Back in the U. S. of A.

I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and around Japan after I finished teaching. It was great!! I will miss the opportunity to travel around Asia... but it won't be the last time I travel there.

I returned April 1, 2015. Being back in the U.S. was a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be. There were moments of culture shock during the first month of being back, but I got over it. I was looking forward to being back in the U.S., so I think that helped. Luckily, I got a summer job at the partner university that I worked with in Japan. I was surrounded by people I have worked with before and around students who I am familiar with. It couldn't have been any better than that!!

My summer in Oregon is coming to an end, and I have been fortunate to work, to see friends, to see family, to have health insurance, to exercise, to go out to eat, to find a job, to go camping, and much much more. I do not know what I have done to be so fortunate. I feel so privileged. I am grateful for everything that I have and yet I want more. I'm working on following my dreams of ... traveling and teaching middle school math. Soon I'll be in a public school teaching middle school math. I hope to teach abroad again someday... and knowing me I will strive for that dream. I'm content with my current situation and I am eager to see where I will be 5 years from now... 10 years from now... Inshallah.

Week 1 Down, 14 more Weeks To Go...

Kobe the Kobaton  checking out oranges.

Did you know that I have a website for my classes?   http://eleung.weebly.com/

Week 1 DONE:

• 13.5 hours of in class teaching
• 4.5 hours of English Lounge
• 1.5 hours of meetings
• About 20 hours of planning and grading (Monday-Friday) *I do planning & grading on the weekend too.
• Lunch is usually about 30 minutes most of the week, but I'm usually going over my lesson plan.
• x hours of Coordinator duties

It's a busy schedule, but I get a good amount of time off in between semesters.

October is just around the corner.  The Fall Season is upon us. In Japan they have seasonal menus along with the usual menu. It's nice to see what fall treats they have available, and you can only get it for the season! 

The leaves haven't quite changed colors here... Maybe in November or so, but the leaves are falling...

Last SEMESTER in Japan!

I am more than excited to announce that today was my last first day of teaching at TIU.  It is a bit sad, but overall I think that it is the right move for me. I am looking for teaching jobs in middle school math back on the West Coast. I would love to be near Seattle with my sisters and nephew. California doesn't seem too bad, because of the nice weather... Who knows where I'll end up... Life in a journey... a continuous journey, and I just can't figure out where I can be in one place for an extended period of time. I go through the motions of life, and that could be good and/ or bad. I had two classes today. One was Communication Basic with my International Relations students, and they make me happy. They make me feel good as a teacher. I don't know what it is... maybe because they do their work, and show up before the bell rings? Maybe because they listen and take notes? I'm grateful to have them in my last semester.  My second class was Advanced Listening, which consists of sophomores and juniors.  I think it'll be an engaging class, and I'm looking forward to all the discussions. It shall be very interesting. Tomorrow I'll have three classes!! First will be Introduction to American Society, next will be Basic Writing, and then third will be Advanced Listening. We'll see how it goes!!!

COUNTDOWN: 112 days until the end of Fall Semester & 186 days until I leave Japan.

Posing with my selfie stick. LOL.

First day of My LAST Semester in Japan!!!

Tomorrow is the beginning of Fall Semester.

I had a nice long summer vacation, and now it's time to focus on work. I'm so lucky to have a long vacation... It made me lazy, and not want to work... That would be crazy to not have to work. hahaha.

I love working with youth and with students. It's an interesting balance to have time off and time focused on work...

I have two classes on Mondays. Three classes on Tuesdays. One class on Wednesdays. Two classes on Thursdays. Two classes on Fridays. I have seven different classes. It will be another challenging semester, but I'm looking forward to it. It will go by fast...

What will I do after? So far I'm thinking about moving somewhere on the West coast, specifically in the Seattle area. We'll see.... Who knows where life goes...

Okinawan Adventure

Naminoue Beach, Naha, Okinawa 

REHAB with my fellow Fellows

Cape Maeda

Aharen Beach, Tokashiki Island

はいさい = Hello in Okinawa! (females word)

One week of beaches, swimming, feasting, relaxing, and sunshine!

Okinawa is truly an amazing place to visit. I love love love beaches and sunshine.

I flew on Vanilla Airlines.  It's a small airline company that flies to about 5 places! Naha is one of those places.  Roundtrip was about 17000¥, which is about 170USD.  Not bad at all!!!

There is not a big railway system on the main island (Okinawa Honto). There is a monorail.

Upon arrival we rode the monorail to Asahibashi and then walked to the hotel.

The hotel was near Naminoue Beach, Kokusai Dori, AND suprisingly the Redlight District. :O

oops!!! It was interesting to be near it, but I didn't see anything too risqué.

On Saturday, Sep. 6 it was a rainy day. We didn't do much, but luckily it wasn't rainy the rest of the trip.  On Sunday we headed north to Cape Maeda. It was a stunning view. It was low tide so we walked around the tide pools. There were plenty of people snorkeling. We wanted a beach to swim at.

So... we walked to a nearby resort and swam on their private beach and ate lunch there as well!!!

Prices were displayed in USD!! That was also surprising... AND the exchange rate wasn't bad either.

One of the best parts of the trip was Aharen Beach.  It's located on Tokashiki Island.  Tokashiki Island is about a 35 minute Marine Liner boat ride.  The ferry is slower and cheaper, but we were doing a day trip and wanted to get there quicker!  We left around 9:00am and spent most of the morning on the beach.  The water at the beach was a crystal blue that I've never seen before, and it was absolutely breath-taking! We were curious about Tokashiku Beach because there are sea turtles there, but there are no buses to that beach! So we attempted to walk, but luckily was offered a ride by a generous man name Hiroki!  He dropped us off at the beach and went on his way.  It was less crowded than Aharen.  No luck with any turtle sightings.  Afterwards we made our trek back to Aharen Beach... an uphill hike... AND once again... we were lucky enough to get a ride from another driver... It was my first time hitch hiking!! AND I'm grateful it was a safe experience on a small island with friendly people.

The last few days were spent at a resort that was isolated on a smaller "island" near the airport.  It had super nice hot springs, buffet breakfast, and 2 saunas.  It was one of the most relaxing hotels I have been in.  Okinawa was a great trip!!!! I would recommend it to anyone.  I think it would be great to stay at other islands around Okinawa as well. There is a lot to see and do throughout the Honto Island, and there are other islands to explore that are not far from it as well. 

This trip was more than I could ask for before I start my last semester at TIU.

Time to get back to WORK!!!! :)

My Miyajima, Hiroshima, & Matsuyama Trip

Itsukushima Shrine and torii in Miyajima [8.28]

Hiroshima Peace Park [8.28]

Matsuyama Castle [8.30]

It was a spur of the moment decision to go down to Shikoku to visit a friend of mine.  She is an ALT on the JET program.  I flew down to Matsuyama on Jetstar Airlines.  Matsuyama is on Shikoku, which is another island that is part of Japan.  It's southwest of Tokyo, and to the right of Kyushu (another island).  It was fascinating to arrive to another part of Japan and see the similarities and differences within its own culture.  At first I was surprised that there were no trains throughout the city.  There was a streetcar/ tram that ran throughout the city.  Fortunately, I had the pleasure of riding the tram once.  The rest of the time I was on my mamachari (beach cruiser bicycle).  The hotel I stayed at was Matsuyama New Grand Hotel.  They had free wifi, free ofuro, & free mamachari.  It was a nice set up, and I'm glad I stayed there.  The wifi was a bit weak though.  It was in a great location. It was not far from Matsuyama Castle and the Dogo Onsen.

I decided to do a day trip to Hiroshima from Matsuyama.  I caught the super jet boat from Matsuyama Kankoko (Sightseeing Port) to Hiroshima Port.  It took about an hour and an half. Then I rode the tram/ streetcar in Hiroshima to Miyajima-guchi Station, and that tooooook forever (2 hours).  If you have the time then no worries, but I was on a day trip and I didn't think it would take that long.  From Miyajima-guchi it's a jump and a skip to the ferry boat that takes you to Miyajima Island.  It was only 180¥ for the ferry and it's about a 10 minute or so ride.  From the ferry I walked to Itsukushima Shrine and floating torii.  I had my selfie stick and everyone was enthralled by it!!! It was quite embarrassing and entertaining at the same time.  I quickly walked through the shops to get to the shrine. Afterwards I decided to eat the famous Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. It was superb. Then I had 2 oysters. My belly was happy.

There is a boat from Miyajima Island to the Peace Memorial Park.  YES, I rode that boat for 40 minutes into Hiroshima.  It was 2000¥ one way, and so worth it.  When we were in the city canal/ river area we got to stand outside and take in the sights from the water.  We approached the A-bomb Dome and docked not far from there. It was a short walk to the Peace Memorial Museum (50¥ entrance fee).  It sure tugged on the heart strings, and it was very informational and educational.  I'm glad I decided to go out for the day to Hiroshima.  It is on my list of places to experience in Japan.  I have been to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and it is good to get multiple perspectives on anything.  It was heart breaking to see the damage the bomb did to Hiroshima, and how mind blowing to see how it has rebuilt itself after 70 years.

夏休み

こんにちは!

I am officially on summer break!

It is a great feeling to be on vacation. I'm quite ecstatic!!! ☻

Sunday, July 27 - My last Open Campus!!!

Friday, August 1 - My last school-wide Health Check!!!

My grades are turned in, so I don't need to worry about that. There is always work to be done, but now I can complete other tasks that I need to do before my time in Japan is over. Summer break will go by in a blink of an eye, and fall semester will go by in less time than that! 

Today I volunteered passing out food in 上野公園. There were only males picking up the free food.  I wonder where the females all were.  It was with the organization called Second Harvest.  It was my first time volunteering with them, and it was a nice experience because they were well organized and needed all the help they can get.  I am interested in volunteering with them again.  It was a hot day, and we passed out 263 meals.  Afterwards, I went to the office/ headquarters to help clean the dishes.  It wasn't too long because there were many people helping. When everything was cleaned and put away, there was tea and snacks for us.  It was nice so relax and chat.  I met some really wonderful people today.  I hope I see them again someday...

Many things to look forward to this summer and for fall semester!!! Cheers!!! Keep on keeping on.