Sunday, November 18, 2012

What did you do this weekend?

I have to admit, I LOVE weekends!  I find they give me a chance to reflect on the week, to rest up, and gear up for the coming week.  The only problem with weekends sometimes, is that they feel really short.  Occasionally, on Saturday evenings I get anxious already, because I know I have gone through half of the weekend already and Monday morning will be coming up quickly!  So, what did you do this weekend?  Here's what I did...
Friday after school I had a parent/student/teacher conference with a mom and a student that couldn't make it during the scheduled parent/teacher/student time earlier this month.  That went well.  I think I like having students there because you can converse with them and see what their perspective on their learning is while the parent is there to hear what their child is saying.  Sometimes it's enlightening and sometimes the teachers, students and parents are all on the same page.  
After packing up, Skype was ringing on my iPad, it was my oldest brother, John, calling from Red Deer, Alberta!  I was quite surprised because it was already after midnight where he was!  We had a nice chat. It's always good to catch up.  
In the middle of my Skype session with John, Roberta came into the classroom and invited me to go out to dinner with her.  This restaurant is actually in Tokorozawa, which is kind of northwest of Christian Academy in Japan.  Simone, the student teacher living with us, came along too.  The restaurant was actually a Himalayan restaurant with various types of curry.  It was very delicious.  Ruth S. came along too.  Ruth and her husband, Larry have been here for many years as CRWM missionaries.  We were able to walk past a CRC in Japan that they were involved in planting!  By the time we left, it was dark and this is what I was able to video.  
The evening was fun!  We had great conversation and got to know each other a little better.  We had taken the train from school to Tokorozawa and we took the train back, but had to still bicycle home afterwards.  We were both tired by the end of the day. 
Saturdays are fun days when there isn't much on the schedule.  Simone decided to take out her hair extensions and then twist her hair up afterwards.  That was a multiple hour process!  
Simone working on her hair.
 While Simone was busy, I decided to run over to the Daiso to pick up some things I've been looking to get.  There are usually interesting items, and some even have English on them!   

These are just like the KitKat you get in Canada, just they are small and three little packages in this box.
I bought this a while ago but kept it because I thought it was funny.  Can laundry be cute?
It advertises as Tough and handy Clothesline, and the best is that it's pink!  
Tender Basket!  This basket is designed for put various goods in order to Make your life to be convenient and joyful by Daiso!  😃
How can you not resist buying one of these baskets?  They make your life to be convenient AND joyful!  Yup, shopping can be humorous!  
Saturday evening was the first of three Thanksgiving dinners I will be having this year.  Some of the women teachers from some of the English speaking schools as well as friends from various churches came together in Higashikurume to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We were quite a diverse group, meaning there were a number of people with passports from different countries.  There were Japanese, Korean, Australian, New Zealanders, South African, Taiwanese, US and Canadian passport holders.  English was the common language though.  Some had never had a traditional US/Canadian Thanksgiving meal with the fixin's.  It was a fun evening together.  The only HUGE drawback was that it was pouring rain when we left home and we were on our bicycles.  Good thing we thought to bring extra clothes along.  By the time we left to go home, the rain had stopped.  
Bicycling in the rain is an adventure and does happen...
Sunday was a day where there were very few things on the agenda.  It was a relaxing day.  I did laundry, went to church and was able to Skype with friends from Maryland!  
It was really a relaxing weekend!  I am looking forward to teaching again tomorrow.  Interacting with those grade six students is something I look forward to each day, although some days are more difficult than others.  
I pray you have/had a great weekend too!  What did you do?  

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