ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

It was one of my very good friends birthdays a few weeks ago! We went to dinner and I ordered a chocolate cake for dessert. It was so good, and the ice cream on the side had two blueberries and some mint on top. When I took off the mint it looked like a cute little ice cream monster! I wanted to name him but my friend said that was silly of me.


  

Why do we dream? I have always asked myself this question. Are they just our imagination running wild, or is there a purpose behind them? Many people don't recall their dreams, but there are some that recall every vivid detail of their dreams. Some people have happy dreams, and others nightmares; I am lucky to have both. Many of my dreams I don't recall, but the ones I do I remember very clearly. I have thought about the dreams I remember and try to think back to incidents that have occurred, or things that I have seen or done that could have been the root of the dream. Many researchers believe that our dreams are our memories playing out in a way that we understand, others believe there are no real reasons for dreams. I do know that every person in your dream is someone who you have seen before. The faces you pass on the street are the characters that make up your dreams, which is why we sometimes feel we have never met that person before. It's all very fascinating to think about.

What are some of your dreams?

Thanks for Reading!

Leigh  

Hello everyone!

For some this might not be exciting news but I got another book shelf! Amazing how last year when I bought my first bookshelf I thought it would be enough but evidently that wasn't the case! Do you have any book cases? What type of books do you have? How many if you have a book case. Also book case and bookshelf denote the same object!

Great!


  

The tempurature here is finally starting to get noticably cooler and I love it! I have always hated super hot and humid tempuratures. So the fact that summer is finally ending is a very wonderful thing. Honestly, I cant wait to see how the winters will be here. Where I am from in The United States winters are super cold and we have a lot of snow. I have been told that is not the case here, Its going to be super mild while being a comfortable tempurature. I am seruiously looking forward to it.  

I had a car accident a few weeks ago, just outside of Kanonji. Unfortunately, the officers who came to the scene were from Sakaide. That meant I had to take an hour long train ride over there.

When I got there, they had a hand written sign taped up that said 'Police' in English. There were three officers inside, who all rushed to the door when I opened it. They sat me down and used a hand drawn flowchart to show me that nothing was going to happen... nothing.

The best part was the ultra stoic cop, who made copies of all my documents. Because of where I use to live, my passport was issued in Chicago. It was really very far, but it is still printed on the passport. When he brought back my documents he was very excited to talk about Chicago. The Cubs, pizza, pretty much anything.

It was an irritating but amusing experience.  

Recently I went to a bonsai nursery. A nursery is where people raise, or grow, things like plants, children or animals. Usually the things are young, but not with bonsai. The bonsai in the picture was over a thousand years old. It used to be planted near a shrine, but a few hundred years ago the family that owns it moved it to a pot.   

We all had a good time in Homestay club, learning about stars and planets. Some of our things didn't go so well, but some turned out just fine! Check out our awesome astronauts and planets!

Pretty cool pictures! My astronaut students!
  

Podcasts aren't a new thing, but they are something I got into only recently. The initial reason was for Japanese listening practice, as well as keeping up with the news (English and Japanese). It has been really nice keeping up to date with what is happening in the world; before I constantly felt like I knew nothing that was happening.
On top of that, I've been introduced to a lot of other interesting podcasts, so many that I feel like I don't actually have the time to listen to them all!  

Gustav Klimt was a subject of study for my American School not too long ago. Gustav Klimt was born in Austria to a poor, immigrant gold engraver. He began his career paintings murals and ceilings in buildings. His decorations and ornamentations grew in popularity and he remained in steady work. He would continue to develop his style of ornamentation throughout his life and it would become increasingly organic looking, in the Art Nouveau style. He became increasingly popular. My favorite work of his is the famous “The Kiss”. Maybe you know it…  

Hello!

Well, for my music recommendation this month, I'm going to go a little different again, but still keep it in Canada. Way way up North in Canada there is a territory called Nunavut. It's often very cold and can get very dark, but it's also incredibly beautiful, and one of the places I think I would like to work and live if I had the chance. There is a band there that is quickly becoming famous in Canada called “The Jerry Cans” that sing both in English and Inuktitut, which is the language of the Inuit people who live in that area of Canada. The song I would like to show you today is called “Ukiuq”, which translates to “winter” in English. This also also shows a very famous and old style of singing called Throat Singing, where the singer will make two or three noises from their neck and throat at the same time.

Let me know what you think of this style of music, and any other thoughts you have about Canadian music!


  

I enjoy a good cycling trip and it's easy to arrange them when you have the proper equipment. When I came here from America, I brought my bicycle carry rack for the car. It's been wonderful. It allows me to carry up to three bicycles on the rear of my car. That also makes the car more aerodynamic. It's also very easy to use. The rack can attach to almost any car and installs quickly and easily.  

These are some of my Homestay club students. I truly adore each one of them. I have been teaching this class every Saturday for the past 6 months. In that time, I have grown a strong connection with them. I always look forward to Saturday afternoon with my kiddos. They have very distinct personalities and it has been fun and interesting getting to know the quirks of each student. I always have so much fun in this class. We laugh and we learn together. They make me smile when they smile, and it's been so great to see them grow over the months, both in language and as individuals. They all hold a special place in my heart and I hope to continue to grow this bond.


  

Hi Everyone!

Have any of you ever heard of a place called Dolphin Farm Shimanami in Ibaraki? If not, you need to check it out RIGHT NOW! Next to a beautiful beach in Hakatacho is a magical place where you can swim with dolphins for a very reasonable price. All you need to do is bring and swimsuit and towels, and you're ready to go; they provide all of the other needed gear for you, such as a wetsuit and more!

I really love planning fun travel-style activities on weekends to get out of the house and live, the kind of things that you remember for a lifetime and say, "hey, I did this...!" I'm always searching for new and unique activities to do to make memories; if there's anything you can take with you anywhere throughout life and afterwards, it's your memories. I try to plan something extra fun and unique about once a month if I can, and while searching for aquariums (one of my favorites places to go) Dolphin Farm Shimanami just happened to pop up. I've swam with dolphins already when I was a young child at Florida's famous Discovery Cove in Orlando, but I've always wanted to do it again as an adult; I finally got my chance!

Jared's birthday was at the beginning of September, and while I had already gotten him a nice gift, I wanted to do something extra, and I really enjoy surprising him with little trips here and there whenever possible. As he's never gotten to experience something like this, it was the perfect opportunity. I managed to keep it a secret for over two weeks after making a reservation through their website; he never managed to guess it either.

After checking in and putting on our suits, we were given a short class session on dolphins before we were off to the sea to swim. The total time lasted an hour, and we loved every minute of it. We got to pet the dolphins and ride them and even snorkel with them! Our dolphin was an adorable girl named Yuzu-chan. We also spent some time with another dolphin named Momo-chan.

Overall, we had a blast and would visit again. We even bought a large dolphin plushie in their little shop and named it Yuzu as a memory of our amazing day. If you get the chance, we highly recommend checking out this place and going for a swim of a lifetime!

  

What a cool bike! Friend and teacher Sam is letting me borrow this one while I save up for my own. It's so fast! I use it to go to the store and get to close-by schools. I hope to bike very large distances in the future. Being able to bike from Takamatsu to Kanonji is one of my goals this year. I think I can do it. Wish me luck, please :D  

A few weeks ago I took some friends to a Maexican restaurant in Kawanoe! I love the little cafe-style restaurant, and the food is really good. It definitely helps me when I crave Mexican food but don't feel like cooking. I usually get the chicken tacos, and then add jalepeno sauce to it to make it spicy enough! Do you like Mexican food?


  

I come from a family of re-enactors. Because we enjoy this trade, we develop some skills that have been lost through the passage of time. One of the most relaxing activities I can think of is spinning wool into thread. When learning how to do this, you first must develop the skill of spinning on a drop spindle (pictured above). This is the most primitive form of spinning that is taught. Basically you spin using gravity. It is a very relaxing and simple activity that you could do at anytime and anywhere.

What are some skills that you have that might be considered ancient or a "lost art"?

Thank you for reading!

Leigh  

Thanks to a birthday suprise from Alyssa, I was able to swim with some dolphins! The whole day was simply amazing. It started out with Alyssa and I going to a beach nearby and we relaxed on the beach until our appointment time came. We walked in and the dolphin trainers gave us wetsuits to wear and gave us lockers to put our clothing and electronics inside. Alyssa and I were given a lecture on the different dolphins that we would be swimming with and were told really interesting facts about dolpins in general. We got in the water and the dolphins took us for a lap around the pool which was an enclosed portion of a beach. Then proceded to feed them and see them perform some really interesting tricks. In the end I had a wonderful day and loved every second of it thanks to Alyssa.  

There was wind, rain, and I had a pretty good view of the show! I really enjoy listening to the rain, so I opened up my apartment. Only a few times did the wind whip in such a way that rain came in the windows. Most of that was through the kitchen, right over my sink, so not a problem.

Near a river or in the mountains I can see how it would be dangerous and scary, but for me it was just good fun. Tornadoes, which we have in abundance in Kansas, are quick and brutal (however small in scale). You can spend hours hearing warnings and weather updates, only to have absolutely nothing happen. That kind of negative anticipation can be very stressful.

All in all, I prefer the Typhoons.  

One thing that's very different from America here in Japan is construction. Japan has such cute warnings and signs when there is roadwork. In America all we have is orange cones. Monday I saw this balloon warning about roadwork on 11. She was super cute. Even cuter than the giraffes with shovels.  

I don't have to tell any of you that we had a typhoon on Sunday---it touched a lot of Japan! I got home from a friend's at a reasonable time and had water and provisions ready. I thought about dying my hair and watching movies for the rest of the evening.

I was just about to decide what craft project to do (scrapbooking, resin, origami, beads) when I heard a loud clap and my lights went out. Actually, all of my power had gone out! It was only 7:30pm!!

I was shocked and dismayed to see how little battery my laptop had and I couldn't finish my movie. I found the electric box in my apartment but when I flicked the switch, nothing happened.
I was bored really quickly. I put my phone in a charger and read an old comic, using a flashlight. Then I played with my phone some more. At around 10, I actually felt tired so I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. Going to bed at 10 is impossible for me.

I could hear cars and not the wind anymore, so I tried the electric box again. And it worked!!! My weekend was saved! In America, it would have taken days for the power to come back, so I felt really lucky!