Part 2 of One Week Later

I am now seated comfortably underneath my kotatsu... n it's still really cold. Just checked the temperature and it's about 0 degrees now. I really wonder when this place will start getting warmer. I really can't wait for the warmer weather to arrive... heez, i think when i return home, my tolerance level for cold will be really "there".

I really wanna write about the Vivid Girls who came over to my place last week... but at this time, this present moment, I am really feeling all sorts of different emotions. I have been here already for more than half a year... time really flies. This Nagano Ski Camp is like the halfway mid-point, and very soon I will be leaving for home.

It's strange.. there's still six more months, but I am already feeling a little sad. I have grown to love this place more and more... 2 weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, as i took my usual bus ride to Kobe station, and as the bus winds itself through the mountains, I was so filled with thanksgiving and marvelled at God's beautiful creation as well. You know, sometimes I feel so in awe simply just looking at this place, the people, the nature, the culture. Japan is truly a place that has captured my heart.

Also, I had bade farewell to my 2nd-year students. Exams will begin in March, and I had my last lesson with most classes already. Sometimes, I really wonder and think if I had made a difference in the lives of the kids here. Teaching in Japan is very very very different from teaching in Singapore. I remember in the JET application where I had to write an essay stating my purpose, I wrote that I wanted to make a difference in the students' lives. I really hoped I did.


Saying good-bye to another favourite class

Ok, let me get down to the Vivid girls. They are really a wonderful group, and last week, they were at my place for cell group. I cooked chicken curry for them, and they brought lots of food along too. They didn't know it... but it was like a reunion dinner for me. I didn't know it initially too, till I realised that it was the CNY reunion dinner the following day. :) It was really wonderful to have them over, and we had devotions, we talked, we shared... n broke a record. I don't think 7 people had ever slept in this apartment of mine before.


A sumptuous spread - Japan-meet-Sing-style
I really enjoyed the chicken curry that I whipped up. 懐かしいなああああ。I put in pieces of chicken thigh meet, chicken liver, diced potatoes as well as brocoli and baby carrots. I really so enjoyed it. :) For the sake of the Japanese palette, I added so much more water to make the curry less spicy... n the result? They still found it too からい！(karai=hot)
And of course, the Japanese food the girls brought along were great too. We were so extremely full after the feast. :)


A closer look at the food


I prepared gift bags for everyone of them. It is really true that there is so much more joy to give than to receive. I want to be able to freely bless others in time to come. :)
























We laid futons all over the place; the futons and blankets filled the entire living room and one bedroom. It was quite an experience and we all woke up to Beth's shrill and chirpy 'Good morning!' I am really not kidding, but I think hotels should use her 'Good morning' cry as their morning call!

And if you look carefully at the above picture, you could see the balcony and the forest beyond that. The weather was clear that morning, so I took a pict of the forest as well. Here goes.


皆と一緒に本当にありがとう。いろいろな教えてくれて感謝しています。皆がんばりますね。成長するために　友達のために　イエス様の愛を　皆通して　あふれられる。:)