The journey home

I went home this past weekend to Toledo, Ohio. My sister and I surprised my mom (and my brother went as well) to support her in her last weekend at her first call at Salem Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio. She has served there for almost 20 years. I felt so proud. She has accomplished so much there and went through so many struggles there but she always sticks to her message that God's love is for everyone.

I think that in part of her helping other people, she didn't help herself sometimes so I hope that her new call can be a fresh start. Now she and many others feel a mix of emotions...let's just say there was a lot of crying this weekend.

I brought this up in a previous blog post...but home is many places. Maybe that old saying is true..."home is where the heart is". Toledo feels like home. Many people were telling me they would miss me (even though I've been gone for 6 years). That church has raised us. The other saying, "It takes a village to raise to child." Salem Lutheran Church is our village.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090517/NEWS16/905170301/-1/RSS10

Japanese club

I'm excited. As part of my hours for the program I work for I am going to start a Japanese club at the school I'm working at. It will be an after school program...2 groups that will each meet twice a week for 45 minutes with about 15 students from grades 4-6. Another way that I can incorporate my Japan experience into my life here and make it not feel so much like a faraway dream.

I have a lot of ideas from learning basic language, to art (calligraphy, origami, etc.), food (yay for onigiri), dance, dress up in yukata, pen pal letters, read Sadako and the Thousand Paper cranes and make 1000 cranes and send them to Japan, study festivals, geography, history, etc. This club could really touch on a lot of content areas and I can keep up my studies too and continue to learn. I am by no means an expert on Japan but I hope the kids (and myself) learn a lot.

Let me know if you have any more ideas!

I'm going to try to start biking again next week after Ramadan is over. And I have called my grandmother numerous times but I think she may be at work when I call. Just following up on my list...

life after Japan

At the suggestion of two of my bestest friends (and blogging buddies), I will continue to reflect on my Japan experience and "life after Japan" through this blog. Since I was 10 years old (and besides required journals while studying abroad), I have gotten too lazy to actually write in a diary, so this is the next best thing.

Japan feels like a dream. The sounds, people, scenery, smells, etc. feel like a distant memory. I can't explain it. I have only been home over a month... (But that leads to the question of where is home? Is it Japan where I was born and lived for the past year? Minnesota where I lived for the first 5 years of my life and 5 years including college and my year of student teaching plus this upcoming year? Is it Toledo, Ohio where I grew up from 5-18 years old?) but I have settled right back in to life in the U.S. Maybe I expected a severe case of culture shock, as we were warned about by my program.

I don't want to forget Japan - all the people I met and things I learned. I want to incorporate that experience into my life. But easier said than done. I planned on riding a bike everywhere, like I did in Japan. But I have already gotten lazier with that. I planned on calling my grandmother once a month but that hasn't happened either. I think it's all a matter of incorporating those small things into my daily lifestyle and routine.

One of those blogging buddies I mentioned earlier recently made a list of goals that she wants to accomplish in life...that motivated me. (The thing I especially liked about her list is there was no pressure...it wasn't a frantic to-do list, it was a list that could evolve and change.) So here I will include a list of things I want to take from my year in Japan:

1) ride a bicycle often
2) call my grandmother once a month
3) always take off my shoes when entering my apartment
4) keep in touch with friends from or in Japan
5) take reusable bags to the grocery store
6) continue to study/review Japanese
7) cook Japanese food sometimes
8) stay active, but make time to relax too

I'll keep adding to this list...