This gallery contains 41 photos.
July 21th was a very good day.
Goodbye Japan
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So many parties and so many gifts. Right now I’m sitting in my childhood home at the dining room table. I’ve eaten one and a half cupcakes because jet lag makes me hungry at odd hours and those were the first foods at my fingertips. To my right sits a notepad and a Tokyo Disney Resorts pen, both gifts, one from my mother and one from attendees at a sayonara party in Kameoka.
Status
Got caught in a heavy downpour 2 minutes into my 20-minute bike ride home. Due to having all my school supplies in the basket I had to use my umbrella to shield my bag instead of my body. What I’m saying is that showering AND washing the clothes I sweated in all day can both suck it.
The First Goodbye
Until now I’ve refused to say it. “We’ll see each other before I leave,” I assure people. “Let’s get together.” Nobody cries, nobody panics, and I get to pretend that the clock isn’t ticking.
No more.
Ryan Siblings Take Japan: Tokyo 1
After we finally met up at Tokyo station and hugged a whole bunch, the sibs and I headed to Asakusa. We found the capsule hotel, went for ramen, and came back to sleep. The men and women’s capsules are on separate floors, so once we said goodnight I had no opportunity to take a picture of Barron in a yukata or tiny room.
Gillian was easily photographed. Continue reading
Stress Level Midnight
Recently, the first thing I do when I walk in my home after school is lie down on the floor and groan as loudly as I can.
Today I Loved My Job
When I walked into the one class I taught a girl rushed in past me. “Oh, yay! Ryan is here, so we can have a relaxed class!”
Her friend laughed and replied, “You know she can understand you, right?”
After the greeting and singing “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” the teacher, T-sensei, asked if he could tell the group of second-years about my brother’s upcoming concert. Of course I said yes, but he asked me to explain in English first.
“Okay, big news! Big news!” he began. “Ms. Laurel has big news!”
A couple of boys in the back grinned hugely. “She’s getting married!?” Continue reading
The Cutest Thing
I know that sometimes it must seem like I hate my job. I complain about the inconsistent schedule, the insensitive students, and apathetic teachers. The lunch is gross. I don’t have computer access. The rooms are too cold in winter and too hot in summer. While those aspects are still enough to send me into a fit of monkey rage on a cloudy day, the good aspects of working as an ALT have outweighed the negative as long as I’ve been here. Last Tuesday I had the kind of workday that simply can’t be topped.
Writer’s Block=>Videos
Preparing for Barron’s concert and trying to finish a bunch of beading projects (and did I mention that I still work fulltime, due to a contract?) has left me exhausted and at a loss for witticisms. The final Seoul post is almost finished and there are two more about little trips that are mostly pictures. However, I can’t seem to find the right words to bring all of them to a satisfying conclusion. Click on the Home tab if you want to see half of what is holding me back from these updates. Otherwise enjoy some videos featuring children under the age of four, dancing.
My sister’s blurry childhood doppleganger:
Sakura
How many poets have written about sakura? How many songs reference their effervescent beauty? How many hangovers result from a day spent ‘neath the bejeweled boughs? Yeah, yeah, I sometimes want to say. They’re pretty and temporary. I get it. I’m positive that it’s the Last Spring melancholy within that suddenly makes the cherry blossoms so achingly beautiful this year. The train whipped by me on the platform, sending pinkish white dervishes whirling in its wake. I didn’t check my hair, secretly hoping that a petal had gotten trapped among the locks to accompany me home. I kicked myself for not bringing my fancy camera, but at least my iPad can capture the shape. Perhaps I’ll take my camera to the park this afternoon. The day is cloudy and full of wind, but that’s no matter. I’ll snap my blurry photos and breathe in the cherry air. Continue reading
