Oh the Things...

Do you think if I sing a song, autumn will come? I have never wanted winter this badly before; in fact, I've never ever wanted winter. But, right now, it's after 9pm, according to the web feels like it's 90 (inside my home too, windows are open!) and there's a humidity of... 79%. (Kaori-chan and I)

Yesterday's FUSE was pretty good. We had more preparation this week, because we hung sheets on the mirrors to cover them so we couldn't watch each other the whole time. I know it sounds like fun, but... Anyway, we are doing a series on leadership this month, and Mark kicked it off with- Everyone's a Leader. Everyone seemed to have a lot to think about and talk about afterward. Next week, I will be speaking on Servant Leadership. I've been putting together notes for the last week and tomorrow will finish everything up. Please pray for me!

At dinner after FUSE, I was able to talk a lot in Japanese with Kaori-chan especially, who I haven't seen since we went to Ochanomizu. She was super excited, which I thought was cute, and I was actually really impressed at the amount that I could talk to her in Japanese! I know it wasn't all correct, but I felt like I jumped over that dumb speedbump.

Yesterday, there was a discussion about my name. It's apparently a pretty difficult name, though once they figure it out, there's no problem. So, they were working on coming up with new nicknames (mostly these were guys having this talk), in the typical guy fashion. So, here is my name in Katakana: ジャニーン (Janine) They came up with:　ジャニコ (Janiko, since a lot of girls names here end in -ko, but I think there's another reason why they say this, and I'm not sure why...), ジャニンジャ (Janinja- or Ja-ninja), ジャニーさん (Jani-san, apparently a famous producer)... and drum roll please... ジャケルマイクソン (Jakeru-Maikuson)... say it fast, you'll get it... Michael Jackson, just a bit mixed up. That got a big laugh.

They nixed my US-reigning J9 nickname, and eventually some decided to endow me with a producing legacy. I'm not quite sure why the last "n" sound in Jani- makes a difference, but, hey, as the only country where my name is always pronounced correctly is in France, I'm not too picky.