Where did week four go?

Week 4. Been and gone. Mid-week we had bible club. i think it went really well. People seemed to enjoy it. Miss Jodi and Miss Kari really liked my sharing part. Christian worldview was such a hard topic. In three weeks time we will have bible club again and our theme is forgiveness so it is easy. I'm looking forward to it. 

Thursday i work up thinking why hasn't my phone alarm gone off. I found my phone dead :( I pulled it apart and put it back together and tried turning it on but nothing. I was so annoyed that morning. At night before i went to bed i put it on the charger overnight and now it is all good and working. Then Friday morning putting on my watch i broke my strap. what will i break tomorrow morning? 

We have a lazy weekend in front of us. So i am planning on writing letters. Looking forward to a sleep in and all. Not sure what i will do this weekend yet. I don't feel like going shopping but getting away from the school would be good. 

It is getting colder now. i am happy but my hands and feet are starting to feel it. i am excited that i can start rugging up and getting cozy but it is making me miss people too.

Week 3 been and gone

Well week three has come and gone. I am really itchy from my sunburn from last week now. This week flew by. We had the promo in the middle week and this weekend we started planning bible club. We have our poster up and now to just finish off the teaching, sharing, skit, and everything else. 

This weekend I didn't do anything exciting. I did start and finish a whole book though. i went to the supermarket twice. i was going to go to the onsen on friday night but they left without me. :( i told them that i want to go this coming week so they better not forget me this time. 

Sunday we had curry rice for lunch. it was sooo goood. i went to the Ginza early and i bought a pair of sunglasses. i like them. they have butterflies on them. the church service was really good. Mr John did it this week. It really got me thinking about life and how we forget stuff. It was really interesting. 

Tonght's dinner was Gyoza. Yum. it was soo good. we have some fantastic cooks here at the school. I'm going to get fat :(. 

Bible club promo fail

Wednesday night we were to show the promo video we had. As we plugged the computer into the projector the programme we made the video in had a hissy fit and stopped working. Well then. We tried to get it to work but instead we had an impromptu music spot by Mr Tobi and Miss June. We got the video working about 1 hr or so later but while they were trying to fix it i started making a new one on a different computer. Just as i finished it they got the other computer working. Fixed what was wrong and we were able to show it.

We showed the video on thursday at lunch time instead. It was well received. We are now planning for the big Event this wednesday when we explain more about Christian World-view and what it actually is. 

Happenings over the last few days

it is week three now at school. last week flew by so quickly and this week is going just as fast. My classes have been going well. I have been getting tired. 

On Saturday we started our promo video for bible club and earlier today we finished it. The promo video will get shown tomorrow night at bible club and next week my team will be sharing about 'Christian Worldview'.

Earlier this week Miss Nicole and I were asked to help out at a grand opening of an English school in Ueda. We thought we would be inside sitting in on classes but when we got there we found out that we would be outside all day waving banners and waving at cars driving past, I am so sun burnt from this. Miss Jodi got me some aloe Vera cream and that has helped heaps. i am still sore and red but not as red as my hair :P. 

Something that has been on my mind lately is what will i do after SYME? I do not feel as though teaching is my passion. It is great here teaching the students English and about the bible but I can't see myself doing this when i get home and finish uni (teaching at a school). I have been thinking about what i have done this year and have enjoyed and what i would like to be involved with for next year. Helping the Student Life moment in Rocky has been awesome. i have seen great growth in people there and thoroughly enjoyed helping to make CQ Connexions happen. Once i finish uni though, i won't be a uni student and shouldn't really be involved in the ministry unless i become a missionary. I know the Student Lifers that this goes to will have something to say that will make me think hard. Also i would like to get youth group or maybe something similar to bible club here going at my church. 

Not knowing the next step is a little concerning but I know God has a plan for me and that i need to put my trust in Him 100% and He will guide me every step of the way. I know my future i need to praying about heaps. I'm not sure of my direction. Maybe God is waiting for me to choose and once i decide I will know it is where i am meant to be. Right now i should focus on being at this school and doing my best here.

Week 2 is nearly over

Mt Asama
I cannot believe that week 2 is nearly over. This week has just flown. Miss Nicole was sick today so i combined our bible study classes and had a closer to normal size class. The topic was resurrection. My name means resurrection. Interesting class. We had a tv that worked today. The tv blew up on us yesterday. That was exciting for us to witness. 

We were meant to get a typhoon yesterday. It rained heaps and was cloudy but no typhoon like weather. That was a downer. I was looking forward to it. Also yesterday was bible club. team one did an awesome job. I'm looking forward to getting started on the promo dvd for group three tonight. GO TEAM THREE!!! Not much else to share. 

Let week 2 begin

So week two. We have Mondays off. Another Aussie comes in to teach the students English. It was so good to hear another Aussie accent. All I hear every day is American English and Japanese English; Monday I did my prep for the whole week. Basic but it will get me by. In a way it seems weird to have a day off because in Oz, between work, Student Life, University, church related activities, I have my days filled. I was all done by early afternoon and had no idea what to do with myself. We did have gym class later in the afternoon. It was so fun. We played ultimate Frisbee and volleyball. I tripped over one of my students in Frisbee and landed on my knees then in volleyball I went for the ball and landed on my knees again. I have bruises now but it was worth the current discomfort.

Monday night was interesting. My roommate decided to change the sheets on her bed and had a great time getting them back on. Check www.nicolesjourneytojapan.blogspot.com for more detail on that experience and other mischief we got up to after that event. Fun time that was. All I got to say it I’m sure a male invented the sheets here in Japan because they are so difficult.

Tuesday’s classes went well. For bible study the TV made a funny noise so I unplugged it, Nicole went to see if there was another TV we cold use but got told that it sometimes happens and to try the TV again. I went to plug the TV back in to find a dead bug on the power socket. Seems as though the bug got too close and went to heaven.

The students as of this week have to write a journal to their family time teacher. I have received one so far and need to write back. The girl drew a big heart than wrote inside of it for me. Nearly was a tear jerking moment. While I am awake and thinking about the journal I will write back to my student. Ciao for now. 

 

Weekend Adventure

So, a weekend off. What is that? I have gotten use to having to work all day Saturday and in the time between churches on Sundays. What is a free weekend cause I haven’t seen one for a while until this weekend just gone. I had a whole Saturday morning of nothing. I was so bored. In the afternoon we, Mr Josh, Andrew and myself (party) went to the outlets. We had about 4 hours to spend there but could have done it in about 2 hours. So much expensive stuff and stuff I can get back home. I did find some rad writing paper though and wrote 6 letters home, which I haven’t sent yet because I need stamps and I can’t exactly walk to the closest post office.

Sunday morning was nothing again. Sim sim he (Korean). It means I’m bored. I am use to being at church from 7:30~8am until about 11am. Church here is at 3pm. I did try sleeping in but that didn’t really happen. At least next Saturday we are going to Saku, a bigger town and my group will be working on your bible club video. Really looking forward to bible club. I don’t have anything like this at my church so it might be something I will take home with me.  

What's it like

So what is it like being the actual teacher at SYME now? Some classes are hard, some are easy. It is hard because the lesson plans are originally made for classes double or triple the size of what they actually are. One of my lessons said divide classes into groups of three. My class is a group of three. Hummm. So when we finish everything early I have to think of an activity to do to fill in the time. I was playing hangman in the bible study class, after class I was talking to Miss Jodi and she suggested not playing that game with them. Supposedly somewhere in Japan someone got the idea to hang themselves because of the game hangman. I am not using that game ever again in class. 

My reading class seems to either run on-time or we run out of time. It is difficult. For conversation, I try and ask more questions so the lesson fills in the time. So far all in all the lessons seem to be going well, the students seem to be understand the topics. Each day brings challenges, and each day some new to learn.