"Time to Say Goodbye"

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss

This is a compilation of
my goodbyes.
{I said goodbye to my Chocolate apartment too, but there aren't any pictures of that.}

Goodbye to the Kawamoto family.

I'll always have a home in Japan
because of you, Akemi.

You feed me just as many goodies as my mama does.
...Boy, it sure seems like I'm always eating, here in Japan.

Oh, guess I am.

Goodbye, Kakogawa Ward.
You showed me the same Gospel I grew up with
from a refreshing perspective.

Goodbye, my Aussie gals.

You sent me messages
asking me how my classes went,
warning me about weather changes,
inviting me out to explore Japan with you.
Lauren, Kat, Vera,
I'm coming for Christmas one year.
Be ready.

The "Ghost Trees",
so rightfully named by Lauren.

The spirits of fallen samurai
wander amongst the shadows
of the illuminated Arashiyama bamboo forest...
Or maybe it's just the stray cats.

I'm going to step forward,
gathering all that I learned from
studying abroad,
and become the wonderful person
I dream to be.

My little life

will become a big one.

You're in my heart forever, 日本.

For now,

Sayonara, Japan. 

{♪ "Departure at Dawn" via Cecil Corbel}

"Ghibli Museum"

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." 
-Elizabeth Lawrence

Ghibli has been defined as the Disney of Japan.

Director Miyazaki's films transport you

into a world of endless gardens,

determined heroines and gold-hearted heroes.

Leon threatened to take away my camera,

so I didn't take many photos of our trip there.

Just kidding... {but he really did}

Photography isn't allowed in the museum!

So, if you want to see what treasures lay inside,

take a little sanpo to Mitaka, Tokyo.

There's so much to see,

like museum-exclusive short films,

including the sequel to My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ:

Mei and the Kitten Bus めいとこねこバス.

Just look at all the cat buses!
{I wish I had one!}

The oldest cat bus,
the grand transporter of Totoros.
{There are other cute films in the Museum, but I'll leave those a surprise.}

「こんばんはコネコバスのおともだちのメイです。」
"Good evening, Mei, friend of Kitten Bus."

As the novelist, Tom Robbins, said:

"It is never too late to have a happy childhood."
So leave your cram-packed schedule home for a day
and come romp around in Totoro's forest!

{Music via Cecile Corbel}

"Tokyo Tower"

Ma-chan and I flew 
up the hundreds of metal, cable meters
of Tokyo Tower.

Maybe it was just the fog on the horizon,

but we couldn't see an end 

to the buildings

that shrunk below us 

lining the streets of Tokyo.

They hold club concerts on one of the floors,
a haunted house rests on another.

And at dark,
the whole building glows with lights.

It was eerie being up that high,
but I never wanted to come back down.
Oh, to be a little bird.

{Music via Late Night Alumni}

"Disney Sea"

Disney Sea is a 

beyond-amazing resort,

located in only one place in the world:

Chiba, Japan.

We tasted so many delicious foods

{frozen mango on a stick = ♥}

and tried to beat the sun

by getting wet.

Yeah. I still have scabs on my thighs

from where my soaked jeans chaffed & ripped my skin.

Not the pleasantest.

But I did not care!

I was in the land of Sailor Mickey

and I was going to enjoy myself no matter what dang it all.

While skipping from ride to ride

{we really did skip}

Machiko noticed a ton of people holding teddy bears{?!}

Neither of us had any idea why,

as we'd never seen a teddy bear Disney character before.

Turns out,

Duffy {the teddy}

was given to Mickey by Minnie

to keep him company on his sailing voyages

around the world of Disney Sea.

Yeah, yeah, betcha didn't know that, didja?

Yeah... we were clueless, too.

The hottest day in my life

was also the happiest day in my life.

And I have my lovely friend

Machiko 

to thank for that.

{Thanks for everything, Ma-chan!}

{Music via Q;indivi}

"I Thought I'd LOSE My Belly, But Now..."

We're dropping like flies.

One by one, interns are checking out of the hotel

and moving into their apartments.

Today, I received my address,

and guess what?

I live in "the chocolate" apartment.

No, seriously, it's called, "Lechocolat" {one word}.

I'm pretty stoked.

Anyhow, the teachers took the remaining interns

{and me}

out to lunch today.

And after lunch, we had a little fieldtrip.

Warning: the movie may contain some disturbing images

such as foods you wouldn't buy from your typical American grocer.

{I still don't like tentacles passing my lips.}

Also, a more correct translation of the fish sign

is "Japan's recommended fish".

Apologies. I'm still a gaijin.

After the grocery store, we sashayed to the bakery.

{Okay, we just walked. But "sashaying" is more awesome.}

Can you not TASTE the flavor of the crunch

just by looking at this picture??

I'm salivating.

{*wipe*}

My tongue has something to say about all this:

Oh, cousin called Belly,

thou dost sit below me

and, therefore, am ruled by me.

And I sayest thou art quite capable

of digesting such delectable breads.

If thou art opposed to this, thou canst suck it.

Thou dost bubble in thine own juices for pete's sake.

Thou art PWND.

And here's your daily dose of Engrish.

May your face be smiley and peaceful always.

"Bigger Hand Gestures, Please!"

"English is happiness." -Jody (a.k.a. "Mom")

Introducing yourself to people who don't speak English

is one of the greatest things in the world.

Not only do you get to use a library of hand gestures,

you also get to act like a total goofball.

{After Liz does her introduction in the movie,

you'll see Ryan and Jody reading in strange voices.

This is how we reviewed work policies.

Oh yes, I love my job already.}

Lisa and Olivia (in the photo respectively)

flew in yesterday from Ireland and England (respectively).

Neither of them are stationed by me,

which is so sad, because their accents are gorgeous.

And with Olivia's accent and Lisa's red hair combined...

My mind began to wander overseas to a certain freckled boy...

Kellan crafted both of these in a matter of minutes.

Do you SEE their dwarfness?! It's unreal!

I can just picture him at parties:

"Oh, you can play the piano?...

Well, give me a piece of paper, and I'll show you something even better..."

Brooke's were-rabbit impression.

I'm lovin' it.

And here's a nice new Engrish for you.

This is a hair salon.

It hurts to be this beautiful...

"Paying for Church {and other devious deeds}"

"Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun."

-Colleen C. Barrett

I forgot to mention that we karaoke-ed on my birthday.

It was kind of awesome.

Especially with the all-you-can-eat ice cream.

Japan knows how to do it right.

Today, we traversed to Yoyogi Park

where we expected to see a plethora of eccentric costumes.

Alas, we went at the wrong time for such a thing.

{*sigh*}

But because there were no strange people to watch

{besides ourselves}

we were able to enjoy the park for all of its natural beauty.

And it is beautiful, even when the trees are nakey.

We all took turns

{minus our one male intern}

posing with this magazine.

"I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese..."

We tried SO HARD to get to Church on time

{we even flagged down a taxi}

but to no avail.

Liz spotted a picture of Angel Moroni on a window,

and then found the sign for the meetinghouse.

We were SO thrilled!

We jumped up and down and clapped our hands,

but stopped when a Japanese man rounded the corner.

He took one look at us,

asked us if we were there for Church,

then explained how the Tokyo 4th Ward was cancelled that week...

BOO.

But we were there. We tried.

And we have the photo to prove it.

{Just in case.}

This was a very interesting Sabbath.

Not only did we pay for subway tickets

and taxi fare... to get to Church,

Liz, Celestia, and I also purchased lunch

at a delicious ramen shoppe.

{We did have a devotional in the evening, though;

that's some merit to us.

...So sad our meeting vanished.}

Okay.

Most restaurants we've been to so far

haven't had any disposable napkins.

{You're supposed to bring your own.}

So...

we were pretty stoked about our ramen shoppe's

disposable napkins.

3/4 of the girls

{including me}

have missionaries who are returning this fall.

During our devotional this evening,

we crowded on Celestia's bed

to show off pictures of our stripling warriors

and promised our man-less friend

she'd be the first to marry out of us all.

And she probably will.