A Reason for Feeling Thankful

So, last Friday we finally caved and met up with the rest of the ALTs during one of their two weekly bar meetings. We weren't trying to outright avoid them, we just don't like the idea of drinking on a Wednesday night or staying out until one or two a.m. on a Friday evening/Saturday morning. Well, getting to the point, we're glad we went (although we don't plan to do it every Friday). We'd rather spend our money on SUSHI!! Or, at least spend more time with some Japanese teacher friends that Veronica knows from school (we are in Japan after all). I think if we told the other ALTs that we'd rather socialize with Japanese people on the weekend they'd definitely take it the wrong way. I just don't think most of them are here for the same reasons that we are. Plus, we have the privilege of sharing the happenings of our day with each other. We don't have to meet up with other ALTs to vent. We did have some good laughs on Friday though. There's an ALT from Ireland who's quite the jokester but we really had to concentrate when listening to him because his English was so difficult to understand.

Anyway, I wanted to follow up on our very first blog where in we made some predictions about our Japanese experience to come. Numbered from one to ten:

1. Yes, our apartment is tiny, but it's actually bigger than we thought it would be.

2. We definitely eat sushi at least two times every week...yum.

3. Our jobs ARE a breeze. But this has given me the opportunity to start up my after school class in which I make a powerpoint of a famous English song with pictures and matching lyrics that the students can sing along with and learn English through the use of pictures. Next week we're doing Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You". It should be another hit.

4. The first month wasn't "overwhelming" but it was exhausting. It was mostly exciting though.

5. We have travelled quite a bit so far but there is so much more to see. We are excited to have our first guests and show them around too.

6. I actually don't feel all that tall. Some teachers are almost as tall as me at my school.

7. Yes, we are astonished by the average Japanese body weight here. But, this is because Japanese people are more healthy than Americans, not because they are malnourished in any way.

8. Yeah, we do update our blog about once a week. Do you like?

9. I think we HAVE grown from our experiences here so far. I also think we have more growing to do. We'll revisit this one again in 2010.

10. I do think that this has already been one of the best experiences of our lives.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. And although we won't be able to share a Thanksgiving meal with family THIS year, we'll be thinking of everyone back home and counting our blessings. Loving family, friends, this experience, and good health are just a few things that we are thankful for this year. What are you thankful for?