What to Do ...

I miss blogging. I miss writing.

I have no excuse, I simply forgot this existed. I completely 100% forgot until a few minutes ago.

As I have said before, I wanna keep this up again but I feel Bunny on the Moon has been through a lot. I may start a new blog ... not sure yet.

I am still in Japan and will be at least one more year. There's nothing profound to my decision to remain in this country. I wish I could say something incredible and amazing is keeping me here, but that is really not the case. I like it here. I like Japan. I like learning the language. I like my job. I like the people I have met. I have something to be happy about, something that makes me laugh everyday. So I will stay longer.

As for this blog ... I will think on that. Recently I am wishing I would have kept a daily blog of things my students say to me. Oh, they kill me. So funny. I may do that for a while as I think on what to do here.

Of course that will need to wait until I go back to school. I have influenza and am in quarantine until Tuesday. Sad day.

It felt good to do this. That's all.

'Nuff Said,
Crysania

Oh Dear ...

When did June 19th turn into July 12th?

The Japanese heat and humidity has been taking it's toll on me. I've been tired and kind of busy at school. Been having a lot of fun though too!

I still can't get over how tough Japanese kids are. There's no air conditioning, no fans and they have to ride their bikes to and from school every day in some pretty gross humidity. Go, kids, go!

Anyways, I'm heading to Mt. Fuji with a group of new friends this weekend! I am very stoked. My next blog will likely be about the trip! After that I think I will begin my Arashi series!

I have come to love Arashi too much for one post (it would be too long and unbearable) so I'll divide it up! But be prepared for Japanese pop idol manly cuteness!

That's all for now really. It's late and I'm pretty tired.

'Nuff Said,
Crysania

Archery Rocks

So this regular updating isn't going to well, is it. I am going to keep trying though! がんばります！


This time I'm going to talk about kyudo, Japanese archery.

An archer in full uniform

I began asking about Kyudo in late summer last year and with the help of my coordinator and the board of education began attending Kyudo once a week starting the last week of November or so. It's difficult but i really love it.

Kyudo is a very traditional Japanese sport so you have to follow a long process before even touching a bow but I got to speed it up a little bit. Most of this is for the build up of unused muscles and the practice of muscle memory. There is a specific line of motions you must follow when shooting.

The general positions of kyudo

First you begin with a rope the has knots for your hands to slide into position. Next you move to "gomu" or rubber practice to build your muscles, at my kyudo club I first used a regular "gomu" and then a thicker, stronger one. After that, I began practice with the bow and know arrows. I then used and arrow but without releasing before practicing close range with a hay target. During this time I was allowed to release at the target a few times but was given the okay for regular release two weeks ago.

The reason it takes so long is that there are a lot of little things to get right but the process is incredibly enjoyable. Because you must focus so much on your movements and the target the time spent at practice really clears your head. 

Every time I leave kyudo I feel refreshed and relaxed. It's amazing. 

I also really love my club. They take time out of their own practice to help me out, check my stance, give advice and one of the women even bought me an adorable cloth cloth for under my leather one (it's got bunnies on it!). 

I don't have any pictures because ... well, I practice at practice. I really like it and hope that when I leave Japan I'll be able to continue. It's one of the absolute best things I've gotten involved with since coming here.

'Nuff Said,

Crysania

An Odd Place to Start

After deciding to post about my favorite things, I came across a problem - where would I start?

There are many things I love about living in Japan. The people, the food, Arashi, my amazing kids, the scenery, Arashi, the comic/anime culture, the temples, Arashi, the sports on TV, the adorable things to buy ... and the adorable pop idol group, Arashi.

After thinking about it, I decided to start with places I spend quite a bit of time (and money) at - the convenience store - or コンビニー (kon-be-nee).

It is absolutely no lie that the convenience stores in Japan rock. Seriously. My 2 favorites are 7-11 (recently 7 and i holdings) and Lawson.

7-11

Lawson

The reasons for this love of convenience stores are thusly.

1) Convenience - I'm not sure about other states but where I'm from there really aren't as many 7-11's or Circle K's around any more. There are convenience stores everywhere in Japan. Whether is be a 7-11, Lawson, Family Mart, Sunkiss, Yamazaki, Daily Mart or other, you will likely easily be able to find one when necessary. I live out in the countryside and have never had to go too far for one. You can even purchase tickets for live events, fax, print, makes copies, pay your health insurance, or ship packages from many of them as well.

2) Food - I am not talking about snacks you can buy like back home. I mean the food for lunches, dinners and substance. It's not only edible, but better than some fast food places. It's not just nachos and hot dogs either. There is a plethora of food and bread to choose from - including fresh fruit even at the smaller stores.When my cousins visited in November I got them dinner at 7-11 and not only were they shocked that I would suggest it, they liked it.

3) Bread - Okay, this falls under food but the breads at the convenience stores are awesome. There are sweet breads, breakfast bread and sandwiches perfect for something quick. They're about $1 and so, so good.

Sanji recommended French Toast bread

4) Sweets and Pastries - The Japanese convenience stores actually compete for the best sweets. The Lawson "Uchi Cafe" is particularly impressive with famously good roll cakes. 

5) Campaigns - Whether it's a seasonal campaign or a long running one, you can buy some really cool stuff only at the convenience stores. Lawson has a deal K-On!, and had a Dragon Ball campaign in the winter and 7-11 has an awesome One Piece one running right now. You can get limited items there that are of good quality and really cool.

Sanji Lemon and Honey Tea from 7-11's current One Piece Campaign

The cutest Zoro in the world! Bought at 7-11

6) Quality - The quality of not only the food but the clothing and special goods is always high. I could list examples ... but I don't really want to.

I can not say enough good things about convenience stores. When I leave Japan I will really miss these amazing places. For now, though, I am really enjoying them.

'Nuff Said,

Crysania

Tadaima (I'm back)!

So it has been nearly a year since my last post. I have an almost good reason for it!

First, last year, a couple of days after my last post, my laptop crashed! It was ... unexpected. I spent over a month without a computer, luckily I had picked up an iPhone the day before and was able to communicate with the world. By the time I got the new computer - a small, used notebook at the second hand store - and got an English OS installed (all thanks to my awesome homie Jason) I was in to 2nd semester at Minami Inukai Jr. High and Mutsumi elementary school so I was busy ... and forgot this existed.

I remembered about it during Winter Break but with Jason leaving and Nicki arriving I was busy. Then Nicki helped me to have more fun than I was already, so I forgot again.

Me and Nicki

I know, it's lame. But on the bright side, I decided to remain in Japan one more year! So I figured I would pick up the blog again!

I have a lot more I can say now. I've become much more accustomed to the overall culture and the pop culture in Japan along with picking up more and more Japanese. I am currently at Mibu Jr. High School and Mibuhigashi Elementary school, which have convinced me that all the kids in this tiny town are awesome. I really love my kids and my job.

Mibu Junior High School

The next few posts will cover some of my favorite things in Japan. Things that I've come to love over the past year that I didn't know existed before, things I've come to love more than I did to begin with or things that I'm learning more about! I'm looking forward to keeping this up again!

'Nuff Said,
Crysania

Just for Fun

I have actually kind of planned out my next post, but it's one of those things I don't want to publish before I have the chance to look over it again. I've actually been putting some thought into it. However, this post is about a couple things that just make me smile.

The first is a video I give my niece's boyfriend due credit for showing me. It makes me laugh.



I am a big Lord of the Rings nerd. I really am. I also love this song from Mulan - have a lot of good memories with it; so this was pretty much perfect for me and a few of my close friends.

Next, I have found a new Japanese drama I like, Don Quixote. It's got a fun and interesting story line and good actors. It's quite charming. I think Shota Matsuda (the main actor) is perfect in this role, Katsumi Takahashi (the other lead role) is too. They form a good pair.

Finally, I randomly discovered a new "Doo Wop"-esque band randomly on Youtube, The Overtones. I haven't really talked about it much but I really love old school pop. And I don't mean "old school" like the 90s, I mean the 40's, 50's and early 60's with swing music, jazz, rhythm and blues and the beginning of rock and roll. I mean Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Elvis, The Andrew Sisters, The Temptations, The Penguins and The Shirrelles - things of that nature.

I don't know what it is about that old music but I have always liked it. The structure of the music, the harmonies, the purity of it all I guess. I know, I have a very wide, and somewhat odd, range of music I like but it's true. My friend posted a video of "For the Longest Time" by Billy Joel and while watching it, I happened upon The Overtones cover. They are apparently gaining popularity in Britain and all of their songs are in more of a simple doo-wop style with 5-part harmonies. It makes me giddy; I dig it.

Their original songs aren't bad either. I like their style, it's very much old school with a bit of a modern vocal sound (Timmy, the lead vocalist, has a definite more current pop sound to his voice but I like it ... and I like that he's Irish).



It just makes me smile.

'Nuff Said,
Crysania

The Little Things

Being in a new country has meant many big changes. A new job, picking up more of a new language, living alone for the first time, being away from family, friends and church for more than two weeks; these are just a few of the major changes I've been adjusting to. So far, I think I'm doing well with that, but there are times when the big just seems so big, so different.

I'm a week into Natsu Yasumi (summer vacation) and some of the big things were getting me down with no work to distract me and having to save money along with that. But then the little things started popping up.

A friend sent me some new music (including the new Hillsong United cd which gave me a bit of a spiritual recharge), I received a package that included my favorite cereal from my family, I was able to text a new friend for translation help and she came through, I cooked some food with a Japanese twist I'd picked up eating school lunches, and, today, I went to an elementary school volleyball tournament.

About a month before the end of term volleyball practice began at Yasuzuka Shogakko (Elementary School), the school I taught at every Tuesday. I asked to watch one day and the coach invited me on the court to help and play. After that they said I could go to practice every Tuesday and so I did. The team is small (only 7 memebers, 6 of whom are 6th graders and one 3rd grader) but they work hard and I've been really impressed with them. I've also been impressed with their families. The parents show up and help out at practices and really support their girls.

Although the 1st term has ended the coaches told me about the tournament and so I exchanged a few texts (in Japanese, hence the need for translation help) with "Momo's Mama" and went to the tournament. The parents and the girls were so sweet! They seemed happy that I was there and tried to chat with me during breaks. When there was a break for lunch, the girls talked to me and we worked on my Japanese and their English (well, a little), then Nozomi gave me a One Piece cell phone charm.

It was a small thing and she had a couple extras from a trip to Round One in Utsunomiya, but because I like One Piece she gave it to me. That small gesture made my day. It reminded me why I'm enjoying my time here and made getting up early and finding my way to Kanuma completely worth it.

Hawkeye Mihawk fits nicely with my Ace screen cover. 

It is completely corny but it really is the little things that make the days good.

'Nuff Said,
Crysania