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I'm currently teaching English in Japan and traveling when I can. I don't want to forget anything. So, I try to blog. This is my life.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Baseball in Japan

I feel like I say this every time that I blog, but I can't believe how much time has gone by. I can't believe it is the middle of September. There have been so many times that something happened that I though, "oh, I need to blog about that" but never really had the time.

The past few weeks were crazy busy getting ready for field day. To get ready for field day was pretty stressful at times. We had to teach our kids a pom-pom dance. It was so cute, we danced to The Circle of Life from the Lion King. But, teaching it wasn't the easiest thing in the world. We also had to teach our kids how to do the maypole dance. This one was even harder to do. The kids pretty much have to weave over and under each other with two different colored ribbons to make the maypole look good. Kind of a hard concept for some 5 year olds, I would think. Also, the kids had to march and stay in straight lines which is quite hard to get them to do sometimes! Anyway, all of the stress and practice really paid off because the actual field day was great! It was so much fun. The kids did an awesome job, the parents and grandparents seemed to really enjoy the day as well. We had games for the moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, and then did all of our dances and such. We also had a relay race that the kids had practiced. My class came in 2nd (out of 3 classes, ha). But, I honestly was so proud of them for how well they did that day!

A few weekends ago I went to the Rakuten Eagles baseball game. It was an incredible experience. I thought St. Louis fans were the best fans. And, maybe that is true for America..but, wow..Japanese baseball games are so different! The crowd cheers the entire time. I mean the ENTIRE time. They are organized cheers and the whole stadium takes part in them. There is kind of an official cheering section, and the people in that section tend to start the cheers, but the whole stadium quickly joins in. It's just people too, not something started by music over the speakers. They also all have these two plastic bats that are tied together with a string that they beat together to go along with their cheers which makes it sound so cool! Honestly, even if you weren't a baseball fan, I think you would enjoy these games.

Another thing about the baseball game that made me laugh a little bit, is that they have girls going around selling snacks, drinks, and beer. However, the beer is not from a can. These girls pretty much have a small keg strapped to their backs and they serve beer on tap right then and there in the stands. They also all wear knee pads and quickly kneel down to serve you whatever it is you may be buying so as not to block the view of others. Only in Japan.

We also went to Disny on Ice. It was interesting since it was all in Japanese. They did say some things occasionally in English so we could get the main idea of what was going on. Some of the songs they sang parts in English as well. I honestly only stayed interested for maybe the first hour at most, but after that, it was hard to really not be bored. I am glad that I went, but I think I'd like it better in English!!

I feel like there were so many other things that I have been wanting to blog about, but..it escapes my memory at the moment. Surprise, surprise. We are taking our classes to the ocean on Thursday. I'm pretty excited, it should be a lot of fun! A friend of ours from college, Chris, is coming to visit on Saturday. I am so excited to see him. My mom will also be here in a few weeks and I really can't wait. I have been pretty homesick since I was in Australia. A lot has happened back at home to contribute to me feeling that way.

I have about a month and a half to decide if I want to sign on for another year. I honestly can say I have absolutely no idea what I will do. There are some major points pulling me in both directions and I am not looking forward to having to really make the decision. I am just going to really try to pray about it, weigh my options, and choose what I think is the best choice for me. At this time, I have no clue what that is. There is a song that has really kind of hit home with me lately called "The Motions" by Matthew West. It talks about not just going through the motions of life, but actually living it. I feel like the majority of my life has been me going through the motions rather than really feeling or experiencing the things around me. It's hard to break that pattern, but I am really trying. There's a lot more I could say about that, but I feel like this post has gotten a bit long, so..maybe another day.

If anyone actually still reads this, some prayers for wisdom and guidance would be greatly appreciated in the next month and a half leading up to decison making time. In the meantime, I will be doing my best to enjoy my kids and love on them as much as possible. Sometimes, I forget why I am here and need to remind myself once again. I absolutely love the 16 kids that I have been blessed with for the past 6 months.

1 comment:

  1. Kim,

    God called...He said to tell you to come home! So that should make your decision allot easier. Love ya, Mom

    ReplyDelete