The Doves on a Tuesday Night.

It's a Tuesday night.

Not yet time for bed.

But I have drunken a cup of chamomile mistakenly,

And the Prince has invaded my mind with crying doves.

2012 Highlights....in GIFS

In no particular order, here are the highlights of 2012!!!!

When I went home for my cousins wedding and my relatives asked if I'd be the next one to get married....

                      But the wedding was fabulous. 

                                                 

My birthday party in May and 

Iki beach party in July were like....

When my guy friends did Movemeber....

When I went to Korea with Rose and Shonda

                                                        

And then we saw the men....

Whenever a vacation ended.....

                                       

 When my friends told me they were gonna visit, I was like...

 When the summer ended...

                                 

                                                

My friends and I when we go to Fukuoka

                       

 Fabreeze Four Motto

                                       

 Nicole and I when she visited Iki

   August I was all like.....

                                        

And then I was like....

Fuji Rock was like

In the daytime....

                                      

When I ate Oden for the first time

Mid-year Conference in November

                                                              

 Trying to make my students smile after they took their speaking test

                              

When I passed the Japanese Driver's Test on the first try

And those are some of the highlights from 2012! <3 

                                                                      

Happy 2013!

A lil late, but Happy New Year everyone! I hope your holidays were joyful and your New Years celebrations full of kisses!

I don't have any solid New Years resolutions. I'm continuing what I always do, exercising daily, eating healthy, working hard, the same ol stuff. I've spoken about various things I'd like to work on personally with some friends, but other than that nothing special. However, there are things in 2013 that I'd like to accomplish:

-GRE

-TEFL certification

-Graduate school applications


Serious stuff, huh? Yeah, well 2012 was just all around fun and then one day it hit me, "Oh, I gotta figure out what I wanna do!" I love Japan, but I don't want to live here forever.

And I'm in the middle of changing the blog!! Notice the new background? New pages? I'm still tinkering with pages and I welcome your suggestions!!



Well, Happy 2013!


<3

Winter is Here. -___-

My friends. Winter is here. Now it's time to do all the ridiculous things to keep warm in Japan. For those who don't know, the kotatsu is a heated table. A blanket is put over a special plate thing( to keep from burning, I suppose), then a tabletop goes over the blanket, and the best part...you snuggle up with the blanket and put your feet under the table. It's a Christmas miracle! Now it's time eat all the mikans and drink all the tea!!!!   Happy Winter, everyone!! Stay warm! 

But We Keep Trying

Me: Hey K.

K: Hey, sensei.

J-How are yooooooou?

K: I'm (japanese I don't understand).

J: Huh? You're not fine? You're sad?

K: Yes, I'm sad.

J: Aww, why?

K: Ahh, many problems.

J: Mmm?

K: Friend problems.

J: Don't worry K. I get yah.

K Really?

J: yeah, at this age there are many problems, but when you get older-

K: So when I become an adult, I won't have anymore problems.

J: Ah..uhmm..ummm...mmm. Actually I take that back. Adults still have problems.

K: (looking defeated and discouraged) Oh.

J But we keep trying.

K: Mmm. We keep trying.

The Islands that Divide

Today, I ate lunch with one of my third year middle school classes. After a year, they have finally overcome their shyness to ask me questions. It started innocently enough, "what's your favorite food, what's your favorite restaurant and celebrity." All well and good. Then it turned serious.
One student asked in Japanese, "Do you like Korea?" I replied with an enthusiastic yes, and that I'd be travelling there this week..

His face crumpled up in slight disgust as I leaped for excitement about my upcoming trip. Noticing that the rest of my current lunch party did not share the thrill I felt, I asked him why.

From what I could gather with my low level of Japanese and his gestures to make me understand he said,

"Korea thinks Japan is bad. And so I don't like Korea."

Another student asked me if I knew about the Senkaku Island situation.

"Yes, I know about it"

They then began to discuss the situation and my friends, the conversation made me cringe and I wanted to hide in the deepest crevice of the Earth and seek confinement away from it.

Korea was bad. China was bad. Those countries are just horrible places.

I became silent then...Of course in English I formed all that I wanted to say, but it proved to complicated to translate into Japanese. I feebly attempted to say, "but we're all humans, right" To this they reflected a bit, but if it had any affect, I don't know.

Then the conversation geared towards everyone's travel plans for the weekend.

I left, put my tray away, and quickly got on the computer to write this.


I don't know the situation with the Senkaku Islands very well. All I know is that there is a dispute between China and Japan and it seems to be escalating.  I thought it'd be something that would blow over soon, but I couldn't be more wrong. The television connection does not work in my home, so I'm unaware of the Japanese media's representation on the matter. Might I assume that it is not a very objective outlook if my students are thinking this? And I also don't know how Korea plays a part(someone enlighten me).

I fear that the conflicts of governments are trickling down to the young and now they're forming dangerous thinking concerning people of different cultures. And people wonder why I concern myself with media representations of racial, gender, and sexual minorities in the States.

However, I don't want to debate the Senkaku Islands.. This is where I open up the discussion and ask for help and advice. The chapter on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is coming up in the textbook and I feel that it will be as important as ever before for them to understand this movement. Because my students are forming negative and destructive opinions about a people, a culture, a country that they have little information on and have never visited. This scares me beyond comprehension.


So, my friends, ALT or not, how can I make this chapter more than just an English lesson? If I can, I'd like to connect the message of Dr.King's speech to the current situation. I'm not looking for an overnight miracle, but I do want them to start thinking seriously about their world. At least a little.


So far I have videos on the bus boycott, "The Long Walk Home," with Japanese subtitles. I also found the movie Amistad, also with Japanese subtitles, that can help give some context to American history and slavery. And after that, I'm stuck....

Feel free to comment on the page, e-mail me, or comment on the facebook post.


My e-mail, Julnoel5@aol.com

Hair DIY!

Hey everyone! I've gone down a new road in my natural hair journey. I don't wanna spend money on shipping cost to get hair products delivered to Japan; so...I'm gonna make own stuff. 

I've been watching a couple of vlogs and I found one that I really love. Thank you, DearNaptural85!. 

What yah use?! 

I didn't know this, but you can use Apple Vinegar! After you shampoo, just smother your hair in it and voila...beautiful healthy hair! Yeah, don't forget to rinse it out. After that, use the deep conditioner( eggs, mayo, honey, olive oil) and then use the regular conditioner to wash it out. 

So, my hair was lookin' tired. I even tried an EVOO(olive oil and honey) hot oil treatment and my hair was just asking for an alternative solution. But I tried this apple vinegar rinse and the egg mayo conditioner and I'm loving it! My hair has rejoined the living and it's not too oily. Wonderful! 

Give it a try! 

Next up, I'll be trying avocado, coconut milk, and flax seeds(if I find some) to make a gel. 

Homemade deep conditioner! 

2 eggs, honey, olive oil, and mayo. 

Tired lookin hair.

Apple Vinegar. It's also good for getting rid of acne!

Messy eggy mix.