ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

  

I have seen this image of an injured horse for a long time now. I always forget what business it belongs to, but I've always enjoyed it because it's so unusual. It's funny to see a horse walking with a crutch. I like to imagine the circumstances that the horse was in to be injured in such a way. How would a horse even use a crutch like that? It's all together silly. Have you seen this horse before?

  

The other day, while wandering into a Home Center, I finally bought some shelves. The past few months I have been a bit put off by how small my apartment is (the kitchen has especially been a challenge!) and I've been trying to clean it up. But the clutter has nowhere to go, despite how creative I have been, so I knew that I needed to go buy something that wasn't just a box.

I don't live in a very convient town for house things (I once carried a one-person sofa chair on the train from Kanonji!) So I had been going to different towns or eyeing different stores with the assumption that I would have something delivered.

But on Sunday, I found myself inside a Home Center that was next to my grocery store, seriously considering some cheap shelves. I was supposed to be saving money, but the pricetag of a little over 1000yen was looking pretty good. I found the box that it came in, and I was able to carry it! So I bought it, put it on my bicycle, and walked it back to my apartment. I couldn't remember the last time I built something, and I'm sure that in the past my father had always been there to lend a hand. Armed with a Daiso screwdriver and a picture of the directions, I built my own set of shelves!  

I headed over to an area of the park with several benches, and chilled there for a bit, just watching and enjoying the weather. From there, I made my way over to Peace Plaza, where I saw a mother and her two children playing a weird game. They described it as a different version of janken (RPS), sort of. It was actually more complicated than that. Even the mother didn't have a full grasp of the game, haha. After that we started talking a bit, and enjoyed each others company. Her son was quite the little comedian; he did a very good impersonation of Akemi (だめよ～、だめだめ！) , and also took my stick and acted like an old man. It was quite entertaining. I really enjoyed myself with them. Afterwards, I explored the rest of the plaza, making my way over to the riverside. There, I took to a bench and relaxed for at least an hour. Very nearly passed out, too. It was nice, just sitting or laying and doing nothing. Now I see why cats do it all the time. It isn't as easy to do in the city area (at least not for me). Even if there is a place to do it, I feel like I can't actually relax.

After my "nap", I made my way back to the station, to think of other ways to kill time. Initially, I planned to just use the internet on my tablet for a bit (since I found the free wifi hotspot at the station). But then I found some free entertainment at the People's Plaza! They were doing a short play (that I missed half of). After the play were two shamisen musicians, who were quite good, and I think were from Kumi-ken? I'm not sure. Then the players from the first play came back up for a different story. It was really really good!

After that, I jumped onto the interwebs and am told that I can attempt to ride the bus today instead of tomorrow (so long as there is a free seat). I thought "hot damn!", but I had to run to the sento first, because I reeked, and i couldn't ride in a bus for 4 hours all stinky and such. So I raced to the streetcar, took it to Hacchobori, walked quickly down Chuodoori (though going in the wrong direction at first), and made my way back to the sento. I got all cleaned up, packed up, and made my way back to the station. Once there, I headed straight for the express bus のりば (boarding area). I was unsure of the time the bus would leave, so I didn't give myself any time for last minute おみやげ shopping. When I did find out, I had maybe eleven minutes. It might have been enough, but I didn't want to risk it. I kind of regret that decision. Once the bus pulled up, i asked about jumping on. It was a little tight today, and even though there were available seats while at this pick-up site, I might be kicked off if enough people got on at the next one (As they would have paid to get on today). But, I got lucky when one passenger didn't show up, and so I was able to make my way back to Takamatsu!

As I was leaving Hiroshima, I felt a bit of sadness and regret. I had meant to pick up more omiyage, but didn't have the time, as I was trying to catch the bus. I also felt guilty about leaving earlier than I had originally intended to. I dislike not doing something i said I would do, but I did everything I set out to do when I went to Hiroshima, and I didn't have the money to explore other ventures. Plus, I was tired. That right there usually wins out on anything. But I learned a lot about Hiroshima, and definitely look forward to the next time I go. So if anyone is interested, hit me up! I'll definitely go with you! You just gotta take care of the living situation. You saw how well I did, :P.  

This past week I turned a quarter of a century old! I decided that for my birthday I would go to Sunport pier. My sister and I went there and relaxed for a little while and then we went to get some groceries so that I could cook my favorite meal. Mexican taco soup! As we got back to my apartment I was quite resigned to the fact that it would just be my sister and me for the day, until I opened my apartment door. As soon as I pulled the door open balls started cascading from the entryway! Then a BIG Happy Birthday sign flipped out! I screamed! Leigh, Sam, Mizuki. Baker, and Eri had thrown me a surprise party! We had a lot of fun throwing balls around and just relaxing! It was an absolutely wonderful day! After that Mizuki and Leigh stayed the night at my place and we had even more fun!

Thank you guys!  

Hello!

Today, I'd like to talk a little about why I wanted to come to Japan to teach English! Teaching was an idea that I had allllllllllll the way back in high school, when I was trying to come up with a plan for what I might do when I graduated. In Canada, or at least where I was, one of the questions I heard the most often by teachers and family members was “What are you going to do when you're done high school?” I, like I suspect many people in the same position, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was never raised to have a specific career goal in mind from a young age like seemingly many children are. Whenever a teacher asked me, I usually said something impossible or outdated as a way of actually having to think about it. I declared my future career goals as anything from a cowboy to Batman to the emperor of China, anything to not have to think about the future too hard.

Teaching was always sort of a fall back position that I thought of. When in doubt, teach English. It seems a pretty natural logic leap, right? I've spoken the language all of my life, I can read and write it with a certain level of proficiency, and I've done enough theatre work in my life that standing in front of kids is just like standing in front of a crowd of people. But as often as I thought it, I never really took it seriously, I always figured there was something else that would catch my eye.


Fast forward to me being almost being completed university, and still not having any kind of clue as to what I wanted to do with my life beyond the halls of education. I imagine that fear and not knowing is why there are so many people in North America who choose to spend their entire lives in schools, either as professors or students of various levels. It provides a level of order and structure that not many other institutions can offer. I knew I didn't want to do that, though. I had done my time, and it was the point in my life where I wanted to start exploring the world. Everything else stemmed from that thought. I knew I didn't just want to stay in one town or province for my whole life, and there was a big bad world out there full of things that weren't Canada, and I wanted to share in that. But what was the best way to go about exploring the world, but being able to feed myself at the same time? I remembered my plan from high school about teaching, and knew that it was a natural fit to all of those things. By it's nature, teaching English in other countries is a short experience, anywhere from 6 months to a year in any one place (unless you agree to stay longer, of course), and it was a job that was always in demand.

Almost anywhere in the world, even English speaking countries, there is a demand for teachers who have the skill and patience to teach a very complicated language that is quite unlike any other language in the world. I knew that it would be a challenge to be an effective teacher, but it was one that I thought was entirely worthwhile, and the rewards for it would be substantial. I am now in my fifth month of teaching here in Japan, and I haven't regretted a day of it. There are challenges, as I knew there would be, I look forward to those as much as I do the rewards.  

Once upon a time not too long ago, maybe within 4 weeks back from today, I went to see the sunset with a friend. We ended up seeing a temple and a shrine in our search for my friend’s photography adventure. He wanted to test out his new tripod by snapping some pictures of the sunset. Our initial spot was not so great for that aim, as the view from that point was blocked by several trees. However, I wandered off while he set up base at the first spot and I found a second, better spot for his photographing. Pictured below is a statue at the exact spot I found, next to which he took some good shots of the sunset (though it was not as great as he had hoped, due to unpredictable weather and the surprising density of clouds on that particular day). What can this statue or art be? It appears to be a deconstructed hammer. Does it serve a religious purpose, is it abstract, or am I really missing something so fundamental to Japanese culture as to not even grasp an idea of what this might be in the mundane realm of utility? Is it really a hammer? My friend and I stayed stayed there for quite some time reflecting on life matters, a very relaxing and great time indeed.


  

  

Hello!

Apologies for the late posting! I would like to write this week about an excellent Japanese experience I had this weekend. On Saturday, myself and a couple of the other teacher decided to go out for dinner. We chose a small restaurant about 10 minutes away from everyone, and made our way around 7 o'clock. It being Saturday night, we knew that there was a chance that everywhere was going to be packed at that time, but we weren't in any rush, so waiting wasn't a big issue.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait at all once we got to the restaurant. We were seated right away, and it was one of the most fun expereinces I've had since coming to Japan. The food was really excellent, and there were lots of other groups of people around who were interested in us. One group of guys even came over and introduced him self.

There was also a group of ladies celebrating a birthday, and after heliping them sing Happy Birthday, they decided to join us, and we had a fun time trying to communicate and visiting in two languages! As the restaurant began to close down, we decided that we weren't tired yet, and went down the road for some karaoke with our new friends. It was a late night, but one that was very memorable, and one that I'll think fondly of for a long time to come.  

  

This past month mailed a few packages home to my friends and family. It was much cheaper than I expected it to be (yay!), but it still put a bit of a dent in my bank account, and I still have two or three packages to send still! I sent home some of the more interesting things (cheesecake kit kat bars, some squid jerky for my brothers), and some of my favourite things (fans, towels, and some statonary!). I am so excited to see my friends faces on Skype when they open their packages!
  

A few weekends ago my husband, Sam, and I went on an impromptu trip to Kochi. I had a marvelous time. Sam and I have never had the opportunity to travel much since we arrived in Japan, so the trip down to Kochi was very exciting. We had no real plan, we just wanted to go. We ended up going to the aquarium there, which was small but fun. I think it is funny how the animals all came to us wanting to be fed something. After that we walked around the beach and looked at the gorgeous views from higher points along the cliffs. It was a really fun experience. I was able to snap this photo of balanced rocks. I love seeing things like this, they are interesting and, not that I'm learning stuff on Engineering Mechanics, I have learned how they stay and knowing that makes me even more excited to see things like that.

Where have you gone in the past? Was the trip planned or impromptu? I recommend going on an impromptu trip somewhere just for the fun of it all. It is truly an adventure.

Thanks for reading!

Leigh   

  

There are many fun and unusual bikes available from many places. I found this bike at Nishimura Joy. It's called a big wheel bike. It's fun to look at, but for ¥60,000, I think I'll pass. I haven't ridden it but I'd like to try it. I would like to collect novelty bikes sometime, but now, I don't have the space and I travel a lot, so it will have to wait. Other fun novelty bikes are tandem bikes and miniature bikes, which are often called 'clown bikes'.

  

It's no secret that I love movies. In America, I go to the movie theater at least once a month. I really miss doing that.
I had over 100 DVDs in my collection at home, and I always buy DVDs or blu-rays that have the most extras on them. I love to listen to commentaries (the ones on the Pixar films are great!) and find out how stunts and scenes were done. I have a special affinity for horror films, but because a majority of them are only worth seeing once, I don't have as many as you would think. In America, the remake of Poltergeist was just released. I watched the trailer and I think it looks pretty fun! I don't always look to be scared in a horror film, as long as I have a pretty good time.

Unfortunatly, Japan gets movies a long time after everyone else, and it might not even come out here. I'm nearly at my wits end waiting for the new Avenger's film and I am insanely excited for the new Jurassic Park. I ordered a shirt to wear while I impatiently wait for it's release in Japan.
My friends have all seen "Mad Max" this month too, which is supposed to be crazy fun.

I recently rented John Wick, which stars Keaunu Reeves. I weirdly remember Reeves more from the film "Speed" and not the Matrix movies. It doesn't matter whether you are a fan or him or not, John Wick is a great action film. I had heard that it was directed by a former stuntman, so I wasn't expecting all that much. But the movie has a simple story, is easy to understand, and boasts some FUN action. I absolutly love this movie. The soundtrack and the score are great, and the subtitles of the Russian bad guys are even done in an interesting way.



  

I woke up pretty late; about 5:30 today. I'm surprised no one tried (or accidently) woke me up. Plus, in the daylight, it seemed a lot more open, as compared to my other spot. Regardless, I got myself up, headed to McDonlad's for a bite and a quick charge up, then make my way to Hiroshima castle. It was still quite early, maybe 7:45, when I got there. I decided to relax today, chill out in various spots around the castle, and take my time (I was going to have a lot of it today).

I took off my shoes and layed out in the sun. It felt nice. I also ended up watching these two crows play tug of war with what seemed like a cord. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't a cord, but a snake. A live snake. I don't know if the snake was poisonous or anything, but the crows were being cautious. It took the two of them a while to subdue the snake. And then the one crow was a jerk and tried to keep the snake to itself. After the "show", I started to look around the rest of the place. It wasn't actually very big. I went up to the castle, but didnt go inside, because you had to pay (only ￥370), and I was desperately trying to hold onto every single yen at this point. Oh, that's right. I found a nice thick branch to use as a walking stick!
I'm sure it was cut from the tree, because the ends were pretty smooth. It seemed to help out with my knee, at least a little. I also decided to take back the stick as my souvenir. What better souvenir than a branch cut from a tree in Hiroshima castle that will (eventually) be fashioned into a walking stick?

I spent a good hour at the castle grounds, maybe, before I decided to head over to the Peace Memorial Park. At this point I was trying to kill time, so I took my time getting there (the knee helped). By the time I made it to the Atomic Dome, I made the decision to sit for a while where ever I go, watch people, or just appreciate the view. And let me tell you, at the park, there was plenty to appreciate. The park was only a little farther down from the Dome, and the first thing I saw was this one monument. It was a bell, that had three statues of children, two on the sides, and one on the top. The girl on top was holding a giant paper crane. The story behind it is that a girl was exposed to the radiation from the bomb when she was just 2 years old. By the time she was ten, she was diagnosed with leukemia, and died not long after. Her classmates rallied to get a monument in her honor, as well as all the other kids who died as a result of the bomb. Children from many other school districts took part in the cause, and lots of money was raised very quickly for the monument. After reading this, I started tearing up. This apparently really got to me.


(To be concluded!)
  

Optimism is the key to happiness. It has been my firm belief, since someone told me this in high school, that happiness is a choice. I was an average kid, nothing special but not overly happy with my life, that was until someone looked at me and said, "Happiness is a choice." It had never occurred to me that your own outlook on life and how you decided to see the world changes how you experience the world. Choose to be happy and you will be. If you live life waiting for things to happen that will make you happy you will be let down. Be active about it and be happy!

  

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about something I've been interested in for a very long time, historical costuming!

As long as I can remember I've been fascinated with history, especially historical novels and costuming. I've always been a creative person, and so the idea of costuming has always had a lot of appeal to me. It's only now that I'm older and have a full time job that I've really begun to consider actually beginning to participate in historical sewing myself, rather than just spend hours a day staring at blogs and wishing I could sew like some of the amazing seamstresses I follow.
I'm really excited to say I've finally decided to take the first steps towards actually sewing historical dresses As I've mentioned before I collect and wear vintage dresses, and I've sewn a few 60's and 50's style items. However I've never tried to sew something from an earlier time period, the time and patience needed to construct the clothing is really intimidating.
I've started looking online for fabric and I'm saving money to buy a dress form, I really can't wait to start sewing!