TOKYO DISNEYLAND

This past Monday, I took a day off and went to Disneyland with my good friend Miri! I met Miri back in Torrance when we were both working at the same English tutoring center as teachers. She comes with an awesome backstory: born in Japan, grew up in Saudi Arabia, attended college in CA, and now back in Japan working full time! We've been planning a Disney day for a while, so we were so happy to finally make it happen. And, Miri being a Disney Pass Holder is the perfect person to go to the park with!

The cutest part of Tokyo Disneyland is all the Japanese things they have...aka Mickey and Minnie wearing Yukatas!

At Tokyo Disney (and Disneysea) the most popular things to do is MATCH. Like, head to toe match with all your friends. Those girls on the left exhibited full friend commitment. Also, we made sure to stop by the teacup vending machines!

Since it's summer, so many girls were wearing Yukatas! They were all so beautiful and festive...but the winner goes to the group on the right who all had MICKEY SHAPED OBIS! WHAAAAT. next level. 

A huge highlight of the day was seeing my friends Brenna and Declan who play face characters at the park! LOL. I met them both at church and they are two of the sweetest and friendliest people. Declan told me where they'd be at what time, so Miri and I made sure to meet them there and pretend like we were just fangirls which made it so funny. How precious are they?!! 

Okay and let's be real...the thing I was really MOST excited for was the FOOD. NOM NOMZZZZ.....

Arare Chicken- arare is rice crackers for those who don't know- and Miri and I were laughing because most foreigners will read that a-rare-chicken as in RARE and ohhhhh no! Also, Disney water! 

Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea are notorious for their popcorn and WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN A MERMAID POPCORN BUCKET?!! 

Melon Pan in the shape of Mike Wyzowski that actually tasted like melon...and disney Ramune!

Amazing cold noodles with sesame dressing and the best nashi (pear) shaved ice in a souvenir cup!! WIN WIN. 

It was seriously the perfect Disney day! We went at such a good pace, rode a few rides, ate amazing food, watched a few parades and shows, took a pic with Mickey, got to see Declan and Brenna...perfect! So thankful for a good friend like Miri to enjoy the day with :) Can't wait till I go again!

ENGISH CONVERSATION CLUB: TOKYO SCAVENGER HUNT

Every year, our school's English Conversation Club (ECC) takes a summer field trip somewhere in Tokyo. Last year we went to ASAKUSA and had a really good time, but ran into a few problems with us having a big group with matching shirts and it being a "sacred" area...so this year I had free reign to think of a new activity for the club and one day the idea hit me - SCAVENGER HUNT! 

I credit this idea to all of the Friday Night Youth groups and summer camps I went to as a kid. i.e all the mall scavenger hunts, team activities, crazy icebreakers and games which ultimately created a lot of good memories. So, I scouted out the Harajuku area, came up with a list of things for the students to do...and 4 teachers and 19 students headed out to Tokyo last week after school for a fun afternoon!

First step...take the train into Tokyo! With our club funds we were able to buy the students the ticket into Tokyo which isn't cheap, 800 YEN! They all wore their ECC shirt and followed the school rule of wearing their uniform pants or skirt. Good kids!  

We invaded the train station and had a blast riding the Tsukuba Express line to Kita-Senju...and then transferring to the Chiyoda line to head to our destination - Meijijingu Mae Station aka Harajuku! 

Qing sharing his music with Tanaka Sensei.

And Asia being the cool kid he is! P.s this is our schools summer uniform for boys. Blue shirt, stripped blue tie, belt and slacks. 

Sun is a 1st year student and can solve a Rubix Cube in 30 seconds. Crazy! And Daisuke is a 3rd year students and has the funniest personality and is always keeping us laughing. Never a dull moment with these kids! 

After almost an hour (yep, our school is pretty far)...we made it to Harajuku!

I split the group into 4 teams. The weeks leading up to the event all the students were worried, "Amie, who's group am I in??? Im so worried!" ohhhhhh high schoolers haha. So, I asked the Lord for discernment on what to do for groups and He gave me the peace that I should make two girl teams and two guy teams. And...it went so smoothly!!! No members left out or feeling down about it..phew! 

Boys team 1 getting ready to go.

Boys team 2 gearing up for the scavenger hunt!

And...after explaining the rules (stay in your groups!) we set the groups free and told them to meet back at in front of Meijijingu Shrine at 4:00pm SHARP! 

Thankfully Takeshita-Dori wasn't too crowded. I gave them a bunch of clues here such as:
-What is the name of the Cat cafe on Takeshita Dori? (MOCHA)
-How much is a zaku zaku ice cream come? (450)
-Take a picture with somewhere wearing a yukata

While the students were running around...us teachers (Kawamoto, Steph, Tanaka and myself) went to Starbucks to cool down and also buy the prizes for the scavenger hunt (gift cards!). Outside the store I saw this sign for the new Chocolate Cake topped Frapp with Strawberry shot and I HAD to get it. HAD TO.

SO SO SO SO GOOOOODDDDDDD. Basically tasted like strawberry icecream with brownie mixed in. Dangerous. And how cute is the "Welcome to Harajuku" on that mango drink!

Had to make a pit stop at Totti Candy factory which has the cutest cups of cotton candy!

Had to try the giant rainbow cotton candy!

After walking around and making sure the students were okay, we walked back to the entrance of Meiji shrine and our meeting location and Kawamoto treated us to more coffee!! YAYYYY! Nothing like iced black coffee on a hot summer afternoon. As I sat there, and waited for the students to come back and I had to pause and really remind myself, "Amie, this is your JOB!" How crazy is that? Every part of the day was fun and perfectly suited to what I love to do. Not to mention it was in Tokyo! So thankful for this life and every experience here. 

At 4pm the teams gathered back and we printed out some of their best photos from the hunt...
"take a picture with someone from a different country"
"take a picture with the bear at the LINE store"
"take a picture with an American flag"
etc...!!! Half the fun was making up these clues haha. 

Daisuke's face when he found out his group didn't win! hahah.

The girl group on the left collected the most points and won Starbucks gift cards! Go girls! And in the boys group on the right... Manabu came late, after going to the baseball game, so he wasn't wearing his uniform pants! haha some kids will be kids no matter how many times you say the rules. 

My favorite part of the day was seeing the students bond with new friends and those in different classes and grades than them. 

After finishing our day, we sent the students off to do whatever they needed to do! And Steph and I cruised around Omotesando a little more before heading home.

ahhh...what a perfect summer day!! I truly am thankful for this job, for the responsibility I am given to plan these kinds of activities, and for how well it suits my personality and what I already love to do! I am grateful for moments to spend with these students, for what a gift it is to be their teacher and be a part of their lives. God is so great, so good, so far beyond our comprehension and imagination and He works in the most incredible ways. He knows exactly where we need to be to grow, to flourish, to learn...thank you Lord!!

SIGNS OF SUMMER

1. SCHOOLS OUT!

On July 20th we had our school closing ceremony and things officially ended for the summer. Summer break is quite different in Japan, because students have a break for a little over a month, and when they return they go back into the same grade and same class. Unlike the states, where we have a summer break and return to school in the next grade! Also, since I work at a public school, I technically have to go into school every day still. We're given some vacation days, but not enough to cover the whole break. So on the days I do have to go in, I can get there around 9am and leave anytime after lunch. So it's not too bad! Meanwhile, all club activities resume as usual and the school is always full with summer activity

2. BASEBALL

You know it's summer when baseball is in full swing. Currently it is KOSHIEN season, aka the Little League world series in Japan and a huge event each year. One team is chosen from every prefecture and our school just made it to the Chiba Elite Eight TODAY! I went to their first game last week and watched their game today on TV from the school office. It is so much fun cheering them on and seeing familiar faces of students I have in English class. 

3. BEER GARDENS

Japanese people love beer, especially in summer. And what they realllly love are beer gardens! On top of the main mall in town they open up a beer garden each summer and this year my Saturday class invited me to join them for a 2hour all you can drink sunset evening. Quite the experience I tell ya! Me, not being a huge beer drinker, opted for the ramune! I had a great time chatting with my "students" who are all so lively, kind, and extra-friendly with some liquid courage! 

4. STARBUCKS GOIN' CRAZY

Starbucks in Japan is a BEAST. And by beast I mean it dominates. There are Starbucks everywherrreeeee and they are always jam packed. They keep everyone's attention by coming out with new drinks every month and I can't keep up with them! Two recent ones I tried were the Chocolate Cake with a Macha Shot which was REALLY bomb...and also the Yogurt Lime Pie Frapp which wasn't as sweet as I imagined and quite refreshing. Take my money Starbs...take it all.

5. LATE SUMMER NIGHTS

Living near a city like Tokyo is a crazy thing, because there is ALWAYS something to do. Every weekend in summer is full of events, shows, exhibits, etc and thankfully my good friend Nathalie and her fam are always down for a good time. This past weekend we went to Odaiba to check out the lantern festival *which we soon learned were not the flying kind lol* and we soaked up the amazing warm summer night air! We took a bazillion pics, listened to live music, danced around with the kids, and topped off the night with some icecream and shopping. ahhh...SUMMER!!

I am so thankful for all that's ahead this summer! It's already off to a great start :) 

AMEN

It's been so busy recently with a lot of dinner parties and events before summer break begins this Friday! Many pics about all that coming soon...but for now I'll leave this RADICAL quote here :) 

"God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper happiness; and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, to fully enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean." 

Jonathan Edwards: Excerpt from his sermon "The True Christian's Life, A Journey Towards Heaven" 

THE LORD PROVIDES

Recently I had an epiphany to which God very simply reminded me that: He provides.

My epiphany beings with the fact that it's finals week at school...which means the schedule is all weird and students come to school from 8:30am, take a test or two, then leave by noon. Thus, freeing up the afternoon for teachers to grade tests and plan for the next day. BUT...a perk of being an ALT is you don't give finals (not allowed) so therefore I have the whole afternoon free to do what I love most : shoot some hoops. 

So....imagine me...in the giant main gym by myself, literally no other sound around besides the bounce of the basketball and the squeak of my shoes. I was sweating profusely thanks to the Japanese humidity and attempting to see if I still have a decent 15ft-er in my game still. And after throwing up a few shots...I paused for a moment and laughed. I laughed because it was exactly what my heart needed that day. A day in the gym, bouncing a basketball like I've done a thousand times as a kid. It's a hard feeling to describe...something like a mix of nostalgia, with muscle memory, with a flood of moments that come back just by the squeak of my shoes and thump thump of a ball on hardwood. The Lord knew that was exactly what my soul needed and it felt so...fun. I was so blessed by that moment and I knew without a doubt, the Lord provides. Exactly what you need. When you need it. Amen.

more of the Lord's provision...

I went shopping on Sunday in attempt to find new summer shoes to wear. The shoes part didn't work out, but as I was walking through the insanely busy mall wondering what I would eat that day, I stumbled upon...WOW WOW ACAI BOWLS!! (famous place from Hawaii). Thank you Lord! It's the simple things. Also, the photo on the right may just look like your average squeezable pineapple ice cream (amazing btw) but to me, it represents so much more. You see, recently... my fridge broke. Like straight up stopped making anything cold. So after surviving for a while (don't ask how long) I asked the Lord to help me figure out how my car-less-knowledge-less about fridges-self could get a new one. The Lord provides...and my two awesome coworkers, Mashiko and Tanaka sensei came to my rescue. They drove me to the appliance shop, helped me pick out a new fridge, drove me to my apt, carried my old fridge down 3 flights of stairs and carried my new one up. Wow. So, in an act of victory, I went to the conbini and grabbed my recent favorite snack to throw in my freezer!! HALLELUJAH. 

The Lord provides. 

The Lord also provides a good Saturday in Shinjuku with good company, aka my friend Declan! Declan is from the U.K and it is hilarious hanging out with him because not only does he have the spunkiest personality but he also has the thickest British accent! Take for example, the conversation we had that went something like this...

Him:    "I cooked this amazing quinoa with veggies and MARINARA sauce"
**What I heard him say**: "I cooked this amazing quinoa with veggies and MORE RINARA SAUCE"
Me:     "oh dude what is Rinara sauce? it sounds so fancy"
Him:    "Amie, you're joking, right. I knew I should have said it in an American accent"

HAHAHAHAHA. Very thankful for funny, joyful, spunky friends like Declan to keep my on my toes! 

The Lord provides new experiences and new people to love! I have lived in Japan 2 years now and have been to more nomikais than I can count...but wouldn't ya know it...I went to one on Tuesday at a restaurant I had never been to before, and I chatted with a few teachers who I have yet to have a full conversation with! I always love these social events and moments to be more laid back with my coworkers.

So thankful for all the Lord is doing here in Japan. I am now gearing up for more summer activities and all the adventures the Lord had ahead! 

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19