Tin Lizzie Journal/ July 24

It's been a while. Summer is hot and the sun is high. Catherine, a fellow AET, is leaving for good tomorrow. Soon many of my friends will be on vacation and I will be introducing our town to the new AET. Things have been incredibly busy because of this. There is no school right now, so it is good to have a break.

As far as plans for travelling, I have none. I would like to see more of Japan. And I particularly want to climb Fuji, but I haven't found anyone to go with me yet. Any takers out there? But my long yearning to go to Hong Kong will be filled. I will be going in December with some teachers from my favorite school, which will prove to be very fun and entertaining. One of the teachers will be sure to seek out the action star Jet Li, of whom's fan club she is a member. Trust me, she knows everything from his birthday to his favorite food, down to his shoe size! I am so excited, even though I have to wait for five more months before going. This might drive my family crazy as every time my mother calls and asks what's new, I answer in a squeal, "I'm going to Hong Kong!" It might get to after a while - but I'm too excited to care. Poor mom.

A week ago today, that is July 16th, I was captivated. Every 108 years, we have a lunar eclipse. It is truly a once in a lifetime event, which is why I was slow in recognizing it as one last Sunday night. Earlier in the evening I had seen the big, full, beatiful moon. Some friends and I even talked about how stunning it was. Walking home later from an enkai, I noticed about a third of the moon missing despite the lack of clouds, and I wondered about it the whole walk home. I should have known it was an eclipse, but the rarity made it seem like an impossibility. Then Ian called and told me as I walked in the door. I spent the next 45 minutes or so watching a bronze colored shadow move across the face of the moon before slipping away into the black of night. As I headed back inside my apartment, I thought of the childhood book "Goodnight, Moon." O yasumi nasai.