Oops… have I fallen behind? Well, I suppose this is how you know that it is truly me writing this blog! 60% hard work! 40% relaxing! (inside joke)
So here we go, these are the things I love:
- A moderate snow that allowed me, my co-worker, bosses and of course preschool children to play in the snow. Snowball fights and snowmen galore!
- The multi-colored hair old woman that cleans by the station by my work. In a country of mostly black haired people, the old lady’s rotating color schedule is highly appreciated.
- I mentioned Nabe parties in one of the my other TILT lists but this time I am appreciative of food sharing within my house. Japanese people are very thoughtful as far as doing stuff for other people and the kitchen is no exception. These days it seems as if I can’t go into the kitchen without being offered a slice of apple or participation in a nabe party etc and of course, I love the food but the reason this is on the list is because it makes me more thoughtful too. The other night my friend helped me make 大学いものたれ Sweet Potato and then we bought some food and I remembered I had some tofu and then our friend brought some stuff and we all sat down and had a nice thrown together meal. I like that.
- Seeing my students progress.
- The smell from the bakery I pass in the morning.
- The horse stables I also pass in the morning. Every morning there are students (it’s like a horse/vet/farm school or something) riding around the ring on horses in the middle of Tokyo. It’s pleasant. Horses are pretty.
- Learning three new Japanese words this week. I don’t get to study much these days (besides speaking- best study I suppose) but this week I did study once and was determined to memorize some words that would be useful in daily conversation and helpful for the 2 kyuu test that I will once again attempt sometime this year. Despite the fact that it’s only three words, I have memorized them, know their kanji and their meaning and am fairly certain I could use them in sentences and understand them in a conversation (a slow conversation
). The words are: 油断 – carelessness、節約 – being frugal, saving money、積極的 – aggressiveness
- The new camera that my boy bought for us to share (since we both just have big cameras that aren’t necessarily great for just memory shots). Just in time for our little Valentine’s trip to 草津温泉 (Kusatsu Onsen)
- My boy. I don’t really know what it is but I love spending time with him. He doesn’t speak English and I don’t really speak great Japanese but somehow it doesn’t ever feel like that when we are together.
