It raining! Feels a bit like home (Portland home, not SoCal home) in the rain... Actually I'm enjoying the cooler rainy weather because the last couple weeks have been pretty warm and sticky. Although I'm told that this has been a mild summer.

Tomorrow school starts. Preparing for the school year has been quite odd. I made copies for my 6th grade class today and realized that rather than making the 140 copies I used to make while teaching in the states, I now only have to make about 3 and that includes 1 for me. My high school class is a bit larger with 5 students. It's also different because I have a lot more freedom to teach my classes how I feel comfortable teaching, rather than following district guidelines. I found myself getting pretty excited as I began to plan out the year realizing that I can be creative in teaching, and I can incorporate character development and biblical truths in my classes. I had never though I wanted to teach in a Christian school (I'm still not thinking that's what I want to do long term), but there are definite benefits of being in this environment.

Aside from school, I'm enjoying this country. I find myself exceedingly frustrated when I can't communicate with people because I don't speak Japanese, but I'm trying to learn. It feels like I have such a long road ahead, probably because I do. It's not like my only problem is learning knew words and phrases in Japanese, I must first learn the Japanese syllables, and then I must learn how Japanese grammar works. I appreciate being with English speakers to help keep me from becoming lonely, but I also know that if I were with only Japanese speakers, I'd learn the language much more quickly. At the rate I'm going, I have a fear that I will return to the states having acquired very little Japanese. The other thing is that living in a place where you don't know the language is different from visiting one where you don't know the language. When you only visit, you can get by with charades and a few handy phrases, but when you live some where and want to really build relationships with people, and have meaningful conversations with them, charades don't suffice. So frustrating!

Despite my frustrations, it's not hard to see how God has blessed me here. I doubt that I will get very lonely. At this point I find it more difficult to find time to spend alone than I do to find time to spend with other people. The other teachers are very friendly and willing to hang out. A few days ago I went to the Zoo with one of the other teachers, a few Japanese girls and a Korean girl. It was fun hanging out and seeing some animals that I've never seen before like water buffalo, flamingos, and ostriches. I've also hung out with the other interns just walking around, or going to the grocery store and learning a little about each other. It's pretty cool because I can see how God has placed each of them here, each with very different gifts and personalities.

beginning

I have now been in Japan for about a week. My visa finally came through about two weeks before I was supposed to leave and I'm finally in Japan. The experience still feels a bit surreal as if I'm not really in Japan at all, or I'm not going to be living here for a year. However, I'm enjoying this place and trying to figure out what it looks like to live here. It actually doesn't feel too different from the States aside from not being able to communicate with anyone in the community. I had never thought I could speak much Spanish if I had to use what I learned in school with actual Spanish speakers, but I can't tell you how many times I wish I new even that much Japanese. Today I learned to count in Japanese. I've also been working on one of three Japanese alphabets. I still need work on that and I need to spend some serious time learning various words in Japaneses.

During this past week I've met most of the American teachers that I will be teaching with at Grace. The other newer teachers have been hanging out a lot. They are a lot of fun and have been great sports when it comes to venturing into the area, even those that have lived here a year and know a lot about it. They are very willing to share with us newbies and give us pointers. Most of my time though has been spent with the two other new teachers. Teacher orientation doesn't start until this coming Tues so being new to the area we really don't have anything scheduled and have a lot of free time. This has resulted in walks around the neighborhood and wandering through stores trying to figure out what they sell and what the packaged items actually are, walks to the nearby river, and today my first train ride and a hike in the mountains. It's been fun exploring.

Once I know more about what the actual school year will look like I will write more. At this point I've just been trying to settle in and get to know the other staff and the area we live in. They are all great people and have quickly welcomed in us newbies. I already feel like I have friends here that I can just hangout with and chat with which is a huge blessing.