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Where are they now: Benisha Abe
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Benisha Abe while she was back in the states for a short amount of time. Benisha always had wanted to go to Japan, it has been her dream since she was a youngster. We could not have enhanced her story any better, so we are going to leave it in her own words.
“Why did I come to Japan? I guess the journey there is half of who I am. Speaking of which, my name is Benisha Abe, and before marriage it was Bennett. Many people just call me Nish, and this year I will be 30, just don’t tell anyone, ok? I grew up in the small town of Benld, out on a dead end road, in the between fields and woods. I graduated from Gillespie High School, and commuted to, and graduated from SIUE. I am a country bunpkin, yet, I managed to end up living on litteraly the other side of the planet: Japan. So here’s to answer the questions: Why and How.
My desire to travel to Japan was sparked when I was young, by none other than the Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles. I can still remember watching the cartoon early in the mornings before school, and the first movie over and over and over again. Much to my mother’s surprise, and perhaps dismay, she recalls me saying I found Shredder ‘just so handsome!’ Thankfully at least my taste in character has changed over the years.
From that point on I was fascinated by anything Asian, especially the martial arts. I nagged my parents for close to a decade to let me join a dojo. I played Ninja with the neighbour when I was in elementary school, forget the dolls! I would wrestle with my brother, I would sneak around the house trying to be stealthy, and by the age of 12, I had convinced my parents to let me have my first sword that had throwing starts attached to the hilt! It was well loved and used, but more as a machete cutting out paths in the back woods with my best friend Michelle Rondi.
The day finally came, at fourteen I joined a martial arts class, Shorin-Ryu Kobayashi-Ryu, up in Carlinville. I can remember to this day how absolutely excited I was on that first drive up, my heart ready to beat out of my chest with excitement! I met my first two sensei, Donald Swann and Sean McCaffery, who helped deepen my love of the Eastern world, particularly Japan. Swann Sensei’s Sensei trained in one of the lower Islands of Japan called Okinawa, so in class we would learn how to count and little phrases here and there in Japanese, plus we heard stories about Okinawa. I was in HEAVEN!
In my third year of training, the dojo closed down, but there was still chances to practice. Unfortunately, my young teenage life took prominence over my love for the martial arts. I stopped going, and I regret it to this day. Yet the seeds of desire to travel to this island Okinawa had been planted.
During my years at college that seed took root and began to flourish. I was a double major in Philosophy and History. Whenever I had the chance, I was learning about Eastern religions, culture, and history. I was even training again, but this time it was in Tai Chi. I was in another, bruise free, heaven!
My last semester of college is when opportunities started knocking on my door. My favorite Japanese history professor, Ph.D Christienne Hinz whom had lived in Japan herself, advised me on programs where I could teach English in Japan. The best was called JET: The Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme, and the surest ways to get in was to have actually been to Japan first. I got a job at the target in Edwardsville, and still worked part time for my for my parents at the Old Red Barn Cinema in Benld. I saved every penny I had. A dollar fifty candy bar was now too expensive for my taste.
Right before graduation I had received an email from an older friend. And guess where he was? Okinawa! I told him about the JET programme and he offered to have me come out for a visit to see what Japan was like. It felt that God was opening a door to me, and I leapt through it! Spending close to every cent I had saved, I bought my first international ticket. Thankfully my parents and my grandpa helped me out with the other costs of living.
On March 3, 2006, there I was in Okinawa! Land of blue skies, beautiful flowers lining almost every street, sushi and wasabi, and rain every morning at 7. I spent a good month just walking up and down most of the Island, talking to anyone who could speak English. It was amazing, and I was in love with the land, the culture, and the food! Hence, the job search began.
I have never been that patient of a person, and I’m quiet frugal. So, going back to America and having to wait a full year to see if I would possible be accepted by the JET programme, and then having to pay for another plane ticket back to Japan just didn’t seem sane. With the help of my loving and understanding parents, I was soon talking to a English school on the main Island of Japan.
They told me they were considering me or another girl. I told them, I had a plane ticket back home tomorrow morning, and I needed to know if I should get on the plane or not. By the end of that conversation I had my first real job! Soon, I was on a shorter plane ride to the main island of Japan, to the prefecture Yamaguchi and the start of a new life.
Since then, I have been living in Japan for almost six years. I have learned a decent amount of Japanese, made so many wonderful friends, traveled to amazing and breathtaking places that had me staring in wonder, and have more than a dozen embarrassing stories. Here in Yamaguchi, I met my loving, and thankfully very patient, Japanese husband camping on a beach with sky blue waters rolling out in front of us. Our first date was on top of a small mountain, watching hundreds of falling stars. Four years later, we said our vows in his rustic family Shinto shire, which has stood for over a thousand years.
As much as I do love my hometown Benld, Japan has stolen my heart in more than one way.”
If you have any suggestions for a where are they now article, please email us at: news@thebengilpost.com.
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A Gillespie man was taken to a local hospital after suffering injuries following a single-vehicle accident that occurred Sunday morning, October 11, after he drove off the roadway and into a deep ditch near the intersection of Route 16 and Charles Street in Gillespie.
Gillespie Police Chief Jared DePoppe reported that the police department was dispatched to the scene of the accident shortly before 3 a.m. Officers arrived to find Jonathan Genisio, 29, of Gillespie as the driver and only occupant inside the Ford Mustang vehicle.
Genisio was arrested, but give a notice to appear in court so he could seek medical treatment. He was charged with six different counts in addition to having his vehicle impounded. His charges include driving under the influence of alcohol, no insurance, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to notify SOS of an address change and failure to wear a seat belt.
At the time of publication on Thursday evening, the vehicle was recovered from impound and Genisio was discharged from the hospital. The extent of his injuries was unable to be released by medical personnel.
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Treasurer Dan Fisher (right) addresses the council.
The treasurer for the City of Gillespie had a lot to say about how city officials handle their subcommittees and how city funds are spent during the city’s committee meeting held Monday evening, July 27.
Dan Fisher, the elected treasurer for Gillespie, spoke to the council for over 30 minutes about how bills are paid and more importantly, how purchases are appropriated for and planned. During the city’s board meeting held earlier this month, Fisher suggested the council move their meeting dates to coincide with how the bills are paid.
He explained that many council members bring up issues or have questions about certain bills during the council meetings, but the questions are left to be answered by the city clerk who isn’t present at the board meetings. In addition to dragging out the meetings, Fisher said the questions should be taken care of before the meeting is held.
“We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things,” Fisher told the council Monday evening. “We need to spend more time on appropriating.”
[pullquote]We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things[/pullquote]Fisher distributed a “Budget Basics” packet to board members during the committee meeting held Monday and said the council should consider implementing a purchase order system to account for all purchases. “That way when the bills come in, we can match the form up with it and everyone knows what the purchase was for and what account it comes out of,” he clarified.
Council members agreed with what Fisher had to say to them. “We need to spend a lot of time when do our appropriation and it’s going to take a lot of time from everyone, including myself,” he continued. “We need to find a way to be collective in how we do things.”
Fisher closed by adding that the council also takes too long at their regular city council meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month. Speaking of the city’s July meeting that lasted nearly 3 hours, Fisher said the council needs to be much more “business-like”.
“We take too long at our meetings,” he closed. “It’s been proven that people lose focus after 90 minutes and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get a meeting done in 1 hour and 15 minutes.”
City clerk Frances Smith spoke up after Fisher referred to the council’s last meeting. She prefaced her statement by saying she didn’t intend to saying anything, but continued by saying that the council’s July 13th meeting took her three days to transcribe. “It makes the clerk’s job hard – whoever it is,” she said. “There is a lot of side conversations and it’s very hard to hear on the tape.”
Ash Street Project
Alderman Steve Kluthe informed the board that he received the bid specifications back for the Ash Street Project which allows the council to advertise the specs to get an idea how much drainage project will cost.
Kluthe said the bid specifications cover everything including equal opportunity employer and prevailing wage information, but said the project could probably be handled by a local contractor. The project includes installing a culvert that will transfer the water to Cherry Street.
The council hopes the completed project will then alleviate the water that currently gets backed up north of Ash Street. “They are going to put a culvert underneath Ash Street to the north and grade the ground on the north side so the water flows to the culvert and down to the south end where there is a storm drain,” Kluthe explained.
TIF District
[pullquote]We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development[/pullquote]Fisher informed the council that the tax bills for the TIF district went out and the city can expect to receive close to $60,000. He reminded the council that even though the city made a big payment to United Community Bank last year in excess of $90,000, there will still be a payment made to UCB for their portion paid into the TIF until the TIF expires, which Fisher said is 12-14 more years.
After the city pays UCB, Fisher said the council can expect to still have somewhere north of $40,000 remaining each year. “I would like us to start to look at other projects that meet the TIF criteria that we could spend $20-$30,000 per year,” Fisher explained. “Long-range projects – projects that could last 10-12 years. We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development.”
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Kindergarten
- 5 boxes CRAYOLA brand crayons (24 count)
- 1 box CRAYOLA brand broad-line markers (classic)
- 1 backpack
- 1 box of water paints
- 1 pair FISKAR brand scissors (children’s)
- 6 large glue sticks
- 1 small plastic school box
- 4 pocket folders
- 4 large erasers
- 20 pencils (#2, lead, plain yellow)
- 2 boxes of Kleenex
- 2 rolls of paper towels
- 2 containers of anti-bacterial wipes
- 1 large box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
- 1 large box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
- 1 clipboard
- 1 highlighter
- 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
- Extra set of clothes to keep at school
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
First Grade
- 1 plastic school box
- 3 packs of pencil top erasers
- 2 large pink erasers
- 5 packs of Ticonderoga brand pencils
- 2 yellow highlighters
- 2 boxes of CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 12 Elmer’s brand glue sticks
- 1 pair of FISKAR brand scissors
- 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
- 2 plastic 2-pocket folders
- 1 8ct classic CRAYOLA fine line markers
- 2 dry erase markers
- 1 roll of paper towels
- 2 boxes of Kleenex
- 3 containers of Clorox Anti-Bacterial Wipes
- 1 box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
- 1 box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
- Extra set of clothes to keep at school
Second Grade
- Handheld pencil sharpener
- 8 large Elmer’s glue sticks
- 1 large zippered pencil bag
- 24 – #2 pencils
- 1 wide ruled spiral notebook
- 1 package wide ruled loose leaf paper
- (2) 1” three ring binder
- 1 pack of pencil top erasers
- 1 pair of FISKARS brand pointed scissors
- 1 yellow highlighter
- 1 box broad line classic CRAYOLA markers
- 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 2 plastic pocket folders
- 1 CRAYOLA watercolor paints
- 1 box of Kleenex
- 1 roll of paper towels
- Large Ziploc bags
- Sandwich size Ziploc bags
- 2 containers of Clorox wipes
- 1 box of CRAYOLA colored pencils
- 2 dry erase markers
- Extra set of clothes to leave at school
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Third Grade
- 1 small school box
- 4 packages of pencils (#2, plain yellow)
- 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 1 box CRAYOLA colored pencils
- 1 highlighter
- 1 pair pointed scissors
- 6 ELMER glue sticks
- 2 pocket folders
- 3 boxes Kleenex
- 2 containers of CLOROX wipes
- 1 roll of paper towels
- 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide rule)
- 2 notebooks (wide rule)
- (2) 1” binders
- 2 packs of pencil top erasers
- Gallon-sized Ziploc bags (boys)
- Sandwich-sized Ziploc bags (girls)
- 2 packages of post-it notes
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Fourth Grade
- 2 packages of wide rule loose leaf paper
- 48 pencils
- 3 packs pencil top erasers
- (1) 2” binder
- 1 box 24 or 48 count CRAYOLA crayons
- 1 pair FISKAR scissors
- 1 box of colored pencils
- 1 single subject notebook (wide rule)
- 3 folders
- 2 packages of white index cards
- 4 highlighters
- 4 packages of post-it notes
- 2 boxes Kleenex
- 1 container of Clorox wipes
- Hand held Pencil Sharpener
- Dividing tabs for binder
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Fifth Grade
- Art Box
- Pencil Pouch
- 36 pencils (mechanical preferred)
- 12 pencil top erasers
- Crayola crayons
- Markers
- Crayola Colored Pencils
- Red or Blue Pen
- Scissors
- Clear Ruler
- Clear Protractor
- 1 Bottle of Elmer’s Glue or 2 Glue Sticks
- (1) 3 Ring Binder (2 inch)
- 2 notebooks (one subject-wide ruled)
- 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide ruled)
- 3 folders
- 2 highlighters
- 2 boxes Kleenex
- Girls-Antibacterial Wipes
- Boys-4 pack of post it notes
- Hand Held Pencil Sharpener
- Pocket Dictionary
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
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