ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Tonight I came up with the idea of taking a small photo of a specific part of Kagawa, and then you have to guess where I am. See the attached photo, and figure it out. Hint. It is in Takamatsu. Without a hint, I guess it would be quite difficult. Kagawa is still very big with lots of different character to it. But I will try to represent all the different places I go to within the next few weeks.  続きを読む

Tonight I came up with the idea of taking a small photo of a specific part of Kagawa, and then you have to guess where I am. See the attached photo, and figure it out. Hint. It is in Takamatsu. Without a hint, I guess it would be quite difficult. Kagawa is still very big with lots of different character to it. But I will try to represent all the different places I go to within the next few weeks.  続きを読む

My Let’s Go 4 students at Yashima are a very fun and enthusiastic bunch to teach! They make English really fun and they try to use English every chance they get. I love when they are nearly jumping out of their seats shouting “Pick me please! Pick me please!” for each round of questions. In the picture you can see a few of them discussing in good English what they ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Let’s Go 4, you guys are awesome and a joy to teach! Keep up the good work! :D  

The brain and its contents are like a muscle: if exercised, their function will improve; if neglected, they will decline. Living in Japan, I sometimes go a long time without hearing or using high-level English. Sometimes I find myself using simple or incorrect English when I would usually do better, and sometimes I worry that my skill with English is decreasing because I don't hear a lot of good English every day.



I try to do crossword puzzles and other word games and word puzzles several times a week to maintain my English skills. I also read as much and as often as possible.

What do you do to keep your English skills sharp?  

I have a new hairstyle! My friend in Takamatsu did it for me. They are called cornrows because they look like rows of corn in a field. It is a traditional African hairstyle that is over 4000 years old. The hair is parted and braided against the head in long rows. They will hold for over a month but I will probably only keep them for two weeks because they are difficult to wash and get very itchy.  

Last Saturday in Home stay club we made rice crispy treats. It is an american dessert which you combine melted butter and marshmallows with rice crispy cereal. My students really enjoyed making them. Especially when they got to mold them into whatever shape they wanted. What are some of your favorite desserts to make?  

We didn't do anything very exciting over the last couple of weekends. There was a GEM school BBQ last Saturday, it was fun. The BBQ was held on a small island close to Nio port. There was food and swimming and lots of fun. Thor had a little too much fun and got a nasty sunburn. He's healing though. On the drive to Nio port we saw a beautiful shrine that we'd like to visit.
  

”まぜそば”と言うもの。普通のアメリカ人が　”そば”を聴くとBuckwheat Noodleを想像してる。今夜にまぜそばを食べました、美味しかったでしたので、アメリカ人のとまだちに写真を送りたいだったでも説明はどうする？と考えました。まぜそばと書いたら,と友達がBuckwheat Noodleと間違うかもでStir Ramenと言うnamingで写真を送りました。  

While visiting Kobe we were surprised to find that the city has a mosque. We found out about it from a tourist map we had picked up. Needless to say we were intrigued. The map that we were carrying was a little vague, so it took a little time to find it. Upon arrival we took some photos and began looking for a Middle Eastern restaurant. Across the street from the mosque was a small grocer. It sold various imports from India and the Middle East. We picked up a few fun items and went on our way.  

The summer heat is making my students sleepy!!! So it’s time to wake them up with a little exercise and a change of activities. We played Twister as a listening exercise. I couldn’t fool them! They are very good listeners indeed!   

I really like donating blood. I don't get to do it as often as I would like.





I gave blood for the first time when I was twelve years old. As soon as I turned seventeen, I started giving regularly. I have given almost 6 liters so far in my life. Because I travel frequently, I sometimes have to wait for a long time to give blood again because of the risk of infection. It's also difficult donating in countries where I don't speak the language well.

A lot of people strongly dislike being stuck with needles, but I don't mind much. Some people get dizzy after they donate blood and have to lie down for several minutes after they're finished. I've never had that problem. Once I finished donating, grabbed a cup of cranberry juice, and literally ran to work.

I hope that I can donate blood here in Japan. Have you ever donated blood?

(By the way, my blood type is A+, and I don't believe it has anything to do with personality.)  

In Kobe there is an area called Kitano. It is basically several historic European style houses. The houses were built by foreign traders of the past. It was interesting to see these houses among the Japanese neighborhoods. Most of the houses were available to tour. We went inside a couple and enjoyed the architecture and decor. It was fun.