So yes! Monday continued with some time with the team, and us preparing our hearts to see Dave leave. It also ended with an event called "Shave for Dave" that's right I shaved my facial hair that I have been growing since the trip and I'm not going to lie it does look weird to me to see me without the full ensemble...
Tues. We had a bible study, then a BBQ at a park with Yaki Soma, disc golf, and playing some baseball with Josiah! Of course some very exciting news... CHRIS AND MOLLY GOT ENGAGED ALSO!!! CONGRATS ON IT AND WHEN WE GOT THE PHONE CALL WE WERE VERY EXCITED (not that it was planned or anything of course lol). The night ended with some good old Ramen in Tachikawa, and volleyball!
Weds was a little tough with Dave leaving in the morning. Honestly I found it a little harder to smile during that day...Dave your humor, the good time talking and spending time with the students is something that I do miss...
We had a make-up intensive English presentation with Chiami speaking and surprise surprise my friend Cole Robinson comes in. I met Cole my freshmen year and it's been about a year since I have seen him since he now works in Hawaii. It was really good to see him again and to know that I will spend the last weeks of my time here in Japan catching up. After intensive English me and Liz babysat the kids...it was a 2 hour battle to get them to sleep... but we did it!
Thurs was yard day for the Tsurumaki house (aka our home with 8 guys in it... we have be called the Tsurumaki boys, fraternity, the men from Tama cen) after that we just took Cole around Tama center and enjoyed the night.
Friday we had lunch table. Me and Cole walked around just talking and catching up. Then after lunch table we went to Tomohito's house, then had a planning meeting for our final event Oshima camp! the night ended with Shabernaito...our last one... We make nicknames for everyone, played shuffle your buns and a grouping number game followed by a talk on morality.
Sat I hung out with Masashi for the most part, took some time to chill, then headed off to the soccer game FC Tokyo against Yokohama (yes this is my 3rd soccer game...and I still have another I get to go to mwahahha).
Sunday me and Masashi met up with Cole and Ty after their English-Japanese learning time to grab some lunch then Bowl. During the time there was a 4 min session where if we strike we get a free game! Masashi and Cole got strikes and we ended up with 2 free rounds of bowling!! After that we visited Taro's crepe place in Minami-Osawa then headed back to watch the movie Step Into Liquid. From there (and after a little guitar playing), Taro and Tomohito came over. We watched some videos of the summer (mainly, FC Tokyo and Cole attempting to break a branch with his head), and performed some card tricks. The night ended with Babu no ki (aka old maid) and a nice round of Texas Hold'em.
Today i'm preparing for Oshima and also planning my trip home...
less than 2 weeks total left... and only about 1 week with the students left... sigh...
2008年7月28日月曜日
2008年7月21日月曜日
7/15- 7/21
Well... besides the last Oshima camp...
I ONLY HAVE 2 WEEKS LEFT HERE!!!
It really goes by so fast...
Monday... went to the zoo to pick up my lost ipod! while i did go on my own it was such a joy to see one of my team mates who spoke fluent Japanese there!
Tues did a bible study (lead worship too...which also took part of the Monday). Then went to sports night! Spent most of the day outdoors listening to stories and etc! a good day of team bonding!
weds was lunch table... Dave and I went to a curry place then back to the apartment and left soon after for another FC Tokyo game (yea I'm a soccer addict) with Masashi (come on Tokyo come on Tokyo)! It was against Osaska (Osaska is 4th and FC Tokyo was 8th) and so it made for a good game especially since we tied 1-1!!!
Thurs was helping out with moving and re-organizing the office in Mark's house and also getting the weeds out of the yard! From there was an Onsen run with a Shizuoka student and Chris, Masashi and the guys!
Friday was lunch table and some intense surprising rain! After lunch table I hung out with Nobu and shot pool for a couple hours! It was great especially since he's good friends with a few of the members of the Billiards club in college (Chuo). After pool we went to get tsukemen (noodles and soup are separated) and had a whole big load of noodles)! The night ended with Shaberanaito playing guess who the person is, and tongue twisters while having a discussion on gossip.
Saturday was spent climbing mt. Fuji...
we left 6 am and got back at 2 am...
the climb up was simply crazy...to see less and less green, and to have your quads burn the minute you finish taking a break... oh it was a good climb! (actually it really was... it's a climb worth taking)
the summit was great! we had some hot chocolate! It was also just a good time to get to know the students more!
The descent though was a whole new challenge, while it was really quick for teh first half, it got dark... and we needed to use lights to make sure that we would not trip over the rocks and especially since we were sliding and walking quite fast...we only had 3 lights and since there were 8 of us... we needed to stick close.
We did not get home right away since there was a bear sighting... and also we got lost...
but it was fun talking with Mamo and Shanghai about economics and culture (shows, video games etc)...did i mention economics... hrm that's weird...
Sunday was also pretty fun!
Did some housework in the morning, then hung out with Masashi and later joined Dave and Tomohito for lunch. Then went shopping for a Jim bei also had Dai Jou join us for some hanging out and rushed over to the train station for the Hanabi fireworks festival in Yokohama! It was also Ty's b-day so we headed back for some cake =)
Monday-- taking it easy...and getting ready for some team bonding time!
Does anyone know about using Snap Fish to post photos on a blog? or maybe using Shutter fly?
I ONLY HAVE 2 WEEKS LEFT HERE!!!
It really goes by so fast...
Monday... went to the zoo to pick up my lost ipod! while i did go on my own it was such a joy to see one of my team mates who spoke fluent Japanese there!
Tues did a bible study (lead worship too...which also took part of the Monday). Then went to sports night! Spent most of the day outdoors listening to stories and etc! a good day of team bonding!
weds was lunch table... Dave and I went to a curry place then back to the apartment and left soon after for another FC Tokyo game (yea I'm a soccer addict) with Masashi (come on Tokyo come on Tokyo)! It was against Osaska (Osaska is 4th and FC Tokyo was 8th) and so it made for a good game especially since we tied 1-1!!!
Thurs was helping out with moving and re-organizing the office in Mark's house and also getting the weeds out of the yard! From there was an Onsen run with a Shizuoka student and Chris, Masashi and the guys!
Friday was lunch table and some intense surprising rain! After lunch table I hung out with Nobu and shot pool for a couple hours! It was great especially since he's good friends with a few of the members of the Billiards club in college (Chuo). After pool we went to get tsukemen (noodles and soup are separated) and had a whole big load of noodles)! The night ended with Shaberanaito playing guess who the person is, and tongue twisters while having a discussion on gossip.
Saturday was spent climbing mt. Fuji...
we left 6 am and got back at 2 am...
the climb up was simply crazy...to see less and less green, and to have your quads burn the minute you finish taking a break... oh it was a good climb! (actually it really was... it's a climb worth taking)
the summit was great! we had some hot chocolate! It was also just a good time to get to know the students more!
The descent though was a whole new challenge, while it was really quick for teh first half, it got dark... and we needed to use lights to make sure that we would not trip over the rocks and especially since we were sliding and walking quite fast...we only had 3 lights and since there were 8 of us... we needed to stick close.
We did not get home right away since there was a bear sighting... and also we got lost...
but it was fun talking with Mamo and Shanghai about economics and culture (shows, video games etc)...did i mention economics... hrm that's weird...
Sunday was also pretty fun!
Did some housework in the morning, then hung out with Masashi and later joined Dave and Tomohito for lunch. Then went shopping for a Jim bei also had Dai Jou join us for some hanging out and rushed over to the train station for the Hanabi fireworks festival in Yokohama! It was also Ty's b-day so we headed back for some cake =)
Monday-- taking it easy...and getting ready for some team bonding time!
Does anyone know about using Snap Fish to post photos on a blog? or maybe using Shutter fly?
2008年7月14日月曜日
Week 4 7/8 - 7/14
Week 4!!
Tues-- Had Bible study, then Sports night-- we went to Schiezeria and enjoyed the night.
Weds-- Lunch table, then helped Masashi out with his Christopher Zook article on firm cycles. We also saw Mark and Jun working on intensive English! After that was Okanomiyaki with the other Jun, Tatsu, and Yoshiro, it was amazing!!! (We also started Band of Brothers)
Thurs-- Was pretty easy going! Went to Starbucks to study!
Friday-- Lunch table then Shaberanaito-- We did 2 games do you love your naighbor adn i've never...then an english lesson on pronunciation words then a discussion about words and their power with friendship!
Sat-- Went to the Zoo
Sunday-- We had one more meeting for intensive English! Basically this was the day that teh students we worked with give a speech! It was really exciting to see their progress and to have a good old American barbecue afterwards!
Monday---well---I went back to the zoo to get my ipod (i'm so glad to have found it) and just took it easy!
Thanks so much you guys for your support! It really has been helping a lot in terms of giving me time to get to know the people here!
Pictures coming soon... Google is making my life difficult...
Tues-- Had Bible study, then Sports night-- we went to Schiezeria and enjoyed the night.
Weds-- Lunch table, then helped Masashi out with his Christopher Zook article on firm cycles. We also saw Mark and Jun working on intensive English! After that was Okanomiyaki with the other Jun, Tatsu, and Yoshiro, it was amazing!!! (We also started Band of Brothers)
Thurs-- Was pretty easy going! Went to Starbucks to study!
Friday-- Lunch table then Shaberanaito-- We did 2 games do you love your naighbor adn i've never...then an english lesson on pronunciation words then a discussion about words and their power with friendship!
Sat-- Went to the Zoo
Sunday-- We had one more meeting for intensive English! Basically this was the day that teh students we worked with give a speech! It was really exciting to see their progress and to have a good old American barbecue afterwards!
Monday---well---I went back to the zoo to get my ipod (i'm so glad to have found it) and just took it easy!
Thanks so much you guys for your support! It really has been helping a lot in terms of giving me time to get to know the people here!
Pictures coming soon... Google is making my life difficult...
2008年7月7日月曜日
Week 3
Ahhhh it is hard to believe that I have already been here HALF A MONTH!!!!!
This was how the week went!
Tues---Bible study
then Tokyo Giants game against the Swallows.
We (the Giants) sorta lost... but Mark's son (Josiah aka YAYA...by the way Mark runs the Tokyo BEST club, the program I'm helping out in) caught a ball from one of the outfielders!! We were also sorta yelled at by the Swallow fans from rooting for the Giants mwahahha (yea baseball is serious here).
But it was a good time!!
Weds---lunch table...and some rest time!
Thurs was pretty similar, some good time with the room mates! Also! Went to Masashi's favorite cafe to chill and hang out (huge drinks!!). At night some of the girls (from our team) came by to surprise us with cookies!! It was really encouraging and nice of them to do that and we spent the rest of the night playing UNO and watching youtube videos!!
Friday/Saturday was busy and tiring (fun though)!
Met Seiji, MoHi, Kuri, and Kentaro (from left to right). and joked around...i think it was one of those few times that in Japan i actually represented the somewhat awkward side of me...and it was actually funny (yea normally I just look silly...period).
Then I went to the an elderly home for more English!
Most of it was talking about our lives... and in a humorous way EVERYTHING (which includes being single... and what we think about finding a wife here in Japan).
These photos are of me and the elders and at lunch table.
AT lunch table...
I tried to tell a joke
and they tried to also...
then ends with us playing some crazy awesome game of flicking the bottle and having it come back up!
ANYWAYS moving on!
Shaberanaito was fun! Getting to continue connecting with the students has been a blessing! I hope to continue speaking with them and to even build great friendships. We did a game called screaming ninja (kinda like Chimi Changa) and did an enlighs activity on online abbreviations (writing a "convo" out) then talked about 5 qualities to look for in marriage (disclaimer...in no way am I trying to bring up this topic... I'm just writing what we went through).
So after that!
Was Tsukiji!!
We went over the a place called Jonathan's (like a Denny's Diner) and just hung out throughout the whole night (many people passed out...so if you look at the photos of people sleeping, that's why). The fish market opens up at 4am. So went went over actually a little later to see them sell the big fishies and auction them in some crazy way. For breakfast I had Ken Sai Don--it's a fish bowl...so much raw fish...IT WAS AWESOME!!!
But we came back at like 10 am...I tried to stay up but then completely passed out at 3pm...
The next day me and another setter (Dave) went with 2 students (Tetsu and Daisuke) to Sakuragicho and Yokohama. Looking at the old boats and some of the tallest buildings in Japan, we then went to a place called little Tokyo--a shop that only has music from 1883 and recreates that kind of atmosphere. From there we went over to YAKINIKU !!! and had some crazy barbecue food!)
Then we went to Tetsu's Starbucks and told funny stories!
That's sorta it! Anything besides that includes chilling with the room mates, doing some reading, and helping Masashi with his homework on Firm growth, diversification and expansion.
oh and I just killed a mosquito right before it was about to enjoy the full course of it's meal...
This was how the week went!
Tues---Bible study
then Tokyo Giants game against the Swallows.
We (the Giants) sorta lost... but Mark's son (Josiah aka YAYA...by the way Mark runs the Tokyo BEST club, the program I'm helping out in) caught a ball from one of the outfielders!! We were also sorta yelled at by the Swallow fans from rooting for the Giants mwahahha (yea baseball is serious here).
But it was a good time!!
 |
| Tues week 3 Tokyo Giants |
Weds---lunch table...and some rest time!
Thurs was pretty similar, some good time with the room mates! Also! Went to Masashi's favorite cafe to chill and hang out (huge drinks!!). At night some of the girls (from our team) came by to surprise us with cookies!! It was really encouraging and nice of them to do that and we spent the rest of the night playing UNO and watching youtube videos!!
 |
| Week 3 Tokyo some random day |
Friday/Saturday was busy and tiring (fun though)!
Met Seiji, MoHi, Kuri, and Kentaro (from left to right). and joked around...i think it was one of those few times that in Japan i actually represented the somewhat awkward side of me...and it was actually funny (yea normally I just look silly...period).
Then I went to the an elderly home for more English!
Most of it was talking about our lives... and in a humorous way EVERYTHING (which includes being single... and what we think about finding a wife here in Japan).
These photos are of me and the elders and at lunch table.
AT lunch table...
I tried to tell a joke
and they tried to also...
then ends with us playing some crazy awesome game of flicking the bottle and having it come back up!
ANYWAYS moving on!
Shaberanaito was fun! Getting to continue connecting with the students has been a blessing! I hope to continue speaking with them and to even build great friendships. We did a game called screaming ninja (kinda like Chimi Changa) and did an enlighs activity on online abbreviations (writing a "convo" out) then talked about 5 qualities to look for in marriage (disclaimer...in no way am I trying to bring up this topic... I'm just writing what we went through).
So after that!
Was Tsukiji!!
We went over the a place called Jonathan's (like a Denny's Diner) and just hung out throughout the whole night (many people passed out...so if you look at the photos of people sleeping, that's why). The fish market opens up at 4am. So went went over actually a little later to see them sell the big fishies and auction them in some crazy way. For breakfast I had Ken Sai Don--it's a fish bowl...so much raw fish...IT WAS AWESOME!!!
But we came back at like 10 am...I tried to stay up but then completely passed out at 3pm...
 |
| Friday week 3...Tsukij |
The next day me and another setter (Dave) went with 2 students (Tetsu and Daisuke) to Sakuragicho and Yokohama. Looking at the old boats and some of the tallest buildings in Japan, we then went to a place called little Tokyo--a shop that only has music from 1883 and recreates that kind of atmosphere. From there we went over to YAKINIKU !!! and had some crazy barbecue food!)
Then we went to Tetsu's Starbucks and told funny stories!
 |
| Sunday Sakuragich |
That's sorta it! Anything besides that includes chilling with the room mates, doing some reading, and helping Masashi with his homework on Firm growth, diversification and expansion.
oh and I just killed a mosquito right before it was about to enjoy the full course of it's meal...
2008年6月30日月曜日
So this was my week!
Tues... Did a Bible Study, then played soccer!
It was really exciting since I haven't played in a year... the ground is a lot harder than I am use to so most of the time I had to play on my toes(which totally took out my calves later). A lot of the people who play have played soccer for a team at some point in time so it gets pretty fun (or I actually have to think a little). It was funny especially because by the end of the time, all the people on my team who played soccer were dead tired...we have a lot of getting back into shape to do!
Weds. I had lunch table at Chuo university. After that me Ross and Kevin along with Hiro went to June's (the Filipino break dancer) place to play Super Smash Brothers! It was really nice of June to show us around and even bring us to his apartment!
Thurs. I tagged along to check out Shuto university's English Lunch Table. (by the way, lunch table is where we converse in English, it is a great way for college students to practice!) After that DiJou took us to Karaoke where we spend 4 hours singing...for 7 dollars each (which includes the drink). After that I spent some time with DiJou practicing his English in Mister Donouts(he is giving a speech in 2-3 weeks about love). Then hit the onsen once again with Ken and Masashi (it was good especially since everyone was sore from soccer).
Fri. English Lunch Table at Chuo, then we decided to bake some brownies for Ashley and Liz being that it was their birthday! It was also a good time to get to know Hiro! Even though he does not speak a lot of English, I think that it was still a lot of fun. At night we had Shaberanaito (which is English night). We played games, did some English activity, then had a talk about community and what it means to us! Heading back to the home, Tai, Masashi, Mikune, and Taro were there chilling. I went for a run with Masahi through the park at night where at the last stretch we sprinted (and I lost horribly...).
Saturday was busy! Going with Ken, Ross and Kevin, we went around with Tatsu visiting Tokyo Tower, then Roppongi then Shibuya!
After that we watched the Bourne Ultimatum with everyone else (which includes Taro)...where I sorta passed out...
Sunday we had an intensive English lesson on words, then me and Dave along with Mamo and Masashi went to watch Tokyo FC!!! while it was a tie, and sorta rainy, the game was simply...awesome (I also caught footage of the one goal and penalty shot Tokyo FC had!) We ended the night hanging out with the other setters in the house...and actually the night didn't really end for me as Masashi and Hiro were planning on watching the Eurocup finals with Germany against Spain (yea so did I ever tell you guys that I love soccer...?). It was at 3am...I woke up at 4 and watched the first half with Hiro (he passed out by the 2nd half)...and Masashi came in for the last part of the game. Spain won, and it was quite the aggressive game I might say.
So here's how I'm doing...
I think at the start of this week, I've been trying to understand what i'm doing here...It's really been humbling because I came here late and am still elarning so much about the culture and how things are run. While I totally wish I had established all these relationships with all these people already...it totally is a patience game as I am constantly learning and trying to get settled. The culture is so different...yet it is really cool to be walking with my team and figuring it out.
Well! That's it for now! Here's some stuff that I could not post... but I hope all's well and I look forward to seeing everyone back in the States!
Tues... Did a Bible Study, then played soccer!
It was really exciting since I haven't played in a year... the ground is a lot harder than I am use to so most of the time I had to play on my toes(which totally took out my calves later). A lot of the people who play have played soccer for a team at some point in time so it gets pretty fun (or I actually have to think a little). It was funny especially because by the end of the time, all the people on my team who played soccer were dead tired...we have a lot of getting back into shape to do!
 |
| week 2: Tues after Sports |
Weds. I had lunch table at Chuo university. After that me Ross and Kevin along with Hiro went to June's (the Filipino break dancer) place to play Super Smash Brothers! It was really nice of June to show us around and even bring us to his apartment!
 |
| Weds. Lunch table and Smash with June |
Thurs. I tagged along to check out Shuto university's English Lunch Table. (by the way, lunch table is where we converse in English, it is a great way for college students to practice!) After that DiJou took us to Karaoke where we spend 4 hours singing...for 7 dollars each (which includes the drink). After that I spent some time with DiJou practicing his English in Mister Donouts(he is giving a speech in 2-3 weeks about love). Then hit the onsen once again with Ken and Masashi (it was good especially since everyone was sore from soccer).
 |
| Thurs Lunch Table at Shuto and Karaoke!! |
Fri. English Lunch Table at Chuo, then we decided to bake some brownies for Ashley and Liz being that it was their birthday! It was also a good time to get to know Hiro! Even though he does not speak a lot of English, I think that it was still a lot of fun. At night we had Shaberanaito (which is English night). We played games, did some English activity, then had a talk about community and what it means to us! Heading back to the home, Tai, Masashi, Mikune, and Taro were there chilling. I went for a run with Masahi through the park at night where at the last stretch we sprinted (and I lost horribly...).
 |
| Shaberanai |
Saturday was busy! Going with Ken, Ross and Kevin, we went around with Tatsu visiting Tokyo Tower, then Roppongi then Shibuya!
After that we watched the Bourne Ultimatum with everyone else (which includes Taro)...where I sorta passed out...
 |
| Sat. Tokyo Tower!! |
Sunday we had an intensive English lesson on words, then me and Dave along with Mamo and Masashi went to watch Tokyo FC!!! while it was a tie, and sorta rainy, the game was simply...awesome (I also caught footage of the one goal and penalty shot Tokyo FC had!) We ended the night hanging out with the other setters in the house...and actually the night didn't really end for me as Masashi and Hiro were planning on watching the Eurocup finals with Germany against Spain (yea so did I ever tell you guys that I love soccer...?). It was at 3am...I woke up at 4 and watched the first half with Hiro (he passed out by the 2nd half)...and Masashi came in for the last part of the game. Spain won, and it was quite the aggressive game I might say.
 |
| Sunday Tokyo FC!!!! |
So here's how I'm doing...
I think at the start of this week, I've been trying to understand what i'm doing here...It's really been humbling because I came here late and am still elarning so much about the culture and how things are run. While I totally wish I had established all these relationships with all these people already...it totally is a patience game as I am constantly learning and trying to get settled. The culture is so different...yet it is really cool to be walking with my team and figuring it out.
Well! That's it for now! Here's some stuff that I could not post... but I hope all's well and I look forward to seeing everyone back in the States!
2008年6月23日月曜日
In between the Orientation and Kyoto
Yuki's Dance Performance!
Who new that I would leave the sub-culture of UCI and Hip hop only to find this?!?!
Who new that I would leave the sub-culture of UCI and Hip hop only to find this?!?!
My first week
Hey everyone! After constant struggling through this Japanese translation of blogspot.... I have finally figured out how to use this site... sorta...
So...
The trip to Japan was very... adventurous!!
our original trip----
LAX---SFO---Tokyo
but because of bad weather...
LAX---SFO---LAX---Beijing---Tokyo
total travel time---around 30 hours, with 8 hrs in SFO, 3.5 hrs in LAX, 2 hrs in Beijing...and finally arriving in Japan!
although...I did not have my luggage...until last night!! yay!
so most of the time has been recycling clothes and borrowing (yes, underwear, deodorant, etc.)
so!
arrived weds--
thurs-fri I had orientation as well as went to a dance performance (mostly hip-hop), my first intensive English session with my an awesome person named Di Jou, and my first English Table Talk on Friday.
Friday we also left for Kyoto, where I got to meet most of the students!
Stayed at a church, then went to some temples, then downtown (got to see the Miko-san?), then stayed at a youth hostel, then more sight-seeing, ending with plenty of time enjoying the ride home!
That's it right now...I'm taking this Monday to rest (and later go to the On-sen oooo...)
So...
The trip to Japan was very... adventurous!!
our original trip----
LAX---SFO---Tokyo
but because of bad weather...
LAX---SFO---LAX---Beijing---Tokyo
total travel time---around 30 hours, with 8 hrs in SFO, 3.5 hrs in LAX, 2 hrs in Beijing...and finally arriving in Japan!
although...I did not have my luggage...until last night!! yay!
so most of the time has been recycling clothes and borrowing (yes, underwear, deodorant, etc.)
so!
arrived weds--
thurs-fri I had orientation as well as went to a dance performance (mostly hip-hop), my first intensive English session with my an awesome person named Di Jou, and my first English Table Talk on Friday.
Friday we also left for Kyoto, where I got to meet most of the students!
Stayed at a church, then went to some temples, then downtown (got to see the Miko-san?), then stayed at a youth hostel, then more sight-seeing, ending with plenty of time enjoying the ride home!
That's it right now...I'm taking this Monday to rest (and later go to the On-sen oooo...)
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| Road to Tokyo!! |
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| Orientatio |
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| Kyoto! |
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