The Reverend Randy Bott

Well, Merry Christmas one and all!
It's been over 5 months since my last update back across the sea. I'm back home for Christmas Break. I shall tell you of an adventure I recently partook in. My friend, Cory Newton, his sister, Jackie Newton, and I, Scott Ogden, went on a hike the other day. It was Wednesday. we decided to go hiking up around the Silver Falls loop.

This is what it would look like if it had actually been snowy/cold. I'll admit, it was chilly, but nothing that necessitated (<---totally spelled that right the first try) any ever-loving winter gear. I will describe my outfit, though, because I really didn't want to be frigid.

First, I wore thermal garments. Then, I had my black long johns over those. Then, on the bottom, I had my jeans. On the top, I had a blue/red plaid shirt and my sexy sweater on over that. Then I had glasses and beard for my face. And this was all my sexy hiking outfit. Maybe Cory or Jackie will get around to posting some of the photographs they took on Facebook, so we can all view the style with which I traipsed about the Great Northwest. 

I also love small towns. I really would not mind living my life in one. After my 20 in the Navy, maybe I could just move to one of them and live the life of a police officer or something. Become the Sheriff. Solve one murder in my career, but it's either linked to something supernatural or it's dramatic enough that they make a movie about it. We drove through Mt. Angel and Silverton. Mt. Angel has this big church that, upon recent inspection, I found out is an abbey and has this guy as one of their priests:

Brother Bott?!!?!?!? Silverton looks like this:

And this:

I could live there, I guess.

I suddenly lost the desire to write. It's probably because of those web searches I just did for those pictures. The internet is calling.

Paragon

Dear teh Worlds,

I, Scott Ogden, would like everyone to know that the greatest human act ever was accomplished today at about 7:00 pm Japan Local Standard Time. I was really thirsty because it's been years since I've had anything to drink besides water. But it's Sunday, so I was pretty limited in my choices. Then the single most amazing thought ever to come to anyone anywhere came to me there. I had a terrible habit of letting milk go sour. I haven't really been using milk too much and before I knew it, they'd go bad on me. But somehow, when I looked at my milk today I found that it was still in season. Even though it's been forever since I bought it. I'm pretty sure I also found the longest drinkable milk ever. Karma's a beautiful lady and totally not a female dog, ain't she? The milk was really low fat and thus the cheapest (a couple yen more than the bottle water), but I had a way to fix that! I spooned in a large amount of cocoa straight into the carton. Then I added a little bit of hot water to dissolve it and, BHAM, Scott Ogden is in some real business here. I made a whole carton of chocolate milk! From SCRATCH!!!! It was a triumph for all humanity. I don't have to make each individual cup of chocolate milk, now. I just pour straight from the carton of recently-extremely-lame-tasting-and-tasting-milk! It's a Christmas in July Miracle! Oh my gosh... how have I not been listening to that song for the past 17 days? Well, folks, I gotta go catch up on my Sufjan Christmasses in July. Just rest assured that nothing you ever do will be as good as what I did today. I reached the epitome of human thought, ingenuity, beauty, art, and strength. You can't climb higher than I did today because... there's just nothing there. There is literally nothing better than this chocolate milk incident. So, thank you, and please, my friends, have a very very goodnight.

Scott Ogden

Kwisatz Haderach

Mom wants all of these

So, my mom is all like "Scottie, you need to write down all the cute things that the kids do." And I'm all like, "Fine." But not much happened, just subtle endearment. Then yesterday something legit happened. I had just finished the day of classes at a school and was riding my bike home. I came to a train crossing and stopped because a train was coming. There were two of the school's students on the other side of the tracks waiting to cross to my side. I said hello and watched the oncoming train. I looked back at them a couple seconds before the train came and one of them was whispering something to the other. Not like I could overhear them, with the train fast approaching. I thought to myself about trying to pretend like the train hit me as it passed, to make them laugh when it had gone, but I couldn't quite figure out how to do it by the time the train had come and gone. As the train passed by us and I could see the two boys again, I found them lying on the ground, heads lolling and limbs twitching as if they'd just been run over. I burst out laughing. They stood up and laughed, giving each other high fives. I laughed myself to sleep last night.

Compartmente 2

Remember when I said I was doing a two parter and then only did one. Psyche! Well, here I am again, finishing what I started. Today I was at that school where I only have two 45-min periods out of 7.5 hours of being at the school. This is how it went.

The school is on top of a hill, so I had to build up speed on my bike to make it to the top. Then it was hard to get to the top because I just have a one-speed, so it's not like I can shift down if it gets hard to push the pedals. So, as you can imagine, I was the big bad wolf by the time I got to the top. Luckily the school was made by the third little piggy. I got into the teacher's room and said my normal Good Mornings to the gang. I didn't have a class first period, so I sat at my desk and tried to figure out what to do for class. The teacher in charge of English at the school had made some cards with different sea creatures on them and we were going to play a game where the kids would get into their lunch groups, then put the cards in the middle of the desks and their hands on their heads. When I called out the name of the creature, the first one to grab the correct card got to keep it. Whoever had the most cards at the end won. But I doubted that would take all the 45 minutes I was supposed to use. So, I devised a cunning plan. I would play a game like Jeopardy. They'd pick different spaces on a grid of varying difficulty and they'd have to give the English name for whatever creature I showed them. If they got the shark, though, it'd eat ALL THEIR POINTS!!!!! I called the game SHARK. We only got two questions in before the bell rang, though. Then I had an hour to prepare for my 4th period 3rd grade 2nd class of the day. I had not made a note of what we were supposed to be going over from the e-mail they sent me, so I did what I thought it had said: Days of the week. After introducing them, we played tic-tac-toe and the shark game. That took the rest of the class period and the team with the most points got sharked. They were so ticked and the rest of class cheered. The teacher had a talk with them after class about how that made the team feel bad. I was okay with it.

In my down time before lunch I did a couple things: prepare for class, read the newspaper, and read the book for my Japanese 443 class. I already told you about class, the newspaper was all about the PM backing down on some budget and how Japan should advocate for a world without Nukes (I whole heartedly agree), and the book is about ignorance and not letting ourselves fall into logical fallacies apparent in the world around us (I think). Then we had lunch. I thought I was going to be eating with the 4th graders, but the VP threw me for a loop and sent me to the 5th graders. Now I spend most of my time with the 3rd and 4th graders, so when I go to the older kids, they're real scary. It's like I'm back in elementary school myself and the 5th and 6th graders are the big kids. I went in spite of my fears and the first half of lunch we just sat there and ate in silence. The kids were talking amongst themselves, but no one asked me anything, so I just sat and ate my food. Then a kid at the table group I was at got a second piece of corn and all hell broke loose. We started talking about corn. Then I named him Corn-kun. Then everyone else wanted a name. I'm not much of a namer and I mostly kept to the food we had for lunch, but my favorite was Mayu-chan (he had put up two pieces of corn to his eyes, but when he took them off, some of the corn was stuck to his eyelid [mayu in japanese]. Also mayu is the name of my last companion's sister). But we were all laughing when we said Gochisosama, so I guess it turned out alright. Also, one of the kids said to me "You really like laughing, don't you?" I realized it was true. I laugh a lot. That's probably my natural reaction to everything.

Then after lunch I had three hours to waste away. I puttered around the teacher's office. The principal came in and said "What's that smell" then I realized it was probably my handkerchief into which I had excreted gallons of sweat after the climb up the hill. I hid it after that. The secretary came over and asked for my lunch money. I didn't give it to her because I forgot to go to the bank yesterday, but promised I'd bring it next week, Dirk. The English, in charge of, teacher talked to me about next week's lesson (Aka, she's a babe and wants me hard). I wrote a page or so of my young adult science fiction novel The Last Adam (it's a way intense part and I've never written a battle scene before so it took a while, okay!). I read some piece of paper about how to teach Japanese in elementary school. I finally got my 800th word for my A in Japanese 411. And a bunch of other things, I'm sure. But eventually it turned 3:30 and I left, hopping on my bike and popping in my earbuds, I listened to the Killers on the way home. Yessir, yessir, that was my Day & Age.

In Osaka I saw you last.

I first want to discuss a couple secrets of my life, as secrets are probably more interesting than any amount of travel journal entries I may be able to come up with. First secret: I am a man of many keys. Except I lost a key once. I lost my key to my apartment while out and about one night and had to get it replaced. I sat outside my apartment and waited for a man to come and change the lock. It was 11 pm. I played Bejeweled. In any event. I was given two keys when I moved in. I lost one of them, then the man gave me two more keys when he changed the lock, but he didn't take the other key from the first time. So, I should have three keys, right? Wrawng! I only have the two that the man gave me. I can't find the original. It's like there are only two keys allowed in my apartment at the same time and when more than two are brought it, any extra keys disappear. I've even CLEANed my apartment since then. Nothing. Just the two the man gave me late at night. So, that's secret number one. Secret Two: I am a man of many keys. Except I lost my bike key once. Luckily, keys come in pairs, so I had another one to use. I biked to work and put the spare key in my pocket. When I went home that day, I found the main key, not the spare in my pocket. Now I can't find the spare. I have no idea how those two changed in my pocket, but somehow they did. It's like I'm a magician, unbeknownst to me. The Unbeknownst Magician. Life is so full of secrets. And keys. Don't believe me? Through the Trapdoor.

A day in Le Vida: comparte 1

Alright, so I figured I should write about teaching. You know, the reason I'm here right now. And the thing I do the most and consistently everyday. So, today I'll write about what I did today and tomorrow I'll do the same. Today I went to the school I have the most classes at (5) tomorrow I have only two classes, but am at school the whole day, still, so I'll give you a peek into the exciting life I'm leading. Okay, so, today:

I got up at 6:30 am, but arrived a little later than normal to school today because I was watching all the new E3 videos for Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim. But I still got to school just a couple minutes past 8. I got on my bike and rode it through the little bit of houses and recently harvested fields that separate the the school and I. I'm legally obligated to refrain from using the names of the schools I go to on any social media... I think this counts. Also, I can't take any pictures of the kids, so don't expect that to happen. Sorry, these will be just words. On the way to the school, a felt a drop or two of water and hurried so as not be caught in the sudden squall I was sure was about to be unleashed upon me. But, it just slowly stopped sprinkling and I arrived without serious harm or accident to *********** Elementary school a couple minutes after 8 am on June the Se7enth.

I normally would get there a couple minutes earlier, but there were some important things I needed to take care of, okay?! Also, I had to take the garbage out, so that took forever (a minute?). I parked my bike underneath one of the staircases and walked into the entryway between the two wings of the school. The school is shaped like an 'H' with two crossbars, and in one of them there are a large amount of cubbies filled with shoes. I pulled out my white vans from my backpack and changed into them while humming Mister Rogers. I found the cubby labeled 'スコット先生'(Scott Sensei) and stuffed my shoes inside. I don't know why I wear dress shoes if I'm just going to take them off and store them as soon as I get to work. I just don't feel like doing anything different.

Entering the teacher's room, I bow and say 'ohayogozaimasu!' ('Good Morning!') and take my seat at a desk they've cleared for me as everyone replies in kind. The other English teacher, Tony, has already arrived and that's how I know I got there later than usual. I normally get to school right before Tony, but he beat me today. As I move into the room and sit down, unsatisfied with my general 'Good Morning', everyone once again says and draws from me a personal greeting. I unpack my bag: a folder with the materials for the BYU classes I'm taking, a clear plastic bag with all the flashcards I own, and a Ho-oh peachy I use to carry class materials in. I sit there and try and come up with ideas of what to do for my five classes that day. As usual, this school had not given me anything to teach and has left me to my own futile devices. So, I decide that I'm bored with teaching numbers and the kids are probably bored with learning about them. I decide, instead, to teach what Thursday's school wants me to teach: greetings. I take out the notebook I use to write lesson plans in and begin to brainstorm. No lightening, just overcast. For an hour. I look outside to the dirt field where the kids are all grouped by class and jumping rope? I hear someone on a loudspeaker telling them to do better and practice for the visitors they're having on Friday? I have no idea why. Maybe the State Jump Rope Board is sending an inspector or something. I really haven't the slightest. The secretary brings me an orange juice juice box. They used to try and bring me coffee, but decided on a juice box after telling them two or three times that I actually don't drink coffee or green tea. I felt somewhat juvenile every time I'd let go of the pressure in the straw and that trademark juice box noise would sound throughout the office, but it tasted really good and I was sad when it was gone.

Finally, with fifteen minutes before class started and a half page of 'Good Morning' 'Good Afternoon' 'Good Evening's that I'd gone over with my pen hundreds of times, I turned to Tony and said, "Tony, I was wondering if I could delve somewhat into your bottomless pit [his eyes narrowed] of wisdom. [back to normal] What kinds of activities have you done when teaching greetings?" He gave me a couple of ideas that I'd kinda already thought of. I was just unsure of letting the kids try and do conversations with each other; last time I tried it didn't work out, but his activities were kid-on-kid intensive. I decided to try it anyway. First, a game that Tony told me about called Keyword, where the kids repeat everything you say until you say the keyword, then in pairs they try and be the first one to grab the eraser sitting in between them. Then we would play musical chairs, but instead of music, they'd get to sit after doing the conversation with two people. So, with a ridiculously loose idea of what I was going to do, I set off for my first class: 4 East.

Forty-Five minutes later I returned to the teacher's room as unsatisfied as a die-hard Star Wars fan after a viewing of the prequel trilogy. The keyword game worked great, but the way I was drilling the conversation wasn't. The kids just weren't getting it and so I just scrapped it and moved on to the musical chairs game. But the kids that got out were bored and talking and fighting over who sat down first and who lost. It just didn't feel good. It was bad and the kids couldn't say the conversation at the end. Luckily, there was a short recess before the third hour of classes, so I tried to think on how to switch it up for the next four classes. Again, taking an idea from Tony, I decided on a name swap game, where you write your name on a piece of paper and introduce yourself to someone else, swapping cards, like at a business meeting. Then you introduce yourself as that person to the next person you meet and so on. I wanted to do something more with it, but the only thing I could figure out to do to end it with was me doing the conversation with every kid and following the trail until everyone got their card back. This actually worked out well with the kids. Sure, they got a little antsy during the last part when they were just sitting and watching, but they liked the name swapping and really wanted to get my card. Cute kids.

After 4th hour was lunch. I returned to the teacher's room and the vice-principal and the secretary were serving up lunch for the teachers who would be eating there. I would be eating with students, but they serve me up food at the teacher's office, anyways. I sat there with my tray of bread, Japanese spaghetti, cocoa powder covered beans, fruit cocktail, and milk waiting for the kids from 1 West to come pick me up. Finally they came in their little white aprons and we went to their classroom. I sat at a tiny desk and the teacher topped off my spaghetti and fruit cocktail. Then we ate and the kids asked me questions about myself: 'What's your favorite shell?' 'uh... Yellow?' 'What do you like?' '...?' It was real fun. Then I went back to the teacher's room and sat out recess. I was tired, but still had two more classes to teach. I'd resigned myself to the okay lesson that I was teaching and just waited for the next classes to come. Kids take a lot of energy out of you. Little rascals.

The kids had just gone swimming in the pool, so I arrived at my 5th hour class a few minutes early and found everyone changing out of their swimsuits. They had these towels that cinched up at the neck and hung low to the feet, leaving both hands free to change with. It was still a little sketchy and I opted to find a tree really interesting for a couple minutes. But that's not to say that I didn't see the straggling boys standing by their desk in just their tighty-whiteys. So weird. In any event, the last two classes went well and the kids were actually able to say the conversation by the end of the period (I have a sneaky suspicion they already knew how to ask someone's name, though). In any event, I felt the last four classes were a subdued success and feel nothing but regret for the first class. I'm pretty sure they hate me because I always try out my new lessons on them. Oh well, they'll forgive me in the years to come.

Then, with my classes done, I got my paper signed off saying I was there and worked what scheduled me to and hopped on my bike and went home. The end.

Oh Ye Unbelievers

Just a short update to let everyone know that I have friends now. Three to be exact. Their names are Kristen, Adam, and Heather. Kristen and Heather are in the branch, but Adam isn't a member (OOOOooooo!). Kristen called me today and said "Hey, we're watchin a movie, come on over," and I was all like "Kk, be there soon." Also, this is perfect because I'm working on my debut young adult science fiction trilogy "The Last Adam" and I've been dying to do some first-hand research on a guy whose actual name is Adam. It'll really help my character development. I'm sure. But, yeah, no big deal, I'm popular now.

Also, I lost my key somewhere. I think they cost, like, $50 to replace. Oops. I just played Bejeweled on my iPod til the guy showed up to change the lock. I actually think it was my iPod that made me lose my key, though, actually. Cause they were in the same pocket, I think. So, mid-bike ride I pull out my iPod to change the song and, bam, key falls out. Except it's a key card, so I kinda blame the apartment company. I mean, who's ever heard of a key-card chain? Really hard to carry around with you. Too big for the wallet. If they were wallet-sized, then... No, the real blame should be lain upon the heads of Kristen. If she hadn't invited me out to do something, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to lose my key(card). Hmmm, new friends... a curse in disguise. Well, sorry, Brad Pitt, but fool me once, Shame on you, fool me twice, shame on Troy.

Teh [secret] Babies

Alright, first off, Katy Perry's craze. Can we all just agree about that? Thank you. I was on Grooveshark trying to get a playlist for this blog writing sesh that I've set myself to when I decided that I've been listening far too much to the same six Good Old War songs and I was starting to make my mother worried. So, I said, "Hey, I'm hip! I'll just listen to whatever is on the popular tab on the left and keep up on my American culture!" The first song was some really boring song by Mr. Mars that hit too close to home today, so I skipped to the second one, E.T. by Katy Perry. I got really bored with it quick. So, I scrolled down to see if there were any songs I liked and decided to listen to Owl City. And Lo, and Behold, I'm feeling somewhat more in the mood to write. Dear Muse, now I know what Stephanie Meyers meant when she said what she said.

Okay, so, I believe there is some disconnect between the first post and the video I posted and I would like to harmonize these discordant pictures of my Japanese experience. After which, I will add another line of music that will be the predominant melody of today's choral arrangement.

When we last left our hero (anti- or otherwise), he was acclimating to his three day stay in Tokyo. Well, that Saturday, I built myself a plan. Or rather, I composed a framework for the day's adventure. I decided upon a $15 train ticket that would let me go anywhere in Tokyo for the day. The possibilities were endless. I could give you a blow by blow of what I did and how I got lost looking for the Tokyo Temple or my fumbling scholarship at the Tokyo Central Library, but instead, I will let a montage of photos quell your insatiable desire for details. Remember: These each are worth 1000 words, Ms. Lowry.

Here we see a beautiful HUGE temple right at the base of the Tokyo Tower. I thought it classic.
You know I wasted no time finding the Tokyo PokeCenter!

Tokyo Tower view of the ground. I felt so vulnerable.
The Tokyo Temple. The second time I tried this looked even worse. I just couldn't get the face right. (I wonder how many times God says that?)
Dwight, the other intern, wanted to go here. We spent a while waiting for a call girl to... call to him. We didn't get anything. Just 6 large black men that, quite literally, almost pulled us in to the strip clubs they worked for.

Then, Sunday morning we left Tokyo on the Shinkansen and bulleted across the country at speeds that would make even Neo blush. But, I don't think I'll mention it. Keanu has enough to be embarrassed about already. It took us four hours to get from Tokyo to Hiroshima. At which point, we were set loose to find our hotel all alone. Someone had met us at the Tokyo airport and taken us to the hotel, but out in H-town (to use the local parlance) we were left to our own futile devices. So, in the falling vanilla twilight, we used street cars, feet, and a good old pair of pealed eyes to find our hotel. This one was a bit more accommodating than it's Tokyo rival. The beds were approaching Queen size in all but length and the doors were locked with cards, not keys, so it was obviously more secure. Plus, there was a convenience store right next to the entrance. (Convenience stores = layman's cafeteria). Our first night in Hiroshima was spent sleeping. I had slept a good 4 hours the night before and was slowly coming down with the scratchy-throated beginnings of a cold, so I was in dire need of some rest and respite.

Monday, I awoke early (4 am is early, right? Jet Lag clouds everything), and after some furrowing around on the internet got some pastry from the Lawson's convenience store as I went in search of the office we were supposed to make an appearance at at about 9am. After an hour of searching all the buildings within a four block radius, I surmised that the name of the company was written in English and that I had passed by the building it was in four times during my search for the Japanese spelling. I arrived back at the hotel in time to find Dwight standing awkwardly outside my door, mid-knock. I told him I found the office and we walked the 1 minute to the building and pushed the 'up' button on the elevator.

Thus we began our training at the Hiroshima branch of Interac Inc. Our trainer was the perfect offspring of Kramer and Bill Murray. This kept me a little on edge for the four days we spent cooped up in that tiny room. Just the three of us. Me, the somewhat pockmarked and cynically subdued Kramer, Gary, and a chubbier and clumsier ironically-named incarnation of Napoleon Dynamite, Dwight. I felt a little lost in translation, to say the least. I often excused myself to the restroom to check the mirror and make sure I was still myself. These are the days you'll turn into who you'll be the rest of your life, just be sure who you turn into. Well, Ben Parker, I've been trying to do just that.

Each night we tried to find something tasty to eat in the covered shopping district close to our hotel. Dwight was also in search of another, larger suitcase, so we spent some time on that. I was dog tired, but I had to go and be the guide otherwise he would've gotten terribly lost. So, with the dog days being over, I tried to stay awake as long as I could and go out on the town with Dwight ever night, but, much to his chagrin, ten o'clock always found me sound asleep on my almost queen sized bed. We did make it out to the A-bomb dome, though, one evening.

It was raining fairly hard all week and the walk to and from the dome was not the most comfortable in my Toms, but I made it there and back again, so, not too much to complain about. The hollow dome, along with the numerous people who passed by it not even giving it so much as a glance, was a sobering sight. But those thought are for another more expressive medium. verbal conversation, maybe? A haunting piano melody? I'll leave that to the orators and musicians and my future self who has become both of these.

Then on Friday morning, we left our hotel and said our goodbyes. I bid my farewell to Napoleon and boarded a bus to my own island exile. I was tired, but not too tired for a listen through of Seven Swans (My favourite album at the moment, it seems). I tried to read a little, but my eyelids were in no mood to stand at attention for any amount of time, so, at ease, I quitely drifted between sweet sweet sleep and the forested hills outside. My dreams were a combination of a poignant and melancholic longing for love and the ancient groves that swiftly sped past on the opposite side of the glass I leaned my head against. Finally, subconsciously sensing a change in the road beneath, I was roused from my reverie and greeted with the magnificent views of the Seto Inland Sea. The calm water lay as a great plane between the majestic and sudden mountains that formed the many islands of the 瀬戸内海. Soon, Asia's longest bridge behind me, I stepped out of the bus onto the smallest of Japan's four main islands, Shikoku, and into Japan's smallest prefecture, Kagawa. I was met at the bus station by an individual contracted by Interac to help me get settled in. Her name was Mrs. Yano and had spent time as a student at Ricks college and BYU Provo, though she wasn't a member. Though that was twenty years ago, she still thinks fondly upon her time in the States and has kept up her English, though most of our conversations were in Japanese. Much unloading and shopping occurred that were, to be kind, boring as krade.

Eventually, it became Saturday and I was left with a day to myself without a bike. I decided to head out and take in my surroundings. I strapped a backpack on, because I felt lonely without one, and pointed myself toward a hill not far from my apartment. I was going to climb it no matter what, but I was relieved to find that the hill was meant to be climbed and trails were prepared for that very purpose. I took a fun little hike up and around the hill. Here are some pictures I found there.

Monkeys. They seemed really bored. So was I.

Here there laye Turtles. Beware.

Sunday. Haha, so, I walked to the train station and took the train two stops over. Then I walked across the city to the general area of the church (or so I had hoped). I had spied the church on the drive in. Thankfully it was on a big road. I had this long walk up to the door and I was extremely visible to the two Elders standing guard greeting all those who entered. I was a bit embarrassed, but kept a straight-face all the same. Let them stare. I introduced myself to a couple of people, mostly just those who inquired, and sat down in the chapel and waited for the meeting to begin. There were a LOT of white people. I came to learn that the reason 20 of the 50 people in the branch were American was because there is an English school in the area that hires almost exclusively LDS. And that none of these had extremely good, if any, Japanese ability. One of the talks was given in English with the Branch interpreter giving it in Japanese every paragraph or so. It felt more like Tokyo than a small branch in the smallest prefecture in Japan. I scanned the room for any young adults, but the closest I found was a chorister. A young woman probably in her mid-twenties. I decided I might as well have a crush on her, though I was unsure if I could actually have feelings for her. But, I mean, what the heck, right? I didn't spend too much time on it, though. The little girl next to me really wanted to play and talk about who in the branch I knew (no one). It was a short conversation that lasted almost the whole hour. I looked up once during the closing hymn and thought I caught the chorister's eyes glance my direction. I looked at the program and found out her name was Ogita H. Somewhat helpful. I was looking forward to Sunday School to see if this hastily-made decision of crushing was premature or premonition.

Unfortunately, I was Matt Accosted by the white people and forced into their English Sunday School and Priesthood meeting. They seem nice enough, but I was really looking forward to spending my internship in Japan with the Japanese... maybe? And/or this Ogita H. lady. So, I'm stuck between snubbing the expat social club and missing my opportunity to be with the Japanese members. And/or this Ogita H. lady. Who I finally met after church in the hallway. I was to receive a ride home from the second councilor and his wife and two kids, but the District President had shut him and himself in a room to discuss the branch, so I was left to my own futile devices in the hallway. This Ogita H. lady went up to the missionaries and talked to them. I felt a little jealous. What YSA would rather talk to Elders than another YSA? Elders are off-limits, I'm really not. Then the Elders left. I was relieved. Then Ogita H. and I put on a fun little play. I was standing in the hall as awkwardly as I could. She was doing the same on a corner a couple feet away. We both sat there waiting. I looked down, hands clasped behind my back, scratching at the floor with my shoes as if to free some dirt entwined within the carpet. And she said her first line: "Those are some pretty nice glasses." The rest is, as they say, history. In short, yes, Sandra Bullock, it was premonition.

Then I got home and did nothing for the rest of the day. Then we had a training on Monday. And I taught Tuesday and Wednesday. Today is Thursday and I've spent it inside sleeping or writing this. Literally took me three hours. The kids are great. Next time I'll prolly write about Japanese Elementary schools. I teach 3rd and 4th graders. Soo fun! If you read all of this, you must have the patience of Gob.

I made a video about my apartment! I'm in Tadotsu on Shikoku, one of the smaller of the four main island. I'll update the world about that soon. Kbye!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qks_D9bJDOs

The person who gave me this guitar/said Tokyo's scary.

Well, everyone, I made it to Tokyo safely. And, oh boy, what a trip! I woke up at 4:15 am Wednesday Portland time and have not yet gone to sleep at 8:15 pm Thursday night Tokyo time. No matter how you count it, I've been up for twenty-4 hours. Such a terrible caricature of adventure. But, I got through the flight from Portland to LAX without much trouble. The people next to me were content with talking to themselves, but not with me reading her journal over her shoulder. I was really interested in her sister-in-law's drinking problem, but I never figured out whether it turned out a happy story or a sad one. Thanks a lot, lady, for making me sad and worried.

Then I waited in LAX for the flight to leave. Talked to some people on the phone (you know who you are) and kept looking over my shoulder for the other intern, the one from the U of U. They paged him twice. He didn't show. I was concerned. Would I have to arrive in Tokyo and tell Ryan, the internship coordinator, that I'd come without the other guy? That I'd just left him crying in LA? I really didn't want to, but then they started boarding and I forgot all about it cause I got an aisle seat. Perfect for le toilette trips. And luckily the guy next to me didn't even get up once to go to the bathroom. Also, the other intern finally showed up mumbling something about a delayed flight and taking his seat next to me. He slept like a child. I couldn't. I never seem to be able to sleep well in Airplanes. That's okay, though. I've just been really tired ever since. On the plane I watched The Green Hornet, Apollo 13, and I Am Number Four. And I listened to Seven Swans over and over again. I was really tired, but the closest I got to sleep was a light doze for ten minutes two hours before we landed. Finally, though, we did land.

Turns out Dwight's (the other intern) bags were torn apart. One from another, not one from itself. One made it on the flight, the other didn't. I guess he wasn't lying about the flight being delayed. So, he's having the other bag delivered to the hotel, so it should come anytime in the next 3 and heff hours. As I was getting in line to go through customs, someone said something to me behind me. I was about to get real mad. I mean, I had been soooo good not getting talked to and plagued with idle chit-chat during this transportation-a-thon and now I was soooo close to my goal and it was being ripped callously from my trembling* hands. When I turned it looked just like any other asian person on the flight. But then she said something, like, "Hey, Scott, fancy meeting you here." I, on the other hand, could not say the same; she was asian and it was Japan. I mean, she was cute, but not enough to be independently fancy. Then I looked at her eyes and I remembered where I'd met her before. She was in my internship class this last semester. And here we were: at the beginnings of our internships. It felt like a class reunion. So, I said hey. Then continued through customs.

When I got out, I looked around for Ryan, he was supposed to be standing just outside customs. He wasn't. So, I went crazy and exchanged my money. Then, he showed up while I was getting the cash. He asked about Dwight. I said Dwight was getting his luggage worked out. Then we sat around and waited for Dwight. Then Emi (the girl from my class) came out and we talked. Then she left. Then she came back again and we talked some more. I was glad for the attention from an attractive asian girl. It will give the rest an example of how to act around me. Interested.

Then Dwight finally came out, but Ryan had gone on a smoke-break and we couldn't find him. Then we found him. Then we left and boarded a train. Ahhhhh. I am do love trains sooo much. Japan is such a nice place. We were on the train for about an hour and then we got to our station and got off and Ryan walked us to our hotel. We said goodbye to him and he said, see you tomorrow at eleven. And we were happy because eleven is later than 9. Sleep in time to the max. Then we went upstairs to view our rooms and put our stuff away. This is what it looks like:

Then I got on the internet and checked my fbook and gmail. I was so enthralled by these things that when Dwight and I went out on the town, I was utterly surprised and dumbfounded to find two Japanese business men in the elevator when it opened. I froze up. I didn't know what to say. All I had to say was "Going down?" but that seemed like too much for me. It took me the whole elevator ride to remember the word for "down."

But, so then we went out on the town. Walked up to Akihabara to the HUGE electronics store there. I got a memory card because I forgot to bring one with me and I want to take pictures. And put them up on here. Hopefully they work. Then we came home after eating at Yoshinoya (Gyudon sooo good). Now I lounge here in my complimentary yukata, writing this post. I'm really tired. I'll prolly sleep past our 11 o'clock meeting time. He said the Irish girls will be in tomorrow. that'll be fun. Ireland and all. Well, I'ma sleep and write more later.

*(With Disbelief)

There are three things all wise men fear:

the sea in storm, a night with no moon,

and the anger of a gentle man.

I, though, am no wise man and the list of my fears might be a mite longer. I am somewhat afraid of my impending re-introduction to Japanese culture and language. Tomorrow morning I shall enter an aeroplane and they will fling me over the sea. I will journey from Wednesday at noon to Thursday evening in the course of 11 hours. The sun will never cease to hang above me as I pass this day and a half. A day, a night, and a day. As if it were one day. A terrible burning re-birth will be my journey to Japan. I'll be lucky to make it out alive, much less in complete control and with the full capability of my Japanese knowledge.

Hannah Brambough told me to pack light. I intend to do just that. Well, I intended to and have done just that. I would have normally just put as many of my accumulated objects as I could fit into two bags, a carry-on, and a personal item, but she told me that when she went to China for two months, she only took one bag. I'm suspecting that's in addition to her personal item. I decided to challenge myself, then, with three bags. Can I survive with just one large bag, a small suitcase, and my Dakine ISP backpack? That's Hannah Brambough's Three Bag Challenge (HBTBC). I've decided that Hannah should marry someone with the last name of Prince, or something else that starts with a P. Prince is preferable, of course, but any p will do. Hannah, I will expect nothing less. Also, keep your maiden name as your middle. It's classy.

So, I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow morning to teach English for three months in Hiroshima. I will return on July 31st. That's a Sunday. But, that's far far in the future and I have greater desires than those tonight. I shall not focus on my return, but the looming departure, instead, and the immediate effects thereafter. I will arrive in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon/evening. My flight is to get in at 3:30 pm, which will be midnight-ish for the West Coast. Then I leave for Hiroshima Sunday morning. I have a training from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Friday and, as far as I know, the rest of the weekend is free. So, I find myself faced with a day and a half of nothing but pure Tokyo Madness. I wonder what I will fill this time, with. Obviously, I'll ask the hotel people what fun things there are close and I am toying with the idea of going up to Nikko and pay respects to Mr. Tokugawa himself, but I have no set plan. I feel like Tokyo is a really modern city, so my desires for ancient history are hardly satiated through those attractions, but if this is the only time I'm in Tokyo for the next couple years I should take advantage of it. This will be my first time in Tokyo, after all. I need to do all the fun Tokyo things. Like... drifting? That's really all I can think of right now.

My New Twin-Sized Bed

I almost feel bad for what I'm about to do. I've been recently looking for a journal to keep all my thoughts in so that my posterity may learn something about who I was and what I felt during this time in my life and in history. I went to the BYU Bookstore and looked for a journal once. I found them and picked one or two that I liked, but had no money, so I said "I'll wait til the next payday." Sorry, kids, you won't get any of my memories until the heat comes through. Then, when I went back after I got paid, they had moved everything around and the section in the Bookstore labeled "Journals" had turned into the "Gerald Lund" section. I thought of buying one of the Work and the Glory books and just writing "Journal" on it and calling it good, but decided to come back another time. I've been back a few times. Still just works and glories. So, I will have to get some of my emotions out into an electronic text box. It feels dirty, somehow, though.

I just wrote a really long detailed entry, but I suppose the main point I was getting at would be better represented in a line from my good friend Ben Gibbard:

I fall in love everyday

And I feel like a fool

That's the gist of this post. I'll save you all from experiencing the icky vicky details I had expounded upon in the words I erased. And I am far too embarrassed to say anything more.

Wouldn't Mama be Proud.

Megan,

So, the MTC tonight. Have you ever had anything go as like you daydreamed in your head? I have. Tonight. Ha! Let me even tell you.

So, I knew that there was going to be another volunteer tonight, so I figured it wouldn't be like last night where we had an hour and a half to talk just about Japanese. Right before I left and all the way until I got to the room that we were meeting in, I was really worried that I wasn't supposed to go tonight. Like I was concerned I was being pretentious, I mean, there was already someone coming tonight, why did I need to come? Was it for the couples or for myself? To get some sort of satisfaction out of teaching, some validation at something I felt went well the night before. So, I was nervous going in because I didn't want the couples and the cute tutor to think that I was there just to get my power trip fix. But, I went all the same. I dressed in church clothes because they'd invited me to the senior testimony meeting after the lesson. That was another point of concern. I didn't want them to think I was being pretentious in that I thought myself a teacher because yesterday went well.

So, I had all those thoughts going through my head as I arrived at the MTC. When I got to the TRC office/room and the person there told me what we were doing he said that I would be working with one of the Elders on his testimony and he gave me a sheet of vocab that we could go over. I was sad because I would only get to talk to one of them. Elder Rogers IS great, but I wanted to see them all! But when I got to the room they asked me to go to, I saw that everyone was there! I was real happy. And as I walked in Sister Rogers said "Well, now you're dressed like a man." So, my concerns about my clothes and the message they send were gone. We sang "I am a Child of God" in Japanese and I didn't have anything to look at, so I sang from memory, but I forgot some words. The first part of the night we just talked about in-field language learning plans. I still had some of those weird feelings inside running around, so I was pretty quiet. Then the second volunteer came about fifteen minutes after I got there. We finished the discussion and then started working on the testimonies. I was with the Rogers' and we went over a simple testimony. They did great seeing as how they just got to the MTC on Wednesday and had only had two days of Japanese. Sister Rogers was really working on her pronunciation and she did great. We took a little longer on that than we should have and ended a couple minutes late, around 7:05. The testimony meeting started at 7. The other volunteer left and said "Thanks" and I was saying goodbye to the Christenson's when I remembered that I had left the sheet of paper with the vocab to practice in the room. The man told me to give it back when I was done, so I went back into the room, but I couldn't find it. No one was specifically inviting me to the testimony meeting, so I was real close to just slipping away. I crossed the hall to go to the office and Sister Eckstrom, the tutor, saw me and asked "Scott, are you coming to the Testimony meeting?" "Can I?" I asked. "If you'd like to." She said. "It's easier to ask permission later!" So, completely forgetting about the vocab sheet, I followed them to the main building for the testimony meeting.

I felt really weird at the testimony meeting because I was the only one that wasn't a missionary or a MTC teacher. I was an anomaly. I again had those feelings of nervousness. A lot of missionaries got up and bore testimony in a lot of European languages. There was another Japanese missionary couple. They had an actual Japanese person as their tutor, unlike the Rogers' and Christenson's who had Sister Eckstrom, a Dutch speaker. I guessed it was the Norie they had talked about yesterday. Both of the Christenson's got up and bore their testimonies. They probably made a goal to do so because they're leaving Monday morning. Sister Rogers also bore her testimony. She did great. I was real proud of her. Then there was time and no one was getting up, so the guy asked for the tutors to get up. Most did. I wasn't a tutor, so I didn't. Then we had a closing prayer.

I said goodbye to the Christenson's and talked a little about Japan with them. I was stalling so that I could talk to Sister Eckstrom. I wanted to ask her how to become a Tutor. But, again the nervousness. I hoped that someone else would bring it up. Sister Rogers did just that. "Scott," she said, "I guess you won't be with us anymore. Thanks for all your help. You're a wonderful teacher. Why don't you become a teacher? You should work here!" and I was all like "nah, I'm not that good. Thanks. No, really. Oh you're too kind." but Sister Eckstrom was all like "Scott, would you like to work here?" but just then Sister Christenson tapped me on the shoulder to say goodbye one more time. After that, everyone left, but I caught Sister Eckstrom as she was picking up her bag to leave. "So, Sister Eckstrom," I said, "I have a question. How..." I started and she said "Do you become a tutor?" finishing my sentence. "Yeah," I smiled, "I have had the most amazing time here these last two nights and I'd like to do this if I could." "Yeah, well, I think you'd be great. I was going to tell my supervisor about you. You've been great. Let's talk to this one guy." So we talked to this one guy and he said I just needed to fill out the app online and then go in for the demo lesson and they'd call for a language proficiency check and then an interview. But I was concerned because I'll probably be in Japan in the summer, so should I apply now or wait until I get back from Japan? And he said that they could use me these next two months before school gets out. So I said I'd go home and fill out the app. Then Sister Eckstrom and the guy said great, we'll tell our boss about you, the Training Supervisor. I guess she's in charge of hiring.

So, I went home and told David all of this and he said, "Are you serious?!" because we had basically fantasized about this situation last night when I got home. "Dude, that's how you get hired at the MTC." He also said. He said he'd help me prepare my demo lesson. I think I'll go in on Tuesday and do it because I have class and then I'm doing my taxes at the Tanner on Monday, but Tuesday I have free. I'm really excited. If I really prepare and work hard to make it a good lesson, I think I have a shot at working at the MTC! Momma will be so proud.

And that's my story about how my daydreams became a reality tonight. Then I came home and watched Seven Years in Tibet with David, Jordan, and David's China girl. That wasn't really part of the fantasizing, but it's acceptable. Hope you slept well, it's 3:32 am, so I'm going to sleep now. Bye!

Scott