In celebration of saying さよなら (sayonara) to my
least favorite month for another year, I’ve compiled a collection of
fifty choice words.
Failure:
promising to read two books, write two letters, and blog twice a month results in this
Follow-through: lacking this ruins runs and stifles ideas bursting with potential
Five fifteen: a time I have more than once woken up at to complete a worksheet
Frazzled:
how I often feel when Monday morning schedule changes leave me scrambling
Fatigue:
end-of-the-week exhaustion so absolute all I want are bakery goods, a movie and bed
Fed-up: getting hit on at the grocery store in Japanese by construction workers twice my age
Freak-out:
an emotional outburst I have no time or energy to indulge
Flexibility:
the ability to bend, bend, bend, but ultimately, to know one’s limits
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| Funny: my san nensei (third grade) JHS boys |
Frustrating: a corporate culture where sick people go to work pretending to be robots
.JPG) |
| Robots need love, too! |
Fever:
something you can’t ganbatte* through
when you’re shivering at 38.6 degrees
*Faito (ファイト): Engrish term for the Japanese
Flu: an exception yielding five days of government-ordered isolation followed by endless apologies
Flowers:
left at my door as a “get well soon” by a teacher whose name I'll now always remember
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| Hello Kitty mug sold separately |
Family: the fine folk who took care of me while my own flesh and blood were far away
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| a gift from Mochigase's sunny school nurse |
Four: the
number of work days missed to attend the After-JET Conference in Yokohama
Freedom: stepping
off the bus in Tokyo
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| Fiasco: were I ever to try navigating Tokyo's transit alone |
FUN: a Grammy
Award-winning band we couldn’t get tickets for, but still manged to have plenty of
Far-out: the entire “Aida Makoto: Monument for Nothing” exhibition at the Mori Art Museum
Forbidden: taking photos of anything at said gallery, except this:
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| behold, "the non-thinker" onigiri head |
Four A.M.:
the best time to argue coming out, gender equality, and last names over burgers
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| Favorite: from farmers' and flea markets, to free hugs and freestyle dance, Yoyogo Park is mine! |
Freaky: crazy
déjà-vous rocking around Tokyo
Fantastic: catching
up with Tejas over coffee and cocoa after introducing him to my Tottori gang
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| Friendship: the most memorable and meaningful part of my time in Japan |
Fourteen: the number of countries I likely ate my way around in Tokyo and Yokohama
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| Italy, Turkey, China, America, and Mexico to name a few |
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| Fabulous: this Oreo cookie cheesecake |
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| Futon: a surprisingly comfortable sleep, so long as no beanbag pillows are involved |
Fly-by-the-seat-of-one’s-pants: the travelling style of my favorite South African in Japan
Fear: to
spank or not to spank this into your firstborns (and subsequent children)
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| Famous: these cucumbers once we're done with them |
Facebook: a social media addiction I’m getting under control during Lent
Flight: a
1.5 hour Tokyo
Flirting: a never-quite-mastered art form now rusty from disuse
Fearful: when it comes to matters of the heart
Fearless: when it comes to just about anything else
Fierce: my affection for Canada
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| Ferris wheel: not nearly as exciting as a roller-coaster, but nevertheless impressive |
Fascinating: life in Japan
Familiarity: when you notice you’ve stopped noticing the quirks and quarks of a
place
Firsts: a year and a half later, there are still so many (including brand-new faux-pas!)
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| Furious: if I had to drive one of these advertising monstrosities around all day and listen to the same song for hours on end |
Fuel: mine is a combination of solar, sugar, and sleep
Foreigner: a (non-derogatory) word I’ve warmed to while being one in Japan
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| (Warm) Fuzzies: English affirmations I forced my 104 graduating JHS students to write to one another |
Folly: the inspired (illegal) idea to make English music CDs for said students
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| Finesse: the ability to turn anything into a worksheet |
Farewell: an old-school way of saying “take care” or “so long”
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| Sayonara, little cuties! See you in grade two! |
Future:
something to keep an eager eye on with feet firmly planted in the present!
(A final fun fact: if you click on the photos, they fatten up!)
