ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

My mother is going to visit me in December. We have been making plans. I asked my mom to bring me some things like American candy or cereal. Recently, I asked her for another witch hat. My current hat is a bit old now.

Well, she surprised me by sending me not one-not two- but 4 MORE hats in the mail!? I thought she would buy a hat after Halloween and bring it in December. I was so surprised, my mom is really funny. She loves Halloween.
  

We went to the Toyohama Chosa festival! I ate a candy strawberry for the first time. It was so delicious but too expensive! Looking at all of the Chosa was like the running of the bulls (in Spain). Every time we thought we were safe to stand there, another Chosa was coming! We were often scrambling to get out of the way! The weather was surprisingly warm and a butterfly landed on Erin's hat.   

The dollar stores in Japan always Halloween things! I spent almost half an hour looking at all of the things in Seria. I wanted to be careful with my money, but it was fun indulge a little. In America, Halloween items can be found at nearly any kind of store. Drugstore, Home goods store, even the pet store! I got my first acrylic stand and one of these cute birds. I'm making some things for our haunted house too. I can't wait for you all to see!  

Last Sunday, I invited my friends to join me. Together, we said goodbye to summer! We all brought snacks and walked to the beach. We talked for hours and watched the sunset. It was beautiful! Pink and orange. I couldn't find sparklers for sale anymore. I had some we could use! With the last one lit, we decreed that it was now Autumn!   

Look at who I met---at the dentist!? This is Pocky! She is a Dachshund who is 4 years old. Pocky is NOT a therapy dog. Therapy dogs are trained to go to hospitals or high stress situations and provide comfort.

She is not calm or quiet. She startled me by barking a lot when I arrived. I was so surprised! I have been able to pet her a little. The dental assistant puts Pocky in a room when she's working. I like trying to play with her before my appointment. Even though she isn't a therapy dog, her presence helped me stop being nervous.   

I gathered some friends and went to McDonald's to celebrate the moon! We tried the tsukimi burger and custard. I got the pie too, and that was really delicious! A lot of people must have had the same idea as us, the McDonald's was very busy! It's creative for Japan to make the egg a representation of the moon. I wasn't sure if it belonged on a burger. It tasted pretty good! The moon eggs I saw on pizza at Dominos though...  

After a few weeks, painting carefully, I finished my shirt! It turned out so good! I used sparkly fabric paint and posca pens. A little bit of sparkly old nail polish too! I'm really really proud of it! I can't wait to wear it at my concert. There is one design flaw in it but I hope that it's a detail no one will notice. I'm also in the process of designing a pin, patch, or stick for the front. Soon after this, it will be time to start designing my Halloween costume...  

I bought a cheap vest and decided that I'm going to paint a picture on it! It's a hot air balloon! It was featured on the cover of a new album by a rock band called ONEWE. I can't draw--ask my students! But I am creative! I printed and traced the image on the back to with a paint pen. Then I started to draw the details. I want to paint it with sparkly paint. I think it will turn out very nice if I'm careful!  

Unfortunately, I've had more trouble with my tooth. Perhaps my teeth are too sensitive? Or maybe the dentist is too optimistic? After my 2nd visit, the dentist put a cover on my tooth. Several hours later, I was in severe pain. After a sleepless night and a tearful phonecall, I returned. They took the cover off and my pain stopped.

It was such a relief. Things might be going slower than anticipated but I'd rather be pain-free. Too bad I have so many more dentist visits to do!  

I had a toothache during Obon. It was kinda scary because I thought everything was closed. After 3 days, it was hurting a lot. I was taking a lot of painkillers. I got help finding a new dentist. They were very nice, but my situation was bad. The tooth hurt so much! I cried a lot and it was embarrassing.


The next day, my tooth felt so much better! I made a good call by finding a dentist. I have to return for a few more times. Something funny though, is that the Google Maps photo shows a chousa in front of the building! I couldn't find it at first, because the photo wasn't very helpful!   

The Takamatsu fireworks were great again this year! I have some criticisms of the layout of the festival though. First of all, can they move that big ship?! I find myself wondering that every year. Are there people on it? Does it get used?

The food stands are still too far away from fireworks, so you have to remember to get food before finding a spot. A lot of people went to the convenient stores instead. They were good about dealing with it.

The police blocked off certain parts of the road that resulted in crowded lines. I was nervous when we were all trying to leave. The road has no cars, so I feel like they're encouraging crowd crush in an attempt to keep control. I've seen this before in Tokyo, where my friends and I nearly got crushed trying to walk to our hotel on new year. This happened because they blocked entire halves of the neighborhood. We couldn't go around! I'm sure the police have their reasons, but I don't like it.   

this lighthouse is on Bois Blanc island, where my family has a summer cabin for camping

A lighthouse is a tower topped with a very bright light called a beacon. The beacon is used by sailors to help guide their ship at night. Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state, 130 of them! This is most likely because Michigan is surrounded by 5 great lakes. If they didn't have freshwater in them, then they would be called the sea! The water doesn't freeze over completely, and there are plenty of shipwrecks at the bottom of the lake.


I always saw lighthouses on Michigan calendars but didn't really know there were so many. I found this website called https://www.lighthousefriends.com/ and you can click on the maps to view different lighthouses.   

It's really hot these days, so I've been staying home and playing video games. I got this game called "A little to the left." It's all about organizing things by pattern, size, color, etc. It's really fun and the most recent DLC has been very challenging! It's not so easy to organize my own drawers or rooms in real life. The game is very satisfying.   

First swim of the summer! We went to Megijima and went to the beach. The water was cold, the place wasn't crowded. The food was expensive but very good! I didn't get sunburned. I saw some jellyfish (out of the water) and a very big spider in the bathroom (eek!). It was a perfect day of sunny weather and good friends. I had a great time!  

The Zenigata matsuri was happening right down the street from me! It was a cloudy day so the weather was comfortable. But later we got a lot of rain! I felt bad for the dancers but everyone tried their best. I love watching yosakoi--the music, dance, and costume variations are always so interesting. I miss performing a little too.

I spent a long time getting ready. I have two yukata...but 6 obi! It was hard for me to choose which one to wear. I did a REALLY good job tying it this time, it didn't come undone at all. My yukata is still beautiful even though it is 20 years old.   

My Dad told me that he heard a strange knocking one morning. It was very early, and he lives alone. "Who could be knocking?" he asked himself. He went to the door, but no one was there. He still heard the tapping. He looked out the back door. It was made of glass. He didn't see anyone. He looked down. There was a BIG TURTLE. And he was knocking on the door to come in. My Dad did not let him in. He picked up the turtle, turned it around, and let it walk back to the lake.   

With warmer temperatures come a lot of things. One of them is the bugs. I have a love/hate relationship with bugs. I can be very bothered when they're in my house. But when I'm outside, I can gaze at them in wonder. Some of them anyway. I don't mind keeping some spiders near my doors because a mosquito in my ear is more annoying. But I have nightmares about running into spider webs sometimes, and the spiders near my front door have made webs TOO big. My student did this drawing after we read a book about a spider.   

Tokyo is delicious! I ate well in the city. I had a fantastic cheeseburger, some pancakes and some good pizza. Elizabeth and I went to an American restaurant called Bubba Gump Shrimp. The name is from the movie Forest Gump. They serve a lot of seafood dishes. It was so hard to choose what to eat! We shared an appetizer plate and macaroni. My favorite thing was the artichoke dip. I missed that food so much! It was hard to go home and be away from the restaurants.   

I did something from my bucket list! A bucket list is a list of things that you want to do before you die. I got tickets to Team Labs Planets! It was a really fun experience. You go in barefoot and the exhibits have water, lights, and mirrors. There was so much beauty to see. They let you take pictures but I tried to immerse myself in the experience. I really liked the music in each room. I enjoyed taking my time as well. I can't pick a favorite room! I want to take my friends and family and go again!   

Anime continues to surprise me. I found yet another series that was a joy to watch. Apothecary Diaries tells the story of a poor pharmacist who is kidnapped and becomes a maid. Despite trying to lay low, she is found out to be very smart and rises to higher ranks. The stories are interesting, funny, and beautiful. The historical setting is fake but the show makes it feel very real. I'm sure they were inspired by real events and people. The humor reminds me of Fruits Basket or Oran Host Club (but with less screaming).