Thanks, Cherry! I'm pretty sure that last one is up there in my "dark" themed post, since I do love it. Those other two didn't win prizes and I'm not terribly proud of them anyways. :lol:

Oh, pfft, I see it now. Sorry, I did look and I didn't see it there. I must be going blind. @_@

No problem! XD It took me forever when I went through people's threads to check if they already had the same outfits posted. It can be hard to tell if they have a bunch of them posted. I probably ended up posting at least one that's a repeat in Sizzla's thread.

I did take a look at my Photobucket when I was digging for old avatars. I *think* I got all of them saved (even if I don't have them posted) to my avatar folder on my computer. I try to keep my photobucket fairly organized, but there may be a few I missed, such as when I hastily uploaded things.

Yeah, I just got a photobucket, like... this past summer. Started uploading things all willy-nilly, didn't think to use folders, now it's hard to find what I've already uploaded... :lol:

Man, I don't remember when I got mine. D: But it's been years. My main folder is disorganized, but I think I started using subfolders pretty early on. Plus I have a separate account specifically for stuff I want to display publically.

Well you know that anyone can view your photobucket if they see the url of one picture from it, right? It just takes some URL modification, but you can manually go to the page. That is, unless there's some kind of privacy setting that prevents people from doing that, I'm not sure.

Well the way my main account is set up (although I'm sure there's ways you can get around it if you're savvy) you can't see the pics in my album unless you know the URL ending for each specific image. But I don't have anything uploaded that's "sensitive" anyways since I know better than to stick that in an Internet album. :lol:

Ohhh, okay. It's nice that they have that privacy setting, then! I always thought as I manipulated URLs to view someone's album "I shouldn't be able to do this..." :lol:

How are things?

I think it depends on the album settings since I know you can set the privacy for individual folders. I've been able to view some in the past and been blocked by others when I've tried, but I wouldn't say it's strong enough to rely on. :lol:

Today was pretty good actually. Went to my favorite school and I had an easy lesson to teach, so it was nice to not feel stressed. Sometimes I get there and they suddenly want me to teach something I did not expect or prepare for. Plus I felt more confident in my Japanese. I appreciate that the staff at the school will freely come up to me and chat me up in Japanese like I'm a *gasp* normal person. My other elementary school is pretty good about that too, and I'm actually going to a party with them this Friday. It's my main school where everyone assumes I'm language deficient since we don't chat much and I spend most of my time talking with my JTEs (Japanese English teachers) who are fluent in English. :lol:

How about you? :D

Hooray for being treated like a normal person! :lol: I hope things haven't been too bad in that respect, on a whole. It's good that you have some other JETs there, at least!

Mm, I'm alright. About to start the process of applying to college and getting this scholarship I'm eligible for. It's pretty sweet, since I did well on my GED, I get a full one year scholarship to a Community College that I was already planning on attending for my first year. But a lot of paperwork and stuff is involved. Not complaining, though! But aside from that, I'm pretty boring. :lol: I've just been reading a lot.

Good luck with the scholarship! :hug: And hey, reading is good too! Wish I spent more time doing it since I know that once I get into a book, I can't put it down. I need to find some Japanese stuff at my reading level so I can improve my reading speed and comprehension. Eventually I hope to move up to rereading Harry Potter or something in Japanese.

I think I'm very lucky in that I'm given responsibilities because they know I'm a competent assistant teacher and I'm treated decently by staff and students by all of my schools. Some people basically spend all day at their desk doing nothing since their schools don't know how or don't want to utilize them effectively. I still feel a bit isolated some days, like when everyone leaves the staff room to go to an assembly no one told you about, and you don't know if you should try to sneak in late or just stay at your desk. But I do whatever I can to add myself to conversations when possible, bring nice souvenirs and show photos when I take a trip, attend work parties, etc. By consistently showing that I'm a decent person, I've fostered a good relationship with most of my staff, even if we don't talk much. I think some ALTs get discouraged and shut down when they aren't given an immediate warm welcome, but that just makes things worse.

Aside from work, I had my first party with my futsal team the other day and it was awesome! All but one of my teammates are Japanese and only two are reasonably good at English, but I'm comfortable speaking Japanese as much as possible with them. I completely lost track of the conversation by the end of the night, but before that I managed to shoot the breeze fairly naturally and I was included in the conversations. :) It's nice to feel welcome.

Yeah, I imagine reading books in Japanese would be very helpful! I'm actually on a read through of Harry Potter now, but no foreign languages. :lol: I just started Deathly Hallows last night. I've never read it before, so I'm anxious. :lol: I've been enjoying it so much, I don't want it to end!

Aww. Out of curiosity, what is it that you think causes some to be shut out? Is it just the language barrier, or do you think the culture might be more wary of foreigners? I'm not trying to find fault with the Japanese people or anything like that, I'm just forever curious about other cultures and terrible at expressing that curiosity. Anyway, regardless of what causes it, I'm glad to hear you're being successful in breaking through it. :)

Do you know how much longer you'd like to stay there?

(Sorry this is so long! D: )

Yeah, it's extremely important that I read, and yet I keep putting it off. D: I reread Harry Potter early last year and I really enjoyed it. There's a lot of fun details I forgot and I still feel able to connect with the characters despite knowing what happens. I didn't get into Harry Potter until after the 5th book came out, so I know what you mean about being anxious about the ending! I was able to be a Potter-nerd and stake out the last two midnight openings though. :lol:

Well I think it's largely cultural differences that play a part rather than it being a conscious effort by either party. I've found that Americans in particular will be very genial and treat someone they've just met like a good friend from the get-go. Then as time passes that person may become a closer friend and really get to know you. But in Japan a lot of people make and cultivate friendships over a very long period of time and will revisit even JHS friends after years of absence.

Also, I've found that I've never been able to establish a relationship completely on my own. Any time I've made a friend, it's been through some sort of group activity or after being introduced in some way by another person. You may have a fabulous conversation with someone and really seem to get along (possibly even would like to date them) but any time that's happened, I never hear from that person again. However, by belonging to a club or a circle of friends with some overlapping connection, then your odds of succeeding greatly increase.

But I think I got off topic a bit. XD I think the reason why some ALTs feel shut out is language related, for sure. We are suddenly dumped into a work environment very different than anything we're used to. It's the middle of the school year when we arrive so most people are on break so there's few people to talk to. We're honestly kind of a burden on the schools at first since they have so much to do to help us settle in, so I don't blame people for not fawning over the idea of a new ALT.

Plus, at least at first it can be very hard to "read" your coworkers. I've had two people who I got the distinct impression they didn't like me, just because they never would engage in conversation and seemed a bit distant when I tried. It turned out not to be the case, those people were just quite reserved and they had no interest in English whatsoever. If you don't start off super fluent in Japanese, then some people think that they have to know English to speak to you, so that stresses them out.

On the flip side, I think there's reasons ALTs will shut themselves out. In the beginning, I think the sudden isolation from familiar things makes you a bit hyper-sensitive. I was a bit paranoid that my coworkers didn't like me. I would pick up bits of conversation that seem to be talking about me ("Amerikajin", stuff that sounded like my name, etc.) but I couldn't understand what they were saying. But my stupid brain always wanted to jump to the bad conclusions ("Oh, I think they just said American and laughed! They're laughing at me!!") The problem is, if you let yourself brood like that, no one will want to approach you. So I instead vented all of my feelings into an angry journal entry and put on a happy face. Later that day a coworker chatted with me and showed me around the school. It went from my lowest point so far to the highest. I just had to keep telling myself that everyone likes me until proven otherwise and I should act accordingly. So far I've yet to be proven wrong! (Except some other foreigners have been bitches, but that's a different story. :lol:)

And I haven't decided, but I'd like to stay long term. It's so easy to live here and I have no job prospects going home. Plus I really need to improve my Japanese. I'm thinking I'll stay the full five if everything goes well.

No need to apologize for the length, it's very interesting. :) I just wish I had more to say in the way of a reply... But I can't exactly say, like, "Oh, I know what you mean! I have such a language barrier problem too." :lol: But I can say that you've handled it better than I would have. I tend to think people dislike me and are talking about me behind my back to begin with, so a situation like that probably would have had me packing to go home. :lol:

Yeah, I read the first 3 sometime shortly after the third one came out (or maybe the first 2 after the second came out? I don't recall quite when I discovered them) just when they were starting to get pretty big. I was at the midnight release for the 4th and 5th books, but since the 6th didn't come out until two years later, I sort of lost interest in it. I bought the 6th a week or so after it came out and tried to start reading it, but it had been two years since I read the last one and I couldn't remember much of it, so I was really confused and gave up. So the 6th book was all new to me (and the ending, oh jeez, I cried. I knew that spoiler, but still!). But I'm appreciating them much more fully now than I did as a kid! Like, now I'm fully understanding the hype. :lol:

Yeah, I think it's nice that Harry Potter can be appreciated by both young and old, and you seem to get more appreciation out of it when you give them another read later on. I was put off by the hype for a long time, but when I finally got to reading them I really liked it. I managed to get my mom and brother into Harry Potter too so that was fun having a common interest. They started reading the Eragon book series afterward but I really couldn't get into it. Something about the writing put me off and the movie was terrible. :( I haven't gotten into a series really since then, but then again I started reading mostly manga for several years. Ironically I started reading manga and watching anime less the more and more interested I got in Japanese language and culture. :lol:

Well like I said, I'm lucky my school has treated me well. I know some people with pretty positive attitudes towards Japan, but they have a lousy working environment. I don't know if I would want to stay so long if I had such a terrible experience my first year. I had a horrible two-week homestay experience last summer, which might have killed my passion somewhat if that were my first experience of life in Japan. But I invested so much time in studying Japanese, East Asian culture, and applying to get into the JET program that I was kind of determined to enjoy it even if I was placed in a terrible school. XD I think some people do come in with unrealistically high expectations and can't handle living on their own in a foreign country. But once you get over the bigger hurdles, I'd say an ALT's job is potentially one of the easiest you could have.

Have you seen the Harry Potter movies? I just watched Order of the Phoenix a few days ago, and that book was really too long to be made into a movie. It was going so fast that I hadn't just read it I don't think I would have been able to follow it. :lol: I haven't read Deathly Hallows yet, but I'm already glad that they chose to split it up into two movies. You just can't fit all that into one.

Yeah, I remember you talking about the homestay. It's definitely good that that wasn't your first experience!

Yep, I've seen the movies. I think some of them are definitely stronger than others and I agree that it's hard to follow them without knowing details from the book. I was so glad I'd read book three right before I watched the movie since that one left out so many important details. I probably was harsher on it because the third book was one of my favorites. XD But even with their flaws, I think the visuals can be stunning. I don't agree with some of the actors they picked to fill the roles (*cough*Bellatrix*cough*), but its hard to imagine anyone else for some (like Snape).

One of my favorite artists drew tons of Harry Potter fanart and I'd say I agree with a lot of her interpretations of the characters: http://acciobrain.ligermagic.com She especially likes the Malfoys, and although most of her portrayals of them are definitely not "in character", they're very enjoyable in my opinion.

Yeah, it was just a miserable time for me. =/ I felt so disappointed and kind of helpless. Not counting sad movies or something it takes a lot to make me cry, especially in public, but I started bawling in the middle of my Japanese class at the end of the first week, which says a lot.

I was okay with how Bellatrix looked in the movies, but she was played kind of... silly. :/ Ugh, Helena, this isn't a Tim Burton movie. :lol:
I think the casting I had the most trouble with was Mad Eye Moody. His face isn't nearly mangled enough. :P

The HP fanart is nice. :)

Aww. :( I'm glad things have gotten better.

Ehh, I wouldn't have pictured her as having curly/fried hair, but I agree that she doesn't look too bad as her. But yeah, her acting was waaay too Tim Burton-ish for my taste. :lol: I couldn't take her seriously which sucks because she was a genuinely sinister character.

Yeah, I can see that about Mad-Eye but I gave him props for at least playing the role quite well. His behavior matched what I expected, more or less. While the actors aren't bad, I was initially kind of put off about movie Sirius and Lupin because they didn't look at all like I imagined. Plus, I stopped caring about Dumbledore in the movies since he acts kind of like a crotchety old jerk a lot of the time (such as yelling at Harry in the Goblet of Fire), which was sooo not Dumbledore to me.

Well that was luckily only a two-week study trip, so I knew it would eventually end. I actually ended up leaving a day early just to get away from my crazy host family. It sucks though since Sapporo is an AWESOME city. I wish I could have spent more time enjoying it, but I plan on going back again someday.

The last time I saw Goblet of Fire was years ago when I wasn't really into Harry Potter, so I can't really comment much on Dumbledore or Mad Eye (neither were in Order all that much).

Lupin looks a little off for me, but mostly just because I never pictured him with facial hair. :lol: He's more or less right. And my mental image of Sirius was off an old memory of movie-Sirius, so he was pretty close.

I felt Arthur Weasley was a little off. The actor was just fine in portraying him, and that's what really matters, but I felt his face looked a little too... doofy. He has a face for bumbling characters, and Mr. Weasley is not a bumbling character at all. I pictured him with a much thinner, more serious face.

What kinds of things are in Sapporo? I could look it up myself, but I feel that's not very conducive to conversation. :lol:

Yeah, the facial hair really doesn't look right for Lupin. I pictured Sirius as a bit more haggard, but I do love Gary Oldman as an actor so I wasn't so fuss about it. Yeah, I can see what you mean about Arthor Weasley. It didn't bother me too much though since I think him and the actress who play Molly make a very believable couple. :lol:

Sapporo is probably most famous abroad for its beer ("Sapporo" is the brand name, they also own "Yebisu"). I went to the factory/museum and had some delicious beer and food there. I really wasn't much of a beer person before I came to Japan, but it was easy to like the stuff they had on tap. I went to Sapporo the first time for "Yuki Matsuri" (Snow Festival) which is held around this time of the year. It's famous for the snow and ice sculptures they display around the city, which can be ridiculously huge. Sapporo is on Japan's northern most island, Hokkaido, so they get a lot of snow. Like, crazy amounts! D: It was amazing how quickly it would collect on the streets once it started. Food-wise they're famous in Japan for soup curry, potatoes, corn, and seafood. I made a point of trying as many specialties as I could, and they really were fresh and delicious.

I think Sapporo is a very "Western" city, since it's much newer than most of the other big cities in Japan and was developed with a lot of input from Western people. I also think it's pretty cool that beneath the city there's a huge network of walkways and shopping arcades linked together, so you can retreat down there when it's freezing cold outside. I just think it's a very beautiful place both in summer and winter. I have some photos that I'm planning to post via tumblr eventually.

I'm getting distracted by the mention of large amounts of snow. :drool: We've only had one measurable snow this year, and it was only about two inches. :( Send me some Japanese snow! :lol:

The underground stuff sounds really cool. :) And I look forward to seeing the pictures of the above-ground areas!

Well I have a lot of pictures of Sapporo I'm fond of. I took over 800 while I was up there for the snow festival. :gonk: Don't worry, I don't plan to post them all. But one of my favorites shows a bunch of bicycles standing upright, but you can only see the handlebars because there's so much snow that fell around them. Mind boggling! It hasn't snowed at all today that I can tell, but we still have some left on the ground from yesterday.

Yesterday was crazy! The bus couldn't make it down the hill because there was an accident, so I had to walk about a mile in the snow uphill to get to work. Sounds like one of those "Back in my day, we had to walk up hill both ways to get to school!" joke statements. :lol: I don't mind the snow much when I don't have somewhere to go. You can have all the snow blocking the roads. ;)

Whoooaaa, that's a lot of snow! I look forward to seeing that picture. :lol:

Yeah, my love of snow is probably partially due to the fact that I've never had to drive in it. :lol: But I still really wish we'd get some... The other day it was so temperate that we opened the windows and I went for a walk outside! I have plants in my garden that are thinking it's Spring and they're starting to come up! :lol: That's all very lovely for spring, but I never got my proper winter. :gonk:

Lol, we had a few years like that back home. I think I'd prefer a wild winter here, simply because my house doesn't have insulation. :lol: I hope it doesn't start snowing and kill off your flowers, though.