ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

I signed onto Gem primarily because it seemed to give me a lot of freedoms in my teaching of kids. Kids are great, and are very important, as they are our future and even our current supporters. Kids are like parents, they give us hope and joy in surprising ways, surprising because what they come up with tends to be from a perspective of innocence. Why do kids do anything at all? Sometimes it is enough to just say a very plain word in a funny and fun way for them to learn it and then to use it in their own budding English lives—they simply, it seems, to like doing things for no reason except that it is fun or enjoyable. My what little lives of pleasure they seem to be! One moment they’re seated and the next, when you return from the board, they’re collected around the fan singing into it. I remember those days, too, but only on the part of my kids’ innocent play. Whether they are grateful for me, I am grateful for them.


  

This weekend was Jay's birthday party!

We did tons of fun stuff, but my favourite thing was swimming! I love swimming, and I take every chance I can possibly get to spend time in the water.
I bought some pool floaties to bring with us to the lake, maybe it's childish but I love them! My camera battery was dead and Taylor forgot hers, so thank goodness Katie had hers!




We had so much fun!
  

Yesterday my fellow teacher Jason celebrated his birthday here in Saijo.




We had a huge barbecue with around 30 people, both Japanese and foreigners. Some Gem school teachers came from as far as Sakaide!

Thanks for coming up guys! I had a great time. Let's do it again soon. :) :D  

  

So it's been about 6 months since I got my new camera. I've taken a LOT of pictures with it, so here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!!



















That's it for now!  

A Nintendo 3DS is a piece of hardware that almost every kid would have here in Japan. When I was their age I had a handheld gaming device too. I had the game boy and game boy color! My favorite game on it when I was a kid? The very first Pokemon game, Blue! to be exact. And everytime I see a kid with their 3DS I always remember my time with a game boy.

Can you believe their are 720 Pokemon these days? That's a huge jump from the 151 I remember. I feel old.

- James Barbosa  

In America, Japan is often associated with the martial arts. Karate, Judo, Aikido and to a lesser extent Kendo are all well known there.

Recently, however, more people are studying western martial arts. Unlike the Japanese and asian martial arts (like kung fu) these are not part of an unbroken tradition that has simply changed with time. These fighting styles went out of practice hundreds of years ago in some cases. That means that modern students must recreate the techniques from historical books and manuals, most of which concern the use of weapons over unarmed fighting.

So the western martial arts (also called HEMA or WMA) are a little different in practice than the asian ones. Where many asian martial arts have evolved into sports like Kendo or judo, the western ones are more dedicated to recreating the original forms and practices in an attempt to better understand the past.

I find it really interesting, because a lot of the techniques are pretty similar to Japanese ones. Kenjutsu maintains the Japanese art of fighting with Katanas, and It's really cool how much it overlaps with western stuff.   

Hello!

This week, I'd like to talk briefly about what I did on the weekend! On Saturday, I had a relaxing, lazy day filled with doing a whole lot of nothing. It was glorious! Some times, I feel like I need to pack my days full of as many activities as I can, but some other days, I just want to kick back and relax! We took a short trip to Youme Town in Mitoyo for some delicious Nepalese food in the food court, and a little bit of window shopping. After that, I went to the game store nearby where I play Magic, and was able to find some fun cards for a few of my decks. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment, and I played video games and read my books all night.

On Sunday, it was one of the Gem School's teachers birthday parties out in Saijo, about an hour and half's drive away from Kanonji. The scenery around this area is incredible! The natural landscape of Japan is still something that takes my breath away every time I see it. We parked by a small river, and spent the afternoon cooking food, meeting new people (both Japanese and from around the world) and generally having a great time. We stayed until after dark when we got to set off sparklers and end the evening with a bright colourful bang.

It's back to work today, but after a weekend of fun and relaxation, I'm excited to get back to the school, and share some of this positive energy I have stored up!

Alex  

9 Years ago NASA sent a space probe into space, one of many. It's mission was to travel to the furthest celestial we know of in our solar system; Pluto. And now after 9 years of drifting towards what used to be known as the 9th planet of the solar system. In about 15 days we'll be getting a glimpse of a planet 5 billion km away from Earth.

To illustrate how awesome this is, here is what we can see of Pluto, and it's moon Charon, as of now.





Exciting huh?

- James Barbosa  

One of the questions I often get as a foreigner is "Do you like Japanese food?"

My answer is usually "It depends".

I love some Japanese food. I love Sushi, ramen, katsu, curry, and soba. There are a few things that I don't like though. One of them is Udon. This seems to shock a lot of Japanese people, but I have a good reason not to like it!

Last year I spent 2 months in a hospital with a pancreatic infection. The only thing I ate during that time was Udon. Udon and vegetables, udon and fish, udon and fruit. Udon three times a day for almost two months. So I associate Udon with a really bad time in my life!

Is there a foreign food you love? Is there a Japanese food that you hate?   

Ah, bacon and eggs. This is a North American staple to anyone's weekend breakfast. I remember when I would have it at least once a week on a Sunday morning. Good memories! I'm sure everyone's eaten bacon and eggs at some point but in North America it's accompanied by many other sides.

Some of the more popular sides to add to your bacon and eggs include:





If you like potato and onions you'll love hash browns.





Hash browns are a very tasty side. It's basically seasoned potatoes sauteed with onions. there have been many variations of hash browns





Maple beans, or any type of bean for that matter is an amazing source of protein to go with your overflowing consumption of protein already on the plate. But Maple beans adds a sweetness to it that is unrivaled. I'd suggest trying them out!

All this talk about bacon and eggs is making me crave it! I think I'll make some.

- James Barbosa  

On Monday Katie and I went to Mitoyo to go shopping. We stopped by a store recommended to us by Miyuki. We were both amazed at how much fabric had been crammed into the store! There were bolts of fabric on the floor, on shelves as high as the ceiling, and piled against the walls! Katie and I looked around for close to 2 hours, before making our purchases. I found some really cute prints, and some really interesting ones! I mainly bought some squares, and I haven't decided what to make with them yet. I can't wait to go back!
  

Last Tuesday my husband, Sam, and I celebrated 6 years of marriage together. 6 years as a child is a long time, but as we grow into adulthood time speeds up and it is as if 6 years has only been 6 months. I feel this way about my marriage. It is hard to believe that we have been married for 6 years. The time has truly flown by and most of that time was spent living here in the beautiful country of Japan. I am so happy and blessed to have Sam in my life and I am a lucky gal because he followed me to Japan. I look forward to many more years with Sam in the future.

I hope you all have a lovely day. Thank you for reading!

Leigh   

Hockey is a great sport and while growing up I played the sport in various ways. From street hockey to ice hockey. As a child growing up I played it almost every day with my friends, or at school. It was such a surprise to hear that even in Kagawa there is an ice hockey team in Takamatsu! I haven't seen them play yet but I am looking forward to catching a game next season. If you haven't seen a hockey game before you should definitely see one! It's exciting.

- James Barbosa  

My favorite vegetable is broccoli! As a child I always felt like I was eatting small trees and for some reason it made me like it more. There are so many ways to eat it also! You can eat it raw, fried, baked or roasted. I like broccoli soup and broccoli casserole! I can't really think of a way I don't like to eat broccoli... maybe broccoli ice cream is something I wouldn't like.

What about you? What is your favorite vegetable?

Thank you for reading,

Kristen  

I like fruit very much and there are so many delicious ones to choose! If I had to choose one to be my favorite it would have to be the strawberry. They are so sweet and go well with so many other things. Ice cream, cake, pancakes, parfaits... the list goes on and on.

What is your favorite fruit? How do you like to eat it?

Thank you for reading,

Kristen  

There are many backup batteries around. They've become very popular. They're certainly very useful. I use this one to charge my iPod. I have another one that uses a standard USB port to charge any item that takes five volts. It has been a life-saver sometimes. The pictured battery even has an indication light that displays the battery's charge if I push the button. The best part is that the battery only cost me ¥108. I bought it second hand. It has been great.

  

This weekend, I went to Kotohira and climbed many many sets of stairs up to the temple Konpirasan. There were sooo many stairs that I almost turned back when I was halfway! It was hard to climb the stairs because it was so humid outside.

I hadn't been to a temple by myself before, and it was nice to be able to take my time and not worry about holding anyone back. I was smitten by all of the souvenier shops on the way to the temples, which were full of so many wonderful things! I doubled back to a few shops because I couldn't decide on how much I wanted to spend. I will be going to those shops again around Christmas time!
I found a new wall hanging for my apartment (I'm sort of collecting these now) and I had a japanese snowcone which was really good.

  

Quite recently I have been making events for people to gather, spend time and have fun together. It was not something I ever did before, and it has been quite surprising that I have had people actually get together now. I have never considered myself "popular", but apparently I know and have become friends with many people throughout Japan (mainly Kagawa and Ehime). And though I know that the people who come to the events don't come just to see me, it feels nice to know that they accepted my invitations and choose to come out.
I tended to be the one who is invited to things, and I usually go (it is much easier for me to go out to somewhere, as I am usually by myself and decide how long I want to stay, how I will get back, and so on). But organizing an event means I have to choose the location, and then hope that people can make it, as there are many reasons why one couldn't. Such reasons include being busy, either with work or having previously made plans; unable to get a ride, or take the train, due to lack of access to a vehicle/little money to ride; or maybe just too far away (I have made trips out to Matsuyama from Kanonji, taking the express (kinda pricey) and the one-man (too freaking long). Neither is really enjoyable). I guess the reason I am more willing to set up the event is because I now have people nearby who can usually make it, so even if the majority of people can't come, I have at least a select few I know I can have fun with. And in the end, that's all I really want.   

Hello! Quite recently I've been asked on different occasions what my hobby is, and I have been noticing a change in my answers. If you were to ask me a few years ago, I could easily say "video games, and sometimes reading". However, as of late, I could not say that with full confidence. Although I still do play video games, it is not on the same level as before. Sometimes I just don't have time for it. And as for reading? Forget it. Besides the one book I just finished a month ago, I haven't read any books in a while. I have also been picking up a few other interests. Running, for one. I got into it so much that I even ran a 10 k and half marathon competition. Also, sewing. I have had to alter my clothes, taking them in so that they fit me better (I kind of slimmed down from all of the running). Another is socializing. I dunno if that is something that can be considered a hobby, but I have been doing it a lot more than I ever did back in the states. The problem is, I am finding that I am interested in trying out many different things. But at the same time, I don't have enough interest to fully dedicate myself to any one thing. I wonder if anyone else has this "problem"? While it is good to try a bit of everything, I fear that I will never truly be an expert (or at least very knowledgeable) in anything. How do you decide what your true hobbies are, and what are just fleeting experiences?