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?  

Higashi Kurume Matsuri!

You wouldn't believe what happened after church!  I went to the Higashi Kurume Festival (Matsuri)!  They have these local festivals in different cities.  There was one in Kiyose, where I am living, but I didn't go there.  Higashi Kurume is where Christian Academy in Japan is located.
There is food and entertainment on the street that has been blocked off.  Lots of varieties of food and a large variety of entertainment.  Enjoy the pictures and the videos.

A Japanese playing a variety of non-Japanese instruments and American song!

Look at those Americans shopping at the broom shop

One of the floats that they carry in the parade (I didn't stay for the parade...but that's what I was told).

YUM Carrots!

Cauliflower

Don't these look good?

A variety of leafy vegetables!

The three wheeled vehicle surrounded by fruits and vegetables!

Isn't this clever?

Dancers of all ages, notice the older lady's shoes, the younger ones are wearing two toed type socks.

A close up.

Some of the danders with the band providing the music.  

Experience after experience...

You wouldn't believe what I did last night!  Friday evening I attended Christian Academy in Japan's High School play, Arsenic and Old Lace.  It was quite a fun evening.  The High School students did a great job!  Many of them had to pull off accents in English, which is probably not a first language for many of the actors.  Punch lines were hit and the audience was quite lively.  It was quite an enjoyable way to spend an evening.  

Beautiful day for a bicycle ride

Bicycle shop

You wouldn't believe what happened to me today!  Bette and I decided to take a bicycle ride to Lake Sayama-ko.  It is only about 10 - 15 kms away.  It was a beautiful day.  We took the path along the river for much of the way to the lake.  On one of the inclines to cross a road, I pushed hard on the pedals on the bike to get up the incline and the chain broke!  Bette consulted her iPhone map and figured out that we were not far from a train station and near train stations there are usually bicycle repair shops.  Sure enough, about a kilometer walk, we found this lovely family owned bicycle repair shop.  I was shocked by this little old lady (we figure she must be about 80+ years old) who was sitting on her haunches fixing a bicycle!  She was really small in stature, barely taller than the bicycles, but she was definitely the boss.  We had younger people help us but they were consulting her for decisions.  

There's the owner. See, she's just a little taller than the bicycles.

Bette and I went to Doutour for a cup of coffee while we waited for them to put the new chain on the bicycle.  After about 45 minutes, we went back to pick up the bicycle and it was all ready, they even pumped the tires up.  

We decided to continue bicycling to the lake.  I'm glad we did, it was quite beautiful, as the following pictures show.  

Path by the lake

Lake Sayama-ko

We were able to see Mt. Fuji as well (not in the pictures), but Mt. Fuji doesn't show up very well on the pictures.  One day I may try to hike up Mt. Fuji so I can get good pictures of that mountain!  Anyone willing to hike up with me?  

I am the Potter

There have been a couple of changes since the last post.  Bette returned from her trip with CAJ's Cross Country team for a meet.  Brian has gone to and returned from the US and Canada for a PR trip for CAJ.  Simone Castro has moved in for seven weeks to do her student teaching here at CAJ.

Monday, October 22nd, CAJ's Physics and grade six class went on a field trip to Toshimaen.  It was my first school field trip here in Japan.  An interesting event since I don't speak or read Japanese at all and we were taking the train to Toshimaen.  A good thing the Physics teacher has a much better grasp of Japanese. Toshimaen is an amusement park with a variety of rides.  All 41 grade six students, 12 physics students, and 7 adult chaperones made it to and from Toshimaen.  We divided the grade six students up into six groups and each group had two physics students to lead the group and try to understand what the rides were doing related to physics.  It was a fun day for all!  

Entrance to Toshimaen Amusement Park

The past two and half days we had parent/student/teacher conferences.  We had 40 conferences scheduled.  The other two core teachers and I met together with the parents.  Students were not required but welcome to come.  The majority of the students did come.  It was really the first time I had students with parents at conferences.  I think it is good for parents, students and teachers to sit down together to talk about successes and areas of improvement, at least at the middle school level.  I found that parents were quite supportive.  
Today, Saturday, November 3rd, was a fun day!  Brian, Bette, Ginny, Simone and I went to Mashiko to the pottery festival.  We looked at a place where they make indigo and walked through many, many pottery places and visited a kiln.  The one verse that kept going through my mind was Isaiah 64:8, "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we all the work of your hand."  I saw many, many different types of pottery.  I was amazed at how the potter can shape the clay in so many variety of ways to make many different things.  The Japanese like to have many different cups, bowls, knickknacks and plates that are used for specific food or tasks.  I kept thinking about how God created each of us for a variety of different tasks, some of us look alike to others, but we each have been blessed with a wide range of gifts and talents.  It made me reflect on how God was shaping me throughout my years here on this earth.  Each of my experiences have shaped me to make me into the person I am today.  Even though God has had a hand in shaping me, because of my sin, I am a cracked pot.  I can go into a mini-sermon on all the things I thought about, like going through the fire, cleansing, blemishes, etc. but I will leave you to enjoy the pictures I took of Mashiko today and maybe think about what kind of "pottery" is God shaping you to be?  

Here is a sampling of the variety of pottery.

A kiln built into the side of the hill.  This kiln was destroyed during the March 11, 2011 earthquake.

Inside the kiln

Some of the pots at the kiln.

Pottery at the kiln in various stages

Potter's Hand by Darlene Zschech (Hillsong)

It was a beautiful end to the day.  This picture was taken on the ride back home.  

You wouldn't believe...

Doesn't that post title make you wonder what in the world did Winnie do now?  Well, truth be told, I really didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to, but you wouldn't believe it, we have a farm that has milk cows only about 4 or 5 blocks away!  

Back of the barn where the cows were eating

Today Hana and I took a walk and I took some pictures of the farm.  It's right in what seems like a residential area, but there is a "field" that has been prepped for gardens, or maybe it's the farmer and he is growing food for the animals, as well as themselves.  It is a 1/2 block from the Kiyose City Hall and an elementary school.  Ever since I moved here, I would occasionally smell that sweet dairy farm smell that brings back so many memories of my childhood.  I have walked past it before, but today I finally took some pictures.  I saw the farmer and I believe his house is across the street.  

Looks like a feeder

From the front of the barn.

You wouldn't believe it, but I ended up bicycling in the rain one day this week, arriving home soaking wet.  I have not purchased rain gear yet.  I should one day, maybe today.  I do have to chuckle sometimes because on those rainy days, I see the experienced Japanese bicycle rider holding an umbrella and bicycling at the same time!  They even have devised a way in which to hold the umbrella on their bicycle should they not need it.  I have friends share that they have seen bicyclists holding an umbrella and texting on the phone at the same time!  That is quite a feat, although there is a rule that has just been put in place that you are not allowed to hold an umbrella and bicycle at the same time.  I would imagine that it is a tough rule to enforce but I can see where it is dangerous.  There are times when I am bicycling where the squeeze is pretty tight, whether that be between you and a wall or pole, or between walkers and other bicyclists.  There is a only a tiny margin of error and that could mean falling off of your bicycle or hitting something or someone.

You wouldn't believe it, but Thrift Store is HERE!

Thrift store you ask?  What's the big deal about that?  Well, leading up to yesterday, there was a fair amount of hype about Thrift Store.  I had seen a number of items being brought to school over the course of the week, waiting to be sold.  The Thrift Store is a two day event.  Friday, CAJ families are able to come and browse or buy items.  Saturday, the Thrift Store opens for everyone.  It's like a large bazaar.  The gym was full of clothes, toys, books, games, shoes, knickknacks, small appliances, etc.  It seemed to have anything you wanted.  Unfortunately (or maybe not), since I had just spent the summer downsizing, with the help of many friends, I decided I would not begin purchasing here in Japan.  The only items I bought were CAJ shirts and my lunch of curry rice and a salad.  Here are some pictures of the plaza (outside of my classroom window) and the gym.  Saturday is supposed to be the busiest time.  The way one fellow colleague described it, it was like Walmart on Black Friday in the US.  People come in with garbage bags and just head to one section filling the bags up furiously with a host of things.  I have decided to stay away from the Saturday bustle and enjoy the day.  

CAJ Plaza

CAJ Plaza

Inside the gym

Inside the gym

You wouldn't believe it, but Hana and I have been living by ourselves the last couple of days.  Brian and Bette are both on travel for the school.  Today is a great day!  The weather is beautifully sunny!  I have my laundry hanging out drying.  I'm sitting outside as I type this post.  Can it get any better?  God has given us a beautiful world and today I'm really enjoying it!  

My view while typing this post.

Hana enjoying the sunshine

What's New This Week?

I have not gone on any sight-seeing tours this week, but I still learned a couple of new things.  Each of the people on staff are put on a focus group.  Basically the focus groups help CAJ to develop some long range plans.  I ended up on the Facilities Focus Group.  You would be safe to say that facilities are not my forté.  The idea of the focus groups does not require expertise but more idea sharing.  Our first meeting was a brainstorming session on possible facility additions or changes at CAJ.  One thing I learned was that in Japan they have a sunshine rule with multi-story buildings.  There is a required number of hours of sunshine that has to reach neighbors.  That explains a lot, because I see apartment buildings tend to have this step style, especially when there are a number of floors.  

Notice the floors have one less apartment?

Each Wednesday afternoon I am taking a Japanese class.  My teacher Sakamoto-San is one of the Japanese teachers here at CAJ.  She is really good and I am learning a lot both from the language and from the culture.  Right now I'm learning the Hiragana alphabet and the sounds the characters make.  Right now I'm up to 45 characters and their sounds.  I don't know them all very well yet, but I'm learning.  So, what's so difficult about Japanese?  Well they have three different alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana and Romanji.  Romanji mostly uses the Latin style letters and most of those sounds.  Hiragana and Katakana use totally different characters.  One good thing is that Japanese appears to be quite phonetic.  It's just knowing what things are called in Japanese.  The other thing is that the characters when written are not separated by words.  All the characters are right beside each other.  Sometimes they may be written downward, beginning on the right side of the paper. So all that does make language learning difficult.  

イあmレアr人gあ炉t部t染地目s位tc案べあ炉tおfinfor町音。Translation:  I am learning a lot, but sometimes it can be a lot of information.　(notice that some latin characters are included because there is no sound for them in Japanese.) 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  CAJ's girls Varsity Volleyball team set October 12th as their Dig Pink game.  The whole school was asked to wear pink that day and the Varsity volleyball team sold pink cupcakes and raised money for the Side Out Foundation which focuses on finding a cure for breast cancer.  It was an exciting evening (I only stayed for the first varsity game though).  

Volleyball team all wearing pink

Saturday, October 13th was another bicycle trip to Tama Hills with Bette Vander Haak, where the cross country team had their final meet.  It is about a 17 km trip one way.  The worst part is at by Tama, where we have to bicycle up a fairly steep hill.  During the meet, Bette, David (a CAJ Math/Science High School teacher) and I helped with inputting the results from the different races.  It is on a hill, which means the runners also go up and down the hills.  The weather was very nice for a run.  

Finish line for the cross country races

Since the meet is held on a US Military base, there is a store on the property that has a number of US items on its shelves.  After the meet, many of the participants stop at the store and pick up some items that aren't readily available in regular stores, such as American Cheetos, syrup, certain chocolate bars, Snapple drinks, etc.  (Cheetos and Snapple drinks are my downfall at that store.)  

Sunday, October 14th was an exciting day for me!  I was finally able to meet Momo Nakanishi!  She was a Japanese exchange student that stayed with my brother and sister-in-law in Hague, Saskatchewan about ten years ago.  Momo has been living in Tokyo prefecture, working at a downtown hotel.  She very graciously offered to come up to Kiyose to spend some time visiting.  It was a very fun afternoon and evening.  We met at the Kiyose station (she recognized me right away, but than again, there aren't a whole lot of foreigners living in Kiyose 😃 , you could probably pick me out of a crowd fairly easily), walked over to an Italian restaurant for lunch and we walked back to where VanderHaak's place.  We were able to take Hana for a little walk before it started to rain really hard.  It was good to meet Momo and I really enjoyed spending the afternoon and evening with her.  Hopefully we'll be able to connect again really soon.  Unfortunately I was not thoughtful enough to get a picture of Momo, but she did get a picture of me and Hana on our walk!  

Hana and me on a walk with Momo by the river

I also made my first visit to the doctor.  No appointment was necessary to visit.  It can be a bit stressful because there is limited English spoken.  Dr. Ishibashi does speak English, but there were occasions where I had to fill in a few gaps.  I will be making another visit sometime soon to work out my medicines.  

Each Monday afternoon I have playground duty.  At 3:30 the bell rings and I go outside on the playground to monitor the students.  At 4:00 I ring a bell which signals to the students that it is 4:00 p.m.  They are welcome to stay longer, however parents and students know that by 4:00 there is no more adult supervision on the playground.  During the 30 minutes, I walk around the field and sometimes sit on the bench.  This is the view I have of the school buildings when I sit on bench by the railway tracks.  

Playground facing the school.  On the right is the Elementary classrooms.  The round building is the auditorium where we have chapel, the far left is where the cafeteria is.  

I have really been blessed with having positive experiences thus far.  I pray that I'll continue to have good experiences and opportunities to learn.  

Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend

Entrance to the Takayama Beach Company

So, where did you spend your Canadian Thanksgiving weekend?  I spent it at a cabin, north of Tokyo, about 350 km.  It was one of the places where the tsunami of March 2011 hit.

The cabin itself did not receive any tsunami damage but it was twisted from the earthquake.  The VanderHaak's spent the past summer fixing the cabin up, and I was able to visit it this long weekend!  It was a great trip away from the city for the weekend!  

The Cabin

See where the rocks are? That part was swept away.

It was interesting how the tsunami was able to create immense damage.  If you have not been in this area before, you would almost never know that anything happened.  Once you begin to look closer, you start to see the signs.  Part of the breakwater was rebuilt because the huge wave broke through and over washing this part away.  

Part of a wall from a house

Brian and Bette told me that they have cleared much of the debris since the tsunami.  They separated the debris into specific piles and most of the piles are now gone.  That leaves areas of what looks like field.  When you walk through those areas where there are roads, you see the foundations of the houses/buildings that were swept away.  Some still have the mailboxes sitting there.  Many of the people who lost their houses have not had them rebuilt at this point.  Some may be squatting on their own property, others have moved to other places to live.

Rice Fields that contain salt water.

Another result of the tsunami is some of the nearby rice fields have salt water seeping in the ground.  That has not enabled the rice farmers to grow their rice.  When we went for a walk, we saw workers using excavators to dig up the soil.  It does not look like the fields will be rice ready for a while yet.  

The beach

When you stand on the beach, you see what the tsunami did on one side and then turn and look at the beautiful beach.  It can be difficult to grasp how that all happened and what that experience must have been for the people.  One morning as I was going for my jog, I saw an older lady, raking the ground, looking like she was preparing it for planting or looking for any personal items.  I also saw a man walk onto one of the places where there was only the foundation of a house and just stand there looking around.  The tsunami was about 18 months ago, but I am sure that it is still very fresh in the minds of many of those who lived through it.  It was a stark reminder to remember to continue to pray for restoration and healing.  

Sadly Monday, Canadian Thanksgiving came and we had to leave.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  This picture was taken at about 8 a.m.  It was a terrific weekend.  A much needed time away from the big city.  Now the weekend is almost over and it is back to teaching those grade six students, Bible, Math and Science, Tuesday.  I feel re-energized and am looking forward to continue to develop positive relationships with those students.