Fall

It's finally starting to feel like fall!  Best. Season. Ever.  I love everything about it...the leaves changing color, the crisp, cool air, pumpkin flavored things, hot apple cider, hayrack rides, pumpkin patches, coats, Halloween...aaahhh.  Most people I ask say that summer is their season of choice..I just don't understand why.  I hate summer. 

I'm looking forward to breaking out the sweaters and actually going outside.  It's been over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) here on a consistent basis until this week, which is not conducive to spending a lot of time outdoors.  I'm hoping this fall will be a good one.  I didn't really take advantage of the atmosphere last year.  I think a lot of it was because we had just moved here and I still hadn't quite settled.

I hope it doesn't pass by too quickly.  It's already been a month since the summer program ended and it doesn't feel like it at all.  Time has been flying.  I've kept myself busy with school and work.  One thing I have enjoyed that I never really enjoyed before is cooking.  It's one of those things I've never had the patience for.  I have a tendency to burn things because I can't bring myself to stare at something on a stove.  I  usually get distracted and start doing other things.  According to Dakota, "the smoke alarm is my timer."  But I've been actually doing a decent job lately.  I even made up my own recipe for empanadas and they turned out really well! 

I've also been working on my sewing.  I came up with these little ballerinas recently.  I think they're my favorite thing I've made so far. 

I hope I can travel somewhere soon.  I've been feeling restless lately.

It's Been Awhile...

So...I haven't blogged in awhile. 

It's something I just kind of forgot about...mostly because I've been so busy.  I worked over 60 hours last week. 

I am back in my apartment now, which is nice, but I miss the students terribly.  I spent all of last week helping move in the new international students for this semester.  We had 200.  It was a busy week.  I even had to work some 3 AM shifts. Loooooong week.

School starts up again on Wednesday.  I can't decide if I'm ready or not.  I think it will be a nice change of pace after working my butt off all summer...but we'll see.  I'm a little bummed out...we recently found out that we won't be able to go to the Czech Republic.  Turns out there were some financial details we overlooked and there's just no way for us to come up with the money to go.  Instead, we are going to search for an internship...that way we might get paid for our international experience.

On the bright side, this gives me time to focus on learning some Japanese, which may come in handy since I'm kind of leaning towards a TESOL internship in Japan.  (Japanese and Czech at the same time might have made my head explode.)  Also, there are some new french speakers this semester, so I'll have some good opportunities to enhance my French skills.  

I'm hoping to have some more interesting posts in the upcoming weeks.  I'll be starting some cooking lessons and I've been making some pretty cute stuff lately.  For now, I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that I am still alive (even though I don't really have any readers) 

Sayonara

Friday was an emotional day.  We all got up at 4:30 to go to the airport and say our goodbyes. 

I had written a letter for each student.  I went to hand my letter to one of the students and he looked up at me with the saddest face I'd ever seen and burst into tears.  It broke my heart.  Before we boarded the bus, several of the students presented me and the other two PA's with gifts.  I received a fan, a beautiful Japanese teacup, some macha green tea, a hairbow, a card, and a Japanese magazine.  The gift I loved the most was a red folder that was signed by each of the students on the inside.

All 3 of us got one, but mine was particularly special because it was written in English.  The Japanese PA and the American PA both speak Japanese, so the students were able to write theirs fairly easily.  I was told that some of the students spent nearly an hour perfecting their message to me.  It's something I'll never forget. I will proudly display it in my living room.  

The students were on several different flights, so there were tears at every terminal.  Saying goodbye certainly wasn't easy.  After two months of living with the students and being with them everyday I made some very good friendships.  It's something I will always be grateful for and never forget.  This job was tiring, stressful, long, and involved, but it was completely worth it. 

Luckily it's easy to stay in touch with Facebook and Skype.  Now it's time for another year of school and new kinds of adventures.   

For now, here are some pictures!

<3

The End

Well, there are only 3 days left of the program.

I'm so sad.  : (  I'm looking forward to moving back home with Dakota, but I'm going to miss these guys so much.  I know they have great things in store for them and will have a blast at their universities, but I still wish they would stay here.  I've learned so much...not only have I learned a lot about their culture and intercultural communication, but I have also been inspired to start learning Japanese and possibly look for a job in Japan next summer. 

There's tension in the air.  Everyone is torn between being excited and sad.  We'll have a goodbye dinner on Thursday...with a surprise video that me and the other PA's put together.  We have pictures from the very beginning, all the way to the end.  Hopefully I'll remember to post it on here after it's over.  It's been a great summer, despite the constant fatigue and stress.  I definitely need to dye my hair. 

We will be leaving bright and early Friday to take them to the airport.  I sincerely hope they had a good time here.  So many memories...  I hope to see them all again someday. 

Week Six

I still can't believe it's almost over.

I think at this point I'm ready.  The lack of sleep from the past six weeks is finally catching up with me.  I'm exhausted all the time anymore.  A day off will be nice. 

The students have been busy with tests and studying lately.  We had a lot of Japanese food this weekend and watched the Women's Soccer World Cup:  Japan vs. USA.  I thought the screaming would never stop when Japan won.

I have a lot of adventures ahead of me still.  On the 29th I will say goodbye to all of the new friends I've made this summer (except the one student who is staying).  I'll have a few days' break before all of the international students come for the fall semester.  Then classes start.  I'll be spending most of the semester preparing for my trip to the Czech Republic in the spring.  I also have a small bucket list of things I want to do that semester.  I'm definitely going to be getting a tattoo, taking some Japanese cooking lessons from my friend Aki, and visiting Sunflower Mountain, the highest point in Kansas.  I'm looking forward to it.  Fall is my favorite season. 

In the meantime, I have 12 more days with these students.  They've inspired me to try to learn a little Japanese and possibly spend a summer in Japan.  If I can find a summer teaching English job there, I'll definitely go for it : ) 

Week Five

Well, this post is a bit late considering we're halfway through the 6th week, but oh well.

Better late than never, eh?

Last week was actually pretty relaxing and mostly uneventful.  But personalities are really starting to show.  In Japanese culture, students are reeeeeallly babied.  Their parents do EVERYTHING for them, all the way through school.  They don't have to worry about anything.  This is a pretty noticeable contrast to American culture.  It's every man for himself here.  Once you're 18 or 19, your parents loosen the leash.  This idea is clearly very difficult for some of the students.  They don't want to have to solve any of their own problems, but they have to learn how if they want to survive here.  I just wish I knew how to make them realize that. 

We went to the pool on Saturday.  Despite the fact that I applied sunscreen twice, I got burnt to a CRISP.  It's been four days and it's just starting to heal.  I'm far too white for the sun.  I didn't even get a tan.  I also got to taste some Oyakodon.  The name means "parents and children", which is kind of clever because the dish consists of chicken and egg.  And rice.  It's pretty delicious. 

Last night they put on a miniature concert and it really had a big effect on me.  There were two professors who played and they were amazing, of course.  And then some of the students played instruments.  Two of them played the piano, and one played the saxophone...and they were so GOOD!  It's inspiring to see such talented people, but also somewhat depressing for me.  It makes me feel so inadequate...like I've wasted so much time.  I'm honestly not extraordinarily talented at anything.  The finale of the show was the students singing "Let It Be" by The Beatles.  It was so amazing and adorable.  It made me realize how much I'm going to miss these students when they leave.  As much as I am looking forward to having a day off and sleeping in my own bed, it's going to be tough to say goodbye to them in a couple of weeks. 

MMORPG Love

So...I'm kind of a fan of video games.

My favorite game hands down is World of Warcraft.  I've been playing it for years now.  For those of you who are familiar with the game and might care, I play Horde.  : )  I'm a level 85 Undead Shadow Priest. 
I don't get a lot of time to play it right now because I'm so busy, but this weekend I've managed to cram in some WoW time.  However, one of Dakota's friends at work suggested that he try the game Rift, another MMORPG, so we tried it today.  

I just thought I might put in a little review of the game, despite the fact that chances are nobody will read this and even if they do, they probably don't care about video games at all.

Oh well.

Anyway, I enjoyed Rift, even though it largely ripped off WoW.  Almost every command is the same and the layout of the basic functions (spells, bags, etc.) is the same.  However, I think I prefer the graphics in Rift.  It has a much darker, more fantasy-oriented design the WoW, which tends to look more cartoon-y.  I also really like that you can choose a combination of 3 specs rather than 1.  This was probably the main thing I liked about it that was different.  It was refreshing.  You can go so many directions with your character.  I chose to be an Elementalist, with Pyromancer and Stormcaller as my secondary abilities.  Basically, it's like a combination of a Mage and a Shaman on WoW, plus you have an elemental pet that does not have a time limit on it.  It stays with you unless it dies.  It was pretty cool.  You also make money much faster on Rift.  Questing is pretty much the same.  I haven't gotten far enough to do any instances or raids, but I'm looking forward to it. 

Anyway, if you have been considering downloading the trial, I certainly recommend it.  I still think I prefer WoW (maybe just out of loyalty), but Rift is definitely a nice change for those times when you are in the mood for gaming, but kind of sick of WoW. 

I'm sorry if this post was completely pointless.  My nerdyness took over today.  : )  I should get some sleep..we have to get up and go to the water park tomorrow. *Sigh*