let's be honest, I am still wishing I was at Hogwarts.

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Hello all!! I am sitting on the bench at the world's tiniest train stop and thinking about how much I love Harry potter. Seriously. You would think that after 12 years I would be over it by now. I really loved the new movie and can't wait to see Part 2. Pretty sure I am gonna cry my face off.

Aside from Harry potter, I am thinking about how excited I am to see my family (and my cat) on Christmas!! I fly in on the 23rd! Besides seeing my family, I am super looking forward to some good old fashioned American pizza!! Yum yum. And bagels. And Mexican food! The list goes on

Oh, hey there.

Let me just apologize right off the bat. I never meant to neglect my blog for so long! I totally dropped the ball! My bad. I promise it won't happen again.

So, where should I start..... much that happened since the last blog entry. Ok, I'm going to just talk about today, and slowly update about all that other stuff over time. It's mostly pictures anyway.

Today I went to an elementary school that is very far away. I have to wake up at 5:30 to catch the 7:12 train (it takes about 20-25 minutes to bike to the station), then after a 45 minute train ride, I take a bus. Then I walk short distance more to the school and arrive after 8:30 sometime. But I don't mind the journey. Why? Because this school is magical.

Behind the school is basically woods, but the children are allowed to play back there. Once you get past the first few trees and shrubs, there are secret and magical worlds back there. I'm serious. The first time a group of adorable 8 year-olds grabbed my hand and shouted that we were headed for the "stage" I had no idea what was going on, much less why we were headed directly for the forest! I'm pretty outdoorsy though, so I kept my cool. HA. I couldn't even type that with a straight face! My first thought was of spiders, snakes, and ticks! I didn't even have bug spray! Good lord. But they led me with such enthusiasm that I couldn't disappoint them. I had to go in to the woods, and I'm so glad I did. The children led me to a beautiful moss covered outdoor stage/amphitheater. We played tag all over it (the rules to which the kids spent 10 minutes explaining, as if I didn't know how to play tag...heehee). The stage and the moss covered steps looked like they came straight out a movie. Particularly a Miyazaki movie.

Today, a youngster who looked like Russel from "Up" spotted me from across the jungle gym and decided that we should be best friends. He didn't care one bit that I suck at Japanese and that all he can say in English is "my name is..." He grabbed my hand and led me straight into those woods! He assembled quite a group to show me around. We climbed these old stairs that the kids said were a hundred years old, and we came across this cool rope and pulley ride. Russel kept insisting we press on, assuring that where he was taking me was really wonderful. All the while, the students went ahead of me, clearing a path for me. Once I freaked out over a spider, they all started yelling "SPIDER" in English every time we saw one! They kept using sticks to clear the webs so I could walk on. It was ADORABLE. Did I mention that these kids are 6 years old? Super cute. ^_^ I want to adopt all of them. Especially Russel. We didn't have enough time to reach the "super wonderful location" that was promised, but I told them I'd be back soon.

Going to that school makes me love my life.

The one with the round face in the center is Russel. This is the group I played with today.

The kids who killed me in Tag. You can kinda see the stage area behind them.

The little tan one peering over my right shoulder is adorable. She even tried speaking English with me. She's 8, and so are her friends.

I feel like I'm in My Neighbor Totoro when I play with these kids in the woods.

Good Morning, Class!

So let me break it down for ya: I have 6 schools, 2 junior high, and 4 elementary. My first week I taught at Mutayama Junior High School for 3 days and then Mada Elementary on Friday, and last week I taught at Ryozan JHS on Tues-Thursday and went to Asakura-Higashi Elementary on Friday. Next week I'll be at Ryozan again for 3 days. It's a busy schedule, but I like it. :)
Teaching is, how can I say it.....INTERESTING. Despite the occasional "bad" kid and awkward question, it's really fun. The kids are very energetic and they ask me tons of questions. Anytime I'm in the hallways, kids say "DANIELLA, HELLO! HELLO!" I always ask "how are you" and they always say "I'm fine thank you, and you?" without fail. Every time. I guess it's something they learn right away in English class. I remember once when I was at Hosei, I was with some friends in the bookstore, and when I saw someone I knew, I asked them "How are you" and he said "I'm fine thank you, and you?" and I said "I'm fine, thank you" my other Japanese friends laughed said I sounded like an English teacher. Now I see why. It's only fitting really.
At Ryozan, it's basically impossible for me to walk from a classroom to the teacher's office without being stopped by students (there are like 750 students at Ryozan and 600 at Mutayama)! I have had kids ask me the basic questions like "are you from Canada?" "What Japanese food do you like?" and their favorite question: "Do you have a boyfriend?" Haha. You can tell who's gonna ask it before class even starts. Then you can him surrounded by his friends, working up the courage to ask, and then his hand goes up and you know it's coming. Boyfriend is "kareshi" in Japanese, so when I start to hear the word whispered, I know they're trying to find someone in the room that knows how to say in English. I think it's funny. :) A couple times when I say no, a boy will be like "CHANCE!!" um, as if! Once a boy even blew a kiss at me! When did 12 year boys get so forward? hahahaha. I've also been asked not-so-typical questions like: "Do they have banks in America?" um, yes. lots. "When people shoot and kill other people in America, do they get arrested?" um, yes? what? hahahaha They are always surprised when I say I like sushi or Studio Ghibli, or when they find out that I loved pokemon when I was their age. They can't believe when I say that "Satoshi" is called "Ash" in America, so then they start asking about all the other characters. I think they get disappointed when I say that Pikachu is still Pikachu. :)

But in all honesty, the classes are mostly really fun. I am exhausted when I get home though. My bike ride to Ryozan takes me 45 mintues! and it's all up hill! This whole week I passed out at like 8:30 on my (lovely) couch.

This past Friday, at an elementary school, the Vice Principal took a bunch of pictures of me while I was teaching. Here are some of them: