Follow Feet

 Tea on the roof sounds great! It was, in fact, brilliant. Some friends and I decided to celebrate the approaching typhoon buy a tea party on the roof of our apartment building, but we didn't have any tea. It sounds like a problem, but it was easily solved. All we had to do was borrow a guitar. One of the teachers conveniently left his guitar at school on Friday, and knowing he would miss it by Typhoon Monday, we decided to give it back to him... for tea. Kidnapping a guitar is not as easy as it sounds. Problem 1: They do not photograph well. With three hooded hooligans and dark lighting, it is difficult to see the outline of a guitar. Problem 2: Ransom notes start to sound a bit cheesy. "If you ever want to hear from it again, bring tea to the roof no later than midnight tonight!" Problem 3: Guitars are bulky and not easily carried to the roof of apartment buildings. Long story short, we watched the typhoon clouds roll in while sipping tea with a ransomed guita...

This week was teacher training and orientation which is a fanciful melody of meetings and preparing classrooms. For those of you who do not teach, preparing classrooms turns into trash piles taller than you, desks in 500 arrangements before you find the one you like, making posters, organizing bookshelves, rethinking everything you ever thought or did with teaching your class last year, and otherwise preparing for battle by building your defenses. Without fail, there is a crud-ton of junk leftover from years past that you consider paying people to get rid of. The massive piles of free unwantables began their growth outside the doors of classrooms Monday morning. If you wanted books, shelves, baskets, dominoes, shells, or a trashcan sporting Felix the Cat on the front, all you needed to do was put your name on it. By Tuesday, everything had a tag that read "Dozo." As I walked by everyday this week, I racked my brain to figure out who Dozo was and why they wanted piles cons...

My expectations of living on Okinawa have been shattered. Here I was thinking that living here would be difficult; not the case! Don't get me wrong, it has its challenges; however, I can only think of how incredibly blessed I am in my environment. Housing: I am on campus at OCSI (my new school) and have to walk less than 100 meters to my classroom. Laziness is knocking at my door, screaming that the alarm clock can be ignored, and wrapping the sheets more tightly around my legs, but I can't listen because I have to run. There is a .5 mile track just across the soccer field from my front door. It is GORGEOUS! Due to the .1 mile downhill and .4 mile uphill, my long runs are becoming easier and easier. Speaking of long runs, I can run to the beach in five different directions with five different mileage options ranging from 2 to 13 mile round-trips. Roommates: I have two wonderful ladies sharing the apartment. One is a built-in translator and the other is a laid-ba...

Flying by yourself to a foreign country that you have never visited before could seem rather daunting. I was expecting to fulfill the cliches of 'shaking in my boots', 'so nervous I could puke', or 'butterflies in my stomach' and many others; however, I survived with flying colors and even had the gumption of giving directions to other Americans who were lost and apparently couldn't read English (or were just too nervous to look at the signs). Today, I felt rather empowered. Yes. I can go though foreign airports without getting lost! Airports are the BEST places to sit down with your favorite cup of joe, prop your feet up on your suitcase, and watch the people go by. It is practically the olympics of people-watching. So without further ado, I present... THE PEOPLE-WATCHING OLYMPIC EVENTS! This year's events are as follows: the Impressive, the Wierd, the Gross, and the OMG. To save time on this broadcast, I will only be covering the gold medal winn...

Note: The Following is a Slight Exaggeration Me: YAY! I'm leaving the USA! Going on adventures! *High-pitched, embarrassing squeal of excitement* Government: NO! Not until you pass all my tests! Muahahaha! *evil laugh* You must have numerous tests to see if you be human. We withhold the right to tell you no even if all tests be 'normal'; we know not this 'normal' you speak of. You must also sell us your right to time, peace of mind, and ability to function for the next two months while we discuss your virtues. So DANCE PUPPET! DANCE! Me: Crudmonkeys! Darn you government. Note: The Following is NOT an Exaggeration This crudmonkery made me get a physical, blood test, urine test, TB test and paperwork galore. Ah the glories of target practice in a cup and needles stuck in my arm with the resulting bruise; give me paperwork any day! The trouble came with TB test check day. As you might know, a TB test is punched under your skin like a tiny blister fille...

Since I last had time to breathe, much has happened of which you probably need to be aware. Happenings That Have Happened, and In Their Happening, Made Less to Happen: School ended! This would normally be the end of work, but NO. I had a student to tutor in Geometry, a graduation to organize, teaching materials to organize for those to follow, and packing and cleaning for a move. One week later... I moved to Georgia! To await the coming of flights, I moved back in with the parental units. They are dismayed, but I get free housing... Hi Mom! One day later... I visited the grand state of North Carolina for a measly 8.5 hours for a brain appointment and a hair appointment.  Brain appointment: I am justified in stating that I am partly crazy. I have Irlen Syndrome. Yes, it is a real thing. It simply means that my brain cannot handle all of the information my eyes send to it. The results are psychedelic: I see moving bubbles, rainbows, streams, halos, heatwaves, and jumping fle...

I have been LAZY. The following post has almost rotten in my draft folder. Well, better late than never. "Yesterday was Memorial Day. Usually set aside for the adventures of pools, camping, barbeques, and hiking, I was determined to follow tradition. Kristen, Hank and I settled on the adventure of hiking the Grand Canyon South Rim to the Colorado River and back in one day. Sunday's research section warned us repeatedly "DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE RIM TO RIVER AND BACK IN ONE DAY." Katelin: "That was written for people who are out of shape. We run half-marathons!" Hank: "I should inform my family that I could be dead tomorrow." Kristen: "I am officially nervous about this, guys." Katelin: "It will be fine. I did it last year and I was horribly out of shape." Hank: "Alright, as long as it is not raining." AND IT WAS. We arrived at the Grand Canyon at 7:30 to bipolar rain. One minute it would pour torrents from th...