10 Things I Love About You

At the end of this year its good to look back and think about all the things that have enhanced the quality of our experience here. Here's a top 10:

10. El Torito Salsa and Chips/Outrageous Chimichanga. いきましょう。
9. Sunday Morning at Starbucks.
8. Walking into a smiling 一年生　(7th grade) class and team teaching with my crazy co-teacher, Tsuda Sensei. Good laughs and good education. Also, enduring the ever-wicked 二年生　(8th grade) classes with my very hip team-teacher, Matsuda Sensei. Always a challeng and adventure.
7. Sitting under the kotatsu table (Japanese-style table with a heater underneath and blanket around the sides) and vegging after a long day of work.
6. Singing あああああああああめん ('Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamen') at the end of every song at church.
5. Thinking a class at school is going to bomb and being pleasantly surprised when it goes great, students had a good laugh, and got something out of it.
4. Karaoke. Who knew the Woods could rock the mike? Well, okay, we can belt out a mean 'Islands in the Streams'. Does that count as rocking the mike? Thoughts? Comments? Actually, Karaoke is really Rachel's time to shine.
3. When something clicks when I'm listening to Japanese. Our job makes it fairly difficult, teetering on impossible, to learn a great amount of Japanese. But there are a few moments when something clicks and I'm that much further along. Baby steps, baby steps.
2. EBC when something clicks in my students mind/heart. They seem to be more one in the same in Japan. Sunday can be a long day here with church and then EBC, but once a student gets some new fact that can potentialy change their lives, it let's me know something bigger than me is happening in the world and the long hours don't seems as long anymore.
1. Just knowing that we are at this point in our life where we've made so many friends in so many places and have so many possibilities to entertain. We're pretty freakin' lucky and blessed to be this young and have had so many incredible experiences with all the great people we've crossed paths with. Life is never perfect in the way we'd like but we're being perfected by this imperfect life. Working/living here is tough sometimes but when we stop to catch a breath (which is admittedly rare) we realize we don't have much to complain about. Good friends, good students, good church, good God, good times!!!