The lazy crafter

I come from a long line of crafter and makers.  Both my grandmothers knitted and crocheted, one even dabbling in a bit of ceramics.  One of my grandfathers was a carpenter, and the other owned a hardware store.  Some of my earliest memories involve when my grandma would watch me in the afternoons, and I would go with her to her crafting groups.  So I guess you could say that I've always like making stuff, and I like buying handmade items.

My problem is, I become really excited about a crafting endeavor, and then lose interest somewhere along the way.  A few years ago, I taught myself to knit, and was doing pretty well with knitting scarves and straight things.  Then I couldn't quite figure out how to add on stitches, and that was the end of that.  Same thing with embroidery and crochet.

But despite this, I still continue in my crafting adventures every once in a while.  My sister and I used to have "Crafternoons", where we'd spend an afternoon just making stuff.  One time it was necklaces, another time it was Christmas wreaths.  I haven't crafted too much since I moved to Japan, but last week, the crafting bug bit.

This is a himmeli.  A himmeli is a traditional Finnish craft that was made with straw.  The more intricate the design of the mobile, the more successful the harvest, they believed.

I'd seen a few of these out in internet-world, and really liked the more modern ones made with just simple drinking straws.  I used a tutorial about how to make the cubes (are they cubes - whatever), and then made my own designs from there.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  It now hangs in our window.

What was perhaps the best thing about this craft is that it took me only a few hours to make it, once I got the hang of creating the geometric shapes.  And that's perfect for an ADD crafter like myself.  I'd definitely like to make more of these.

I wonder what I'll be making next?

Valentine's Day

I'm a little late posting about V-Day, but Thursday is my Japanese class, and then the weekend just flies by.  Valentine's Day is celebrated a bit different here in Japan.  The holiday isn't really about roses, jewelry, and a nice dinner like it is in the States.  It's mainly a chocolate fest, with girls and women giving the sweets to the boyfriends/husbans/friends/coworkers.  Men are supposed to reciprocate on White Day, in March.

We Robinsons take a little of both traditions for our Valentine's Day.  I made a nice dinner for the boys and gave them some Godiva chocolates.  I had the "I Like You" poster made and gave it to Nathan.  In case anyone is interested, I made the large God's Eye in the picture, and Ethan made the small one at school in 6th grade.  Nathan bought me a Korilakuma kokeshi that now stands proudly with the rest of my collection.  (Note to self; stop collecting kokeshi.  You can't bring them all home.)

I also made a cake for the boys this week, which I was pretty proud about, since baking is not something I do very often.  Besides banana bread.  Man, I love that stuff.

Snow Business

Snow and ice festivals in Sapporo, Susukino, and Otaru.

This fellow...

I've missed seeing this guy's face around.  And I've missed singing with him too.
Takuya's working hard, studying and taking entrance exams to go to medical school.  But he'll be free soon and hopefully we can perform a few Lives again!

Pity Party

Well, I failed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.  Again.

I really thought I had it this time.  I studied a lot - especially kanji, which I really didn't know that well when I took the Level 4 test the first time in July.  Reading was what failed me last time, and it's what did me in again.

It's frustrating and embarrassing to have failed again. I've been here for two years now, I should be able to pass the second-to-lowest level test.  I enjoy studying, but maybe I'm just not studying enough?  Should I up my classes during the week?  Academics always came so easy to me in my high school and college years.  I mean, I was pregnant during my first year of college and still only made one C grade (Texas government - bleh).  Studying and retaining information has never been a problem, yet it's taking a really long time for me with Japanese.

Will I try again?  Who knows right now.  I'm disappointed, and not sure if I wanna invest the money in a test I've already failed twice.  I think what it all comes down to is this: I need to speak more Japanese. I need to stop being afraid of messing up and just take a chance.  My friends aren't gonna judge me if I use the wrong particle or if I mess up a verb conjugation, so I need to stop judging myself.

On Friday night, I took a taxi home after spending some time with friends.  Usually the taxi drivers are quiet, but this one was particularly chatty.  I kept up a conversation with him for 20 minutes while he drove me home.  Of course, my Japanese wasn't perfect, and several times I didn't understand what he was saying, but we made it work. I realized then that I do know more Japanese than I give myself credit for, and that I can keep a conversation going, even if it is just a simple one.  

One more year...

It's recontracting season here in Sapporo, which means all JET Program ALT's must choose if they'll leave in July, or stay another year.

Nathan and I have decided that we want to stay one more year in Japan.  There's a few reasons for this: Ethan's doing so well in school, we want a little more time to pay off some of our credit card debt so we can tackle student loans, Nathan would like to run some more races here in Japan.

But perhaps the most important factor for us is that we are just so fulfilled in our jobs right now.  For one of the first times in my life, I feel like my personality is perfectly suited for my job.  So many years I was told that I was too nice, or "smiled too much."  As an ALT, these things are assets in helping students learn and become interested in English.  Nathan has also found his niche as an elementary school English teacher.  The students LOVE him, and he receives glowing compliments from every school he goes to.

Our 5 years in New Jersey while Nathan was in graduate school was a difficult time for all of us.  It stretched us to the limit both financially and emotionally.  I think Nathan and I both left there feeling a bit defeated.  But living and teaching in Japan has given us our confidence back, as well as that "spark" that had kind of gone out for both of us.

We feel like we need one more year to get our ducks in a row, pay off some more bills, and figure out what we really want to do when we return to the States.

A year is so fast, and 2014 will be here before we know it.  But for now, we'll savor the year and a half we still have.

Weekenders: Yokohama and Tokyo

If our trip had been only the one day of Kamakura, I would've been a happy girl.  But oh no, our trip wasn't over yet.  On Sunday morning, we left Fujisawa to first visit Yokohama.  Yokohama was one of the first pors town to open to foreign trade back in the day, so it felt to me like there was a really cool international vibe to the place.  First up in Yokohama was China Town.

We hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so we grabbed some niku man and went to a restaurant that Kazunari said made a really good rice porridge.  When we got there, there was a line out the door, so I believed him.

The shops mascot is Santa.  Because, why not?

I always love China Towns in large cities.  They're always so bright and gaudy - in a good way.  And I love Chinese food markets.

While there, we went to the Guan Di Miao Temple.  Quite impressive.

Afterward, we walked to the pier.  It was such a beautiful day - another "wanna take your jacket off" kind of day.

Next, it was time to make our way to Tokyo.  Once there, we went to Asakusa, one of the oldest districts of Tokyo to see one last temple, the Kaminarimon Gate.

Man, there were LOTS of people there, everybody wanting to say a prayer and get their fortune for the year.  And look at the size of that lantern behind us!

But perhaps the highlight of the day was going to see Sumo Wrestling.  We were lucky enough to be in Tokyo on the one time of the year they have a 15-day tournament in the city.  I was expecting it to be a little bit boring - I mean, most of the match time is spent squatting, then standing, throwing more salt, before finally pushing each other for a few seconds.  But was I wrong.

It's very stylized and traditional, but once you understand the rules and what each movement and gesture means, it's really interesting.  And the crowd is really passionate during sumo.  Lots of cheering on for their favorite wrestler.  The exciting energy from the other viewers and just being there live made it so exciting.  I found myself cheering them on.  Ethan loved it as well, and he and Nathan were even placing bets on who would win.  Lots of fun.

Then we went to eat with Kazunari and some of his friends.  Ethan even made some okonomiyaki!

The four of us stayed the night in Tokyo, planning to get up early the next day and see some more Tokyo sights before our flight Monday afternoon, but the weather had other plans.  The morning started with rain, so we decided to go to the National Museum of Nature and Science.  It was fun, and despite not being able to read the explanations, it was still a good time.  I especially like being able to see Hachiko.

By the time we left the museum, it was really snowing!  So we ate some lunch and made our way to Narita airport, hoping our flight wouldn't be delayed as the snow kept falling.  We entered the airplane, and then they told us that we couldn't take off for an hour.  Then two hours.  Then they had to de-ice the airplane, but we were third in line, so it should be another hour.

Then they ran our of de-ice.  So another hour.

After about 4 hours inside the plane, we were finally off to Sapporo.  And after that, boy was I glad to be home!  But it really was such a wonderful time, and we are so happy to have such a good friend like Kazunari.  He truly is our Japan ambassador!

Thanks for the great time, Kazunari.  It was awesome!!