Just be

Tag: life

Pandora’s Box

09-18-2018 (I started writing…..9/21 I’m going to stop-it’s getting too long).

I am looking back at my memos from the past weeks. Every experience is still new and exciting. I’m still noticing similarities and differences in the people/culture/norms. I bet I will do that for my entire adventure. The hardest thing for me to grasp is the amount of time people spend away from home.

We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.

When I see a Morning Glory I think of my mom. They resemble love to me. When a child here see’s a Morning Glory they might think of a summer break assignment. We view things because of experiences we have. We do not all see things the same. I bet very rarely do we actually see things the same.

Pandora’s Box

In myths the story goes that man lived without worry/hurt until a box was opened, which contained ills for mankind. Pandora opened this box because her of her curiosity. She was unable to stop herself from opening this box even though she was told not to. Once opened-evil was unleashed. She tired to slam the box closed but once opened the unimaginable evil (death, disease, poverty, depression, anxiety…) had already escaped.

My brother taught me about Pandora’s box. He helped me create one. When he explained this idea to me…he told me that some things you have to learn to put into Pandora’s box. A box that is so STRONG nothing can get in-or out of it. This box (more like a safe) is to hold things that you never want to think about again and nobody else can be trusted with. He told me once you put the hurts inside the box, you wrap the biggest chain imaginable and put the strongest lock in the world on-and throw this box into the ocean where it can never be found again. Wow. What an idea that was for my 21 year old self. I didn’t like the idea. When I was younger I probably could have used Pandora’s box, but of course this life lesson came AFTER I needed it (I guess that’s how all life lessons are learned).

[Side note: if I could be a teacher of life lessons-I would live to work. I thrive on life lessons especially when I can help a human learn one by sharing my own before they experience it. The hit isn’t as hard when you know somebody else has been there.

Now that I’m “older” (I say older because I wouldn’t quite consider myself an adult YET) I don’t use Pandora’s box as a hurt trapper. Hurt in inevitable, unpreventable. I use it more as a processing tool…I store things in that security safe until I’m ready to take a good look at myself and the troubles. When I keep things in this box for too long-they come out unexpectedly and without warning and it hits me harder than a stack of bricks. I think maybe that’s when I sink into a funk and my anxiety grows as my mental health declines. A funk is an ugly place to be-and it can only be survived. Everybody has these stages. It can come with the change of a season, the loss of a friend, the opening of the box, or in the stages of processing. It can come out of NOWHERE.

Of course as I have said before-I know I will always be okay. I have the gift of knowing deep down in my heart that I will always be okay. I am a Binger.

Binger’s are warriors and we don’t just survive, we fight. When I think of surviving-it makes me think that you are suffering in the process. Surviving is a beautiful thing when it is short lived.

Life is not meant to be “survived” life is meant to be lived.

Depression and anxiety, you SURVIVE. You suffer through it. It hurts. It can make you physically and emotionally sick-but you survive. If you are reading this-you have probably survived some serious hurt/pain in your lifetime. You have likely endured things that some people can’t even imagine. But you are here and you matter. You make a difference.

I think about work. I think about working to live and living to work. I believe there is a balance. How easy would it be to lose yourself in the process of living to work? Maybe you have lost yourself. You might not even know it. People lose themselves every day and some are able to recover from this and others never realize the tragedy. Similar to an addiction, you can “admit” that you have a problem and begin the process of recovery…or you can put that feeling/reality in Pandora’s box, lock it up and throw it as far as you can. That box will open, you can believe that. You can choose when to open it or you can let it surprise you. You might not even know you have your own lock box-you do.

I have not lost myself to work-but I have lost myself to a number of other things. Losing yourself in a book, a movie, a dream…I think that’s mandatory but losing yourself permanently is a living fatality.

I like to keep Pandora’s Box empty. Proceed with caution-there is a time and a place that we use this coping strategy-I don’t think it’s the strongest strategy to use but sometimes necessary. Opening the box lets out your guilts, hurts, hauntings and mistakes/regrets. The only way to let go of these and move on-is to open the box and take them out one by one, before the lid BURSTS and you have no choice. My box is close to empty, if not empty. I prefer to have a joy box (I physically have a Joy Jar-I doodle down what makes me happy and drop it in the jar so I can read it in the years to come). I would rather have a box full of memories (the pure happiness ones and the events where a life lesson was learned). A box full of love, joy, the sound of giggles and the stories that make me laugh until I cry-every time I hear them.

Japan

Life post chichi is beginning to get back to normal. I’ve met some new friends, found a bar/café that I like and I’ve been staying after school to join sport clubs.

School

The students are talented beyond belief, neat and humorous. There are no scribbles on papers-or ripped papers, students fix mistakes instead of leaving them. These students are artists, athletes, musicians, readers, writers, geographers. That is a light list of what I see in children every day. The students smile. Genuine smiles. Students are excited to teach me words as I teach them words and this is the greatest part of the day.

After school clubs are phenomenal. At home when I coach basketball or take part in any activity-I must be there the entire time and help students stay on task, make good choices, and encourage them to try their best. Teachers/coaches always had to do that when I was an athlete too. Here-the teachers are beyond busy. If they are unable to make it to the club-students practice as if their coach is there. The clubs run like a well-oiled machine. I’ve never seen anything like it. Students get to their club and begin practice. They keep the time and do drills as if the coach is there for every minute. I stop in and see the basketball players and shoot around for a few minutes. I smile as I stand there and watch these CHILDREN manage themselves as individuals and as a team. I never would have dreamed that to be possible. It is on the verge of magic.

I’ve been joining the Softball Club. It has been 10+ years since I have played but it seems even more exciting and fun to play, now. Once again-we have a language barrier. I see what the girls do and I join in or I ask if I can play too. There are some leaders on the team who have great English skills. Thanks to them, I can participate more but I try to just join in and practice with them. When I can give advice/pointers I do-but these girls are as powerful as girls I played against in high school. I will be changing schools in a month. I am sad that I will be moving because I am starting to make relationships with children/staff and I would enjoy fostering these relationships (Of course, I’m excited to meet more students…but leaving has always been a difficult part of life for me).

Humans

Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world, no matter what you look like…Noriko and I had a conversation about this recently and how you can’t change your outside, but you can change your inside.

I had a new and exciting first experience this past weekend. My friend (Noriko) is a Diver. It is her passion and she shared it with me. We went to Wakayama Prefecture and with Sun Marine Diving shop-I got to experience my first DIVE! It was frightfully, wonderful. The hardest part of it all which seems minuscule looking back…was breathing ONLY through my mouth. My first dive-I was so worried about breathing under water that I must have thought about that the entire time. My guide and my friend came by my side, held my hand, and opened a new world for me-under the sea. I was able to see coral, fishies, big ones and little ones and crabs J It was incredible. I am looking forward to my next chance to do this. My friend, Noriko, says that diving is about more than the underwater life. It is about meeting people and making new friends. That above all, was the best part of the weekend, the people. Let me remind of you of a small difficulty I run into daily-speaking a different language. With this challenge we were still able to communicate, talk, laugh, and exchange languages! Language is more than words.

Diving is something I hope to do again. Another new world for me to explore. The world keeps getting bigger, which means I continue to get smaller!

In the USA it is all about being an “individual” and being different. In Japan it is about functioning as a whole. A system. I’m not sure which of these I prefer because I do love being my own special self-but making sure a system is working as an overall whole is a different way to look at things. Japan seems more team oriented-allowing members to learn the same skills in case they need to fill in the position for somebody who is gone. If somebody is gone-it may go unnoticed. In the United States-if one person is gone it could spiral out of control. It could be a teacher that is gone-In Japan, no big deal. At home-probably won’t be able to get a substitute so your absence puts responsibility on others. On a sports team if the point guard is gone-the game is nearly unplayable. In Japan it seems like just about any player could step up and play the position. I like the idea of functioning as a whole…but I hate the thought of each individual not being able to show their sparkle. It stirs up some feelings of being replaceable or dispensable (I’m an emotional overthinker) and it goes against everything I know to be true in that it shows how unimportant one person can be. Today I was asked what the best thing about the United States is. I think the best part is that I get to be myself-I can wear what I want and not worry about my tattoos/piercings. I am soaking up the differences between Washington and Nishinomiya.

You are the company you keep. I thought this was absurd when I was younger. Now I fully believe this.

A friend hugged me this week. I can count the number of hugs I have gotten in the past 2 months on one hand-in fact I think I have had 2 solid hugs since July 28^th. Holy goodness. Yuko and Sachiko continue to be a consistence source of happiness for me. I know that if/when a “funk” hits-I’ll have the support of wonderful women. I am finding myself missing my Haha (mama) lately. She is going to be having a surgery next month and I hate to not be there for it. Prayers for my Mama, the more the better. I’ve met a friend with the same birthday as me. I love birthday’s more than anything so that was a special treat. People here refer to it as “destiny” or “fate”. Today I searched for a student to tell her happy birthday. When I found her, I could not contain my enthusiasm as I shouted “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” It felt like I was telling my best friend happy birthday-I was that excited about it. This is a student I have been able to build a relationship with. I knew I had to find her-because there is nothing more special than being loved-especially on your birthday.

I had the pleasure of experiencing Karaoke. If you know me…you know I don’t sing…or dance. J If I am singing karaoke it means I need to get home ASAP. There are places here devoted to karaoke. Buildings with floors full of rooms-that you rent that have an IPAD where you select the song you want to sing. People here are so BRAVE and they really have no idea. The way the sing, dance, talk in front of people-I see people being brave all the time and I don’t think they have any idea how courageous they are.

Missing my people greatly, with much love.

illie

September 21, 2018
I am Enough
9/7 I had my first classes today with 7th graders. Here they are called first graders. The differences between USA and Japan are unimaginable as far as education goes. I had imagined something different in my head I guess. Let me share what I have found to be amazing. Students Stay in their “homeroom” all day. Teachers move around each hour. Teachers all are at their desk in the teachers room before school starts. This mean EVERYDAY the entire staff is together. This is built into their day. The principal starts the day and then grade level teams have their announcements. Instead of an hour staff meeting once a month or whatever we do at home-they have a quick 5-10 minute meeting every morning! Teachers eat lunch in their homeroom. Every day teachers eat lunch with students-in the classroom. This means no cafeteria or supervision from others. The school lunch is amazing. The students go get it in the kitchen, bring up pots and pans, set the desks and serve he food. The students have 15 minutes to do this. Those who do not have the job of lunch serving are able to socialize at this time. Then we all sit down at once and eat. After we have 20 or so minutes to eat the students then have 20 minutes of free time. That means it is a 50 minute lunch period. Students go outside and RUN, they mess around and hands and feet to yourself isn’t a thing.

The children here get to be children. They laugh, smile, rough house, and manage themselves. Students are chatty (at appropriate times) and they are respectful. Watching the way the students interact intrigues me. They seem to all get along…There doesn’t seem to be a “bully” and a kid that pushes each kids buttons on purpose. The students here remind me of my siblings and I. If you know how close I am with my siblings, the way we rough house and the way we joke-that’s similar to how the children are at school. It is INCREDIBLE.

Working on myself and I’ve been thinking about some of life’s most valued/unvalued thoughts (depending on the person you ask). People say “love changes” and I think I can agree with that to a certain extent. However, I’m not looking for a love that changes. I’m not looking for love at all. But it seems like everybody is always searching for a person to have in their life that they can lean on-when the only person you will ever have to depend on is YOURSELF. The love I know to be true is a love that CHANGES ME for the better and a love that remains the same even though everything else in life changes. Life changes not just through the years but even day to day. If life changes, people change, happiness changes…Love should be the one thing that stays the same. I guess when I say love-I’m referring to “in love” head over heals, crazy stupid love. Most people don’t believe in it. But most people also end up getting divorced, settling, or just being with somebody whom of COURSE they love, but they are no longer IN LOVE with. So it makes sense that most people don’t believe in it-most people don’t have it. Don’t sell yourself short. Every single person deserves to have that forever, crazy stupid love. If you don’t believe in it, I can assure you that you will never feel it/stumble into it.

My favorite word: HAPPY.

“…allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up.” Charles L Morgan

Next thought…happiness. Happiness changes. Well for some people it does. When I was a child (probably like you) I’m sure binkys, bottles and my family made me happy. As I got older that changed a little bit. Friends, family, games, playing outside, looking for creatures, nature, a warm bath, those things then made me happy. Then I discovered more happies(!) driving, the ocean, traveling, relationships…If we all made a timeline our happies would change throughout different stages in life. My happies have not so much changed, just more things have been added to the list of what makes me happy. Different things have made me feel ALIVE at different stages in my life…but things that made me happy as a child still make me happy as an adult. When I say I appreciate the little things-that is what I mean. I’ve kept my excitement and happiness throughout my life as it was when I was a little. When I see an elephant, rainbow, sunflower or a wild outfit that I put together myself I still get silly excited about it. I did not purposefully keep my happies the same but I think that is what it means to be “a child at heart”. I get it from my mama (haha=mom in Japanese). That is what I appreciate/love most about myself+my mama and what I love most about children. Everything in life changes…but maybe it’s the abstract ideas/nouns/verbs that should remain the same-like love and happiness. Abstract because you cannot physically touch them. Noun because it is a thing-more of an idea. A verb because love can be something that you DO-it’s an action.

I hope is that each person reading this has their own happy. So many people lose their happy in the rush of growing up, getting a career, starting a family…Life changes but your happy MUST REMAIN.

My brothers are older than me-by several years. When I was in elementary school my brother told me, “never wish to be older“. When he told me this for some reason I knew exactly what it meant. I knew that I didn’t need to rush to be in middle school, or high school, to get my drivers license, to graduate and move out…because once you start looking forward and wishing for the future…you miss out on NOW and the happies that are right in front of you. At the age of 8 some kids were wishing to be 16 so they could drive. I was wishing for a dog.

At the age of 12 girls were getting boyfriends-I was putting boys in headlocks.

Age 14 I was playing pranks with my dad. We were always driving around in the corvette playing fart sounds through the cassette tape we made off of the CD Pull My Finger (on the way to baskin robins to get ice cream).

I remember being at the ocean for the first time when I was 12 or 13. I watched the sunset over the waves at ocean shores and I promised myself I would never forget that moment and that sunset. Of course the colors have faded in my memory. But At that moment, 16 years ago I knew that I would never wish life away. For some reason I always knew deep down that I could never wish for happiness and love. When I would make a wish with a coin, on a star, or on my birthday I knew that wishes don’t manifest those types of joys in life. I also always thought that I SHOULD tell the world my wish-because the more people that know, the more likely it is to come true

Wishing life away comes in many forms. Wishing for Friday. Wishing for summer. Wishing for Christmas/holidays. When you are too busy wishing/waiting/looking forward to these special things in life…each day loses its own sparkle/special. Wishing/waiting/hoping/looking forward to the future…those are each a form of wishing life away. It’s fun to look forward to vacation or a friend visiting…but it cannot be the only “thing to look forward to”. Each day that your feet hit the floor is a day to walk out the door smiling. Who knows what surprises you will stumble upon today.

Another thing I never understood was when kids became embarrassed of their parents. I never went through that. I still haven’t gone through that. I think it is a pretty normal stage that MOST children go through…but I don’t remember going through it. I also have some pretty incredible parents. I’m 28 years old and I think its hilarious that my dad waits at the bus stop for me after school and walks me there in the morning. How many adult children get that?! Most would be so embarrassed they would not allow it. I step off the bus yelling “CHICHI” which I have learned also means boobs. And my dad waves back “RACHELLLLL”. Then we laugh. I have always been proud of my parents because I think they are good people. I try to let my friends know them as well-because I think everybody should meet them. If you meet my parents-you can see where parts of me come from. I LOVE THAT. I love seeing siblings/families together and the resemblance and the quarks.

Last self care thought for this post…..Infinite worth. I am enough. I got this tattooed in my own handwriting because I needed a reminder EVERY SINGLE DAY from MYSELF that I am more than enough. I don’t need other people to tell me that or remind me…It has to come from within. This is one of my favorite Videos, by Kent Hoffman. If you can, watch it.Every single person you will ever meet has infinite worth. EVERY PERSON. One year I was having a hard time with my students and the way they were treating each other. We stopped in our tracks. In the time the children were in PE for 30 mintues I had rounded up a few people from around the school, in different positions, different genders and ages and made a plan. I asked these adults to come up with the best attributes of themselves and the worst. I shared that-I am a teacher, I have graduated from college, gotten my masters, I have failed classes, sometimes I wear my rain boots 2 days in a row, I have tattoos. Next up was our vice principal. He is a great man and he shared similar successes. Graduate, Vice Principal, awards, cannot remember his negatives…but throughout this lesson we all had different accomplishments we shared and different struggles. At the end of this my class put the 5 of adults in order from the person who was worth the most to the person who was wroth the least. I asked them to do this impossible task. I had a few children who said-no, this is not possible. But I told them if you HAD to-where would you place us. Now-out of all of these adults my students knew ME best. I ended up being 4th in the line up. FOURTH. My students thought that others were worth more because their job was higher up, they were a male, they won awards, had a family…My students thought I was worth less because I wore my rain boots more than 1 day in a row, because I had failed a class, and because I had struggles in life that I was willing to share with them. The students for the most part put us into order easily. They knew who they thought was the best and who wasn’t worth as much…This put me in tears. As the tears started I told the students that we cannot be placed in “order” of who is worth more because EVERY SINGLE PERSON YOU MEET HAS INFINITE WORTH. This was a new idea for me a few years ago. The students had never heard of this idea. I headed out the door for a moment while a friend finished talking about how people all matter, absolute. It does not matter your age, gender, job title, accomplishments, failures…It seems like these things would alter your judgement about a person…

But every single person you meet has infinite worth. I am not worth more than a high school drop out. You are not worth more than the person sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign that says anything helps. Be kind. A person is a person.

9/10 School has been cancelled three times since I have started at my school. Typhoon day, the next day because there was no power and today due to heavy rain. I imagine this throws things off greatly for the teachers and their class schedules. This means I will not have classes today. I miss out on most conversations/meetings because my Japanese is SO BASIC right now. I have got to get studying and practicing more so that I can hold a conversation in Japanese.

Bits and pieces and a few words from Father.

Next week I will go diving for the first time. : O

The cats-I cannot believe the cats.

My latest and greatest obsession…because when I get into something-I get really into it (like my Haha).

Words of wisdom from father that come from the lessons he has learned here.
1. Don’t ride your bike in the rain.
2. Watch your step-watch your head.
3. Have a good bike light, umbrella and hat. It took us 2 weeks, some falls and being SOAKED before we figured this out.
4. Always secure your keys
5. Ice cream is good especially the waffle looking ice cream sandwiches.
6. Something is PROBABLY going to happen if the trains are not running and no one is out in the streets. Advice from his typhoon adventure.
September 10, 2018
Chichi

One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things

-Henry Miller

I’ve been in Japan one month. One month (a little longer now). It seems like I’ve been here far less time than that…and far longer at the same time. Feeling Opposite emotions is a hard one for me-similar to HappySad. School started back at home. I’m so thankful to be here…but it is hard missing out on some of my favorite people and students. Missing out-there’s that FOMO sneaking up on me again. Sending my love to my friends, family and all the kiddos that I miss dearly. You are so loved.

My dad has been here a week and a half. Chichi=Dad. I just want to share a few of our adventures…

TO begin, my dad has hit is head everyday, multiple times-on lights, cement, ceilings, cupboards…you name it he has hit it. I have fallen down several times and we have both run into a few things. I thought I was bad with directions…but it seems that I’m actually quite capable of exploring compared to some (chichi). 🙂 Just kidding, he’s doing great. Only two big crash/burns of him getting lost. Also-of course it’s nice to have chichi here. I imagine people think I’m incapable of taking care of myself-but I assure you, I am taking care of chichi. 🙂 If you are in Japan and you hear someone in the store or on a train/bus laughing you can probably bet on it being me.

8/24 Adventure #1 OIJ ZOO! Yuko-a dear friend took us to the Zoo by train. It was an incredible Zoo. We walked around Kobe after that and we saw a STING RAY in the ocean! An animal in its natural habitat-boy does that make me happy. Throughout the past two weeks we have been able to spend some time with Yuko which is nice. I am glad that my dad gets to meet the people I surround myself with as well as my friends having a chance to meet my dad.

8/25 Adventure #2 COSTCO….Sachiko-my other favorite person took us to Costco! We parked in a parking garage and rode an escalator DOWN with OUR CART! . Wowowowowow. I had to get some groceries because it had been 3 weeks and all I had in my fridge was water 🙂 You will probably laugh out loud at what I have now…Waffles, bagels, lays potato chips and bread. We got 1 bottle of syrup..kirkland brand…for $18! I know it is expensive because it is imported but HOLY SMOKES! Then my dad is over here using it on his waffles like its free. We enjoyed a costco hotdog and soda as we would do at home and the hotdog burps were no different then the ones you get from the Costco in the USA. We have now been to costco twice. Adventure number 2 included Sachiko taking us to the most beautiful river spot and mountain view. It was breathtaking. We rang the biggest bell I have ever seen and it sent the biggest sound waves. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.

Our first 2 days we WALKED everywhere That was unbearable so adventure #3 was navigating to Yuko’s to pick the bike up without any technology. It took us an hour or so…the next day we also stopped at Yuko’s…this time it took maybe 15 minutes. Learning my way around is a process.

8/28 Adventure #4 Back to Kobe just my dad and I. We wanted to see if we were capable of taking the train. Turns out we are. (Kind of) We went to Osaka tonight and getting back was a bit of an exploration. Glad to have my chichi here to do these things with me.

We got Seitei by an amazing lady. It was acupressure / acupuncture, chiropractic work and some use of a lit herb on the skin. Fit right in with my crystal loving self. The acupuncture was completely different than anything I have had done in the USA. I had a two hour session and my friend let my dad take her session.

8/30 I ate heart and liver 😮

We have laughed a lot. I have cried several times from laughing so hard.

(9/2)We have been lost by train and bus. Today was the first time I thought to myself, “I am not having fun, this is not fun.” That would be when I was trying to figure out how to catch the bus to get to work. (Practicing of course). Got on the wrong bus. Tried to communicate using my undeveloped Japanese skills…. My dad came along for the ride. We have a lot of fun riding around, laughing, taking pictures and being here together. Always laughing and smiling.

Last night, bike riding we saw more wild cats. an unbelievable amount…I’m talking 15+ just in one area! It makes me really sad. But then at the pet store the animals cost $1,000+!

(9/4)Yesterday, Typhoon Jebi occurred and our biggest adventure of all. While I was at work (School was cancelled for children but teachers still go) my dad went out on an exploration. I left early due to the weather and when I got home chichi was nowhere to be found and I was locked out. I waited, looked, and tried to contact him for about an hour. To say I was worried was an understatement. The most powerful typhoon within the past 25 years was about to touch ground near us and I had no idea where my dad was.

Couldn’t figure out the pay phone. Tried several times. Ended up just waiting. Eventually as the rain coming down I see my dad about 4 blocks away…he see’s me too so he’s ringing his bell. What a RELIEF.

Chichi parks his bike-and the keys are gone. He had been lost for about 2 hours previous to getting home. So happy to be home-the keys silently fell out of his pocket at some point or were left somewhere when he stopped to ask for help. We ended up retracing his steps during the beginning stages of the typhoon. SOAKED!

Cutting this one short-we got home and inside just before the wind got extreme. There was some damage done all around where we live but we were safe and all was good.

The KIX airport is now under water…(think about that for a minute). Chichi will be staying until further notice. Many places are without power. Today the power came back on at about 1:00pm at school. The children came to school for about an hour before going home.

The children here have the biggest smiles and are excited. I love seeing the children here in their classrooms…it is just like seeing students at home in their seats smiling and giggling when they see a stranger peak in the room.

Here-the teachers move rooms-not the students. So there is a teachers room where every teacher has a desk. Students stay in their same classroom all day except for specials (PE, art…). Much different than school at home! Also-the staff and students care for the school and school grounds. They keep the school clean and cared for.

Lastly-this morning (morning after the typhoon) I was excited (wakuwaku) to get to school and I got out to the bus a few minutes early. I feel like I’m at home waiting for the STA to come. Well-I waited 35 mintues for a bus that comes every 10 minutes…………….. ……………………………….Started asking drivers on a different line where the bus was at…YOU GUESSED IT-it was out of service from the Typhoon. At this point I have 5 minutes to get to school. Thank goodness for Sachiko-she picked me up and delivered me.

Got a message from Yuko today, “You’re dad is here, he got lost. I told him how to get home.” Thank goodness he was able to find her house! Now my friends are all having snacks together with CHICHI and I’m at work.

This became too long. I apologize. This is my way of keeping my memories as well as sharing them. As long as they get-I know I will look back on them in years and smile remembering the adventures.

Sightings/experiences: lizards, cats, beetles, digdigs, fishes, stingrays, roaches, amazing stationary, beaches, rivers, Japanese TV, police stations, MANUAL buses and people getting off work at all hours of the evening, monkey/owl/hedgehogs at the petstore, Osaka, Kobe, Sannomia, trains, subways, buses……I am still quite the sighting for children. My dad is too.

Remember to be kind, especially to yourself.

illie

9/05/2018

September 5, 2018