good right now. Things are awesome here and life is fantastic.

Oh, except for one tiny thing. And that would be SNOW. UGH, I hate snow! It's not even winter yet! WTF is going on?!! And apparently it's in the 70s at home. Fuuuuck that. It wasn't so bad watching it come down in the classroom...mainly because they kids got super excited about it. But then my coteacher opened the window (because she's crazy pants) and it was ridiculously cold. I also got cold just thinking about my walk home. Luckily it stopped snowing before then, but it was still really slippery. Some parts were pretty, like this lovely tree...

...but I had to concentrate pretty hard on not falling the rest of the way home so I didn't notice much else. I did see one woman in heels, which I thought was hilarious. I was having a hard enough time in boots. They don't have a lot of traction, but I can't imagine heels! She was shuffling a long pretty slow, poor thing. But seriously, why not carry the heels in your bag if it is THAT important to wear them. People are weird.

I also want to invest in a ski mask. How do you keep your face warm without one? I am pretty ill prepared for this weather. I mean, I have some warm clothes now, but not enough. Also, I don't really know how to wear them properly. Actually, the problem is that I'm in denial that I have chosen to live in this freezing ass place, so I delude myself into thinking I don't actually need to put on long johns and 5 shirts. I mean, people don't actually do that, right? I have a hard time accepting it is really cold enough to wear two pairs of pants. It's going to take some getting used to. The worst part is, it has only just begun. Apparently it stays freezing until at least March. Dammmnnnn it.

Other than this weather, things are just dandy. I love Christmas time because I can make tons of crafts with the kids. The options are endless. Today I spent all of afterclub making a gingerbread house. It was out of paper and the goober student made it pink, but whatever. I also started doing and elf on the shelf kind of thing in my class with Patty the Elf. I don't think the kids totally understand what is going on, but it was fun anyway. Friday we are making stockings and next week we're having a Christmas concert. We're singing "Let It Snow," which is a terrible song but all the good ones were taken and we don't have enough time to learn "All I Want for Christmas is You." Sad, but true.

Anyway, that's it for now. Oh yeah, wanted to share this. Penny pinching at it's finest:

My mom would be so proud. But, by saving money on lotion, I can spend my money on some more winter clothes. Or food. Whatever.

Dream big people!

500 posts of nonsense

WOOOO, 500 posts!! Confetti! Sparkles! Balloons! Fireworks!!!

That is what is going off in my head. And, I would put something festive on here, but I am too lazy to figure out how to put in those kind of graphics. So just imagine them with me, if you will.

I also have to apologize because I don't really have anything exciting to post. Things are just trucking along at school. We have been busy busy busy! We've started making Christmas decorations, which makes me super happy. One, I love decorating and two, it gives me easy things to do. Now I don't have to think of tons of projects, I just pick a random Christmas thing and away we go!

I decorated my apartment as well and I am just pleased as punch about it. It took a little hunting to track down everything, but I think I did pretty well.

                  

    

I also have some lights in my window...I'm the only one in the apartment complex to have lights, which makes me kind of sad. However, you're welcome, Acrotel, for having some Christmas spirit. I'm sure I am bringing joy to everyone that sees them.

Some friends I met during my study abroad in Rome were visiting other friends here this week, so I got to see them, which was a lot of fun. I can't believe the last time I saw them was over 3 years ago! And that we did the study abroad almost 6 years ago! Time is flying by. Even more crazy, my 10 year high school reunion is next year! Insanity! Time really does fly when you're having fun. I think I'll be one of about 3 people that aren't married with kids from my graduating class, but oh well. Maybe I'll take a Korean baby back with me and tell everyone I adopted it with my super hot Korean boyfriend that couldn't make it.

I could take Ray!! Haha, I had another Ray Day today and it was fantastic. I just love that little booger so much! I am so glad I got to see him again. And he is doing very well in his new school, so I am really happy. Apparently he is one of the smartest ones in the class. Hooray for Ray!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the last two Twilight movies and eating Taco Bell.  The movies are a total waste of time, because they are so ridiculous (I hate Bella), but totally necessary. I needed to see the last four to complete the series...I obviously couldn't go on with life without this happening.

Oh, and Thanksgiving came and went. Wasn't as depressing this year, being away from family. I guess it's not as bad when no one is celebrating and you have to go to work. Plus, my school bought us Thanksgiving dinner and all the foreign teachers stayed and ate together. The food came from the army base...the turkey wasn't bad but everything else was not so great. The mashed potatos were nonsense. But, it was super nice of our school to do, and I won't lie, I still ate a whole bunch of food. Stuffed myself like a good American. I also went to a potluck party with friends that was a lot of fun. I made an apple pie and have to say, it was pretty damn good.

Anyway, so that is what's been going on and now I have JAPAN to look forward to! These next few weeks of school are going to fly by, we have soooo much to do! But I am happy because it'll go fast and then it'll be Christmas and I'll be in Japan! Wooohooo! Life is good :)

Sorry this is not more exciting for a 500th post, but maybe when I have some motivation I'll do something cool.

Dream big people!