A Jolly Holiday

Despite our heroine's many protestations concerning her ability (*cough* or lack there of *cough*) to speak Japanese, she was most graciously asked to put her talents to use in helping out a friend. His family was hosting a gentleman from Japan for a week as a sort of Michigan and Japan annual exchange program. Yoshizo-san said he had very little grasp of English, and even though her friend and his sister had taken classes on Japanese, they were several years out of practice and could only carry on with the basics. And so she was invited to dinner and then on an excursion the next day to see the lakeside dunes to the west.

She was excited to reunite with her friend and his welcoming family for the first time since the spring, but the day approached with fearful anxiety as well. "What am I to do? I haven't spoken all summer, and the poor fellow is sure to expect a soon-to-be fourth year student to have a level of proficiency twice as great as my own..." Her thoughts and imagination made the guilt and gnawing anxiety nearly too much to bear.

And yet once the night came, and she was reunited amongst friends (who were far too grateful for her "helping"), and Yoshizo-san had both a workable grasp of English and a kind, patient personality, she could finally feel like things would turn out alright. He was from the same prefecture she had stayed in when she had studied in Japan, and knew many of the same places. The evening's conversation was easy and enjoyable, in ways it had never been for her in Japan.

The following day, she was picked up and brought back to their house for pancakes to get ready for their Sand Dune Exploration Excursion Extraordinaire! Momma G, Poppa G, their Japanese guest, and the translator got in the subaru and headed into the west (with out the sad music) (and with a couple with 4 year old and 10 month old boys named Alex and Sam with their own, very quiet Japanese guest).

Sand dunes have always created in her a longing sense of nostalgia for her carefree childhood in Ludington. The memories of skating up the sun-burned sand, and trying to roll back down to the the base the fastest, and racing into the waves of Lake Michigan, trying to go deeper and still jump over the crests that continuously swept towards the shore...She was very much looking forward to this trip.

They stopped and had a quick bite to eat, with our translator giving Yoshizo-san a brief explanation of the items on the menu, and then swapping him what she had gotten when he decided it looked better ^^;; They carried on to the state park and hiked through the wooded trails to the shore:

(Momma G, Yoshizo-san, Sam and Alex and their dad, Niko-san,  the kids' mom, and Poppa G)

They were all delighted to feel the lake breeze and (literally) get their feet wet. Little Alex especially appreciated our heroine's willingness to wade the waves and lift him repeatedly whenever they "jumped" a wave ;3

Eventually, it was time to call it a day, and they trekked back to their cars and went their separate ways back home (not before our traveler's car stopped for an ice cream treat~). They chatted the hours away on their journey back, and and continued to unnecessarily thank her for the help that she was. In truth, she was the one who was grateful: her one goal in life is to be useful, and to be given such practice as she was able to get over the 24hr+ period and to gain actual self-confidence and worth from the experience were the real accomplishments. She knows she isn't as good at the language as she would like, but after this weekend she finally feels stable in it for the first time in over a year.

Home Sweet Hole

At last! The ladies of the Shire have reunited and are busily making their little hole more like home. With two corgi puppies,

(courtesy of Leggers)

(This Dexter and Roxie puppy attack brought to you by Leggers)

drawers full of tea,

and a black-out inducing curtained Crow's Nest

they are claiming this new land as their own. Between Mariokart N64 battles, movie sing-a-longs, and family taco nights,

life has begun to find its rhythm.

Into the Woods

Well, it was that time again. Only a couple days left before she was to return north and back to regular life. (Regular, indeed….) That familiar feeling of subtle anticipation/dread mixed with a bit of excitement/sadness. It’s the reason she doesn’t like traveling, from the compulsion to pack perfectly to the nagging feeling that she’s ending something and leaving people she loves. It goes both ways, since she considers both places to be her homes. You’d think as she got older the excursions through the looking glass would have gotten easier, but since she is still inherently her (full of desperation and good intentions) it seems she’s just realizing more and more how lost she is.

And what better time to hike through an unfamiliar mountain’s woods than when you already feel lost?

She and her sister grabbed water bottles and a quick breakfast and drove to a privately owned mountain that is open for free use to the public—Sugarloaf.

Even though neither one of them had been hiking recently, they climbed on and kept a steady pace through the rocky inclining and declining path. All was quiet but for the crunching of the sand beneath their sneakers. 

She tried practicing light footwork and jumped from rock to rock whenever the opportunity arose, which was more often than not. It was a cool and shaded morning under the canopy, and there hadn’t been a good rain for a few days, so the conditions were about as close to perfect as she could imagine. And beside the profusion of spiders scurrying about (blasted rock spiders… go back to Death Mountain…) there was little wildlife about with only a couple squirrels rustling in the distance and a few birds calling overhead. 

She welcomed the joint solitude of her sister, both not speaking while they hiked and lost in their own musings. She was winded, yet still hungry to continue onwards. It was invigorating seeing the raw beauty of God and continuing through it.

She figured it out after coming back that they had hiked 4 miles in about the 2 hours they had trekked out there (from b10 to b4 and back). They were quite satisfied with themselves. And then many afternoon naps ensued~

Summer Book List (take V)

("Summer" having technically started on Friday, May 4th)

READ:

A Discovery of Witches

Percy Jackson: TheLightning Thief

A Well Timed Enchantment

Heir Apparent

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Hunter’s Moon
Library Wars (vol 1-7)
Divergent
Wildwood Dancing
Percy Jackson: The Titans Curse
Ender's Game

American Gods
Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian

Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen
Graceling
The Graveyard Book
Wicked Lovely

READING:

PLANNING TO READ:

Shadow of Night

Fire
Percy Jackson: The Lost Hero
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone



Having only just put down "Wicked Lovely" an hour ago, I'm in a book hangover yet again and haven't decided what to read next (even though I have three of the four PtR books on hand).

I discovered for the first time (and have been warmly reminded this summer) many beautiful stories, and I'm so grateful for it. This most recent update covers the second time I've completed the Trickster's books (that I adore for so many reasons), finally getting to read an amazing book a great friend (and book suggester) recommended so long ago in "Graceling", finding an instant favorite in "The Graveyard Book" because it makes her sad in a Sally Sparrow sort of way, and even the diverting "Wicked Lovely" that I'd heard of what seems like forever ago (probably only 4 years) that reminded me of the Tales of Faerie I used to read in high school. I wish I would have commented on the books I'd completed for the past lists.....wait.... this is the internet... TIME CAN BE RE-WRITTEN!!! (in other-words, I'm probably going to go back and edit those past entries to included commentary haha)

I think I'm going to technically cut off "summer" on the 20th of August when I have to be at work--and therefore school-- full time again. So there will probably only be one more Summer list (but maybe I'll do a post for every book I finish after that; at least for incentive to continue posting during the school year instead of finking out like last year *cough*).