ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

I found these sponge dinosaurs at Seria and was so excited! They actually all come in a dissolvable capsule. You place these capsules in warm water and watch as the capsule dissolves and the dinosaur slowly emerges from its “shell”. I used to get these all the time as a kid and loved watching them hatch, trying to guess which dinosaur it was going to be next. The other day, a friend and I watched all the dinosaurs come to life one by one. It was so much fun and brought me back to simpler times.


  

This little fashionista is the amazing Carrie! Last week Carrie the cutie saved me from a ferocious alligator attack! She isn't just fashionable, she's a real hero. She saved me by healing all my wounds from when the alligator bit me. I can only hope that she will be around if there is another alligator attack in my classroom!


  

I've always been interested in old languages, which is why as of late i've been studying the grammar and flow of classical Chinese. I think it's an incredible language to study because of the amount of countries that used it for official documents, books, and general literary culture in East Asia.

Have you ever considered studying a so-called "dead language"?



  

I received the gift of some fresh vegetables! Sadly I'm in no-way prepared to do much with them, besides cut and eat. Actually, I was so unprepared I didn't even have a cutting board.

This is the first time I've ever seen a goya in person. I would like to try to make chunpuru, but that won't happen anytime soon. The list of things I want to cook is getting longer. Someday I may break down and learn to make the best of my tiny kitchen.  

On Monday, Jillian and I jumped into a taxi and went back to the same place as before. This time we watched the famous parade! We had a good spot to see everything, but it was extremely hot and humid. I didn't have the best time watching. The "floats" were super cool, with boys and men ringing bells and pulling them. Some were really tall!
What I thought was funny was that traffic wasn't completely blocked off, and so the guys would stop the parade and just stand there, waiting. We waved to a group of guys and took fun posing pictures at one point.

Rushing out of the heated crowds early, Jillian took me to Kyoto's Kawaramachi, where we looked for the mysterious Kyoto Pokemon center. I don't understand why there were no advertisements for this place ANYWHERE, and Jillian was angry that it was in a part of town that she goes to all the time! It's secrecy was a good thing, in this case, because they weren't sold out of everything. Check out my kimono pikachu!

I don't usually buy pokemon things for myself (more for my sister) but this was a really cool souvenir, I think.   

So the summer is the time for fireworks in Japan (well, in America too, hahaha). I have been to see them in Kanonji on the beach, and in Mishima at the port, and they were both spectacular.

I have not had the opportunity to see fireworks in Niihama, unfortunately. This is due to the fact that I work on Fridays (the day it seems to be each year), and I also happen to be in Shikokuchuo those days, meaning that by the time I get back, the fireworks are basically over.

However, I have the opportunity to see them this year! Due to a change in scheduling, I have the evening off this Friday! That's the good news. The bad news is that my wife is not feeling so good, and might possibly not feel well enough to go to the fireworks display. Of course she says I should still go myself, but how can I enjoy it while she might be sick at home?

Hopefully she will feel better. I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the fireworks (either in Niihama, or elsewhere!)  

My family has always travelled a lot in the summer. Sometimes we go and visit family in California and Utah. Other times we go to different countries, like Spain and China. Last summer we were in England. It was one of the coolest and greenest places that I have ever visited for summer, which was a welcome respite. Arizona, my home, is brown and scorched in high summer. Anyway, now that summer is laying heavily on Japan, I keep finding myself thinking about "abroad." Since I now live abroad, does any vacation count as a foreign one? Is this somehow one long vacation from my life in America?

I'm not sure, but I do miss my family and I'm longing for an unfamiliar horizon. I can't wait to get out and about during Obon!  

Hello!

This week, I'd like to talk about another special summer event going on right now for the younger students of GEM School: the special Summer Homestay Club and American Schools. These special three hour morning classes are great resources for kids to come and practice their English in a fun and safe environment, and a good way to practice and reinforce new skills and language! If you have a child interesting in learning English, or want to do some really fun extra classes, call your local GEM School office!  

I finally brought myself to buy a new tea kettle. In the photo above, the old one is to the right, the new one to the left. I couldn’t bring myself to buy one earlier, since the tea shop I would pass on Marugame Machi Doori always only had expensive kettles ranging from 2000¥ and up. However, one night I was shopping for food for class in a Marunaka and I came across the kettles section. I never brought myself to shop around for kitchen stuff since my apartment was furnished with leftover kitchen stuff from previous tenants. However, seeing how cheap Marunaka alternatives were I did manage to bring myself to take one home with me. I’m super happy with it, as up to this new purchase I have been mainly sipping in the morning cold brewed tea prepared overnight and coffee whenever I went out for studies or shopping or leisure. Now I can bring myself to enjoy a healthier lifestyle with this healthy caffeinated beverage. Currently I’m enjoying houjicha and sencha.  

I saw this interesting lock. It was near the bicycles in Hard Off so I imagine it's for a bicycle, but I'm not sure. I tried to guess how it could be used but I couldn't figure it out. I didn't ask anyone because I was in a rush, but I'd definitely like to know. I've never seen one like it before, have you?

  

Recently I've really started to love baking! It's so much fun to make something from scratch, especially something delicious. Cookies are one of my favorite things to make, they can be very easy to make and they're easy to share.
I've also recently become addicted to watching cooking videos on youtube. They always give me motivation to try making new things. There's a cute watermelon shaped mochi that I really want to make!
What do you like to bake?  

On days when I can't make it all the way to Kochi or Tokushima to surf, my husband and I go to a skate park. We have a nice one near our city. I used to be nervous about skateboarding because it's not at all like falling on waves. It actually hurts when you fall off your skateboard! So, due to the fear of falling, I have much better balance. Skateboarding is good practice for surfing, especially long board skateboards. I prefer that to short boards.  

Colors inspire me. I like to think of myself as a colorful person. I like to dress colorfully, surround myself with colors in my home and my personal belongings, and I like to be cheerful and very expressive. To me, colors bring magic to life. I have always been drawn to bright colors and a variety of them. I saw this quote in a book in an art museum in Marugame. I think it rings true in every sense. Colors give off different feelings and meanings, and take on many forms. Colors have life and we are receptive to that life. Something as simple as a color is also so complex and it’s a beautiful thing.


  

I told you all that my father visited me for Golden Week. This week I received a postcard in the mail from him! IT was a very unexpected surprise, and I was so happy to get it! It's really cute, isn't it? It has my favorite animal on it, an owl!



  

For the past while I've been reading books about modern and pre-modern Japan. I've been in a bit of a slump in terms of getting all my books read and deciding which ones to tackle first.

Do you have a hard time at times deciding on what to read?


  

I like Ramen. The atmosphere of the restaurants, being able to see all the cooking, and the food. Of all the styles of Ramen, I think I have only had salt, but possibly miso as well. Sadly my pallette nor my ability to read Kanji are refined enough to know for certain.

Although tasty and enjoyable, I haven't found the perfect Ramen for me. I want to try all the styles before making a decision. I wonder if there is such a thing as a Ramen Crawl... I may have to start one.  

Recently I got to go to a small American carnival in Lowelville Ohio. American Carnivals usually have a lot of food stalls and rides. They're one of my favorite parts of summer. This carnival has a special show at the end where a man comes out in a big doll made of tin. It also has fireworks around poles that come out of the arms and the head. They light the fireworks and the man dances in a circle until they finish going off. Only three places do this in America. You can look it up on YouTube. It's called the Baby Doll Dance.  

I went to Kyoto for the weekend! It was in time for the Gion Matsuri there, one of the biggest Summer festivals in Japan. My friend was still living over there, so I went to visit!


We saw many floats called “yamaboko” and they reminded me of chosa and mikoshi. They were really beautiful to look at. At night they were light up by lanterns and my friend and I waited very patiently to get some good photos. The street fair on Sunday was PACKED. There were tons of people and enough food stands to feed them. I had a hard time choosing what to eat and we thought that the light bulb drinks were so fun!


I guess maybe they're for kids? I don't care! The flower in my hair was a light-up too!




  

So, there are times when people make mistakes when speaking, in this particular case saying a word that is completely different from what they intended. This especially happens when the words are easy to mix up, due to the similarity in the way they sound. There are two words that even today I sometimes mix up. Those words are "Hi chew" and "chuuhai".
Hi chew is, of course, the fruity and chewy candy (kind of reminds me of taffy). These I have actually seen brought to the states; it is quite popular among those that know what it is. Chuuhai is drink that is also fruity at times; however, it also contains 9% proof alcohol, so it is NOT meant for children. Chuuhai is not available in the states (as far as I know), and I don't think it will be for some time, hahaha. They are dangerous.
Anyway, yes, these two words I still muck up at times, usually when speaking to my wife. I would always ask her if she would like me to pick up the drinks, but would sometimes say the candy, which just ends up confusing her. I have been fortunate not to make this slip at work, where we have hi chew available for students. That would be an awkward situation: "Hey little Johnny, do you want some Chuuhai?". Then all the parents and staff would just look at me with either shocked or disapproving faces. That wouldn't be fun!  

Last weekend, I went to Sangawa beach in Shikokuchuo! It was blisteringly hot, so the cool water felt amazing. There was a barge off the shore that you could swim to and sit on. My friend told me that they are common on Japanese beaches, but I have never seen one before, in Japan or America. It felt nice to stretch out on the wood and watch the horizon, and the kids playing the in the water around us. Later, I went and read my book in the beach chair, letting the water dry off my skin and sinking my toes into the sand. There's nothing quite like a beach during the summer. I'm so glad that I got out to the water!