| What Happened |
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08:24am 16/10/2009 |
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To clear up what happened last night. I was running and fell midstride into a drainage ditch.... I don`t know that there`s a better word for it. In my small town, there are these little dangerous water ways next to the roads. For the most part, I know where they are on my normal runs, but last night I was really in the zone... I was just finishing up 5 kilometers after all. I was listening to Yuna Ito`s Truth - Yes, from the Nana movie - and the next thing I knew, I was laying partially in a drainage ditch. I pulled myself out, it was a bigger one but only about half of my body fell in. The walk home took me about ten minutes and it was excuciating. As I walked, I could feel the blood pour down my shin. When I finally got home, I cleaned myself up. My sock - new ones from my family - was covered in blood. It was absolutely drenched! My shin was covered in blood. My shin bled like crazy. I washed it off in the bath tub, put a couple band-aids on it but noticed the blood was soaking right through. At 10 o`clock at night my options were limited for stores to go to for first aid supplies. There`s the drug store by my house and convenience stores. The drug store was about a seven minute walk, so I decided to ride my bike there, since I wasn`t sure I could walk there and back. At least with my bike, I knew I would be able to coast down the hill back to my house. I finished patching up my leg and decided to put it up because it was so swollen. Injury wise, I came out pretty bad. My collar bone - the one I`ve broken twice - feels all jarred up and sore. The other collar bone is also sore. My right knee is really stiff and so are my right foot and ankle. Then there`s my horribly beat up shin. It hit the stone on the other side. The cut looks deep and it`s still swollen. I went to the nurse`s office this morning at school, to get someone else to look at it. She told me if I ever need her help to come see her because I shouldn`t try to do everything alone. but added that I did a good job patching myself up last night. Since the cut is so deep, she put the little pieces of tape on it that hold cuts shut and told me not to take them off until Monday. She covered it up well and then put sticky cold packs on it because of how much it has swollen - my shin is huge right now. She says I should be okay not going to see the doctor, but if I still hurt on Monday, I`m going I think. I just go back from teaching and yeah, I`m still in a lot of pain and I feel like I`m making the office smell like anticeptic. Added to all the pain from last night, my back hurts a bit now. My whole body is sore. I can`t believe how much one little drainage ditch messed up my body. I`m a little worried because it feels like my foot is swelling. Like it`s getting all hot and throbby. I guess we`ll have to see. It`s sad because I`m supposed to go to a school festival tomorrow. There`s no way I can walk all the way to it. It`s an hour walk up in the mountains. I`ll probably go and rest when I need to. All in all, this could have been a lot worse. I could have hit the ditch one stride earlier or later causing my left leg to receive all this damage. I promise I would NOT have gotten myself out of that one. I know I would have screwed up that ankle for sure.... it`s my surgery ankle. mood:  grateful music: The construction trucks outside |
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Read 1 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Scene in Which Jennie Wants to Set the Record Straight |
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11:44am 18/09/2009 |
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I want everyone to know that life for me isn`t so bad here. It`s not half as bad as I make it out to be it`s just that the bad days are sooooo bad, that they`re the only thing I can remember usually. Soooooo, in honor of my `Things aren`t so bad here` thought. Here`s a list of things that even fail to make my day better or just make it crazy fulfilling. 1. When a new kid connects with me. Some of the kids have taken a really, really, really, really, really long time to warm up to me. For example, at Enzan Kita the 5th graders are generally obsessed with me.... except Yuuya never really connected with me. Last week though, he was all holding my hand, asking questions and talking to me. It was amazin~!! I`m sure this happened, because the world needs to make it harder for me to say good-bye to that class. ~_~ I`m already going to be crying a month before I leave with them. 2. Spending time with the classes I love to death. Quick list: Tamamiya - 5th/6th combo class of doom, 3rd grade and 1st grade. Oufuji - 5th grade, 2nd grade, 1st grade. Matsusato - 5th grade, 4th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade. Ijiri - 6th grade, 1st grade. Enzan Kita: 5th grade <---- I just got done teaching them. This year`s first graders are AMAZING!! And I really wish I could hang on another year to see my 5th graders as 6th graders. They`re amazing too. 3. Playing soccer with the kids. 4. Playing with the kids in general. 5. And the good old, going home early. My Friday school is always good for that. 2 in the afternoon: Oh Jennie, are you done with your work? Then please go home! mood:  giggly music: Satou-sensei typing |
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Read 1 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Scene in Which Jennie is the Poster Child for `Listen to your horoscope` |
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08:33am 18/09/2009 |
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My horoscope for today said something about calling in sick to work and taking a long weekend.... well I should have listened because I`m not having the greatest day ever. A list of the things I forgot: 1. Dice for the 6th grader`s game. 2. My scissors. 3. My pencil case. 4. Something personal But don`t worry, I did remember my box of stationary supplies so I can teach the kids how to say them. Sadly, that box was depending on my personal pair of scissors, so it contains no scissors. Luckily, the school I`m at today happens to have dice... in two different colors even!! Which is what I need. The worst part is, forgetting those scissors. I kinda needed them to finish the game the 5th graders are doing today........... I`ll have to borrow a pair. I`m just hoping that four hours will pass fast.... because as soon as I`m done with lunch here, I`m essentially on my five day break. Well it`s more like 4 hours and fifteen minutes.............. Is it April yet? mood:  crushed |
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| (no subject) |
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09:39am 04/09/2009 |
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Bleh! I need to stop letting the kids here at Enzan Kita get to me, especially the sixth grade. Sometimes I just wanna slap their little faces and say, `Didn`t your mom teach you to treat others with respect?` Then I remember I`m a gaijin in Japan - a young woman to make it even worse - and I know that nobody has told them they have to respect me and as long as they see adults disrespecting me, they`ll never learn to respect gaijin... it`s a sad cycle.
Anyways, happier topics! I got my hair cut on Wednesday and it was a wonderful experience. He washed my hair, cut it (and cleaned up the layers), and styled it. I also got a shoulder massage with it. Well it`s short now and I never realized how much I missed having short hair until I got it cut short again. The best part was is that my hair is considered incredibly beautiful in Japan and the stylist kept asking me questions about my hair like is this it`s natural color, what do I do to keep it so soft (honestly, it`s just the make up of my hair that lets it stay so soft.) and the like. It made me feel really good and made me wish I took more pride in my hair.
I`m still sleeping like crap... and it looks like it`s going to continue. I slept for three hours the other day at Oufuji in the nurse`s office. I can`t believe she let me sleep that long. I wasn`t feeling well, but had no temperature and no way to get home from that school without walking an hour even if I could leave - so she suggested I take a nap.
About Amemiya-sensei, he`s the fifth grade teacher at this school... the one class I really, really like here, the whole reason I picked this school. I was talking with Nanako, one of his students, and I asked her if he was nice because he seems really nice to me. Her answer surprised me... she said not at all. I was surprised because he`s always really nice to me and in English class he`s always really nice to teach with. This morning, however, I found out why she said what she said. Before today, I had never heard him yell at his class before.... and I wanted to go smack his face. Screaming and yelling is no way to get children to listen and it`s even worse when they`re a `bad class`... and what`s worse is I couldn`t hear my class over his screaming. The kids already don`t speak up in English class.... and when I`m trying to hear them over other sounds... especially loud ones... it`s even worse! I guess different teaching styles for different folks... and different cultures. But despite t his class` perceived `badness` I LOVE them to death. I hope they want to keep in touch when I move back to America.
Yay for ADHD LJ entries....
mood: crappy music: The kids being loud upstairs |
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| Promise to Myself |
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05:42pm 29/08/2009 |
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I want to change some things about my life... and I know it can't be all done at once. But if I take the time, I can work towards a better Jennie.. one that I am more proud to be. Promise #1: I want to journal daily (privately) for myself. I have lots of emotions that are not being properly dealt with, causing me lots of pain and heartache. Lots of things causing me to lose hours and hours of sleep... over summer vacation a good night was three hours between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Promise #2: Connect with the people in life that really love me.I've spent too much time in my life on the people I thought were good friends. Coming to Japan has showed me who really does care about me and who couldn't give two craps. Promise #3: Get back to 125 pounds (or if you're my Japanese scale 56.7 kilos). Even if I can't hit that magic number... being happy with how I look will also count this goal as completed. Currently I weigh 132 pounds (or 60 kilos) Promise #4: Find that thing every day that makes me happy and acknowledge it.Lately, I've been finding myself focusing on all the negative in my life. I haven't taken time to notice that every day something makes me smile. Like today, I was walking home from the grocery store and I ran into Gakuto and his mom. Gakuto is one of my favorite students. Promise #5: Understand that not everyone is going to like me. It's just not possible, but I end up obsessing over the people that don't like me. I've always wanted everyone to like... everyone to tell me that I did good.... everyone to pat my head. There are more floating around in my head, but I'll have just these for now. mood:  anxious |
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Read 2 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Scene in Which Jennie is.. Actually Well Rested |
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08:13am 28/08/2009 |
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I`ve figured out why I haven`t been teaching the lower grades at Kita... the teachers wanted to teach along with me but didn`t know how. So they`re periodically going to stop into my sixth grade class and watch Aoyagi-sensei and I teach. Amemiya-sensei `s (the fifth grade teacher) class would have worked just as well, if not better because him and I have a better sense of teamwork than Aoyagi-sensei and I do. Meh. Anyways, back to the topic of the entry. I SLEPT WELL LAST NIGHT!!! That`s that first time in a month I`ve slept more than three or four hours in a night!! That`s an awesome start to the new school year!! I`m pumped!! ^__^ Here`s to a good second semester!!! And I wish I had my camera today for the mystery box game. Oh well, I`m playing it all next week so I`ll get some pictures of it!! ^__^ mood: giddy music: Random teacher`s office teaching |
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Read 2 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Shoulder |
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03:42am 11/08/2009 |
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When I was a kid, I broke my left collar bone twice. It does the usual hurting.. like when I would lift heavy items too often at work... or it gets sore when the weather gets weird. But lately, it's been hurting like MAD. Like if I lay on my left side, it feels like it's pinching the muscles, ligaments, tendons or whatever is in my shoulder. So, basically right now between my knee, my ankle and my shoulder, I'm in constant freaking pain. Huzzah. |
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| Scene in Which Jennie Still Lives |
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11:18am 29/07/2009 |
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Yeah.. that's right. I'm still among the living. I haven't had much motivation to update this journal... I do update my facebook a lot but about as many people that pay attention to this journal, pay attention to my facebook. Anyways, Chibi is leaving on Friday. Today we're saying good-bye to the last of my friends here, picking up a gift for our brother and then packing. Then tomorrow we're gonna head off to Tokyo, check into our hostel and see the last of the sights we have left in Tokyo. Most recently, we made a trips to Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji and Sendai... Sendai being my favorite of the four... and possibly my favorite place in Japan to date. The trip to Sendai was because my little sister really loves Date Masamune - the famous Sengoku era figure from that area. We also saw Gackt in concert in early July. It was the last day of his week long birthday celebration!!! ^__^ Gackt might be one of the best show men... EVER! Not much else has been really going on. It's summer break now so I'm gonna chill at home and do a little bit of traveling, but I'm pretty much traveled out for right now. Still working hard on the making friends aspect of life.... and still failing. And I have piles and piles of pictures to sort through... I take way too many. mood: amused music: Breath of Fire Music |
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| Scene in Which Jennie is Lost |
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09:00pm 15/06/2009 |
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I don't understand why I'm studying Japanese anymore.... like I originally did it because I enjoyed it but as time goes on, I'm enjoying it much less and I think it's due to my drive to pass the JLPT at 2 Kyuu. After my teacher found out I wanted to take this test, she became obsessed with the fact that 3 Kyuu is too easy for me and only focuses on 2 Kyuu. I've told her that it's impossible to do 2 Kyuu without understand the content of 3 Kyuu, but she really doesn't seem to want to hear what I have to say. I just feel like everything is making less and less sense as time goes on.... Everyone tells me my Japanese is sooo good... but they need to come watch me study for a bit. I don't care how good they think my pronunciation is.. or how much I speak like an actual Japanese person...... I just wish things made sense again. Not that anyone ever reads this journal..... mood:  apathetic music: Traci watching the X-Men TV Show |
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Read 3 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Scene in Which Jennie is at School |
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08:17am 29/05/2009 |
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So Chibi is sitting at the school where I`m always effing around on the computer... and I just couldn`t help myself during the meeting this morning..... so we`re at my big school... getting ignored. .... and my vocal cords are strained again. mood: blah |
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| Matsusato is trying to kill me. |
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04:42pm 27/05/2009 |
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So today I was playing soccer with my third graders at Matsusato Shou... I was trying to just send the ball flying when I - like the complete klutz I am - stepped on the ball. My feet got completely knocked out from under me and I hit the ground hard. Luckily I decided to wear pants instead of shorts, so my leg wasn't cut up bad... just a small one. I didn't go to the nurse right away because it wasn't really bleeding..... After recess I went to see the nurse. I told her that I fell while playing soccer, but in the glory of Japanese I left out the subject .. which caused her to say, "Who fell?" and then I explained everything more specifically to her. She cleaned it up for me and then Jou - one of my third graders - put a band-aid on it for me!! ^__^ He was super excited to help me. This school is trying to totally kill me... because two weeks ago.. it's the school that I fell down the stairs at. |
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| Scene in Which Jennie is one of SIX Teachers at School |
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08:16am 15/05/2009 |
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Today is the spring field trip day at Enzan Kita Elementary school. So the fifth through first grades are going to be out of the school... along with most of the teachers. So in the teacher`s office today is gonna be me, the librarian, the secretary, the lady that works with the lunches, the tea lady and the sixth grade teacher.... and since the sixth grade teacher is the only man, I`m guessing it means he`s in charge. But probably none of us will really be in charge.. and we`ll probably joke about leaving early all day long. I`ve been voted `in charge` at Tamamiya before! The sixth grade has a field trip to Disneyland AND Kamakura, so that`s why they`re not involved with this. Why they just don`t have their trip at the same time, so I can participate in something too, I don`t know. mood: indescribable music: The principal talking |
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| Scene in Which Jennie Really Hurts Herself |
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09:30pm 13/05/2009 |
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So, this morning, I left my indoor shoes for work at home... so I had to wear the school slippers. I was walking down the stairs after fourth period while talking to one of my students and one of my slippers got caught on the stairs and I fell down half a flight of stairs..... probably about five stairs. I hit my shoulder really hard... my right knee... my left arm and my right calf muscle....... I'm really sore now.... like, really, really sore. And I'm sure it's going to be much worse in the morning.... much worse. mood: sore |
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Read 4 - Post - Add to Memories - Tell a Friend - Link
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| Scene in Which Jennie is Hot |
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04:33pm 10/05/2009 |
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OMG!! It's getting soooo hot here. I'm gonna have to start leaving my laptop off again.... because it's too hot for me to leave it on. Today we hit 30 degrees Celsius... that's about 86 degree Fahrenheit! Crazy. Luckily it might rain later this week, which will cool us down a bit. I was thinking about this the other day because it happened while I was leaving Ijiri before Golden Week. I said good-bye to my students that were still hanging around the playground and they were with a couple middle school and high school girls. It was probably the first time the older girls had seen me because they stared a bit... and all my students said was, "Cute, isn't she?" That happens sometimes and it always makes me feel really good. I'm off to Rhonda's surprise 50th birthday party soon.... so I'll talk to you alls later. mood: hot music: the fan |
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| Scene in which Jennie gets rained on... repeatedly |
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08:13am 08/05/2009 |
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Ugh... lately I`ve been writting all my enteries at Enzan Kita.... but that can`t be helped because I get bored and my seat is at one of the computer desks... nobody ever uses this computer while I`m around anyway... because if they do, I have to stand until they`re done. So it`s rained the last four days... I kid you not, it`s been raining since Tuesday and it`s not even the rainy season yet... even though I think pre-rainy season is a lot more rainy than rainy season. We`re in pre-rainy season for the rest of the month. Because of the rain, the last two days, I`ve showed up to work and the bottoms of my pants have been wet. The Japanese must be able to walk in the rain without getting the bottoms of their pants wet, because they all act like they`ve NEVER seen such a thing happen before. It`s crazy really. They`re all like, `OMG!! Your pants... they`re all wet!!` DUH!!! I walked for thirty-five minutes in the rain, what do you expect?!?! Now that that`s out, I just realized I can`t read. I looked at my schedule this morning and instead of looking at the date, I looked at which class I was having lunch with... because last time I ate with 4-2... today would naturally be the next day. EXCEPT my schedule starts during the SECOND week..... but wait.. the first week I didn`t eat in a classroom.... how did I get ahead then......... anyways, the point of all of this is.... I only have half the lesson for the third graders and still have no idea which period they have English class during... maybe nobody will notice I`m supposed to be there... I`ll just keep pretending... I didn`t notice my mistake....... or not. Tuesday, I went to a J-2 League (Pro soccer but not the good teams) soccer game... in the pouring rain. The tickets I bought, were the cheap ones - but they were in the cheering section so that was AWESOME! Our team - Venforet Kofu - played the Mito Hollyhocks to a tie, but it was still fun to watch... they game was abnormally physical, like hits after long after the guy passed the ball, so we think they were rivals. mood: uncomfortable music: some kids playing recorders on the third floor |
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| Undoukai |
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01:45pm 01/05/2009 |
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The school I`m at today - Enzan Kita - is earthquake proofing the gym this year... or in otherwords, they`re getting a new one. So we`re having the undoukai - or sports festival - on June 6th, instead of the normal day in late September. The most awesome part about that is, my sister has the chance to experience other kinds of Japanese culture, so we`re gonna undoukai it up with the kids.
I`m way excited because I get to go to TWO undoukai this year. I thought I was gonna miss the one in September, but happily I`m gonna be in Ames from September 17th through the 24th... in other words, I`m getting back to Japan the day before the undoukai... so I might be a wee bit tired that day. The undoukai I`m going to then, is Tamamiya`s! Hurray!!
I wonder if they`d be so keen on me coming if they had to give up a day of me working - like they`re supposed to when I work a Saturday. They probably would have told me to just stay home. Now I have to entertain myself for 2 1/2 hours. I brought my DS today and figured I`d just play it if I got really bored. Lately, I feel like studying has been getting me nowhere at all. Where`s that principal when I need him, so I can ask for time off...... I`m about ready to be a bad girl and just tell Hirose-san that the schools have all okayed my time off. mood:  energetic music: Iwamori-sensei and Mayu-sensei talking |
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| Shoes and other assorted things |
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08:08am 01/05/2009 |
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Garghr! I forgot my shoes this morning. They were in my bag, but to put my lunch in I had to take my shoes out..... It`s been a long time since I forgot them too. My feet are about the same size as the kids so I was almost able to wear the students` extra shoes, but no go. I have to spend my day wearing their sucky slippers. Then after I came back to the office, I heard the vice-principal and the head teacher talking about me saying something about `mune`... which means they were most-likely saying something about small feet and large breasts..... they could have gotten into SOOOOO much trouble in America. Freaking sexiest, patriarchal Japan!! And my ankel hurts a lot today too, so these slippers are going to tear it up. Yay!! I`m about ready to scream at all these teachers. READ THE FREAKING JAPANESE!!!! Our lesson plans are 100% in Japanese. I get tired of explaining the same lesson every day... and even more tired explaining the same 1-4th grade lessons for a whole month. I`m at Kita today and as you all know, I picked this school for two reasons.. the 5th and 3rd grades. I`m gonna see if I can go to classes today. mood:  irritated music: The morning meeting that I`m ignoring |
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| October 2009 |
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freezieinjapan's journal