Konnichiwa from Japan!

Hello Dear Family and Friends,

After a little more than two months here in Kamagaya City in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, I am finally beginning to feel a bit more settled. This should not be interpreted as that I know what I am doing, but should be read as "I have a better idea of how things might go in day-to-day situations." It still does not take much to go outside of my learned routine (supermarket trips and local convenience store visits still can easily take waaay longer than planned as I distract myself pondering over what something might be and how to use it OR by asking someone which is the normal, plain milk/tofu/detergent OR I think a simple errand will be easy only to have it get super complicated super fast). xp But all in all I am enjoying my time here greatly. Learning to better exercise my talents at being very flexible!

I live in a spacious 1-bedroom apartment in the same complex as 5 other Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Assistant Language Teachers (ALT's) and near three others (so there are 8 of us in total for the City of Kamagaya). Four of us are from the US but still pretty diverse culturally: Aurora is from Alaska, David's family is originally from Norway/Hungry, Dan's family is originally from Russia and I know more about Chile than the US in certain aspects. Hannah and Liz are from New Zealand and Musleh and Munraj are from the UK but their families are from Bangladesh and India, respectively. All are very sweet and we all get along really well so I feel lucky to have such a great community to hang out with if need be. It is a bit strange to be the eldest - most of them have either just graduated or graduated a year or two ago. It's nice to have Liz living next door as she is 26 and has both a similar love of adventure, life style and life experience history so we hang out a lot. We're also a nice duo as she speaks hardly any Japanese so I can translate for her.

I work at three of the city's 9 elementary schools. Hannah and Dave also speak Japanese so work at 3 elementary schools each while the other 5 ALT's speak some to no Japanese and teach at one Junior High School each. My schedule is:

- Gohonmatsu Elementary on Mondays and Thursdays teaching three 5th- and three 6th-grade classes with the English/PE teacher, Mr. Kiuchi (although it looks like I may start teaching the three 4th-grade and three 3rd-grade classes every two weeks, alternatively, with the home-room teachers [HRTs] - exciting!).

- Chubu Elementary on Tuesdays and Fridays teaching four 5th- and four 6th-grade classes with the respective 8 home-room teachers (there is one teacher per grade who plans the lessons and is my contact for explanations, tasks to prepare for the class, etc).

- Hokubu Elementary on Wednesdays where I teach two 5th- and two 6th-grade classes with the 4 home-room teachers (and occasionally a special English class for other grades with two classes combined like I did the other day with the 60 little 2nd grade students).

So as you can imagine, I am NEVER bored. I am happy if I can remember my name and the day of the week at the end of the day. xp The schedules of each school change slightly (like by 5 minutes or so), and obviously the school layouts are different so I always carry the bell schedule of that day's school with me to classes and am constantly getting lost or having to ask for directions to the next classroom.

At Gohonmatsu, Mr. Kiuchi sits down with me to plan the next week's lessons each week so that I can help plan and prepare materials for the class. At Chubu I may have a vague idea about what will happen next class but don't receive the lesson plan until the night before via cellphone message, and they often change my class schedule at the last minute, which is very exciting. Sometimes I'll have a note from one teacher on my desk asking me to make certain flash cards for a certain class in my planning period. At Hokubu I don't really have more than 5 or 10 minutes at the end of each class to chat with the HRT to discuss next week. Some teachers lead the class with me, helping out, while with other classes I just kinda do what I want with the book's lesson and check with the teacher the week before.

All of my schools are between 5 and 15 minutes by bicycle from my apartment. I usually arrive at school at 8:10 or 8:15 am and leave around 4 or 4:10 pm but often stay late at Chubu and Hokubu as that is the only time I can talk to the HRTs. I pay a little under US$50 a month to have a delicious school lunch every day that usually consists of: a carton of milk, bowl of rice/bread on the side, soup of some sort though often miso, a dessert sometimes and a main protein (fish, egg sometimes or meat), with a side salad. I've liked all but one of the meals and that was only because there was a lot of oily food that day.

I LOVE working with the kids. Teaching at the elementary level is great - there is no grading, no tests and it is all fun and games. The kids are super sweet and all of my principals, vice principals, teacher's room managers, and teachers are super nice and welcoming. Don't ask me their names though! I hope to start working on that soon. And forget about the students's names. I have 25 to 35 students per class so... impossible. :( If I feel I am missing attention all I need to do is wander outside during recess to immediately attract a crowd of mostly curious little kids clambering to speak to me in the little English they know (some go to English class outside of school), or to tell me that they DON'T know any English but that so-and-so does.

Some of my adventures:

- Last week I made one student cry as I didn't realize that he has trouble making decisions so asked him to sit down instead of participate in the group game. This week I remembered and gave him little papers with shapes on them to draw two from and told him to blindly select two colored pencils from his pencil box in order to be able to say his favorite colors and shapes without problems. Yay!

- Today many people from the Board of Education came to observe my class with Mr. Kiuchi (Gohonmatsu Elementary). Nearly fell asleep during the formal speeches to all the teachers, but we received all-in-all very positive feedback and many good pointers for how to improve our classes. We are currently teaching how to give street directions and I was delighted to here students telling each other, and us, to "go straight, turn left, turn right, etc" in the hallway even between classes. They are learning and using something I taught them! Yay! The teachers also complimented me on the Chant I created with a corresponding dance (super high-tech: "Where is the train station? Where? Where?.....) and told me that the students seem to be enjoying English more and participating in class since I arrived. That made me all warm and fuzzy inside. The communication at Gohonmatsu really makes it a great place to teach at! I feel like part of the family. (^_^)

- Diego is coming to Japan for a week! His boss told him to come visit me and gave him explicit permission to take days off without pay so he will be here from October 27th until November 5th. Only two more weeks! I am so excited as are all my school students and teachers -- everyone wants to meet him! I am taking three days off of work and taking advantage of the holiday so we will be able to go to Gohonmatsu's School Festival, visit Gunma and stay with my classmate Yosuke and his wife Natsuko (who worked at the City Hall and translated for my family when we lived there), spend a day at Disney Sea, explore Tokyo for a day and eat lunch with Kikue at her school, stay at a hot springs hotel with Atsuko and her friend for a night (she has organized this) and also go to Ghibili Studios to sit in Tottoro's Cat Bus very very happily (Diego and I are both crazy about Hayao Miyazaki's films). Hopefully Diego will be able to visit me for longer in March but we will have to see as he just got a job promotion to Product Manager!

- Gunma Reunion: Upon arriving in Kamagaya we learned that we had the first few weeks off (surprise!) so I took advantage to reunite with Atsuko (Takahiro's mother), Mr. Nagumo and his wife (he was our landlord when we lived there), and the Sakurai Family (Nigel's best friend's family). It was sooo wonderful to see everyone! I can't believe all the kids are adults now! They rolled out the red carpet for me and assured me they will happily drive the 1.5-2hr drive to personally pick me up from my house to visit them. Still have many more friends to see there so will probably be going back to Gunma multiple times. Atsuko and her friend Mr. Fumi took me to eat shaved ice in Nagatoro, a village in the neighboring prefecture of Saitama, where we rode in a river boat and refreshed with the delicious ice-cone like dessert made from clean water that was frozen outdoors last winter. She also took me back to Kusatsu in Gunma prefecture which is the famous hotsprings town that I had visited 10 years ago with my family. So much fun!

- Reuniting with Kikue! I have seen Kikue four times now since arriving in Japan. She and her friend Chihoko (who sends me cards weekly) rescued me my first night in Japan when I accidentally sent the wrong suitcase ahead to Kamagaya and needed a suit jacket for 8 am the next morning at the Orientation, she invited me to join her and eat a delicious traditional lunch in Shibuya another weekend, we oo-ed and awed together over Beatrix Potter's original drawings in the exhibit celebrating the 150 year anniversary of her birth, and this past weekend she took me to the Culture Festival at her work, the School of Design, where we saw lots of amazing pieces of art as well as attended my first Fashion Show! Fun fun fun!

- The other night I successfully partook in the Japanese normal-life action of going to my neighborhood bathhouse. It is a 2 minute walk from my house and I go past it daily but had never had the courage to walk in until Sunday evening. I successfully left my shoes at the door and entered the correct Women's side, but was super ultra surprised to find a grandfatherly gentleman perched up in a booth on the wall between the two sides of the bathhouse waiting to take the entrance fee of US$4 aprox. He appeared to be watching his TV show intently but I still found it awkward and slightly humorous that despite the separate sections for men and women in the bath house, he could see both all the ladies and all the gents as they undressed, bathed, and enjoyed the scalding hot bath. I was so surprised that I completely forgot to say good evening to the only other woman on my side. Ah well! It was still nice and relaxing after the first shock, so I plan to go back. Maybe next time I'll be able to withstand the heat of the bath for more than my previous 5 minutes max. SOOO HOT!!!!

- This past Saturday was the Kamagaya Festival! There was a samurai parade, lots of food stands, art and used item stands, and many of my students and their parents! I heard "Kaia-sensei" not only between the students to each other but then between them and their parents and then among the parents before I'd finally get a "Hi Kaia sensei!" Liz and I also enjoyed the karate, belly dance and steel drum presentations, and I delighted in dancing with the older generations to the circular Obon dance at the end. The Kamagaya City photographer asked if he could take my photo and use it for promotional material so I'll let you know if I see myself somewhere. ;D

- Food Adventures with Kaia: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCettQ0JTYgj4t21K9-WZsxQ I will be uploading the videos that thus far I have only managed to share on Facebook of me eating and explaining many various amusing things found in Japan. Examples: Wasabi Avocado Chips, Chocolate Corn, Pizza Sandwich, Fish-Cheese sticks, and Créme Brulé balloon balls. Stay tuned for more info and uploads!

- Photos of much of the above Can be found here! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2sSZcrNjOc1T0dsdGE2Z1E2dU0/view?usp=sharing

Okay, I think I've flooded you with enough info for now. I promise to write more often so that my emails are not always this long. Sorry! I admit that I struggle with technology / am brain dead when I come home and just want to zone out / prefer talking in person or via phone to people which is why I haven't done better. But I will do so in the future! Thank you for all those of you who have continued reading to this part of my email.

Mata ne! (See you!)

Hugs,

Kaia

 

New Email for Kaia & Big Newses!

Hello Dear Friends!

Long time no talk! Forgive my radio silence but it's been a busy and exciting past year. First of all, please notice that I am no longer using my yahoo email. Please direct all future emails to my new email address.

Last year absolutely flew by! I had a blast dancing almost every day some weeks (between salsa and bachata dancing and zumba), meeting lots of fun and wonderful people, and traveling to different parts of Chile. My parents came and visited me in August for two weeks which was wonderful and my Aunt Karen and Uncle Jesse spent 10 days with me in September which was also really fun! In September I went to Rosario, Argentina for a long weekend to stay with a friend and then in February after being back in the US for 3 whirl-wind-like weeks I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina for 9 days which was not only fun but very restful and also my first ever international trip solo. I really love Buenos Aires!

The biggest two pieces of news in my life are that:

1. I am moving to Japan! I have been accepted to teach English with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) this year! As some of you may recall, this is the same program that my Mom was accepted to and which took us to Japan for 13 months my sophomore year of high school. I am really excited and very much looking forward to re-connecting with all my dear Japanese friends and geting my Japanese back up to speed, but it will be hard to say goodbye to Chile! That said... there is a very high probability that I will return to Chile after a year in Japan. But we shall see. At any rate my last day at my job is June 17th. I will be moving back to the US for a few weeks at the beginning of July (I will be in Miami from June 29th until July 5th probably before going to Portland), and then on July 30th I get shipped out to Tokyo. I'll have a two-day orientation there before they send me to wherever I will be posted. Still no idea what city in Japan they will send me to but I will find out at the end of May. Yay! I will be in Japan from July 31st, 2016 until July 31st 2017.

2. Love-struck: I was having a great time being single last year and doing strictly non-serious relationships until... cupid struck. Yup. I am super happily smitten with a super cool guy name Diego. He is Chilean, from southern Chile and has so many things in common with me that it is a little bit ridiculous. He is a very successful salesman for a company that sells the machines that do medical tests (he is a technical medic by trade), is completing his Masters in Public Policy, just started a postgraduate degree in Sales and is a very talented singer and guitar player (here's him singing with his band: https://youtu.be/NR8yK5p4l5Q). He loves traveling, is working on his English, is stylish, more tidy than I am, cooks, cleans, and loves Tottoro, romantic comedies, animated movies and sushi. He enjoys nature, understands my love of rain, and is taking bachata and yoga classes with me (he's a quick learner in the dance classes but enjoys both!). We've known each other for four months now but are oh so happy and feel like we've known each other for longer. Okay, right Kaia, so how does this work with you skidaddling off to Japan? Well, we have both agreed to enjoy what we have now and see what happens when the time draws nearer for me to leave Chile. As the days go by I see it more and more likely that things will continue to work but who knows. We shall see. Hopefully he will come to Miami and Portland for three weeks in July and then maybe visit me in Japan but only time will tell. :) For now we are just going to continue being extremely happy together.

Attached is a photo of Diego and I in his car taken on our way down to his parent's house in Pucón, Chile (south of Santiago about 8 hrs by car) where we spent Easter, and another of us visiting one of the many natural beauties found around Pucón (it's very much like Portland in climate and proximity to nature but is WAY smaller than Portland).

For other updates, work is going well though I've been extremely busy. My bosses and coworkers hate me a little bit for leaving because they are going to miss me a lot but are happy that I am starting a new adventure. I have 128 students this semester and am loving my job though I am very much ready for a change. I've been struggling a bit to stop thinking of work at home and stop coordinating things into my personal life but thankfully Diego has been helping me remedy this. ;)

After Japan... I have decided that I would love to continue working in a university exchange office welcoming students and providing ways for them to learn the culture and exchange with the locals. Hopefully I will return to Chile, maybe southern Chile and find a job at a university there (I miss the rain, green, and nature soooo much!). But at some point I think I should get a Masters, too, so we shall see. Lots of options, no hurry to make decisions.

This year my three adjectives are balanced, flexible and decisive and so far I am doing well at achieving them. Still loving zumba and bachata but now have worked in yoga and am practicing living in the moment and enjoying it to the fullest.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Much love and hugs from Chile.

Love, Kaia

Hi Blogger

Greetings Blogger

http://downtowndubaibuy.com/available.php?lead=rk11qphfr892t





Sincerely Yours
Kaia Range

NEWS and a special special request...

Hello dear Family and Friends!

I hope you are all doing well. My life has been a fun, crazy, amazing whirlwind of late, with TONS of work, WAY more students than I expected, LOTS of events and daily wishes to clone myself. And yet, I am happy, feeling on it, powerful, beautiful and in my groove -- I LOVE my life. March is always crazy so things will calm down soon enough (I hope).

Exciting news: My parents are coming to visit me! I had an amazing time spending a month with them and many of you in Portland, Oregon this past February which was a lovely breath of fresh air and allowed me to return to my roots, rediscover myself and launch the new and amazing Kaia 2.0 (new haircut included)! But now I am even happier to say that Mom and Dad will visit me in Santiago, Chile from August 5th to August 18th! They will arrive the day after my 26th birthday -- the best gift ever! I can't wait to show them my life, introduce them to my friends, coworkers, students, and neighbors and share with them the life I love so much here and that I have created myself.

The other exciting news I have and extra-special request to make is this: Can you please watch the video on this website? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1751796767/girlwithabook-chapter-1-south-and-central-asia

Watching it, you will meet one of my best friends from college, Jenny Ciochon, who is an amazing photo journalist currently located in Tunisia. She is joining forces with two other talented young women to travel to South and Central Asia in order to document the boundaries to education that exist for girls in the countries of Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, India and Pakistan. They hope to show us the day in the life of a girl in each place they visit and to also shine light on the individuals and organizations working to allow girls to educate themselves and improve their lives and that of those around them.

In order to do this, they have started a campaign on Kickstarter. As some of you may know, Kickstarter is a website that allows you to get backers for projects. The only catch is that the project is not funded if they don't manage to get enough financial backers. As of today, Wednesday March 25h they have only 6 more days to raise the last US$9,724 needed to fund their project! I don't usually make requests like this, but I really do believe in their work and therefore would like to ask you all to either donate or spread the word to those that can so that their project can get funded!

A few more notes about my friend and her team: This trio of outstanding women were the forces behind the #GirlWithaBook movement that gathered thousands of images of famous and non-famous women posing with books around the world in support of the horrendous attack on the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousefzai. There campaign was so successful that they actually were able to publish and give the book to Malala in person at the United Nations! With this kind of power and dedication between the three of them, I am really really hoping you can help them out!

You can find more details about their project and how to donate here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1751796767/girlwithabook-chapter-1-south-and-central-asia

I promise to write again soon with more details of my new life but for now it's bedtime! Today I had a successful but after-hours event with 50 or so international and Chilean students (a potluck!) and this weekend I will be taking a group of 19 Chilean and US students to the Colchagua wine valley as part of a retreat for their program. :) Oh, and last Wednesday I spoke to a little over 400 Chilean students (which was televised to two other rooms/auditoriums as not all could fit in the room). SO yeah, big stuff, big strides, big smile. :D

Biig hugs and thanks again for your help! Love you all.

Love, Kaia

A year in review and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Family and Friends!

 

I know it has been AGES since I last wrote, but this past year was a bit of a roller coaster and the past few weeks have been tough. Because it was so much here is a short-ish recap:

 

Kaia's Medical Tour of Chile:

- In June I developed hives (itchy red spots all over my body) that changed place every 6 hours or so and eventually covered every part of me -- from my toes to my scalp. Still can't figure out what caused the reaction but I had spots for two months approximately. In my attempts to get rid of the spots my lips swelled up, along with my ankles, and I was itchy itchy itchy! It was exciting.

 

- During my hives episode I also got a stomach infection. Still not sure if it was related to or had anything to do with the hives but it was very unpleasant and left me bedridden and on a strict diet for 5 days in June I think it was.

 

- Then, just as I was recovering from the hives, on July 18th I opened a glass door at work only to have it explode on me. This just happened to be JUST before I began the afternoon session of the International Student Orientation with the 70 students that were awaiting me inside the auditorium. So it was back to the doctors for the 7th or 8th time for me! Fortunately you can hardly see the scar on my forehead from where the glass cut it (thankfully they were able to "glue" the skin together so stitches were not needed).

 

- A few weeks later my lower back began troubling me so much that I couldn't lean down or put on my socks and shoes. So back to the doc again to learn that I have inflamed articulations in my lower spine and a vertebrae that is a little too far forward (they think it is genetics and I think it may also be that I had bad posture that was too far back, putting incorrect pressure on my spine). After 10 days of physical therapy I am better but if I don't do my daily exercises and use my stomach muscles like I am supposed to, then my lower back still bothers me a bit. 

 

Life at Work:

- I love my job, my bosses and coworkers love me, the students seem to love me, and all is wonderful. :)

 

- This past semester I took on the job of coordinating the 8 guest speakers which are part of the seminar series for the Advanced Business English course at FEN (again, the Facultad de Economia y Negocios or School of Business & Economics, which is where I work). So I get to invite native English speakers or fluent English speakers to come talk to between 23 and 150 Chilean university students about a business, economics or politics-related topic. And the best part is that the first Seminar of each semester is done by me! During the March to November school year that means I present to 150 or so students on the importance of learning English, how it will help them in their future work, how they can practice it on campus, and what learning a language means. During the summer session (from December to January), the class is smaller so I only spoke to 23 students. But it was still fun! Love speaking in front of people!

 

- This past school year we launched "Let's Chat" a program that offers international students and Chilean students to meet in a casual setting – over lunch, and that enables the Chilean students to practice their English in the process! It has been a big success and though it was not my idea, I like to think that my efforts have helped its success.

 

- Next semester we will welcome a special group of students: 11 US students from the University of South Carolina (USC) that will be here for two semesters, as part of the International Business of the Americas program. The Chilean cohort of 8 students that spent last year (January to December) at USC, will also be here so I will get to know both groups intimately through special activities that I coordinate. This includes a retreat that I am leading and organizing at the end of March in the Colchagua valley, one of the most famous wine valleys in Chile. There the wine professor at FEN and I will teach the students about the wine history and culture of Chile through a vineyard tour, authentic Chilean food, wine tasting and participating in the grape harvest. And I will lead two hours or so of group activities in leadership, flexibility and teamwork under the shade of avocado trees! I am super excited.

 

Okay, now for the more difficult part...

 

Kaia's personal life:

- These past few months have been really difficult for me. As you all may remember Antonio and I moved out of his Dad's house at the end of February. I thought that this process would help Antonio to mature and change but after several months he was not that pleasant to live with. In October I realized that I could not live any longer this way and broke up with him for two days. The experience made him realize his actions and he requested a second opportunity so I gave him one with the condition that he work on 14 points. While he did become much for fun to live with after that, I finally realized in December that if people are shapes, a shape can stretch but it will still remain the same shape. Antonio and I are different shapes. We have different likes and dislikes, many of which prevent both of us from being as happy as possible and achieving our full potential in life. I realized then that I was no longer in love with Antonio, but was in love with an image of what I wanted him to become. And that is not love.

 

- So on December 22^nd at 1am I broke up with Antonio. Timing was not perfect but I had wanted to wait until after he finished the final exams of his university career (now he just has the bar exam and an internship to do). And after that, I realized that I could no longer wait anymore and pretend that everything was okay in our relationship. It was a really hard thing to do and the last week of December I cried nearly every day. But despite the tears I know that I made the right decision. While Antonio is still in love with me, he now does recognize that we both have development and growing that we need to do separately, though it took him a bit to realize that. I still care for him as a friend but we both need time to recover and carry on with our lives.

 

- My apartment is now my own. Yay! There is still some stuff that belongs to Antonio but he will be taking it out in the next week or so. Saying goodbye to Lukas (the dog) was the hardest. I really do miss that dog! But it was also the best thing for Lukas as I work a lot and will be traveling so it would not be the best quality of life for him.

 

- Now I am enjoying my freedom, learning to live alone again, and slowly re-finding myself, my likes, my hobbies, my taste in decoration. I have realized what I need in life and that being me is the most necessary. Some day I will find someone that has more similarities to my style of life but for now I shall enjoy re-discovering me!

 

Plans for 2015:

- As some of you may have heard I will be in Portland in 21 short days! I arrive January 22^nd and leave February 25^th!!!!  I am soooo excited and looking forward to spending time with as many of you as possible! My good friends from college, James and Rachel are also returning to Portland to see me, which I am really thrilled about as well. I might end up flying down to San Francisco at some point, as well but we shall see.

 

- This year I plan on traveling more and discovering the beauty and culture of Chile outside of Santiago. I have lived here for a little over three years and yet I have been to hardly any other city. So I shall change that! I look forward to traveling by myself and enjoying the diversity that this country has to offer.

 

- Future plans: For now I am going to enjoy where I am in life – the job, apartment and friends I have and love here in Santiago. I will also start to think about next steps. This may include returning to Portland and finding an international office to work in, but we shall see! Who knows – the sky is the limit for me!

 

I hope that this year is filled with many wonderful surprises and joys for every one of you. Thank you for all your love and support. I love you all very much and promise to write more often! Oh, and photos will come soon!

 

Biig hugs and happy new years greetings!

 

Love, Kaia

Changes to my blog!

Hello, again!

So... I finally figured out that I can change the name and address of my blog. And as I am no longer a student at AU, I have renamed my blog Kaia's Life in the World, A Range of Activities: Kaia's Life in the World.

With this change, every time you go to my blog you will have to type "kaiaslifeintheworld.blogspot.com" ("kaias life in the world" but without the spaces). I may think of a better address but for now this works.

Happy Friday to all! Have a great weekend.

Love and hugs,


Kaia

New Apartment Bliss! (And post-March Madness)

Our New Apartment!!!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry to have been disconnected for so long. March was MADNESS and my job ate me up completely several times over. It was fun and exciting but SUPER stressful what with 110 new international students, 90 applications in my inbox for next semester, a group of 34 students from Purdue University who I chaperoned/led/hosted for several days of the week they were here, 110 students dropping and adding classes as if adding and dropping were as simple a process as blinking your eye, and over 100 emails in my inbox for the entire month of March. There were several last-minute planning nightmares (changes and almost-cancelations) but in the end everything worked out all right!

Thank goodness April is here! Now things are finally slowing down. I am organizinging this semester's International Fair (April 23-24), next Thursday I am hosting the first Chilean Movie Night at the university (the film "Machuca"), and I am planning the rest of the semester's events while sending acceptance letters and preparing for next semester's batch of students -- already!

These photos are long over-due but I hope you enjoy them! I love our new apartment! Oh, so much.

Lukas and Antonio are finally getting used to the apartment. I usually come home for lunch (it's a 10 minute fast-walk) as Antonio has been making me lunch! We take Lukas out about 4 times a day and he has managed to charm the entire building and neighborhood with his tricks, adorableness and perfect behavior. I can even take him without a leash! He listens to us SO well and sits patiently in the elevator (although I'm pretty sure he still thinks it is a closet we torture him with by making him wait for two minutes before letting him outside. :p

Antonio is 7 minutes walking from his university and is enjoying his second to last semester of classes. He will begin looking for a job soon as he is beginning to feel cabin-fever in the apartment all day! It's been kind of a hard adjustment for him from living in a house in a neighborhood he grew up with, but we went back to visit his Dad last Sunday and had a wonderful time with him. Antonio's Dad even gave him a big hug on greeting him and offered to give us his bedroom tv since we don't have one (we declined for now)! Distance makes the heart grow fonder, as they say!

I will write later but need to get to bed now. So tired! Zumba classes started again this week at the university after work and I am now going two times a week, instead of once a week!  I nearly died after the second class yesterday. Amazing how many muscles we have -- I feel several I didn't know about! :p

Love and hugs to you all!

Love, Kaia