July highlights.

It's a hard transition from 22 years of hot, dry summer freedom to still reporting to school every weekday at the end of a sweaty, humid July. Ironically, I've only gotten busier since classes properly ended for the summer back on the 12th. (Yes, it's summer vacation, but that term is extremely loose in Japan. School is still open, required extra summer classes are being held, and 18 five-paragraph essay rough drafts ready to be edited are calling my name.) Since then it's been grading, planning for when the real vacation starts, running errands I couldn't do while school was still in session (like going to the post office), Saturday Open Campus at Luther, and other activities. The Big Thing that's been eating up most of my time is preparation for Luther's annual English Summer Camp, which takes place this week. There will be big, long posts later, but for now I can only touch on a few highlights of the past month.

Highlight 1: July 4! (And Caroline's birthday.)

Thanks, Mrs. Caroline's Mom!

Naturally, the Japanese don't have much reason to celebrate America's Independence Day. It was a normal school day, but I snuck in some American pride. Caroline's mom is awesome and sent the three of us (Caroline, Morgan, and me) matching 2013 Old Navy American flag tank tops. After getting approval from Katie, I threw in in a white camisole and cardigan to make it school-appropriate and wore it throughout the day.

Hilariously, most teachers and students didn't notice my patriotic wardrobe. (And when they did, they thought it quite charming.) America-themed clothing is everywhere here in Japan... I'm talking stars-and-stripes, outlines-of-the-continental-United-States, "I ♥ AMERICA" t-shirts--pretty much just a fashion statement, not an actual declaration of love for or loyalty to the United States. We blended right in that night as we went out for Korean barbeque. (It's the closest thing to a real American barbecue we can get at 8pm on a school night.)

Low shutter speed makes for cool shots...
and blurry Carolines.

Of course, no July 4 is complete without fireworks, and they are gloriously legal here. So after a safety lecture ("It actually says on the bag specifically not to light it the way you're about to light it, guys!"), we went out on Caroline's veranda and rang in the Fourth the way it was meant to be.

Two days later, Caroline celebrated her first quarter-century. We went out with some friends from the weekly Sunday evening English church service and celebrated in the Japanese fashion... with karaoke and photo booth shots. (Japanese photo booths are called purikura--they're crazy high-tech, in every shopping mall and arcade, and usually filled with schoolgirls making kissy faces and peace signs at the camera.)

We turned the "doe eyes" setting all the way up. It had an... interesting effect on the guys.

Highlight 2: Guitar!
Some of you know how disappointed I was to have to leave my accordion back in the States, but recently I inherited another musical instrument. This one's a little more conventional, and a lot more lightweight.
 

A legacy from past J-3s.

I've only been playing for three weeks, so my fingers are still getting calluses and it takes me five to ten seconds to change between the three chords I know, but I'm working on it!

Highlight 3: Kittens!
There's a litter outside our apartment building. They make my returns home a little more adorable.

Mom was giving them baths before I startled them.

In August things should slow down a bit... maybe. There are many more posts I want to write and stories I want to share, but there's an equal amount of stuff I have to grade, chores I have to do, and sleep I desperately need. In the midst of this busyness, it's hard not to stress out. But, as the story of Mary and Martha (this past Sunday's Gospel reading) reminded me, I need to step back, take a breath and remember why I'm here. (Hint: It's not just to teach kids how to write a thesis statement.)

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Luke 1:41-42 (NIV)