Today during cleaning time—the 20 minute block of time when every everyone at school must sweep, spray, or buff the various surfaces of the school—I sang Disney's Aladdin's "A Whole New World" with some of the students. Our assigned cleaning task is walking down the length of one side of the long school building with metal tongs and dustpans picking up bits of trash. Apparently they are singing some Disney songs in music class and I told them I preformed various pieces from both "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" back in the 5th grade. With our shared enthusiasm for lovely duets, picking up trash has never been so much fun. When I started dancing around while singing, two of the girls ran away screaming and laughing, but I think that means they were so amazed that they couldn't stand to be in my presence (like God and the Israelites).
Oh right, NEWS FLASH! I got a car! Yep, a little four-door Suzuki that reminds me a lot of my 1987 Honda Civic from back in high school (the one my sister maimed when she hit a trashcan in a parking lot). The car is small and powerless with a blue exterior, but when one lives in the inaka (countryside) any car will do (because traveling to neighboring towns to buy goods is a necessity). I've had to learn how to drive on the left side of the road…as well as get adjusted to narrow lanes and small parking spaces…and defend myself from crazy Japanese drivers who will pull out in front of you at any moment! But all in all, driving is rather fun and I'm grateful for the wheels (don't worry, mom, I've only gone down the wrong side of the road twice).
This weekend I'm headed to Hiroshima to see a friend and have an adventure outside of Oita-ken. I will be taking the shinkansen (bullet train) so my journey there will be lightning fast (I think). Everyday I feel myself settling in a little more and while I long for home, family, and friends, I also feel comfortable and content here in Japan. Until next time, thanks for reading.
2 comments:
I posted this for Justin and had to resist the urge to do some editing to his story about my "maiming" of the Civic. It was barely a scratch - it just needed a new side view mirror and a little extra "umph" to close the passenger side door. The trashcan had more damage ;) And you know what, it is STILL sitting outside the Kroger and the pet store - almost 10 years later!
Aren’t you glad we spent all those hours singing to Disney musicals on the trips to & from Georgia – it was preparing you to be able to communicate in another culture :) “A whole new world….. that’s where we’ll be…. a thrilling chase, a wondrous place… for you and me….”
Hey justin looking forward to hearing about your weekend in hiroshima. We can swap stories. Volcano was awesome. Talk soon
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