World Travelers

With an increasingly active one year-old, time to blog has a way of slipping away from you. When you offer to organize your church's US home-stay/ English language program, any and all time to blog goes flying out the window. All that to say, I've been a bit busy over the last months to get much of any writing done. Sorry.

I've been so focused on this program because I am genuinely excited to be assisting in it's creation. Our church, Sapporo EV Free, has done short term US trips in the past, but this will be the first, to my limited knowledge, that will be home-stay and language based. Tourism will definitely play it's part. But if I've learned anything from teaching, it's the power of integration. I want our students to get first hand language experiences in America and to have a great time while doing it. The home-stay component as well excites me. I'm so excited to hear stories of new relationships that develop!

The trip is coming up faster than I realize. The group, lead by my dear hubs and the Pastor's wife, Y, will leave Japan on the 29th and stay until August 5th. While they're in California they'll be staying with members of Soma Christian Church and taking daily trips to see not only touristy places like Yosemite or the beach, but also daily life things like the grocery store and mall.

I'm almost done with the daily lesson plans, but I have a few questions for you before I press "print."

If you were traveling to a foreign country, what would you like to see? What questions would you like to ask? 

If you have traveled to a foreign country, or hosted an international student, what are some tips you'd like to share with our Japanese English-students? Any blunders?

Leave a comment below.

You Were Born to Be Loved

We were blessed to get connected with a women's clinic run by a Christian doctor and his Midwife wife for my pregnancy and Jillian's birth. From the start, and even now, over a year since Jill's birth, the way they care for women, both physically and spiritually has really impressed me.

 I've written a little about it before. I mentioned it here, but I never got around to writing all that I wanted about it. This week, though, I was reminded of the wonderful ministry the head doctor and his wife have cultivated over the years when I attended the final play group for the babies born in April and May of 2012.

The group flowed as usual: time for songs, a lesson on child development, time for tea, time to chat with the other moms. This time, however, when it began time to wrap up, the 2 teachers were joined by the head doctor and his wife to sing to our children. They sang a song that is very familiar to me; one I love to sing and hear. It goes "Kimi wa aisareru tame umareta..." "You were born to be loved." As they sang, Jillian, a lover of all things musical, crawled up front and danced. The scene was so precious to me: the doctor who delivered my baby, the midwife who cared for me while I was panic stricken that I would break this new life, were singing to my baby. I couldn't hold back the tears forming in my eyes as I snapped a few pictures to hold the memory always.

This same doctor sat with the women who were in recovery the week I was, a few of whom where at the play group, and read us Psalm 139. He told us that it was God who put our children in our lives; that He knit them together in our wombs. Then presented us each with a Bible bearing our name and baby's birthdate carefully written inside the cover.

I don't know how many lives this man and his wife have touched. Countless, I'm sure. I pray God encourages him and the women he cares for; that they would know, "They were born to be loved"; that they were "knit together in their mother's womb."

Silly-Jilly: Lost in Translation

Anyone who has ever typed something into Google Translate can tell you, the word you want to use doesn't always convey the meaning you hope it does. Some rare words translate perfectly; conveying the precise meaning from first language to second. Others... well, not so much. "Silly" is one such word.

Sunday at church as a friend, Y, and I bowed to pray Jillian took the opportunity to pet Y's hair and stick her, Jillian's, foot into Y's praying hands. When we said our "Amen"s I told my friend. "Jillian is such a silly girl" in English and gave Jilly a kiss on the head. I asked Y, who speaks fluent English, if there is a  word that translated well for silly. The closest I've been able to think of don't really convey the right shade of meaning. "Tannoshii" is more like fun or enjoyable. "Omoshiroii" is like interesting or enjoyable. "Kawaii" is cute. But silly is more like a combo of the three with a little bit of "Henna" (weird) thrown in.
The word she gave me I didn't even commit to memory because when I asked her if it was a good or bad image, she said bad. Her word translated to something like foolish.

I was mortified. This woman, and how many other English-speaking Japanese people, think I've been calling my daughter foolish! I quickly explained that silly has a positive image. Perhaps in the past it was negative, but now it's "Wee Sing in Sillyville"; it's "Silly Songs with Larry"; it's our own Silly-Jilly. Definitely not negative.

Someone needs to warn Larry that he might not translate well into Japanese.
Image credit 

The whole encounter got me thinking about how many other words, or actions I've been using that are COMPLETELY misinterpreted. Probably a lot. I recently found out that when Jillian waved "hello" to people, even in response to "Konnichiwa" people think she's waving "bye-bye". Poor baby has been inviting people to come play and they've been thinking she wants them to leave. We should probably practice bowing rather than waving, but I hesitate because the waving is so darn cute!

I know I'm bound to make, or discover, more mistakes in my word choice. I just hope none of them give the impression I'm speaking ill of my daughter, or other people for that matter.

Unexpected Blessings

This past weekend was the annual A2 Spring Retreat. Each year our time as a mission family is much anticipated. There is nothing like joining with friends I only see once or twice a year for fellowship and renewal. This year, especially, I felt God's tender care for me and my family as we gathered with our mission.



From the get-go our plans got thrown out the window. Stephen came down with a major virus that had spread quickly into his lung the day before the retreat. Jillian and I went on ahead and prayed Stephen would recover fully by the weekend, so he could join the retreat. Traveling on my own with a squirmy one-year-old went better than I could have expected, even if Stephen had been with me. Once at the retreat, everyone was so helpful with Jillian I didn't feel like I had to miss out on everything because I didn't have my partner in crime to pass her off to from time to time.

A picnic lunch with some of our mission family before Stephen arrived.

By Friday, Stephen had been given the ok to travel and make his way to the retreat site. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see him! Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

While I was waiting for Stephen to arrive, though, Jillian decided it was her turn to be sick. Poor little baby spiked a fever and wanted nothing more than to sleep. By God's grace our friends had some baby fever medicine for us to use. Go figure, the time I decided to pack light, something major would happen.  Because I was still solo at this point, the child care team took great care of me by helping watch Jillian in a separate corner of the kids' room. Because she was such a cuddly lump while sick, it worked well.
Thank you King's Harbor Church for your excellent service! You saved my behind!
(I should also add that I received a couple other unexpected blessings from the team from King's Harbor: a hair cut and neck massage. If anyone wants to bless a missionary-wife here are three simple ways: make them feel beautiful, let them relax, and love their kids!)

By the time Stephen arrived, Jillian was on her third day of fever and had begun throwing up. With the help of two other moms I took Jillian to the urgent care at the hospital near by. Thank you so much Yuko and Rhonda for translating, driving, and just being with me. Without them and the prayers from the A2 family back at the retreat site, the doctor would have just given Jillian an not yet needed IV and sent us on our way. He changed his mind suddenly and gave us some fever reducer and decongestant to help her ride out the virus.
By the next day Jill was feeling much better.

The retreat itself was fantastic. I was blessed by the message on prayer and the team from Evergreen Church who prayed with us over the course of the retreat. I walked away from the retreat feeling refreshed and so loved. It's tough some times to be a little speck of light in a dark land. Times like spring retreat are so necessary for my spirit.
I feel like this particular retreat could have gone a lot differently with all the challenges that were thrown at us, but even in the midst of chaos, God's tender care showed through.

Bringing Laughter to the Tutoring Center

Some time last year it hit me that living in Japan as a limited language foreigner is a lot like being a small child. I can't read. I can't write. I don't have a high vocabulary. I may even be worse off than a small child; even they know the cultural expectations and processes like lining up their shoes, something I ALWAYS forget to do.

I guess it's fitting that I just started attending an after school tutoring program geared towards young Japanese children to improve my Japanese.

Kumon is pretty much standard around here. I'm willing to bet there are more Kumons in Japan than there are Starbucks in California.

Like I said, it's an after-school tutoring program. Kids go there to practice reading, writing, math, and English. Often, foreigners, like me, will go to learn kokugo (the country's language) Japanese, rather than Japanese geared towards foreigners. The benefit is you can learn Japanese how Japanese do. You have the vocab; the idioms and sayings; the common children's stories; and other things that make language what it is.

My first day was last Thursday. What a humbling experience, let me tell you! There is nothing like reading a kindergarten reading passage out loud while a room full of 7 and 8 year olds watch you in amusement as you, a grown adult, stumble through.

People, so you understand, although I've never been the best student, I'm grade-level at the very least. Being semi-illiterate is a bit of a blow to my self-esteem. Having that fact highlighted by 1st and 2nd graders turns the whole thing into a comedy show. I'm choosing to be glad I can bring laughter to the otherwise quiet classroom. ;)

Then, I had to fill in some worksheets to have the teacher grade. When she took her red pen to my work and started circling EVERYTHING I nearly died.

Until I remembered circles mean correct. It's "X"s that mean wrong. Blargh, even how they grade is different!

Turns out I did well on my first worksheet, and only had one error in my handwriting (Yes, handwriting is graded, too).


I go back today with a stack of homework for them to grade. This time, I'm hoping for lots of red pen circles!

Providence and the Play Group

As I look back over the events of the past day and months, I can't help be amazed at God's hand of providence.

Jill woke up earlier than usual from her first nap. After she ate, I tried to Skype my mom. Since she was in a meeting, I thought we should take a walk since the weather is finally turning nice again. I usually only take a purse with a diaper, travel wipes, and a burp cloth rather than my whole diaper bag when I take a walk to the park. Today, I decided to bring the whole bag, even though I only planned on being gone 10-15 minutes. My plan was to go to the park across the street and let her feel the grass, but when we got there I realized the ground was too wet from yesterday's rain. I changed tack and headed to the park a little further down the road where there is more sunshine to dry the ground.

As we neared the 2nd park a women and her 8 month old daughter rushed to catch up to us. 

I met this mom 2 months ago at the park near my house. I was there on a whim and she and her daughter sat with us to chat for a few minutes. 

She recognized me as I was walking. She even remembered my daughter's name and was excited to see Chiyo-chan (Jillian). After chatting our way down the road, past the park, I discovered she wanted to invite me to the neighborhood play group she was walking to. 

I knew this play group existed, I just didn't know where it was, or when it met. I learned the Japanese name for it on Wednesday and was actually looking it up online when Jill woke from her nap this morning. 

As we were walking, the mom told me about how she moved here last year and really wanted to make friends. This was going to be her first day at the kids' club and she was embarrassed to go alone. She was happy she saw me and that I wanted to come too. 

At the kids' club there were dozens of other moms with there kids. Babies and toddlers filled the rooms.  It was wonderful watching Jilli interact with the other babies. I sometimes worry she doesn't get enough time with other little ones since she's the only person under 13 years old at our church. Jill was gentle and sweet as she touched there other babies' faces and hands. She even showed off her giggles and rolling. 

Offering your hand to be chewed on is the international sign of friendship among babies

Before we left to get home for her nap, another mom came up to me to ask if I lived in the building named "LaForce."  I do, and it turns out, so does she. She and her 1 year old son live two floors down and have the parking space next to ours. Go figure. 

The play group meets ever Friday, a 4 minute walk from my apartment. I am so excited to go back again. I feel like a genuine connection is being made, and to think, if Jill had slept for her whole nap, or my mom was free to Skype, or the grass was dry enough to sit on, I never would have gone. 

Only in Japan: Poop Card and Other Government Paperwork

Anyone who has lived or worked in Japan will tell you that this is a country that loves their paperwork. It's the downside of their famed efficiency and attention to detail. In order to get anything done, there are myriad forms that first must be filled out, approved, and filed with the appropriate office. If it weren't for our A2 office staff, supervisor, church friends, Japanese teacher...... we'd be lost. It's is easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed.

Now that Jillian is in our lives, it seems that amount of paperwork has increased exponentially. But, in the jumble of paperwork I've submitted since Jilli's birth, the most bizarre has to be the poop card.



What is "the poop card?!" you must surely be asking yourself.

THIS is a poop card

Months and months ago, when I registered my pregnancy to get my pregnancy mark, I received a stack of paperwork to be submitted after birth. It was all pretty standard: birth announcement, application for birth certificate, stuff like that. There was was one form though that was to be submitted for her 1 month check-up. It had a list of different kinds/colors of baby poop with corresponding numbers. I was instructed to categorize my daughter's doo-doo and share the information with the government health center.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. This is the country that brought us the literary classic Everyone Poops (Minna Unchi by Taro Gomi), and candy like the baby gave Stephen for Valentine's Day.

The (unintentionally) funniest book I've ever read of poop.
Photo credit Wikipedia

I assume the government wanted me to submit the poop card for Jilli's health check-up. Either that, or they were trying to give a little comic relief to my bureaucracy woes.

Jillian Chiyo

Jillian Chiyo

ジリアン　千代

Just 1 hour old

You may have already heard, our daughter has made her entrance into the world. After lots of labor and lots of prayers, Jillian Chiyo was born on Thursday, April 19th in Sapporo, Japan. And true to her nick-name, she was a little peanut baby weighing in at 6lbs 3oz.

You may have also heard that we were waiting to share her name when she was born. Our friends and families waited (not always so patiently) to hear her name announced at her birth and it was Stephen's joy to call all our family members back in America and announce that she was finally here!

1 day old

Both of her names have meaning to us and were chosen to reflect the faithfulness of God in her life. 

Jillian: In the Chronicles of Narnia, Jill Pole is a girl who was strong and courageous. Hers is a story marked by faithfulness. In the book, The Silver Chair, Aslan gives her instructions and tells her to "remember, remember, remember the signs" that will help her on her mission. As we all do, Jill gets distracted, becomes forgetful, and acts selfishly through out the story. But even though she doesn't always remember, Aslan remebers her and faithfully guides her and her companions on their quest. 

Chiyo: It was important to us to give Jillian a Japanese middle name to help her be more connected to this country where she was born. Chiyo (千代 ) means 1,000 generations. The same kanji can be found in Deuteronomy 7:9 

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

それゆえあなたは知らなければならない。あなたの神、主は神にましまし、真実の神にましまして、彼を愛し、その命令を守る者には、契約を守り、恵みを施して千代に及び、

Through out my pregnancy with her, God has been showing Himself faithful to us and to her. He provided a clinic, maternity clothes, informational resources, friends, ministry opportunities, and so much more. We felt that God's faithfulness has and will continue to mark this little girl's life. 

5 days old

Japanniversary week: Words I never thought I'd know (and use)

We're a day away from our 1st Japanniversay. If you haven't submitted your guesses for the contest, it's not too late. Click here for details. Also, you can still possibly win a prize if your comment on any post in the past 6 days is chosen at random, so get to commenting!

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Learning language has been one of the biggest challenges about living in Japan. This is a challenge we anticipated of course. And over the past year, I can confidently say we've made great progress in our abilities to listen, speak, read and write.

Through out the year, we've learned many words through daily conversation, eaves-dropping, tv and fliers. Sometimes I learn a word that I think is soooo random, yet I find my self using it frequently.

I've made a list of some of our favorite random words in Japanese. I hope you get a kick out of them, like we have. If you're feeling adventurous, try them out for yourself.

かんそう　kanso:

Dry air, as in "every problem you are experiencing from your runny nose to you dry skin is caused by kanso."

ふうふ　fu-fu:

married couple. When we arrived I was curious about this word since people referred to us as Borba-fufu.

あみもの　amimono:

knitting/crocheting. Not to be confused with aMAImono (あまいもの) which means sweets.

Sample sentence-

私は編み物をしながら、甘いものをたべます。

"Watashi wa amimono o shinagara, amaimono o tabemasu."

While I knit, I eat sweets."

にんしん　ninshin:

Pregnancy. I actually had to search this one out, but since learning it I've used it on a daily basis!

Sample sentence-

妊娠しています。

"Ninshin shite imasu."

I'm pregnant (I am doing pregnancy).

Be careful not to say,

妊娠です。(ninshin desu) which means "I am pregnancy", or you'll get a lot of confused faces when you announce your big news. (Yes, I know this first hand.)

あぶない　abunai:

Dangerous. I'm not sure why we love this word. probably because it can be used on it's own as a warning. It has become a daily expression in our home. We enjoy pointing our the dangerous things all around us like snow, ice, scissors on the couch, blowdryer near the sink.... you get the idea. :)

Sample sentences-

危ない！

"Abunai!"

Danger!

or

危ないですようね！

"Abunai desu yo ne!"

It's dangerous, huh?!

ストーブ　sto-bu:

heater. I was surprised to learn sto-bu didn't mean stove, it means heater. I thought for sure ヒータ(hee-ta) would mean heater, but no. So don't tell people you cooked your dinner on the sto-bu. Okay?

ベイビーベド　beibeee-bedo:

crib. While teaching an English lesson, I learned this word. my students we're confused about the meaning of "crib" so I drew a picture.

"Oh.... "beibeee bedo"!"

::facepalm::

I figured it would be a katakana English word (an english word pronounced like Japanese) but I assumed it would be　クリブ (ku-ri-bu). But, I guess beibee-bedo works too, right?

Do you have a favorite word or phrase in Japanese?

The Art of Embarrassment

We were asked to be actors in the church play this Christmas. We weren't quite tricked, like last time, but we definitely didn't know exactly what we were agreeing to either.

Our church performed a shortened version of "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. We didn't know this until half-way though the first read-through. I naturally thought the Christmas play would be more nativity related. I was quite confused when there was no pregnant lady traveling with her fiance, & when the main character battled a monster named Apolyon. Stephen, who's read the book, on the other hand, guessed right away what the play was.

I was asked to be the wife/mother. I assume because ever expanding belly makes me look matronly. Stephen was my son.

The feat of learning lines in Japanese and knowing when to say them gave me a bit of a panic attack. Thankfully, our parts were small. And we didn't have to memorize our lines.

When my English students found out I was going to be in a play in Japanese, they asked about coming to church to watch. So, Christmas morning, two of my English students came to our church Christmas party to watch Stephen and I looking foolish reading lines in Japanese with bad American accents.

Everyone in the play was very gracious about our performance. Which was good, because when ever I said a line, the whole audience laughed. ( I don't think that is how the author intended it)

It was a light hearted production, and no-one took themselves too seriously. Well other than this guy...

It was a great experience. It forced us to learn some sentences we otherwise wouldn't know, and the promise of seeing their English teacher be embarrassed got two of my students to come to church.

5 words/phrases for winter

It's cold!

It feels like this phrase has been on repeat around our house for the past few week. (I have a feeling, it's not going to stop anytime soon. )

We've officially arrived in winter. The snow is sticking, the nights are below freezing (as are most of the days), and I've been wearing more layers than an onion!

I asked a few of my English classes to share 5 common Japanese words & phrases for winter in Hokkaido. Even if you don't live in the tundra, I hope you try them out!

1) 　しばれる　(Shi-ba-re-ru) : "colder than cold!"

If your freezing your behind off, try saying this phrase.

2)　つらら　 (tsu-ra-ra) : "Icicle."

(I've been pointing out all the tsurara I see on houses and dripping from the hoods of cars since learning this word)

3)　さむいいですね！　(sA-mu-i dess neh!) : "It's cold, Isn't it!" (or, "It sure is cold!")

This is equally as popular in the winter as "Atsui dess neh!" is in the summer ("it's hot, isn't it!")

4) 　そうですようね！(so dess yo neh!) : "Yeah it is!"

This is used to agree with the previous sentence.

5)　ゆきがふりましたね！　(yu-ki ga fu-ri-ma-shta- neh!) : Literally "Snow fell, right!?" My student told me it's like pointing out the obvious. If a lot of snow fell, you would say this. (like the English equivalent of "It's really coming down out there")

Practical language

Language is awesome. The more I learn the more amazed I am at its beauty. Like euphemisms and expressions. I love how there are so many ways to convey the same thing.

Here's a list of my most recent, favorite expressions is English and Japanese:

I'm Eating for two.

I have a bun in the oven.

I'm in the family way.

I'm with child.

I'm craving pickles and ice cream.

We're expecting.

I'm preggers.

I'm knocked up.

My eggo is preggo.

I'm on stork watch.

I'm gestating.

I'm preggtastic.

妊娠しています(Ninshin shite imasu)

おおめでた(Omedeta)

できちゃった(Dekichatta)

Yep, it's true. There's a baby on the way!

Language Tests and Pretests

A few months ago, Stephen and I decided to challenge our language learning by taking the Basic level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) this coming December. Shortly after that, I jumped into the tangled maze that is the JLPT application process. Little did I know when I began that this particular test has several hurdles to jump, I can only assume, to weed out non-proficient people.

Let me fill you in on the madness.

Pretest 1: purchase the applications.

In the States when I applied for the many tests I had to take to get through college and credentialling (CBEST, 3 CSETs, & 2 CLEPs) it was always as easy as going online clicking a few buttons and voila! you are ready to test. For this test, I had to purchase the applications from "a book store in (my) area." That's really all the official website said.

I failed my first attempt at finding the test and ended up walking out of the store in shame.

After talking with a friend who took the test last year, I found the right bookstore, the right floor, and the right counter to find the application.

Pretest 1: PASS

Pretest 2: fill out the applications.

"No big deal," you are most likely thinking right now. NO! it WAS a big deal. Each application came with (I kid you not) a 53 page(!) instruction booklet. After my initial shock, I learned to love the instruction booklet, and I am sure it is the only reason I knew to do the next 3 steps.

Pretest 2: PASS

Pretest 3: take a passport style photo to include with your application.

WHAT?! Never in the history of education or test taking have I needed to included a photo in with my application. And of course it had to be a certain size and dimension. fortunately for us, our supervisor, Tim, pointed out the passport photo booth at the mall near our house, when we had just arrived in Japan.

Pretest 3: PASS (even if they weren't the prettiest pictures)

Pretest 4: Pay for application at the post office.

I mentioned in my last post about how Japan deals with the lack of checks. so, rather than including a check with my application we had to head to the post office and pay for each application, then include the receipt(with the id number that corresponded to the id number on the application) in the envelope.

Pretest 4: PASS (thanks to the very kind clerk)

Pretest 5: Mail the application via special certified mail.

I only knew how to ask for this because my now beloved instruction manual told me. And really, after all the other tests, this one was not only easy-breezy, it was my favorite one because it was the LAST!

Pretest 5: PASS

We are now just waiting for our test voucher to come in the mail, when I am sure we will have a whole new set of hurdles to jump. Oh, and studying Japanese, because after all this work, I'd kind of like to pass the REAL test in December.

Adventures in cooking: My first REAL lesson

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about a sample cooking class I took with S-Sensei to stretch my language and my Japanese cooking ability. I had such a great time I decided to sign up for 6 real lessons.

My first class was yesterday. And rather than ease myself into Japanese cooking gradually like a sane person would do, I learned to make udon noodles and various side dishes from scratch! Turns out everything we made was actually pretty easy to do. The most complicated part of the class was receiving instructions in Japanese. I did manage to pick up some new language concepts and words.

for example,

when your cooking instructor wants you to cut the dough in half, she says "han-bun".

when she wants it cut in quarters she says "yon-bun".

one spoon full is "ippai,"

two spoons full in "nihai".

I was very glad I retained my new words from the last class. "Mazete" is the command to stir, "guru-guru" means to turn around and around.

The other girls in the class were fun to chat with too. One of the girls kept asking me what various phrases meant in English. It was fun to share what little I could with them, since I was usually on the other end of the "how do you say this?" table.

The meal? It turned out beautifully! After we finished cooking, the other girls in the class and I sat down to enjoy the works of our hands.

How did it taste?

Can you guess?

Adventures in cooking

I love to cook. so much so that when asked by a colleague what I wanted to do to get into the community more I said join a cooking class, with out even a thought.

Of course, I had no idea how to go about FINDING a cooking class, much less signing up for one.

To my great joy and surprise, while wandering aimlessly through the underground shopping center at the train station, we walked straight into a cooking school, which just happened to be offering sample lessons!

In my best Japanese, I awkwardly asked for information about the class. S-Sensei ran back to the desk and brought me a floor guide to the shopping area.

"Yes, I know I'm in Passeo."

Let's try this again...

"I like to cook. I learn to cook?" (Yes, this is direct translation of my awkwardness, S-sensei deserves a raise for dealing with me!)

I was able to sign up for a class a few weeks later.

The class itself was really fun. After I got over my initial terror of having to learn something new in Japanese, I had a blast. S-Sensei was eager to practice her English with me, so between the two of us trying, we understood each other pretty well.

Here's the cake we made in the sample class.

Hands down, the funniest part of the class was making the whipped cream. As I learned from my mom, when whipped heavy cream first turns into whipped cream, and then into butter/buttermilk. So, when I was using the hand mixer on the whipped cream and saw it reach the proper consistency I asked S-Sensei, if it was okay. She said, "A little more." and walked away.

I watched the whipped cream start to develop chunks and gradually separate into butter and butter milk. But I kept the mixer going, because the teacher said, "a little more." Maybe she wanted me to make butter for the cake filling.

When she came back and saw the butter, she was quite surprised. Apparently she had never seen that happen before! (If you haven't seen it either, I recommend trying it out. Quite a fun cooking science experiment!)

Me, S-Sensei, and my beautiful cake (with second-try whipped cream filling)

I had a great time, and am excited to go again to another sample class that S-Sensei invited me to.

The Trials and Tribulations of Learning Japanese.

Japanese is filled with English words said with a Japanese accent.

teburu (table)

ko-hi (coffee)

bah nah nah (banana)

takushi (taxi)

hanbah-gah- (hamburger)

Oren jee juu suu (orange juice)

And there are so many more. More times than I care to count, I have asked what to call something in Japanese and was told an English word. I've come to the conclusion, that if I can't think of the word in Japanese, I should just say it in English with an accent.

This love of English words does have it's downside though. When I try to order a caramel macchiato at Starbucks, I get blank stares unless I say "kya me ru ma ki ah to. " Even though the menu is written in English over the barista's head.

Or if when talking about our English class, I mention the text book and no one can seem to figure out what I am talking about. But then some light bulb goes off and some one says, "Ohh, the tekisuto." and now, miraculously everyone knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

This past week, Japanese English kicked my butt again.

At church last week, Sunday, the pastor was saying something about Tohoku, and our church going to "BorAntia."

Hmm, Borantia must be the city in Tohoku where they are serving.

But 3 days later, a non-church member was talking to me about BorAntia Japanese classes. And how I should take one. And how a mutual friend went to BorAntia in Tohoku.

Huh, is BorAntia a university, or an organization that does both Japanese classes and tsunami relief? Just nod and smile.

The next day, I was asked by a church member if Stephen and I were going to BorAntia in Tohoku.

It wasn't until Friday that I figured out that people were not saying the name of some city of organization. They were saying "BorAntia" the Japanese way to pronounce "Volunteer".

Our church went to volunteer in Tohoku, and my friend was suggesting volunteer Japanese classes that were held at a community center.

So, this week I have learned that in order to learn Japanese, I must relearn English.

Yet another reason we need to learn more Japanese

A lot of things can happen when you don't know a language. You might be asked up in front of the church to be introduced as the new missionaries, with no foreknowledge (so that's why our name was in the bulletin every week with today's date next to it!). You may spend all afternoon preparing for the Jr high boy who is coming to your English class, and be quite surprised when a 31 year-old woman walks through the doors instead. You might even find your self a member of the Easter Choir, even though you have no prior singing experience.

A few weeks ago, we were hanging out after church, just like every week. When a church member starts rearranging chairs and and states ".....masho," which means let's.... (I didn't catch the rest of the verb, so I had no idea when I was agreeing to.) Just nod and smile and follow their lead.

The church member, M, hands out a song sheet, "Lord I lift your name on High," and has me read the English portion for the group.

I'm more than happy to help out. I figure they are just practicing a song for next week, and want to make sure they are singing the English portion correct. So, I model the words and sing along after we've read through it a couple of times.

Then the weird part came. M started assigning parts. Wow, this seems like a lot of work for an English song in a Japanese church, but whatever. I keep singing and figure that since M is in a choir, he is just having some fun with us. cool.

It wasn't until the next week, when we not only didn't sing the song during service, but then after service, prepared the chairs and handed out the papers, did I realize this wasn't just some song for fun.

We got tricked into singing in the Easter Choir!

Check out Stephen struggling though. He didn't know when we were getting into either.

I must say, after the initial shock, It has been kind of fun. I am still not sure what the Japanese part is saying, or what note I am supposed to be singing. You mean I can't just sing it how I want? I am thankful that Japanese is phonetic. And that there are much better singers on either side of me, who sing much louder that I do.

The "Number 2"

There are basically 3 hair cuts in Japan.

(1)Long, (2) short and (3)REALLY short

1)

2)

3)

After my first trip to the hair salon, I am now the "proud" owner of cut number 2.

Now, I didn't walk into the hair salon with the intention of having 1/2 of my hair chopped off. Nor did I expect to have bangs when I walked out, but here I am.

After been in Japan for about 7 weeks, I decided I needed a hair cut. Nothing fancy, just chopped at my collar bone, with a few layers. I asked my English-speaking neighbor where I could get a cut. She pointed to a sign down the street that read "Ka-to" (cut).

The shop was very close. Less than a 2 minutes walk. Inside, the hair dresser was working on two ladies at once: one getting a perm, and the other just finishing up a hair cut. I was able to have a seat quickly and explain in my broken Japanese, and her Broken English, along with a lot of hand motions, that I wanted my hair cut to here (points to collar bone). "Layers?" She asks me. Horray, I was worried how I would explain that. "yes," I say emphatically, "a few."

As she is piling the hair on my head to begin, the lady who just stood up makes a comment about gaijin (foreigner) hair and comes over to feel mine.

Once she goes, the hair dresser and I start up a long converstation filled with short sentences like "I come from California. Where do you come from?" "I like to cook." "I teach English." Only in Japanese. Mixed with random English from her.

A bit later, she shows me myself in the mirror. My hair had been cut to the right length, but no layers. If she hadn't have suggested it, I would not have asked. "Layers?" I ask.

"Ok" comes the reply. And she proceed to lift up random pieces of hair and start chopping. My hair is getting shorter by the second. I work hard to mask the panic from showing on my face. When she is finished, she hands me the mirror again, and I notice I now have bangs (something I haven't had since I was 9!).

Thanking her, I paid and rushed home.

I am starting to appreciate my new hair cut, but am continuing in my montra of "hair grows."

I think I'll go back to her again, at least once more. But next time with a picture of what I want.

Enjoy the "after" photos.