Have A Holly Jolly New Year!!!

              

                HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD!!! There is so much to update you all on and only a limited amount of time in which to do it, but hopefully this satisfies my “frequent readers.”
                December was such a busy month! I experienced many new things, and had a wonderful time in the process! I went to Disneyland Tokyo earlier in the month with Jenna and Hannah, the two other interns here. We also went with two kids, Yukiho and Satoshi, from the church I had been going to in Tokyo. I was excited out of my mind that I was at Disneyland! I’d never been to a Disney amusement park in the States or anywhere else. When you take into consideration the fact that I am a die-hard Disney fanatic, it’s quite surprising that I had never been to any form of Disney establishment. But the fact that my first experience was in Tokyo, Japan made it totally fine by me! The entire park was alive with Christmas music and decorations! It was also packed full with people. (I suppose that’s our mistake for going to the park on a Saturday.) The longest line we waited in was a 2 and a half hour wait. After that ridiculous line, we all were starving and our feet were aching, so we sought refuge in a restaurant styled after Alice in Wonderland. (Hannah found companionship with one of the guards as we waited in yet another line for our food.) 

After resting our feet and satisfying our hunger, someone had the brilliant idea of riding the tea cups! I feel inclined to say that we all heard that voice of reason in the back of our heads (sounding strangely like each of our mothers) telling us, “You’ve heard me tell you you’re supposed to wait half an hour before swimming after eating. What do you expect me to tell you about riding colorful tornadoes of amusement after eating a hefty lunch?!” And yet, in a rebellious manner, we carried on to our doom. The line ended up taking half an hour though, so we felt as though that were justifiable. I’m happy to say that our lunch stayed down! The tea cups were SO MUCH FUN!!! It was my second favorite ride at the park! My favorite ride at the park ended up being the Winnie the Pooh ride! While waiting in line, they played nothing but Winnie the Pooh music and, being the girl that I am, I had no problem singing the lyrics loudly in English to the embarrassment of my friends and the odd looks tossed to me by our fellow line-standers. (There was actually one little girl in front of us who kept falling asleep where she stood in line. It was so funny/cute!) As you get closer to the ride, you actually get to walk through a huge version of the Winnie the Pooh book. Inside there were pages with the story written on it in English. When we got to the honeypot-shaped ride, we sat down and went through the story of the “Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” but it was all in Japanese! And the ride smelled like real honey! SO COOL! 

We stopped in at the Winnie the Pooh store and I had a chance to show some Pooh Pride and got to hug a large Pooh Bear plush doll! 

For dinner, we went to a pizza shop that was far from normal. The idea behind the shop was that they delivered pizza throughout the universe at light-speed so it would arrive to your planet and doorstop steaming hot! Seeing how I worked at Domino’s Pizza for over a year, obviously I was intrigued as I watched the cartoon characters on the TV screens and the cool moving doohickeys that “made your pizza.” Here is a video to explain what I’m talking about:

Right after dinner, our rebellious side got the best of us yet again, and we decided to ride the tea cups for a second time. I know, I know, have we no shame? No. No we don’t. :-)

As the day came to a close, we started to head to the exit, stopping at the Disney Castle to take pictures. Everything was so pretty, decorated with Christmas lights. Here are pictures taken at the end of our adventure at Disneyland Tokyo. :-)

                The following day we went to Grace City Church Tokyo. Afterwards Hannah, Jenna, and I went to Starbucks in the city. It was our second to last weekend with Hannah before she had to leave to go home to the States so we wanted to spend as much time as possible with her.
                The last week of school before Christmas break came to the excitement of both students and teachers. My English students were especially sweet that week! I asked one of my students in my 1^st-3^rd grade class to pray at the beginning of class, and this is how she prayed, “Dear Lord… thank you for… this day… and… this day… and thank you for…” and another of my students piped in with, “thank you for TEACHER!” The next day, I was asking those students if they knew what the word “pretty” meant. They said yes, so I asked them to point at the correct flashcard I was holding with a picture of someone “pretty” on it. The same student who said he was “thankful for teacher” ignored the flashcards and pointed at me and said, “TEACHER is pretty!” Aaaaw! Yeah, they’re the best! Then in my next English class with my 4^th-5^th graders, I was passing out Christmas gifts to them and one of my students said, “Thank you for present! I don’t have present for you… but I have LOVE!” and she gave me a big hug! I really love the kids at the school. It’s sad thinking that I’ll have to say goodbye to them in a few months. I try not to think about it, though.
                I went to a College Ministry Christmas party one night and we did a White Elephant exchange. I ended up getting a shnazzy scarf out of it. We also played games, one involving opening a present if you rolled two dice and the number equaled six. But you had to open the present wearing winter gloves. It was so hard! And the team member - Brent - who wrapped the present ended up wrapping so many boxes and putting them inside box after box after box. (The game ended once you held the actual present in your hand.) Guess who ended up unwrapping the final box and getting herself a new USB mouse for her computer? Yes indeed! That would be me! When the party was over, I helped clean up a bit and those of us who were still there started goofing off a bit. We made Brent wear a Christmas tree base skirt around his neck. He didn’t look like the happiest of characters. We put it on someone else and they didn’t seem to be very amused either. I found it very frustrating that they couldn’t wear a Christmas tree base skirt without exuding some form of Christmas spirit, so I had to show them how it was done, of course!

                The last day of school came and many of my students gave me presents. It was so sweet! Then a few people went out to karaoke after school. It was a nice way to end the day.
                That weekend, Jenna and I met up with Hannah at the train station in the morning. We went to Chiba to eat lunch at one of the best ramen shops in the country, and it just happens to be owned by the father of one of the teachers at our school! It was amazing! Then us gals took the train to a place where there was a recycle shop. Hannah and Jenna both found inexpensive kimonos, and I found a Christmas present for someone. After that, we went to a mall in Tokyo. Then we went to the apartment Hannah was staying in where there was a “surprise” going-away party for her. (She already knew about it.) That was a lot of fun! We had tacos, played Uno, and talked for a long while.
                On Sunday we went to Grace City Church for Hannah’s last Sunday here. We went to the apartment after that, and later that night we girls got our traditional Dr. Pepper from our favorite vending machine and walked along the river. We found a place decorated with Christmas lights (you can actually see it from the apartment window) and spent a good amount of time there together, taking pictures and being ridiculous.

 

                When we got back to the apartment, we helped Hannah pack (I played the role of “sit on the suitcase to make it zip all the way”) and then we watched Kiki’s Delivery Service and went to bed.
                In the morning, Jenna and I escorted Hannah to the airport by train, helping carry her luggage on the way. We checked her bags in and we all ate a nice lunch of ramen together at the airport. When we were finished eating, we walked with Hannah to the security gate, then huddled together and prayed. Hannah left as Jenna and I stood there watching until we couldn’t see her anymore. (I don’t know if she knew that or not. ;-)) Jenna and I took the train home after that.
                The next two days I spent painting the house of a missionary family here in Japan. They lived pretty far away – two hours by train. I also helped move a refrigerator while there. It leaked all sorts of unknown fluids onto my leg. :-/ But all in all it was a good experience!
                I went to a Christmas candle light service at Honda Chapel on the 23^rd and got to see a lot of the kids from school that I hadn’t seen in about a week! They all crowded around and hugged me at the same time. It was so sweet! It’s been very strange being on break and not seeing the kids 4 days of the week!
                On Christmas Eve, Jenna and I walked to Starbucks, which is very close to the house we’re staying at. We thought it was the perfect thing to do on Christmas Eve! One of the employees at Starbucks wrote very nice Christmas greetings on our cups in English and spoke to us in English as well! It was really cool! After our coffee, we went to a late Christmas Eve candle light service at Oyumino Chapel. It was very nice and I got to see a lot of people! When we went home, I ended up staying awake until 3 in the morning just finishing up some last-minute Christmas things.
                Christmas day was so much fun! We all woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls and sausage, which also happens to be what my family eats on Christmas morning back home! 

We all opened presents, and then I got to Skype with my family for 3 hours! (They were celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve their time - Christmas day my time – due to my Dad’s work schedule.)  When I was done talking to my family, I started helping to clean the house and set up tables because we were having a lot of guests over for Christmas dinner. Dinner was amazing and the night was a lot of fun! Once everyone left, I walked to Starbucks with Jenna and Micah for a nice Christmas coffee.
                The following Monday, I left with the Iverson’s for their annual family ski trip in Nojiri. I was so excited because we hadn’t had (and still don’t have) any snow in Oyumino yet, and I was dying to see some! We got to their cabin, which had no running water, a very interesting bathroom, and some lovely rodent inhabitants. I actually really enjoyed the rustic-ness of it all! Plus I got to see snow. :-) I attempted to snowboard our first day at the ski slopes, thanks to the patience of 6 different people trying to teach me. (I’d never snowboarded a day in my life.) I eventually gave up and decided not to try the next day to spare my poor aching muscles from the beating.

 

After both ski days, we all went to a sentou (bath house.) It was my first experience, and everyone kept telling me that the ones we went to weren’t that good. They were like shallow hot tubs, and they were burning hot! (Hotter than was natural, they said.) On Thursday, we all left Nojiri and went home.
                On New Year’s Eve, I got to meet Jenna’s mom and sister who were here visiting for about a week. We went to karaoke with them and had dinner at a yakiniku place. Yakiniku is fried meat. Each table has its own burner grill thing and you get to grill your own food. It’s delicious! This was the second time I’d had it.

When we got home, we played card games and then we watched TV just before midnight to watch the Japanese countdown. Instead of watching a ball drop in Times Square, we all watched Japanese boy-bands perform, then countdown, then they sang some more. It was rather odd, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!



                I’ve gone to Oyumino Chapel the past two weeks, and I think that’s where I’ll be going from now on. I really love it there because I’m surrounded by people I interact with more frequently than the people at Grace City Church. There’s nothing wrong with Grace City, but I like being closer to home and the people here.
                This past Sunday, Carol and I had a much needed girls’ night! We had popcorn and watched chick-flicks. It was a lot of fun, and we had a nice break together.
                On Monday I helped a family on our team move into and clean their new house. Then I went home and we had yakisoba (fried noodles) for dinner. I love yakisoba! It’s amazing! After dinner, Carol drove me to the train station so I could meet up with Jenna and her family in Tokyo. I rode the train all by myself! That’s a first. It was actually a lot of fun! I observed how everyone avoided me, the strange foreigner! It was really funny. No one would sit next to me and they stood far away while waiting for the train. ;-)
                Yesterday, Jenna, her family, and I went to the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka. Studio Ghibli makes all of my favorite movies by Hayao Miyazaki! (Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.) It was so cool being in Japan and being able to go to the museum! 

When we were done there, we all got lunch at a curry shop. I love Japanese curry! It’s so different than Indian curry and is so delicious! I took the train home by myself again because Jenna and her family wanted to go shopping. When I got home, Carol and I made pizza for dinner. It was so nice making a pizza after not having done so in such a long time! It was amazing! When Jenna and her family got home, all of us ladies went to the onsen near us. It was so incredible! Much better than the sentous we went to in Nojiri!
                Jenna’s family is leaving today, so we took them to the ramen shop Jenna, Hannah, and I went to a couple of weeks ago for lunch. And now I’m sitting here writing this blog!
                As usual, I want to thank you all for the prayers, and I have more prayer requests!
1) School is starting tomorrow, so please be praying for the transition for both students and teachers back into academic mode.
2) It looks like I will be going to Taiwan for a few days in 3½ weeks because of the visa I have. Before I go, I will be working on paperwork to get a COE which will make it possible for me to get a work visa. It takes a while for the COE to process, so please be praying that everything would process quickly and that I would get the COE before I leave for Taiwan. If I receive my COE before I leave for Taiwan, I can apply for a work visa in Taiwan, which means I would have to stay there for a week waiting for it. Please be praying that all would go well! If I get the work visa, I’ll be able to finish up the school year here, which is what I’d really like to do.
3) We will hopefully have a new intern coming here this month to work at the school. Please pray that all would be going well on her end so she can come and help us as soon as possible!

                I’m missing you all so much, and I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!

-Melanie =)

P.S. Hannah, I know you’re reading this, so HI!!!! We miss you here! Tell your family I say hello, unless you’re reading this aloud to them, in which case… HI HANNAH’S FAMILY!!! Thanks for sending her here! She’s awesome!  \(^_^)/

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” – Psalm 33:11

The Nativity and the Turkey

Happy holidays, one and all!!! So much has happened since my last blog! A good way to do this is in chronological order, I suppose.
                The day before Thanksgiving, we ended up having a team Thanksgiving dinner at Honda Chapel right next to the school. My contribution to the meal was to peel a gajillion potatoes and whip them up into a batch of mashed potatoes! (With assistance from Jenna and Hannah, the other two interns here who are my age.) Those were some dang good potatoes, let me tell ya! Anyway, the dinner was so great! Almost all my favorites were there! Ham, green bean casserole, potatoes, rolls, you name the festive dish and it was there! Spending time with the team is always great, too! After dinner, the younger ones and those young at heart went over to the school and played hide-and-seek in the dark. Naturally, I joined them. It. Was. AWESOME!
                The following day, we had another Thanksgiving dinner with the college ministry here. That was really fun! I got to meet lots of people, most being close to my age. Again, there were mass amounts of food! This time there was a puzzle involved following dinner. I am a die-hard puzzle worker on Thanksgivings! Lots of us crowded around and worked on it very late into the night!

                The past two weeks, we were in high-gear to get ready for the Living Nativity and coffee house  put on by the school this past weekend. I, being the decorating maniac that I am, took on the responsibility of setting up and decorating the Christmas tree at CCSI. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

                After decorating on Saturday, Hannah came to CCSI and eventually she, Jenna, and I went to Tokyo where Hannah is staying. We had a mini adventure when we went out for burgers and Dr. Pepper in the city. When we got back to the apartment Hannah is staying at, we realized that Jenna had left her bag at the burger shop, so we walked back and found it sitting in the exact same spot, all contents untouched inside. Now, that wouldn’t happen in a city like DC! Wow.
                On Sunday night, Jenna and I went home. On Monday we went to CCSI and worked on lesson plans for the week and also on our poster boards we made for the “12 Days of Christmas” that we were going to sing at the coffee house that weekend.
                The rest of the school week was all about the Nativity. My job in my English classes was to make sure my kids knew the English lyrics to the carols they were supposed to sing. It was a lot of fun, especially explaining to them what the lyrics meant. It was so neat seeing their eyes get bigger as they began to understand exactly what the songs were about. One of the biggest joys of being a teacher for me is when I can see that my students can understand what they’re learning!
                Some of the older kids at the school asked me to help them with an a cappella version of “We Three Kings” they wanted to sing at the coffee house. That was a lot of fun! It was a challenge, but a lot of fun.
                The Nativity came and went so fast! By the good grace of God, everything went so smoothly! Thank you so much for your prayers! No one got sick, and all those who were sick prior to the Nativity were healed by the day of! We had four performances, two on Friday, and two on Saturday. All went well, there weren’t any drastic technical difficulties (I even helped out with the lights during one performance), and no one was injured in any way!

I’ve been told that many non-believers came and were incredibly moved by the kids’ performance! PRAISE GOD!!! Please be praying that these people would come to know Christ as their one and only Savior!
                The coffee house went just as well! The kids were awesome at their carols and their electric bells playing! The a cappella went well, and Jenna’s and my performance of the “12 Days of Christmas” went just as I thought it would, but it was great all the same!

                In the midst of all the craziness last week, I ended up going to karaoke twice with big groups of people. Karaoke here is much different than it is in America. Instead of standing on a rickety stage in front of tons of people you’ve never met before and embarrassing yourself due to nervousness and/or lack of talent, here you have your own private room where you can sing to your heart’s content with your friends. I’ve been a total of three times since I’ve been here, and it never gets old!!! (Here is a picture of one of my students and me singing “Be a Man” from Disney’s Mulan. We kinda got into it… a lot.)

                I went to Honda Chapel on Sunday, which is right next to the school (where we had the Thanksgiving dinners.) We went because Hannah was in the mountains this weekend, so we didn’t go to Tokyo. I really enjoyed it there! The family I’m living with goes there, so it was nice to be with them there. Sunday was an absolutely wonderful day! It was so refreshing! I got plenty of down-time and I was able to hang out with my “temporary family” as I call them. I am so blessed by them! They’re awesome! I love hanging out with my “new brothers.” It’s weird being an “older sister” now!
                Phew! Now you’re all caught up! I have a few of prayer requests, as well.
1) Please pray for the teachers and students here at CCSI that we would have the strength needed during the school days. In two weeks our Christmas/winter break begins, so please be praying for all the studying and work that needs to happen between now and then.
2) Pray that we would be great witnesses to many people this Christmas season! There are lots of events coming up where we hope to be able to reach out to much of the community here and share the story of Christ’s birth with many. Pray that hearts would be open to hear of the greatest Love story of all time!
3) Please continue to pray for the process of me getting my COE (Certificate of Eligibility) and my work visa! I would very much like to finish up the school year here, and I can’t do that without the visa!
                Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement! I love you all and hope you’re doing well!!!

“How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You.” – Psalm 31:19

You ate WHAT?!

                My dear family and friends, greetings from across the pond! I apologize for not starting a blog or sending out any emails since I’ve been here. I have been so incredibly busy almost every second of every day! But, I have been keeping track of everything with a personal journal so I don’t forget anything and I’m able to send out these updates.

                To start with, my plane ride was long and uneventful but good nonetheless. God kept hitting me with these little blessings throughout my trip! The best of them all, though, was the fact that the seat next to me on the plane was empty, thus allowing me to stretch out my long Johnson-style legs. I can’t imagine what 13 hours in such cramped seats would have been like if someone were sitting next to me! Praise God!

                When I arrived in Japan, I was overwhelmed with such an adaption to the culture! I loved everything about it, though. The people, the places, everything! I met many members of the team here, which was really cool for me seeing how I’d only ever been in contact with them before by email. The area here is so incredibly beautiful! I love taking walks or riding a bike around because there is always something beautiful to see!

I arrived when the school I am working at now (CCSI) was having their fall break, so I had about a week to adjust and be orientated to the culture and school its self. Along with orientation, I had time to do some sight-seeing over break. One of the other interns here took me to a festival at a college in Chiba. It was so neat! It was a lot like a festival I went to in DC one time, only here the students were screaming at us from every angle, waving posters and asking us to buy their merchandise. I loved it! It was definitely different from anything I was used to.

My first Sunday here, I ended up going to two different church services – one in Oyumino, and another in Tokyo. It’s so awesome hearing the Word in different languages, even if I don’t understand it. Thankfully both services had translations, but I still enjoy hearing it in Japanese. Someday soon I hope to be fluent in Japanese! *she says with a dreamy far-off look*

My first day of school went wonderfully! The staff and students were very welcoming and helpful as I blubbered around, not quite sure what I was doing. Another of God’s little blessings showed itself to me in the form of my lack of nervousness that first day. I did and continue to feel very comfortable there! I can definitely feel the prayers coming from so many different areas around the world!

                I finally have a set schedule at school which is incredibly nice! My first week there, I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. Now that I have a set schedule, I’m able to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the days and weeks ahead. I am at CCSI from 8am to around 4 or 5pm on Tuesday-Friday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I teach English to the younger kids in the school and algebra II and history or language arts to the 9^th-10^th graders. On Thursday and Friday, I teach algebra I and history to the 7^th graders and I tutor two Japanese boys with English. The free periods I have at the school are spent grading, planning lessons, reading, and/or doing my personal devotions. At 8 o’clock on every school morning, the teachers meet for half an hour to read through the Psalms together. The Psalms have always been incredibly encouraging to me, and I feel like that’s the perfect way to start the school day. I’m very thankful that we have time set aside for this.

Recently we had a bazaar to raise money for the school. It was held at the school, and there were so many things for sale and games to play. It took a lot of work to make it all happen, but thankfully we raised a lot of money and everything has been restored to its former beauty! (As a matter of fact, the school has been neatly organized and made prettier because of the bazaar!)

                Since I’ve been here, I’ve met SO many people! My journal is full of so many random names because I am absolutely dreadful at remembering them! Thankfully I’ve almost mastered the names of all of my students. ;-) I am surrounded by so many wonderful people here! The people I am staying with are absolutely amazing! I’ve truly been blessed with this family I’ve been pulled into. One of the other interns here is staying in the same house as I am, and she is awesome! We’re the same age and share a lot of the same interests, so it’s easy to get along with one another, which is another blessing because we see each other every day. :-)

Another intern here, who is also the same age as us, is living in Tokyo while she is here, so the intern I’m living with and I go and visit her every weekend because she is leaving in December and we want to spend as much time together before she leaves. We’ve done a lot of different things in Tokyo so far including going to the zoo, an aquarium, and just walking around. One night we walked down by the river and watched different party boats sail past. They were beautiful! The lights of the city are stunning! I am awed every time I go to Tokyo. 

I am becoming giddy as Christmas comes closer every day and lights and decorations are starting to be hung everywhere. I love everything about Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year! At the school, we’re getting all prepared for our living nativity. In practice the other day I filled in as the role of Mary (or “Maria” as she is called here.) I had a lot of fun, and the kids seemed to enjoy it as well. There is lots of work to be done in preparing for the nativity. Prayer that everything would be done in a quick manner and nothing would go wrong and that no one would get sick would be absolutely wonderful!

One of the most interesting things to adapt to here has been the food. I’ve loved almost everything I’ve tried, which is amazing when you consider the fact that in America I hated white rice and fish. Well, I was a big girl and decided to suck it up and adapt! It turns out that the Japanese rice is far superior to the white rice I detested back home! I love it here! To the disbelief of many people I’m sure, I tried sushi this morning for the first time… and enjoyed it! WOW!!! I think God is changing my taste buds! I’ve also eaten octopus! Yes, yes, I’ve very proud of myself! Along with these things I would have instantly dismissed in America, I’ve tried other things like monja yaki, bo pans (LOVE THOSE!!!), Japanese curry, and obento. These are not the only things I eat here. There has been an amazing supply of pizza I’ve found in various places, spaghetti, ravioli, soup, casseroles, and other normal American-type foods. Things definitely taste different here, including Coca-Cola. Chips here taste sweet! Cheetos definitely do NOT taste like Cheetos! The other interns and I have been on a Dr. Pepper kick for quite some time, so we have found the nearest vending machines to meet these late-night cravings.

A few days ago someone asked me what I love about Japan specifically. I love the people here, the language, the heated toilet seats, the singing appliances (TRUE STORY! They chime whenever anything is done cooking/cleaning/boiling/heating/whatever!) I love how cute everything is! There are cartoons and cute mannerisms of people. I love that everyone is nice to you! I LOVE THE BABIES/KIDS!!! THEY ARE THE ADORABLEST OF THE ADORABLES!!!! I love how helpful this team is. I love being able to help them in whatever way I can. I love the train system. I love people watching. I love my bed warmer (yutanpo.) I love it all!

Many people have been asking me how they can be praying for me specifically, and I’m sorry I have not responded to many of you. But here are a few things that I really would appreciate prayer for:
(1) The first group of younger kids that I am teaching English to is very difficult to communicate with because they are just learning to speak English, so a majority of what is said in the classroom is in Japanese, which I do not understand. This can be very frustrating to me, seeing how I really want and need to communicate with these kids, especially because it is English class. Please pray that I would be able to communicate with them, and that they would understand me and I them.
(2) That I would make the time to have my personal devotions. It’s easy for me to think, “Well, I’m incredibly busy and don’t have the time,” which is definitely the wrong mindset! Pray that I would keep up with my personal walk with my heavenly Father!
(3) That I would be an encouragement to the rest of the team here as there is a lot of stress, pressure, time restraints, and many other emotionally draining things.

                There is so much that has happened since I’ve been here, and I’m thankful to God for it all, because good or bad, I know He’s doing all of this as part of His plan. I hope this is a good first update, and I’m sorry it’s been so long in the making! I appreciate all of the encouraging emails and the prayers from you all, and I will try to keep you updated as to what crazy adventures I endeavor.

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” – Psalm 28:7