Flyin' and Soaring High

We resumed classes on the 2nd week of January, 2015.  I wondered, "What activity will I let the students do  for the first class of the new year?"  I wanted something that will allow them to talk freely (in English, of course) and at the same time , something that will be  interesting for them.

Well, I prayed about this as I wrote my lesson plans.  Somehow God allowed me to 'wander'  through some teaching sites on the internet. In one of them, I found a photo of bulletin board tacked with colored  hot air balloons.  Aha!  Got it, good idea....this would be my activity .  So I printed out several coloring pages of hot air balloons for kids .

Then, I thought I had to buy an egg-timer for the speaking round.  So happy was I  to find a very pretty strawberry timer at our local Daie (second flr) where the non-food items are displayed.

And so, we did the Talk and Color Activity for the first lesson of the year.  I set the timer for 1 minute, and the students had to color their hot air balloon picture.  When the timer beeps, they all had to put down their colored pencils and we did a round of speaking .  Another round of 1-minute coloring and so on with another round of talking .

For the more advanced classes like the Elem Hannah group and the Junior High School groups, I let them talk about their wishes, dreams, goals, resolutions for 2015.  It was such a delight to know that some of them can now articulate their thoughts well in English.

I let the kids draw themselves or characters  on the picture. Some kids were so creative, they were able to draw faces of animals in the lines or curves of the picture.

When the coloring of the picture was  done, I let them cut around it and tape it to the classroom wall.

I labeled the display "Soaring HIGH in 2015".

For Your Eyes Only

That Sunday afternoon (Jan. 18th) was the first time ever I had wandered around this area.  I'm talking about the high end part of Kobe - where the millionaires and the wanna-be ones go shopping.

I just walked around and took photos of the buildings and shop windows from my cellphone camera .  Thankfully , all the signs were in English so I didn't have to stare that long at the shops to read the names. :)

To be honest, I find most of  the exterior designs of the  buildings  so D.R.A.B.   and D.U.L.L.....you get the feeling that classy people are that boring (??) ! Well, except for Louis Vuitton's shop.

I am not so keen about brands, but most of the ones here in Kobe are familiar to me.  Tried to look around for the Gucci shop but couldn't find it. It could be in another corner of the block.  Anyway, here are some of the brands famous around the world that you can find in our Kobe high-end part of the town !

Motomachi Chinatown

One dreary afternoon, I wandered around Kobe Sannomiya .  I strolled through some streets which I have not been before.  Eventually, as I turned into a corner, I realized I was in the Chinatown district.  I could smell the pork buns !

Kobe has one big Chinatown and it is in the Motomachi district.  You would know you're in the middle of that area when you see these things:

                                        a life-size stand of the Kung Fu Master, Bruce Lee

                                                                 the mighty dragon

                          Miss Piggy, looking pretty in the traditional Chinese dress (cheongsam)

New Year arrangements

Just like any other country, Japan has its New Year traditions and customs.  Some are interesting, some strange for me.  But what I love most is their New Year floral arrangements.  These are usually placed in the entrance hallway or a prominent arch in their homes.

I came across a display of these arrangements while window shopping one afternoon at Kobe Harborland.

Rocking My Boat

Something this past weekend brought a strong wind that rocked my inner sailboat and for some time had me tossing about and had me off-center.   Not really a huge deal but it was enough to send me  to God for some urgent talks and for  some of His thoughts and guidance.   True to His promise of being there always, He quietly calmed my heart through His Word, the hymns I listened and sang along to on YouTube,  the chapters from the book I’m currently reading and through the online messages of Dr. David Jeremiah .

What did He remind me of this weekend in response to that rocker wind?  Here are the following:

1      1. Humility as a Jesus-person doesn’t mean I have to be meek, quiet, say ‘Yes’ all the time and please everyone.  There will be times  when  I need  to say ‘No’ , not because I won’t , but because I can’t. There will be times when I need to say my piece.  Jesus  understands. He was never the silent-type. He was  a strong and opinionated person while on earth. 

2     2.     As a Jesus-person, I don’t have to be chummy and like everyone.  The  Apostle Paul  wrote,  “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. “ (Rom. 12:18, emphasis mine) Sometimes, especially for someone like me, living at peace  would mean a polite distance from others. 

3      3.   As a Jesus-person, I am accountable to God for my own thoughts and reactions.  But there are things I cannot control,  like the reactions, speculations, judgments and opinions of others toward me and my decisions.  So I leave  all those to God  believing that they will also be accountable to Him. Only He knows where everyone is coming from and where each one is in now, especially in terms of spiritual walk and relationship with Him. 

4     4.   As a Jesus-person, I have given Him the control and sustenance of my life.  He knows perfectly what He is doing in my life.  Sometimes He sends “sunny skies”, sometimes “rains and storms”. Sometimes He opens “doors” for me to get in.  Sometimes He closes those  doors too, so He can  lead me to other places where He can use me better.  He does all things in my life in perfect timing and cadence.  I just have to walk in step with Him.

Santica Christmas 2014

There's a place in Sannomiya, Kobe that I love to go to.  It's called Santica and is located underground.  From the West exit of JR station, you go down either by the descalator or the stairs to this place.  Santica has rows of shops, cafes and restaurants.

This was what greeted  the people going down the stairs to Santica.  A dazzling decor and rows of real, colorful poinsettias in pots.

When you reach the lowest step of the stairs, you'll get to an open circular space where they display goods,  seasonal plants or whatever is fanciful to shoppers.

This year's Christmas display is an interesting and spectacular show of technology and the latest gadgets.

What to give to picky kids for the Christmas snacks

A big dilemma for me while planning the Christmas lesson and activity  was about the food.  For someone like me who does not enjoy cooking and does not have any ideas about baking, what treats should I get for the kids/students during the Christmas snacks? Should I give them store-bought goodies, or should I make something from scratch to save money?

So again, to the internet I went for ideas.  Martha Stewart's site is  always the first one I go to for ideas, and then to other sites for more.

Here's one idea that I liked - simple , cheap and healthy.  It was a huge hit !!!

Hulled strawberries on a toothpick and topped with a white mini-marshmallow!  Don't they look like Santa's hats?

Well, the rest of the treats for that day were cookies and candies that I bought from shops here.

One of the class chaplains, Fujimori-san, was so generous and nice  to buy a huge, yummy Christmas cake for the Tue classes.

Christmas 2014 room decors - simple and cheap

Simple, cheap and minimal was my mantra last Christmas 2014 when I had to decide on the classroom decorations and class gatherings.

So to a non-artist me, the internet was the place to go to.  True enough, the sites did not disappoint although I  had to sit through a lot of clicks and loading times.

Aside from the Handprint Christmas tree on the wall, I wanted something to hang from the ceiling.  This was what I got from one of the sites.  Angels !!!  These were made by folding cupcake liners.

The Christmas Story of the Bible had to be told.  But how?  These was what I came up with.  Coloring pages taken from kids' sites ...

And to add more colour and beauty to the room, I decided to get those cheap yet pretty plastic poinsettias sold at the local Daiso 100yen shop and inserted the long stems between the file stands on the shelves.

The rest of the decors were my recycled prints and poinsettia rings that I put on the side of the book shelf and on the ref door.

Chopilog at Cebu Mactan International Airport

This is the cafe at the departure area of Cebu Mactan International Airport

Chopilog, what I ate for breakfast at this cafe on the day I flew back to Osaka after spending two weeks in Leyte with my Papa for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Chorizo, two fried eggs, achara and a cup of rice = chopilog.  I'm glad I had a hearty Pinoy breakfast because I didn't like the food that was served on board Philippine AirLines.  ( I miss Cathay Pacific's plane food.)

The cafes at the International Departure Areas of Cebu Mactan International Airport are nice, cosy and interesting.  This cafe (photo above) had colorful decors.  From the ceiling were suspended empty tetra packs of Philippine-made juices. Interesting!  How I wish I had a good camera with zoom lens so I could take a good photo of those.  One wall was covered with a colorful, banig-like wallpaper .

Compared to NAIA in Manila, our Cebu International Airport is waaaaay better .  Proud to be a Cebuana!