I hear the plows out...

In the process of going to bed.
I got my hair cut, and let me tell you, Japan is superior. They give you a head and neck massage and are sooo gentle when washing your hair. Maybe my hair stylist back home is just really rough, but I looooved it here. Anyway, it's short. Not as boy short as I hope for one day (when I suppose I have children... or a man) but it'll do! I had fun and it was cheap and people stared like you wouldn't believe... and I am not pretty under those fluorescent lights!

Uggh, I used to be thin. I need an intervention.
What else is new... oh let's see.... I have no running water. At first tonight when I came home the toilet was flushing (let's praise God now that it had 2 flushes left in it when it did!) but no water was coming out of any faucets. Still, 8 hours later and no change. I was thinking it was frozen pipes but I would have thought they would have thawed by now... so I called the real estate lady but had to leave a message and I just pray PRAY that she calls tomorrow and we can have whatever it is solved tomorrow. Seriously, I went to Jonathan's tonight to pee, shower and brush my teeth. In that order.

And in final news, we had 2 earthquakes literally 12 hours apart today. I didn't notice the first one (was brushing my teeth and putting on my make-up... 'cause the water was working this morning!) but my phone had alerted me and then we had one a few hours ago and it was fun - but it literally feels like the plows are going by so I think I'm immune to earthquakes now. Ah well

Can you find me?

More snow pics! Short entry, these are just for my dad...
Can you see me?

Bridge lit up at night!

Mountain pictures!! They're covered in snow -- so it looks like it's clouds but IT'S NOT!

Very pretty :)

Snow shots

My parents have really been giving me grief over not going up to the roof to take pictures of the snow.
And so, this morning, I did just that. Except the door is jammed due to the snow and I can't get out. So I literally had the door opened a CRACK, couldn't even stick my hand out and took these pictures:

And the other night I took some photos on my way to the convenience store to buy bread and water:

THIS IS A HOUSE. WHICH IS LITERALLY SNOWED IN. 

Amazing!!

In the snow

Less than 12 hours till the football game and I really can't sleep. Too excited - EVEN WHEN WE LOSE. Really people, I'm just happy we made it far -- farther than the bungles... had to go there!
Monday, me and Jonathan may go to Tokyo because there's some special sale on the shinkansen. I want to go to Akihabara, eat American food and see the Tokyo Tower. Not sure we will, but it's a possibility.
And that's all I got! Except these photos, I'm in the first one and Jonathan's in the last 2. Just shows you a bit of our walk on the way home from work and the trenches we face every day. Today was brutal. Again, you really can't get the feel of all of the snow in these pictures so I will try to take some more!!

COLD

So much news.
First, I was officially given a piece of paper for me to select to stay another year (or longer) or end my contract on March 31. I didn't sign it. My dad always told me to give anything some time before you put a pen to paper. So, I'm gonna talk to my parents tonight and make sure they're cool with me coming back... and if they're not, I'm gonna steal Lexi anyway!
Secondly, if I choose to end my contract, I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO SENDAI THIS WEEKEND. AMAZING NEWS!!!!! What makes it even better is that the Broncos play Sunday morning here, and if I went to Sendai, I'd miss the game. I HAVE to see it. I don't care if Tebow loses. I prayed for him last week to do his best and he did. I just want him to do his best again. Even when we lose! Yep, I prayed for him because our team needs someone like this.
Let's see what else, we've had heavy snow today and I think it will get worse tonight. There's construction crew outside my apartment which means those stupid plows will be out and I'll get no sleep. Great.
Train on the way home. This is how snowy it's getting.

Side of the train station in the suburbs

Thirsty? TOO BAD.

The view of the station to go back to the city. IT'S SO COLD -- LIKE 15 DEGREES.

Is it the same in the US?

Tonight one of my students had some big time questions for me at the business class. He's going to the US in four days and his questions were so hilarious that my mom may cry because they're like, what a child would ask.
My favorite was when he told me about how you cannot take all of your bags with you on the plane, and in Japan you have someone else put them on and then you go to pick them up after you land.
Do they do that in the US too?
Nope, you take it all with you.
His eyes got really wide and then I felt kind of guilty.

The other questions were normal, like what kind of foods should he try. (He doesn't know what a burrito or taco is, which is a crime against humanity) He was very confused when we covered tipping and I told him you always tip the waiter but he thought you tipped them as soon as you sat down. He also thought you literally tipped EVERYONE.
Something else - that not just he, but everyone worries about: Is it safe to walk at night?
I told him unless he was near the LA airport at night, he would be fine. And he'd be especially fine in Cleveland. People here TRULY believe that every single person has a gun in the US and that we're wielding them at all hours. THAT is sad, like beyond sad that this is the reputation America puts out.
Then he was asking me security questions and he could not believe that you have to take your shoes off. He was panicked about the security questions.
He kept saying he was scared that he wouldn't understand when the others spoke so I gave him an example of real time English speaking and he got that deer in the headlight look and I told him when that happens you need to say 'I'm sorry, could you slow down?' Gave him the example of my mom and EVERY CLASS.
And then I told him if he had any problems there to e-mail me. Hopefully in 2 weeks I'll find out it he succeeded!

Next blog entry: Snow pictures in the country. But no people. Sorry.

BRONCOS IN JAPANESE!

Today was spent cooking and trying to calm down after a ridiculous morning where the Denver Broncos WON a playoff game!! I screamed, screamed like a nut. But thankfully it was 10 am by that time here, so it was a considerate change from my usual 3 am madness. Anyway, I made crockpot chicken -- but I didn't actually eat any of it. I finished my taco's so I could still eat in an hour or so before bed but probably not. Not a problem because that means there's plenty of leftovers!!
Japan re-showed the game this evening around dinner time so I recorded it. The best was that I could switch between the original English announcers to the Japanese ones. Let me tell you something, Japanese sports announcers are like, psycho. You think of the American ones, and they're always calm -- occasionally their voices raise up but they never actually scream.
It's tough to hear because the field sounds are actually louder than they are in America. But they're going crazy.

So silly!

Haven't gotten a decent nights sleep in weeks!

It's been back to work this week and I'm already wanting another break!
Tonight though, I went to this department store called Sakurano because under the store is a food market. It's actually a grocery store!! Bought some much needed ground beef and chicken (I'm going to make crock pot chicken tomorrow) and some bread (English Toast with chocolate!) and lots of Dannon yogurt, some juice boxes, bananas, cheese and cream cheese - 'cause I'm going to try my hardest to make Skyline dip for the Super Bowl. Is there a recipe with a toaster oven? Or on the stove? Or MICROWAVE?? Anyone know, please share with me!!
Next weekend is my orientation for work. I'm trying not to worry, since I don't even care -- I'm leaving in 2 and a half months, but I know I'll be nervous to teach my lesson. I actually want to see the tsunami damage in Sendai, which I hope doesn't sound morbid. I don't think there's any debris in the city anymore, but I'm sure there are open areas near the ocean. Just curious, so I'm hoping that night after work I can walk around or take a cab to the ocean.... or maybe I can visit it before leaving on Monday.
Gotta start planning my final vacation days because I can't use them in my last month. Booo. I'd like to go see a soccer game so maybe I can find a way. That would be the best, EVER. It's my favorite thing about Japan!!
And now, sometimes I share with my students fun things about America, and because they don't understand I draw them.... guess what I'm teaching them

New Years in Japan

Alright so New Year's Eve in Japan is definitely not like back home.
First, there is like, NO ONE OUT. I walked to Jonathan's at like, 9 pm and there wasn't a soul out on the streets. Usually I'll pass a handful of people. So we had a nice dinner, spaghetti and cheesy bread and we played a game on our iphones until 11:30 when I told him I wanted to go to a shrine. SO WE WENT!
Very crowded! First we waited in a mob of people until the stroke of midnight, where people began moving forward, throwing a coin in the offering, ringing a giant bell and praying. I was SO NERVOUS. But I think I did okay. I gave 100 yen and a quarter! A little souvenir from the foreigner (and a thank you to the people who tolerated us!)

From my eye, this is how high the snow was at the shrine. So the snow is a liiittle bit shorter than me. That's a Japanese maple tree tied to a pole. And the giant rope display behind it? Also for trees. Pretty cool. 

There were 4 other small places to throw up a prayer. Apparently my one for the health and safety for the people of Japan wasn't good enough since Tokyo had a magnitude 7 quake today in the middle of the soccer game!

Leaving, but wanted to get another shot of the front. This was at 12:30 - that's a lot of people.

It was different and people were nice. They're always so nice to me, Jonathan HATES it. They basically don't even look at him - like, look right through him. But they'll come right up to me and try to talk or smile. Anyway, I had a group of JHS boys tell me it was cold out, and one said 'Happy New Year' which was really sweet. Then I had 2 dads of small toddlers bring their kids over and make their kids say 'bye bye' and high five me, then fist pump, then wave. THAT was cuuuute. Very friendly kids!!

I had some pocket change so I bought a 'communion' (that's what I'm calling it) where you get a small bit of rice in your hand and a saucer of sake to take at the shrine. Then I bought a fortune and I can't read a darn thing, so I took pictures and hopefully one of my Japanese friends can tell me what's in store. And finally, I bought a small souvenir - it's a small green pouch with Japanese writing and inside is a small rigid bookmark type of thing. I dunno, but I had a LOT of fun.

We were going to go to Tokyo tomorrow but that's not going to happen. Japan closes ALL ATM's for like, 4 days. I have no way to get money out, so I can't buy a train ticket or ANYTHING there. That's seriously disappointing. Plus, now I'm ultra poor and I can forget about the Lucky Bags in Japan this year :(

Happy new yeaaar

Just wanted to say a happy new year to everyone back home, since it's still 2011 and you guys are way out of the loop. Nothing new to report! But tonight I went to a shrine and it was great. I took some pictures and I promise to post those tomorrow. : )