Catching up, rambling and a cute baby pic

Ok...I had to show this photo....I took it today. Isn't she cute!!!! She is my little student's baby sister and she has the biggest cutest cheeks I have ever seen!

Anyway....

I can't believe how busy I have been!! I'm not complaining...in fact I'm over the moon with joy. When I started my shop on Etsy, never did I think it would take off like this!! I have learned that I can't do this on my own. So, I hired an assistant. She started in late December and my original plans for her have changed....I am going to have her come and work with me a lot more.

I am also training a teacher to take over my Friday classes so I can work on my business!! I'm so happy about this!! I can totally see that I will soon need to have Thursdays off too. But between my assistant coming more and having Fridays off I should be able to get a lot more done including blogging!! I LOVE ETSY!!!

I have so many blog stories planned so keep checking in.

Also, one of my rubber stamp sets has been featured in "wickedly chic" under "daily ditties"-check them out!

http://www.wickedlychic.com/?c=Daily+Ditties

Also, I will be interviewed for another blog....I will post the link once it is finished.

It is almost 3 am here so oyasumi (goodnight)

Losing My English

Today is actually January 13th but I started to write this last Sunday but then got busy and couldn't get back to it until now (that is why the date says January 6th). So....this is what I was thinking last week.


I'm sitting here enjoying my last bit of freedom before I start work tomorrow. Not that I can really complain-I have a great boss, great hours, great money etc. I am embarrassed to say it but I am an English teacher. I'm embarrassed only because....I've forgotten so much. Perhaps this sounds strange to you....it did to me the first time a friend told me that her brother basically couldn't speak English anymore after living in Quebec for more than 20 years. I really thought that it was impossible to lose your native language. I was wrong.

When I first came to Japan, I stayed with the teacher I was replacing. She was showing me how to use the washing machine....she said "now we will make the water go away"....I looked at her like she was insane.....I said "You mean we will drain the water." I was shocked. I'm not shocked anymore.

I've been here for more than 9 years and my English has gone to hell. It is amazing what you can forget. But for about 6 years I only watched Japanese TV (you'd think my Japanese would be great by now....sadly that isn't true). I remember watching a TV show where they have this famous foreigner speaking both languages and when he spoke English I actually cried cause I used to be able to speak like that. I used to be a teaching assistant at university-now I couldn't tell you if something is dangling or spelled wrong etc.Thankfully my boss teaches grammar (he teaches it in Japanese) or I'd explode from stress.

You have to understand that for 6 years not only did I only watch Japanese TV but I spoke classroom English everyday, spoke to native English speakers (my friends) only on the weekends and I dated non native English speakers (not Japanese). I was surrounded by either no English or strange English. And now, like many foreigners here, I mix both languages ALL the time so much so that my family even understands some now! (Thankfully now I have satellite TV so I can watch English TV-I swear it has helped!)

This isn't a big problem here but it is a HUGE problem when I go back to Canada. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to a store and forgotten a word in English...here is one story: I go to a store to buy a fitted sheet for my mattress back in Japan. I walk into the store and start by saying "sumimasen" (excuse me in Japanese). After I realize I'm speaking Japanese I switch to English..."I'm looking for a ....." I pause because I had FORGOTTEN the words "fitted sheet". I didn't know how to say it in either language. The lady is looking strangely at me so I start to describe it ...."it goes on the mattress and has elastic...." She says "you mean a fitted sheet?" I smile in relief and said "yes, yes, yes." At this point I explain that I live in Japan and have sadly forgotten so much English. That starts a conversation about living in Japan and I forget that I just looked stupid.

One interesting thing about language is dating someone who speaks great but not perfect English-I don't think I would ever want to be with a perfect English speaker again.....he has said somethings that have had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe (thankfully he laughs too). Here are some cute examples...

My honey: "what is that bug with a light on its ass?"
me: (thinking hard)...."you mean a firefly?"

My honey...(looking at a bruise on my arm) "did I put the blue on you?"

Not sure if you thought they were cute or funny...maybe you had to be there but I LOVE his English and his accent!

Going to Canada sure will be interesting this summer....the 2 of us speaking Japanese or a mix of both and I can totally see me having to sometimes translate his English into real English....that is if I can!

Living Among Munchkins

As a foreigner, I stand out. I expect to be watched, stared at, followed (by kids), touched (by old ladies), run away from (by kids) etc. Most Japanese, of course, don't understand what life is like as a foreigner in Japan. One exception is my fiance. He totally gets it. He is constantly asked "Anatwa nihonjin desuka?" meaning "Are you Japanese?". He is constantly watched, stared at and run away from (by kids) all because......he is tall. He looks Japanese . He speaks Japanese. He is Japanese. But he is also 197 cm or 6 ft 5 inches tall. This is pretty rare in Japan.


He constantly has to be careful about hitting his head-but it happens all the time. He has to bend to get on and off the train. Leg room is an issue and shopping for clothes.....a nightmare. He wears a size 13 shoe which isn't huge in Canada as you can buy that size at any store....but here...might as well be a size 22.


Though he hates shopping here, he really needed a shirt for work so we went into a shop. The clerk looked (up) at him and said the familiar word "oki" meaning "big". We asked that he be measured for a shirt and the guy looked around and found the ladder. I'm betting that the ladder has never been used to measure someone. It was such an amazing thing to see which is why I took this picture. It says everything, doesn't it?

Tired of Winter? Think Spring! Think Sakura!

The other day I went shopping. I was expecting to see all the Christmas decorations replaced with the traditional New Year's decoration but I wasn't expecting to see all the cherry blossom items. My fiance said it is for spring. Ok....but winter just officially started and already spring is in the air ?

In a way it isn't shocking because winter here is green. People still grow vegetables and there are flowers blooming but for my family back in Canada (and for many in the States) white is the main color at the moment.

So for those of you who are already tired of winter, check out these stunning postcards-the colors are fabulous and uplifting!!

Here is a link to one of the stunning postcards.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8607120

Rambling thoughts about Christmas

It's Christmas eve. I just finished reading December's Oprah magazine (it was good ). I'm pondering life so bear with me.

It's Christmas eve....I love Christmas and before couldn't imagine my life without it. No...couldn't imagine a different way of doing Christmas than they way we celebrated it as I was growing up. In fact, I remember thinking that I couldn't marry a former boyfriend cause he didn't "get"my version of Christmas. You have to understand that the way we celebrated Christmas eve and Christmas looks like it came out of a movie-we did the "roasting chestnuts" thing (ok...now that song is stuck in my head), sang around the piano on Christmas eve at my Aunt's house, went to grandma and grandpa's house on Christmas day etc. I loved the way we celebrated it. Now, I'm living in a country that doesn't "get it" and strangely, I'm ok with it.

Don't get me wrong....when I go back to Canada for Christmas I enjoy it....I mean who doesn't love presents?! And it is beautiful....the snow, the lights, the music, family time etc.

But I have to admit that, for me, there is a kind of freedom that comes with living in Japan and having a Japanese fiance who doesn't "get it". I have no stress. No trying to see everyone. Not too much food or drink. No cleaning up to do. No pressure to have the perfect Christmas. It's actually very peaceful. I have 2 weeks off and I have no where I have to be-I love this.

So....what are my plans for Christmas day? I think I'm going shopping...after all it's not a holiday here and my honey has to work. I will probably eat some great Chinese food and take a fabulous hot bath (and if you know how great Japanese bathtubs are then you know what I mean). I will chat with my family and open the presents my mom sent when my honey gets home from work.

Living here does make me appreciate Christmas in Canada (and all its hustle and bustle) and when I go back next year for Christmas I will enjoy every minute of it.

Happy holidays to those who celebrate!

Frog Sticker Tape

I just wanted to share the cutest sticker tape! Little frogs. Frogs are called "kaeru" in Japanese and these ones are fun!

There are 2 rolls in the pack plus the dispenser. Each roll measures 48mm x 3m or 1.89 in x 10 feet.

These would be sooooo fun for your creative kids to use or even for yourself if you like frogs!

Just a little warning....please help your kids if they use this as the cutting edge is sharp!

View it here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8570693

Why is my nose cold?

When I first thought about moving to Japan I never thought about the weather. My students/friends told me that it was humid in the summer (which holy crap it is....that is another story) but I was told the winters are mild and nothing like what I was used to in Canada. That much is true.

The first winter I swear I only wore a sweater and most of the time I was ok. What they didn't tell me is that even though it does get below zero occasionally and it is cold enough to snow 2 or 3 times in a season, there is no central heat. This is a big deal. My first few winters, I was fine outside but freezing inside. They don't have central heat but they do have other heaters and ways to stay warm but I have to say that when you are used to central heat and every room being basically the same temperature, it just isn't the same. I would be at home freezing, air conditioner on (air conditioners are also heaters), blanket on and still cold. I would be sitting there wondering "why is my nose cold? I'm inside...this isn't right!"

The first winter I went to a friend's house. Her family (like many if not most) used a "kotatsu". A "kotatsu" is an electric table. It consists of a table with an electric heater attached to the underside of the table. The kotatsu is usually set on a thin futon, like a throw rug. A second futon, this one thicker, like a comforter, is placed over the kotatsu table, with the table top placed on top of that futon. The electric heater attached to the underside of the table heats the space under the comforter, and anyone who happens to be snuggled under it.It gets pretty toasty under there. This family also used a "hot carpet" so I'm sitting on the hot carpet and my lower half is sitting under the table....I was hot and cold at the same time. My a$$ felt like it was on fire and my nose felt like an ice cube!!!

Now....maybe you think that isn't so bad....now imagine being naked in the bathroom with no heat and in many cases air seeping through cracks and crevices or in some cases windows wide open---in December---and it's snowing outside!!! Shocking!!!

I've had friends say that in the mornings they can see their breath. I haven't experienced that but sometimes it is colder in my apartment than it is outside.

Now I am used to it and don't mind it and in fact I have problems when I go to Canada in the winter. I wake up sweating in the middle of the night since I'm not used to a warm room and warm blankets.

It sure is amazing what you can get used to!!