relaxing and fun weekend.. just what i needed

school can be tiring.. i have hyper first graders every week!!! love them to death though.. but it's good to have a break to re-energize :) on saturday i talked to the fam on skype and then went to the beach to relax for a couple hours. in the late afternoon i went to laura's to get ready for the squadron party. we had pizza and cheese sticks (YUM) and watched some big love.. dad.. check it out.. you would get addicted like entourage addicted :) since laura and eric's place is on-base i got to use my hair straightener from home!!! oh how i've missed it. seriously.. i'm not even exaggerating haha. even though with this humidity, my hair doesn't stay super straight for long. oh well.. at least i got to see it staight for a little bit.. brought back some good memories haha :) we had fun getting ready for our model look.. we were deal or no deal girls and eric was howie. the bald caps were too expensive so laura used some panty hose.. hilarious!! the party was fun. it was at the single guys' two story apartment and it was an amazing place. their balcony alone is probably the size of my apartment times two or three haha. and it overlooked the ocean and city.. absolutely gorgeous.
haha.. his panty hose ripped during the party.. just pretend you can't see his hair :) i stayed at laura and eric's house and got to sleep in a soft bed like mine at home! i've missed my bed. we watched college football in the morning and stayed in our pjs until i went home at 4 haha.. i don't care.. it felt good to be lazy! :) they have a phone plan set up where they can call the states, so i surprised mom and dad by calling them.. it was funny to actually use a phone instead of my computer haha.
so yes.. it has been a very fun and relaxing weekend. did some laundry when i got home and caught up on some tv shows. i'm going to bed early tonight :)

this week in class...

yesterday it rained in the morning and a beautiful rainbow was outside our classroom.. i let my kids go on the balcony to see it and they had fun talking to the fourth graders through their window and waving to the rest of our class being dropped off for school.. the little things amuse them :)

nene is VIP (she gets to be line leader and my helper for the week. she also makes a little poster to hang on the chalkboard for the week and the kids get to ask her questions one of the days) and she brought in a scrapbook that her and her mom made about the abcs. it is so adorable.. each letter has a theme and her mom wrote questions for her to answer or draw.. cutest idea EVER. but anyway.. i was touched that for the letter m, she had it for miss rachel! so i took a picture of it to show you all! :)

today i was getting things together for our chapel skit next week (we are doing noah's ark), and the kids got SO excited when i showed them the masks they'll be wearing! aren't they adorable?!

at lunch, jed took out a crunch bar and him and leo started singing the "chocolate song." apparently this song is played on the television when chocolate is advertised. it made me smile thinking about all the commercials i know the songs to at home.. no matter where you are in the world, tv jingles can still get stuck in your head :)

.karaoke.

so i thought it was about time i told everyone about my first japanese karaoke experience! :) the group (part of laura's english class, laura, eric, eric's sister nancy, and me) started off at dinner.. authentic okinawan food that was amazing! they were nice enough to explain to us what every dish was.. plates just kept coming and coming! my favorite dishes were the sashimi (thin slices of raw fish), fresh tofu, pig kabobs, umibudo! (seaweed that looks like a cluster of mini grapes.. umi means something from the sea and budo means grapes). there were so many other foods that were good, but it is hard to describe them all and remember everything i ate.. but it was all good! :) we sat outside under a tin roof and it was so relaxing! and great company.. they are all so hilarious! we laughed over english slang and phrases and some japanese as well.

then we walked over to the karaoke room (it is part of the restaurant). in japan, groups have individual party rooms so you are just singing with the people you know, which is good haha. it was so much fun! toru really gets into karaoke! we sang some japanese songs, whitney houston, spice girls, sir mix-a-lot, maroon 5, elvis, beyonce, grease, green day, and so many more! we were literally singing for two and a half hours!! great memories and hilarious moments!!!

fall fest!

today was the fall fest.. praise the lord it didn't rain! the kids paid for tickets to use at booths with games for prizes (bean bag toss, balloon darts, pull a sucker, cake walk, unwrap a gift musical chairs, and look for a lifesaver in a plate of whip cream), booths with activities (tattoos.. my booth!, stoning wall.. one kid sticks their head through a piece of plywood while other kids throw wet sponges at them haha, bouncy house, and "universal studios".. kids dress up, get their hair done and face painted for pictures), and to use for the food area (barbecued hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken on a stick called yakitori, tons of drinks and snacks, and snow cones).
i enjoyed seeing my kids and being able to talk to the kids from other classes as well. i got to talk to a few parents too which was nice.. they are all so sweet!
i also talked to the parent who wants me to help her with conversation english, so now i finally have a date and time that i'm going to be meeting with her... i'm excited!!!

the balloon darts was a favorite

the bouncy house!

ayana and nene stopped by my booth for some tattoos and hugs

english fun

laura teaches a conversation english class every thursday night for a couple hours and i had the wonderful opportunity to teach it for her last night (her sister-in-law is visiting). i had so much fun! there were four women and two guys (one is a cute old man!). laura informed me beforehand that aigi (the older man) loves to joke around and all of us were laughing the whole entire night! he is hilarious. when we first sat down and i introduced myself, aigi said that he was nervous to talk now because i was so beautiful haha. all of us were joking with him keeping tabs of everytime he said beautiful to me.. "rachel.. you have such a beatiful voice" "rachel.. your little hands are so beautiful" hahaha.. we could not stop laughing at how fascinated he was! when toru, the other guy, was talking about his weekend, aigi told him, "enough about your weekend.. who has another question for rachel??" toru nicknamed me supermodel haha (i had to inform him that supermodels are a lot taller than me haha) and even introduced me like that to his wife after class when we were saying our goodbyes haha... they make me smile :)
during the whole two hours, i didn't even get to the book work that laura left me with. after everyone was introduced, the rest of the time was spent asking me questions. it was funny because i would say something "shocking" to them, and two people came in late, so they would ask the same questions and it was hilarious to see them have the same reaction. their mouths dropped when i told them that i recently turned twenty two. one lady was funny.. her voice got quiet and she goes, "my youngest daughter is older than you." i informed her that her daughter was my brother's age, and it made her feel better haha. they literally gasped when i told them that it took me fifteen hours to drive from oregon to california haha. it makes sense because laura was telling me that when she went on a class fieldtrip that took a forty minute car ride to get there, that is seen as a LONG distance and they actually stopped to get out and stretch, get food, etc.. their forty minute car ride is equivalent to me going to seattle or something.
they were very interested in hearing all about oregon and california. a couple of them have actually traveled to both states, so that was fun to reminisce. they LOVED when i told them all the celebrities i've seen in california. their favorite was meg ryan.. a lot of gasps and hollers. aigi let us know that he named his cat after meg ryan :) we of course also talked about disneyland and tokyo-disney :) we all had a lot of things in common!
they were also very amused that i don't live on the base and shop at japanese grocery stores. they were laughing when i told them i just buy stuff that looks and smells good.. sometimes i have no idea what it is haha.
i also found it very interesting that when they were asking questions, a couple of them asked me about my ancestry.. when i told them that my mom's side is swedish they were all like, "yes yes.. i knew it! i knew you had european in you!"
it was fun getting to know them and they were all so sweet and such great company. the group is going to dinner and a karaoke bar tomorrow with laura, eric, and eric's sister, and they really wanted me to come so i'm excited to hang out with them again! especially at a karaoke bar!!! i'll take pictures and probably some videos too :)

paper airplanes

so today was the paper airplane contest. the kids had a blast!! before we began, the students had to share with the class what their airplane name and who the pilot was... entertaining fo sho. jed had the winning airplane out of the kids. he actually even beat me a few times! he would get so excited when his plane flew longer than miss rachel's! and then he would get a funny grumpy face when i beat him haha. after the competition, i had the kids write about their plane and how it did in the contest.. so cute to read! sometimes they say the funniest things.. i'll have to post some later :)


the first graders standing next to their planes after they threw them

tug-of-war?

i don't even really know what to say about today haha. so many things happened.. so many different emotions :) the naha matsuri festival was today, so the girls and i went in the afternoon. i haven't been to naha since i got picked up from the airport in august, so i was excited to spend the day there. when we got there, the parade of flags had just started. the parade of flags conists of fourteen flags.. each flag represents a community in okinawa. seven are from the east-side and seven from the west.. so the tug-of-war is basically east-side vs. west-side. the parade was really cool.. the men balanced the flags on their hands and stomachs. it was a little scary when they would start to fall towards me! luckily the other men had y-shaped sticks to catch the flags before they hit the parade watchers :)

that takes some serious skill

a kid sized flag :) he's practicing


i also really enjoyed the watching them perform karate with different weapons.. sai, nunchucks, swords, and bo staffs. they are VERY talented!!!



then came the tug-of-war. oh goodness.. i don't even know how to describe it. first of all... it happens on the street. the rope is eighteen tons and two meters in diameter... it is in the guiness book of world records as the largest tug-of-war in the world. before it began, adrienne, alison, and i waited on the sidewalk for the street to be closed off and it was a mad house. people were EVERYWHERE around us and didn't know a thing about personal space.. we were cracking up because of how awkward it had become haha... it was like a mosh pit at a concert.. but no concert. lots of things were happening to prepare for the tug-of-war.. but everything was in japanese so i'm not really sure what was happening. from reading about the festival before going, the east-side and west-side had to challenge each other to the tug-of-war.. so i'm assuming it had something to do with that haha. then came the fun part. we were able to make our way to the front to hold on to the a little rope to help move the big rope to connect the two. a drunk old asian guy was behind me as we were holding on to the rope saying something in japanese.. it was creepy. it was too crowded for anyone to move so i was stuck with him behind me until we started pulling the rope. what fun haha. it was COMPLETE CHAOS when it was our turn to pull the rope to connect the two. i almost lost my flip flops, a woman fell with her child and had to be carried away because she couldn't move and was crying, alison and i were almost trampled on, and the actual tug-of-war hadn't even started yet!! haha.. quite the experience. i was literally scared during that moment.. my heart was beating fast! i seriously thought i was going to be squished and trampled on. all that to say.. we decided to just watch the actual tug-of-war :)

us holding the rope before the chaos began.. we were so naive :)

the rope finally connected and the competitors accepting the challenge


opening ceremony before tug-of-war

the winning side is supposed to cut the rope to take home because it is supposed to bring good luck and a good harvest for the next year. it was crazy to see people take our their knives and razors to cut the rope after the tug-of-war was over!!! seriously.. only in japan. the girls and i were laughing saying that could NEVER happen in the states.. someone would have gotten stabbed! a nice man cut some rope for us, so we have some rope to bring us good luck this year :)

alison and me next to the rope after the victory

i had to get a picture with one of the men!

moving the rope at the end of the ceremony.. crazy huh?!

we ended the night eating at charlie's tacos for dinner.. delicious!!
i wish you all could have experienced today with me.. writing about it does not truly convey how crazy it was!

gotta love free stuff

friday night the girls and i went to sauce, a jazz restaurant, for dinner. the seating consisted of leather couches and chairs.. very comfortable! the lights were dimmed and candles were lit on every table.. add that to the smooth jazz playing and it's easy to tell that it was a very relaxing dinner :) we were the only ones there for a while, so the waitress gave me free coleslaw (by the by... not coleslaw.. more like cabbage with caesar dressing) and we got chicken wings on the house! my lips were burning after eating them but they were really tasty!
we then went on a little adventure trying to find western world, a line dancing club. it took us a while to get there haha but it's okay because i finally saw a statue of godzilla!! he was on top of a building holding a marquee.. i'm sure i'll see more godzillas in tokyo :) all that i can really say about western world is that it makes me appreciate montana's (a line dancing club in california) so much more!!! :) western world was a little ghetto and there were definitely some very special people there haha.
yesterday i relaxed at the beach for a couple hours. the ocean felt really good and i'm still in awe of its gorgeous color... i already know i'm going to miss it when i come back to the states :) right before i left i was fortunate to see a man wearing a thong.. running to the ocean. a speedo is bad enough BUT A THONG?! i know you all probably wanted to see a picture but i didn't take one.. sorry! ;)

another week in okinawa

this week was picture day (class and individual) so i had to take pictures of the kids in their non-uniform clothes.. they are so adorable!


boys will be boys :)


in science class we are learning how water, wind, and air can affect their toys and how they play with them. they made paper airplanes and yesterday we were going to have a flying contest outside, but it rained the whole afternoon :( so tuesday (no school monday woohoo!) will have to be the contest now.. it better not rain! yesterday was also the first time we did reading buddies. the fourth graders are paired up with one of the first graders to read to.. my kids were so excited! it was cute to watch :) for our afternoon friday party, i set up stations for them to play cards.. uno, old maid, slap jack, and go fish. i had a girl cry because she had to draw too many cards in uno and a boy cry because he was the old maid.. they can be so dramatic sometimes! :)

victory!!

praise the lord! i managed to knock the gecko off of the couch (thank you swiffer!) and luckily it scurried into my slipper that was under the couch and then i quickly pushed the slipper on my balcony and shook it until the nuisance fell out and ran under the wall to the next balcony.. sorry neighbors! :) hopefully i won't have anymore of these experiences.. they get me too worked up! haha.. if they didn't move so fast it wouldn't be as scary!!

.gecko.

so last week when i was washing dishes i noticed a gecko run across the wall and hide behind my box of tea on the counter. i went into the living room to get something and when i came back it was gone. WELL.. tonight i moved my little spiral staircase to my bed because i wanted to open the other door to my storage area and there was the gecko!!! i grabbed a plastic bowl so i could catch it and release it outside, but it ran under the couch and now i can't find it! wish me luck.. i don't want this little reptile crawling on me while i sleep so i NEED to find it before i go to bed. dad.. do you want to hurry up and fly here to help me?? :)

.aquarium.

today was full of fun and new adventures. laura and her husband, eric, wanted to show us an amazing pizza restaurant called pizza in the sky, so we went there for lunch. GORGEOUS view and a fun tropical atmosphere. if anyone comes to visit me we will definitely go there for lunch! i'm trying to persuade you if you can't tell ;)

our next stop was the churaumi aquarium. the free exhibits were the sea turtles, dolphin show, and manatees. eric and laura brought a friend’s annual passport, so i used that to get in for free at the main aquarium. there were a lot of awesome exhibits. at one, you walk through a curtain to look at deep sea creatures.. in one tank all you could see were lights from the fish swimming all over the place.. in another there were black lights on the coral to see how they vibrantly glow.. very pretty! there were also exhibits of eels, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, HUGE crabs (not even close to the ones in the states.. so creepy looking!!), and all the fish from finding nemo and the ones i saw on the glass bottom boat ride.

view from the aquarium.. gorgeous

alison took a picture of eric with his coconut drink.. they literally broke it open in front of him.. now that's what i call fresh!

my favorite part was seeing the ginormous aquarium. it is one of the biggest in the world and holds three whale sharks, manta rays, sting rays, barracudas, reef sharks, and other fish. i’ve been fascinated with whale sharks ever since i was in elementary school, so it was amazing to finally see one up close! laura, eric, and i sat in the café (the walls are part of the tank which was cool) and chatted while waiting for the whale shark feeding. during the feeding, buckets of shrimp were dumped into the tank and the whale sharks opened their huge mouths and devoured the shrimp in seconds.. it was crazy to see how much water they swallowed to get all the shrimp! i'm hoping to take my kids here on a fieldtrip.. they LOVE sea creatures, so this would be perfect for them.. and fun for me too! :)