There was a huge earthquake near Sendai in March?

I almost forgot just a few months ago, we had a devastating earthquake that completely changed everything in the blink of an eye. The moment when everything became in question. I could go on and on about it which anyone that has kept up on my blogs can attest to. But seriously, as life here becomes so normal its hard to remember that all this chaos was only a few months ago. I've noticed the crazy outpour of sympathy initially and then within weeks its all old news, especially with all the tragedies that have gone spun through the United States.

Even as I live my normal day to day life, I don't ever really think about the earthquakes at all anymore. I tend to forget about the whole Fukushima situation. The scary thing I've realized is that I keep myself completely clueless to what is going on in Japan. I guess ignorance truly is bliss. I don't need to know every detail. Like the old saying "time heals all wounds," I feel like as the months go on I tend to forget the lessons I've learned about life from my own time dealing with the crisis we lived in. The only time I really get woken up to the magnitude of last March is with the occasional decent sized earthquake.

Last weekend we went out to a restaurant and had the longest earthquake I've felt since being back. It was crazy how everybody in the place became silent for an moment after it. There's millions of us with different backgrounds around Sendai but all share a common bond in those moments. We've all had our experiences and survived one of the worst disasters in Japan history. We still get some random decent sized earthquakes but I've realized I've become so used to them that I even sleep through them. This morning, I didn't realize we had a big earthquake until my mom asked me about it. Apparently, I slept through a near 7.0 quake. Its amazing what the body gets used to.

Though, I still want to make a trip out the the ocean to see the devastation I haven't been able to since being back. There some church mission trips that make it out there but with working 6 days a week its really hard to make it all work out. The crazy thing is that the devasted areas are only a few mile drive from where I live.

Coming here, I was really excited to swim in the Pacific Ocean but it doesn't look like I can anytime soon with most places near by wiped out and the idea of what things are floating around out there, makes me not want to go. Lots of beach front access though (...too soon?).We were actually supposed to have some camping trips out by the ocean but those places are no longer there. We also had a camping trip near Fukushima planned that was relocated for obvious reasons.

Its really hard to imagine the perspective I had before and right after the earthquake. With new people coming to MeySen this summer and fall, it reminds me of the ideas I had coming here and what this journey has done for me so far. I was going to list all the great life lessons I've learned through my experiences in the major earthquake aftermath but I will leave it with one, sorry if it comes out cheesy:

It doesnt matter how much money you make or what possessions you have, the most important thing in life you can have are the experiences you have and the people you share them with.

My first Field Trip in Japan

What better way to end 11 straight days of working than having a field trip? Before I jump into that I should probably answer the question...how do you teach for 11 straight days. Well, we usually work 6 days a week (Saturdays are just in the morning) but last Sunday we helped with the Friend's Day at Takamori, the other campus. For me, this meant that I would walk an occasionally obstinate pony around a circle carrying Japanese kids from about 2-8 years old for 4 hours. I estimated at about 400 rides I gave over the few hours.  It was literally one of the most physically exhausting days of my life. Nothing like heading to work the next day for a nice full day.

Anyway, the point of my story. Saturday, I had my first field trip. All the teachers out there know that though field trips are generally a lot of fun there is also a lot of stress involved. "Where are my kids? Are they behaving? Is Billy breaking things? Did Tommy just wet himself? Sally stop tattling on Susie, etc." Going into the day I couldn't wait. We were going to Michinoku park and I kept hearing great things about the place. I was actually supposed to go with other teachers the day I got back but I missed my flight. However, a first field trip can't be all peaches and cream...

We were told that we would have a late start Saturday and only teach for 30 minutes before going to the park. I was thinking great I can sleep in and show up, do a little work to prepare for the next week and breeze on in to my field trip. As I casually stroll in at 9 AM, the assistant tells me "there has been a mixup." Generally, when she tells me something it isn't good news. Usually, its me doing to something that I was culturally unaware of. She tells me that the students letters home told them to show up at normal time and another teacher was teaching my class and the other third grade classes until I got there. So, instead of strolling in for a 30 minute class I had to jump in and teach for 2 more hours.

I get all the way up to my classroom and the kids were acting like they just had a bowl full of caffeine for breakfast with chocolate syrup to wash it down. After trying to force feed some curriculum to them, I decide to give them a little extra play time. The ironic thing is that all they did during playtime was complain about being too hot. I was thinking oh great we are going to a park outside for the rest of the day, this should be fun. To add a little wrench into the mix, I find out we have 2 second graders that are going to be joining my class for the rest of the day and I am responsible for them at the park.

We take the hour bus ride to the park and I'm having a great time having my students be interpreters for me. I would look at a sign and have them tell me what it was in English. I actually learned a lot. FINALLY, we get to the park and its just beautiful. The entrance reminds me of the setting for Teletubbies. Inside the park are all these slides and bouncy balls and crazy things you'd never see in the US because of "legal concerns." My favorite was the bouncy doughnut which was a big donut shaped trampoline. I probably had about as much fun as my kids while there. The weather turned out great and we had a great time. One of those moments that made me realize how great it is to actually get paid to do this.

The Bouncing doughnut

My kids thought it would be funny to try to use me as a towel

Otanjobi: My 36 hour birthday

On Sunday at 11 AM EST it became my birthday in Japan.The great thing about living here and having lots of family and friends back home is that I get to celebrate my birthday for the next 36 hours. Now I wish I could tell some crazy legendary story about the longest birthday I ever had. However, my birthday was just what I needed. We had just concluded a 7 day work week with our Friends Day on Sunday (my latest post for those of you keeping tabs on my life). Because of this we actually had my birthday off. This was probably the greatest present I could get, well besides the package sent by my family full of peanut butter M&Ms and other foods I miss.

I spent most of the beautiful day doing nothing just being lazy which was great! Then in the afternoon, I decided to play some tennis with Aaron. Sadly, we got there and all the courts were booked. So I got on my bike and left. Some of you say, "Greg why are you boring me with this minute detail about getting on your bike, are you going to tell me you breathed next?" Well faithful reader here is why...As I was riding my bike home I came to a road diverged in a path (save it Robert Frost fans) with a curb to the other side I needed to be on. Aaron behind me told me to jump it so of course I listen. Next thing I know, my bike tells me it doesnt want to make it over there and I go flailing in the like a balloon that you let go after blowing up. After what I hear was a backflip the Russian Gymnastics team would be proud of, I slammed onto the ground. Luckily for me, the only thing that really hurt was the bruising I took on my ego for the rest of this week (thanks Aaron).

Finally, I get to my birthday dinner at this steak place called Gesho. My boss told me this was the best steak in Sendai. Its Kobe beef without actually being in Kobe, Japan. The place has national won awards. We even had to call ahead and say what we wanted because they need to pick out the cow to slaughter for us (exaggerating slightly). I decided to go big and got the 5000 ($50) yen platter. All I can tell you is that after the first bite the gates of heaven opened up and God called down saying "you're welcome." It was literally the best thing I have ever eaten. Its amazing what giving your cows beer, massages, and playing music for them makes them so much tastier.

This was truly the highlight of my 26th birthday. The great thing about my birthday  was that for the next day till 1PM,  it was still my birthday in the US so I had 13 extra hours to celebrate being born. Thanks mom for all you did 26 years ago to pop me out June 6th :)

Our 5000 yen meals

Just for your viewing pleasure. This is the sign of a hallway outside a parking garage. I guess you can pee on walls just not in jug

Japanese Cowboys

My classroom all set up for Parents

What do you get when you cross Japan with the Wild West: MeySen Friends Day. Friend's Day as I have learned is one of the most important days for the school and teachers. Its basically like your average school's open house on Steroids. All the kids come for hayrides, hotdogs, cheesecake, etc. and have to go to an hour worth of class. Its that one hour of class that teachers gotta be on their game. Basically, the room should be perfectly clean, and you're ready to show. The parents spend good money to make sure that their kids are getting the best English experience they can possibly get in Sendai. Its truly amazing the respect the community has for MeySen. Many fathers work in Tokyo (5+ hours away) all week and leave their families here just so they can go to school here. For the immersion program that I teach in, parents wait in 3 day lines just for the chance to get on a list to sign their kid up. Because of this, there is great pressure to be on your game the one day families get to see what they are putting their money to.


I spent most of Saturday helping transform the campus into an American Cowboy theme. Mostly I spent time pitching a few tents (save your dirty humor) and then set up my classroom. Lets just say my apartment isn't half as clean as my classroom was. Luckily, our bosses all chipped in to help us with our classrooms. It went pretty quickly.

Friend's Day itself went off great. There were tons of people, "country music" (with Michael Jackson sprinkled in), lots of cookies, ice cream, hot dogs etc. The hot dogs and horse rides are really the main staple of the event. Hot Dogs are not much of a norm around here so the kids love them. Also, horses are not really a native species to the island of Japan. Luckily for me, I had to teach at 1 so I didn't actually have a job for myself besides dressing like a cowboy and making a fool of myself in front of the families which I am happy to oblige.
By 1 o'clock I was ready to start my class. I was pretty prepared and wasn't feeling nervous outside of the fact that other teachers hype this thing up as I better not make a single mistake. Of course, thats impossible even on a normal day. However, my kids were on their best behavior and really worked hard to impress their parents. The class itself is about half the actually time our normal class is so we take bits and parts of what we teach and it turns into a show of what the kids have learned. All went well until the Dictionary game I had planned.

My student's work they showed off.

I was starting to pass out dictionaries to the groups when one slipped out of my hand and nailed a student in the back of the head. She gives me this look and stares at her parents like "you see what I have to deal with." Now her parents probably think I throw books at the kids every day. Not only that but in the middle of the lesson, one girl felt the others weren't sharing with her enough and she began to cry. I had to deal with that in the middle of trying to play the game. Lesson learned, never expect perfection because life just isn't that way.

I became a model in Japan, showing off the MeySen gear for families.

White Horses

All in all it was a great day, and I was exhausted. Luckily, I have my birthday off to recuperate.