Dartboard

I've been having some strange dreams recently. I just woke up to one about a mucade. (A poisonous centipede like creature in Japan.) Except in my dream it was a mucade-alligator. This thing was greenish on top, and had yellow legs and belly just like a mucade, but was seriously the shape of an alligator. I was camping somewhere with a friend; she must have been Japanese because she knew all about mucade. When we spotted it we were on a raised platform where the tents and bathrooms were. It's only about a 3 foot jump, but kept bugs and creatures away.

Silly me, I wanted to take a picture of it so I raced to my bag and got it. I think foreigners in Japan are always trying to show how big the bugs are, and I needed proof of this thing! As I came back the mucade-alligator was running into the woods. I zoomed my camera and took lots of pictures, but it kept ducking behind trees so I couldn't get a good one.

I was using the flash and eventually the mucade-alligator got irritated and started running toward me. It jumped the 3-foot barrier and chased me into the bathroom. Of course the stalls in my dream-bathroom had no doors so I was balancing on the toilet as it snapped at me. Everyone heard the mucade sounds (kind of a rattlesnake sound in my dream) so I'm sure someone was running to help me.

I'll never know if I was actually saved because I woke up them.

As I write about this I'm remembering other things from my dream. Before the mucade-alligator I was teaching adult English and taking people on boat rides. We played a really successful game of Shiritori with a long line of students. They were competitive and fierce. It must have been an English camp in the woods, but everyone had really good English. We had to take everyone out on two row boats on a rough ocean. I can't remember anything else, but it was a good dream.

Last night I had a dream about copies. Making copies. How boring is that. I have nothing better to dream about than copies. My mother says I have a boring life.

I've been waking up without an alarm recently. Actually 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning. I guess my body had had enough sleep because I had taken a nap for an hour at school. It's easier to remember to dream your dreams when you've woken up on your own, I think.

Tuesday night I went to Masami's for a party. Her children's eikaiwa wanted to give me a goodbye party, even though I've only been there once, they always like to have native speakers in class. We ate cake and ice cream and played with the baby, Sawa.

While Masami had another one-on-one lesson with a junior high school student, Kazuya (her husband) and I went shopping for dinner groceries. I loved grocery shopping with Sawa on my hip. Getting to play mother for an afternoon is wonderful!!! I even ran into Vicky and Melissa at the store, so I got to show off my baby a little, too!!

Masami invited me to spend the night, as it was getting late and we still had to give Sawa a bath and put her to bed before we could even start to eat. I love spending the night at their house. I get a nice big futon and a wonderful breakfast the next morning--of course, I agreed!!

Sawa drying off after her bath.

Woah, today's pictures are bigger than usual.

Then I got to dress Sawa.

I love how Masami always just shoves Sawa into my arms. Even in the hospital when she was just a few days old, Masami plopped her into my arms and started shooting pictures. I wasn't even sure if I should be allowed responsibility of a newborn baby--and then there she was in my arms.

And every time I've met her since: in the grocery store, at the bank, during the party, and after bath she is in my arms. I get to dress her, feed her and rock her to sleep. Masami even offered to let us sleep together (on the futon on the floor), but I was afraid of rolling over her, so I didn't accept that offer.

Sawa playing happily on the floor.

She's a really great baby, and Masami's approach to raising her is going to help her be an independent and confident child. She doesn't cry with strangers and doesn't need constant attention. She plays with alone with only a few toys. I'm trying to speak a lot of English to her, so she's exposed to the different sounds.

Some of the things that surprised me most were:
1. She has no crib or stroller.
She has a chair with a tray for eating meals, but she sleeps at night on a futon with her parents and takes naps on a pad on the floor. There's a car seat of course, but she is carried every where else. Sawa is a tiny baby and is very easy to carry around, but I suspect even as she gets older she will be walking herself around, not being pushed around.

2. She has no bottle or "sippy cup."
They give her watered-down tea from a regular plastic cup!! She can't hold it herself, but she grasps the handles as they help her drink.

3. She has less toys than I have fingers.
Mostly she plays with an Anpanman box with buttons that make noises and other manipulatives like a telephone and tiny door. She has one soft book with pockets and a rabbit doll to put in the pockets. Then two books from the library. She has a couple other toys, but she likes Anpanman the best.

I hate it when a million toys are scattered all over the floor and most of them are rarely touched. Maybe as she gets older more will accumulate.

4. She can speak English.
Well, if I'm hearing her right, she's already saying things like "Da-da" and "I want to move over to the couch now."

She loves music and glittery things. When the TV is playing music, she waves her arms around. If she sees the silver camera or my rings sparkling, she wants to get closer and touch them. Apparently she likes the buttons on the remote, too. Sawa can't stand yet, but her legs are getting stronger. If I stand her up she can bounce around on her legs. I'm not sure when kids are supposed to start walking, but she's not even one until the end of September!

She's got a tooth on the bottom. It's really cute.

Masami is going to send her to America to live with me when she's older. If there's anyone who would actually do that, it's Masami.

First! Go watch my Yuki signing "Yubiwa" on TV!!!
Yuki's Nodo Jiman Debut

Then watch this funny video with Steve.

Last weekend Steve came to visit me on Goto. He's another ALT from the mainland who's been asking to come visit me on Goto for a long time. Sometime recently I realized that I'm really running low on weekends on my island. And I think I have something planned for every last day until I finish work.

Yes, the countdown has begun... but you'll have to ask Catherine because she's the one keeping track.

Anyway...

Steven is a fellow Oregonian. He's from Bend, but lived in Los Angeles before coming to Japan. He's also been in Japan for two years, but unlike me will be re-contracting for a third year.

**Steve Trivia: his kanji is really, really good!!

I have some pictures from his visit.

We went out for yakiniku and karaoke with Carrie and her dad visiting from Canada on Friday night.

Catherine and I love karaoke!! It feels like this picture was taken in a Hawaiian karaoke booth!

Saturday morning we walked around Komeyama--maybe I'll post some videos of that later.

Then we had lunch with the Shinji's. Here's a picture of Tsuneko and me.

While Tsuneko's husband went fishing, we went to the Deer Island.

Steve and deer.

And Saturday we went out for dinner with Kuwahara-sensei and friends.

I've red-eye corrected and reduced Alisa's photos, too.

Alisa, Katie, and Nina. I should take this moment to congraluate and inform my family that she is now Dr. Alisa Waibel. And we should now call her Alisa, Doctor of Physical Therapy!!

Amy, Jayme and Casie

Someone I don't know, Ann and Erin

Throwing the bouquet.

Emre (at least I think so!) and Nina. Emre looks a lot different than in other pictures.

Katie and Bryan cut the cake.

Nina and Katie

The complete picture of Katie's beautiful dress!!!

Looks like a toast!

And I have to apologize for misspelling Bryan's name in the earlier post. It's been corrected now!
Sierra

Did you all notice the pictures of Nina in the post below? I haven't mentioned on my blog yet, but Nina is coming to visit me for two weeks this July. I can't wait to have her!!!

Every morning I wake up with a lot on mind. This morning my thoughts were of the more ...fascinating variety, such as "Don't forget the download cord for the camera," and "Do the dishes before the cockroaches think they can move in."

Recently work as been really busy. I'm staying until 5 or 6 every day now. The trimester ends in July and finals begin this Thursday so I'm making tests for all my classes. Yesterday I was busy making final exams for juniors and seniors and I realized I was concentrating so hard that I didn't even notice it was time for class. Miki came up to me and said, "Ready to go?" I thought, "Ready to go where? I don't have class until 4th period!" Of course, it already was 4th period!

It doesn't help there are no bells at my school (teaching the kids (and me) responsibility and punctuality), but usually I notice the change of periods because the halls get a little louder and there's more traffic with teachers and coming and going. Any my stomach always starts to growl a little bit around 11:30 a.m.

It's funny how being busy can make you so much happier, and how the day goes by so quickly! I don't have to push unpleasant thoughts out of my mind, like, "How am I going to get through the whole morning without eating the entire box of omiyage in the staff room?"

So, some things I usually do at work are being pushed aside--such as writing on my blog and emailing friends, but in terms of job satisfaction--I've never felt better. It's so funny how work can change so much depending on who your co-workers are. These teachers don't mind giving me work to do!! I can actually make and grade my own tests for the final exams. It's not as if I'm not capable of it, and I have plenty of time. It's just whether or not they are willing to give me the opportunity. I'm glad I am working with Miki, Satomi and Harasaki this spring!

Today there were 7 students absent with influenza. Four more became sick at school today. Tomorrow is the beginning of final exams, but with 11 students absent in a class of 25, we're probably going to postpone the tests until next week.

**Japan Trivia: High school students that are sick on the day of a final exam are NOT allowed to retake the test. Even if it's a legitamite absence, they have no alternative test or day in case they are sick.

There are a couple more influenza cases in other classes, too, but rather than have the absent students take the tests at a later date, they postpone testing for the entire school! Hmm... I think that's pretty inefficient!

Okay, I'm going to be posting pictures of weddings, babies and friends soon!!

Hi Pios! Here are reduced, and non-red-eye photos from Katie's wedding for all of you to download and keep! If someone else sends me more later I can do the same thing!

Nina, Alisa and Amy--what beautiful women!!

Erin and Anna dancing!

Nina shows us her "Marshmellow Yawn."

Now, who's going to be my reporter and tell me everything (I mean every detail!!!) from the wedding!?!?!