Hug and Howdy

That's what I like to do: Visit with people and give them hugs. I do a lot of that in my life, and I'm happy to say there was a great deal of that last week.

Just hours after graduation, where I received several great hugs from people I'll miss dearly (I'm writing as a Franklin College alumna -- weird!), my friend Ellie and I left for a week-long Christian camp called Cedar Campus. After 10 hours in the car and a few adventures on the way, we made it safely to Cedarville, Mich., which is just south of the Canadian border.

With the exception of three and a half people, I didn't know anyone there. (I'd met the fourth person before, but didn't really know her, so she counts as half.) So I made new friends, which is one of my favorite things to do.

It becomes evident pretty quickly to people around me that physical touch is one of my main love languages.

I met Lauren from Minnesota on the first night, when we were both outside shivering in the cold, and she gladly accepted my offer to be her cuddle buddy. Later in the week, I got two fantastic back massages from Mike, I was inducted into "the nuzzle club" by Amanda from Depauw and I was "gracefully" (as he says) tackled by Adam. And of course I gave numerous hugs all week long.

I have no problem at all hugging someone I've just met. In fact, I prefer hugs instead of handshakes. I think it's because I'm open with people and like to have fun that someone recently called me a "let looser." It's true that I like to "let loose." But as I say, I may let loose and hang loose, however, I'm not loose!

As much as I like it, I realize that not everyone is big on being touched. So I'm usually careful about bursting personal bubbles and will back off if I can tell it's not welcomed. The sad news (to me it's sad news) is that the Japanese culture, on the whole, does not show affection in public. In other words, they are not "let loosers." In addition to what people have told me, here's what I found by doing a little bit of Web research:

"As opposed to Western culture, there is little physical touch involved between people. Whereas you might hug your family or friends in Western culture, this is not done in Japanese culture. Young Japanese women don’t even greet their friends this way (although they might jump up and down and maybe grab hands). Even married couples do not usually kiss, hug, or even hold hands when outside of the home."

This is definitely going to be hard for me! But I don't want to offend anyone in Japan, so I will try to control my urges to wrap people in big embraces. My guess is that I will have to learn to bow instead. I'm pretty sure I've never bowed to a single person in my life. This is yet another (of many!) adjustments that I will have to make.

Or maybe my new Japanese friends will evntually become huggers around me. I can only hope.

Finally...my Final Finals!

Two finals down. Two to go. I'm ready to be done with them, that's for sure!

Thinking about these being my final finals makes me smile real big. I'm not a big fan of final exams, and I don't know anyone who is. However, I am a fan of learning. In fact, I love to learn. That's one of the things that excites me about going to Japan.

I'm going to be like a sponge when I'm there. And by that, I don't mean that I'm going to be soft and porous, haha. I mean that I'm going to soak up all the information I can about the way Japanese people live. I want to learn the cultural differences between Japan and the U.S., the language and the people I encounter.

I was thinking today about how much I've learned in my art history class. As much work as I've put into it and as much as some classes seemed to drag on, I'm coming out having learned a lot, and I appreciate that. I'm glad it's over though! I've had enough modern art for a while.

Even though I like learning in a classroom (for the most part), my favorite way to learn is by experiencing for myself. Traveling is such an educational thing to do! I could study the Japanese culture all I want (which I admit I haven't been doing), but the best way to learn about Japan is to actually go there.

So I'm excited for this learning opportunity. I'm excited for the great life experience I'm going to get. And I'm excited about the the new people I'll meet and the new things I'll try and see.

But I'm not real excited about leaving my family and friends. That's definitely the hardest part. It seems like it's when I go home for holidays that I'm reminded of this the most. Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I was thinking a lot about my family, especially my mom.

People often ask me what my parents think of me moving to Japan. I'm honest when I say that they are supportive, but I can't say that they're absolutely thrilled. And if they were, I'd probably be concerned that they really wanted me out of the house as soon as possible! So I'm taking it as a compliment that they're not thrilled to pieces and can't wait for me to leave.

Mom and Dad, thank you for always supporting me and for allowing me to take advantage of the opportunity to live and learn in Japan. I guess you could have said, "No way. You're not going." One of my friends told me that there's no way her mom would let her move to the other side of the world. I'm glad that you're understanding.

Thank you for raising me to be independent and confident and for encouraging me to embrace challenges and new things. You are great parents and I mean everything I said at church yesterday about Mom. (and it's also all true for Dad.) You both get really high scores--not only for being godly people--but also for being wonderful parents.

I think that me being in Japan so far away from all that is familiar won't be easy on any of us. But I know that it's also going to be a positive experience. At least, I hope and pray it will be a positive experience! It's going to be a loooong year if it's not!

I'm getting sentimental thinking about the last four years at Franklin. (I'll be a graduate in five days!) And in addition, I've been thinking about living so far away from loved ones since that's the next step for me.

As a side note (Lauren, this is for you more than anyone), I'll be in Michigan next week at Cedar Campus, so my next blog post will be in two weeks from now. I just wanted to warn you, haha. Wow, this is getting to be a long post. I guess I'm making up for missing next week!

God bless you, whoever you are reading this right now, and thanks for reading. And if you're reading, you probably are involved in my life, and I thank you so much for that, too!

Planning my Summer Plans

It's almost here. The time of year for swimming, working outside and reading for fun. And I'm so ready for it!

I'm finding it hard to work and prepare for finals. First, the weather is getting nice, and why stay inside to type a paper when you could be outside on a blanket taking a nap in the sun!? Besides that, I know that my days of living with my Franklin College friends are extremely limited. That realization makes me want to do nothing more than hang out with them and goof off. It's ironic because this is the time of the semester when I have the most work to do; however, it's also the time when I feel like doing the least amount. Funny how that works.

People start asking me about my summer plans weeks before summer arrives. This only encourages me to think about the summer even more, and not concentrate as much on all the work I have at the moment.

Honestly, I'd rather think about my summer plans because it's a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to summer vacation because of exactly that -- it's actually going to be a vacation. I'm not planning to get a summer job, which will be the first time in five years that I haven't worked during the summer break.

Well, that's not entirely true. I'll still be working this summer. I plan to help out a lot around the house. There is always a lot of yard work to do! And after the sun sets, I'm going to scrapbook until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Scrapbooking is a TON of work, and I have a few ambitious projects to work on.

Other summer plans include spending lots of time with my family and friends, swimming and reading. I recently wrote a list of books that I want to read. They include: Blue Like Jazz, Jesus For President (I love the title of it! I also enjoy my "Jesus is my President" pin.) and several books by Karen Kingsbury, one of my favorite authors in the whole wide world.

And of course, I'm also going to be preparing for Japan this summer, which I wrote about last week. In fact, another book I want to read is one that Mrs. Streit, the Japanese teacher at the high school, recommended to me -- Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan.

I plan to give my room the most thorough cleaning it's had for a long time. I want to go through my stuff and give a lot of it away. After all, I can't take much with me when I move to Japan. So the stuff I don't take with me is just going to sit around the house collecting dust, which won't benefit anyone. Plus, my mom despises clutter, and I don't blame her.

Then there's the packing I need to do this summer. Ugh.Thinking about it kind of stresses me out a little bit. I just need to look at it as an exciting challenge! I still need to come up with a packing strategy. I know that I'm going to pack using the cool plastic bags that suck all the air out. They're guaranteed to save a whole bunch of room in my suitcase.

Well, I need to go. There's still work to be done tonight, and it's going on midnight! As much as I hate to say (err..type) it, I need to stop thinking about the summer for now.

Getting Ready...Getting Set

With Commencement only 18 days away (not that I’m counting or anything), people like to ask, “So, are you ready to graduate?”

Well, yes and no. It’s been a great four years at Franklin College, but I feel like I’m ready to move on to the next thing. (It’s nice to know what the next “thing” is!) Plus, I’m ready to be done with schoolwork, pop quizzes and final exams. However, there are so many people I’ll miss at Franklin; I’ve definitely made life-long friends here!

The follow-up question to “Are you ready to graduate?” is usually, “Are you ready for Japan?”

Again, yes and no. While I’m excited for the next big adventure, I don’t think I’m quite mentally prepared (there’s a lot to think about!), and I know for sure that I’m nowhere near physically ready.

When I think about packing for possibly two years in only two suitcases, the task seems daunting. I will definitely have to pack strategically, taking only the bare necessities. (I’m now singing the song from The Jungle Book, haha.)

Besides packing – an obvious step in preparing to move to Kuji – I’m also preparing/going to prepare in a few not-so-obvious ways:

1.) I bought a keychain. Yep, you read that right. The keychain says, “Life is a journey, God is my guide; we travel safely together, side by side.” Isn’t that cute? It just makes me happy! But more than being cute, it expresses exactly how I feel about flying to Japan to live for a while and is a nice reminder – it’s a journey, but everything will be fine with God by my side at all times.

2.) I’m thinking that I might give up rice this summer. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right!? I have a feeling I could experience some serious “rice burnout” once I’m in Japan.

3.) I went to Franklin Community High School and sat in on a Japanese class, as I wrote last time that I would. The class was learning how to write some words they already knew in the hiragana form of writing into the kanji style of writing. I was impressed by how much the students in the first-year class already knew! It was a great experience, and I’m glad I had that opportunity.

Here’s a couple of pictures from the classroom:

The front wall of the classroom

Oh, and another thing that demonstrates how I’ve been thinking about Japan: I got some more Japanese body art on Saturday at the Grizzly Grand Prix festival at school. But unfortunately, it washed off before I could take a picture of it. It was the words “peace” and “love” in kanji.

Well, paz y amor – “peace and love,” as they say in Nicaragua – until next time! (I’m becoming so multi-lingual, haha.)

Got a Ticket to Ride

Yesterday I did something I’ve never done before. Something that makes me feel independent and grown-up.

I bought my own airplane ticket. (The good news is that I’ll be reimbursed, one of the perks of this job – it was just over $1,000).

I’ll definitely be feeling independent when I’m flying by myself all the way to Tokyo, via Chicago. The total length in the airplane will be about 16 hours, which is by far the longest I’ve spent in the air at one time.

My flight departs at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 7. I’ll arrive in Tokyo at 3 p.m. the next day. Honestly, it makes me a tad bit nervous to spend that long traveling by myself, but I know it will be fine because I’ve had experience with international flying and airports in general. Besides, I don’t have any problem striking up a conversation with the stranger sitting next to me on the flight, as long as she (or he) doesn’t stick headphones in her ears as soon as she boards, which has happened to me before.

Besides purchasing my plane ticket, I’m preparing for the journey to Japan in other ways, too.

A couple of weeks ago, I met the Japanese teacher at Franklin Community High School. Mrs. Streit has been to Kuji before and was able to tell me about the city. She was extremely friendly and even offered to teach me a little bit of Japanese before I leave!

I’ve taken her up on her offer and am going to sit in on one of her classes this Wednesday. Otherwise, I haven’t really spent much time trying to learn the language. I picked up a “learn Japanese while you’re driving CD” at the library a while back, but after listening to it for a little while, I got tired of it and wanted to jam to upbeat songs on the radio instead. (Imagine that!)
Another way I’m getting ready for Japan is…
I got a tattoo on my arm!
It wasn’t painful at all. And it shouldn’t have been since it was airbrushed! It’s a tattoo of the Japanese characters for “teacher.” I thought that was very appropriate since I’ll be a teacher in Japan. Maybe I’ll get so used to seeing the fake tattoo (at left) that I’ll want to get the same thing, only real. (Only kidding, Mom).

Last week, Liz and I had a photo shoot for The Reporter, so pictures can accompany the story about us moving to Kuji. Here’s a sneak peak of the pictures that will appear in the July edition of the alumni magazine.

Now that the departure date is quickly approaching, I’ve been thinking a little more about this big move to Japan. But I’m still not dwelling on it. After all, I need to think about the end of the school year and graduation (in less than one month!) first.

Food for Thought

It’s no secret that I love to eat. The picture above (me eating ice cream, my favorite) is proof.

I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first! I’m not a picky eater, and one of my passions in life is trying new foods. In fact, I’ll try anything once. Escargot, calamari and sushi are three things that I’ve dared to try and ended up liking.

I thought all of the food in Nicaragua over spring break was delicious. Well, almost all the food. I didn’t really care for the fried cheese (which I thought tasted like a salt block), and wasn’t thrilled about the rum raisin ice cream I ordered that was covered in caramel sauce. (That’s what can happen when you don’t speak the language!)

Because I’m an adventurous eater, I’m not too nervous about the food in Japan. I know that it will definitely be different from what I’m used to. It will be interesting to see and taste the differences and similarities between authentic Japanese cuisine and the foods I’m used to eating. I've tried green tea ice cream before, and I didn't like it at all. (see below) I'm not a fan of tea, but I'll still try different flavors of tea -- and ice cream, too -- when I'm on the other side of the world.

*Not my cup of tea...or bowl of ice cream!*

As I’ve written before, I sometimes think about the foods I often eat and wonder if they’ll be available in Kuji – such as cereal. Over the weekend, my friend Darren told me that I’ll probably be eating Rice Krispies cereal for breakfast in Japan, haha!

I’m sure that I’ll eat a lot of rice in Japan, which is something that I don’t eat a whole lot of now. I like rice though. I also like all kinds of seafood. I had rice and seafood last night at an Asian restaurant in Greenwood called Stir Crazy. Of course I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the food I ate last night will be similar to the food I’ll be eating in just a few months.

I really enjoy Asian food. In America (I might add.) Japanese grill restaurants – where they fix the food in front of you – are fantastic. And when I go to a good Chinese buffet with crab ragoons and all the different types of chicken, I can just about eat my weight in food! But as much as I love the food at Chinese buffets, I’ve never been impressed with the desserts. They’re usually kind of bland and not very sugary.

So I was a little worried about the (lack of) dessert situation in Kuji, but Melissa told me there’s a bakery across the street from my future apartment, where the cakes are decent. Plus, my friend Lauren told me that I could be her “sponsored child,” and she’ll send me packages with American cookies, brownies and other goodies to satisfy my sweet teeth. (It’s more than just a sweet tooth.)

I think that idea is pretty sweet!

We all smile in the same language

Me with Francisco, one of the boys who lives in La Concha.

I feel like last week was one of the fastest weeks of my life. I returned from an amazing time in Nicaragua on Friday, and I miss it. I went with a group that included two of my amigas from Franklin – Amanda and Lauren. Amanda wrote a fantastic blog entry that has more details about our trip.

I have fond memories of the children in the village chanting, "Daaaayna!" and holding my hands as we walked down the dirt road together. Memories of Nicaragua will also forever include making crafts, eating fresh pineapple and enjoying the tropical climate. And of course I won't forget attempting (and often failing) to speak Spanish.

It's no secret that I don't speak Spanish. It would be great if I did because then I'd be able to talk even more with the children in La Concha, the village where we did our ministry. I'd be able to have more meaningful conversations, instead of basically just "Hi. How are you? What is your name? Bye."

Despite the language barrier, I could still communicate with the people in La Concha. After all, a simple smile and a hug can say so much. Plus, our group had translators with us throughout the week, and they tremendously helped calm the classroom chaos while we were teaching crafts.

When I was in Nicaragua, I couldn't help but think of moving to Japan in the near future because it will be the next time I travel internationally. (By the way, my departure date for Japan is set for August 7 – I found out last week.) I feel that teaching in Japan will be similar to teaching in Nicaragua, in a sense, because I'll be in a classroom setting with students who speak a different language. Since I'll be an assistant English teacher, I'll have another English-speaker with me, so it will probably be like having a translator there.

The language barrier is of course one of the concerns I have about moving to Kuji. But honestly, it is not a major concern. I think this might be because I've had experience interacting with people who speak a foreign language. I know it will be fine. But don't get me wrong; I don't think it's going to be at all easy!

I'm sure that I'll be frustrated by my lack of Japanese-speaking skills, just like I was sometimes frustrated about not speaking or understanding much Spanish in Nicaragua. And just like I tried my best to learn more Spanish (I learned how to sing "Open My Eyes"/"Abres Mis Ojos"), I'm going to study Japanese once I'm in Japan.

I'll just have to practice. A whole lot. At this point, I know more Spanish than Japanese. And that’s saying something!