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Saturday, January 1, 2005
Well since I don't know how to write html and my site was broken I put up this template which was the best I have. So until someone takes pity on me and decides to write me a new page and or get me a program so I can do it, this is as good as it gets. Also if all of you lovely people would be so kind as to resend me your blogs, they kinda got lost with my old layout. Don't ask, it will only make me angry... Anyway. I'm going to France next week and stressed enough to kill someone. Yup.. there you go.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 07:17 p.m.
*************************Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Hey world. I'm now at Calvin again. As I feared it is not the refuge for which I waited all summer. People have gone or changed and the ones that are still around I feel separated from because of a giant mess. I didn't get into Jane Eyre which means I have practically no activities this semester. Leaves me with lots of free time which is probably good for me but often less than pleasant. But I've been doing ok. Met some cool new people. In Chaos Day my dorm pulled itself up from dead last to rival the dorm that wins EVERY year. That was cool. Watched a whole bunch of Invader Zim on Sunday night. That was cool too.... yeah well...ummmm... I played Candy Land last night.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 07:20 a.m.
*************************Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Ah hello my friends... of course I didn't forget you... (insert sheepish grin here) So I got back from Arkansas and being highly overwhelmed haven't left my house yet except with my family... Sooo.... the garage sale went well, and I'm going back to Calvin (Yay!), and I found 13 beautiful little posters in my Sailor Moon mangas that I will hang on my wall at Calvin (Yay!), and I painted my ridiculously long nails bright purple, and I'm knitting another scarf and.. and... I'm going back to Calvin (Yay!) and am kinda scared spitless... somehow knowing what to expect doesn't ease my tension...::deep breath:: *has a seizure and flees the room*
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 03:33 p.m.
*************************Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Well I'm back at home now. I'll disappear again on Friday but be back on Tuesday. For the locals I'm having a garage sale next weekend. And in general I'm feeling very overwhelmed and isolated so come and annoy me if you don't mind. I don't go back to school until the 6th so I'll be around for a bit too.cheers
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 11:31 a.m.
*************************Friday, August 6, 2004
Well I'm back in America. My last week was awesome. I went back to my old host families and dressed in yukata and danced the traditional dances with all the little old ladies. Everyone remembered me and were calling me over to say hello. It was awesome. Then I went back to my old church and my friend Ayumi was not only alive (she was really sick last time saw her) but healthy and almost freaked when she saw me. Then Sunday night I went up to a hotsprings resort. A really really nice one up in the mountains of Tochigi. We arrived at the hotel and were served wine and sweets as we awaited our reservations and then chose from hundreds of colorful yukata one that we wanted to wear. Then we had the yukata put on by a professional dresser and got our pictures taken. Then we went to a gluttonous spread of traditional and beautiful food. The dishes were all cooked before us over oil burners with just the right amount of oil to cook the dishes and our salad was in a bowl of ice. After this we returned to our rooms which were traditional and exquisite and found the futon all laid out for us. We changed into simpler yukata and headed off for the baths. We went into one indoor one and then one outdoor one. The outdoor one was incredible. The water was steaming up into the cool mountain air and we sat in the water under a full moon. And then we went into the co-ed baths. In Japan it was traditional for men and women to bath together, but this was one of the "evils" weeded out by us civilized westerners. But it was weeded out efficiently and there were towels to wear into the baths. But it was still beautiful. A mountain stream trickling nearby and the path between the baths ran with warm water. So this was my relaxation after work. I headed home the day after my birthday and I witnessed three miracles that day. One: all my things fit into my suitcase, Two: My suitcase was not overweight, and Three:I didn't miss my flight to Milwaukee even though my flight to Chicago was late. But my flight out was even later so it worked out (after two hours in an explosive airport, wow are people juvenile...) So yesterday I had my second birthday party and got a sweet set of speakers. And two Led Zeppelin cd's I'm trying them out on. ^_^ Hang out in my room buddies. ^_^ I also got a fun knitting book and yarn and three intimidating looking kneedles for knitting socks... I'm starting to have second thoughts about this plan... *whimpers* Oh I also got a kanji book that is currently sitting unopened on my lap. (Just came in the mail) So I'll be signing off for another week as I trek about in the northern country. Scheduled for rain every day... what fun... I'll let you guys know when I'm back in civilization. cheers.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 02:25 p.m.
*************************Saturday, July 31, 2004
Well classes finished this week. A surprisingly sad feeling. I'm heading back to my old host families house today and will be back in America on Wednesday. Until then mes cheres.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 09:18 a.m.
*************************Thursday, July 29, 2004
I am now the proud owner of three happy little Tamagotchis. ^_^ If your nice to me I'll let you see them. And if your mean to me I'll make you see them. ^_^
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 08:33 a.m.
*************************Friday, July 23, 2004
Well I'm down to my final week so I'll be keeping busy. Have I mentioned that the weather has broken all sorts of records trying to melt me? It's been in the nineties the almost the whole time I've been here and this week it broke a hundred with killer humidity... ::cries:: well anyway.... Friday I met with Julia one of my best friends in the world and we got lost in Tokyo together. We decided to meet again on Sunday. Saturday I went to an emglish club where they were learning words that I didn't know (campy movies, jumbotrons, and monoliths covered in cyrillic script...). Then on Sunday I shared my testimony in another church. I wanted to kill the pastor who started to laugh at my story... *grrrr* Then who I thought were a group of Japanese teenagers gets up on stage and I recognized they were koreans from Calvin!! Weird... Oh I flipped out in the sermon because at the beginning the pastor (the one I want to strangle) said "Let's start with an greeting, Good morning. Now let's hear from our english teacher Mrs.Krista Rowe" Then I had to stand up and give my testimony (and be laughed at...) Then after a long sermon that I only understood the jist of, the pastor said again: "Let's start with an greeting, Good morning. Now let's hear from our english teacher Mrs.Krista Rowe" I panicked and thought I was living the whole situation over again. I really thought I'd fallen into some sort of time warp.... but he was just repeating himself and let me sit down again after people clapped for my presence. Then after lunch I hurried off to meet Julia in Harajuku and we had a wonderful time wadering around looking at all the strange and beautiful costumed people and shopping. I bought 15 volumes of the Sailor Moon manga. ^_^ I'm not sure if that's all of them or not... but it's most of them I'm sure... Then Julia slept over at my house. It was awesome. The next day I went to Gibli Studio. Gibli is the maker of My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Porkalini, and Spirited Away to name a few. But at the art museum I discovered that now only is there My Neighbor Totoro, there is another movie about a Koneko Bus. So there's the giant cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro, and there's another movie about a kitten bus!!! I'm searching for it, but am having great difficulty locating it... maybe Kinokuniya... So that's pretty much all that's new with me. I can hear a matsuri going on outside. I'm going to visit it tomorrow... Oh and Justin remember how you said they should make a really nice Mario game where the graphics are really pretty but Marion is still two dimensional? Well they did. It's called Paper Mario and while the world is three dimensional, Mario is two dimensional and uses this to creep through small places or roll himself up. Most interesting. It's for game cube.
Cheerio all, I'll be home soon, and then dissappear and then be home again and then head off to college. So I suppose that's not much consolation to anyone but my family (with whom I'm disappearing) and my fellow Calvinites. ::sings:: Oh how I love you! ::stops singing:: ::computer breaks anyway:: '&*%+(&%';+%*:?#&'$ <--broken computer noises,not swearing
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 09:21 p.m.
*************************Friday, July 16, 2004
One of the most beautiful things in the world: Hiking up my skirt and biking home on a cool summer day in the dark with my fish belly thighs lighting the way.
Well I like it, I'm not sure what the people watching think...
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 09:11 p.m.
*************************Friday, July 16, 2004
Greetings one and all. I see I haven't journaled for a while... ok lemme think so I make sure to start at the beginning... oh yeah. Well saturday after class I met with a friend and went shopping in Omiya with her and her little sister. It was super fun. Then Sunday I went to Takashimadaira church and shared my testimony in Japanese. I was so proud of myself. ^_^ Then I hurried over to Toyosenkyo for a meeting (this required four trains despite the short distance). I stayed at Toyosenkyo that night and Jana and I stayed up to all hours studying kanji and talking. (Did I mention that Jana was there too?) The next day we went to a grade school and helped out with the kids. It was sooooo awesome. I was glomped. And they're all so cute! My first class was first graders and we were playing three part harmony on these little plastic organs you have to blow into througha tube to get them to play. They're really nifty. Then my second class was third graders and I got to use a puppet that tried to eat my face but then we became friends. A little girl gave me a keychain, and all the kids gathered around a touched my hair yelling "Kami suge-!"(Sweet hair!) Then I went on to fifth grade where they fought over who got to sit next to me and shake my hand. I ate lunch with them and they asked me questions about the terrorist attacks and skipping grades (which you can't do in Japan) and Harry Potter, etc... When I had to go they wouldn't stop jumping up and down shaking my hands. ^_^ I think I want to teach english in a grade school. That would be so much fun!!! On tuesday I received a stuffed Serta sheep from my parents who is now sitting on my lap looking stressed. Remember the commercial with the counting sheep that are out of a job because Serta mattresses are so confortable? Well I have number 44. ^_^ Happy! *pat*pat* Yesterday was pretty cool too. I had one student come up to me after class and say that of the three english classes he has been in in Japan, mine was the best! Praise the Lord! And then Pastor Toyokawa got an e-mail from one of my students saying that she had developed an interest in Christianity and asked him to inform her when there were events at the church. And after class another student came up to me and showed me a notebook where she has rewritten the exercises we have done in class over and over and asked me questions about difficult sentences she was trying to write. It was really cool. So this brings me to the present. After this week, there are only two weeks left, so things are winding down... or winding up would be more accurate. So continue to pray for endurance and lessons etc. Thank you and ta-ta
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 08:58 a.m.
*************************Friday, July 9, 2004
Guess what was just released in Japan?!?! A new tamagotchi!!! Yippee!!! And this one has an infrared port on top so it can make friends with other tamagotchi!!! Isn't that sweet?!? ^_^ I want one soo bad.... in fact I want more than one... He'll get lonely otherwise... But the stupid things are $20! Argh... I'm still scheaming however... I have a connection to someone on the design board. ^_^ AND I just checked on American sites and they will be released in America soon, but guess how much they are there? $30! So it's actually cheaper here. And the designs are cuter (or more of there ARE designs.. the American ones are just colors) I wonder if they can make friends with American tamgotchi?... Probably not but that would be cool... hoshiiiiiii!
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 10:59 a.m.
*************************Tuesday, July 6, 2004
I forgot one of the best parts of yesterday (beside my rainbow colored necklace). I asked for directions in the crazy shoe store and instead of treating me like a stupid gaijin (foreigner) they said "You're not from Tokyo are you" Surprised, I respond, "Well no, I'm from Saitama" "Ah, I thought so" "Do I have a Saitama accent?" "Just a little" I think that is the biggest compliment one can ever receive on a foreign language. When your pronounciation is no longer American at all and they can hear the accent of the place where you studied. It made me happy. Classes are still good. It's cool how much I get to share about Christ. Last week I had a class asking me about monotheism and the trinity and then creationism versus evolution. The discussion ended with a non-Christian mother asking me what to do about her dughter who is going to a Christian school and being taught about creation. After a bit of spluttering I told her that it didn't really matter how she thought the world began as long as she understood how much God loved her and wants to help her. Then just today, I was trying to explain the prophecy about Jesus by the prophet Isaiah that are fulfuilled hundreds of years later in the New Testament (and no one can argue the authenticity of the prophecies, they are that old). I teach a middle schooler in a private lesson and tried to explain these prophecies but she didn't understand that much English so I had to switch into Japanese and try to struggle around sentences like "the prophet Isaiah prophesied that a virgin would give birth" Right... well she understood in the end, but that was an adventure in Japanese.... So thank you whoever is praying, these are the fruits of your prayers.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 07:57 p.m.
*************************Monday, July 5, 2004
My feet are in so much pain right now... but it was sooooo worth it. (like totally) I took Jana around in Tokyo today. We sent to Sensoji a huge temple at Asakusa, then Akihabara electric town, then my dearly beloved Shibuya. I visited Hachiko and gazed lovingly at the giant TV screens then we wandered around in 109 Shibuya during a 5 day summer sale. It was awesome. The blaring music from the stores creates an eclectic mix of trendy noise with the hoarse store clerks yelling above the caucophony. I loved just looking at the beautiful people and fashions as I visited store after store. After several hours we headed to Harajuku the alternative center of Tokyo (where Shibuya is the mainstream fashion center). On the way I found Mandrake a manga store four stories underground almost by accident (the only way to find the place I think). The place is stuffed full of mangas, videos, costumes, figurines, and anything else your little heart can desire. Sometimes they have a live band playing too. Then I found the shoe shop where Chris and I bought my boots (Chris do you read this site? Cause you would be so proud of me for finding everything). The shop carries any kind of shoe you could want (at exorbitant prices of course) including platform shoes that raise you two feet above the ground. Then we walked over to Harajuku (this time NOT walking through the homeless settlement, remember that Emi?) and I made sure to take Jana into the legendary sock shop, the Visual Kei costume shop and anywhere else interesting or scary looking... I have a baby hanging on my skirt... I think he likes it... anyway... at this point Jana was near dead and so we went to Ikebukuro together and I got her to the right platform and continued shopping. ^_^ So I spent all day wandering around in heels and my feet are in much pain. But it was so worth it. I love Shibuya and Harajuku so much... So that was my wonderful day that I thought you all should know about. ^_^
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 07:14 p.m.
*************************Saturday, July 3, 2004
Greetings one and all. I have decided that I have too many e-mails and too many passwords to remember... well it makes me feel smart and popular so I suppose I'll deal with it. ^_^o @ermm... ok... well another week of classes done. I have 13 classes a week and have to prepare seven different lessons for them. So I'm keeping plenty busy. There is a huge summer sale going on right now. City wide I think, one of those nose bleed types. So to adequately prepare for such an event I bought a fashion magazine on the way home from work to see the going prices and figure out what I shhould be keeping my eye out for. (Especially in crazy sales like this you have no time to ponder if you'd wear an item, you must no what you want, grab it, and run, before someone tackles you). So anyway I stopped at a conbini (convenience store) and carefully selected the only magazine without Ayumi Hamazaki's ugly face on it. (Sorry, she just bothers me 'cause she can't sing at all and everyone loves her anyway... she's not really ugly, but I wouldn't call her beautiful either, but that's probably just predjudice) So I get back to the house and open the magazine and a little package falls out. It's kinda like a prize in a cereal box, they just have it in fashion magazines too. So I expected a poster or perhaps a small bag. You can imagine my shock when I opened it to discover a hot pink thong! Yeah... well anyway... I went on to look through the magazine and was somewhat disgusted and somewhat encouraged to find that I could have designed stuff better than what was in there... (there was still some cute stuff though) I seem to be one of the few who believes that fashion is how to wear clothes, not not wear them... Well in any case I hit the sales on Monday and will stop boring you with my views on the fshion world and tell you about my week. Well as I said I'm keeping busy with lessons, but for the most part they are pretty fun... sometimes. ^_^o On Monday I went to Kamakura which is to the south-west of Tokyo and saw a giant Buddha statue and one of Cannon (the head Buddhist goddess... I think). Then we ate oconomiyaki and matcha (powdered green tea) gelato. (We being Pastor Young and his wife and daughter and nephew (who was visiting from Colorado) and Jana and I) I picked up a pair of geta (traditional shoes) and then my host mother bought me a child's yukata (cotton kimono). I'm going to hike it up into a mini-skirt. ^_^ Oh yeah and sunday (sorry I'm telling this week in reverse) I went to a youth group. It was really coolAeven though I was the youngest one there by far. But I got to meet a bunch of people close to my age, which was awesome. I was wearing a skirt with a slit up the front (the one I inherited from Cassie) and watching a cat as I walked down the street to the church. I wasn't watching where I was going and I walked right over a post that separated the sidewalk from the road. So it went into the slit in the front of the skirt and then got stuck in the back and I ended up with my face on the sidewalk. And so the other people in the youthgroup have kept walking and they hear a muffled yelp from behind and turn to find me tangled around a stone post... yeah... I'm good at that... life in general... Then on Saturday I went on a boat tour of Tokyo which required me to sit in a roofless boat on a hot day as we floated down a dirty canal and looked at over fifty bridges from the underside and the people on the left side of me were talking over me to my host parents on the right about this girl that unbeknownst to them understood every word they said... ooooh! That makes me so mad.... The day was saved however when we went to Roppongi Tower where we had a beautiful aerial view of Tokyo (instead of an underside one) and then went through an incredible art display that talked about our place in the world as it relates to the past and future. It was filled with photographs and poetry and was beautiful. The Pastors of the churches I have been teaching at have been very kind to me. I eat almost all my meals with one or another of them. One family in particular have adopted me as their own daughter and take very good care of me. They feed me twice a week and drive me home at night so I don't have to ride the trains late at night. On Thursday the wife made me the most incredible meal I've ever eaten. All home-made. It was delicious. Well I suppose I'll leave that as my fragmented end... I guess I'm in a strange mood. My thoughts are really moving in an organized fashion. So you can deal with it. ^_^
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 10:50 a.m.
*************************Friday, June 25, 2004
::slurps sour yellow kiwi yogurt:: It's all the rage here. Not the sour yogurt part but the yellow kiwi. New from New Zealand. Or so I hear. *Blech* this is yucky... So I've been keeping very busy. And someone must be praying a lot, because God has been taking very good care of me... well let me start with sunday ::wrinkles nose at a few more bites of yogurt:: ( maybe it'll get better as I eat more...) (*blech* nope)(*gags* finished) Oh yeah, so Sunday after having to introduce myself in the Yoshino's church and feeling generally overwhelmed and out of place as people stared and little kids pointed saying "Why's that person there?" I fled to Omiya to meet with my karate club. I was so nervous, but it was great, everyone was the same. A lot of them looked super different, but they were still the same inside. I still have the funniest feeling every time I look at Mayu that she's wearing a wig because she grew out her hair and died it brown. But her face is still the same. She's still as mean as ever, but there's affection in it. Then Monday I went to Nikko. There is a large temple there with the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first of the tokugawa shogunate, who closed Japan and outlawed Christianity torturing and killing those who followed the faith. But with the closing of Japan the cultural arts fluorished so he is a hero to most Japanese. This is also the home of the "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" monkies. I had been here once before but it had been raingin so we couldn't go inside. And then guess what came on Monday? A typhoon... but we still got to go inside. I almost slipped and killed myself on the wet stone stairs though. I had to take Mr. Young's arm to keep my footing. But thankfully the rain didn't start to come down hard until we had exited the temple grounds. Then we went out to eat and a soba (japanese buckwheat noodles?) restaurant. Tuesday my classes began and I wasn't nervous at all. My first class on tuesday morning had three people. I went through vocabulary and idioms and had them read a short story and ask questions and then had a short Bible lesson. Their english was very good so we were able to talk freely. My next class was three people again and while still pretty capable in english, a little bit lower than the class before. After that I had a private lesson with a woman who was so good with english I had nothing to teach her. We just discussed things. It did not surprise me when she said she wouldn't return. Next I had another private lesson with a seventh grader who is higher than a beginner, but not quite high enough to use one of the short story books. That class will be somewhat difficult, but at least she isn't shy like many middle-schoolers are. So that was the end of Tuesday. I had classes from the morning until after supper, but they were small so it was ok. Then Wednesday I had only a private lesson slot that no one signed up for, so I went to Kazo to visit my old host family. O'kaasan and Kazumi-san and her three month old baby Rei-chan (named after me ^_^) picked me up at the train station and we went out to eat. Then we went back to their house. I gave them some presents I'd brought for them and they loved them! I brought some pottery and we used them for dinner that night. ^_^ I got to hold Rei-chan and feed her a bottle and burp her (which resulted in formula slime all over my arm...). *heh*heh* anyway... We didn't do much. I just laid around and watched televisions like I used to. So it was actually really nice. I went up to my old room and it smells the same and I even found a pencil I'd left there on the desk. Then yesterday was my longest day yet. I left the house at 8 to arrive around 9 for my 10 o'clock lesson. But it took two hours to get there! So at 10 I've arrived at the station and still need to walk to the church. I'd never walked there from the station before so I took to turns at random and started walking hoping I would find the church. After a few minutes I realized I had no clue where I was, so I decided that if I didn't find the church by the top of the next hill I would call the church and have someone pick me up at the station (which I would walk back to) and as I fumble to pull out my cell phone what do I see but the church!! Praise the Lord! Then I scurry inside apologizing for being late and discover that class doesn't start until 10:30! (Thanks for telling me that sooner...) So again God came to my rescue. So I had a class of 12 people where some were very good at english and some couldn't understand a word I said. It was vary difficult... After that class I called up Ghibli Studio. They are the ones who made My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, etc. I had bought tickets to go to their art museum on wednesday. I'd been wanting to go since the last time I was in Japan. So I had bought tickets, but being stupid bought them for tuesday instead of Monday, and Tuesday I had class. In a panic I had called the pleca where I bought the tickets and they told me they couldn't cancel them. So I called Ghibli and asked them. Normally they can't change it either, but they took pity on the supid foreigner and let me change the tickets! Yay!!! Then I had a super beginner class of around 10 people and thankfully the really confused people from my earlier class transferred into this one. It was generally boring to go round and round the circle asking "What's your name?" "Can you spell that?" and the like. But at the beginning of the class they couldn't say anything and by the end they could introduce themselves, speel their names, tell me their address and telephone number and tell me where they were from. So dull as it was, it was somewhat rewarding. After that class I had a class of children from age 6 to 8 an hour long! I was about ready to die after my last class and then I had to deal with children. But it went ok. A kindergarten teacher was helping me and I didn't even realize it had been an hour. We only finished half of what I planned. Then I was picked up by the pastor of another church and taken to his church for my last class of the day. This class had 16 people and they were all very beginner except for three that had exceptionally good english. I felt so bad for them as I went round and round the table doing the same drills again and again. It went something like this. "What's ... your ... last ... name?" "I have a question, isn't it the cutsom in america to give your first name first?" "Well, yes, but in this example they are filling out a form which will be alphabetized by last names, so the last name is more important in this case" "Oh, I see it is because they're filling out a form." "yes, so what... is... your... last... name?" But luckily I was able to set up a separate class for these three people. I'm so relieved. I feel bad when I have to bore people so... Oh and one of the three girls is my age! She's the first person even close to my age I've met except for the Karate bu who I knew before, and the 7th grader... So I think we will be able to be friends. (Again, praise the Lord!) So today is my last class of the week. I have to teach a 4 year old and a 6 year old in a private lesson.... I'm still not sure what I'll do, so I need to prepare the lesson. Sorry for this long and somewhat dull blog, but my parents wanted details and lot's of them. So I hope you haven't gone commitose with all of this. Thank you for your prayers!
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 09:22 a.m.
*************************Saturday, June 19, 2004
Greetings one and all I have arrived in Japan complete with all my necessary body parts (I threw my tonsils out the window when we were over Alaska). Ifve settled down and traveled all over the place in Japanfs marvelous train system. Itfs been wonderful. Let me summarize: I arrived on Monday and was almost barred from the country because I wrote English teacher on my disembarkation cardc oopsc well after two hours of sitting there irritably, they finally explained to me that I was a volunteer only (why thank you for letting me know thatc) and let me go through the gates. I found Jana and Pastor Young outside and then we headed to Pastor Youngfs house. After dinner I collapsed from exhaustion (for I hadnft slept for two days)(I was too interested in my book and the movies on the plane to sleep, and by the way Nyk, Girl with a Pearl Earring is almost as pointless as Lost in Translation). So the next two days we had some orientation, and Tuesday night I moved to my host familyfs house. Theyfre house is tiny! Not in square feet so much as the doorways, counters, and bathtub are all miniature. I donft know if I just forgot from before, but at least their bathtub is half the size of the Sunakawafs. So Ifve been in orientations and sitting in on Japanese classes to get a feel for how to work them. And actually the orientations have been fascinating, going through Buddhist philosophy and Asian church history and mission philosophy. Yesterday I got up at 5 so I could be at the station near Pastor Youngfs house by 6. Then Jana, the Youngs, and I all went to the Japanese fishmarket. Ifd never seen anything other than bugs killed before and this was a rather upsetting experience seeing the poor fish wrench in pain as his head was confiscated from his body. Another rather upsetting discovery was that fish have blood. And not only do they have blood, but itfs red. I donft know why I didnft know this, but it was a rather disconcerting realization. Afterward we were supposed to go out for sashimi (raw fish) but we all nixed that idea. So after that I had about three hours to kill in Tokyo before an appointment. So I accidently found huge Shinto shrine with priestesses dancing wearing that red and white outfit Rei from Sailor Moon wears and carrying the sticks that c who as onec the priest from Fushigi Yugi has onec most religious figures in anime carry these. It was pretty cool. I got to thinking about the fishmarket as I wandered through the beautiful wooded grounds. I realized that no matter what humans do, our survival is based on killing other. Even frutopians who only eat fruit that has already fallen off trees have to kill things to survive. Paper and buildings are made from trees and I dunno lotfs of stuff.. and a person must kill viruses (which are arguably life as well) to survive. So no matter what we do, or survival is based on otherfs deaths. And I realized that our eternal survival as well is based on the death of Jesus Christ who took the punishment for our sins. And I thought that was a pretty horrible way to live, always on the deaths of others. But with the most important death(that of Jesus) at least the story doesnft end with his death, but his new life. So that makes things a little betterc Still a rather harsh cycle of life, donft you think? Well thatfs my philosophy for the dayc After the temple, and my meeting, I wadered around in Ikebukuro station trying to kill another three hours. But since Ifd been on my feet since five I soon tired of shopping and went to the bookstore and bought myself a random pretty manga that I found. The art is beautiful, and the story is good too, if a bit gory. But I recommend it. Itfs called gKurui Sakita Hanah which refers to a flower blooming at the wrong time of the year and is their name for the children of a god and a human. Itfs about an ogre (a very beautiful one) who is sick of killing this half gods and decides to give it up and live the rest of his life running from the other ogres and taking care of the little brother of a girl he killed. Itfs actually really nice ecause he adopts lonely children. But itfs probably not in the states yet, because there was only the first one out. I canft wait for more to be published. So I bought the manga and read most of it before I had to meet my host mother for dinner. I ate with a bunch of her friends from church at a wonderful little Tofu and Tempura restaurant owned by one of my future students. So I didnft get home until 10 (and I was still jetlagged). But I got to sleep in this morning and I think Ifve adjusted to the time change. So that brings me up to the present. I have today off and will meet with my Karate club tomorrow! Yay! Then classes start Tuesday, so prayers will be wonderful/necessary. But as a whole Ifm loving it here and having a blast in the trains. I never got to ride them this much before. ^_^ Oh and Mom and Dad if you read this, how come Ifve gotten e-mail from everyone but you? I wonft write if you donft! >_< And people like/are fascinated by my hair. Many happy wishes I do wish upon all of my friends and relations.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 03:06 p.m.
*************************Saturday, June 12, 2004
::head hurts::stomach clenches:: Yes folks, it's that time again. I leave in the morning and I'm generally terrified. I will try to go calm myself in a bit but I thought I would bid you all farewell. Farewell. But calm yourself my little pumpkins. I will blog from Japan. *sighs* Well other than being sick I was able to keep one of my many commitments this week. And that was heading down to Chicago to visit my lovely Cat for her brithday. My pimp kindly gave me to her for the day, and she didn't abuse me. No, instead she gave me a highly caffinated beverage and put me in a car during rush hour traffic. Most amusing results that had. By the time I got to her house I was bouncing off the walls and being mistaken for a twelve year old. They pacified me by playing Finding Nemo which I found completely hilarious and cackled through the entirety of. Even the death scene.^_^ So of the friends of hers that I did not scare I met one particularly fascinating creature and several fun people. We went to Harry Potter, and it was a good time all around. I slept over and the next day was not so fun as I got slaughtered in Sorry a few too many times... I'm a mean game player and that really comes back to bite you in that game... *sigh* but I slaughtered my family at Settlers of Catan today and that made me feel much better I think my poor gaming abilities come from my parents for they are dreadfully confused in that game no matter how many times I try to explain it to them. My Dad was trying to get sheep from a sheep port and the only thing he knows is that he doesn't like the robber. Oh well, I like winning. My sister moved home yesterday so we got to spend today as a family before I head off. It drives my parents nuts, but I figure they must have done something dreadfully wrong as parents to make create two independent globe trotters. I think it's fun. ^_^ I love airports. Right-o that's enough chatter for now, I think I'll try to calm those knots in my stomach now, and maybe get some sleep. I have to be up at 6 tomorrow... I'm gonna shoot whoever came up with 6am...
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 10:53 p.m.
*************************Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Well I'm kinda dying.... of all the times to get sick, I think this was one of my stupidest ideas. I leave on sunday and have every moment between now and then scheduled, and I'm dying and lost my voice... sad for me. I better be well by tomorrow. I missed work and a meeting with my mentor today. And then to make my day just a little better my mom started fussing with my dreads and I didn't think much about it 'cause people do that sometimes but eventually it started registering in my fever ridden brain that she HATES my dreads and would never touch them, so I focus in on what she's doing, and she's trying to brush them out!!!! As if I'm not paranoid enough about them.... *irritation*
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 05:31 p.m.
*************************Monday, June 7, 2004
Saturday was my parents anniversary so I made them dinner and then we all watched a movie together. That was fun. Then saturday I helped out in childrens church. I had 7 to 12year olds and twice the time I was supposed to have to keep them occupied so they went a little wild and escaped the classroom and went screaming and running around the church. oops... well I had fun in any case. ^_^o Then a storm of people came over to my house for a luncheon with some missionaries my church sponsers and got to hear them talk about their mission. While we were cleaning up from them a family that's friends with my parents showed up from Illinois to visit. After they left we had about 20 minutes free and then we headed over to a guy in the youth groups graduation party. It was great to see everybody. I got to see a bunch of people I grew up with but I haven't seen for years. I was really excited. We were playing volleyball which I haven't played since I was in Peru, but I made us some points! I think the points I made might have even equalled out the points I let the other team make... ^_^ Then today Grandma took me and my mom to an exhibit on Egypt that's at a museum in Milwaukee. It was really cool. All sorts of coffins and carvings and mummies and a lot of them were uncovered sitting in the open air. My two favorite parts were the two replicas (unfortunately) but they had a replica of the Rosetta stone, and a replica of a tomb that told hour by hour the journey into the afterlife. It was soo cool. Then we went out to eat at a great Thai restaurant. Our waiter was hilarious! Real thai and generally nuts. (As in the waitor was from thailand and crazy, that wasn't about food...) Then my grandma took me shopping on Grand Avenue. I'm on the final countdown before Japan, so things will be really crazy 'til I leave. ::nervous butterflies:: *stares at the screen trying to think of something insightful* *stares more* *gives up and picks nose*
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 07:34 p.m.
*************************Saturday, June 5, 2004
Allo, I've been a lazy bum and haven't felt like blogging for a while. You guys will have to get used to it 'cause I won't blog more than once a week in Japan. Speaking of Japan I started packing this morning. I leave in a week and I needed to see what I had and what I need. Mommy is giving me lots of pretty scarves with which to tie my dreads back. ^_^ Other than that I've been playing on really high ladders scared to death and painting things and the usual with youth group and stuff. Don, my old youth pastor who is now working with RS (a teen missions organization with which I went to Nepal four years ago), came to my house and I got to talk with him. I'm really excited for him. He's going to The Gambia this summer with my friend Chrissy and his two children. It was really cool to hear him talk about Muslims and the differences between Islam and Christianity. As he sees it (and I agree with him) it's the same God, just a different understanding of his nature and different practice in worshiping. I wonder if this is how so many people have found solace in the Muslim church.... Last night I was over at Julia's house and we looked through her pictures from Japan (she went as an english teacher last summer) and I'm getting excited. ^_^ I would appreciate any prayers people would offer up.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 12:21 p.m.
*************************Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Greeting one and all. I died this morning, but I'm better now. Yeah I was going to write something deep at the end of the last entry, but I ran out of time and now it's just oo late. So you guys lose. Wait a few years and read it in my diary when it gets published posthumously, if you're still alive, 'cause I won't be... Anyway... Sunday I went over to a Mel's house with my parents (our parents are friends too) and watched the first half of a Pink Panther marathon, but then Mel and I kicked out and went to Nic's house and hung out and he taught me drums, and I met a really cool girl named Tina. She's nifty! ^_^o Then Mel slept over and in the morning Nic came over and watched movies with us. We saw Memento (crazy...) and the first part of Kill Bill (mind you only the first part the senseless violence made me sick, it's soooo not funny...), and then we watched Requiem 4 a Dream. That's such an incredible movie. I totally recommend it if people haven't seen it. Then Nic and I hung out playing cards (Mel had gone home at this point) and when I drove him home we sat and talked for about an hour in his driveway. It was sweet. We talked about everything from politics to homosexuality to suffering in the world to public versus private schools. Yeah... these last to entries are kinda boring... I should write something other than straight up news... er... I'm making a pretty shirt... hmmm... sorry I'm not in the mood...
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 12:38 p.m.
*************************Sunday, May 30, 2004
Greetings all. Things have gone crazy mad since I last posted. Tuesday Lindsay and Julia came over. And it was soooooooo good to see Lindsay (she's one of the coolest people in the world)(And if I haven't mentioned Julia, she and I grew up together and are so alike it's scary). It had been almost four years... wow I feel old... anyway, it was so awesome to see her again and we dug up some micro-cassettes we had made way back when and listened to us being idiots. Most amusing. They slept over and kicked out in the morning. I worked around the house a bit then headed over to Madison. Now keep in mind I've driven to Madison alone maybe once before, and I haven't driven at all since last summer. But I made it there ok, if a bit shakey. Youth group was awesome as usual, but I'm was still really really distracted. I've been having focus problems for a while... my mind just wanders a lot and I haven't been able to worship pretty much since I went to Calvin... Christian colleges are killer... Anyway, after youth group, Sara (another one of the coolest people in the world)and I went swing dancing. Which was fun, except everyone dances the stupid lindy hop. It'll be great once I learn it, but right now it has me completely mystified... Afterward we went over to Sara's and had an awesome talk. Sara went off to school in the morning and I headed over to my Grandma's to do some odd-jobs for her. I was gardening in the sun and I put on sunscreen but didn't get my lower back that was exposed by my too large jeans... ow... I have a red smile on my butt... After that I headed over to State street and hung out with Greg for most of the afternoon. That was fun. I headed back home after a quick stop at a dread salon to see if there was anything I could do to asuage my mother. Then Friday Chrissy was in town so Mel, Chrissy and I got together and hung out. We had an awesome talk. It was so great. (Mel, Chrissy, and I grew up together) They slept over and in the morning the pastor who took care of me in Japan came to visit and eat brunch with us. We had a nice visit. Then I went to the wedding of my sister in law's little brother, and then collapsed until tday. Yeah so that's what I've been up too. I have to go now so I'll write more later...
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 02:16 p.m.
*************************Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Well one of the coolest people in the world came to visit me yesterday--Lindsay! I haven't seen her since sophomore year... that's almost four years ago now... We whipped out old micro-tapes of us being retarded. It was great. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend much one-on-one time with her... I got distracted by Soul Caliber ^_^o I learned some crazy moves with Voldo though... he's so creepy. But that was sweet. I'm going to have to find a way out to Arizona to annoy her. ^_^ Anyway, that's about all that's been up. Just working around the house and going nuts for lack of something to stress out about. So I'm stressing about a lack of stress and adding projects upon projects to keep myself busy. I'll be fine... My mom is freaking out about my dreads still. She started to cry this morning as she apologized for nagging me and hating my hairstyle. Then we fought over what to do with my dreads to make me look professional for my job this summer. I figured that I'd just leave the dreads and dress professionally and everything would work out. But the Momma wants me to get them to lay down and not have any body because evidently hair with body, or anything that looks mildly good is unprofessional. She wants me to slick them back or just get rid of them... and there have been many others who have offered to help me brush them out. I don't know what to do. I love my dreads. I love the body that I could never get with my hair. But the point wasn't to upset everyone. And my mom is really struggling with all this and the "loss of her beautiful daughter" and all that rot. I don't want to be causing all this grief to people. And I'm not sure that having hair that I love is worth it all. I don't really mind personally, but am I honoring my mother in this? I dunno, she said I could get them and she stands by that, she just tears up when she thinks about how beautiful I was... So that's my grief... I just made an appointment at a dread salon for tomorrow to see if I can some up with something to appease my mother... but I love it when my dreads stick out and are all fatty... I'm not sure if I'll do anything... I'll have to see. Love you guys!
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 01:47 p.m.
*************************Monday, May 24, 2004
"My name from the palms of his hands, eternity will not erase ;impressed on his heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace." I recently had a discussion about how much I hate hymns with two very dear people, and since then I have stopped to think. Yes some of the cadences are painfully musty, but there are such beautiful truths written in them, and great wisdom as well. It is important to get away from the fads of the day sometimes and see how our ancient brothers and sisters in Christ saw the world. Random thoughts, but for anyone who cares but I'm trying to delve deeper into hymns.
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 10:31 p.m.
*************************Sunday, May 23, 2004
Well I didn't expect to be blogging but after church this morning I changed my mind. Upon entering my predominantly rich, white, conservative church, people either stared open mouthed or laughed histerically (and somewhat uncomfortably) at my dreads as if I had stapled a piece of roadkill to my head. And then to grate at my nerves even more, they all call me Krista... So as I feel exceptionally out of place and generally home sick I decided this is every bit as much of an adventure as Japan ever was and merits documentation. In other news, Rei, the resident mystic of Calvin College, has returned to the place of her youth to find that her beliefs are perfectly normal at my parents church. The Sunday School lesson today included giant bubbles around ancient earth, and the theory that dinosaurs and dragons are one in the same and have continued to exist almost until modern times. And yes my parents are already driving me nuts. I think that much of it is due to the marvelous last week I had at Calvin and Gort's. After exams had finished I spent a few days living a homeless existence in Cassie's dorm, the fish house, and a friends house near Grand Rapids. Far too much to write about, but it was great. Plus this blog is predominantly for the people who were with me and they don't need the explanation. The sermon this morning was good. They were talking about money mostly, which as much as most people hate it when we talk about it (me included), it's pretty important. One of the main things that struck me was when the pastor mentioned that where your treasure is, there your heart will be. I know it's the sunday school basics, but I've been so busy, I'd forgotten. My treasures have definently been distracted in places like clothing and fun plans and even friends. God and Heaven need to be number one (and my brothers and sisters a close second ^_^). So that's something I need to sit and ponder as I figure out what to do with myself this summer. It turns out that my mom can't afford to employ me full time, so I'll help out my grandma a bit and after that have more free time than I expected. eh, worse things could happen right? So that's about it, I just got back yesterday. I'll be sure to write when I'm pissed off or something. ^_^ Actually I'm pleasantly surprised that many of my friends have changed as well back here so I'm not all alone. I'll keep you guys posted, take care I love you all!
Rei danced in the faerie ring @ 06:36 p.m.
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