music: Matt pond PA- Closer This song makes me so sad but I love it. I miss my parents more than anything in the world. more than anyone. I would give absolutely anything to be able to sit on my patio and have one of my Friday nights with them, with a delicious dinner, a bottle of wine and our amazing talks. I have the most amazing parents and Im so so lucky to have them. I don’t know how I thought spending this much time this far away from them was a good idea. As much as I am happier now than I was weeks ago, I still think I made a big mistake in coming here. I’d be so much happier at home. really.
I wish I could be home for thanksgiving this year. Im going to celebrate it alone, with some chicken and stuffing ( I am going to make stuffing for the first time, and not even boxed stuff, in a microwave oven no less!). and I wish so badly I could be there for christmas. I just want it to be Christmas time already. I want to be listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies and shopping for my family.
I really miss school. I never thought I’d say that, but seriously, I miss classes and lectures and reading books I wouldn’t otherwise read. I really really want to go to graduate school soon after I get back. Im leaning a bit more towards doing my masters in English literature, because I love it so much. I just honestly don’t have enough faith in myself that I can go to law school. The LSATs scare the shit out of me…. I don’t know. I think I like the idea of law school in theory, but in reality Id much rather be reading books and writing about them. I really do want to go to Toronto and move there and get a cute apartment…but seriously, I don’t know if I could leave home again soon after coming back from here. Maybe its just because Im homesick. it is far too soon to make decisions about that now. Although I do plan on applying to graduate schools from here in the next year.
Meeting up with Yui tonight after work. super excited about that. I hope we become quick friends. I need that. Kanika and I are meeting up on Sunday at starbucks in Nagoya in the early afternoon. We both need girl talks. Havent seen her in two weeks. its like she said, we’re like each other’s family here and its like we haven’t seen our family in two weeks. My birthday is in less than a week. My parents said they sent a package and I cannot wait to get it. But if I receive it before my birthday, Im totally not opning it until my birthday. I cant not have anything to open on my actual birthday. That would be so depressing. Ive been slacking in the running, just been so tired after work, but ive been going on half hour bike rides after work, so at least Im doing something. I love my bike and how it feels riding my bike. Its really liberating. With my ipod on, listening to the shins, riding through japan at night. I seriously feel like Im in a shins music video or something. It’s a really different feeling. I can fit back into the shorts I bought before Tristan and sarah’s wedding that I couldn’t fit into before/when I first got here. so that’s cool. next stop: skinny jeans. I really love my students, like I said before. And they seem to love me too. One of my more troublesome students is a little girl named Saki. She’s probably about 5. She is a good sweet girl, but she is easily distracted and always wants to “play teacher” and takes my vocab cards from me, wanting to hold them and get ME to say them, I try to play along with her but the whole point is to get HER to say the vocab so that makes it kind of difficult. I tend to be able to swing her back into taking part in the lesson somehow. Either way, yesterday her mom told me that she absolutely adores me, and Thursday is known to her as “Alyssa day”. Another girl I have on Thursday is a little girl names Nanako. Shes so tiny and sweet and shy and quiet, and she speaks so quietly but she is SO smart. She’s only 7 years old, and most 7 years old are at the level 1 or 2 books but she’s at level 4. She drew me an adorable picture last week that I put up in my classroom. Yesterday I told her next Thursday is my birthday and she told me her’s is on Monday. After class she drew me the cutest card wishing me a happy birthday and saying she hopes I have fun at the zoo. so sweet. I have to bring her something on Thursday for her birthday. What a complete sweetheart. Fridays are my easiest day so im not too worried about today. hope to get next weeks planned for the majority. Ive been slacking in cleaning my apartment. I went through a week long cleaning kick, but now I feel like I have a billion other things I should/would rather be doing. not a good call though, clean apartment is totally priority number one. Will clean this weekend. like massive clean. clean floors, clean bathrooms, clean kitchen, everything. must do. Okay, want to hit up the net café before work again today ( don’t start until 12) so will start getting ready now. So far since ive been here I have read:Wally Lamb- she’s come undoneCandace Bushnell- Sex and the city (the book the show is based on)and currently halfway through Helen Fielding- Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason ….holy chick lit. clearly lacking romance in my life. sigh.
