11.30.07
Mao Man, Dog Man, and Sleepy Man. These are the three people "living inside" my 13 year old student's mind (not really though so please don't worry). He is one of my most creative students and also tends to be one of the most fun/silliest. Getting back to the three people in his brain: Because of them, he will forever teeter on the edge of internal stability. Mao Man is my student in his normal form. Dog Man, "knocks on his brain" and makes him run around, scream, and shout. Sleepy man, the last of the three people, "knocks on this brain" and persuades him to go to sleep.
For one of my classes today, my students had to arrange a cut up sentence. Instead of organizing the letters to say "He is buying an apple at the store.", the sentence said "He is an apple...". During this same class, they thought I said "baby hotel" and couldn't stop laughing for a good two minutes. Hiroko had to come over to calm them down and explain to me what was doing on. It was silly. I don't know where they got "baby hotel" though since I had only asked them if they could tell me which season was their favorite and why.
Random Side Note: More about ryokans. Yes, there is usually an alternative western style breakfast available (depending on the ryokan), and they usually offer western style beds as well. The ryokan I stayed at in Nikko gave guests the option of having either a western or Japanese style breakfast and a western or Japanese style room. To be honest, sleeping on the tatami floor is really quite comfortable. I've slept on the one in my apartment a few times. I should also explain that you don't sleep directly on the tatami; you sleep on a futon mattress that is laid on top of the tatami. All the rooms in my apartment have tatami flooring except for the kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. It's hard to imagine something made of woven bamboo would be comfortable, but it is. If you're used to a soft mattress then it may take a little getting used to, but even western style beds here in Japan seem to be rather hard; at least in my apartment that seems to be the case. Most ryokans are quite accommodating, but there are also some rules that are not flexible. For example, you're not allowed to wear sneakers or shoes around the inn and you have to change into special bathroom shoes. Also curfew times must be strictly adhered to. Overall, I would really recommend staying in a ryokan if you want to experience a taste of what Japan is like.
Tomorrow is December 1st! Yikes stripes!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Oden
11.29.07
Tonight Lauren made me a hearty dinner, which consisted of oden. For those of you who are not familiar with oden, I will attempt to explain it as best that I can. Oden is a traditional Japanese winter food that is basically made from processed fish. The fish is made into soft little "cakes" and soaked in a special soy broth. The cakes are soft and puffy. Around this time, most convenient stores carry oden pots of their own. If you're in a rush, and don't feel like eating a cold sandwich for lunch, you can stop in your local conbini (convenient store) and ask them to dish you up some of this tasty food. It's surprisingly very filling and is usually eaten along with rice.
But a funny thing happened while I was eating my oden tonight. I took one of the cakes out of the pot of broth and put it into my dry little dish. When I went to pick up the cake from my dish, a stream of soy broth squirted forth from the squishy, fishy perplexity that is oden. I was so surprised that I almost dropped my chopsticks. Lauren and I stopped talking very abruptly and laughed about it for a good five minutes. It was the silliest dinner, I've had in a long time.
Random Side Note: An anonymous reader (Mrs. Marge?) asked me to explain Japanese ryokans. Ryokans are traditional Japanese hotels. 1) Rather than sleeping on a western style bed, you lay on a futon on the tatami floor. 2) Rather than enjoying a continental breakfast, a traditional Japanese breakfast is served. This usually includes: tea, rice, fish, salad of some sort, and miso soup. 3) Rather than taking a shower in your room, there is a common bath for all of the hotel guests to enjoy. Yes, the men and women's quarters are separated.
You read that ryokans are referred to as "spas", and while this is somewhat true due to the last difference to western hotels that I mentioned above (see number 3), it is not entirely true. The large bath is basically a spa in itself; it is exactly the same set-up as a Japanese onsen or public bath. I guess you could equate it to a spa where you could also stay over night, but there is really no western equivalent to a Japanese ryokan; they are unique to Japan.
There are other differences between western hotels and ryokans. For example, many ryokans also have a curfew that the guests must adhere to; it's usually around 11pm. Usually, ryokans are smaller than hotels; they may even be attached to the owner's house much like a bed and breakfast. I stayed at a ryokan with only 5 rooms when I visited Nikko, and it was a great way to learn about traditional Japanese customs.
Tonight Lauren made me a hearty dinner, which consisted of oden. For those of you who are not familiar with oden, I will attempt to explain it as best that I can. Oden is a traditional Japanese winter food that is basically made from processed fish. The fish is made into soft little "cakes" and soaked in a special soy broth. The cakes are soft and puffy. Around this time, most convenient stores carry oden pots of their own. If you're in a rush, and don't feel like eating a cold sandwich for lunch, you can stop in your local conbini (convenient store) and ask them to dish you up some of this tasty food. It's surprisingly very filling and is usually eaten along with rice.
But a funny thing happened while I was eating my oden tonight. I took one of the cakes out of the pot of broth and put it into my dry little dish. When I went to pick up the cake from my dish, a stream of soy broth squirted forth from the squishy, fishy perplexity that is oden. I was so surprised that I almost dropped my chopsticks. Lauren and I stopped talking very abruptly and laughed about it for a good five minutes. It was the silliest dinner, I've had in a long time.
Random Side Note: An anonymous reader (Mrs. Marge?) asked me to explain Japanese ryokans. Ryokans are traditional Japanese hotels. 1) Rather than sleeping on a western style bed, you lay on a futon on the tatami floor. 2) Rather than enjoying a continental breakfast, a traditional Japanese breakfast is served. This usually includes: tea, rice, fish, salad of some sort, and miso soup. 3) Rather than taking a shower in your room, there is a common bath for all of the hotel guests to enjoy. Yes, the men and women's quarters are separated.
You read that ryokans are referred to as "spas", and while this is somewhat true due to the last difference to western hotels that I mentioned above (see number 3), it is not entirely true. The large bath is basically a spa in itself; it is exactly the same set-up as a Japanese onsen or public bath. I guess you could equate it to a spa where you could also stay over night, but there is really no western equivalent to a Japanese ryokan; they are unique to Japan.
There are other differences between western hotels and ryokans. For example, many ryokans also have a curfew that the guests must adhere to; it's usually around 11pm. Usually, ryokans are smaller than hotels; they may even be attached to the owner's house much like a bed and breakfast. I stayed at a ryokan with only 5 rooms when I visited Nikko, and it was a great way to learn about traditional Japanese customs.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Ririka's Last Day
11.26.07
Yes, a teacher should show an equal amount of care and patience towards each and every student. However important this cardinal rule may be, it is extremely difficult not to become attached to a particular student who exhibits a willingness to learn. As sad as I was to see one of my "favorite" student's leave today, I knew that she would succeed wherever life would take her; in this case, she would be moving to America. I gave her a little going away present (an English Snoopy sticker book with translations in Japanese) and made sure to give her mother my email address in case they needed to get in touch with me, and I really hope they do.
Before class started Ririka handed me a card. She had added her own message that said, "Dear Sheila Thankyouverymuch" and printed her name. Even though it was simple, it was all she needed to say.
I will miss her.
One of my short term students, who had just been staying aboard in Oxford, England with a host family, returned to say hello and show me some pictures from his trip. It was good to see him, and I was surprised to find out that he had brought back some English tea for me! I tried it tonight with dinner and it was very delicious. Thank you Tomohide!
Random Shout-outs: I would like to wish my sister a very Happy 19th Birthday! I hope you enjoy every waking moment because it's your last year as a teenager! <3
Yes, a teacher should show an equal amount of care and patience towards each and every student. However important this cardinal rule may be, it is extremely difficult not to become attached to a particular student who exhibits a willingness to learn. As sad as I was to see one of my "favorite" student's leave today, I knew that she would succeed wherever life would take her; in this case, she would be moving to America. I gave her a little going away present (an English Snoopy sticker book with translations in Japanese) and made sure to give her mother my email address in case they needed to get in touch with me, and I really hope they do.
Before class started Ririka handed me a card. She had added her own message that said, "Dear Sheila Thankyouverymuch" and printed her name. Even though it was simple, it was all she needed to say.
I will miss her.
One of my short term students, who had just been staying aboard in Oxford, England with a host family, returned to say hello and show me some pictures from his trip. It was good to see him, and I was surprised to find out that he had brought back some English tea for me! I tried it tonight with dinner and it was very delicious. Thank you Tomohide!
Random Shout-outs: I would like to wish my sister a very Happy 19th Birthday! I hope you enjoy every waking moment because it's your last year as a teenager! <3
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Tokyo Disney Sea
11.23.07
At 6:30am my alarm went off to signal the start of a day filled with fun and good times to be had all around. I quickly got dressed and signed onto Skype just in time to have a nice long chat with my family. It was good to see that Mom, Aunt Rita, Momma, Papa, Sarah, Dr. Ed, and Mrs. Marge were all doing well. In the back of my mind I wanted to be there enjoying the American Thanksgiving traditional feast with them, but I knew that I was meant to be here in Japan. After talking to them I signed offline, ate a quick breakfast, helped Lauren make lunch, and brushed my teeth. Brushing your teeth is very important, don't you know?
Lauren and I left the house around 8:30am and took a taxi to the station in order to make it to Maihama at 9am. It was planned that we would meet everyone outside the Maihama station at 9am sharp. Since we already had tickets to Tokyo Disney Sea so all we had to do was exchange them at the entrance. We found Azusa in the ginormus crowd of people, and waited for the rest of our group (Min Soo and his friend named Ryoma). Everyone finally arrived and we headed towards the monorail station.
Azusa had warned us to buy tickets in advanced because today was a public holiday called Labor Thanks Day. As a result, tickets for both the Disney Land and Sea parks were sold out by 9:15am; the park had opened at 8am, an exception for the holiday. My insides were bubbling with excitement as we rode the monorail into the park. This would be my first time in a Disney Theme Park ever! It was rather ironic that my first time going to Disney would take place in a country foreign to my own.
We made our way towards the Tower of Terror to see if we could get a Fast Pass. To our surprise the sign near the ride informed us that the Fast Passes for the entire day were sold out! We decided to make our way to the back of the park and see if we could get on some other rides. By the end of the day I had ridden on three of the four major roller coasters: Raging Spirits, Indian Jones, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Out of the three I rode, I liked Journey to the Center of the Earth the most. It was scary, had really great effects, and the whole concept of the ride was very well designed. I will have to go back to ride Tower of Terror another day. From what I hear, the Tower of Terror ride is also in GM studios at Disney World. If I can't make it to the ride here, I can always go when I come back to the states.
It was also really great to spend time with good friends. I had not met Ryoma before, but he was very funny. It was great that Azusa and Min Soo could also join us. We all got to know each other very well; especially after standing in line for a few hours. But I shouldn't complain, it was well worth the wait! After going on rides all day and walking around the park, we stopped into a cafe to warm up a bit before heading outside again to see the firework display. The park looked completely different at night! It was so beautiful to see all the Christmas lights and hear Christmas music playing all around us.
Even the monorail handles scream "Disney!".
Me, Lauren, and Azusa
Welcome to Tokyo Disney Sea!
Ryoma, Min Soo, Lauren, and Azusa waiting in line to ride Raging Spirits.
Ariel's Underwater Castle in the Mermaid Lagoon area was one of my favorite sites. Some of the other main areas included: American Harbor (New York City in the 1940/1950's), Arabia (think Aladdin), Mystery Island (it was inside the volcano), and The Lost River Delta (think Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom).
Our lunch consisted of egg salad onegiri made by Lauren and I. Our friends said that our choice of onegiri filling was very innovative, but they really enjoyed it.
When I become a mad scientist I hope my laboratory looks like this (taken at the The Journey to the Center of the Earth ride).
"Land Ho Matey!"
Happy Merry Disney Christmas!
Me and Lauren kissing Mickey and Minnie Snowmen/women.
The entrance looks completely different at night.
At 6:30am my alarm went off to signal the start of a day filled with fun and good times to be had all around. I quickly got dressed and signed onto Skype just in time to have a nice long chat with my family. It was good to see that Mom, Aunt Rita, Momma, Papa, Sarah, Dr. Ed, and Mrs. Marge were all doing well. In the back of my mind I wanted to be there enjoying the American Thanksgiving traditional feast with them, but I knew that I was meant to be here in Japan. After talking to them I signed offline, ate a quick breakfast, helped Lauren make lunch, and brushed my teeth. Brushing your teeth is very important, don't you know?
Lauren and I left the house around 8:30am and took a taxi to the station in order to make it to Maihama at 9am. It was planned that we would meet everyone outside the Maihama station at 9am sharp. Since we already had tickets to Tokyo Disney Sea so all we had to do was exchange them at the entrance. We found Azusa in the ginormus crowd of people, and waited for the rest of our group (Min Soo and his friend named Ryoma). Everyone finally arrived and we headed towards the monorail station.
Azusa had warned us to buy tickets in advanced because today was a public holiday called Labor Thanks Day. As a result, tickets for both the Disney Land and Sea parks were sold out by 9:15am; the park had opened at 8am, an exception for the holiday. My insides were bubbling with excitement as we rode the monorail into the park. This would be my first time in a Disney Theme Park ever! It was rather ironic that my first time going to Disney would take place in a country foreign to my own.
We made our way towards the Tower of Terror to see if we could get a Fast Pass. To our surprise the sign near the ride informed us that the Fast Passes for the entire day were sold out! We decided to make our way to the back of the park and see if we could get on some other rides. By the end of the day I had ridden on three of the four major roller coasters: Raging Spirits, Indian Jones, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Out of the three I rode, I liked Journey to the Center of the Earth the most. It was scary, had really great effects, and the whole concept of the ride was very well designed. I will have to go back to ride Tower of Terror another day. From what I hear, the Tower of Terror ride is also in GM studios at Disney World. If I can't make it to the ride here, I can always go when I come back to the states.
It was also really great to spend time with good friends. I had not met Ryoma before, but he was very funny. It was great that Azusa and Min Soo could also join us. We all got to know each other very well; especially after standing in line for a few hours. But I shouldn't complain, it was well worth the wait! After going on rides all day and walking around the park, we stopped into a cafe to warm up a bit before heading outside again to see the firework display. The park looked completely different at night! It was so beautiful to see all the Christmas lights and hear Christmas music playing all around us.
Even the monorail handles scream "Disney!".
Me, Lauren, and Azusa
Welcome to Tokyo Disney Sea!
Ryoma, Min Soo, Lauren, and Azusa waiting in line to ride Raging Spirits.
Ariel's Underwater Castle in the Mermaid Lagoon area was one of my favorite sites. Some of the other main areas included: American Harbor (New York City in the 1940/1950's), Arabia (think Aladdin), Mystery Island (it was inside the volcano), and The Lost River Delta (think Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom).
Our lunch consisted of egg salad onegiri made by Lauren and I. Our friends said that our choice of onegiri filling was very innovative, but they really enjoyed it.
When I become a mad scientist I hope my laboratory looks like this (taken at the The Journey to the Center of the Earth ride).
"Land Ho Matey!"
Happy Merry Disney Christmas!
Me and Lauren kissing Mickey and Minnie Snowmen/women.
The entrance looks completely different at night.Thanksgiving Dinner
11.22.07
Since today was the first of our two days off, Lauren and I had time to do chores around the house and have a nice Thanksgiving Day breakfast. Around 11am we left the house and headed to meet our friend Johanne for lunch in Harajuku. We were really excited to finally see Johanne in the never-ending stream of people that were coming out of the turn-styles at the Harajuku station. We decided to go across the street from the station at this very nice Italian restaurant. I think out of all the Italian restaurants I've eaten at in Japan, this one was one of the best. We had a delicious oven-baked pizza with whole basil leaves and perfectly melted mozzarella cheese. It was so yummy. We also got some other food to share. We talked for a long time about life and just enjoyed the restaurant's bird's eye view of the busy streets below.
Johanne had to go back home to prepare some food for the Thanksgiving Day party so Lauren and I walked around for an hour or so before heading off to help prepare for the party too. I'm sure I mentioned this before, but Lauren and I made very simple dishes to pass at the party. I made mashed potatoes just like my mother makes them; except I had to mash them with a rice cooker paddle. Lauren made tuna, pasta salad that turned out to be very tasty as well. Johanne made a popular Fillipino dish called Adobo (She used fish so I could eat it. Thanks Johanne!). There was also chicken (It is hard to find turkey here in Japan.), stuffing, Korean kimchi (spicy cabbage), rice, sushi, salad, and special cakes made by my friend Jenny. Here are some pictures of our Korean style Thanksgiving Party!
Abe is digging in!
Joe and Mike
From left to right: Asuka, Josh, Josh's friend, and Johanne. They have A LOT left to eat :)
From left to right: Emma, Jenny, Grace, and Ken
Me and Johanne!
Since today was the first of our two days off, Lauren and I had time to do chores around the house and have a nice Thanksgiving Day breakfast. Around 11am we left the house and headed to meet our friend Johanne for lunch in Harajuku. We were really excited to finally see Johanne in the never-ending stream of people that were coming out of the turn-styles at the Harajuku station. We decided to go across the street from the station at this very nice Italian restaurant. I think out of all the Italian restaurants I've eaten at in Japan, this one was one of the best. We had a delicious oven-baked pizza with whole basil leaves and perfectly melted mozzarella cheese. It was so yummy. We also got some other food to share. We talked for a long time about life and just enjoyed the restaurant's bird's eye view of the busy streets below.
Johanne had to go back home to prepare some food for the Thanksgiving Day party so Lauren and I walked around for an hour or so before heading off to help prepare for the party too. I'm sure I mentioned this before, but Lauren and I made very simple dishes to pass at the party. I made mashed potatoes just like my mother makes them; except I had to mash them with a rice cooker paddle. Lauren made tuna, pasta salad that turned out to be very tasty as well. Johanne made a popular Fillipino dish called Adobo (She used fish so I could eat it. Thanks Johanne!). There was also chicken (It is hard to find turkey here in Japan.), stuffing, Korean kimchi (spicy cabbage), rice, sushi, salad, and special cakes made by my friend Jenny. Here are some pictures of our Korean style Thanksgiving Party!
Abe is digging in!
Joe and Mike
From left to right: Asuka, Josh, Josh's friend, and Johanne. They have A LOT left to eat :)
From left to right: Emma, Jenny, Grace, and Ken
Me and Johanne!Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thanksgiving Vacation
11.21.07
As of this current moment (Wednesday night), Hands on English, will be closed for the next two days. Normally, my vacation days do not necessarily coincide with holidays; however, since there happened to be five Thursdays and Fridays in the month of November, the remaining days are considered vacation days. This is mainly because our students only pay for four lessons each month.
Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Japan, but there is still a national holiday this Friday. A few of my students were excited to have Friday off from school. My older class of boys told me what they how they were going to spend their day off. One was going out to lunch with his Grandfather, the other was going to play tennis, and the third was going to stay up all night long at his friends house playing video games. Sounds good to me!
Getting back to the matter of Thanksgiving. Besides the fact Japan does not have a Thanksgiving story involving Squanto and the Plymouth settlers, most homes also lack an oven which is a necessity when preparing a Thanksgiving meal. I'm not even sure if you can buy a turkey. Actually, if I remember correctly, Lauren and I saw 10kg (about 5 pounds) turkeys for sale; which is considered big by Japanese standards. Compared to a 15 pound turkey that my family back in America buys, 5 pounds is pretty small. I was trying to think of what I could bring to the Thanksgiving Party that I'm going to and all I could come up with was mashed potatoes. Lauren is making tuna and macaroni salad. Let's hope for the best.
Overall, I am excited to get together with friends for a Japanese Thanksgiving Meal, but I think I'm going to miss all the American foods like cranberry sauce (with out the berries), mashed potatoes, my mother's stuffing, salad, and Mom Hensen's pumpkin/apple pie. I would be missing turkey if I ate it, but it's more likely that I will miss The Binghamton University Food Coops' Quinoa Loaf!
Tomorrow before I meet up with friends for Thanksgiving Dinner, I'm going to Harijuku to meet my friend Johanne. She offered to show Lauren and I all of her favorite shops. Hopefully I'll be able to find some unique Christmas gifts. On Friday, I will be heading to Mihama to spend the Day with 5 friends (Lauren, Azusa, Min Soo, and two of Min Soo's friends) at Tokyo Disney Sea! We are all really excited to spend the entire day there!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here is a list of things that I'm thankful for. What are you thankful for?
- my family and friends
- my health and the health of family and friends
- laughter and smiles
- tuna onegiri
- people that are dedicated to changing the world for the better i.e. Al Gore
- trees, plants, and living things in general
- sleep
- being given the opportunity to work and live in Japan for a year
Random Side Note: There was a cat walking around the school neighborhood today. Hiroko and I first saw him by the restaurant next store around 1pm and then at 6pm he came to the door of our school. He was meowing so loudly just like Mitzu, my cat at home in Buffalo, NY. He had the exact same meow as Mitzu. I wanted to scoop him up and pat his little head like I do when I come back after being away from home, but I had a lesson so I couldn't leave. Later on Lauren filled me in on what had happened. At first Hiroko thought he was cold so they (Lauren and her) actually brought him into the classroom in a box. When that didn't work they took him back outside and Lauren fed him bread; apparently he ate quite a bit of it. Poor kit kat.
As of this current moment (Wednesday night), Hands on English, will be closed for the next two days. Normally, my vacation days do not necessarily coincide with holidays; however, since there happened to be five Thursdays and Fridays in the month of November, the remaining days are considered vacation days. This is mainly because our students only pay for four lessons each month.
Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Japan, but there is still a national holiday this Friday. A few of my students were excited to have Friday off from school. My older class of boys told me what they how they were going to spend their day off. One was going out to lunch with his Grandfather, the other was going to play tennis, and the third was going to stay up all night long at his friends house playing video games. Sounds good to me!
Getting back to the matter of Thanksgiving. Besides the fact Japan does not have a Thanksgiving story involving Squanto and the Plymouth settlers, most homes also lack an oven which is a necessity when preparing a Thanksgiving meal. I'm not even sure if you can buy a turkey. Actually, if I remember correctly, Lauren and I saw 10kg (about 5 pounds) turkeys for sale; which is considered big by Japanese standards. Compared to a 15 pound turkey that my family back in America buys, 5 pounds is pretty small. I was trying to think of what I could bring to the Thanksgiving Party that I'm going to and all I could come up with was mashed potatoes. Lauren is making tuna and macaroni salad. Let's hope for the best.
Overall, I am excited to get together with friends for a Japanese Thanksgiving Meal, but I think I'm going to miss all the American foods like cranberry sauce (with out the berries), mashed potatoes, my mother's stuffing, salad, and Mom Hensen's pumpkin/apple pie. I would be missing turkey if I ate it, but it's more likely that I will miss The Binghamton University Food Coops' Quinoa Loaf!
Tomorrow before I meet up with friends for Thanksgiving Dinner, I'm going to Harijuku to meet my friend Johanne. She offered to show Lauren and I all of her favorite shops. Hopefully I'll be able to find some unique Christmas gifts. On Friday, I will be heading to Mihama to spend the Day with 5 friends (Lauren, Azusa, Min Soo, and two of Min Soo's friends) at Tokyo Disney Sea! We are all really excited to spend the entire day there!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here is a list of things that I'm thankful for. What are you thankful for?
- my family and friends
- my health and the health of family and friends
- laughter and smiles
- tuna onegiri
- people that are dedicated to changing the world for the better i.e. Al Gore
- trees, plants, and living things in general
- sleep
- being given the opportunity to work and live in Japan for a year
Random Side Note: There was a cat walking around the school neighborhood today. Hiroko and I first saw him by the restaurant next store around 1pm and then at 6pm he came to the door of our school. He was meowing so loudly just like Mitzu, my cat at home in Buffalo, NY. He had the exact same meow as Mitzu. I wanted to scoop him up and pat his little head like I do when I come back after being away from home, but I had a lesson so I couldn't leave. Later on Lauren filled me in on what had happened. At first Hiroko thought he was cold so they (Lauren and her) actually brought him into the classroom in a box. When that didn't work they took him back outside and Lauren fed him bread; apparently he ate quite a bit of it. Poor kit kat.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Teaching the Teacher
11.18.07
After a few days of not checking or replying to any of my emails I figured that it was time to sit down and play a little game of "ketchup". I must interject a comment here: Japanese ketchup is very different from the ketchup that many of us are used to back in the United States. It is much sweeter tasting (less vinegar maybe?) and reminds me very much of tomato paste that you can buy in the cans at home.
Anyways, it has been a while since I had some down time to just "surf the web". Here are some of the sites that I have been taking a gander at:
(1) Relative Speed (Thanks to Heather, I spent some quality time on Threadless.com just looking at the astonishing creativity of some of the people that I share this humongous planet with.)
(2) My favorite (This was my favorite t-shirt on Threadless.com. I also liked the giraffe one that's titled "What makes it work?")
(3) Kenn sent me this music video a long time ago, but I didn't have time to watch it until now.
(4) If you want to build/test your vocabulary while helping feed starving people around the world please check out this site!
(5) Yay Disney! Double yay!
(6) A lesson in entrepreneurship and seizing opportunities: Natto to the Rescue
(7) I think those are all the interesting ones. I'm also listening to some music sent to me by my good friend Jon Newman.
Lately, the winter weather is beginning to show itself. Everyday I see more and more Japanese people sporting colorful scarfs and trendy boots. Perhaps my blood has thinned due to the extremely warm weather we had here this summer, but the number of layers I wear has seemed to increase linearly over the past few days. Thank goodness for mothers that bite the bullet to pay the shipping for warm blankets from home so that I can at least be warm when I'm falling asleep. Yesterday I purchased a black and white checkered scarf that was calling my name. I also picked up some "Meri Kurisumasu" presents for family members :)
Speaking of Christmas, since there is no Thanksgiving holiday in Japan, Christmas decorations come out just after Halloween. Maybe this is also beginning to occur in America too? I have noticed that most stores and buildings are decorated for the quickly approaching X-MAS season.
Japanese Politics Discussion
In my lesson this past Saturday with one of my older students, I learned a lot about Japan's current political scene. My student had intentionally chosen a lesson topic that I knew little about, and I was very thankful for it. I did some basic research before the lesson, but it was a great opportunity for my student to practice his English while explaining something interesting to him. The article concerned a piece of legislation that had recently expired as of November 1st. Different parties were drafting (or not drafting) their own versions of the new bill so that they could be proposed in front of the Diet; the Japanese Congress made up of the upper House of Councilors and lower House of Representatives.
Sidenotes: Currently, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has control of the House of Representatives (Prime Minister Fukuda is also a member of this party) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has control of the House of Councilors. My student went to explain that a precedent was set in July 2007. Never have two different parties controlled the Diet like this before; to quote Wikipedia, "In the Upper House election of 2007 [July 2007], the DPJ won 60 out of 121 contested seats, with 49 seats not up to the election, causing the LDP to lose its majority in the upper house for the first time since its inception." The LDP was first formed in 1955 while the DPJ was formed much more recently. LDP and members from other parties united in 1998 to form the DPJ; they wanted to stand up against the dominant LDP party.
Getting back to my lesson, we talked about how the DPJ has been asked to draft it's own version of the bill in response to the government's bill (LDP?), but they continue to make excuses and fail to take action. Their have been several recent scandals that are being used to sidetrack a decision about the bill which allows the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to supply oil and other supplies to international bases stationed in the Indian Ocean. The government's new legislation is looking to reestablish this refueling mission but the DPJ's does not. From what I understand, many Japanese people are looking forward to the possibility of having a choice between one proposal and the other; however, that could be an incorrect assumption.
After a few days of not checking or replying to any of my emails I figured that it was time to sit down and play a little game of "ketchup". I must interject a comment here: Japanese ketchup is very different from the ketchup that many of us are used to back in the United States. It is much sweeter tasting (less vinegar maybe?) and reminds me very much of tomato paste that you can buy in the cans at home.
Anyways, it has been a while since I had some down time to just "surf the web". Here are some of the sites that I have been taking a gander at:
(1) Relative Speed (Thanks to Heather, I spent some quality time on Threadless.com just looking at the astonishing creativity of some of the people that I share this humongous planet with.)
(2) My favorite (This was my favorite t-shirt on Threadless.com. I also liked the giraffe one that's titled "What makes it work?")
(3) Kenn sent me this music video a long time ago, but I didn't have time to watch it until now.
(4) If you want to build/test your vocabulary while helping feed starving people around the world please check out this site!
(5) Yay Disney! Double yay!
(6) A lesson in entrepreneurship and seizing opportunities: Natto to the Rescue
(7) I think those are all the interesting ones. I'm also listening to some music sent to me by my good friend Jon Newman.
Lately, the winter weather is beginning to show itself. Everyday I see more and more Japanese people sporting colorful scarfs and trendy boots. Perhaps my blood has thinned due to the extremely warm weather we had here this summer, but the number of layers I wear has seemed to increase linearly over the past few days. Thank goodness for mothers that bite the bullet to pay the shipping for warm blankets from home so that I can at least be warm when I'm falling asleep. Yesterday I purchased a black and white checkered scarf that was calling my name. I also picked up some "Meri Kurisumasu" presents for family members :)
Speaking of Christmas, since there is no Thanksgiving holiday in Japan, Christmas decorations come out just after Halloween. Maybe this is also beginning to occur in America too? I have noticed that most stores and buildings are decorated for the quickly approaching X-MAS season.
Japanese Politics Discussion
In my lesson this past Saturday with one of my older students, I learned a lot about Japan's current political scene. My student had intentionally chosen a lesson topic that I knew little about, and I was very thankful for it. I did some basic research before the lesson, but it was a great opportunity for my student to practice his English while explaining something interesting to him. The article concerned a piece of legislation that had recently expired as of November 1st. Different parties were drafting (or not drafting) their own versions of the new bill so that they could be proposed in front of the Diet; the Japanese Congress made up of the upper House of Councilors and lower House of Representatives.
Sidenotes: Currently, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has control of the House of Representatives (Prime Minister Fukuda is also a member of this party) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has control of the House of Councilors. My student went to explain that a precedent was set in July 2007. Never have two different parties controlled the Diet like this before; to quote Wikipedia, "In the Upper House election of 2007 [July 2007], the DPJ won 60 out of 121 contested seats, with 49 seats not up to the election, causing the LDP to lose its majority in the upper house for the first time since its inception." The LDP was first formed in 1955 while the DPJ was formed much more recently. LDP and members from other parties united in 1998 to form the DPJ; they wanted to stand up against the dominant LDP party.
Getting back to my lesson, we talked about how the DPJ has been asked to draft it's own version of the bill in response to the government's bill (LDP?), but they continue to make excuses and fail to take action. Their have been several recent scandals that are being used to sidetrack a decision about the bill which allows the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to supply oil and other supplies to international bases stationed in the Indian Ocean. The government's new legislation is looking to reestablish this refueling mission but the DPJ's does not. From what I understand, many Japanese people are looking forward to the possibility of having a choice between one proposal and the other; however, that could be an incorrect assumption.
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