November 2, 2009-November 8, 2009
Another week down. Wow. Hope the time is flying for you too, but in the best way possible.
This week, we continued registering for classes (ah, excitement) and I’m looking at a Japaneseful semester (Japanese 302, Japanese Linguistics, and Traditional Japan), with Counseling and Psychotherapy (Human Development and Social Relations) thrown in for good measure. Also rock climbing and Women’s Chorus I THINK. We’ll see what Bonita the Boss (Bonita Washington-Lacey, the Registrar) says, but Nelson B (Nelson Bingham, my advisor) says I’m good to go.
Monday night (11/2) was joyous-drinking with Abhi at a local bar (Monkey’s Kitchen) and talking about life. That’s basically what I want to do for the rest of my life, so it was time well spent. Rode home (alcohol and biking are NOT supposed to mix) and bumped into a construction cone. Ordinarily, in the not ingenious United States, the cone would have been moved a few inches. Here, it’s attached to the ground, so it just popped back into its original position (very Bobo Doll-like for you Psych majors). Got home safe though, but I never worry so there’s really no need for anyone else to. If you’re worried, it’s dangerous and you should call a cab.
Tuesday (11/3) was a Culture Day, so a holiday. We, as a group, took the train an hour and a half south to Hiraizumi, an old, historyful city that used to be on par with Kyoto in terms of power. Old castle site and temples and gardens galore. BEUATIFUL FALL COLORS. I actually took more pictures of the fall colors than I did of the sites... We met at the station at a shining 7:50 in the morning (some people rode their bikes, some were driven; Tsukie kindly chose the latter though the former is always good because, sing it with me now, “I want to ride my bicycle/I want to ride my bike…”) and many were tired on the train. The day was QUITE chilly…
Motsuji was the old temple, so the site included a few temples (a given) and a gorgeous pond (which was more like a small lake). Lots of iris plants and every tree was planted just so in order to create the beauty we were able to witness. AND THE FALL COLORS!!!!!! RHAHDINBFWNNMDKAMDADNKNFFJ!!!!! SO COOL!!!!! Some trees like fire, some like the color of pears or apples. Tamara, Mitchell, and Abhi made wishes and rang a large bell (by ceremoniously pulling an suspended log into it; you bow your head and think of your wish until the sound stops). Saw a type of spider we don’t see in Morioka with a fatter thorax, but it’s not called a thorax. Hey Bio majors and nature lovers, what’s the hind part of a spider?
Bussed to Chusonji, where we first ate lunch at a noodle (ramen and soba and udon)/donburi (noodles or rice and meat in a bowl)/gyuudon (meat and rice in a bowl) shop and then looked around a souvenir shop next door. Then we began the trek up a stone pathway to get to the main area of Chusonji. First, it was commented on the fact that my snowboarding parka (which is my winter jacket for the semester) makes me look pregnant-“So Hannah, didja get knocked up on the way here?” And I will agree with this because if I have ANYTHING in my pockets, it magically resembles a fetus. (Especially if I have my gloves and hat in there in order to cool off after climbing up the steep incline.)
Continued on, walking along stone pathways through GLORIOUS trees of orange, yellow, gold, red, crimson, cranberry, goldenrod; some trees all green with their tips JUST turning red…Past little “gift huts” selling charms, “rest areas” looking out on the towns and fields below and the mountains across the way. Light streaming through trees JUST so. Displayed close to the ACTUAL Chusonji temple were individually potted tall, leafy stemmed dahlia-like flowers. Also: small Bonsai flowering trees, draping blankets of a single color of flower, large circular and spherical metal frames housing multiple individual flowers (the same Dahlia-like type, or is it Zinnia…?) so it looked like an EXPLOSION of a flowering plant.
Moved on to watch kyogen (comedy) and noh (slow drama) being performed in succession on an outdoor stage. Large crowd, many photographs being taken. One guy in the front row taking pictures had a Yankees jacket with a Mariners baseball cap. Thought that was the BEST. Way to represent the teams with Japanese players. There’s one more team with a Japanese player (and here is where I fail in baseball knowledge) and perhaps the man had that player’s/team’s t-shirt on, but I never saw.
Went to a museum with many artifacts from when Hiraizumi was at its prime. Hiraizumi’s location is near the center of old Mutsu. In the eleventh century, Hiraizumi was ruled by the powerful Abe family and in 1053, Yoriyoshi, a warrior-noble from the powerful Miramoto clan, was appointed peacekeeper and general of Mutsu and attempted to contain the Abe. Conflict erupted and the Abe leader stopped Yoriyoshi from extending his control. (This is known in history as the Former Nine Years’ War, though it lasted a dozen years, from 1051-1062.) The Abe were defeated. A local noble administrator, Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo had sided with the Abe family. He had married an Abe woman and their son, Kiyohira, would found the Oshu Fujiwara Dynasty. (Oshu was another name for Mutsu.) When Kiyohira grew up, he became the leader of Mutsu incidentally (moving to Hiraizumi later) and wished to spread Buddhism to the land. THIS is what I was trying to get at to describe the museum-MANY statues of Buddha all around.
To Konjikido (Hiraizumi’s Golden Temple), which was moved from inside one building (nearby) to inside another though I HAVE NO IDEA HOW. Enclosed behind glass in the “new location”, it stood QUITE IMPRESSIVELY. Gold leaf EVERYWHERE. MY GOSH. Trained back, many people fell asleep, and then we were given money for dinner. (We are told to go out because we should give our host families their own time without us. We’re not offended at all though…*sniff*…not even a little *tear*) Abhi, Nicole, Mitchell, and I found a gyoza (potstickers) place in the basement of the station, connected to Isetan department store. DELISH. THEN, while we stood wondering what to do next, we were happened upon by some Iwate University/Gandai exchange students and one Japanese guy who we met at our orientation in August and often stops to say hi to us at Gandai. They were off to grab a drink on Odoori and why didn’t we join them. Why not?! So we walked, Nicole and Abhi with their bikes, to Odoori. Mitchell parted ways with us to go to the bookstore before being picked up by his host mother. Went to the Moon Soon Café where we nomikai-ed it up for 150 minutes (The usual length is either 120 minutes or 150 minutes and the price was great: ¥1500 I think; however, it always ends up being more because they make you buy food. HOWEVER, it was different at the Moon Soon Café because they only made us buy one plate person, rather than two.). Good drinks, good company, good sharing of experiences/hopes/fears. Two Italians, two French, three Americans (actually two Americans and an Indian/Ugandan), and a Japanese. Wonderful beyond wonderful. And English is quickly becoming a universal language as we spoke mostly English that night THOUGH we also used Japanese in order to communicate across language barriers. THAT was even cooler. Made it home okay AGAIN.
Left a little earlier because walked home (about 30 minutes), but made it back home around 11pm. Had called my host mother when we got to the Café and she had said my curfew was 11:30pm, the same that it is for weekends. I never want to cut it close, so I always leave early. ALSO, when she realized that I come back on time and I’m not stumbling drunk and I always call to tell her my plans, she made the curfew later (it started out at 10pm) because there is faith in my abilities. This I love.
The next day, Wednesday (11/4), Abhi, Nicole, Tamara, Mitchell, and I met after our half days at our host schools and biked to a Moss Burger (like McDonald’s, but better) near Gandai (near where the uchiage party was after the Gandai Festival). There we ate fast food in order to complete an assignment for Sensei about the atmosphere/menu/experience of fast food dining in Japan. There is a May Term (Earlham College, for those who don’t know, offers an additional “class” for about a month during may, depending on the date of Commencement of course. There are about five or six offered per year and they are worth 3-4 credits. Students have gone to Mexico, Argentina, Yellowstone National Park, Germany, etc.) she is doing that is “Food Culture in Japan” and she has given us a taste of what will be on the docket through our food education (looking at school lunches) in a kindergarten, two elementary schools, and a high school (so far).
Thursday (it rained) was our visit to Morioka Ichikoo (Morioka’s #1 high school), which is conveniently across the street from Gandai and where my host brother and Nicole’s host sister go to school. We had to eat lunch quickly (ate there in the cafeteria, which is underused, but convenient if student’s forget their lunch or teachers want a bento) in ~5 minutes. Had a delicious Chinese dish of vegetables and shrimp in a gravy-like substance over rice. Then went into the school (it was lunchtime) and watched the students buying snacks (made in the cafeteria) such as yakisoba, pudding, onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed), mochi with azuki (red bean paste) and whipped cream, fried potato, etc. Some students apparently eat their bento during the morning break (school starts at 8am and some come without having eaten breakfast). Some students studied during lunch. Observed three different English classes: a third grade (10th grade) reading-focused one, a second grade (11th grade) intermediate one, and a second grade (11th grade) writing-focused one. We all helped with pronunciation in the last one, which was quite fun. Seating is not gendered. Classes are quiet. We had free time afterwards, so Elizabeth and I went to a second grade math class, third grade Classics class, and first grade English class. In the first grade English class, the teacher employed more technology than junior high school teachers do-using a PowerPoint and Paint to label parts of a sentence as well as to introduce new vocab.
Students learn 80-100 new English words a week and have English class everyday. It is more and more difficult to push students tough, one teacher said (the first English teacher we saw, of the third grade class; talked with us afterwards for Q & A time), because they are impatient and therefore “weak”. The third graders at Ichikoo use, apparently, one of the hardest English textbooks (which the teachers choose). In 2nd grade, the students have a choice-go on a literature track or a science track (less English classes). Ko is on the science track, though he still has a great deal of English work to do. 3rd graders are more focused on the coming exams, so they have less art, home economics, etc. classes. And though they love P.E., from January to March, they do not have P.E. in order to study more for the fast-approaching entrance exams for university. Like nearly every school, it seems, Ichikoo has received numerous awards for their clubs and student involvement in clubs is active, though I am sure it is even required. The English curriculum emphasizes reading and writing, in line with what the exam asks, so little opportunities exist to converse. The school has one Assistant Language Teacher/Native Speaker who works mainly with the first and second graders. Student government members plan school events like meetings and festivals, have good leadership skills, and are chosen via election process. Juku (cram school) is popular, but the teacher estimated that less than 50% of Ichikoo students go. It is NEVER encouraged because the schoolteachers want students to “trust [them]” to adequately prepare them for the exams. Juku attendance is high in junior high, but drops in high school because students become busy with club activities and homework. In the teacher’s opinion, class participation and homework is demanding enough and enough preparation for the exams. I once asked Ko why he didn’t go to juku and he said he didn’t need to.
Afterwards, attended English Café at Gandai. Basically the companion to the Hello Party we hosted back in (GAH!) early October. Talked only in English with many Japanese Gandai students, exchanged cell phone numbers and emails. What I find the most frustrating is how contact information is exchanged and WHY. In America, you often exchange numbers or emails because you KNOW you will see each other again (or you HAVE to), like you’re working together on a project and need to set up meeting times. BUT here, it’s more like “I’ll-call/mail-you-if-I-want-to-see-you-again.” And that has been a tough idea. Like always, I form plans in my mind and then vocalize them (“Let’s do lunch at Yoshinoya some time!”) and then don’t follow through (because I get busy or I’m tired, etc.), thus frustrating my soul. A habit I’m trying to break.
School on Friday (11/6) was good-helped in three first year (7th grade) English classes because the second years didn’t have English class that day. The first years are at that age and enthusiasm level where they are (a) easily amused and (b) easy to connect with. It was a BLAST. And Tohru Sensei and I just work well together in team teaching situations. He is also VERY energetic, so that helps. In the first class, the principal came in for thirty minutes, took some pictures, gave Tohru Sensei a great scare, and then left. Afterwards, Tohru Sensei said he was SO nervous. Once again, I have realized that something only scares me or makes me nervous if I am given time and context. The principal’s presence didn’t wrack me, but maybe since Tohru Sensei has a REAL job teaching, then he SHOULD be nervous. He, as always, did great.
Was tired getting up for Friday and didn’t want to get any sicker than the sore throat (that always come and goes) and the sniffles, so came home and took a nap and didn’t go to volleyball with Yoriko (Abhi’s host mother). MAN, will ya LOOK at those priorities?!?! Will ya LOOK at that self-care?!?! I surprise myself sometimes. Ah logic, thank you for being with me this semester. W watched ‘Ponyo’ during dinner (the new Hayao Miyazaki film). I HIGHLY recommend it. Has a similar feel as ‘Wall-E’, but without the underlying criticism of the human beings’ treatment of the planet Earth.
Saturday (11/7) was a BEAUTIFUL day. It was Skype time with me madre following breakfast and homework. Having quiet Friday nights and quiet Saturdays (only what YOU make them sometimes) is such a gift. Elizabeth and I met up at 1:45pm and walked the 10-15 minutes to Sakanacho to (covered mall and starting point for the September 14th (ACK!!) mikoshi (shrine) carrying), then to look around. Then the additional 10 minutes to Odoori (SO EASY TO GET AROUND HERE!!!) to satisfy a craving for crepes. Saw a ton of local, non-chain restaurants I think it would be great if we tried. Rather than stick to the “downtown” of Odoori and the “favorite places of SICE students” and the nomikai culture, let’s think OUTSIDE the box and VENTURE around. Alas, Sakanacho is a bit of a stretch for some since its NOT familiar and it’s a WHOLE ‘NOTHER 5 MINUTES further than Odoori. Oh what WILL we EVER do? *sigh*
Got back home about 5pm and watched some more ‘Pure Love’. Then, surprise, sushi arrived at 6pm, a gift from Maya, Tsukie’s oldest sister. “Her treat.” Did SUCH a good job of not repeating the pain of the Kyoto Sushi Incident of 9/30. SO proud of myself. I think I’m cured, Nikki. Let’s eat sushi! Watched some anime during dinner (‘Naruto’, for those who know/care). It’s about a magical world (what TV show isn’t?) and people can transform and they fight and it gets pretty violent sometimes, but it was interesting. I am just about the most non-geeky person on this program and Elizabeth is set on getting me to watch anime when we get back to Earlham. There’s nothing wrong with anime in my opinion, it’s just that it’s never been something I have chosen to spend time/money/energy on.
Ah Sunday (11/8). Began by waking up (NO WAY!!!) and found I was VERY tired. Stayed up late Saturday finishing the second of three articles for Literacy in Japanese class on Monday. I realized earlier in the semester that the logical thing, when one has three articles due on a Monday, is to read one on Friday, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Logical, RIGHT?!??! It surprised me too. Well school was busy on Friday (read some of the first one), so I read one Saturday morning (finished it, I mean) and then thought I should read the next one, just to stay on course. So went to bed around midnight, WHICH (I have discovered) is too late for me ESPECIALLY when I am tired BEFORE bed, but not tired when I ACTUALLY SHOULD sleep. Go FIGURE. So I was tired. But I woke up, did some Japanese homework, then went with Tsukie to sadoo (a tea ceremony).
Both her sisters studied tea ceremony about ten years ago and today, the oldest was helping to train a new pupil. (Late 20s, early 30s in age) The place was near Obaasan’s house (grandmother’s house), so we parked there and walked literally almost next door. We were directed to a tatami mat room away from the hustle and bustle of a main activity (looked like a bazaar) and next door to a large gathering of kimono-wearing women maybe doing tea ceremony as well, but it was quite lively. Both Tsukie’s sisters were dressed in kimono and we took our seats, kneeling to the point of, and for long enough to, cut off circulation to our legs. That was the only downside.
In the floor, a large teapot boiled hot water. A long wooden “ladle” was used to pour the water (later) and a small green “stand” was what the “ladle” rested on. A table to the right and rear (as we looked on) of the teapot had a large canister of cold water underneath it that resembled a decorated urn-white porcelain with blue and rust-colored designs decorating it. On top, at the moment, was a small cup (black and red, the top/cap flush with the rest, a little wider than the small cans of juice/coffee you find in supermarkets). Inside that, we saw later, was green tea (macha) powder.
There is a certain way to sit, how to fold one’s hands in one’s lap, when to bow to the person serving you, how to receive the tea (pick up with right hand, hold on palm of left hand), what to say when receiving the tea, how to pick up the sweet that is served with the tea from its plate and then place the chopsticks back on the side of the plate, how to pass the plate of sweets to the person next to you, how to eat the sweet, how to return the bowl when done drinking (wipe where you sipped from and dab that on the napkin that your sweet was on, turn it twice to the left (90 degrees), so that the picture on the bowl shows, hold it with the palm of your left hand and steadied by your right hand, etc). The person preparing the tea has the hardest time-how to pick up the bowls to serve the tea in and in what order, what angle to put the “ladle” at when it is on the “stand”, how to sit in relation to the tea and the people/guests, etc. We practiced entering the room too. All kneeling outside: the first person opens the sliding door, looks in to the right then to the left, puts their fan on the ground in front of them, scoots in, moves the fan further, scoots in further, turns to face the scroll and flower planter that are in their own recess in the room to the left (placing the fan in front of them), looks at the scroll, looks at the flower, bows, stands, moves towards the back corner of the room (diagonally away from where they entered), turns a sharp right to end up in front of the table with the cold water under it and cup of green tea powder above it, kneels, places fan in front, looks at the angles of the water container, looks at the angles of the green tea powder container, moves fan to in front of square cut in floor, turns body towards the square cut in the floor (as well as to the scroll and flowers and bows in unison with the person who has just entered (the second person in), then takes fan, stands, and moves back to the corner (that is diagonal from the entrance) and meets right shoulders with the second person. The first person then takes their seat (kneeling) against the sliding door thy entered through (near the square cut in the floor), places their fan to their right side, and once everyone has kneeled, they bow to the host. It was VERY interesting. VERY VERY VERY interesting. FASCINATING. BEAUTIFUL. INTRICATE.
Off to an E-Club (group of past host families) event out in the countryside/agricultural area (about 30 minutes away, at a house owned by one of the male members who has lived in that spot for 9 years) for imonoko (literally, “potato child” soup; a Morioka specialty), which E-Club members made for us, and relaxing time at a house with a backyard that looks straight out of a book or children’s bedtime story. (The event had started at 10am, but Tsukie and I arrived at about 12:40.) There was a small lake/pond in the backyard that a zipline with a T-bar seat flew over surrounded by trees and pieces of notched wood pieces as bridges across the water, a mossy area to run around on, and steep banks. Karaoke was inside the house and about ten minutes after we arrived, at a smaller house (one room) up the hill, Claire’s host mother (who had also done Kimono Time for us), another woman (I think of E-Club), and one of Samantha’s host sisters performed a tea ceremony. Tsukie and I sat and ate some soup (DELISH! Potatoes, carrots) while the rest of the SICE kids were called to the tea ceremony. I wanted to go check it out, but I had just come from one, so I wanted to also let the group be.
I walked up and past because, more than anything, I just wanted to stand and admire the beauty that was the towering mountains in the distance, the farm with black cows right across the dirt path, and the surrounding houses. It was SO quiet, you could hear the grasses waving in the wind. And the leaves fell with the breeze in such a beautiful way that I just stood and soaked in the tranquility. Shortly, a man (61 years old) who was walking down the road approached me (coffee cup and cigarette in hand) and we began talking. He opened with asking why there were so many cars gathered? So I told him about SICE and who we were and what we were doing. He wanted to practice his English so he began telling me of his days as an IBM computer engineer, how he used to work at a Morioka high school as a computer teacher and hated it, how he has a bone issue in his tailbone (I believe) and is always in pain, how he had a pen friend in America from the ages of 16-21, how his father died of a brain aneurysm (something in the brain), and how he is now retired and spends his days on the Internet and watching English movies without subtitles. Twice, we were approached by someone who wanted me to come to the tea ceremony. First, it was the woman who was from E-Club and helping Hirata-san out (Claire’s host mother) and then it was Samantha’s host father.
I loved just standing and talking and hearing his story. And I think that’s hard for people to grasp: why in the world would someone be talking to a total stranger? But I CAN’T COUNT the number of people I have been SO THANKFUL to converse with BY CHANCE, whose stories where NOT part of the scheduled activities, but whose words made the experience better, brighter, and more exciting. I cannot thank them enough.
So I eventually went back to the small room and tea ceremony that was practically over. It was joked that I knew everything since I had been that morning, but no. Not at all. Samantha’s legs were QUITE numb (I recalled the feeling) from kneeling for the duration (of twenty to thirty minutes probably). Others had changed to sitting cross-legged. Sat and talked with Elizabeth, Claire, Samantha’s host mother, Abhi, and Mitchell after finishing. Yasumi Sensei gave me some mail she had received-the infamous card from the Bonners on campus. (For those who do not know, I am part of the Bonner Program, which is a community service-oriented group of students, 15 per year, who apply for acceptance and receive scholarship money in exchange for performing about ten hours of service a week at a particular sites or sites. I have worked at a therapeutic riding center, a Boys and Girls Club (as a tutor and as a cooking class assistant), and the Mayor’s Office.) The card is infamous as, once a semester, cards for those Bonners off campus are passed around at the applicable monthly Bonner meeting. It brought me SUCH JOY, you all. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart-to those I know and those I don’t yet know, THANK YOU. I can’t wait to yell with you, Topher. I can’t wait to work with you, Kristin. I can’t wait to live it up Bonner style!!! BONNER WHAT?!??! BONNER LOVE!!!!!!
Headed out around 3pm and came home (stopped by a Book Off, which is a used bookstore, because Tsukie was looking for a book-I saw a case of the first season of ‘Bones’, CE, and almost bought it. AND saw ‘The Breakfast Club’ and almost bought THAT. Love to have those reminders.
Tired when I got home, but an ice cream waffle, some episodes of ‘Pure Love’, and laundry perked me up. Dinner was good, delicious as ALWAYS, but afterwards my brain just shut off (maybe I should sleep…?) and I got so frustrated when I couldn’t speak in Japanese and form the opinions I wanted so badly to vocalize in response to questions from Tsukie and Otoosan. But I got through I because Tsukie is so patient. Really. That quality is underappreciated. LISTENING.
I realize I write little about my host school experience and even less about my Japanese class and Earlham classes. Japanese is mostly review, but I need it. The Earlham classes require summaries and thoughts on the articles I read and I’m getting 4/4 points on all of them. I also did REALLY well on my Arabic script paper and my Arabic presentation. So my GPA is getting help (not that is was oh-my-gosh low, but it could have been much better).
More next week! Off to Tokyo to visit Yoko next weekend and see Hanako too! Love to you all!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Kids, Kimonos, and Krispies
ctober 20, 2009-November 1, 2009
Hope everyone had a great Halloween! It was a thoroughly entertaining experience as Japan does not celebrate the holiday I’ll explain more a little later, for the sake of chronology.
Wednesday (10/21) was a visit to Hakubai Yochien (Hakubai kindergarten), which was BEAUTIFUL. Three, four, and five year old kind of beautiful. We came in and immediately spread out to different groups/classrooms/ages. There was also a camera crew there, taping our visit (it aired later that evening), and newspaper reporters who published a piece the next day. One class of kids had a carnival-like theme: pick up your wallet prior to entering (made of wrapping paper and streamer), pay about ¥100 (paper coins) to go in the haunted house (cardboard, construction paper, and tape), play a shooting game (shoot rubber bands attached to balled up tape from a large cardboard structure that resembled the Star Wars ‘Return of the Jedi’ I THINK big elephant-like machines at a cardboard/paper/tape “target board” with different areas meaning different points), and/or buy origami faces. All the girls in the class made the games because they weren’t getting along, so the teacher used the projects as a bonding activity.
Another class was creating a mural on the floor and selling ice cream (bits of construction paper in an ACTUAL plastic cup that used to hold pudding-LOVE the recycling!) and donuts (balled up paper and tape). They even put your purchase in a cute paper bag and taped it shut for you. Downstairs, the three year olds were playing outside in the sandbox or running around the playground equipment. Great energy. Great smiles. We all wanted to steal one and take one home. About half the students at Hakubai Yochien are only children, a growing trend in Japan. So part of the “education” they undergo is how to share-toys, turns on the slide, etc.
Then we were taken into a room where we had time scheduled with all students-we all sat in small chairs and faced all the students, who did various choreographed dances for us. Then we sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for them. We could have used an A… Then played “Don Jyan Ken” with the five year old class (whom we ate lunch with later). This game entails the two teams (us vs. them) standing at “x”s taped on the floor on opposite sides of the room. Then they run at each other and try to reach the other team’s “x” before meeting the other person and Jyan-Ken-Poning (rock-paper-scissoring). The winner (sometimes it had to be done more than once) would then progress further to the other team’s “x”. Took a while to get to the other team’s “x”/prevent them from getting to your “x”. They won three times, we won twice.
Lunch was adorable. The four and five year old “students” are served bento lunches (boxed lunches) created by a nutritionist (with the education system guidelines in mind) and made by a private company. We ate separately prepared bentos-pineapple slice, piece of salmon, rice, and two little salads. Three year olds (whom we saw after eating) have bentos made by their mothers (most likely). These mothers have SO MUCH time to devote to cubing apples and cutting carrots into shapes and skewering food on skewers with animals on them. AND the silverware and chopsticks set as well as the bento box as well as the handkerchief/bag that encloses the bento box are all decorated with some kind of cartoon/Disney character, though the three pieces don’t always match. The point is so that three year olds learn how much they can eat and have the chance to see what other students are bringing so that, if they want, they can ask their parents to bring such-and-such a food into the house for them to try (exchanging food at school is not allowed). When they reach four and five years of age and are eating the school lunch, they should be looking to other students who are maybe eating what they themselves don’t want to eat and then TRYING their food (“just try it”), thus expanding their palette. They do not have to finish all their food (unlike the students at Fuzoku Elementary School), but the wasted food is much less than what you would find in American schools of any kind.
Chat time with the principal (a member of Earlham Society; was at the party oh way back in September). Then off to Claire’s host family where we had KIMONO TIME with her host mother. Gosh. So fun. Abhi’s host mother and one of Claire’s host mother’s friends came to help. We females wore unmarried girls’ kimonos and some great pictures exist of us all standing outside in the sun.
Off to dinner at a local hotel, then to a kabuki (Japanese theater) “dance”. Well, the best part was the TAIKO DRUMMING that opened the show (and occurred throughout) done by some VERY strong men who had sleeveless “uniforms”. The main drummer had his back to us and decided to undo his top “shirt” so that his back was exposed. OH MY GOSH. I’m a sucker for backs and shoulders and arms and OH GOODNESS. It kept me awake, let’s say. (Not that it was boring at all. It was from 6:30-9:00pm and we were all pretty tired.)
The next day (Thursday, 10/22), we were off to another school visit: Higashi Matsuzono Elementary School. Arrived, ate lunch with individual classrooms (1 of us big kids with 1 classroom). I was with 4th year, 1st class. We had lunch (soup, sweet and sour chicken-like meat, salad), went outside (played freeze tag), I did a self-introduction, and we did origami in class. Paper airplanes! The whole idea of them being an instructed art form was AWESOME. We then left and went to Sensei’s apartment where we practiced Rice Krispy treat making for the coming Gandai festival (that weekend).
Friday (10/23) was workbook grading at Senboku. Tsukie left early that morning to go to Sendai for training in her, I think, summer job, as a park guide (she would return Saturday evening). I came home, took a nap, and then went to volleyball practice where it was a game! So much fun, as always, and there’s such an inborne order that things just FLOW. When I was waiting in the center to throw to the setter for a chance to practice hitting, I KNEW the line to hit from outside would go before me. That’s how it FELT.
Gandai Festival (Sat 10/24 and Sun 10/25), as a whole, was quite a haul. There from 8am on Saturday, making sure we knew where our tent was. But it was a little confusing as our location and materials were not blatantly labeled/stated. We were directed to the tent and set-up pipes pick-up area, but were not told that ryuugakusei (exchange student) tents #s1-8 were labeled with numbers so that all pieces could be conveniently picked up together. Guess we were supposed to know that. It is logical, which I respect.
Once we set-up, it was great fun yelling at passersby attempting to attract them to buy our ¥100 Rice Krispy treats. Red food coloring made them strawberry, blue made them blueberry. Our hours together in close quarters also gave us all a chance to learn more about each other, which is always fun in my opinion. Throughout the two days, we browsed other tents (other clubs/campus groups) for snacks and lunch-yakisoba, yakitori (skewered bits of chicken), aisu tempura (like deep-fried ice cream), crepes (France WAS right next to us ), takoyaki (octopus in balls of batter? I’m really not sure…), soba, gyoza… Saturday night, I helped Hanako with some English sentences via email since she was taking the TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) test the next day.
We made, the two days combined, ¥61700 total. Profit of about ¥43000. After clean-up on Sunday, (which was also confusing because no signs told us where specific parts of the tent went, BUT we followed the crowds of knowing Gandai-ites), we all went to Sensei’s apartment for our own uchiage (celebration party) of pizza. Then six of us headed back to Gandai, met up with some students, and headed to a previously planned uchiage planned by members of the planning committee of sorts. About 22 of us altogether, Japanese, American (and an Indian!), French, Italian, and Russian people chowing down and drinking.
With Monday (10/26), came more review in the Japanese class, but ALWAYS feels good to know an answer. (Hearing Pachelbel’s Canon on a TV ad during breakfast also perked me up, partly because it always reminds me of you, Mike.) In the textbook, we were doing giving/receiving and one example was from me to my roommate, a t-shirt with “London” written on it. Yup, that’s you, Liz, and you, CE. We had all planned to do spring registration that afternoon, but it wasn’t up yet SO what did we do? Yes, Facebook and email. We’re addicted.
Culture shock/“Homesickness”/Dissatisfaction came today with a vengeance (was bemoaning with Ethan) in the form of wanting familiarity, the freedom to watch movies on couches with friends, to stay out late and come home late, to HUG FRIENDS. MY GOD. But am still enjoying. Never question that.
Twas drying out from typhoon #2, which blew through Monday night. At school on Tuesday (10/27), the only thing to do was a take-home test for Literacy in Japanese (part of the reason why we were able to do Facebook and email on Monday-Sensei gave us the test and then set us free to register for spring classes, but we couldn’t). I was FREEZING at school because I thought, Hannah, don’t take another layer. You always take it and it’s just more weight/a burden. BUT Mom and Dad, let’s hear it: it’s better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Precisely. So I felt a little sicky sicky after school: cold, achy, sniffly. Hoped it wasn’t the swine, so I took a little nap. HA. Can you EVER take a “little” nap? It’s a learned art, that’s for sure. Lied down at 4:45 and oh, two and a half hours later I woke up. Slept through the alarm I had set for 6pm. But man, was it GREAT.
We were at our host schools on Wednesday (10/28) until 3rd period, then we all met at Gandai and taxied to Shirayuri, a private, conservative, Catholic, all girls school (elementary, junior high, and high). It’s on a HILL no less. Observed second and third year English classes. Very advanced speaking abilities. There’s something to be said for the focus that comes with single sex education. One girl approached me and presented me with a letter and her email address and we have been emailing. She is BRILLIANT at English and plays the violin 3 hours a day. She actually, in another example of small worldliness, takes lessons from the same teacher as Yuki’s (our program coordinator) daughter.
We taxied back to Gandai and then some of us embarked on Halloween costume shopping at a store Tamara and I had found way back in September (then to various hyakuen/dollar stores, including Daiso). Didn’t quite know what I wanted to be yet (as is typical me), but conjured a general idea. At home, Tsukie had me CLEAN THE BATH!!!!!!! That was something I had thought before that maybe if I were asked to do it, it would symbolize closeness between me and my family. It felt good.
After class on Thursday (10/29), we all were invited to go to Sensei’s apartment to register for classes. Elizabeth and I stopped at a cool-looking dessert place on the way there (SO awesome to just walk down the street and stop-it frees you from the “woulda-coulda-shoulda” blues). After pseudo-registering (as I did not bring my Four Year Plan with me, along with pajamas), I lined up a few things (mostly Japanese classes, surprisingly) to maybe take next semester. And I emailed my advisor, so I’ll be all set soon. Went to ANOTHER Daiso on the way home and completed my costume. Yessssssss….
On Friday (10/30), I unveiled my “bad angel” costume to the students and staff of Senboku junior high school. It was a simple costume-black pants and black long sleeve top with small white wings and tinsel “halo” and black eyeliner-but it was new and different to the Japanese, so the school went wild. It was a great way to connect with students and staff alike and it helped lighten an already happy Friday.
Came home to Tea Time with Tsukie, which has probably been the most fun I’ve had this whole semester. If not THE most, then in the top three along with my failing to swallow sushi in Kyoto and looking at BEYOND ATTRACTIVE taiko drummers on stage. It was just us, sitting in the tatami room, with the kotatsu, a Japanese room heater covered with a quilt that you stick your feet under, a fashion shopping magazine, and sweets. Loads of new vocab. Great fun. Aunt Maya (piano extraordinaire), her husband, and Obaasan (grandmother) came over for dinner. Ko came back from a two day badminton game. What was interesting was the family members came over, bringing bentos and their dog and ate quickly with no real conversation (the television was on the whole time). Otoosan and Tsukie worked harder than usual, churning out three batches of gyoza while the guests and Ko sat and ate. I would be irate. It was so unequal. And no one acknowledged the inequality, which just made it more so.
Have come to realize, as we close in on the last few weeks, (back in Seattle December 6th), that it doesn’t matter if you’re prepared at the start of the school year or the start of the semester. It’s never about how many assignments you finish or your attendance record. It’s can you pull it out for the second half. Do you have the stamina? When the going gets tough, what do you do? I can do this.
Saturday, oh Saturday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!! Woke up naturally at 7:15am NOT hating the world. Otoosan filled my bike tires with air after breakfast (made a HUGE difference MY GOODNESS). Skyped with a friend-which brings me to another point. I took voice for granted before, along with so many other things, but sometimes voice is SO vital. It really does make your day. I mean, when you think about it, the tone of someone’s voice really makes or breaks a comment of theirs. It can lift you up or drop you down. I can’t wait to hear so many of your voices.
To Ueda Kominkan (where the Opening Ceremony is WAY BACK IN AUGUST) to help set-up for our Halloween party Table of candy, treat bags, glowsticks, and face paint. Two tables for food (twas a potluck)-one for real food, one for desserts. Pumpkin carving and drawing in one corner. Walls covered with “Happy Halloween!” banners and paper decals of black cats, witches, and skeletons. Ghosts, glow-in-the-dark spiders and bats and spiderwebs, and pumpkin streamers hung from the ceiling. Plastic spiders and bats as well as Disney Halloween toys covered the tables.
From 4:45-7:15pm, we ate and played games with host family members with great music playing in the background. A Halloween mix had been made, but it ended up being a lot of Michael Jackson. Pictionary/telephone was played (the first person is given a word and then draws, showing the next person, who must draw and show the next person, etc.). Pumpkins were carved. Doughnuts were dangled to blindfolded children who attempted to bite them. Abhi’s host brother kept taking my halo and running away with it.
After clean-up, which was a collective effort (WONDERFUL), seven of us headed to Wara-Wara for a nomikai (drinking party) with a friend from Gandai (who also happens to be the boyfriend of a SICE participant from last year) as well as two guys Mitchell and Ethan met at a music festival earlier in the semester. Lots of fun and good to be in a small group. They went to karaoke afterwards, but I headed home.
Sunday (11/1) was very similar to a typical college day-laundry and homework. However, did have some good conversation with Otoosan and Tsukie. Tsukie is going to visit Hanako the second weekend of November (and I want to go se Yoko again before I head back to the U.S.) and Hanako will be coming to visit the third weekend in November (she, Tsukie, and I will probably go to an onsen (hot springs)). Watched Japanese drama for new vocab, read some Japanese folktales for even MORE vocab. GREAT FUN. All in all, its going well. Learning a great deal just like I set out to do-about the culture, the language, and myself. This trip has fundamentally changed me. Hope you’re having the same experiences if those experiences are what you want. If not, then I hope each day is a gift.
Love love love, Hannah
Hope everyone had a great Halloween! It was a thoroughly entertaining experience as Japan does not celebrate the holiday I’ll explain more a little later, for the sake of chronology.
Wednesday (10/21) was a visit to Hakubai Yochien (Hakubai kindergarten), which was BEAUTIFUL. Three, four, and five year old kind of beautiful. We came in and immediately spread out to different groups/classrooms/ages. There was also a camera crew there, taping our visit (it aired later that evening), and newspaper reporters who published a piece the next day. One class of kids had a carnival-like theme: pick up your wallet prior to entering (made of wrapping paper and streamer), pay about ¥100 (paper coins) to go in the haunted house (cardboard, construction paper, and tape), play a shooting game (shoot rubber bands attached to balled up tape from a large cardboard structure that resembled the Star Wars ‘Return of the Jedi’ I THINK big elephant-like machines at a cardboard/paper/tape “target board” with different areas meaning different points), and/or buy origami faces. All the girls in the class made the games because they weren’t getting along, so the teacher used the projects as a bonding activity.
Another class was creating a mural on the floor and selling ice cream (bits of construction paper in an ACTUAL plastic cup that used to hold pudding-LOVE the recycling!) and donuts (balled up paper and tape). They even put your purchase in a cute paper bag and taped it shut for you. Downstairs, the three year olds were playing outside in the sandbox or running around the playground equipment. Great energy. Great smiles. We all wanted to steal one and take one home. About half the students at Hakubai Yochien are only children, a growing trend in Japan. So part of the “education” they undergo is how to share-toys, turns on the slide, etc.
Then we were taken into a room where we had time scheduled with all students-we all sat in small chairs and faced all the students, who did various choreographed dances for us. Then we sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for them. We could have used an A… Then played “Don Jyan Ken” with the five year old class (whom we ate lunch with later). This game entails the two teams (us vs. them) standing at “x”s taped on the floor on opposite sides of the room. Then they run at each other and try to reach the other team’s “x” before meeting the other person and Jyan-Ken-Poning (rock-paper-scissoring). The winner (sometimes it had to be done more than once) would then progress further to the other team’s “x”. Took a while to get to the other team’s “x”/prevent them from getting to your “x”. They won three times, we won twice.
Lunch was adorable. The four and five year old “students” are served bento lunches (boxed lunches) created by a nutritionist (with the education system guidelines in mind) and made by a private company. We ate separately prepared bentos-pineapple slice, piece of salmon, rice, and two little salads. Three year olds (whom we saw after eating) have bentos made by their mothers (most likely). These mothers have SO MUCH time to devote to cubing apples and cutting carrots into shapes and skewering food on skewers with animals on them. AND the silverware and chopsticks set as well as the bento box as well as the handkerchief/bag that encloses the bento box are all decorated with some kind of cartoon/Disney character, though the three pieces don’t always match. The point is so that three year olds learn how much they can eat and have the chance to see what other students are bringing so that, if they want, they can ask their parents to bring such-and-such a food into the house for them to try (exchanging food at school is not allowed). When they reach four and five years of age and are eating the school lunch, they should be looking to other students who are maybe eating what they themselves don’t want to eat and then TRYING their food (“just try it”), thus expanding their palette. They do not have to finish all their food (unlike the students at Fuzoku Elementary School), but the wasted food is much less than what you would find in American schools of any kind.
Chat time with the principal (a member of Earlham Society; was at the party oh way back in September). Then off to Claire’s host family where we had KIMONO TIME with her host mother. Gosh. So fun. Abhi’s host mother and one of Claire’s host mother’s friends came to help. We females wore unmarried girls’ kimonos and some great pictures exist of us all standing outside in the sun.
Off to dinner at a local hotel, then to a kabuki (Japanese theater) “dance”. Well, the best part was the TAIKO DRUMMING that opened the show (and occurred throughout) done by some VERY strong men who had sleeveless “uniforms”. The main drummer had his back to us and decided to undo his top “shirt” so that his back was exposed. OH MY GOSH. I’m a sucker for backs and shoulders and arms and OH GOODNESS. It kept me awake, let’s say. (Not that it was boring at all. It was from 6:30-9:00pm and we were all pretty tired.)
The next day (Thursday, 10/22), we were off to another school visit: Higashi Matsuzono Elementary School. Arrived, ate lunch with individual classrooms (1 of us big kids with 1 classroom). I was with 4th year, 1st class. We had lunch (soup, sweet and sour chicken-like meat, salad), went outside (played freeze tag), I did a self-introduction, and we did origami in class. Paper airplanes! The whole idea of them being an instructed art form was AWESOME. We then left and went to Sensei’s apartment where we practiced Rice Krispy treat making for the coming Gandai festival (that weekend).
Friday (10/23) was workbook grading at Senboku. Tsukie left early that morning to go to Sendai for training in her, I think, summer job, as a park guide (she would return Saturday evening). I came home, took a nap, and then went to volleyball practice where it was a game! So much fun, as always, and there’s such an inborne order that things just FLOW. When I was waiting in the center to throw to the setter for a chance to practice hitting, I KNEW the line to hit from outside would go before me. That’s how it FELT.
Gandai Festival (Sat 10/24 and Sun 10/25), as a whole, was quite a haul. There from 8am on Saturday, making sure we knew where our tent was. But it was a little confusing as our location and materials were not blatantly labeled/stated. We were directed to the tent and set-up pipes pick-up area, but were not told that ryuugakusei (exchange student) tents #s1-8 were labeled with numbers so that all pieces could be conveniently picked up together. Guess we were supposed to know that. It is logical, which I respect.
Once we set-up, it was great fun yelling at passersby attempting to attract them to buy our ¥100 Rice Krispy treats. Red food coloring made them strawberry, blue made them blueberry. Our hours together in close quarters also gave us all a chance to learn more about each other, which is always fun in my opinion. Throughout the two days, we browsed other tents (other clubs/campus groups) for snacks and lunch-yakisoba, yakitori (skewered bits of chicken), aisu tempura (like deep-fried ice cream), crepes (France WAS right next to us ), takoyaki (octopus in balls of batter? I’m really not sure…), soba, gyoza… Saturday night, I helped Hanako with some English sentences via email since she was taking the TOEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) test the next day.
We made, the two days combined, ¥61700 total. Profit of about ¥43000. After clean-up on Sunday, (which was also confusing because no signs told us where specific parts of the tent went, BUT we followed the crowds of knowing Gandai-ites), we all went to Sensei’s apartment for our own uchiage (celebration party) of pizza. Then six of us headed back to Gandai, met up with some students, and headed to a previously planned uchiage planned by members of the planning committee of sorts. About 22 of us altogether, Japanese, American (and an Indian!), French, Italian, and Russian people chowing down and drinking.
With Monday (10/26), came more review in the Japanese class, but ALWAYS feels good to know an answer. (Hearing Pachelbel’s Canon on a TV ad during breakfast also perked me up, partly because it always reminds me of you, Mike.) In the textbook, we were doing giving/receiving and one example was from me to my roommate, a t-shirt with “London” written on it. Yup, that’s you, Liz, and you, CE. We had all planned to do spring registration that afternoon, but it wasn’t up yet SO what did we do? Yes, Facebook and email. We’re addicted.
Culture shock/“Homesickness”/Dissatisfaction came today with a vengeance (was bemoaning with Ethan) in the form of wanting familiarity, the freedom to watch movies on couches with friends, to stay out late and come home late, to HUG FRIENDS. MY GOD. But am still enjoying. Never question that.
Twas drying out from typhoon #2, which blew through Monday night. At school on Tuesday (10/27), the only thing to do was a take-home test for Literacy in Japanese (part of the reason why we were able to do Facebook and email on Monday-Sensei gave us the test and then set us free to register for spring classes, but we couldn’t). I was FREEZING at school because I thought, Hannah, don’t take another layer. You always take it and it’s just more weight/a burden. BUT Mom and Dad, let’s hear it: it’s better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Precisely. So I felt a little sicky sicky after school: cold, achy, sniffly. Hoped it wasn’t the swine, so I took a little nap. HA. Can you EVER take a “little” nap? It’s a learned art, that’s for sure. Lied down at 4:45 and oh, two and a half hours later I woke up. Slept through the alarm I had set for 6pm. But man, was it GREAT.
We were at our host schools on Wednesday (10/28) until 3rd period, then we all met at Gandai and taxied to Shirayuri, a private, conservative, Catholic, all girls school (elementary, junior high, and high). It’s on a HILL no less. Observed second and third year English classes. Very advanced speaking abilities. There’s something to be said for the focus that comes with single sex education. One girl approached me and presented me with a letter and her email address and we have been emailing. She is BRILLIANT at English and plays the violin 3 hours a day. She actually, in another example of small worldliness, takes lessons from the same teacher as Yuki’s (our program coordinator) daughter.
We taxied back to Gandai and then some of us embarked on Halloween costume shopping at a store Tamara and I had found way back in September (then to various hyakuen/dollar stores, including Daiso). Didn’t quite know what I wanted to be yet (as is typical me), but conjured a general idea. At home, Tsukie had me CLEAN THE BATH!!!!!!! That was something I had thought before that maybe if I were asked to do it, it would symbolize closeness between me and my family. It felt good.
After class on Thursday (10/29), we all were invited to go to Sensei’s apartment to register for classes. Elizabeth and I stopped at a cool-looking dessert place on the way there (SO awesome to just walk down the street and stop-it frees you from the “woulda-coulda-shoulda” blues). After pseudo-registering (as I did not bring my Four Year Plan with me, along with pajamas), I lined up a few things (mostly Japanese classes, surprisingly) to maybe take next semester. And I emailed my advisor, so I’ll be all set soon. Went to ANOTHER Daiso on the way home and completed my costume. Yessssssss….
On Friday (10/30), I unveiled my “bad angel” costume to the students and staff of Senboku junior high school. It was a simple costume-black pants and black long sleeve top with small white wings and tinsel “halo” and black eyeliner-but it was new and different to the Japanese, so the school went wild. It was a great way to connect with students and staff alike and it helped lighten an already happy Friday.
Came home to Tea Time with Tsukie, which has probably been the most fun I’ve had this whole semester. If not THE most, then in the top three along with my failing to swallow sushi in Kyoto and looking at BEYOND ATTRACTIVE taiko drummers on stage. It was just us, sitting in the tatami room, with the kotatsu, a Japanese room heater covered with a quilt that you stick your feet under, a fashion shopping magazine, and sweets. Loads of new vocab. Great fun. Aunt Maya (piano extraordinaire), her husband, and Obaasan (grandmother) came over for dinner. Ko came back from a two day badminton game. What was interesting was the family members came over, bringing bentos and their dog and ate quickly with no real conversation (the television was on the whole time). Otoosan and Tsukie worked harder than usual, churning out three batches of gyoza while the guests and Ko sat and ate. I would be irate. It was so unequal. And no one acknowledged the inequality, which just made it more so.
Have come to realize, as we close in on the last few weeks, (back in Seattle December 6th), that it doesn’t matter if you’re prepared at the start of the school year or the start of the semester. It’s never about how many assignments you finish or your attendance record. It’s can you pull it out for the second half. Do you have the stamina? When the going gets tough, what do you do? I can do this.
Saturday, oh Saturday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!! Woke up naturally at 7:15am NOT hating the world. Otoosan filled my bike tires with air after breakfast (made a HUGE difference MY GOODNESS). Skyped with a friend-which brings me to another point. I took voice for granted before, along with so many other things, but sometimes voice is SO vital. It really does make your day. I mean, when you think about it, the tone of someone’s voice really makes or breaks a comment of theirs. It can lift you up or drop you down. I can’t wait to hear so many of your voices.
To Ueda Kominkan (where the Opening Ceremony is WAY BACK IN AUGUST) to help set-up for our Halloween party Table of candy, treat bags, glowsticks, and face paint. Two tables for food (twas a potluck)-one for real food, one for desserts. Pumpkin carving and drawing in one corner. Walls covered with “Happy Halloween!” banners and paper decals of black cats, witches, and skeletons. Ghosts, glow-in-the-dark spiders and bats and spiderwebs, and pumpkin streamers hung from the ceiling. Plastic spiders and bats as well as Disney Halloween toys covered the tables.
From 4:45-7:15pm, we ate and played games with host family members with great music playing in the background. A Halloween mix had been made, but it ended up being a lot of Michael Jackson. Pictionary/telephone was played (the first person is given a word and then draws, showing the next person, who must draw and show the next person, etc.). Pumpkins were carved. Doughnuts were dangled to blindfolded children who attempted to bite them. Abhi’s host brother kept taking my halo and running away with it.
After clean-up, which was a collective effort (WONDERFUL), seven of us headed to Wara-Wara for a nomikai (drinking party) with a friend from Gandai (who also happens to be the boyfriend of a SICE participant from last year) as well as two guys Mitchell and Ethan met at a music festival earlier in the semester. Lots of fun and good to be in a small group. They went to karaoke afterwards, but I headed home.
Sunday (11/1) was very similar to a typical college day-laundry and homework. However, did have some good conversation with Otoosan and Tsukie. Tsukie is going to visit Hanako the second weekend of November (and I want to go se Yoko again before I head back to the U.S.) and Hanako will be coming to visit the third weekend in November (she, Tsukie, and I will probably go to an onsen (hot springs)). Watched Japanese drama for new vocab, read some Japanese folktales for even MORE vocab. GREAT FUN. All in all, its going well. Learning a great deal just like I set out to do-about the culture, the language, and myself. This trip has fundamentally changed me. Hope you’re having the same experiences if those experiences are what you want. If not, then I hope each day is a gift.
Love love love, Hannah
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