ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Hello everyone,

So this weekend I made the trip back home, it was quite a long flight. I stayed for about a day and a half, having left Friday from Takamatsu Airport and arriving back in the United States at about 6:15 PM (Friday), my initial flight from Takamatsu to Narita however was cancelled and as such I had to take a flight an hour and a half later that landed in Haneda. Then I had to take a train for two hours to get to Narita, to say it was miserable would be an understatement.

it was good to be back for a bit to see friends and family, and go to my friend's wedding (which was the original purpose). Even though I will never again make a flight that long for two days, it was good to make the wedding, and my friends were glad I did.  

Spring has finally sprung! At least that's what the calendar says. Though it is still cold outside the flowers are starting to bloom on the trees and it's almost time for hanami! This will be my first time experiencing cherry blossom watching in Japan. I cannot wait to sit outside in warmer weather, with my friends and eat and drink under the Sakura trees. Where are some good places to view the hanami? Some people go to beaches while other people have suggested going to a park. Where do you go?
  

I attended a birthday party this past Sunday at a park in Marugame. I had so much fun there! My friend picked me up at the train station and drove me to the venue, which was a building we rented for the day at a park. A lot of her family members and family friends were in attendance, making the first 10 minutes full of greetings and introductions. After about an hour of chatting and stuffing my face with some great food, my friend and her sister and I went outside to the playground to play with all her kid relatives. We played lots of tag variations, like Cop and Robbers and Zombie Tag, as well as some random playing around, like just kicking a ball around and simply pushing each other around. It was a lot of fun, and I even got a workout from it, since one of the kids challenged me to a race, and then when we thought it was all over, he then challenged me to a small game of soccer. I made lots of friends with the kids there, even though one of them kept on saying foul English to me! He was a blast though. He’d randomly turn around while I was talking and just yell back in Spanish, “Que?!” which means “What?!” After our time at the play ground we retired to our rented room and took lots of pictures with the families, ate, and then danced a bit.   

I got another MIDI controller recently and it's been a lot of fun. It's made by Korg. I have another one made by Korg too, but it's much different. Both however allow their default behavior to be edited. This image show the software by Korg to edit my current MIDI controller. I can redefine almost any function of any key, button, or knob. It's great that it's so customizable.

  

Robert Mueller has been in the American news a lot the past few days. He is the specially appointed head of the federal investigation regarding the 2016 election. He is investigating how the election was influenced by Russia and the Trump administration. He has been interviewing members of President Trump's staff after they admitted they lied about the 2016 presidential campaign. In addition, more than a dozen Russians have been charged by Mueller for influencing the 2016 election. The investigation is very important because it will show if President Trump worked together with Russia to win his presidency. It is also important to see how the 2016 election was manipulated in order to protect future elections, like this year's Congressional midterm elections.

Therefore, Robert Mueller has a very important job and should be supported by the entire federal government. However, yesterday President Trump began attacking Mueller online despite warnings from his advisors not to do so. After the attacks, President Trump's lawyers then asked the government to stop the federal investigation regarding the 2016 election completely. Due to the online attacks and his lawyers' request, people are scared that President Trump will fire Mueller. Firing Mueller would create a lot of problems for President Trump and his political party, the Republicans. However, if President Trump does fire Mueller, it would mean that a new legal battle would began, further slowing down the federal investigation regarding the 2016 election and risking the midterm election later this year.
  

Candles are cool, especially when they have a soothing scent. Candles can be square or round, short or tall, and they come in various colors. But! Have you ever seen a really large candle? Take a look at the candle below. It’s a huge square chunk. Where would someone put this?! I wonder if it will ever find a home.

  

Hi everyone!

While out driving, I was privileged to see one of the most beautiful sights in all of Japan—a wild Japanese weasel!
Anyone who knows me even the slightest knows I’m overly obsessed with the entire weasel family. I knew there were wild weasels in Japan, but I never had the privilege of seeing a wild one in person—until now. It was brief as it bounded across the road—ginger fur glimmering in the sunlight—down into the riverside bushes.
I can say that today was one of the happiest days in Japan so far. I hope I get to see another one someday.   

Saw this today in Sakaide. This is pretty unusual back home. They're avoiding the number 4, right? I heard that older Japanese people think the number 4 is unlucky.

In the states some people feel that way about the number 13, but it's becoming less and less common everyday.   

This week I did something I haven't done in a long time; I wrote exams. Sometimes when I ask students if they have exams they get a bit confused, because exams are a test. Tests are given to evaluate how much a student knows about a specific unit of study. An exam is given to evaluate how much a student knows about the entire class. I had 5 different exams; listening, reading, speaking, vocabulary, and writing. I won't have my results for a little while longer. I'm nervous to see if I passed!


  

As some people may or may not know but the spring season is around the corner and I’m starting to make plans for sakura viewing season and celebrations made around it with my friends.

I have to say it one of my favorite seasons to celebrate with friends!

Do you celebrate this turning of seasons?


  

I am very exited to see the cherry blossom trees in full bloom in person for the first time. Here in a few weeks I believe the trees will be in full bloom. I have only ever seen photos and videos of these cherry blossom trees and I am looking forward to my chance to see them in person. I think I’m going to look into a method of petrification to potentially preserve one of the petals to take back to America with me. I hope it isn’t too hard to do. I have seen people petrify other types of leaves before in America so I think it should be possible for me to do this here in japan.  

We don't have anything like White Day in the US. If you want to give some chocolates or gifts, everybody does it on Valentine's Day. When you are in school, there are very simple cards you give out to classmates and friends. You might get a little extra for your friends or, if you are very brave, for your crush.

By the time you reach Junior High the idea of friendship chocolates is almost non-existent. And then into High School, and beyond, it is a tradition reserved for couples. Some people do give gifts to their mothers or grand mothers, but it isn't especially common.

To take full advantage of my first White Day, I decided to repay all the treats I received on Valentine's Day. I hope everyone likes my choices of sweets!  

On Sunday, I went to Ritsurin Park with Rose-sensei. Over about a year or so, I have been collecting pieces necessary to wear a kimono well, and it was very exciting to have it put together. I showed off my new (used) kimono and I'm really glad that I bought it! Rose dressed me perfectly, in one go.

The woman who runs the kimono rental shop liked chatting with Rose and I, and she followed us for a short while, taking photos for us. She lent us a parasol from her shop, and I got an amazing photo with it! I'm really thankful that it's acceptable for a non-Japanese girl to wear kimono. It is one of those special things that I get to do because I live in Japan.  

It’s a bit late bringing this up, but as you all know, I am a gamer (though not very hardcore; I tend to leave time for other pursuits as well). But only maybe a month ago, the game Monster Hunter World came out for the PS4 (and maybe other systems?). I bought the game, though I was hesitant to do so at first. The main reason is that while the game does not require you to play online, it is much more fun and manageable. You can play with people around the world. The problem with that is simple; you can’t pause the game. You need to complete the mission (which can last up to 50 minutes) before you can set down your controller ( of course, you can put it down anytime, but you will become a problem for your fellow hunters).
Especially with baby Leon on the scene now, I will probably have little to no time playing this game any more, unless we come to an agreement (which he will just ignore anyway, hahaha). Still, it’s been fun up to now, so I will try to play more in the future.  

The new semester has started at Gem School and it's really exciting to see so many new faces in class! It's also sad to see some of my students leave or go to classes with new teachers. It has been somewhat challenging acclimating some of the younger students, but I'm hoping that the more time we spend working on a routine, the easier and more fun each class with become!  

I had a blast of a time this past Sunday. In the morning I did what I usually do, that is, practice singing with my piano in preparation for my vocal training lesson. So I woke up, did some stretching and breathing exercises, prepared and drank some warm-hot water, then got to it. I sat at my piano for 30 minutes doing various vocal training exercises. Afterwards I would study some Japanese and philosophy, eat, stretch, then return to the piano for another block of 30 minutes of vocal training exercises. Once the appointed time arrived, I packed my bags then headed for the train for my lesson. After my lesson was finished I caught the train down to Shirayama, where I would enter the Tresta iceskating rink to meet a friend. I haven’t skated in at least two years, and this was the first time in Japan. It was toughgoing, and a lot more difficult than I remembered. Nonetheless, I had a good go at it and made some friends there. Some kids there wanted to teach, race, and play Tag with me, so I got quite a workout in that day. I skated for about two hours and after about three falls. Afterwards we went to the wonderful Busshozan onsen. My friends went in with each other while I stayed out in the lobby to read a book and listen to some Japanese training audio. Afterwards we wound up at Gyuusei, a pretty good yakiniku restaurant made even better by being affordable. What felt like 3000¥ worth of food was only 1700¥! Pictured above is a shot of one of my favorite mixed drinks. I didn’t catch the name of it, but if you go to Gyuusei you will see some advertisements for it. It is Beefeater gin and tonic with half a lemon inside along with some black paper grinds inside.  

Miami. It's a well known city throughout the world. When I visited, the weather was wonderful and the sights were photoesque wherever you looked. Palm trees, tall buildings, concrete, and beaches filled the area. The beach was wonderful and the sights were excellent. I hope to visit again soon and I highly recommend that you all visit too.

  

Hello Readers!

I believe it is very important to learn geography: geography allows you to understand the spatial organization of society and history and current events in a visual manner. Therefore I incorporate maps into my English lessons at least once a month.
However, while I teach maps to my students, I also struggle with geography!



I am currently trying to learn more about Japanese geography but I can never remember how North or South certain cities are.
For example, I thought Sendai was far closer to Tokyo than it actually is! After some reflection, I realized that I truly remember locations after I travel to them or study them in class. As I am no longer in school, I've decided to travel as much as I can in Japan to learn geography!

Where should I travel to next?  

Here is a beautiful picture of a thank you card that my baby club babies and moms gave me on the last day of the semester. It was a class of 10 babies and their moms. Out of those 10, I had 8 leaving. I nearly cried at the end of the last 30 minutes of our last class together. Before this job, I had never interacted with babies in such a capacity. I’m so thankful I have the opportunity to now. This babyclub class was my first one. I’ve been teaching it every week since June. I have grown so fond of these babies and their moms. I always had so much fun with them, and it was such an incredible thing to see how they grew in such a short amount of time, both physically and in their speaking abilities. I truly love all of them and I’ll never forget this class. Keep exploring the world, children!

  

Hi everyone!

It seems like true spring weather is finally upon us, and that means it’s time to pack away my winter clothes again. It’s amazing how much space winter clothes takes up in your closet; it makes sense though with all that extra fabric to keep you warm. It feels good to have more space though, and I’m really looking forward to busting out my more breezy summer clothes.
It’s really fun to go through seasonal clothing because sometimes you forget about certain outfits and fall in love with them all over again. It’s also nice to put away the heavy bedding and have a more open room. In fact, I kept the windows open all morning to let the fresh breeze in. It won’t be long now until winter is fully done for the year.

Do you have a favorite spring outfit?