End of August

I returned back to Japan last Thursday from Thailand.  We had Open Campus on Friday and Saturday.  We had a full room in the morning sessions, and less people in the afternoon sessions.  I spoke to about 10 prospective students last weekend.

This past week I was fortunate to go to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) and have green tea in a bamboo forest.  It was nice to get to see these sites and experience more of Japan.  I also went to see himawari (sunflower) in Saitama.  It was a big field of sunflowers, and I picked two to take home with me.  I also had ichigo (strawberry) shaved ice.  It was a nice treat since it was very hot that day.  We saw many people dressed up to take pictures with the himawari.  When I say dressed up, they were wearing costumes, and had wigs, and lots of make up.  Maybe it is a thing to do to get professional cosplay photos in a field of sunflowers??? hmmm...

Last night I went to the gym for the first time in Japan.  Sadly, I had my wallet stolen.  Yes, stolen!  I had it in my purse, and it wasn't there after I showered... I did not lock it because I was taking a quick shower.  I didn't realize that it was missing until I was at the grocery store buying groceries.  My wallet wasn't there!  I spent about 3 hours at the Koban and back at PiKOA to figure out this mess... Whoever stole it used my credit card at Yaoko Marketplace 3 times in one night!!! This person spent more than 300USD there.  Unbelievable... I called and cancelled my cards this morning before the 3 hour investigation and reporting at the Police Station.  A lady showed up to the Koban and we went to the gym, and she took pictures and measurements of the locker.  I had to stand and point to where my purse was in the locker.  It was a unique experience.  We went back to the Koban and she took my fingerprints and said she would call if they find anything...

I have my old wallet, and it's pretty much empty!  I had my residence card, insurance card, TIU ID card, credit card, debit cards, and more in the stolen wallet... I hope it shows up!!!

  

Summer Break 2013

Summer break has begun!

My summer consists of random days of work with mini vacations in between. For example, the last day of classes were on July 22, and I had work from July 26-28. So I went to the Japan Alps from July 23-25. I also had work on August 4, so I didn't have much time to go on another trip in Japan.  I stayed around town and prepared for my trip to Thailand! !   Now I am in Thailand until August 21.  Yes, I have work on August 23 & 24.  These random days I have work are called Open Campus.  These days we meet prospective high school students and talk about the university and our classes.  It's actually quite fun to meet these students.  The Open Campus after the ones in August is September 7!  I'll have about 13 days free to do some work and visit friends in Japan.  Maybe I'll even go travel around Tokyo and Kansai region of Japan. We'll see... right now I'm in Thailand, and I'm enjoying every moment of this vacation.  This past semester had its challenges, and I am grateful to have persevered through it.  Somehow it happened... at moments I wasn't sure if I could do it... Cheers to the summer!

surprising news

I guess I didn't comprehend the email completely!  It mentioned cuts and reduction in staff, but I thought they were combining job duties or something!  They couldn't possibly cut three positions at the Salem campus, could they? !  I guess so... I'm very surprised. There is a lot of expansion and investment here with the new program. I thought for sure things were going well in all other areas of the university....

Another surprise today was... vegetables in a box!  What a lovely surprise. A friend in Japan sent this box of goodies to LeeAnn's apartment, and it was filled with produce from or friend's dad's garden!  Amazing!  How do you send a box of produce? I am amazed!