Sunday, January 18, 2009
Yes We Did -> Yes I Will Continue
So we did it, we voted for Obama (well some of us did) and he won the election. So now what? Well as for me, I will continue to work hard to do my part to better society. If we learned anything from Obama's candidacy, it's that as a nation we make real change from grassroots movements. My new year's resolution will not be to lose weight or anything selfish, it will be to do my part in making America and the world a better place. I will not stand by idly and wait for my representatives in Washington to do the work for me (that never works out). I am hopeful, because Obama is real proof that one person can make a difference. He motivated the nation in putting down the remote control and get to the streets to work for his campaign with the message of hope. Lets leave the remote control on the coffee table and take up a new mission, a mission to bring peace and prosperity to all.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Wrap Up
Mount Fuji
The Trip-
As many of you know Joe and I went to Tokyo this Winter break. The highlight for me would have to be making mochi. Not only were we in a town close to Mount Fuji, but we were taught the art of mochi making by the cutest Japanese grandma. Joe was the one pounding the rice into shape, but I was the one crafting them into small little round mounds. Of course my arms weren’t sore the next day from it (my poor Joseph). The mochi balls were delicious! Thanks to Naho, her lovely grandmother ( I wanted to keep her) and her father who helped Joe out with the rice pounding.
I got a cold after the mochi making extravaganza. My body couldn’t handle all the fun I was having. If I hadn't gotten sick, I probably would have had enjoyed wearing the kimono best. Thanks to Naho’s mom, I got to experience what it is like first hand to wear a kimono. It made me appreciate Geishas a lot more. Putting on a kimono is a lot of work, and having someone put on a kimono on you while you are sick may seem like torture. A kimono does not only consist of the beautiful cloth people see on you. There are layers of cloth and rope under the kimono. Many twists and knots it’s like origami with cloth instead of paper. The magic is that you end up only seeing a minimal amount of the folds in the end. You end up with a slick boxy look (which is NOT flattering to the female body). If you happen to have a few curves, get ready to feel obese. There are like 10 layers of cloth on your belly alone. It makes me admire geishas even more, if you are able to pull off the kimono look, props to you. *Funny side notes, my feet are way too big so the socks were way too small (non stretchable material) and the shoes were probably two sizes too small, let’s just say... I was walking really slowly. Second, Naho’s grandmother thought some cloth had bunched up on my chest so she poked me to push down the “bunched up cloth”. I thought it was cute.
Naho took us to a lot of interesting places in Tokyo and her mother made us delicious vegetarian meals. Overall our trip was just as good as I thought it would be. We learned about a traditional Japanese New Year’s celebration, we enjoyed great conversations with wonderful people and we have maybe two months worth of mochi in our freezer that we can enjoy.
First week of school-
I dreaded returning to school. I only had two days to rest from our trip to Tokyo. I was exhausted from my illness and all that traveling. Luckily classes didn’t begin until four days after I started working. So even though I was at work, I was just resting in my desk while brainstorming ideas for my lessons. I got a couple of really good ideas by the way.
My first day of teaching was better than I had anticipated. I was dreading getting up in front of Japanese Jr. High students. My first class was during 4th period. For some reason I thought 4th period came after lunch. I guess two weeks were enough for me to forget the school schedule. Well 11:50 rolled by and I thought "It's too early for lunch…do you suppose it’s 4th period now? OMG its 4th Period!” Forth period actually begins at 11:55 so I had 5 minutes to make 17 copies of the print out and run to class. I MADE IT! The students were already in the class all crowded around the heater like little homeless people. As soon as one student saw me she screamed “Daniela Sensei” so joyfully. My heart grew 7 times its size. Aside from the warm welcome I received, the lesson was fun and all the students were enjoying themselves. If only the rest of the days were like today.
Things that upset me-
Where do I being? Let us start with the most devastating news from the New Year, the war in Gaza. All I hear is that Israel needs to defend itself from Hamas. I understand the threat that Hamas poses to Israel; I am not naïve. However I am infuriated with Israel’s attack. They have responded by killing over 600 innocent people, maybe more now. I don’t believe in an eye for an eye, but even if I did Israel is taking way more than its share of eyes. Then that idiotic prime minister of Israel blames the deaths of innocent people on Hamas, taking absolutely no responsibility for Israel’s actions. She stated that they will continue to aim for mosques, schools and other civilian filled places because that is where Hamas is launching its weapons from. Then we hear that Israel attacked a UN school, where UN officials say no terrorists had been hiding let alone firing weapons. Over 30 innocent people were killed in that attack, but Israel still claims that it was a justifiable target. I am appalled by the whole situation and how most of the nations are condoning Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Second thing that I find upsetting are the democrats on Capitol Hill. I do not like 80% of Obama’s picks so I understand how some senators are upset by his choices. I do not think that we need tax cuts now, so I know why a lot of senators are upset with Obama’s new stimulus package; but why get upset now? Bush said jump and they jumped. Bush said, more money for the war in Iraq with NO timeline for withdrawal and they passed it. Bush said 700 billion dollars to bailout the financial sector with no oversight and they passed it. Why no balls then? Why are they courageous all of a sudden? They are as responsible for letting the Bush administration get away with so much as the Republicans. Don’t let me get started on the Patriot Act.
I will stop there because I can go on and on and on.
Things that make me all warm inside-
Joe
Quote of the week-
“Think carefully before you snicker at powerful people who are down on their luck” fortune cookie quoted by Rachel Maddow
The Trip-
As many of you know Joe and I went to Tokyo this Winter break. The highlight for me would have to be making mochi. Not only were we in a town close to Mount Fuji, but we were taught the art of mochi making by the cutest Japanese grandma. Joe was the one pounding the rice into shape, but I was the one crafting them into small little round mounds. Of course my arms weren’t sore the next day from it (my poor Joseph). The mochi balls were delicious! Thanks to Naho, her lovely grandmother ( I wanted to keep her) and her father who helped Joe out with the rice pounding.
I got a cold after the mochi making extravaganza. My body couldn’t handle all the fun I was having. If I hadn't gotten sick, I probably would have had enjoyed wearing the kimono best. Thanks to Naho’s mom, I got to experience what it is like first hand to wear a kimono. It made me appreciate Geishas a lot more. Putting on a kimono is a lot of work, and having someone put on a kimono on you while you are sick may seem like torture. A kimono does not only consist of the beautiful cloth people see on you. There are layers of cloth and rope under the kimono. Many twists and knots it’s like origami with cloth instead of paper. The magic is that you end up only seeing a minimal amount of the folds in the end. You end up with a slick boxy look (which is NOT flattering to the female body). If you happen to have a few curves, get ready to feel obese. There are like 10 layers of cloth on your belly alone. It makes me admire geishas even more, if you are able to pull off the kimono look, props to you. *Funny side notes, my feet are way too big so the socks were way too small (non stretchable material) and the shoes were probably two sizes too small, let’s just say... I was walking really slowly. Second, Naho’s grandmother thought some cloth had bunched up on my chest so she poked me to push down the “bunched up cloth”. I thought it was cute.
Naho took us to a lot of interesting places in Tokyo and her mother made us delicious vegetarian meals. Overall our trip was just as good as I thought it would be. We learned about a traditional Japanese New Year’s celebration, we enjoyed great conversations with wonderful people and we have maybe two months worth of mochi in our freezer that we can enjoy.
First week of school-
I dreaded returning to school. I only had two days to rest from our trip to Tokyo. I was exhausted from my illness and all that traveling. Luckily classes didn’t begin until four days after I started working. So even though I was at work, I was just resting in my desk while brainstorming ideas for my lessons. I got a couple of really good ideas by the way.
My first day of teaching was better than I had anticipated. I was dreading getting up in front of Japanese Jr. High students. My first class was during 4th period. For some reason I thought 4th period came after lunch. I guess two weeks were enough for me to forget the school schedule. Well 11:50 rolled by and I thought "It's too early for lunch…do you suppose it’s 4th period now? OMG its 4th Period!” Forth period actually begins at 11:55 so I had 5 minutes to make 17 copies of the print out and run to class. I MADE IT! The students were already in the class all crowded around the heater like little homeless people. As soon as one student saw me she screamed “Daniela Sensei” so joyfully. My heart grew 7 times its size. Aside from the warm welcome I received, the lesson was fun and all the students were enjoying themselves. If only the rest of the days were like today.
Things that upset me-
Where do I being? Let us start with the most devastating news from the New Year, the war in Gaza. All I hear is that Israel needs to defend itself from Hamas. I understand the threat that Hamas poses to Israel; I am not naïve. However I am infuriated with Israel’s attack. They have responded by killing over 600 innocent people, maybe more now. I don’t believe in an eye for an eye, but even if I did Israel is taking way more than its share of eyes. Then that idiotic prime minister of Israel blames the deaths of innocent people on Hamas, taking absolutely no responsibility for Israel’s actions. She stated that they will continue to aim for mosques, schools and other civilian filled places because that is where Hamas is launching its weapons from. Then we hear that Israel attacked a UN school, where UN officials say no terrorists had been hiding let alone firing weapons. Over 30 innocent people were killed in that attack, but Israel still claims that it was a justifiable target. I am appalled by the whole situation and how most of the nations are condoning Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Second thing that I find upsetting are the democrats on Capitol Hill. I do not like 80% of Obama’s picks so I understand how some senators are upset by his choices. I do not think that we need tax cuts now, so I know why a lot of senators are upset with Obama’s new stimulus package; but why get upset now? Bush said jump and they jumped. Bush said, more money for the war in Iraq with NO timeline for withdrawal and they passed it. Bush said 700 billion dollars to bailout the financial sector with no oversight and they passed it. Why no balls then? Why are they courageous all of a sudden? They are as responsible for letting the Bush administration get away with so much as the Republicans. Don’t let me get started on the Patriot Act.
I will stop there because I can go on and on and on.
Things that make me all warm inside-
Joe
Quote of the week-
“Think carefully before you snicker at powerful people who are down on their luck” fortune cookie quoted by Rachel Maddow
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