Week 77: Is that spring around the corner?

Hm...Happy Valentine's day!  Not...that I really noticed it.  I got chocolate! And I gave some, but past that, nothing really.

Have a picture of a well dressed seal instead!

Saw this at the Pharmacy

I got a few chocolates, most of which I re-gifted I"m afraid. They like white chocolate SO MUCH around here.

with rose petals no less!

On the bright side, the candy was enjoyed by someone, so I feel no guilt. :)

I didn't teach a Valentine's lesson, though I did take 5 minutes to let them know the big difference between Japan Valentine's day and American.  To remind you, in Japan, Girls give the boys chocolate on Valentine's day.  One month later, on March 14, the boys give the girls chocolate on White day.

So I explained that in America, on Valentine's day, boys give girls chocolate (and other gifts) and one month later...White day doesn't exist.  This, of course, shocked the boys "When do WE get chocolate?!"  And I was like 'you buy it yourself".

THOUGH it wouldn't be a bad thought would it?  White day, the day the girls get the boys a chocolate to pay them back for Valentine's day?

In other news, the 3rd graders are learning about Japanese history!  So this week 3rd graders in all my schools are getting to have some hands on time with old Japanese things!

Hat and rain coat, both made out of rice straw!

water wheel!

victrola!

rice pot!

...ok, I guess I"m old now.

Abacus! I wanna learn how they used these

lunch boxes!

And it was really neat!  They also are playing some of the games and such and they really are enjoying it.

Let's see, it's slowly getting warmer.  Today was downright pleasant!  Still chilly, but sun and I went down a layer. :)

I've been craving sweets lately, so I finally broke down and made myself frosting cookies

there's even some frosting left, so I'm very proud of my self control.

Everyone asked, so, I got the Gram crackers from the parents when they visited.

Saturday there were NO festivals.  I CHECKED.  So instead I wandered around Osaka with a friend.

Pokemon center

ice skating is still there. Still didn't do it.

It is the season for Plum Blossoms, so we went to the Plum blossom grove!

attempt at a selfie

flowers!

so many colors!

contrast

they're so fluttery!

Of course, the grove was right next to the castle so...

is this how you selfie?

still so pretty

I had heard about a dog cafe, so I wanted to check that out.

PET THE DOGGIES

And while we FOUND it, it was so crowded, there was a wait line and we knew that there wouldn't be space for us to play when we got in there, so we went to a bakery instead.

And we found a bagel shop!  (bagels are rare in Japan.) and guess what they slipped into my bag!

so helpful!

It's how to cook the bagels! It even has times and wattage so you don't burn them! :D  So helpful!

It might not seem that exciting, but I had a lot of fun.

Oh! And I gave a talk in Church today!  It was only supposed to be 10 minutes, but ended up closer to 15, what with translating and all.  And I wrote it on SATURDAY, so look at me preparing ahead of time like an adult!  And it went well.

Love you all and hope you're doing well!