ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Good morning!

Today, I want to hype up our annual GEM School Summer Tour! As every year, Summer Tour is a two day special English event we put on for students that revolves a theme. Last year, we did a sports and athletics theme, and it was a ton of fun, and an exciting time was had by everyone. This year, our location is in Takamatsu, and it promises to be a really exciting time! The teachers and staff here at the schools have all been working really hard and doing their very best to make this event as special as possible! If you're interested in joining the event, call your local school and get some details!
  

In America there are many of the same products available that can be found here in Japan. One big difference is the quantity. American quantities are much larger. Here are two large jars of jiffy peanut butter. Their combined weight is 2.72 kilograms. That's a lot of peanut butter, but not if you're an American, it's just normal.

  

I had so much fun at the Zenigata festival! It was great to go back to Kanonji and enjoy the festival. It reminded me of my first year here in Japan. Zenigata Festival was the first festival I went to in Japan, and the first time I ever wore yukata outside!
It's been a long time since then, but I still love wearing yukata. I was happy to wear a new one this year too!




It was so hot, but I had a lot of fun eating festival food and hanging out with my friends!
  

I don’t always cook, but when I do, it’s as simple as can be. Pictured is a closeup of some chicken salad I made. I started making chicken salad for an event a few months ago. We teachers were asked to each bring something representative of Western culture. Naturally I had nothing to say (I don’t cook and I’m Filipino), but a fellow teacher gave me a recommendation: chicken salad. As straight forward as can be. My mom makes chicken salad back at home, so I had a taste of it. I never was too big a fan of it, though, since it’s heavy on mayo. But I figure if I’m going to make it, I can make it as healthy as can be. I searched online, found several recipes, and combined them all. That is as Arian as possible as I can could make any recipe. Just research and combine and innovate. I feared it couldn’t have been as good as any one of the recipes alone. But when others started tasting it at one of our events, I was suprised to learn that it had gathered a fan. For the next event, the same thing. This second time of making it, however, I didn’t look at the recipes and just went off memory. Instead of white onion, red onion. Instead of celery, cucumber. Instead of salt, olives. But I’ll tell you what the secret is: almonds. The second and third times, I have to say, are improvements. As simple as can be.  

I used to live in Takamatsu for almost 3 years. I recently took my bike to Takamatsu and rode around exploring like a tourist. It made me feel very nostalgic. There are a lot of new things, the biggest change, however, is that my old apartment building no longer exists. I guess I am not surprised though, because it was a very old building. I hope they build something new and beautiful in that space.   

I made homemade Apple Pie for the first time the other day and it was a hit! Baking is not something I know very much about, but I love to experiment and try new things. To be honest, the filling for the pie was not coming out the way I had hoped it would. Nonetheless, I used the filling in the pie and put it to bake. I laughed as I had my hands covered with pie filling and wondered what would come of this. To my pleasant surprise, it worked and the pie came out quite tasty! Being that it was my first time, the pie came out alright, but there is always room for improvement. Next time, I would like to add more spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and maybe even some walnuts or raisins.



  

It's me with one of my latest acquisitions, a nice T0shirt that reads "Tuxedosam" below the picture of an old Sanrio picture. Whenever I wear it everyone around me always comments 懐かしい in memory of the character on the front of the shirt. Lately I've been on a craze for new shirts and shorts. It's マイブーム, my latest craze or craving, to shop shop shop. I'm particularly drawn to shirts, and everyone weekend I always take home with me from the shotengai one to five new articles of clothing. This particular shop I got from Village Vanguard before it closed down. I have an even better shirt that I wear occasionally, one which has a monkey on it apparently named もんきち. In my hand is a wonderful book that I checked out from our HQ (headquarters) written by a Japanese person. I highly recommend this book.

What do you read? May I make a suggestion? As I am learning a foreign language myself, please read something level appropriate, and to approach your studies slowly and consistently. And be sure to take breaks and to have fun and to associate and build memories!

  

It's festival season! I love this part of summer time, when all the towns have their festivals. Participating in festivals is always so much fun! The first year I wore a yukata and just enjoyed it with my friends. The second year I danced on a yosakoi team. This year I will be dancing again! If you see me at a festival, please say hello! As much as I love dancing, it isn't the best part. The best part of any festival is the fireworks! They are so bright and beautiful. Of course, the food is always good too. What do you like to eat at festivals?  

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about mental reflections and I think I want to briefly touch on that topic again tonight.

I briefly want to say that the current thought that runs through my mind/brain is the pure energy, or I should say, the rawness of the sounds that i often hear late at night in the calm summer nights of Kokubunji. The pureness and the subtle nature of it surrounding my being has made me realize one of the often overlooked greatest of living in a somewhat rural town.

Do you think these thoughts sometimes?


  

As my time at Gem School and in Japan dwindles, it is time to say goodbye. To my friends; to my home here; to you, my faithful readers; and to Baby Blue, my trusty steed. It has been a marvelous journey and an
excellent experience, and I hope our paths may cross again someday in this ever-shrinking world.  

One of my students brought me snacks from Tokyo Disney. It isn't the first time a student has brought me something, but Mickey's profile is easily identifiable. The custom here of giving snacks as souvenirs is interesting. We don't really use food as souvenirs in America, unless it is something very unique or special in some way.

Actually, for the most part, we only bring back souvenirs for ourselves and, possibly, close friends or family. Typically such things are used as reminders of the trip. Most people prefer things that will last a long time. Gift shops around tourist attractions tend to have an abundance of 'knick-knacks', items with little or no practical use. They better serve as mementos, but snacks are tasty, and who really wants a trinket from somebody else's adventure.  

I'm home in America now for a month, and it's been really good so far. I've been jogging through Mill Creek Park, which is the second biggest city park in America. This year there are a lot of deer around, so I've been running into them a lot. It's great. I really missed the wildlife.  

After living in Japan for over 2 years straight, I will admit that I don't always pay attention. Recently, I went to my favorite take-out place near Sakaide station and bought some dishes. I thought I was eating a bowl of Chinese noodles, but I didn't look at the name of it.

I had nearly finished the bowl when I looked very close and noticed...little eyes! It turns out that I was eating very small fish! I almost jumped in surprise. I decided that it was delicious and finished it anyway. In America we don't have tiny fish in any common dish, because seeing the head of an animal is unnerving to most. I still feel a bit strange when I buy an entire fish to eat and can see it's head.

In the future I will be a little more careful with what I'm about to eat!  

Man, it seems like the rainy season has finally begun. Rain all day, rain all night. Rain on you days off, rain while you are at work. Just so much rain. Almost makes you want to start singing that song, "Rain Rain Go Away", doesn't it?
I don't mind the rain so much. Mostly it's depressing or annoying if I have to go into work while it is raining, even more so having to drive home from work in the rain. This is because, for the most part, this means driving at night. Visibility is already lower at night; adding the rain brings it down even more, and it gets worse due to the headlights of other cars. Driving in the rain at night is the worse,
What's not so bad is being home when it is raining. Unless you are the type that needs to be out all the time, I think it can be very relaxing just sitting at home, listening to the rain fall. Of course, this gets ruined if it ends up being a thunderstorm; there's nothing relaxing about that, hahaha.  

Last weekend, I went to a festival at the Niihama Marine Park! We were really lucky, because it only rained once, and briefly, while we were there. There was a lot of great music; I even got to hear the Japanese version of How Far I'll Go from Moana. We also watched a lovely performance by some Hula dancers, and we got to see our friends perform Yasakoi. I'd heard a lot about Yakakoi, but I had never seen it before. The music was really fast-paced and exciting, and the dancing was great. I'm so glad that I got to see it and cheer on my friends!  

Hello!

Goodness, it's hard to beat the heat sometimes! Japan is always much too hot for me in the summer, but I'm doing my best!

I'd like to talk a little about something new and exciting that is happening just down the block from our apartment. This week, two new businesses opened their doors less than a minute's walk from our door. A pharmacy and grocery store called “Himawari” (which means Sunflower in English), and new Lawson convenience store! I'm so excited about this, as it means I no longer have to drive or walk a long distance to get to a store to pick up small items like milk or eggs, which is something I love. I've never been a big fan of driving places, and I always prefer to walk or take public transportation whenever I can, especially in Summer weather like this!
  

Pictured are another set of some of my favorite students. These two are like brothers and sisters in my eyes. They even look like the part, like they in fact share the same parents! More than looks, however, their personalities are close to one another. They are both really humorous and whimsical kids, while also retaining a level of respect to keep them on track. Their ears are always open and their eyes always forward. The boy is my favorite to ask questions to, as he always answers in a questioning tone. Ask him, "How are you doing today?" and he'll respond, "I'm happy???" Or ask him 2How many do you have?" and he'll be sure to respond questioningly, "I have three?????" The girl on the left is hands down one of the fastest learners that I've met. When I first started teaching her she would largely stay quiet, but now she's one of the most aggressive and accurate. She's just so smart and her vocabulary is large. In the waiting room I like to observe my kids interact with their parents, and this girl in particular is always laughing or joking with hers. I think that parents must talk talk talk and talk with their kids if they want their kids to lead confident, capable, and comfortable lives full of language and laughter.  

I like funny t-shirts. If I can find them for the right price I'll pick them up. This shirt says "Get rad, stay rad". "Rad" means "cool". It means that you should become a cool person and remain a cool person throughout your life. I like the idea and I agree with it. It's kinda funny to say it this way though. I would have gotten it if it weren't so expensive.

  

When we first moved in to our apartment building one of the main streets near by was under construction, it was under construction for over a year! They made it bigger and added an overpass. Since the construction finished there have been so many new businesses opening up!
We feel really lucky, since everything is very close to us now. We can walk to the nearest conbini in two minutes, and there are so many other new shops just as close.
We really lucked out!
  

Morning is my favorite time of day. I like the quiet calm, the sleepy peacefulness of new day. I eat breakfast every morning and on nice weather days, I enjoy it from the comfort of my balcony. I haven't planted as many things in my balcony garden this year but I do have some cheerful flowers. What do you do in the morning? What are your simple pleasures?