ジェト・プログラムのジャスティン

２００７年１１月２５日

今週の漢字: 忙しい

Busy:
I have been very busy lately. The Nagoya Players’ production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol opens next weekend, so the rehearsals have gotten longer and more frequent. On top of that, the final exam dates are coming fast, which means much time needs to be devoted to making tests. For the midterms, I only had to make portions of tests for two classes, but for the finals, I need to make test portions for all my classes. It has been a bit frustrating for some classes; we didn’t do too much that can be assessed on a test.

All the commuting for the theatre rehearsals has been tiring. I’ve had experience with commuting back at home. However, I had to commute everyday at that time. For the theatre group, I thought that commuting at a maximum of once a week wouldn’t be so taxing. On the contrary, I get really tired after the weekend is over. Thus, my energy is already at maybe 60% for the school week. As much as I love theatre, I don’t plan on continuing with this theatre group, because I am just too far away making it incredibly inconvenient. Plus, I have missed so many church services, because the rehearsals are on Sundays.

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving back in the states. I love the holiday family gatherings at home. My family’s Thanksgiving has a very international food spread. We have the more traditional Thanksgiving items like turkey, stuffing, ham, mashed potatoes, and sometimes even cranberries and a pumpkin pie. On top of that, there’s usually lasagna and maybe some other pasta. Of course, we also have a great deal of Chinese food. I don’t think there’s ever a family gathering without Chinese food. More recently, we tend to have sushi at the beginning. There may even be a bit of French representation through pastries. I don’t think there has ever been a year when we finished all the food. Then again, I suppose a good Thanksgiving dinner is one where the food cannot be completely devoured.

I hosted my own Thanksgiving potluck on Friday, which was Japan’s “Labor Thanksgiving Day.” It was interesting to make dishes. Just to let you know, I haven’t really baked successfully before. The only things that I have made successfully are all related to Chinese cuisine and in a wok. So, I was very nervous. I looked up many recipes, and I finally decided to make a ground beef and pasta casserole. Considering I was the one hosting the party, I also made a ham hash, and I bought some corn muffins. Everyone is alive, so my food was at least edible. I thought my dishes were successful. We had lots of fun. I was amazed with all the food we had. We even covered all the Thanksgiving bases (of course with some substitutions). There were chicken, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry bread, pumpkin bread, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, salad, pumpkin pie, and my dishes. Nine people couldn’t finish all the food. It was that much and delicious!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It’s my sister’s birthday today. Actually, her birthday is today back in America, so you need to subtract 14 hours. In other words, it’s currently around 1AM on November 25th here in Japan, but back in America, it’s still her birthday. Anyway, happy birthday, Sarah!

Stay tuned next week for another update!

今週の聖書の詩: “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
- Psalm 100 (NIV)

Thank you, Lord, for your plan and guidance. Thank you, Lord, for my family. Thank you, Lord, for all my friends. Thank you, Lord, for all your teachings and discipline. Thank you, Lord…

今週の写真: Food (minus the stuffing and cornbread) and company