Shuwa, Sign Language Here at Hippo, we learn how to introduce ourselves in many different languages. I, myself, have tried French, Spanish, Chinese, Swedish, among others. It's been said that a multilingual person doesn't turn anyone away – they enter relationships with an open mind and eager heart. Just recently, as my Hippo group did their rounds of introductions　- getting their language practice in - one member did an introduction in a language that blew me away. Shuwa = sign language. I was so impressed with his introduction that I made him repeat it multiple times over so that I could get it right, too. (So sorry, thank you for your tolerance and for letting me borrow your shuwa books!) As I'm ashamed to say, it never really occurred to me how different Japanese sign language and English sign language was. But it makes sense, right? Different alphabet, different body language = different sign language, too. It was neat to notice some of the similarities betwe...

Fuji   Took a drive to visit Mt. Fuji! I felt so nostalgic being on a highway again, but it was weird seeing all the trucks drive on the (slower) left side of the road! There were a few toll ways on the way there, but it was no problem, thanks to ETC (Japan version of American iPass). On my way there, I also passed up the Naval Air Facility Atsugi base. While driving, I could see a bunch of airplanes, helicopters, and even a few jeeps with soldiers in them. I learned that there are a bunch of American bases in Japan - 84 USFJ facilities to date. The USFJ was formed after World War II, when Japanese Navy and Imperial Army were decommissioned, and the U.S. Armed Forces took over their military bases. I learned that nowadays, Japan doesn’t have an army of their own but instead pays the US for theirs. The closer we got to Fuji, the higher we drove up the mountains, and the higher we went up, the more my ears would pop! Of course, Fuji was beautiful. We really lu...

Wishing you all the best of luck I've gotten a few people asking me about what kind of work I do here at the Hippo Office in Shibuya, and my answer has been pretty much the same every time, “Depends on the week. Because every day is something different.” Some days, they'll have me translating/editing documents. Some days, they'll have me making new photo albums for a school visit coming up (I'm currently working on one for Thanksgiving). Some days, I'll be writing for this blog, or writing a monthly LEX report, or shredding papers, or adding things to my calendar, or taking photos of coworkers for a New Years card I'm helping put together, etc., etc., etc. :) But most everything, I do my desk (picture included). It's a sweet set-up, if I do say so myself, and it's so comfortable that I actually look forward to going to work. :D And 'tis the season for English interviews. Lately, I've been doing a bunch of interviews all in English...

School Visit Adventures! If I could visit with elementary students at kokurika (school visits) every day, I totally would. The kids are so incredibly welcoming to me, so eager to learn, and sooo cute! This week, I had my second kokurika (school visit) at a kindergarten. This was my biggest one yet, for an hour and a half, with 4 classrooms of kids altogether - probably 60 or more 6-year-olds all jam-packed in one room, the energy was fantastic! We played many Hippo games, did a bunch of fun activities with them, and I got to introduce myself to them with my large-print kamishibai (paper theater). As I brought out my family photo (specifically, showing them my eight family members), the whole room burst out with "Ehhhhh?!!" And then I told them that compared to their kindergarten (which had a very large campus), my garden was even bigger than that. "Ehhhhhh?!!" Their reactions were priceless! I was also amazed at how, when I told them I was from America, th...