ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Each day here I'm learning more about the culture and am always eager to find out more!!
  

After a long and eventful day of running errands I love to go to my cozy place. What is a cozy place? It's any spot in your home that makes you feel the most relaxed. When I was little my father's cozy place was a recliner in the living room. My grandma's cozy place has always been a rocking chair that stands right in front of her television. I could always find my mom out in the patio reading a magazine while sitting on her favorite chair.

My cozy place is my sofa. I like to cuddle up to a good book, hot tea in my hand and relax. If I am not reading on it, I am watching my husband watch television or play games on it. There's nothing sweeter than unwinding on a couch. Plus my couch is right next to the balcony. Being near the balcony allows me to see surrounding mountains while sitting (or laying) on the sofa. I just can't get enough of my cozy place!
  

This weird looking fellow was crawling on my car the other day. I don't know what kind of butterfly it turns into, but it better be amazing, or it will be a total downgrade. It was incredibly tiny and still managed to be one of the coolest critters I've seen in a long while.  

Once again, this info-graphic is funny! To be handy, means to be useful. And the map looks like a hand. So...handy? Get the joke?

Okay, so this is just the main areas of Michigan, but I will tell you where I am. I am somewhere between Ann Arbor and Detroit. We call Ann Arbor "A2" on messenger to save time. I'll be visiting my mother who lives past the Flint area too.

Growing up in Michigan, I never noticed how some cities have very strange pronunciation. This has to do with our history with the Native Americans and the French. Sometimes the city is named after a person. Here are a few that will surprise you!

Mackinac Island: MAC-IN-NAW Island

Sault Ste. Marie - Soo Saint Marie

Ypsilanti - IP-SI-LAN-TEE

Charlevoix - SHAR-LEH-VOI

Detroit - D'TROIT

My Mom's side of the family has a cabin on Bois Blanc Island. Everyone calls it BOB LOW Island!   

Another beautiful weekend and another bike ride to enjoy it!! AND explore the area! I noticed on Google map that if I headed straight down the closest main road to where I live, it would head up into the hills where there looked to be a great park with magnificent views. So off I went! I was NOT disappointed! The hill wasn't easy to bike, and I will admit to getting off and pushing my bike a couple of times! But it was worth it! The views of the city were totally different from any I had seen yet, as they were from a different side of Takamatsu. Also, the park was huge! Not only with multiple soccer, baseball, and archery fields, but multiple playgrounds and open areas. Hiking trails were all through the park along with a pond. YES! I found yet another "GEM" in Takamatsu!!




  

As the heat continues to rise, I'm constantly debating whether I should turn on the air conditioning unit, and if I do how long should it run for. I am a wimp when it comes to the heat, but I also really don't want to waste the electricity. Until the day when the heat finally defeats me I'll be asking myself this question.

When it gets bad enough and I give up, I will be able to use the air conditioning nearly constantly without any qualms. I'll just sit back and enjoy my cool room. Of course, it would be best if I never had to use it because that would mean the heat never became unbearable. I can always hope right?  

So every weekend I try to call home and talk to my parents for about an hour. But it always takes like 30 mins to get started. Skype always seems to have to update so we go through the dance of updating every time. And for some reason my mom's computer can never find her web camera so we go through a whole routine of "did you try this? how about this? Ok...let's use dad's laptop" for like 10 minutes. And once we switch to my dad's it always has some setting where I can't hear them. So by the time we end up calling its been a whole ordeal. It's quite entertaining and I've come to realize that it will take a while and I now start each conversation with some thing to keep myself occupied while my parents sort everything out. I love them. It's always a fun time my Sunday night.   

I'm long overdue for a karaoke night! I just love karaoke! I remember a few years ago my good friend suggested one night that we go to a karaoke bar in Manhattan, New York. I was skeptical at first but with no better suggestion my other friends and I agreed. Long story short, it turned out to be one of the funnest nights of my life! I haven't turned back since haha. Since that night, I've been doing karaoke back home in America, China, and finally Japan. I'm fortunate to have a karaoke place right near my apartment in Kagawa Prefecture! Safe to say, I will be heading over there one of these days!   

This weekend I finally went to Osaka! It was a lot of fun. I visited Nara and pet the deer, I went to the aquarium, went shopping downtown, and got to eat some Taco bell. I was only there for two days, but it was so much fun! The weather was beautiful. I'm really glad I got to go, my only regret was how short the trip was. I hope I get to go back soon, and see more of the city. I also really want to explore more of Japan soon!


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I drink a cup of coffee almost every day. I like black coffee. No cream, no sugar. Except in winter months, I always prefer iced coffee to hot coffee. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because I grew up in a hot climate. I remember the first time I had coffee was when I was about ten years old. My mom would make herself coffee every morning. She would make "cafe con leche" which means coffee with milk. She added a lot of milk and sugar. One morning I asked if I could try hers and I found it delicious. As I got older, I started liking milk less and less and didn't find the need for sugar in my coffee because I enjoyed the bitter taste. Now, a black iced coffee is the perfect boost in my day. How do you take your coffee?

  

The more things change, the more they are the same. I used to eat avocado on toast in the states, but Japan changed things. Adding a little ちりめん, little white baitfish adds some lean tasty protein. That red stuff is a nice mexican-style hot sauce! I love the stuff.

Whenever a teacher goes back to the states for a visit, I'll usually ask for hot sauce. It's worth it's weight in gold! Seriously though, I don't eat that much bread anymore. When I do though, I'm going all out!

How have your old favorites changed over the years? Tell me when you see me,
Joe o/   

I've taken the train a few times since I've arrived and each time, the view has always been amazing. Japan never ceases to amaze me how organized and functional it is!  

I'd like to think everyone has at one point in time experienced a random act of kindness. Honestly I can think of lots of moments someone's actions inspired, uplifted, and even saved me. For this post I'll feature one of the most recent acts of charity.

One day while at the train station I found myself lost and confused. I was not sure which train to take that would send me back home from a mini excursion. Plus my cellphone mysteriously died despite being on a full battery! I guess my look of defeat caught the attention of a nice schoolgirl. From her uniform I was guessing she was a high school student. She asked me in Japanese if I was lost. I meekly said "Yes." She quickly asked "Where are you going?" I told her and did not think much of it. The schoolgirl then darts off.

I am thinking she must have had to go but then she comes back. She quickly tells me that she asked around and found my route. The schoolgirl then directed me to the right bus and said if I stay on it I should make it to my destination. I could not believe a total stranger would go the extra mile for me like this. I thanked her and instantly felt relieved. Her random act of kindness helped reassure me and I was safely on my way home!

I'd like to end this post with a quote by British-American author Henry James. Henry James said "Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”   

Recently I had one of my students, who is notorious for hating anything to do with school, come to class and say she had spent the whole weekend studying. My first reaction was, 'very funny', but then I remembered that I haven't met a Japanese person who could pull off that joke. It turns out that the drive towards high school hits even the non-academically inclined.

She is just one of those people who isn't enjoying her time in the school environment. Which is sad, but I'm really glad she is giving it her best now. Hopefully this will turn it around for her. Don't tell her I said so, but she is actually quite bright when she applies herself.  

This info-graphic is pretty funny to me because of two reasons. One: the Midwest (which included Michigan) does call all soda "pop." And if you bump into me, or I am trying to walk around someone, I might say "ope!" As I said before, I am homeward bound this week, and by Saturday, I'll probably be drinking a lot of pop! I really hope I can have a vanilla coke or some rock 'n rye right away! I have had to train myself to say "soda" while in Japan.

The "Ope!" sound isn't one that I really ever paid attention to. But someone pointed out that the rapper Eminem is from Michigan, and in a song he says "Ope! There goes gravity!" I laughed for five minutes at this realization! I also think I might take a little time to build up my talking speed again. Michiganders (Michigan people) are fast talkers!

Michigan is called The Mitten because it is shaped like one. I'll be in the Mitten soon, and I can't wait!  

I needed to get "out of the city" last weekend, so I jumped on my bike and headed to "my mountain"- Mt Yashima. I love to climb it and spend the day hiking the 5 mile loop which wraps around both plateaus. I get a sense of accomplishment "making it" to the top, then just sit back and enjoy my hike, the views and my packed lunch.

Just when I am "making it" to the top, and feeling so proud of myself, I am humbled by the determination and resiliency of the elderly here in Japan. This old man, and MANY others, including elderly women, climb this mountain using there canes! Back in the United States, you would not see this. Society would have them sitting in a nursing home for the elderly. Here, younger people encourage the independence of the elderly, helping them when they need it- but helping them to help themselves. I have seen this in everyday life here as well and think it is wonderful and one of the main reasons people live so long here. People work well into retirement age. If they do retire, they are out doing community service work like sweeping the parks and streets!

I have to say though, I am still proud of myself for making it to the top of that mountain!!   

I got a sewing machine recently and it proved to be very useful this week. Some friends and I got costumes for our yosakoi dance team. We had a little sewing party at my place and we were able to so some of the alterations to the costumes easily and quickly thanks to the machine. Of course it couldn't sew on snaps which was too bad, but I'm glad that I was able to help some people get their projects done more quickly.

Thank you to those of you which made that possible!

  

My friend introduced me to an app called Mercari. Its basically like Ebay for Japan and its such a nice site to find collectors items or unwanted stuff that people are getting rid of. My friend recently had birthday and I was able to buy her gift and get it shipped to my place in three days which was pretty amazing. I also recently inherited a bike from a friend and I was able to find a cheep bike bag so I can take it on the train and use it around town. If you are looking for anything be sure to check out the app! But for us foreigners be aware that the app is only in Japanese so if your reading isn't the best the ask for some help!   

My guacamole was a big hit at last week’s gathering, I’m happy that everyone enjoyed the dip.
The only down side about the dip I made last week at the gathering, I couldn’t add jalapenos to it, to make it spicy. Latino families don’t really measure their food when it comes to cooking. I asked my mother and aunts for measurements when it came to making salsa or guacamole and they all said that they don’t’ measure their food, you would have to go by taste. Adding salt and pepper is challenging, you would have to be careful how much to add in the guacamole. But overall it is easy to make.

History: Guacamole was developed by the Aztecs in what is now Mexico. It soon later became an international /American cuisine as a dip. It is bar far one of the greatest dips to have for celebration.

Ingredients:
Three Avocado
1 lime
Table Spoon of Cilantro.
Half a small onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves
Sea salt
Pepper
  

Whenever my wife and I are in Takamatsu, we always visit a wonderful little ramen shop outside of the train station. I'm not sure of the name of the shop. All I can tell you is that to order you have to use a machine outside. The shop sells a delicious assortment of ramen (Tokushima style ramen, Kyoto style ramen, etc). I really like that we can pick how thick our broth will be! Plus the chicken there is amazing! I really wish the place was closer to our apartment. I'm pretty sure we'd go there everyday! Maybe our wallets wouldn't like that but our stomachs sure would! Hahaha!