Sixthirtyone

Issue date: 1/20/10 Section: Entertainment

I said I'd never be a teacher. I could be a writer, a musician, an actress…but not a teacher. Teaching ran in my family, and I suppose rejecting it as an occupation was my way of rebelling. At TU, I majored in film and didn't take a single education course. Yet it's ironic that the people who influenced my life the most - my teachers - were the people I longed to emulate. When I graduated, I started teaching English as a second language in Tulsa and really loved it. And now, I'm living in Japan doing, guess what? Teaching English. I invite you to take this journey with me through a series of bi-monthly articles and pictures about my adventures in Nabari, Japan.

My "little town" of 90,000 is located on the eastern border of Mie Prefecture, about an hour east of Osaka by train (eight hours southeast of Tokyo by bus). My apartment is just a three minute walk from a train and bus station that can take me anywhere in Japan. So far in the five months I've been here, I've traveled to Nagasaki, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Nara, and Mt. Fuji, just to name a few places in Japan, and even Beijing, China. When I'm not teaching, traveling, or writing, I'm involved in a small church called Nabari Christ Agape. I teach English and Bible on Thursdays, plan weekend events, and participate in Sunday worship. Having a "church family" here in Japan, living on my own away from my biological family for the first time, has made all the difference.

Some of you may remember an article I wrote for Sixthirtyone not too long ago about my mission trip to Malawi, Africa. This trip is what got me interested in International missions. Japan doesn't allow visitors to come on a missionary visa, so I'm combining mission work with my love of teaching! I'm here with the Japanese Exchange Teaching (JET) program. The competition was stiff with applicants from all over the world, and only one out of every five in the Houston area was chosen. But hey, this is TU we're talking about. If you're interested, I highly recommend the program.

I absolutely adore my home in Nabari, situated about ten miles from the shores of Lake Shorenji, known for its hot springs, and Akame Aoyama National Park, famous for its forty-eight waterfalls. I went to the falls two weekends ago, and let me tell you, they were amazing! The weather here is very similar to Oklahoma and they grow many of the same flowers (the city flower is the balloon flower), in addition to delicious grapes and strawberries.

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