by Jen Costanzo | Jan 5, 2008 | Faith, Holidays/Special Events, Reflections, Travel
Over the course of our visits to the different temples in Kyoto, we had the opportunity to see a lot of people both worshiping at the temples as well as monks and nuns who work full-time at these sites. I kept thinking, “I’m so sorry for you!”...
by Mike Costanzo | Dec 15, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions, Teaching
For the most part, opportunities to talk about God or share one’s faith are rare in the job of an ALT. The reason has less to do with religion in public schools (many students have Shinto charms on their bags or pencases) than it does with the fact that everyone...
by Jen Costanzo | Dec 8, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions
Today was the day of the big Kindergarten Christmas program — and my acting debut. :0) Our team mimed the picture book story “You Are Special” by author Max Lucado. Mike did the narration all in Japanese too. It went really well — Yay! Here...
by Mike Costanzo | Jul 4, 2007 | Culture, Faith, Holidays/Special Events
July 7th in Japan is a holiday called Tanabata. Most Americans have never heard of Tanabata, and after a lot of asking around at my school, I’ve come to find out that many Japanese know very little about the true history of the tradition, why certain things are...
by Mike Costanzo | Jun 3, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions, Teaching
Today we had our long-awaited Easter Program, and praise God, it was a smashing success!!! Thanks to all of you who prayed for this event; everything went smoother than we ever thought possible. There were no accidents, no major spills of Easter Egg dye, nobody got...
by Mike Costanzo | May 21, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Scenery, Video, Wakakusa
If there’s one thing that Wakakusa English teachers will tell you about this program, it’s that you never know what amazing opportunities will come your way, and this past week was a great example. This Tuesday, 30 delegates from the city of Mansfield ,...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 16, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Teaching
As we mentioned in our last entry, April is the month of new beginnings, and March is the month of conclusions and endings. Well, it’s also the month for graduation ceremonies, and for us English teachers that means a lot of sad goodbyes. You see, in Japan, you...
by Mike Costanzo | Feb 13, 2007 | Culture, Holidays/Special Events, Wakakusa
Last week we had one of the nicest surprises of our time here. Turns out that every year, the city of Tamura throws a big party to welcome all the foreigners from the surrounding areas. It’s called Heart-To-Heart, and it was a total blast. Besides all the fun...
by Mike Costanzo | Feb 13, 2007 | Faith, Holidays/Special Events
It’s hard to know what to do as Christian in Japan sometimes. Of course, it’s always hard to be a Christian in any culture, because that culture will be a mix of good and bad. Plus, even committed Christians will often disagree on what is the right thing...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 28, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Teaching
Last Sunday was Takine Jr. High’s school festival. Apparently, every Japanese school has one of these, and they’re big deals. So we were excited to be able to see what all the hype was about. Jen was allowed to come both days, and got to meet the principal...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Wakakusa
Today was possibly the biggest and most important day of the year at Wakakusa Kindergarten: the annual Kindergarten Sports Fest ( Undokai ). This is the day when all of the parents (who either never visit the school or usually only come to the school long enough to...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions
Last Sunday (9/24) we (the Funehiki team) had an incredible opportunity to share our faith and our love for God in the most unexpected of places—a secular Folk & Pop Concert at the Funehiki Culture Center. Apparently, the concert organizer heard that the team...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 1, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events
Last Saturday (9/23), our employers arranged for us to be taken to the annual Samurai Parade in Aizu. Back in the states, lots of people love to relive the glory of the medieval days (you know, knights in shining armor and swords and fake English accents and all...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 23, 2006 | Day-to-Day, Holidays/Special Events
Wow, what a week this has been!!! This week we set up our new apartment, met our new co-workers, went to parties, attended a Japanese festival, walked all around town, gone shopping, had meetings with our employer, met the mayor, the Chairman of the Board of...
