ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Have you seen Toy Story 4? I haven't. I loved the first three, but I don't care about seeing any more.




It amazes me how much computer animation has developed over the years. Not only has the quality of the graphics improved, but the process of making them has changed.

I recently learned that in Toy Story 4, instead of human artists drawing individual spider webs, they programmed AI spiders to create them instead!

Thanks for reading!
,,,,Gem School
  

My friend sent me some goodies from Australia! The special oreos are really delicious and I love having new snacks to try!

Meanwhile, my package that my mother sent me, from America, is stuck. She sent it in August! I heard that it's just sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Maybe I'll get it for Christmas?  

I listen to many genres of music, but one of my favorite genres is jazz and one of my favorite jazz singers is Julie London.

I discovered her when I was at university. I was up studying late one night while listening to a jazz playlist. Suddenly, I heard her sing "Two Sleepy People" and I fell in love with her voice immediately. Her voice had this eccentric blend of sadness and sultriness that is almost hypnotic.

Julie London's most popular song is "Cry Me a River," which I definitely recommend listening to, but my personal favorite is "Love for Sale." Honestly speaking, you can't go wrong with any song in her catalog. Each one is a jewel in and of itself.  

This is our cabin. The inside was really pink! But the outside was perfect for relaxing. We could have a fire and listen to the river!






  

orangy dude

Yellow spotty stuff

Hearts <3

sake cups

Went for a hike last month. There's a lot of mushrooms in the markets and that's really great. There's a bunch out in the forests too if you take the time to look.

There are a lot of misconceptions about fungus/mushrooms. It's not so much a plant. It's very different to modern plants, and are hard to classify as an animal. At the same time, there are many similarities mushrooms have chemically to modern meat (chicken and beef) that stumps scientists. It goes without saying that it confuses me as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYunPJQWZ1o
Steven Axford's life was changed by taking photos of mushrooms. Some people's dinner is ruined by eating a mushroom. My day was changed when I saw some really cool mushrooms.


  

I went to Cafe Sorabi in Toyohama again! This time, they were serving spring rolls for lunch. It was to die for!  

I found a small and cute coffee shop in Kanonji that was delicious! It’s called “ 焙煎珈琲 まめ珈房” on Google Maps (it’s a coffee roaster). I’m so happy!  

The potato originated in what is now Peru and Bolivia and its cultivation was widespread in South America before Spanish colonization.



Because potatoes are part of the nightshade family, they can become poisonous if they aren't cultivated correctly. When Europeans first started growing them, they made a lot of mistakes, a lot of people got sick, and Europeans developed a fear of eating them. The French believed that eating potatoes caused leprosy in humans, and in 1748 passed a law banning them. They were used as food for pigs and the desperately poor.

Thanks for reading!

  

Now that I have a new phone with a good battery, I started playing Pokemon Go again. A lot of the game has changed for the better. I especially like to play it in October for all the bats and ghosts! My best friend has been teaching me how to beat gyms and battle. We go for more walks just to catch Pokemon. It's great!  

When I was in secondary, one of my hobbies was making fashion sketches. Since then, I have been really busy and I haven't had the time to keep up with that hobby.

At the time, I learned how to make fashion sketches out of boredom. It seemed like a great thing to learn because I had a moderate interest in the fashion industry and there was a possibility that I would work in it one day. I researched various techniques and practiced a few times a week.

Now that I have a bit more free time again, I have decided to rekindle this hobby. I'm a bit rusty because it's been about a decade, but it's nice to have a creative outlet.  

This weekend we went to stay in a small cabin by the river. On the way we stopped by a really neat bridge. I’m excited to share more of our trip with you!


  

Yesterday was my birthday and I made udon!

So touristy and I love it. Really glad I tried it. Kotohira is famous for many things and if you wanna get that real Kagawa touristy feeling, the udon school is a fun stop. The local temple, nearby mountains and castle were a fun stop for me.

Fall is the all-around best season for what I enjoy. I like biking and hiking and I really can't be bothered by Kagawa's weather. I'll bike all the way to late December and I can't wait to get back on the saddle.

Udon is an interesting noodle. Not much food is improved by stepping on it ( :V )


  

I made quesadillas!! They were absolutely delicious and had a lot of cheese!  

I finally saw the Onohara Dam!! I’ve lived in Kanonji almost a year now and never made the trip out there. It was awesome!  

About 3770 years ago, a Sumerian merchant named Ea-Nasir, sold copper to a man named Nanni. The copper was the wrong quality, so Nanni wrote a letter (on a clay tablet) to complain. We know this because the clay tablet was preserved.

Somehow, the Internet thinks this is hilarious. The story has spawned t-shirts, bumper stickers, fan-fiction, a keyboard?!



Sometimes, I love what our civilization has become.

Thanks for reading!




  

My student won her speech contest! It was an amazing experience getting to work with her and her coach. The coach delivered the news to me while I was in class. I came out and found letters and chocolate! I started shrieking in excitement at the news. I was surprised and so proud.

I wish her the best as she climbs the ladder of the tournament. Go Kazane!  

One of the other teachers recently introduced me to these spicy peanuts and now I love them. They're the spiciest snacks that I've ever had in Japan.

Very often, I have found that foods labeled spicy in Japan are actually quite mild and you can barely taste the spice. I love spicy food, so in order to satisfy that craving I would often have to make my own spicy snacks. After discovering these spicy peanuts, they're definitely my new favorite go-to!  

As I have mentioned in the previous two blogs I have done, I have recently gotten back into learning programming so that I can hopefully start an online master's degree soon.

I have been going through the book mentioned in my last post at a decent rate (currently on Chapter 3 which deals with definite loops), and have found myself enjoying both the chapter and extra exercises immensely. So far, I have been solving the problems either on the first go or with a minor revision, and that it's a really good feeling when you get a 100% on the first submitted solution.

Here is the problem that I will be working on today and hopefully will submit by tonight.

  

While shopping, I was surprised to find candy I really enjoyed as a kid. It’s a nerds rope it’s from America. It’s really good. What’s your favorite type of candy?


  

Everyone's got a blind-side and One Piece stuff is mine. OP is really picking up, guys. It passed the 1000 chapter mark this year and the "Wano ark" is finally starting to climb to the climax. Big bad Kaido the giant dragon oni is gonna face off against Luffy and his rubber fists.

Wonda coffee printed characters on their cans for a really neat tie-in. My friend back home loves One Piece too so I sent him some of his favorite characters. I don't think they'll gain in monetary value, but I hope he enjoys them in a more simple way. Does the picture have value because it's on the can? Does it have value if it exists in many other places already? Let's not get philosophical today...