ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Well I did it. I finally got my haircut here in Japan and it was a pretty easy experience after all. I tried explaining to the barber the kind of haircut I wanted (which was a rather poor explanation) but after that, I showed him a picture. He tried to ask me a couple of questions but I couldn't really understand what he was saying, however my hair turned out very excellent! Next time I need a haircut, I will likely go back there!  

Man I love this bitter melon.

Fall has always been my favorite season. When I moved here, I got one more reason to love the season. Tis the season for bitter melon eatin'


It's good in salad. The soup when you boil it makes really interesting Miso soup


Does your favorite season come from the foods you like to eat? Tell me about it when you see me.


Joe o/  

Now that the Summer schedule is over, it's time to head towards Halloween. For me that means shopping for a costume.

Even under the best circumstances, finding a costume that I like and that fits is a problem. Luckily, last year I found a company that makes costumes here in Japan and they fit...more or less.

So size is not an issue, but picking what I want to be is. I've already had to pass on my first choice because somebody else wantsto do it.  

Say hello to tacocat.



Taco cat is a palindrome. A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence (like a date) that reads the same backwards and forwards.

The USA and some other countries, write the date in a month-day-year format. Today is 9-12-19, or September 12th, 2019. This year in September, we will experience a week of palindrome days! 9-10-19 until 9-19-19

What does it mean? Well, nothing really. It's just interesting to note.

I have also learned that we will have a full moon for tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday the 13th! This was once a day for bad luck, but now isn't taken that seriously. I find it to be a day to be a little extra spooky and watch the famous movie of the same title.
  

My daughter Savannah, also a teacher here at GEM, and I were invited to a couple's home for a "petit" dinner with drinks. This was a first for both of us and we were very excited! Since we assumed it would just be food to snack on with something to drink we made sure we weren't too hungry....WRONG!! It was more like an eight course meal! Yes, the courses were small, but still, they added up! Everything was delicious and an adventure in Japanese Cuisine! The highlight were the Takoyaki Balls. We cooked them right at the table which made having them on the menu a fun event as well as a meal! They were impressed that I could get the cooking balls to roll right away using long toothpicks, but it just comes from a lifetime of cooking myself! I have heard you can add various ingredients to the balls. We mostly added octopus and finely grated cabbage. Delicious! Fresh and hot- Crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside!

They warned us they didn't know much English but they knew enough for conversation and we had our phones for translation and pictures. We talked all evening, mostly about the food we were eating and Japanese versus American culture. What a fun and amazing, as well as interesting evening. It was not only a personal learning experience but I feel these little friendships and exchanges between countries really helps with international understanding.  

The renaissance festival it one of the most popular summer attractions in Colorado. It's where people will come to dress up as knights, princesses, or other figures from the medieval to the renaissance time periods. There are also hundreds of booths that sell crafts or games themed around these periods, and there are stage preformances and jousting matches held throughout the day. While you dont have to dress up-- it's a lot of fun to. They sell costumes at the festival too. Fantasy things like dragons and fairies are common here as well.

  

I'll admit it. I miss one particular pastry from America. What American pastry has me daydreaming in hunger? Pop Tarts! What are Pop Tarts? These really yummy pastries that have strawberry jam stuck in the crust. It was a popular breakfast when my wife (Candice-Sensei) and me were little. My wife and I still haven't outgrown our love for the delicious little pastry! Recently I saw Pop Tarts being sold in Amazon Japan! I'm definitely going to purchase a few boxes!  

Recently, I went to Okayama. It was awesome seeing all of the Momotaro related things there. I saw a giant statue of Momotaro and all his companions. I also tried some Okayama peach products. The peach was juicy and flavorful and the drinks were super refreshing. I went to Kurashiki and saw the beautiful buildings and shrines as well.   

I was looking at pictures this week and came across this picture I took from in a cave in Idaho:



This cave is really fun to explore. You have to climb down the ladder in order to reach the inside. Once you are in the cave it is pitch black. You need to bring you flash light! Also prepare to crawl, because the cave gets really small in some parts. But it is a fun place to go with your friends.

What are your favorite places to explore?  

There's a new cafe in Takamatsu a friend told me about. 仏生山の森 sells hamburg plates for adults, and some really choice burgers. I think the price was a little too high for my burger, but the other plates looked really nice.

Check out that goat!
I'm convinced the goat is making all of the food. Cleaning the salad, mashing the burgers, etc... I didn't look too hard at the waiter, but maybe he was a goat, too. You can't see them, but there's a baby goat to the side in another pen. Start them off in your restaurant, teach them everything you know, Azuki. This is your legacy.

What animal would you put in your restaurant?
Joe o/  

I love the early, early morning. The calm before the cars assemble on the road, slowly but surely shops open up, and sometimes it's like you are the only person walking on the street. I love how the birds appear to be at their most serene. It is reassuring to walk to work and see the same kind elderly man tending to his energetic shiba inu. There's so much comfort and peace in the morning. There's even serenity hidden in morning routines. How are your mornings?   

Japan is weird. They leave some foods plain, that really benefit from toppings, like yogurt and pancakes. How much plain yogurt do you use? Who can enjoy pancakes without, at least, butter and syrup?

At the other end of the spectrum, they like to throw completely unrelated flavors into things. Why are these chips Mentaiko Pizza flavored? And, as the title suggests, my recent discovery, Apple Pie Kit-kat. What? Why?

Curiosity got the better of me, so I bought some. They are really good. You win this round Japan, but you are still weird!  

One of the first ways that I got to know my friends, was by joining a Japanese study group. It was a good way for us to spend a little time together and become comfortable. Over time, the study sessions turned into game nights, and we all become fast friends.

In the Kanonji apartments, we are trying to revive our study nights again. It's easy to be tired, or feel that the place isn't clean enough to host. But we're trying. A few weeks ago, Michael, Cami, and I studied prepositions together. We added drawings to a white board. Can you guess who drew what? It blends together pretty well! My students would recognize my silly drawings in a heartbeat.

I drew a cube but we couldn't find the right translation for it.

What is cube in Japanese?   

To my surprise, on the menu at a local restaurant here in Takamatsu, was featured a fish that is very common in my home state of Michigan. The menu was partially in English, and the name of the fish was the same as back home- smelt! Smelt is a river and lake fish and my dad and I used to catch them back home when I was a little girl. It was even cooked the same. It was lightly flowered and fried. Of course, I had to order it. It was delicious and even tasted the same! It is amazing how comforting it felt to eat food that was caught and prepared here on the other side of the world, but in the exact same way as it is caught and prepared back home in the state I was born and raised in. A little commonality between Japan and the USA, but one that created a BIG emotion!  

Last year my wife (Candice-Sensei) gifted me with a Super Famicon. Now it's one of the game systems I play the most along with my Nintendo Switch. My Super Famicon came with a collection of games. It has Super Mario Kart, Mario RPG, Street Fighter, etc. I've been rekindling my love for Street Fighter (Sutorīto Faitā) lately. It's been great relearning how to play characters like Ryu or Guile (Gairu).

I especially love playing Street Fighter with friends. My wife even plays against me! She always picks Chun-Li or Cammy. She's a worthy opponent! We get really competitive against each other in the game. I think we both become better players by battling each other! I'm glad I have this game. I'll never get tired of playing Street Fighter!
  

It is now my 2nd week going on 3rd week in Japan. There is a quite a few differences that I have to get used to that is different from the states, and that is garbage sorting. I have to separate burnable, plastics, crushable, batteries etc. whenever I need to throw out trash and it takes a little to get used to since I'm used to throwing my trash out as is. I like the concept of having to sort the trash though. It gives me hope that my trash is being properly recycled and disposed of. I'm having a ton of fun adjusting to Japan and while trash isn't the most fun, its something new!  

This weekend I went with friends for swimming and barbecue. I had a great time. We cooked chicken, pork, hot dogs, corn, and potatoes. We made breakfast and lunch on the beach. All of the food was delicious! We also spent time swimming. We swam for around three or four hours. It was nice but I got a sunburn. By the time we finished I was spent. Do you enjoy barbecues? Where is your favorite place to swim?


  

Soon, I am going to be forced to go and get my first haircut here in Japan. This has been something I've been putting off for a while because I lack the Japanese skill to communicate what I want for a haircut and I don't really know a reputable barber shop to go to. What if I get a bad haircut? Or they misunderstand? My hair is one of my best features, I can't get a bad haircut!  

Manhole covers can be pretty boring where I come from.
Check them out


Not to exciting right?
Well, Up above are some cool ones I saw last week. Momotaro is a big thing in Okayama. Everything has that little ogre on it, or the boy and his three animal companions. That manhole is in front of the city office and library of Kokubunji. Really pretty stuff. Can I paint one too?

Tell me what you'd paint on a manhole cover from your hometown?
Joe o/  

I saw this statue and was wondering what it says?? Always interesting here in Japan!