Iwate Swan 19: Christmas 2009

(Iwate Swan 19: Christmas 2009)

Enjoy the last episode of Iwate Swan this year! I will return in January after a lovely visit home to continue the series. It has been a fun ride thus far, and I am looking forward to more adventures in the new year. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season, and I wish all my viewers nothing but the best.

The long distance count down is now a mere 6 days. This time next week I will be with my girlfriend and I could not be happier. We've really made it darling :)

rodg

Iwate Swan 18: Autumn Reflections

(Iwate Swan 18: Autumn Reflections)

Super sized episode that features everything from christmas card shopping to bathroom construction. A lot of these were nice moments, but not enough for a whole video. Plus, though I like my shorter videos better, I think it is good to release a longer one every once in a while too.

Got one more episode coming out next week and then I will be going on break as I return to the US for a few weeks.

Only 13 days to go until I am home and with my girlfriend! That is only 1 week and 6 days!!! I am so excited!!!

Iwate Swan 17: Marukan Department Store

(Iwate Swan 17: Marukan Department Store)

So I am back to finish off November with another Christmas Shopping episode. This time I went to the famous Marukan Department Store and I had some incredible ice cream there. Apologies for this video being half a day late haha, we had a staff party last night so I was quite busy.

Only 19 days to go until I'm back home for break and I can be with my girlfriend! Less than 3 weeks to go! I'm getting really antsy now, but I don't have too much longer to wait....

see you next time!
rodger

Iwate Swan 16: Book Market

(Iwate Swan 16: Book Market)

Wow, so it is already Friday night here again in Iwate so that means it is time to release a new Iwate Swan video. This is my first of two Christmas shopping videos, with next week showcasing a larger store in town. Still, I think this is a neat look into a very common, everyday sort of shop found all throughout Japan. Currently working on the first episode to come out in December (it is being shot like the Halloween one, so the footage comes from several different days), and then I have one more video to shoot before heading home for a few weeks.

My long distance relationship countdown is now down to just 27 days! That is less than 4 weeks to go! I have my night bus ticket to get into Tokyo, and so I am all set for my flight home. It will be amazing to see my girlfriend again, and I am sure winter break will be nothing short of spectacular.

Ok, well hope everyone is doing well! See you next week for another shopping episode....

rodg

Iwate Swan 14: Sports Park

Iwate Swan 14: Sports Park

So I found a giant park behind my house and it is great for taking a walk haha. The seasons are changing and I am gearing up for a cold winter here in Iwate. I've actually been a bit sick lately, but my trip to the local doctor's office got me some medicine to take and I am hoping that I will be 100% recovered soon, as right now all the icky cold symptoms seem to be coming and going by the hour.

Well, life is never boring here that's for sure. In long distance news, the countdown is now at 41 short days before I see my lady friend again. Getting closer...

rodger

Iwate Swan 13: Halloween 2009

Iwate Swan 13: Halloween 2009

So here is the special Halloween video I have been shooting all throughout the month of October. An inside look at Halloween displays, as well as a nice shout out for the goosebumps books I have received in the mail from my subscribers. As an extra bonus, there's even some footage of me at one of my schools showing off my English language bulletin board. All in all, a fairly nice episode.

Only 48 days to go until I am back home and see my girlfriend again! Wow, lower double digits now! Less than 7 weeks to go!

see you next time!
rodger

Iwate Swan 12: Grocery Shopping

Iwate Swan 12: Grocery Shopping

So here's this week's episode. It focuses on what grocery shopping is like for me in Japan, so enjoy all of the shots of the local grocery store in my town haha. It is also kind of interesting to hear about my budget and how much all of this food costs.

Also, there is a big thank you to the initial response to my plea for goosebumps books haha. Since then, I've received NINE books in the mail already, so I am quite happy that my subscribers are so awesome! Thank you so much!

The Halloween episode will be next week. I was planning on doing another J-Shelf for then, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time to do so now. Hmm. Making two videos a week is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be, but we shall see.

Also, only 55 days till I am home and with my girlfriend! Oh that will be lovely haha.

see you next time!
rodger

Iwate Swan 11: Castle Cow Tongue

Iwate Swan 11: Castle Cow Tongue

So here is this week's Iwate Swan video, it is the second video of my adventures in Sendai with my friend Luke. It was a lot of fun to shoot this video and the previous one, and I am looking forward to seeing Luke again next month to hopefully create another fun video together. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it.

Down to 62 days to go until I'm back home! That is less than 9 weeks now! Single Digit Weeks! Hurray!!!

Also, J-Shelf is probably going into a biweekly schedule now, so the next one will be out before Halloween I think.
rodger

Iwate Swan 10: Oktoberfest

Iwate Swan 10: Oktoberfest

This week's episode sees me meeting up with my good friend Tokyo Luke! It's been over 14 months since the last time I saw him, and it was great to meet up and chat about how life has been and how we are settling into our new jobs in japan. Next week's episode also takes place in Sendai, as I shot so much footage over the time I was there, that I had to make 2 videos hah. Yes, the request for goosebumps books at the end of the video is real. Generous souls can send me a private message or shoot me an email.

In long distance relationship news, I am now out of the seventies and down to 69 days to go! Over half way done!!! Next week, I enter into single digit weeks remaining, as right now there is just under 10 weeks to go. Nice!

rodger

October Update

Hey gang, so October has now been underway for a few days and I am getting into the excitement of Halloween (which is my favorite holiday!). I have been decorating my house with little Halloween goodies and I hope to get many more before the spooktacular 31st of the month.


(My current Halloween display next to my TV!)

Today, I spent my Sunday making and editing videos. I filmed and edited this week’s J-Shelf together, and it is a review of a book by a Japanese author. Pretty good stuff, and to make the video a bit more interesting I set it to a bunch of pictures that I have taken while in this country. It’s a relaxing video, so I like it. I also edited together episode 10 of Iwate Swan! I really can’t believe that episode 10 is already going up this week! This series is moving along so quickly! Anyways, the new one going up features Tokyo Luke (or now, as he is better know, “Sendai Luke”) and it is a pretty fun episode.

Going to go grocery shopping in a bit (which will probably be the subject of a new video in a few weeks actually), and I shall start filming the Halloween episode soon.

74 days to go until I see my girlfriend! I have been really upbeat and happy about things lately. Later this week we will be more than halfway done with this longest stretch of time and distance! Just need to keep up this optimism and keep having a good time!

Hope everyone is doing well!
rodger

Iwate Swan 9: Hanamaki Festival

Iwate Swan 9: Hanamaki Festival

Hey gang, so here is this week's Iwate Swan episode. I got to help out and carry one of the portable shrines in Hanamaki's City Festival. This is a pretty big festival where people from all over Iwate come to scope it out. Carrying the shrine was a lot of hard work (man was it heavy!) but it was such a great experience to be involved in this very traditional Japanese experience. Hope you guys enjoy the video!

In other news, 75 days to go until I am back home to see my girlfriend! More time has passed, and that number just keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller and....

rodger

Iwate Swan 8: High School Culture Festival

Hey gang, so this week's Iwate Swan video is now up. It provides the first look at one of the schools I work at during a school festival. It was quite a lot of fun and I loved getting to see the students having such a good time.


(Iwate Swan 8: High School Culture Festival)

Strange how episode 8 of Tokyo Swan was a school festival video as well. Here's that old video from nearly 2 years ago:


(Tokyo Swan 8: Yagami Festival)

Fun to see how things have changed. I still can't get over how young I like in those old Tokyo Swan episodes hah.

Ok, well time to make dinner and then chat with my lady friend on skype which should be very nice. 83 days to go! The number is getting smaller and smaller yet again heh. Have a good one everyone, new iwate swan and j-shelf videos next week! Who knows, maybe I'll make a regular blog post in here too besides just alerting readers of my new videos haha.
rodger

Iwate Swan 7: Saturday Shopping

Hey gang, so this week's Iwate Swan video is out. It is a shopping video, and I hope you enjoy. This is a longer episode, I don't normally like my videos to get this long, but I thought the content was pretty good and justified the longer length.

Going to Sendai over the break here to visit Tokyo Luke! That should be really fun, I haven't seen him in over a year now. So, that will of course be filmed and I am thinking that video will come out in early October (as the next 2 videos are already filmed).

So now I'm down to 91 days until I go back home for winter break and see my girlfriend. From 141 days to 91... wow that number is just getting smaller and smaller! Actually it was going to be 148 days at first, then it was 143 days for a while, but we got the plane tickets and arranged for me to return earlier than we originally planned... nice haha.

Well, I am just listening to Pet Shop Boys here and enjoying a nice evening in (as usual). Another work week done, and now silver week is upon us. Hope everyone is doing well. More updates to come soon. Probably more musings on how time is passing and how I am doing in my long distance relationship haha. It helps to just release the feelings out into the open. But things are great and we are stronger than ever. Amazing how this experience has colored my life in Japan this time around. More on that in a later blog (and video).
rodger

The world we live in and life in general.

Hey gang, so it's been quite some time since I've updated this again, but as anybody following my exploits on youtube knows I have indeed made it back to japan again. So now I am up north in Iwate-ken and working as an assistant language teacher in three high schools and a board of education. The work has been great thus far, and I am really enjoying myself.

I guess I just needed to write some things that are on my mind however and just air out some emotions floating through my mind. I miss my girlfriend like crazy. I know, I didn't really transition into that thought all that well haha, but that probably better shows the impact of the emotions behind that statement. Being apart from her has been the most difficult thing I've ever gone through, and while I never doubt the strength of our relationship or our feelings for one another, I do get sad about not being able to see her for such a long period of time. Although, now I have my plane ticket to be back in michigan for winter break on Dec. 17th, so as of right now that is 94 days away.

I just can't wait to see her again and be able to hold her and laugh together. It will be so nice to spend time with her family again, and it will be great to have her spend more time with my family as well. Winter break is going to be amazing, and I have been counting down the days since the moment I had to say good bye to her on july 29th. Even thinking about it now tears me up.

But time is going by, and at times it feels like it is going by quickly. I mean already half way through september now, so that is pretty good progress. I can't wait to see her again.

Ok, well this post was rather personal haha. Time to go to bed as I have another day of work tomorrow. Time to wake up one day closer to the most amazing girl in the universe....
rodger