Day 91 - 一生懸命勉強しなくちゃ!!

June 26, 2011

I had my tutoring lesson again after 4 months. Yes...4 months. Well, しょうがないなあ～ I bet the quake changed "everything".

It was nice to see Kikuchi sensei again. It's good to know that her family is well; however, a few of her acquaintances passed away... That's tough. One of her co-workers passed away from the tsunami. She was talking to her co-worker on Thursday and her co-worker was gone on Friday! That's quite scary...

Hmmm, I really need to study hard, but I have so many things to do!! Hmm, Kikuchi sensei even doubted if I could pass N3 in Dec. I doubt I would pass too...... =S Well, I'll try...

ファイト！

Day 89 - There's still a loooooooooooooooooooooooong way to goooooooo.... Ohhh...

June 24, 2011

TGIF! Well, It's just normal to actually work before a holiday. My "private lesson" yesterday had come to a test. I had to teach that speaking activity to the 3rd years by myself. I seriously thought I should know more. In the ESL world, teachers teach by themselves anyway... Why couldn't I do it????? As per yesterday's discussion about the lesson, I wrote down the different possible questions to ask the students to check their understanding. The vibe somehow was just not there. Well, I bet there were many factors. I guess I didn't set the "tone" of the class well...? I guess I should have had some sort of ice breaker activity. The classroom was very warm, and the students were mostly tired. When I was asking questions, a vast majority of them were unresponsive....Anyway, both of the classes didn't turn as well as expected....or not even close to not even close...

Yeah, I still have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG WAY to go for this teaching craft. I guess as always, I learn a bit slower than normal people. Ugh, I can't wait to be an effective educator.


When would that be???



I wonder...

Day 88 - Here comes the expert...!

June 23, 2011

Ohhhh, I thought I could do better than what I've been doing. I guess I still need more experience, thoughts, practice, effort.

Anyway, I had and have to do a speaking activity with the 3rd years. I didn't really know what was the best way of doing all everything. I guess the good thing of teaching 7 classes is that I have the opportunities to change things up in different classes. I did this lesson 3 times now. There were somewhat help from my JTEs. However, since one of my JTEs won't be in school tomorrow, I'll need to do them by myself. Well, I feel like I should be able to do it, but I still feel like I don't know how to get the message across.

After the seminar today, I went to the BOE to pick up something with our educational adviser. He was SUPER helpful. He told me a lot of things that a native speaker may not notice. These are the notes he gave me. He taught me techniques that may work and how the lesson could go. Man, when he was telling me all the ideas, I could envision how effective that can be in the classroom!! However, I am not so confident in being able to reproduce the same effect. Well, I will try some aspects of method tomorrow! Hope it would work...!

Ugh, I sometimes feel 有心無力 in my teaching... I want to do well...I want to do something, but I don't know how to do things effectively. Aiya...I wonder how many times I have to screw up to learn the good ways...!

keep on learning laa....add oil.

Day 83 - 與其想爆頭腦，不如努力向前。哈！

June 18, 2011

Haha, the title actually doesn't make much sense. I sincerely thank my friends who show care and support. I am definitely fortunate to have caring people around me. That's right. While I thought I have gone through my "quarter life crisis", it is somehow back...perhaps in a slight different form. I'm still trying to figure out the line between accepting myself and changing...

Oh well, instead of keep thinking...thinking...thinking and be frustrated, it might be better to move forward. I just found out a very cheap gym near my place. I initially thought that 12,500 yen/month w/ 1 year commitment was the only gym near my place; however, I found one that is 1,600 yen/month or 300 yen each time! Most people pay about 6,000-10,000 yen/month for going to the gym. Since I have such good facility nearby, why not use it? Man, I should have exercised more loooong time ago! Oh well, it's better late than never I suppose.

That's right. Working towards something that's good for me would make my time here more worthwhile.

我要努力！加油吧！！がんばるぞ！！

Day 79 - Burnt...in & out

June 14, 2011

Today is back to school day after the 3-day sports days. It was good that we only had half a day of school. Well, I didn't think the kids would be super focused even if we had full day classes anyway.

Yeah, my arm hurts. After 2 days of 野球応援, I am officially burnt. Oh well, I really enjoyed seeing my students play.

Somehow my brain felt "burnt" to...ashes too. I just didn't feel...right. I guess I still haven't figured out where the line should be. Man, it was awesome to see friends in days like that. You're awesome. I was lucky.

Well yea, I guess like the song says, "人家說的話，隨便聼一聼，自己做決定。"

Thanks.

Day 76 - 中総体 etc.

June 11, 2011

It's day 1 for the city sports tournament. Along with the brass band students and teachers, I went to see a softball game. It was too bad that it was raining, but that didn't stop us from cheering for our school! =)

Since it was brass band, they practiced different cheering tunes and slogans to cheer the softball team. The cheers really brought a "go go go!!!!" atmosphere. It fun. Our girls won w/ a score of 9-2!! Yay!!

After work, a friend and I went for yakitori. It was gooood yakitori. Our conversation really got me thinking. I guess I do need the push sometimes. I was frustrated, but I guess growth often causes frustration. That's true. I have been here for almost a month now. What have I achieved? What more do I want to achieve next year? I do like to spend time with friends...but I wonder what happened to me that makes me spend so much time by myself... Perhaps I'm starting to be more and more disconnected. I'm not sure. I don't know. I guess I don't know what's the best... Perhaps my own little bubble is formed again.

I guess I'm just contradicting myself.

I'm not sure where I am. I'm not sure how I should be.


I am lost.

Day 72 - Patience.

June 7, 2011

Haaaa, this is a SUPER random thing. I did a little trip to Don Quixote, and I saw this "step ladder" stool thing that I was looking for when I first came to Japan. The ones I saw before were either too short or too expensive for what they were. Hehe, I saw this at Don Quixote for 50 yen ($0.5) today. Sweet. I'm getting it.

When I was walking back home, I suddenly thought of how sometimes we have to wait for the things that suit us. Like the drama I'm watching now, we sometimes need patience for the best thing or chance to come. Well, of course it doesn't mean that we should passively wait for the best, but I guess we do have hope for the good to come. Perhaps we can only do the best of the things in front of us, then the "harvest" would come at the right time...whatever form that is in.

Well, the cheap stool is such a trivial thing. However, I'm glad I found the cheap stool...and it's green! What a happy colour. =)

Day 66 - When the missing piece meets the big O

June 1, 2011

This is a book I wanted to buy along with my CD and cookie cutter. I saw this book in the school library. I really like it. It's a very simple book, but I think it's quite meaningful.

The book is about a "pizza slice", or part of a circle searching for its "missing piece", which is the rest of the circle. It keeps on searching for the missing piece and couldn't seem to find it. One day, it saw the big O. The O said, "why don't you become your own circle?" The piece looking for the missing piece then starts to try rolling. It was hard in the beginning because the piece is full of sharp edges. However, as the piece starts to roll, it has become a circle!

Well, I guess that's a short summary of the story book. I really like it. I guess different people would have different takes on the book. Some people say it is about love; some people say it's about life; some people say it's about friendship. I thought of people who are eventually become independent (or grow) by trying to roll. Yeah, I guess sometimes we had to do things that are difficult; however, if we do try to "roll", we would become a different us and grow! Rolling with edges may be difficult in the beginning, but if we persist, we could become an O!

Interesting. I will continue to roll. =)

Day 61 - 想，但如何。。。？

May 27, 2011

I recently have many possible ideas for school. I do want to give my students more opportunities to use/experience English. I was doing some searching for lesson ideas at work. I saw some ALTs created an English room that would foster a positive learning environment. There would be English posters everywhere for students' references. There could also be an English "conversation" board so students can freely express themselves in English. This idea sounds very good...at least theoretically. This is a potential room that I might be able to use in school. Ugh...there are sooo many things I want to do in school, but I don't know how!!!!! I do want to inspire these students to at least not repeal English. I have a looooooong way. I hope to be able to do something.

Oh, so I did my colour and number activity with the special needs class. It actually was a lot better than I thought! =) Thank God. =) I was a bit worried before class because the students are required to say the colour and number out loud. However, some students are really shy. I remember a number of them cried when I asked them "How are you?", so I didn't know if that activity would be too stressful.

To my surprise, the students reacted very well to the activity! =) All the students put up their hands to say the colours and numbers! They got very excited about the activity! One of the students tried many times, but he still didn't find the treasure. During the last few minutes of class, because he was the only student who didn't have a sticker, so I kept on calling him to reveal the colour papers. The others students who put up their hands were laughing so hard since I kept on calling that student's name. It was a fun lesson. It was good to know that the students at least knew how to say the 9 colours and numbers 1-10.

Yay, it's weekend. I like it. =)

Day 60 - Treasure hunt

May 26, 2011

This is a “game board” that I’m planning to use tomorrow in my Special needs class. We are going to review colours and teach numbers 1-10. It looks colourful and stuff and fun. Hope the kids would like it! I’m glad that I am able to recycle the materials that I made before for this lesson. The colour papers were used in the 3rd years for a comparative/superlative review. They were also used in the special ed. Class when I was teaching numbers. The big cardboard was used as a game board previously in the special ed. Class.

This activity is very simple. Under the 90 colour cards, there are 12 stickers hidden behind the cards. The students will call out the colour and number of the card for me to reveal the “surprise”. There will be 9 students at most in my class tomorrow because all the 2nd years don’t have to come to school. I figure each student should at least get 1 sticker. However, I am a bit nervous about the activity. Although it seems interesting, most 1st year students are very shy and they refuse to speak publicly. I remember a kid would cry everything she had to speak publicly. Oh well, whatever. I’ll give it a shot anyway. You never know until you try.

Yes, you never know until you try. You never know what the result would be until you actually take the “risk” the flip the card. That’s my random thought when I was designing the activity. Haaaaaa, yea, it’s very random. I guess this activity is kind of like life in general. Well, at least a super over-simplified “life”. We often have to make different choices. We all want to good outcomes from the choices that we make, like getting the sticker (or treasure). Yeah, we often need to put effort to even have the chance of getting the treasure (the students need to know how to say the colour and number of the card). However, there may be many times in our lives even when we made our decision and put our effort, all we get is….nothing. Some people may be lucky enough to get what they want in a few go’s, but some may try many many times and still get nothing. Well, is it fair? I guess it’s just part of life. However, I guess those who try and try would still get “something” out of the process, like my special ed. Students. For those students who will try many times to find the stickers and fail, at least they got A LOT of practice in saying colours and numbers! I guess that is still some sort of gain…eh?

Haaaaa, I’m not sure if I’m even making sense….XD Since there are chances for us get something pleasant out of our effort, I guess the best thing we can do is to try our best. We could only keep on trying…and trying…and trying…

That’s right. Get the most out of every opportunity!~

共勉之。

Day 48 - Creep...

May 14, 2011

WOOOOO! WHAT A CREEPY PICTURE!! Yup, that's the creep. I've been sick for a few days. I was supposed to volunteer today, but I ended up sleeping in. When I woke up at around 9, I actually felt ok. I was only coughing. After shower, food, and a movie, my head AND stomach started to hurt like crazy...so I took a nap for around 2 hours. Yeah, it was a lot better after the nap. It was such a nice day today!! I felt like the more I stay at home, the more rubbish I'll feel...so I still got my butt out of the bed and went out in the afternoon.

Yes, I was wearing a mask. For those who don't know, Japanese likes to wear masks. They mostly wear masks for 2 reasons: to protect others from getting their sick germs, and to prevent from getting disease from others. I am not a big fan of wearing masks. You're pretty much breathing in and out your own gas...that's kinda gross. Oh well, we should be considerate of others.

Something random...

I was reading my elementary school classmate's blog. She just did a bike tour around Taiwan. It was refreshing just to read her blog! It looked like an awesome experience! It made me think that maybe I should have some sort of challenge for myself too. I guess I did make my first step in coming to Japan by myself. I feel like more challenges are ought to come. What are they? I don't know. It's interesting to read her blog. One of her posts was 人總要離開一陣子...so I'm glad I'm where I am. Recently, some various interactions with different people, I seem to learn more about myself. Sometimes I don't even know why I do or think what I do/think. It's very odd sometimes. I sometimes somewhat regret I did what I did..or I said what I said... Oh well, I guess I'll try my best to do the right thing, then the result will not matter anymore. I guess 有些事情嘗試了，用盡我知道的去做了。。。就算結果不盡如意，也沒甚麼好不快。世上大概有很多事我們掌控不了吧。。。 Sometimes I think I creep people out. Ohhh......I'll try not to.

While I was walking to town today, I heard 在你手中 again. I was very touched...once again. Yeah, everything is in Your hands. I shall enjoy everything I have...whether what I have as a person or the things I experience. Although I am not that young anymore, I still sometimes wish I could be different in certain ways. Well, I don't know. Like what my ex-classmate wrote in one of her posts, sometimes I think I am in the 迷 stage. I sometimes don't know what I'm doing, why I'm doing what I'm doing, or what I should be doing. I guess as she said, feeling "lost" can be good. At least we realize we're "lost". It could be a good chance to grow...to improve as a person. I guess I'm somewhat still trying to find my place in this universe. I want to find home too.

Another realization...self confidence brings beauty... I guess it's true in a way.



Hmm...challenges. When will be my next? What would it/they be?


I wonder......

Day 47 - Wounds can be healed…

May 13, 2011

Dedicated to my sister, Grace, this is a post for her. Well, specifically, it’ll be about her cow.

If you’ve read my post a few days ago, you would know that a cow that my sis gave me had a broken leg. My students broke his/her leg when they were passing the cow during our ice breaking activity. Since I wanted to use the same passing object for the other classes, I decided to perform an operation on his broken leg. I’m glad that I got some sort of glue a while ago for my bulletin board. The glue actually worked a lot better than I thought! The cow can stand again!! Woohoooo~ =)

Ha, after the “operation”, something popped into my mind. Yeah, wounds can be healed. It might take some time to find what's the best thing to heal the wound. I was lucky that the glue I had miraculously worked quite perfectly. =) After the wound is healed, it can stand again! Although sometimes there might be scars, at least one can walk again like normal~ =) Well, it takes time to heal. God lets the best to happen at His best time ma. Meanwhile, it would be good to get the most out of the given circumstance.

Haaaa, it was nice to dine w/ Amanda & Winsy. Too bad Emily couldn't come. Haha, we all shared our "random thoughts/happenings". I was actually still kind of sick, but some random stuff gave me smiles. =)

I was having lunch with one of the 3rd year classes. I was sitting in front of a boy in the baseball club. It was vvvvvvvvery cute that when he found out I was going to sit beside him, he was thinking of asking me some English questions. Unfortunately, he forgot his textbook. They tried to use English to talk to me, and they also taught me some Japanese.　　After lunch, one of the girls introduced me to her boyfriend who was in 3-6. Haha, it was very cute. We were searching for her bf. She is a very cute and funny girl. She is those 大哭大笑 kind of girl. I then went to the library. Usually if I didn't have to prepare things for the afternoon classes, I would walk around in the school to talk to students. The students can see the field from the library window. Every time I went to the library, I could see students (mostly girls) stood by the windows to see the people at the field. One of the 2nd year girl showed me her ex-bf. Hmmm, I actually was not sure if I misunderstood her Japanese..........I was like...WHAT?? U'RE ONLY 13! Hmm, I guess so....前 means "before" right? Then she kept on telling me how cute that 3rd year ex-bf was. It was very interesting. That girl never really talked to me because she thought English is totally useless. She figures she's never leave the country, so she doesn't need English. It's interesting to see how the dynamics between the students and I change. They are mostly pleasant changes tho. =)

Yay! Weekend. I like. =)

Day 43 - I miss you, mo & mao

May 9, 2011

Well, this picture is obviously not taken in Japan. It was before I left Japan in July. It was nice to see mo mo again. Since Mao mao immigrated to heaven in Feb 2009, I really missed seeing cat. I still remember Mo mo was Mao mao's childhood "enemy" back then. Haha!

It was sad to say goodbye to a loved one. Mo mo went to join Mao mao in heaven today. Hope they wouldn't fight like the past. Eva, cheers sis. =) Thank God for giving him 16 years in this world. Mao mao, I miss you too.

Yeah, it's a reminder for us that there's an end in everything on earth. Let's continue to make the most every opporunity we have... Let's make our every encounter with people the most precious ones. Let's get the most out of everything we're doing.

Every moment is a precious one....so treasure it. =)

Day 41 - Sing sing sing~

May 7, 2011

I love weekends, but they never seem long enough..XD Well, I can't complain at all since I had a 7-day holiday not long ago. It was a chilled day. =) My "only" activity was probably singing K.

Man, karaoke here is soooooo much cheaper than in Vancouver!! I guess because karaoke places are everywhere in Japan, and most people don't sing K in the afternoon. The deal we got included a deesert, unlimited soft drink & soft serve, and 3 hours singing. It was only 1,290 yen!!! Because it's a Saturday, it was 300 yen more expensive than normal days. It was very cheap compared to Vancouver in my opinion. It would be 200 yen more if it was all u can sing. However, we figured 3 hours should be enough for 2 ppl.

In Vancouver, the cheapest I knew was about 2,000 yen (including tax & tips) for all you can sing within 5 hours on weekdays from 2pm-7pm. If you wanted drinks, you would have to order drinks one by one. I also remembers paying more than $50/person (about 5,000 yen) when I went singing with some friends back in Vancouver. However, I do miss singing K w/ friends in Vancouver. =)

It was fun! =) It was great to hear some "new" songs and get my Chinese song fix. There are a number of Chinese songs. We sang some English songs, Chinese songs, and a few Japanese songs. I missed singing Chinese songs. It reminded me of my life in Vancouver. haha! =P In terms of Chinese songs, I was surprised to find some perhaps not as "famous" songs, but not be able to find some perhaps more famous songs. For example, we wanted to sing 好心分手 since we were looking for a duet. However, we were a little bit surprised they didn't have it. Oh well, everything was good. =)

Interestingly, I suddenly felt like I have an "epiphany" (笑). I felt like I really need to change one of my habits in speech. I guess since it's a habit, I find myself do it unconsciously. By the time I said something like that, I've already said it. haha! Well, I'll continue to try. =)

Thanks for the company. =) I figured my Mandarin is even worse now... (哭）=(

Day 39 - 仙台、ただいま～

May 5, 2011

Today marked the end of my short but sweet Aomori/Hirosaki trip. It was a nice little trip. Today also marked the end of Golden week! I love holidays!! I wish it was longer!! This morning, we took the JR bus back to Sendai. Ohhhh, Although I just had a 7-day holiday, I felt like I didn't have enough holiday. I actually dreamt of work yesterday night!! Haa, more like a nightmere.........

Hmmm, so what had I done during these 7 days? I volunteered at Natori on day 1 and 2. Well, more like day 1 I would say. Because I was late, we only made towels. Ha... I didn't do much on day 3. Well, I cleaned my place, so I guess I still accomplished something...? I believe I didn't do much on day 4 too. Ohhh, I just mailed a package and went to a bday party. Then it was day 5-7, which was my Aomori/Hirosaki trip. Wow, time flies, but I would have to say this Golden week was quite well-spent. =P

Yeah, that's true. We don't konw what will happen in the future. I believe we are in God's hands. Stick to him and He will guide us through. It is common for human to worry about things, but I guess as long as we believe we are safe in His arms, He will give us "surprises" that are for our good, and 超乎我們所求所想。 May God give me the strength and wisdom in walk in Your ways. =)

Hehe, it's always great to hear good news. May God continue to bless all these people... Be strong and courageous. God has His time for different things to happen in our lives. Do we trust that He will guide our lives as long as we stick to His words?

I am learning.

Day 34 - 一期一会～

April 30, 2011

This was Day 2 of our volunteering in Natori. Sigh.....I was sooooo bad...I missed the train..=( So we arrived the centre about 15 minutes later. Same as yesterday, we sat in the volunteering centre and waited to be called for jobs. Ha, it was interesting that the coordinator remembered us. He specifically came to us and said something like "you are here again! ご苦労様でした". Yesterday, because we sat on the wrong side, so we got called pretty late. Today, we sat on the right side.... There was a job of cleaning the roads that requires 30 people. We put up our hands for the job. Including my friend and I, we would make 29 people; however, the coordinator stopped right before us and called other people. Ha....very interesting. Thus, we, along with a few other people, stayed in the centre to do something that's quite inefficient - hand sew a stack of rags. Those were probably for cleaning the floor. They were a big piece of towel, and you would have to fold them in half, sew all the sides and make a cross. I wasn't sure where the towels would be used. It would have been nice if there was a sewing machine... =P It would just be a lot more efficient and more secure. It took us an hour or more to do 1 towel. ha! interesting. It was very nice for the big guys to be willing to do any tasks that were given to them. There were two other men who were all prepared to do some heavy stuff. They looked strong; they had gloves, boots. We thought it might have been better if they were put to do other heavy duty stuff...? They might have had put into more use.... Oh well. I guess it was truly an easy day for us and for them. ha!

Yes, 一期一会. It is a Japanese saying. It means there's only one time in doing something in life, so we should make the best out of it. This phrase is more towards meeting people. A lot of times we don't know how many times we would meet someone. We would perhaps just meet someone once in our life. I think this phrase means something like being able to meet a person is 緣份, so we should treasure and make the best out of every encounter we have with people. I guess that's another reasons why the Japanese are and were really willing to help each other because every encounter is "precious".

When we were sewing those stuff, I talked about one of the questions during my JET interview. I still remember one of the last questions that the embassy representatives asked me was "What is your motto in life?" Ha, I think I didn't really answer his question.....or perhaps I did. I remember I said something along the line of "getting the most out of every opportunity". I think it's true. There are many times when things don't work out as expected or as good as it could be....well, at least for my life. However, I guess if we try to get the most out of every opportunity, we would probably be able to learn something valuable from the experience. It was actually quite sad mentioning my failure during my education job hunt... Yeah, I bet something went wrong... Man, mentioning failure can be tough. I guess yea...getting the most out of every opportunity. Yeah, I guess another way of saying it is "when u can't get what's ideal, then you have no choice but to suck up your alternatives..." Ha, sounds kinda sad. However, I did like the "you can never succeed if you don't try" mentality. I will remember that. Thanks my friend. Perhaps the communication part of it made the making towel more..interesting..ha! XD Wish you the best!! =)

In the evening, it was very nice to meet up with Emily, Winsy, and Amanda again. We got some bento and 1/2 off Mister donut to Amanda's. We were going to watch a movie, but we ended up sharing some lesson ideas and just chatted about random stuff. It was a great night. =) I am glad I have you girls for me to chill and stuff. I am definitely comfortable w/ you girls. You are like my family here. =)

Yes, I do enjoy my every encounter w/ people here, especially those people whom I have talked with, done stuff with. Like Hung said, ALTs leave and go, but I really treasure all my encounters here with all of you. No matter if we will ever meet again, I will never forget the time spent together...supported each other especially after the quake.

一期一会,I truely treasure my encounters with all of you....everyone.

Day 30 - Uncertainties...

April 26, 2011

Somehow...I felt like I don't belong anywhere. I didn't even know what picture I was taking...or what I was traying to take. I don't know why...somehow I felt like I'm in no where.... I felt like I've left "home" for a long time...wherever that is. It's not even a year, and I feel like I don't know where I am. I couldn't really see the end. Well, stupid statement. No one can see the end unless we are there.

I'm not sure what makes me thing of that. Somehow feel lost...feel like I'm out of the loop...I'm no where. I'm not sure if it's because I was kind of busy and nervous at work.

It's good to have something that would almost last forever. Now I see the importance of close family. I think (and hope) my family wouldn't leave me out of no reason. We don't have to always be together, but I know we have a place in each other's heart no matter where we are. I was talking to a friend on Monday and I totally agree with what he said. It is definitely sad....very sad to see relationships (whatever kind..) end. It is true when we are attached to something/others. God will never leave me right? I envy those......

Hmm, where am I? What's ahead? Where's my place?

Eat, pray, love.

On a Saturday...no work, no other commitments other than dinner in the evening w/ friends, dishes to wash, laundry to do, Japanese to study, super nice nice day out. Hmm, what am I doing? eating (as usual...sigh..), watching a movie on pps, daydreaming. The sun is telling me to out go outside...enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the breeze. My brain is telling me to study Japanese since it's lesson time tomorrow. Oh, my other side of the brain is telling me to think of the shopping lesson that I need to do soon...very soon. (well, work.....screw work. It's weekend.. =P ) Hmm, a waste of time? perhaps. However, I'm really enjoying it. Somehow I've been hearing "Eat, pray, love" fairly often recently. Since it's Saturday, I will indulge myself and eat & watch this movie.

Somehow I think it seems as if I'm doing what Liz is doing: go somewhere foreign, start from stratch, and discover myself and the world. I hope I could know more about myself from this experience..haa

man...why does it take sooo long for me to type something? k, i guess i'll put something up before i lost what i wanted to say..ha!

Where do we find joy & peace?

It is good that I seem to be back to my Japan mode. Coming to Japan this time seems easier I guess because I now have my Japan life....I know some ppl now...things are more noraml in Japan. Yeah, somehow I'm learning (I think I'm getting a bit better...) at relying on God. He holds the future, and He holds our hands. Why fear? Why frustrated? I was talking to a friend lately. I think I understood his struggle...a bit. =) You are always in my prayers...really. You guys are like my family. Yeah, it is not easy to adapt to change sometimes....especially when it's a change that we ourselves don't want to go through. It is true. It is sad to become distant to a once close friend/buddy. You used to hang out...you used to know what's going on with the other person/ppl. However, because of certain circumstances, that kind of relationship has passed. It is sad....也很無奈, but there's nothing one can do. Doing something would only make it feel like trying too hard...that's even more awkward, or even annoying. Well, I believe God has overcome the world. I guess why not find joy and peace from a source that will never change? =) Hehe, something on my things to learn & improve. This is perhaps a part of growth, and the process of growing up often causes frustration. Because of different circumstances, the relationships of ppl may change and they will go to new levels. Although they might not be levels that we desire, I believe if we fully trust that God will lead, we will find comfort in that new level of relationship. It is hard. It takes time....definitely. Haha, somehow it's sort of like an awakening almost. (hmm, not sure if i'm using it correctly here..haha!)

Yeah, where do we find joy & peace? I was talking to one of the Christian JETs yesterday in our mid-year conference. I really like talking to him because somehow I feel that there's a lot in him. He is teaching in a ghetto school in Sendai. I asked if dealing with the kids would be frustrating and stuff. He said something like he doesn't like dealing with them, but well, it's like our Christian walk. Where do we find joy & peace? It is regardless of our circumstances because we know where/who the one true, unchanging one is! YES! that is very inspiring. =) Man, I wish we could have some sort of bible study. It would be good. I miss sharing with brothers and sisters. Well, let the adventure continue! =) I shall become blessings to others and continue to focus on what's true and never changing!

You will lead the future. You will never give us challenges too difficult for us to bear. Because of what you are giving us, we are who we are. You bless us with what you give or not give us.

ohoh, really liked the verse that sis shared with me.

Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Suddenly thought of this song. "How can I keep from singing Your praise~~" Thank you Lord for everything. You are amazing! =)



The storm may come, but I'm holded on..........I will walk with you..knowing you'll see me through

JOY! =)

Proton wanna be...

I want to be a proton. It's postively charged. Well, being neutral is fine too. Yeah...gonna fix my eyes on Jesus...all the time because that's where the power's coming from eh? May the force be with you...and me.
cheers~