Hurray!

In merely a few hours, I will be dragging my bags out into the snow and hailing a taxi to begin my grand winter adventure! 35 hours later, I will arrive in Mississippi! Woohoo! I can't wait to see my beautiful family!! Hi, beautiful family! :-) I will have a little more than 17 days to spend with you! Oh, yay! It is going to be so nice to talk in person, but also at the same time of day!

When I leave, it will be around 21 degrees with a windchill of 8. Now, there seems to be some discrepancy between weather.com's forecast and MSN's forecast...but either way, the temperature will more than double by the time I arrive! Maybe even close to triple!! Then, it looks like the temperature will drop...but it will still be like a tropical vacation for me! Bring out the leis!

My junior high students at the school I visit for kids who have disabilities do the cutest thing that I absolutely love. When we get ready to sing a song, they all yell together, "Music...STARTO!" Japanese syllables always end with a vowel (except for n alone, but, I digress)

Sooo...

Vacation...STARTO!

Wow!

This morning has been a morning of picking my chin up off the floor and putting it back where it belongs! I am in complete and total amazement at the amount of snow that has fallen this week, and especially last night!

The piles and drifts look like they are approaching the second floor of this building!

....maybe I'm glad I don't have a car!

...but, it is just amazing (and a bit bewildering)! I am enjoying looking at it and listening to this song:

Joy to the world

I was thinking about Christmas this evening, and how much I miss hearing about the true meaning of Christmas. I've been missing Christmas carols, too, so I went to YouTube to listen to some different songs. I actually wanted to hear Joy to the World - which may be one of my favorite Christmas songs. Here are some of my findings I thought you might enjoy. None of the videos are particularly worth writing home about (even though that is basically what I'm doing...), but the songs themselves are good.

The first one is a little bizarre, but strangely addictive. When I first heard it, I kept thinking about changing the song, but I kept finding myself wanting to listen a little longer. I'd love to know what you think!

...or, perhaps you might prefer to rock out with Third Day

...if you just want to go old school, here's a good one

Well, I will leave you with those happy thoughts. Tomorrow is another leave-the-house-at-5:45AM day, or o'dark hundred, as it is more commonly known.

The Untamed Drugstore

The trouble with getting sick in another language is that you have to worry about things like accidentally knocking yourself out cold. I have not done this yet, but I could see it easily happening.

It all started 2 days ago when I developed a bit of a sore throat. It continued yesterday, so I asked my supervisor about stuff for a sore throat. He gave me some recommendations, so I trotted to the drugstore on my lunch break to try out my new Japanese vocabulary. Apparently, I need to lay off the trotting, because I wiped out on the ice again. Naturally, the top layer was somehow kind of muddy. Well, I picked myself up, dusted myself off (mudded myself off?), and resumed my travels.

Anyhoo, I was very proud to successfully find the stuff that I needed. By this time though, a little headache was starting, so I looked for something that looked like a pain reliever. The stuff with English was really expensive, so I bought the stuff next to it that looked similar. Don't worry, I asked my supervisor what it was before I took it. He thought it was funny.

Well, somehow by tonight, everything morphed into full-on sneezing, congestion, Niagara Falls, etc. Unfortunately, it was 9:00, and everything here closes super early. Well, I decided to take my chances and so I scooted over the ice to the nearest drugstore. Miraculously, it was still open. now I just had the problem of not knowing what the heck I was supposed to buy. Back home, I knew what everything looked like and would carefully scrutinize the ingredients to find the perfect combination for whatever was ailing me. Well, things worked out a little differently here. I grabbed a clerk, using my all-purpose "Sumimasen," which apparently means "I'm sorry," or "Excuse me," or "So, what do you think of the persimmon crisis in the Bronx?" Who really knows? Whatever it meant, it worked. It may also have been my confused look, I don't know. I find that combining a really confused look with whatever I'm saying seems to be quite effective.

My limited Japanese vocabulary is currently missing the words for congestion, etc, so I broke out the old faithful gestures. So, I stood there in the medicine section of Sapporo Drug miming sneezes, a runny nose, and watery eyes, etc. Somehow, the clerk knew what I needed (I think) and handed me a nice yellow box.

Now, what exactly it is, I don't know! I am not taking it tonight in case it's the knockout variety (I have to leave around 5:45am...blaaaaah). I have a feeling that my vocabulary is about to be enriched with words pertaining to colds, allergies, and sinus fun! It's amazing how the most mundane things become an adventure when they are tipped into another language!

Travels

So, some of you (or maybe just Mom, which is sufficient in my book) have been asking about my trip to Sapporo. Well, I am happy to tell you that it involved no accidents. Therefore, I believe we can call the trip a success. ;-)

For some bizarre reason, I had a flurry of things to do at the office before I left. I had spent all day Monday at a seminar for elementary teachers and all day Tuesday traveling around and falling down. So, I did my stuff at work and mailed my first CLAIR Japanese test at lunch time. I was pretty excited about completing that test. Especially in light of what was looming on the horizon...

I took the midday train to Sapporo - we basically have three trains per day that will take us out of the frozen northland to...well, more frozen northland. Oh, well. I really enjoyed the first part of the train trip. My city, being on the coast, has had warmer temperatures than some of the inland areas of Hokkaido (which is why we keep going through the snow, slush, rain, freeze sets). Anyway, there was a point on the journey

where we went into a tunnel and came out in a frozen fairy wonderland. Auggh! It was so beautiful! It has always been my favorite part of train trips anyway, and the addition of snow just added to the charm.

Now, this picture in no way does justice to the scene (I'm not sure it's even the same area), but the problem with

trains is that they generally will not stop to let

you take pictures. Oh, and by the way, they have not started installing outdoor fluorescent lighting yet - that is a reflection in the window. Hmmm...come to think of it, that might not be a bad idea. It gets dark between 3:45-4:15 right now.

I arrived in Sapporo a little after 7:00 that evening. Going from my city to Sapporo is always a bit of a shock. I can't imagine what it is like for the people who live in towns of 1000 or so. It is really like entering a whole different world. A beautiful world of shopping meccas and Starbucks and bookstores with English books and subways and intersections where all the crossing lights at an intersection go green for pedestrians at the same time, so you can charge across diagonally if you so choose.

The cool thing about being in Sapporo is that you really could rarely go outside, yet still manage to go to many places. Ahh, the beauty of subways. Although, they do get a little crowded sometimes. You can become very well acquainted with strangers during busy times. But, when it's crowded, you don't really lose your balance when the train starts and stops. There is nowhere to go.

Sapporo is also a land where you can buy drinks like this:

Yes, in case you were wondering, it was a bad idea. At first taste, it was pretty good. But on second taste...not so good...well, I had to try it, didn't I?

So, the next day we actually had to get to work. Day 1 of the conference was mostly whole-group lectures. There was some good stuff, though, and it was fun to meet up with old JET buddies!

That night, we did some shopping and went to the German Christmas Market, which was pretty amazing. I had...wait for it...a hot dog, tater tots, and hot cocoa! OK,

I think they called it a sausage, but it was basically a hot dog. It was pretty amazingly good, though! I had eaten udon noodles for lunch...word to the wise - don't eat udon noodles when you are in full business dress...so it was nice to eat something I could successfully consume without wearing half of it. :)

There were also some pretty Christmas lights in the park. Here is a view of the park from the TV tower observatory:

The strangest thing happened while we were at the Christmas thing. I was walking around with one of my JET friends, and a group of people (maybe around age 19 or 20) came up to her and started showing her a camera. I figured that they wanted her to take a picture of them, so I stepped away. They pulled me back, and we finally figured out that they wanted to take a picture with us. So, we graciously obliged. After we took the picture, I wasn't really sure how to properly disengage myself from the group, so I did the American smile, giggle, try to have a little conversation, smile again. So, this cycle went on for a little while, and then one of the girls grabbed my arm and there was a stampede for my other arm. Once my other arm was claimed, they took another picture. Turns out the group was from China. Maybe they don't have any foreigners there either?? I thought that maybe they thought we were German or something, but we told them we were American. It was pretty funny, though. Bizarre, but funny.

The next morning was the workshop where I presented with one of my JTEs. Can we say fear and trembling??? We had 52 participants scheduled to come. It kind of felt like there were 502 in the room! :-) If I had to be completely objective, I would say that it went fairly well. Presenting to one's peers is can be rather frightening. The rest of the day was enjoyable, and it was soon time for the conference to end!

Once the conference ended, I moved to another hotel that was a little bit cheaper with the other ALTs from my city. To my surprise, the new hotel was nicer than the one we vacated. That night, I went out with one of my JTEs and some other teachers and an ALT from the area. We went to this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served completely awesome food! The first

thing we got was a dish that kind of looked like pickled brains - which concerned me. It was good, as was everything that came after it! There was a big ol' crab, edamame, sashimi, salad, uni (sea urchin), and maybe some other stuff, too. :)

The next day, I basically moved into Starbucks to cram for my exam the following day. It was so nice to sit in a coffee shop, consume copious amounts of caffeine and sugar, and study. Partway through the day, another sucker, er, fellow test taker, joined me for a study session. She's a fellow JET (well, she's actually a girl...hahaha...never mind).

Sunday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and checked out of the hotel. Pre-test breakfasts always remind me of the breakfasts Mom used to fix for me before I took an ACT. This breakfast was decidedly weirder than any she made for me.

The hotel buffet had a "Western" section, which includes salad, corn (!), and french fries. Oh, well. Why not? I decided to have a fusion breakfast. I had salad, french fries, miso soup, ham, fish, and coffee. It was a little bizarre. Anyway, at that point it was time to wend my way to the test. I did a dry run the night before (this is a good thing to do when you have directional difficulties).

Unfortunately, I arrived at the test center too early, and found myself shepherded into a test room. I was over an hour early, and did not really want to just hang with the proctors, so I staged an escape. My plan failed. I was basically shepherded to the bathroom, where I hid out for a while, then I wound up back in the test room. Maybe I looked lost? I can just see their thoughts..."Oh, one of the Level 4's got out again. We better put them back before they go and get lost. Sigh. Level 4's." Seriously, though, there were points, where test staff would come into the room, deliver a long speech in Japanese, and look at us expectantly. I was like, um, "Konnichiwa?"

The test itself was pretty doggone difficult! Woah! Double woah! Auggh! That pretty much sums it up! I totally have empathy now for all those people who are not good at standardized tests. On the first section, I almost ran out of time. I just had to randomly bubble in the answers to the last ten questions. There will be more to come on this subject later!

Post-test, I was able to do some shopping and see a Sapporo friend before catching the last train back home. I arrived home around 11. when I went to charge my cell phone, which had died on the train, I discovered that I had left my bag containing my cell phone charger on the train. Waah! I determinedly set off on foot for the train station before realizing what a dumb idea that was. So, I went home again.

Anyway, that was pretty much it about my journey to the big city. I'm sure it's much more than you wanted to know, but NaNoWriMo is apparently still infecting my fingers..."Oooh, a computer keyboard! Ready! Type every thought that comes into your head! Go!"

So, if you have made it this far, I am amazed! If I had prizes, I would give you one. Ooh, I do still have some Genghis Khan caramels...!!!

Some days just don't go the way you plan...

Wow! I am happy to have survived today!

It started out innocently enough. I woke up to a nice, warm house thanks to my timed heater. Unfortunately, it took me much longer to get ready than I thought it was going to take. My bus was scheduled to leave at 6:24, and I did not leave the house until 6:28. It was still ok, though. My destination was the train station, because today I was visiting a new school in a town about 40 minutes away by train. So, since the next bus was not scheduled for another 1o minutes, I decided to walk. In cold weather, walking is often better than standing still.

When I reached the next stop, there was still quite a bit of time before the next bus was scheduled to come. So, I decided to walk on. Once I was well past the bus stop, I heard a familiar vroom behind me. Yes, you guessed it, I turned around and there was the bus! And I was nowhere near a bus stop! I briefly considered throwing myself at its mercy, but decided there was a strong possibility of getting run over instead. So, I waved goodbye to the bus as it drove away with its warm goodness.

After my long trudge, I arrived at the train station. For some reason, I had more difficulty than usual buying my ticket. I think it was because someone was standing behind me in line, and I felt like I was holding her up. This caused me to forget how to communicate!

Finally, I had my ticket! I walked around the station waiting for the train, and happened to pass a mirror. I discovered that something had gone very wrong with my hair! It looked decidedly weird. Unfortunately, I had my arms full of purse, teaching bag, and suit jacket, and so I could not do too much at that point. So, I went to get something to drink. As I was looking for change, I dropped my lovely suit jacket on the yucky floor of the station!

Once I got on the train, I dropped my unopened can of coffee on the floor of the train! Then, my cell phone disappeared from my pocket. When I moved my coat, I heard a clunk as it, too, hit the floor.

By this point, I was not feeling too happy or optimistic about the day.

Thankfully, the train ride was fairly uneventful. I had about 80 papers to make comments on, so I worked on that the whole ride. I hope the poor students will be able to read my handwriting!

Finally, I made it safely to school! School was actually one of the best parts of my day! All my classes were great, and the students were very eager and engaged. It was a great day! I was able to eat lunch with some students who seem to enjoy English, too. The teachers were really wonderful, too!

Then, it was back out into the big, bad world. I took a local train back home...the local train is kind of like a bus on railroad tracks. It was just one car. Once home, it arrived on the other side of the tracks from where the station was located. In order to get to the station, You enter a covered walkway, climb a flight of stairs, cross over the tracks, and go back down a flight of stairs. I had made it up and across, and was heading down, when I decided to try skiing on my knees. Yes, I slipped on a step, landed on my knees, and skidded down several steps. It really hurt both my knees and my pride. I had to answer many questions of "Daijoubu?" - basically, "Are you ok?" I think I forgot and answered in English, though. Oh, it hurt though! I skinned my knees in three places, and bruised the front of my ankle.

The day was not yet done, however. I was going to meet some teachers for dinner and walked out of my house to go meet them. Everything looked wet. Sadly, it was not just wet...it was that sneaky ice pretending to just be rain. I slipped a little bit as I was walking, but then thought I had things under control. I was that surprised then, when I hit a surprise icy patch and was down before you could say, "Boo." I'm not sure why you would want to say "Boo," but if you ever did, that how fast I hit the ground. I don't think I hurt anything that time...it is getting hard to tell where one injury ends and another begins!

But then, the day ended with a very nice dinner with three teachers, so all was well and good! We ate many delicious foods and had a good time talking!

By the way, I would like to note that I made it through November without any accidents. The random wild wind does not count as an accident, as there were no injuries involved! Perhaps it was the NaNoWriMo project...it is hard to get hurt when most of your spare time is spent working on a project at home.

Look to your left...

...and that is all I have for today! Oh, and this bit of goodness