Six Months

On October 1st, we celebrated our sixth month anniversary of living in Japan.

It’s crazy to think that Japan has already been our home for half a year. I still remember how I felt when we were dropped off at our apartment that first night in April – a mix of excitement and fear because I realized we had just moved half way across the world.

Now, six months later, things are much different, and much more familiar. Our apartment is no longer a musty-smelling bachelor pad, but a cozy space that we’ve made our own. I wake up each morning with confidence because I know how to do my job, and how to do it well…most days anyway. We’ve grown closer with our teammates, and ordered a few board games to get us through winter and the boredom that will come with it.

I can’t fathom how and why time is moving so fast. Sometimes I wish it would move slower, and other times I’m happy with how fast we’re moving through this first year. We’ve been told that the second year feels slower, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Next year will bring even more familiarity, but we’ll also have more responsibilities as the new teachers join our team.

Since our summer vacation in Tokyo, things have definitely slowed down a bit, but we have a few things to look forward to: English Camp, an upcoming three-day-weekend trip to Yamadera, and Christmas in Taiwan.

English Camp: For the next three Thursdays, we’ll meet together with different groups of Elementary Students for a special day of English study. We’re going to play games to reinforce phonics, teach them how to shop and use American money, and at the end of each camp we’ll celebrate Halloween with candy and costumes and music.

Yamadera: Yamadera is a Buddhist temple that sits at the top of a mountain cliff. The views are incredible – especially during the fall. We’re also going to be visiting Sendai which is a bigger city about two hours away by bus. Hopefully the fall colors come in by the time we leave this coming Saturday…

Christmas in Taiwan: This is probably the thing I’m most excited about. Just thinking about the food that we’re going to partake in makes me drool. It’s going to be a little strange spending Christmas and New Years in a different country, but definitely something we’re both looking forward to. I can’t wait to share our adventures, and plan to write daily blogs like I did for Tokyo.

As always, I’m incredibly proud of my students, and I’m learning more and more about teaching every day. Sometimes I wish that I could understand everything that my students say because I know I would have so many funny kid moments to share.

For now, here’s a video of my two angel babies singing one of their monthly songs, “I Can Sing a Rainbow.” I shared it on Facebook and Instagram a while ago, but why not re-share it?:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJzlT7LAg61/?taken-by=kbanderson13

As always, if you have any questions about life in Japan, or want our address so you can send us American food items, just let us know! We’ll gladly take any unwanted candy or cereal off of your hands.

Thank you for those who continue to follow along, and thank you for your prayers. We appreciate you!

K + C