The Christmas Season

Everyday, I'm realizing how much I especially love being a teacher during the Christmas season! It's a hectic time but there is an array of creative Christmas activities to do with students in primary grades. The fact that I can talk to my students about God and the true meaning of Christmas, makes my job even better!

With the Christmas program, Polar Express Day and Christmas parties this week, Sarah and I decided to not teach our regular curriculum. Instead, we planned Christmas activities.

A few weeks ago, I sent home a gingerbread man to be decorated and brought back to class. Students practiced their oral language skills by sharing their gingerbread man with the class and explaining how they decorated it. I was very impressed with most of them. All of my students are very artsy! The gingerbread men are now displayed in the windows of my classroom. Students in other classes love walking by and admiring the 1st/2nd grade work!

Monday night was the 1st-3rd grade Christmas program. My students have been working very hard to prepare for the program. The past two weeks, they have had music class for 45 minutes, every single day! Sarah and I got them dressed in their gowns and halos.

Here they are walking up the stairs, about to walk on stage.

Some of them were a little nervous.

They all looked adorable!

Here they are when they first walked on stage...letting out their jitters.

The entire program lasted about 50 minutes. They did very well, I was so proud!

The day after the Christmas program, we had Polar Express day in class. Students came in their pajamas, we read the book Polar Express, watched the movie, drank hot chocolate with marshmallows and ate candy canes and popcorn. It was a fun, relaxing day and a nice reward to students after working so hard for their Christmas program.

They all looked adorable!

Class pajama photo.

While watching the movie at the end of the day, almost half of the students fell asleep! A few of them wouldn't wake up when it was intermission (snack time), so I let them keep sleeping.

I think this student got new shoes to wear for the Christmas program...then wanted to wear them the next day with his pajamas...too cute!

Last Saturday I went with Omar to a haunted hotel in Okinawa! I had been hearing about the hotel since moving here, so I thought I should brave it and check it out while I had the chance of going with a navy coreman.

The hotel was built in the 70's by a businessman, with no blueprints. He was warned by locals not to build on the grounds because it was a sacred site. He went on building anyway, until a number of workers had fatal accidents. They stopped building and the businessman went bankrupt, he is supposedly now in a mental hospital on the island. It is now said that a monk who built an alter to keep the spirits calm, lives in the abandoned hotel. Creepy! I didn't know this story before I went! We had to drive up a dark, windy road to reach the hotel. The parking lot was abandoned and dark...no lights! I thought we would just be walking around the outside of the hotel, but Omar informed me that we had to walk through it to get to a good picture spot. We had to hike up a steep hill for about 50 yards. The branches and plants were so thick, it was hard to see in front of us. Since there was no lighting, we had to use a flashlight.

Here we are in the parking lot, about to hike back to the hotel.

When we reached the hotel, we had to climb though a window to get inside...it was dark and I didn't want to be in there alone, so I let Omar go first. Once inside, we had to walk through various rooms full of old, rusty, metal scraps that the workers left behind when working on the hotel. There was even an old car inside! It was quiet, except for the sound of water drops and frogs from a nearby pond. Very creepy, I didn't get nervous until we were actually inside.

Since I was there at night, I didn't get any pictures inside but I found this one online.

We walked inside the hotel for about 5 minutes, which seemed like a lot longer at the time. The entire building is concrete and many of the walls are not completely finished. We couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of us, luckily Omar had been there before, so he knew where we were going. We finally reached the outside area and walked up 2 flights of stairs, which led us to an outside, panoramic view of Okinawa. It was beautiful! In the above picture, you can see the outside area where we took pictures. We were on the top floor, along the ledge.

The ferris wheel in the picture below is at American Village, the little area two miles from my apartment that has cute shops and yummy restaurants.

Trying not to look scared!

We stayed at the top taking pictures for about 20 minutes. I didn't want to go back through the hotel to exit since I now knew how creepy it was. We made our way out of the hotel, climbed back out the window and hiked down the hill. We heard movement in the bushes at one point, when we shined the flashlight in that direction, we both saw what looked like two eyes in the bushes. I told myself I was seeing things and we hurried out. We safely made it back to the car. It was a unique experience that I am glad I did once but will not do again!

Last night, I went on base to watch a Christmas program that had choirs from various churches singing. My church had their choir sing a few songs and the kindergarten students from my school performed. It was a nice little gathering to help celebrate the Christmas season.

Today is Friday and was my last day of teaching for the year! We had a busy/crazy day of reading Christmas books, watching a movie, eating tons of snacks and doing a gift exchange. I got to sample lots of Japanese candy, some of which was very good! Most of my students are sad that they won't be coming back to school for two whole weeks! I turned in my progress reports for the 2nd quarter today and I only have one student getting a D/F. The end of the 2nd quarter will be a few weeks after Christmas break! Time is flying by now.

I will miss my students over the next few weeks but am looking forward to a relaxing, long vacation.

Tomorrow I will finalize my packing and get ready to head home for Christmas =)

Jessica will drop me off at the airport Sunday at 6:15 am for my 8 am flight. I'll then fly to Tokyo where I will ride 1.5 hours in a shuttle limo to switch airports. Luckily, I have time to do this since I have a six hour layover in Tokyo. From Tokyo I fly directly to LAX, arriving at 9:15 Sunday morning. The flight from Okinawa to Tokyo is two hours. The flight from Tokyo to LAX is 9 hours...it's not 16 hours, so it shouldn't be too bad, right?

I'll be daydreaming about seeing you all while I'm in the air.

See you at home!

XOXO

Kristen

Imperial Palace & Harajuku Street

On our last day in Tokyo, we slept in, checked out of our hotel and headed to Imperial Palace on the subway. It was a short 15 minute ride but once we got off the subway, we had to walk around a bit trying to find where to go. It was a nice day out, the sun was shining and I was actually able to take my jacket off for a while. Our flight was not until 8 pm so I was excited to have a full day of exploring, without a planned schedule.

 We followed the posted signs to Kokyo, where Imperial Palace is located and entered a large park area with beautiful trees, fountains and gardens.  

The gorgeous colors and quiet ambiance made for a relaxing walk.

After a short stroll, we found the palace which is the residence of Japan's Imperial family. 

Unfortunately, this is as close as we could get to seeing the palace. The palace buildings are only open to the public twice a year, on new years greeting-January 2nd and the emperor's birthday-December 23rd. On these two days, visitors enter the inner palace grounds and see members of the imperial family, who make public appearances on a balcony. This stone bridge is called Meganebashi, meaning "glass bridge." You can see the roof of the Imperial Palace in the upper right corner of the picture.

The castle was rebuild after being destroyed in WWII.

Business center in downtown Tokyo.

From Imperial Palace, we took the subway to Harajuku Street. Harajuku is a large shopping district with Japanese and Western clothing stores. Harajuku has stores that blend everything from Hello Kitty to Hip Hop to British Punk. We were told Harajuku is a popular spot for Japanese teenagers. 

The streets were packed and people were a bit pushy. Jessica and I decided to split up and meet back up in a few hours, I was taking a little long shopping, making up for lost time =) I shopped in H&M and looked in Forever 21 but quickly left because I was not able to walk without being surrounded by pushy people. 

Japanese teenagers near Harajuku street, trying to bring back mullets and baggy pants!

While walking along Harajuku Street, looking for a sushi restaurant, we spotted this sadium. It's called National Yoyogi Stadium, which hosted the 1964 olympic swimming competitions.

We walked up and down Harajuku Street and the surrounding area for what seemed like forever, trying to find a sushi restaurant. I walked in several stores and asked "Sushi?" while motioning to eat. Everyone said "Not here" or made an X with their hands. I was starving but determined to eat sushi before heading back to Okinawa. After about 45 minutes, I figured my best bet would be finding sushi around our hotel. We took the subway back to Shinagawa. As we were entering our hotel courtyard area, I spotted a sign that said "sushi!" among a list of restaurants. I walked downstairs and found this cute little sushi bar. Jessica doesn't like sushi so she ate at a American food restaurant while I ate at the sushi bar.

There were only a few other people in the small restaurant. I ordered salmon, tuna and crab rolls with a large glass of Orion beer. The chef made the rolls right in front of me and they were deliciously fresh! Two older ladies came in and sat next to me, they spoke a little English and told me they were studying "how to wear komonos." I didn't know there was such a thing. They were very nice and wanted to hear all about the United States.

Sushi chef preparing my food.

I was thrilled to finally have authentic sushi! It was a perfect ending to a fun packed weekend. After eating, we picked up our bags at our hotel and headed to the airport.

One last picture in our hotel lobby.

When we arrived to the airport, it was very crowded. A big change from when we arrived to Tokyo. After waiting in a long line, we were told we needed to check in at the self automated machines. The lady at the counter told us we didn't have to wait in line again, we could come right back to her. So, we checked in on the self automated machines but when we went back to the counter, a different worker was there. A lady waiting in line thought we were cutting, so she got angry and started yelling at the worker in Japanese. I laughed, I guess I would get mad too if I thought someone was cutting. haha. Needless to say, we checked in and had two hours to spare. Our flight got delayed from 8 pm to 845 pm. It was a packed flight and by the time we got in the air, it was after 9 pm. On the flight, they served haagan dazs ice cream again! What an upgrade from peanuts and pretzels! We made it back to Okinawa after 11 pm, Rocky was waiting for us and we filled him in on the trip during the 30 minute ride home. It felt weird coming back to Okinawa after being in Tokyo. I felt like I should be going back home, to the U.S. after being "away."

It was an amazing vacation, I am so glad I was able to experience the many adventures Tokyo has to offer. I am now officially done posting my Tokyo pictures! It only took a few weeks =)

Now on to the Christmas update.

XOXO

Kristen

Mount Fuji

Mt Fuji Tour

On the bus, ready for Mt. Fuji!

I met my tour group in my hotel lobby at 8 am, another early morning. I boarded a bus that took me to a bus terminal, 10 minutes away. At the bus terminal, I signed in, received a receipt and a sticker to wear with my tour company name. When in line, I met a couple from Ireland. They were very nice and funny. I found out they were on my tour but were assigned to a different bus. We chatted a bit before boarding our buses. I told them I am teaching in Okianwa and that it's not a busy city, so sometimes it can be boring, they then asked "do they have a bar?" HAHA, typical Irish response =)

Needless to say, they made me laugh a lot.

I boarded my new bus, mostly American's, a group of 10 from the Philippines and a family from Malaysia. My tour guide was a local woman from the Tokyo area. She informed us that sometimes, it is too foggy to see Mt. Fuji and that the entire mountain can close down, depending on the weather.

Our first stop was the Mt. Fuji visitors center, we only stopped here for a few minutes to use the restroom and to attempt to see Mt. Fuji...there were lots of clouds covering the mountain, we could barley see a thing.

After 15 minutes, we left the visitors center and began the hour drive up to Mt. Fuji, along windy mountain roads. The weather became cooler, as clouds covered our bus. I was becoming more and more doubtful about our chances of getting a clear view of Mt. Fuji. Our tour guide kept us entertained by giving us statistics and data about Japanese people. I learned some very interesting facts.

We finally reached our destination, Mt. Fuji's 5th station. There are 8 stations on Mt. Fuji. From the 5th station and above, there are huts for climbers to sleep in. Stations 6-8 are closed this time of year because of snow. The 5th station is the highest level reachable by regular vehicle. As we got closer to Mt. Fuji, the clouds began to disperse and for a few minutes, we got a clear view of the mountain!

First view of Mt. Fuji from the bus.

It was beautiful! Our guide informed us that Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 12,365 feet. In Japanese Kanji, Mt. Fuji means "wealth or abundant." The mountain is only officially open to hikers in July and August =(

We arrived to the 5th station where there were shops and a post office! We were informed before getting off the bus that it was -2 degrees (celsius), VERY cold!

View of the 5th station

I explored inside the shops a bit and wrote a postcard to myself. They had wooden plaques you could mail, after marking the time and date you reached the 5th station while hiking. That made me want to come back and climb the mountain even more.

Sign for the 5th station...not sure what it says but everyone was taking pictures, so I thought I should take one too.

Trail that leads hikers to the 5th station.

5th station gates.

Part of the mountain in the background.

We stayed at the 5th station for about 30 minutes before boarding the bus again. It was very cold but so exciting to see! The workers at the 5th station informed us that a snowstorm was coming and they would be closing down the entire mountain starting the next day! I made it just in time!

After leaving the 5th station, our bus stopped on the side of the road to take a few more pictures. Our guide kept telling us how lucky we were that it was such a beautiful, clear day.

We stopped for lunch at a traditional Japanese style restaurant, with a great view!

Here is my tour group walking into the restaurant. We ate on the top floor, overlooking the lake.

Here is my lunch for one, sashimi, fried fish, rice, soba noodles and a few other unknown things. I tried everything....but only fully ate the sashimi, rice and soba noodles.

I was the only person alone but everyone was very friendly and welcoming. I put my sashimi (which was tuna), in my soba noodles to cook it a bit. It was very fresh!

View from inside the restaurant.

Our tour guide, showing us typical foods that Japanese people eat daily

-Fish, rice, noodles (not sure what else is on there).

After lunch, we drove by this field which is used for Japanese military training and practice.

Beautiful sky...almost as pretty as Okinawa but not quite!

After lunch, we took a cruise around Lake Ashi.

Lake Ashi is a crater lake, located in the Hakone area. It's known for it's views of Mt. Fuji and it's numerous hot springs.

This boat is a full scale replica of a man-of-war pirate ship! We didn't ride on this boat but it was neat to see.

Worker taking the flags down on the boat down.

Since I was alone, I had to take a lot of "do it myself" pictures.

This group of men asked me to take a picture for them, then when I gave the camera back they asked if they could take pictures with me, haha. They were nice.

After our 20 minute boat cruise, we rode to another area where we took a gondola ride. By this time, the sun was very close to setting and it was continually getting colder.

We rode the gondola up Mt. Komagatake.

We got out of the gondola and were able to walk around for a bit. It was way colder than Mt. Fuji! There was an amazing view of the pacific ocean partially covered in fog.

After the gondola ride, our bus dropped us off at the Shinkansen tracks.

We took the bullet train back to our hotel, about a 20 minute ride. The bullet train travels at 186 mph. One interesting fact about the bullet train; it's been running 40 years, carried over 6 billion passengers and has never had a major accident! It was definitely a smooth ride. The smoothness felt similar to the Eurostar.

This video does not do justice...the train looks way faster in person!

Some interesting facts the tour guide shared with us:

• Japanese people DO NOT eat sushi everyday (as most westerners assume). They eat sushi about once a month, on special occasions. When they do eat sushi, they usually go out to a restaurant to eat it.
  
• In traditional, Japanese homes, one family member at time rinses off in a shower, then soaks in a bath tub full of water. The first person to do this is usually the father. Each family member soaks in the same tub of water, the last person lets the water out. This is done to conserve water.
• The number four:
  The number four is considered inauspicious because it is pronounced the same as the word for death (shi). Therefore, one should not make presents that consist of four pieces. In most hotels and hospitals, the room number four is skipped.
  
• When giving a wedding gift, it's customary to give money of an ODD amount to the newly married couple. Giving money of an EVEN amount means that they can divide it evenly, which shouldn't happen when your married. Giving an even amount of money can also mean you want the couple to divorce.
• It is also customary to give "fresh" money as gifts. Fresh, meaning that you should take money out of the bank so it is crisp and new. It is an insult to give money that is wrinkled and old. If one does not have time to go to the bank, they can iron their money (my tour guide said she has done this before).
• Most Japanese business men are schedule to work 8 hour days (9am-5pm) but typically, they work overtime until 9, 10 or even 12 midnight.

This tour definitely met my expectations. The only thing I would change would be to actually climb Mt. Fuji. I would have to wait until the summer to do that. I will put that on my to do list =)

Today is Friday and I am now down to one week of school, before heading home for Christmas break! Tomorrow is my work Christmas party, a buffet lunch at a local hotel. I also might go to a haunted hotel on the island tomorrow night...should be fun.

With only a week left until going home Christmas, I was getting kinda worried that I will feel weird driving on the "other" (right) side of the road when I get home. This morning when I walked out to go to work, it was pouring rain. I quickly ran to get in my car and when I got inside, I realized I was in the passengers seat! I laughed, then climbed over to the drivers seat. I guess subconsciously, left hand drive is still ingrained in me =)

I'm off to go meet Rocky for dinner, at a place he said "has American people, serving American food, so you should like it." haha. I love trying new restaurants on Friday nights! Last Friday, I watched Top Gun and ate mochi ice cream, yum!

XOXO

Kristen