My flight is booked, but my bags ain't packed yet.
3 weeks of school left.
Sad.
Anxious.
Excited.
My brain is filled with thoughts and memories...24 / 7.
Saying goodbye is going to be so hard.
(T_T)
Me not ready yet...
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
HOT
It's so so so so so HOT in Japan! There's only one word to describe it and it's HOT!!! Blah...the rainy season has not passed yet, so it's cloudy and muggy all the time. Don't feel like doing anything else except sit at home with the air-con and pack.
Yep, yep. I have started the dreaded task. No wonder I was dreading it, it's a pain in the butt.
But it gives me a chance to go through letters and cards that students and friends have written througout these years. Sometimes you need to take a break and walk down memory lane (^_^)
Only 3 1/2 weeks of school left...gya....scary stuff (>_<)
On Monday, I had my last lesson with one of my elementary school 1st and 2nd graders...at the end when I was saying my little goodbye speech and telling them to be good for the next teacher, they all started sobbing uncontrollably...It was so adorable by heart breaking. I love my kids...*sigh*
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I just received an email from a friend of mine. She's getting married in July to a really great man. They will have their wedding here in Japan before flying to his home country.
Anyways, she asked me to do say "cheers" for her at the wedding. I am really honoured...wow!
It's so humid right in Japan...
Oh, I've started packing >_< It's a total bi@tch. No wonder I've left it for so long :p But better now than never.
42days to go...SCARY stuff!
Anyways, she asked me to do say "cheers" for her at the wedding. I am really honoured...wow!
It's so humid right in Japan...
Oh, I've started packing >_< It's a total bi@tch. No wonder I've left it for so long :p But better now than never.
42days to go...SCARY stuff!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Kumakawa Kudari
FINALLY!!! I went with Kim, Lindsay and Yuuki on the Kumakawa-kudari last Sunday. It was so much fun.
I'm currently loving every single day of my time in Japan.
The monsoon season's finally here. It's been raining non-stop! Though we do need the rain, it's dampen my mood.(no pun intended :p)
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Hikaru
I'm taking a student back to Australia with me (^_^)
Her name's Hikaru, she's really sweet. She loves English. I actually tutored her for a whole year last year when she was in year 6. Her parents asked whether she can homestay with me, so I said yes.
She'll stay with me for 10days before coming back to Japan. It'll be fun being tourists with her, since I've been gone for three years as well, I'd like to re-visit my country and appreciate everything that we sometimes take for granted.
wooo...can't wait v(^_^)v
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Down South
Over the weekend I travelled to the furthest southern point of Japan (not including Okinawa). It was such a fun weekend. Spent it with my closest and dearest friends...
TWO CHOICES
I received this from my lovely sister.
Instead of forwarding it I've decided to post it, have a read.
Have a fabulous SHAY DAY!
Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch
line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have
made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that
would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school
and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered
with by outside influences, everything nature does
is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as
other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay,
physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity
to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way
other people treat that child"
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew
were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me
play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want
someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if
his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of
belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his
handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance
and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth
inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat
in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put
on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and
warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being
accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few
runs but was still behind by three In the top of the ninth inning, Shay
put on a glove and played
in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning
from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the
bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.. Now, with two
outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and
Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to
win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a
hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the
bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as
Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other
team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in
a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The
pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder
and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would
have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both
teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his
life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He
scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and
startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath,
Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to
the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right
fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his
first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball
to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's
intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over
the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the
runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help
him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to
third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators,
were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to
home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the
grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and
humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having
never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and
coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of
the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of
jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it
comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The
crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but
public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools
and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that
you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't
the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person
who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all
have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the
"natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions
between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little
spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and
leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's
least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward
May your day, be a Shay Day.
Instead of forwarding it I've decided to post it, have a read.
Have a fabulous SHAY DAY!
Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch
line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have
made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that
would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school
and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered
with by outside influences, everything nature does
is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as
other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay,
physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity
to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way
other people treat that child"
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew
were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me
play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want
someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if
his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of
belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his
handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance
and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth
inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat
in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put
on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and
warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being
accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few
runs but was still behind by three In the top of the ninth inning, Shay
put on a glove and played
in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning
from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the
bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.. Now, with two
outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and
Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to
win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a
hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the
bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as
Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other
team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in
a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The
pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder
and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would
have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both
teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his
life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He
scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and
startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath,
Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to
the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right
fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his
first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball
to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's
intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over
the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the
runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help
him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to
third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators,
were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to
home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the
grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and
humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having
never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and
coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of
the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of
jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it
comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The
crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but
public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools
and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that
you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't
the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person
who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all
have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the
"natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions
between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little
spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and
leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's
least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward
May your day, be a Shay Day.
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