it's not life that matters but the journey...

is really just for kids  . . . I've posted some photos of the Halloween party that we had for the school in Shizuoka yesterday.  (if you want, you should check out my entire photobucket page as its been a little updated lately:  http://photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/

I didn't really do much - just served cake and juice, cleared the tables after the cookie decorating and snacks, helped with games and washed the dishes afterwards.  It was fun to see the kids in their costumes, though.  I'm sure that the parents really had the most fun getting their kids all dressed up.  One girl won the costume prize, though, as far as I'm concerned.  She was dressed as a cowgirl and wore chaps with a cow (black and white) pattern, a western shirt and a long, golden braid down her back.  I don't know where they got all the stuff - Mom must have made it.  Not surprising since the little girl's name is Merika (I'm not kidding).  Her mother must have an obsession with Western culture.  Here's a picture of her and another little "princess":   http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000052.jpg

sorry its a bit blurry (as are a couple other photos) - my camera is very cheap and if you move just a tiny bit, the photos get blurry.  gotta get a new one soon.  Here's another picture of the same girl with a boy named Ehito - it seems they are very involved in a conversation (look at Ehito's hand):  http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/asIwassaying.jpg

Ailsa, the girl from Australia who teaches full time at the school, was there, as well as her boyfriend, Matt.  Here's a picture of Ailsa and I together (she's dressed as an angel and I as a ladybug - I just had wings and a wand):  http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/ailsa-sensei.jpg

Its funny - Ailsa and Matt told me that in Australia (they're from Tasmania), they don't celebrate Halloween and they said they consider it to be an annoying American tradition.  I wasn't offended, but rather thought it was interesting - I thought that most Western countries had Halloween celebrations.  Its not big in Japan, but kids these days are learning about it (they really do like American culture)  and the shops have lots of decorations and costumes for kids.  It seems that Ailsa didn't really want to teach about it,  but she agreed with me that kids in Japan should know about customs from all over the world.  When I taught at the high school here in Japan (and also when I taught ESL in college in the states) I taught about the origins of Halloween and students found it very interesting.  I mean, Halloween was such a big thing for me when I was a kid:  we went trick-or-treating all over the neighborhood (it was so safe back then) and I came home with a pillowcase full of candy (oh, I paid for it later with lots of dentist visits and cavities!) And even into adulthood it was my favorite holiday in the states:  costume parties as an adult are a whole different thing.  But really, its a bit like Christmas, I think - we've lost the true meaning behind the holidays and its just a reason to party (or in the case of christmas, to spend lots of money).  don't get me started on holidays . . .  

but I digress.  I was talking about the Halloween party that we had - I think that the kids had a good time (except for the one or two who cried!) , but they are so different from American kids and do everything with a little more reservation and apprehension.  For example, one of the activities was to decorate some cookies (we made orange and green frosting - personally I think it was a bad idea since it took time and was messy to clean up- but I wasn't in charge), and most of the kids didn't have the slightest clue what to do!  they were afraid to get their hands dirty and just have fun!  but they did have fun with the games.  Here are the remainder of the photos from the party (again, sorry for the quality, but you can get the idea of what the kids looked like): http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000072.jpg; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000092.jpg ; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000012.jpg

I've got a new student starting this week at home - 4th grade girl.  I'm a bit nervous and hope I can make a good lesson for her.  It might be easier if there were more than one student.  seems like all I do these days is plan lessons (without getting paid much - if at all) and take the train back and forth somewhere!