Refresh, Hike, & Give Thanks

Over the past three weeks we have had two Stress Management programs for foreigners in the Tohoku region. They were able to talk about their lives leading up to the 2011 disaster and how it has changed since then. All of the women that attended were so thankful for their time away from their homes and their time to decompress a bit. They never have the opportunity to do such things. For some it was also an opportunity to meet other foreigners living in their area.

While the workshop was going on some volunteers and I were in charge of the children. At one of the workshops, I spent an hour teaching the kids English. One of the activities was learning the song “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.” In the short time we worked on it maybe only half of the words were remembered. When we had cultural presentations the next day the kids showed off their new song to their mothers. It has entertaining to say the least. It is amazing how fast the kids get quiet when they have to perform in front of people. But the day before, we had problems keeping them at a tolerable volume for the other hotel guests.

The Adorable Daichi who I watched
during one of the refresh programs.

Before the performance we took the kids on a hike. I love being outdoors with children. They always see the things you miss. They point out the rocks that have interesting coloring or shape; noticing the steam from the natural hot springs within the cracks of the mountain. They are fearless when exploring. Although I will admit, I panicked every time they started climbing among the lose rocks. But kids, being resilient and light on their feet, they had very little real accidents. We managed to only have two kids that slipped a bit into the river. I considered it a success!

Temporary housing

We also had our last Japanese class this past week for foreigners, which mean that we have to take the big scary test in two weeks…eek! Not excited. I will also miss seeing these lovely ladies twice a week. There is talk of continuing the class into the New Year. Hopefully that happens. It would not only be nice to see them but improving their language skills will give them the opportunity to have better jobs.

My new friends making an incredibly long sushi roll.

An awesome band!

My new favorite Japanese man BN!

This year I am again away from my family and all the wonderful food that is stuffed into our mouths on Thanksgiving. But I don’t want this month to pass without giving thanks. I am thankful for all of you reading this blog, for my various church families both in Japan and in Texas, for my friends and finally for my family. Without all of your support and presence in my life I would not be the person I am today. Thank you! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving with great people. I hope that your meal was full of delicious food and enlightening conversations. 

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!

Katie Young

Japanese, English, & Yarn

This post is long overdue…I am sorry that I have been so slow to write you all.

I first want to thank everyone I had the pleasure of hanging out with for five wonderful weeks at home. Also I want to thank St. Paul’s On the Plains, St. Mark’s, and Heavenly Rest for allowing me to speak. It was great to see all of the familiar faces.
 

For three weeks, I have been in Sendai working with the Let Us Walk Together Project (go to http://www.nskk.org/walk/old/en/newsletter_14_en.pdf to read this month’s English newsletter).  They have been very busy weeks but I love it. Currently I am taking a Japanese class that the project is offering to foreigners in Sendai. Even though most of the students (all women) have been in Japan for at least 10 years, their Japanese is not where it should be to find good jobs. The women are eager to learn. They are a lively group. Class is always full of laughter.

Next month I will start teaching an English Teachers Development workshop. In the workshop we will work on pronunciation and class room management. I feel inadequate to teach these things but through friends, family, and the resources of the web I am figuring it out. If anyone you have tips please send me an email at katie0706@gmail.com. I have also started working with some of my friends in the office on English pronunciation while they help me with my Japanese. It works pretty well.  Just the little experience I've had, has been an immense help.

A year ago the project had a Japanese class for Filipinas who were victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Once the class was finished they wanted to continue gathering together. So once a month volunteers meet with the women to teach various crafts. This past Saturday a group of us from the office and a couple volunteers went to Minami Sanriku noh Shizugawa. Right now they are crocheting slippers and bags. It was a great day full of yarn and laughter. Below are some of the pictures from Saturday.

One last thing, I am still raising support for my mission work here in Japan. I want to incvte you to support to continue to support me through prayers and donations. I truly can not do this work without your support. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate please send a check with “Katie’s mission work” in the memo line to:

Heavenly Rest Episcopal Church

602 Meander
Abilene, TX 79602


Thank you for tuning in!
Katie

Hkaru learning how to use scissors

Yutaka-san teaching Hikaru how to crochet

The crocheters!

Planes, Memories, & New beginnings

In about 4 hours I will be boarding a plane US bound. I can hardly believe that this time has come. While I am very excited to go home I am also ridiculously sad to leave this community. I have met so many wonderful people and have so many great stories to share. The past month has been filled with goodbyes. I always feel that goodbyes should be easier to say after so many times but it’s not. Luckily for this community it is not a goodbye forever. For those of you that don’t know I will be coming back to Japan for another year but in a different place and different position.

Starting in October I will be working in Sendai with the Anglican Church of Japan’s project to help victims of last year’s tsunami and earthquake, “Let’s Walk Together.” Back in March I visited this project and it was an incredible experience. An opportunity came up to work with this project over the next coming year. I went back and forth on the subject weighing all of my options. In the end I decided that it is something I want to do. My main job will be with the project’s program that helps foreigners. These foreigners originally came to Japan to provide for their families. Most have lost their jobs along with their houses in the tsunami. They are searching for the next step in their lives. What is best for them and their families? The project’s focus is now on providing for their future through job trainings such as English teachers and care givers. They also provide counseling in their native language. They give tutoring for children whose parents cannot help due to language barriers. These are just a few of the things the project is involved in. Please view their website (http://www.nskk.org/walk/?page_id=52) to see all that they do. This project is something that I truly believe in and cannot wait to work with it.

So here I am about to board a plane home bound. I will be in the states for about 5 fun filled weeks of weddings, reunions and updating at churches. At the beginning of October I will come back to Japan but to Sendai, where I will continue to work under the Episcopal Church’s Young Adult Service Corp. I am nervous and excited about what this next year will hold.  

With all of that being said I want to again ask for your help. I cannot do this job without your prayers and financial support. I want to ask you to come along with me in my mission work any way you can. Soon I will post more information about how to help. Thank you for all the support you have given me this year. It has been a great experience and I can’t wait to share all that I have learned. I can’t wait to tell you, in person, about the wonderful children and amazing people I have had the privilege to work with. For now I will leave you with some pictures.

Again thank you for everything,

Katie Young  

Camps, Fireworks, & Olympics

A few weeks ago we had Long day camp. It was probably my favorite thing that I have done at the center.  Kids from all over the Nagoya come to it. Most of the volunteers are people that help at the various children’s events we have all year.

Some of the wonderful camp leaders!

We were split into two fairly big groups. My group’s name was “Super 8.” Every morning, after singing the morning song, we would play a massive game of Jaka Jaka Junken (a.k.a. Rock Paper Scissors set to music). After several rounds miraculously there is a real winner. The winner’s group went first for every activity throughout the day. During the four day camp we went to the river, one day we cooked an amazing lunch, we made tie-dye Japanese towels, and we went on a treasure hunt. On the third night we had a bonfire. We played games and sang incredibly silly songs. I know I say this a lot but it was a BLAST! Some of the older kids stayed the night. That night they got to play with fireworks and roast marsh mellows. I tried to convince one of the leaders that eating a burnt marshmallow is actually ok. But for some reason he didn't believe me. i guess you need chocolate and graham crackers to truly appreciate burnt marshmallows.To end the night we had an epic tournament of Ping Pong using kitchen utensils and various other items instead of ping pong paddles. Needless to say it was ridiculously amusing. 

The lovely teachers I have worked
with all year.

A week later we had the English summer program. Every day there were three different groups that would come for 2 hours at a time. The groups were split between the various ages we had. So each session was a bit different according to the age group. The first day’s theme was the Olympics. We had trivia, crafts, and games all in English and all surrounding the Olympics. The second day was Italy day. We made Minestrone soup and learned a little about Italy. This was leading up to the last day when an Italian came to talk to the kids about Italy. She was great! We played Italian games and “toured” Italy through pictures. We danced to an Italian children’s song. In one part the kids were supposed to kiss the person they liked on the cheek. But being children they freaked out when she told them. It was hilarious! In the older class the boys literally ran to hide in the curtains. Overall the English program was a success.

Both of the camps were great. It was the perfect way to end this year. I am really going to miss those smiling faces so much. 

Wedding, Road trips, & Line dancing

Here is a little synopsis of what has happened over the past month. 

St. Stephen's Church

I went to another wedding in Japan. It was a church friend of mine. Being the small and very family like church congregation that we are, everyone pitched in to make the festivities wonderful. Most of the church members showed up early to prepare food for the reception. There were so many people in the kitchen it was ridiculous. Food was made, jokes were told, and I think there was some singing as well. The wedding went on without a problem and the reception was perfect.  So happy for them!

Mochi! It might not look appealing here
but it is DELICIOUS!

The next weekend St. Stephen’s church went on a trip. It took us five hours to get to our destination. After several stops along the way I realized that the end destination didn’t matter. As all great trips the journey getting there was just as important. For lunch we stopped in Kiyosato which happens to be one of my favorite places in Japan. It has some of the best ice cream I have ever had and the food isn’t too bad either. Once we finally arrived, we had dinner with the priest and his family. Everyone helped make the delicious meal. It is always a joy sharing meals with this group. There is never a dull moment.  The next morning we went to church, did some shopping, and drove along way up the mountain to have some incredibly delicious mochi. After lunch we meandered our way home. Church is a place where community is not just an idea it is a reality. I have been very fortunate in that every church I have been a part of, community has been the reality. This church is no exception. Everyone knows everyone they are always there to lend a hand, to share a meal, to comfort you when you are down, and to share God’s love. It is going to be hard to leave this church. They mean more to me than I could ever say. 

My friends at Gujo Hachimon

This past weekend I went on a trip with some of my farmer friends. We went to Gujo Hachimon. There we did what I can only describe as Japanese line dancing. I was told to bring my yukata (it’s like a kimono but not as formal). When we parked the car my friends met a woman that would help me put it on. So this woman took us to the yukata dressing area. At one point there were two tiny Japanese women tugging at me. It was quite an experience. After I was dressed we walked around the town and had dinner. They had a lot of cool little shops.  At one of the shops we played hide and seek with some kids. They were adorable. Once the dancing finally started we joined the crowds. I was not made for Japanese dancing but I had a blast trying to keep up. The next day I helped my friends on their farm. We harvested cucumbers and okra. Then we pulled weeds from their paddy fields. I don’t know if I could be a farmer as a profession but I really enjoy working on my friend’s farms. There is something honest and peaceful about the work. 

A couple of weeks ago we had the last English classes. Luckily I get to teach the kids one more time at the Summer English program. I am looking forward to seeing all of their faces again. Last week we had Long Day Camp at the center. I promise to post a blog about it soon.

July has been an incredibly busy month. I can’t believe its already August. This summer is going by in a blur! I have so many more stories to share with you but I will save them for another day. In the meantime I hope that you all are staying cool in this very hot summer.

Peace,

Katie

My yukata Sensei

I met this kid in a park. He was trying to catch crawdads.

Watermelons, Ramen, & Stories

This is an attendance board so to speak. Each month
the teachers made something completely different and
equally elaborate.

This past week I had my last classes with Mitsuba. We sang some of my favorite songs and for snack time the mothers joined us as we ate watermelons. It was the perfect way to send the kids into summer vacation. It took a lot of work not to burst into tears when some of my favorite kiddos gave me hugs goodbye. After Tuesday’s last class the teachers and I had a little tea party. It was incredibly difficult saying goodbye to the teachers as well. They have been like mothers to me. I am forever grateful to them. They gave me all the photos that they took over the past year with me in it. The pictures brought back a flood of memories. In honor of this ending I decided I would share some stories.

One day I was sitting next to Kazuki (one of my favorite three year olds) during snack time. In front of him was a plate with a cute picture of animals jumping ropes and birds flying about. When we were about to pray Kazuki turned to me. As he was pointing at his plate he asked me something. I had no clue what he was saying. I kept telling him I don’t know (in Japanese) but he wouldn’t take it. He just kept repeating whatever he was asking me. After the fifth I don’t know Kazuki burst into tears. Being the three old that he is, he definitely knows how to cry. After we finished the prayer one of the teachers asked him what was wrong. He pointed at his plate and in very clear Japanese said “this is a bird, right?” The teacher assured him he was right. He immediately stopped crying and carried on as if nothing happened. I sat there amazed at what just happened. Kids have an incredible ability to change emotions in an instant. 

This same child also thought that when we would end the prayer with “Amen” we were actually saying “ramen.” So he would very proudly and loudly say “Ramen” at the end of prayers. When one of the teachers corrected him he said “but I like Ramen!” I wanted to join in him in saying Ramen but I was scolded before I could even try. 

A mosquito net a.k.a tent that we
"camped"in during Mitsuba

Speaking of mispronunciations, another of my favorite kids had a lisp. Therefor any time he would say sensei (meaning teacher in Japanese), it would come out “shinshei.” Basically it was the most adorable thing.

There was a little girl named Maria. Now up until a month ago I didn’t hear her speak more than two words. But then I found out that the one thing that gets her excited about life is bugs! If she finds an ant or rolly polly she becomes the most talkative kid. In fact you can’t get her to be quiet.

Miki, another three year old girl, already had three boys fighting over her. One of the boys literally would burst into tears when he didn’t get to sit by her. The attention that this girl received never seemed to faze her. She was the sweetest child. Anytime someone was upset or sitting by their self she was quickly at their side comforting them or including them in a new game of tag. 

There are so many more stories to share but I will save them for another day. I have loved getting to know these children and seeing glimpses of who they are going to be in the future. They will hold a special place in my heart. I am sorry to sound so sappy but it is true. Thank you for tuning in!

 

The following pictures are of some of the amazing lunch boxes the kids brought on Friday. Everything was handmade by their mothers.