Obama loves Obama

At the beginning of every English class, I ask my students "How was your week?" They usually tell me about something they did or learned in the previous week. Recently, a student brought a newspaper clipping with the headline, "Obama loves Obama." She was excited to report this information to the class and to me, who had no idea such a thing was happening.

Obama is a small city in Japan with a population of around 32,000 people. I've read that this city has a small group of Obama supporters who have formed a group called the "Group that Supports Barack Obama Voluntarily." (As opposed to the group who supports Barack Obama INvoluntarily??!!) Here's a quote I found for the reasoning behind this Obama-mania in Japan. ' "Obama gives good speeches and has a good voice, so I want him to do well. And, of course, we share the same name,' said Seiji Fujiwara, a hotel executive and leader of a local support group established earlier this month for the Illinois senator." This group has made T-shirts and headbands that were worn on Super Tuesday. They have sent Obama a Daruma doll (a round bottomed figure that can't topple over) for good luck, as well as a "Manju" cake, which is a sweet bean paste cake with Obama's face imprinted on it.

karaoke English lesson

I've met two wonderful ladies who I have begun meeting with for an informal time of English conversation over dinner. Tonight we ate great food at a local restaurant. The hostess (owner?) was really excited to have me there and kept saying how cute I was. She said I was "coquettish" and looked like Meg Ryan! My friends told her I was Christian and she crossed herself catholic style!! So funny! When I wanted to take her picture, she asked "hug? hug?" YES! OF COURSE!! It was so refreshing to meet a Japanese person who was so friendly and outgoing.

We ate sushi and some other things I never care to try again! This is a picture of the head cavity of a crab. They told me it was the ground up guts of the crab. My response after the first and only bite:
"No thank you!" The crab head is on the left and shrimp head is on the right. I don't mind the shrimp so much, but I don't like it looking at me with the beady, black eyes!

After dinner, we went to karaoke place because I have been dying to go since I got here. We certainly won't be winning American Idol this season, but it was SOOOO much fun.

I haven't laughed like this in a long time. おもしろかった! (It was fun!)

the incredible singing hulk

maybe I should use this for teaching English?

breaking the mold

As a teacher, I welcome “teachable moments” in the classroom. These “a-ha” occasions where something clicks in our hearts and minds are transforming. I witnessed such a moment today during one of my English classes. Every class begins with an introduction time when I ask my students about their week. These free conversations give me a small glimpse into the lives of people who are often reluctant to share personal information. One student was describing an art exhibition of the famous Japanese artist Hokusai. A lot of what she told me was difficult to comprehend, but I did catch that the master drawing was destroyed after the reproductions were made. This reminded me of the American saying “God broke the mold when He made you.” My students often enjoy hearing about idioms and proverbs. I explained the meaning to be that you are unique. One of my students said, “oh...it means you are worthy!”
I am re-learning that a lot of wonderful things happen unexpectedly. I didn’t plan for this lesson on my own. I didn’t have a 4 step program to explain God’s plan of salvation for the world. And yet, here it is lived out in everyday life. We have value. We are uniquely and wonderfully made. We have purpose and we are beautiful because we express the creativity of a loving creator. These living parables are all around me all the time. I pray that God would open my eyes to the Truth of who He is so that I may help others to see what I am seeing.