1 YEAR~

March 25, 2013 ~ I arrived with three suitcases to Narita Airport... After a 10 hour flight of not much sleep, the feelings of excitement and panic were running throughout my body.  I was the first to arrive from my team of teachers... I decided to venture on my own and catch a flight before them.  After I went through immigration and customs, there were two familiar faces smiling and greeting me.  At that moment was the beginning of a new adventure of living and working in Japan.

One year later, I survived.  There are many changes with the job, and there are still many changes to come.  That's life... always changing...  We have 10 teachers joining us this semester, and 4 more teachers joining in the fall semester.   We are in the process of deciding to re-contract or not, and in the end they will decide to offer us a contract.  It is quite interesting this whole process... I'm not sure what will happen... I just hope that things will be smoother this semester.  I think that things will be alright... :)

Graduation Ceremony with Jason, Sona, & LeeLee. [3.21]

Graduation Ceremony with Aiko [3.21]

Spring Forward!!!

I was fortunate to have a lot of time off in February and March, and I traveled around Hong Kong, Macao, China & South Korea. I returned shortly back to Japan before heading back to California, Oregon, & Washington to visit my family.

I truly love to push myself to go to places where I am unfamiliar with, and challenge my mind to be in an another culture or even to think differently than I would normally see things... yet I know I have a set way of thinking that I was conditioned to think.

I realized that whether I am abroad or in the States, there are still some things that challenge me... I know that I will always have the "Travel Bug," and as I get ready to start the new school year... I am thinking about my future and where I want to continue to challenge myself.

I am grateful for a full-time job, loving people in my life, and a family who cares about me to the point of annoyance. haha!

When I was back in the States, and had a chance to catch up with some friends & family... people would ask, "So, do you love it there?"  "What do you usually do on the weekend?"  "What are you going to do when you finish?"  "What are your classes like?"  "How are your students?"  The usual questions anyone would ask, and even I would want to ask...  One thing I know for sure is that I love my students, and I want to continue to improve my ideas and techniques so that everyone is learning and enjoying the time together.  I know I'm not perfect, and by no means I think I could be perfect... I just want to continue learning...

I choose not to be limited by my fears & my comforts.

The Great Wall of China - Mutianyu [Feb. 19]