"The Chocolate Apartment"

"...establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." -Doctrine & Covenants 109:8

A belated introduction.

{Sorry, Mom.}

Welcome to Le Chocolat,

my home in Japan.

I'll be getting pretty cozy here,

as the junior high school I teach

extended my contract through December.

Translation?

I'm staying in Kakogawa,

teaching one school,

for the entirety of my internship.

This means I'll stay close to my host family,

live in the heart of Japanese history and culture,

and get to know my students and fellow coworkers

all the better.

♥

I've been thinking alot about growing up lately.

I know it's no coincidence I've been accepted here,

and I'm so thankful for it.

This is my home now.

{Until December.}

{Music via V.V. Brown}

"The Tourist Teacher"

"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." -Benjamin Franklin

During the week, I teach English.

{zZzZz}

But once the weekend rolls in,

I toss my textbooks aside

and tour the town.

{Psst,

the first picture is of oden,

the second picture is of breakfast sandwiches.

Both of which are heavenly.}

Mizuki

{host sister}

and I

shopped at Cocoe

and lunched at a cake shoppe.

This pup's mine.

BLUBERRIEZEZ

Thank you for having delicious pastries, Japan.

I love you.

Mizuki!

And what would a weekend be

without some Engrish?

Skin Lingerie

fulfills all your wishes.

'nuff said.

:)

Japanese photo booths are ELEVEN X MOAR AWSUMR

than American ones.

{*sigh*}

C'mon, America.

{たこmeans octopus}

The Kawamoto family,

minus Papa.

♥

"Little Rascals"

My ninth graders chose their own team names today,

during a game of English Jeopardy.

Most of the students chose simple names like,

"Team Apple"

"Team Homework"

"Team English"

and my personal favorite, "Team Perfect Team".

But then there was a group of students

who wanted to be called

"Team Sexy Body"...

{*ahem*}

I've come to the conclusion that,

no matter where I teach,

{be it in America or Japan}

junior high school students are the same.

Little rascals.

But truly, I adore listening to whatever English

the students speak.

Today, a boy kept saying,

"Oh yessss!"

and

"Oh noooo!"

in such a funny way,

I had to hide my face...

...I was laughing so hard.

{*hee hee*}

Oh, and PS: I ate a flower today. In soda.

{It's actually an Aussie treat.}

{Image via Remi}

"Mate for a Soul"

I'm sure my neighbors hate me now.

{I love singing at the top of my lungs at odd hours...

something my last landlord knows too well.}

I wanted to play with "chilling" ethereal-istic vocals.

And thus, I chose to sing the first part of "Soulmate"*

by the magnificently-talented, Natasha Bedingfield.

{Oh, I love her.}

*Also posted on the "MP3s for You" page.

"Hiking Himeji Castle"

"Everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time."

-Steven Wright

...I say "hiking", because that's exactly what we did!

{This place is gi-normous.}

So, the background story to the "Twelve-Layer Kimono" post...

I went to Himeji with one of the English teachers at my school.

{She's Japanese.}

After hiking the castle,

we went to a historical museum

and that's where I tried on the kimono.

{It took about 15 minutes with two ladies to dress me up.}

So! Back to the castle:

This is the Okiku Well...

haunted by a ghost every nightfall.

{I could barely see the bottom... it's deep!}

Himeji Castle is enormous,

surrounded by a mote

and tons of secret gates and corridors.

{The lady in the picture is the one who encouraged me to enter the kimono drawing.}

Ye Olde War Guns.

A shrine for the gods on the top floor of the castle.

{You can see all of Himeji from there!}

Grab a hold and give it a yank

to "wake up the gods"

and make them pay attention to your prayers.

Kinda awesome. :)

Japan has such a rich history.

There's so much to learn,

and so little time!

Only 10 months & 24-ish days left!

"The Twelve-Layer Kimono"

There was a drawing in Himeji

for the chance to wear a 12-layer kimono.

I was reluctant to enter,

but my friend seemed to think I'd win.

She said, "Pray to your God."

And guess what?

I won.

I have a hearty respect for Japanese women of olden times.

How anyone can walk in one of these is beyond me.

But golly,

it sure was fun.

{Undressing. Phew!}

*♥*♥*♥*

After thanking my friend for encouraging me to enter the drawing,

she stated, "Your God is very strong."

I agree. :)

"Good Morning, Mr. Vampire"

"If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters." -Anon

I dunno about you,

but I stink at waking up the first time my alarm clock jingle-jangles.

"5 more minutes, just 5 more min... zZzZz..."

So, to get genki for my students today,

I sang a silly song

and danced with a curling iron next to my face.

I can't wait for the summertime.

My mornings are just plain groggy when I'm up before the sun.

Do you have a magic trick that helps you wake up?

Besides coffee? :)

{Image via Dani}

"You Have to Get Ready All the Times..."

"...to get her LOVE."

And there he is,

being all sneaky-like in an apple tree.

I found this at a hyaku-en shoppe.

There's no way I can pack it in my suitcase,

but I had to get it for my Kakogawa home.

It's just... SO cute. :)