Japanese Summer Vacation

Starting this week, the schools here in Japan are on summer vacation. The vacation lasts from the end of July to the end of August. Not only is the time shortened in Japan but the role of the teachers are different as well. The teachers don’t really get a summer vacation. If they want one then they have to take off. We all come to school everyday even though the kids don’t have to. The Japanese culture is to be or look busy so that you look like you are a good worker, EVEN if you have NOTHING to do! That is me. I have nothing to do because the AET before me left great lesson plans and there are only so many decorations I can make. There is only AC in the teachers room and outside this room its about 90 degrees everywhere else in the school so needless to say, everyone spends most of their time in the teachers room. The problem with that is you must look busy and well I have nothing to do and I’m not good at doodling and I’m not a writer of any kind so I’m out of luck. There is some socializing while in the teachers room but the problem with that is I can’t speak Japanese so not many people talk to me and if they do then its just quick little things. Its tougher then it sounds. Going a whole day not having one real conversation with a person while you are surrounded by people all day is depressing. It has only been a week of summer vacation and I can hardly stand it.

Luckily, next week we have summer training with all the AETs. The two weeks following training an AET couple (Luke and Emily Martin) and I are going to South Korea! It will be the vacation we need! I am pretty excited! Sometimes I think I’m being dramatic about dealing with my situation but sometimes it just wears on you. Things will get better with a vacation. They always do!

Address...

....just in case you want to send me something! :)

Chelsea Baker

Matsuyama Haitsu B-102
3-144-5 Migawa

Mito, Japan 310-0912

Love and miss you all!!!

Rainbow Trout!

Yesterday was quite the Japanese cultural experience! 2 of my Japanese friends, Erisa and Hitomi, asked me to go fishing with them in the town close by and me being quite the fishermen decided it would be a good chance to show them my skills! So despite the fact I was low on sleep I got up and met them.

What I didn't realize is that fishing at this festival is not quite the fishing I'm used to. When we showed up, all the kids were in swim suits and everyone had nets and bags looking at a shallow pool of water. From what I gathered, we were expected to wade into this pool of water that had been stocked with TONS of HUGE rainbow trout! So Hitomi and I wading out in our chacos ready to try to catch fish with our HANDS!!! Now here's the problem, the water is cloudy, you can't see the fish but they are brushing up against your legs. I couldn't handle it. I was always the kid that hated swimming in the lake because there was a possibility that a fish might brush my leg and here I was in knee deep water stocked with TONS of fish! We did a lot of screaming as the fish taunted us by swimming by us.

I wish that I could explain to you the amount of people that were here to fish with their hands and how skilled they were at it. These fish were soooo big and sooo fast but some people were excellent at catching them!! Allen Thompson, another AET, came along and he made the trip. He went all out and ended up sitting in the water and waiting for the fish which was the common thing to do. We never ended up catching even one but walked away with about 12 fish. It's funny how we acquired them, all thanks to Allen...

1 fish from an old man with a net catching them right and left gave one to Allen. I think he felt back for the foreigner that couldn't catch any but was trying sooo hard.

1 fish from the people who ran the event. After most of the fish were caught they used a net to catch the rest of them and handed them out to the kids. Of course Allen got in that line as well.

2 HUGE ones and 4 small ones were given to Allen by a family with a cooler full of them. He was trying to give our 2 fish away because we decided we weren't going to eat them and they ended up giving us some of theirs. It was a very confusing exchange even with a translator.

4 more were given to Allen after he went BACK to get his other shorts that he shed after getting soaked. Some people wanted to interview the foreigner on why he was there and where he was from so they gave him more fish as a thanks. We ended up with more fish that we could eat!

We decided to go back to Erisa's house and try to cook them so after passing some of the out to people we saw in the next hour we went and fried/grilled/boiled the fish. We had so much food that we had to invite more AETs to come join us for the feast! It was an amazing day and the best part was the whole day was FREE!!!

Koke's a monkey!

This is a little boy that is super crazy and tends to wonder around school a lot. He ends up in my English room a lot of times and will do things like this!

The beauty of a routine

I remember mom always getting so upset when our routine got messed up when I was a kid and I never understood why. Watching as I have grown up, babysat and experienced for myself the beauty of a routine is irreplaceable. As I look back at these last 3 months of being in Japan I realize that is what made me so upset those first few weeks. I didn't have a routine nor did I know what it should look like. Now after 3 months, I have a routine and it keeps me pretty darn busy!

School obviously dominates a lot of my time but Tuesdays I go to Japanese class at the church. Wednesday is church again and then Thursday I play volleyball at my school gym with some foreigners but mostly Japanese. It is quite interesting playing with a majority speaking a different language but they are all great and so much fun.

Weekends vary from week to week but normally Saturday goes too fast and on Sunday church eats up most of the day. Needless to say the weeks have been flying by and I have enjoyed it. There is something to say about a routine!

Onsening...

The onsen is part of the Japanese culture that is also on my list of things that would probably not work in the states but I have come to love it. It was quite an odd experience at first but now I have embraced it for what it is! For those of you that don't know what an onsen is, it is a public bath. Normally separated into the 2 sexes, you are able to relax in pools of different tempatures, some with bubbles, some scented and some extremely cold! Some of these places are even perched up on a hill overlooking the ocean. The kicker for most people is that in these public bathes, everyone is completely naked. Now before you completely nix the idea, let me explain how great it is.

Let me just tell you, it is extremely awkward to walk into the locker room seeing many Japanese women in varies stages of clothing. It's hard not to turn right around and walk straight out of the building. Understanding that this is a cultural experience is the only thing that keeps me there. No matter how awkward this might seem to us Americans, the Japanese find it quite relaxing and once you can get over the nakedness it really is! Being able to move from one pool to the next of different temperatures is like having several hot tubs at your finger tips. If you like bubbles, you are welcome to find that pool. If you like the sauna, there is one of those too. There is also what is called a salt room. So many options to enjoy.

Something that I have concluded after accepting and finally loving the onsen is that everyone has something they don't like about their bodies. God made us all quite different and thats OK! If we are able to be comfortable in our skin then I think that our self-confidence would skyrocket. Especially in America, we are so focused on how we look and what we wear that we forget that those people we want to be like are just people too and they also have imperfections. The onsen is quite the experience but I would love to share the experience with several in the States. My first victim is Mary when she comes to visit me in November. I've already given her the heads up and am excited to see how she likes it.

A revelation...

As I was reading today I came across Revelation 7. It begins with the 144,000 that are sealed before the world is destroyed but then it starts to talk about the multitude in white robes. As I continued reading I stubbled on what is now something that I'm really looking forward to and something that is going to help me continue on this mission I'm on. Revelation 7:9 says "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,

from every NATION, TRIBE, PEOPLE and LANGUAGE, standing before the throne.

Then a few verses down it explains what they are saying.

"Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Then on down along with the angels...

"Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!"

Not only do these verses remind me of the song "Salvation Belongs to our God" but also how great worship can be. We can be singing the words of the Bible and not even know. I had no idea that the words to that song are word for word the Word of God. It is so exciting to me. The biggest thing that hit me though is the fact that he felt it important to write that every tribe and nation will be there. Every language will be represented. Being in a country where speaking the language is a struggle for me everyday...this is exciting! Exciting to know that I will be able to see all of these people that I meet here whether I see them again in this life or not. Not only will there be my family and Americans but every Nation!!! This shows me exactly what my mission is. I've always known it but sometimes I forget...to show these people that I come into contact with how great it will be to be apart of the multitude. And when that day comes...I'll be able to understand them. Just a little excitement I thought I'd share with you.

Here's the link to the song I was talking about if you've never heard it. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aec8GhTcbYg