ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Boy it's way too hot, isn't it? I can't remember the last time June was so hot and humid. I'm bothered by it a lot. I get very grumpy when it's too hot outside.
I've been keeping water bottles in the freezer. I take one out when I go outside and it melts quickly. I already have my neck towels too. My students say I look like an old man when I wear them!

I hope the weather cools down soon!  

There is so much snow in Hokkaido during the winter, that even in the summer the snow is still around. This hike was done in June and the snow is still around. This snow melts into the rivers and makes for nice rafting in the spring time.  

I expressed some apprehension in my previous post about beginning this program, mainly because I am afraid of not succeeding in it. The first module for the MSc program I started yesterday is now available, and I have been slowly working my through the material for the first week. So far things are going just fine, and I have been successfully completing the small coding assignments thus far. Each module is 8 weeks long, which is further broken down into 7 weeks of teaching/labs/etc and the final week is for revising and doing your final exam. All in all, I will definitely have a busy 8 weeks ahead of me.






  

For the longest time, I wanted to get my MFA in Creative Writing. There was only one problem with this. I had already taken pretty-much every creative writing class available to me when I was in university and I felt like I had already maxed out my knowledge of the subject as it was. I wasn’t certain that there really was anything else I HAD to learn within the subject of creative writing, since I do it so frequently already and am generally happy with my writing skills.

Therefore, for about two years, I have been wondering what I really want my Master’s Degree to be. I mulled over a multitude of options, such as, Political Science, Environmental Policy, Journalism etc. But couldn’t find the subject that I was truly willing to pay $20,000+ to learn more about.

For the majority of this time, however, another idea was bouncing around in my head. Getting an advanced degree in Publishing. Publishing is a more rare MA program, and is not as ubiquitous as Creative Writing or Journalism is in the writing-related fields of study. So, I would have less options to choose from when it came to finding a degree program.

However, I felt in my heart that an MA in Publishing would be a great fit for me. It would teach me a skill that I do not already know: namely, the editorial, business and marketing side of writing. I figured that many people can say that they are “writers”, but to create a solid career in writing, one has to know the ins and outs of how to bring a book idea into reality. This will not just teach me the skills to much more easily self-publish my content, but will also make me much more employable in a writing-related field, since employers know that I am serious about the overall creation of a book, as well as the writing of it.

Therefore, pursuing my Master’s Degree in Publishing is my current plan. We’ll see if that plan changes!
  

I have a smoothie machine at home. I love to make smoothies because they taste good and they can also be very healthy. I like to add spinach into every smoothie that I make. Green smoothies are my favorite. Which types of smoothies do you enjoy?   

"Perfect crust" is alluding me. I know something isn't right, but to be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going for. I don't want a dense sponge with tiny tiny holes, but I also don't want giant bubbles. I think I want something closer to focaccia.



nah


yes?


hard to say. Easy to eat.

7.5/10  

I love teishoku so much. This one is probably my favorite. This omelet is stuffed with cabbage and pork. It's simply divine! This is from Cafe Sorabi in Toyohama.  

If you enjoy hiking, then Japan is a great place to get out and about to see what nature has to offer. Although there are plenty of places to hike in Shikoku (and all of Japan for that matter), I would like to recommend a place in Hiroshima Prefecture called Sandankyo Gorge.

The gorge is located in northwestern Hiroshima Prefecture and runs for about 13 kilometers along the scenic Shiwagi River. There are numerous waterfalls, hanging bridges, streams, and well-marked trails for all hikers.
There was so much to see along the trail, and the photo opportunities with nature were just breathtaking!

There are a variety of trails to explore. There is a long trail that is about 13 kilometers long and takes about 5 hours. The short trail is about 2.7 kilometers that takes about 1 hour. I did a 6-kilometer trail that took about 4 hours both in and out. There are also 3-4 entrances and exits to the park; and there are camp sites there too!

There is also a small tea house where you can relax; it is accessible by a small ferry (piloted by a single boatman with an oar) across the river that costs 500 yen each way (it only takes 5 minutes). The tea house serves grilled fish directly from the river, as well as rice balls and a variety of drinks.

The Sandankyo Gorge is a Japanese certified National Special Place of Scenic Beauty, and is one of Japan’s prized nature areas. If you are a hiker, like nature, and want to experience the natural beauty of Japan, I suggest taking a trip to Sandankyo!

  

Brian Eno first became well-known as a member
of the group named Roxy Music. The photo is a
still of Eno performing with Roxy Music on British
television in 1973. His credentials listed him as
responsible for "treatments." This meant he was
the one who created all the electronic effects
used by all the band members. My favorite Roxy
Music album is "For Your Pleasure." Eno's work is
particularly noticeable on the title track and on the
song "In Every Dream Home A Heartache."  

Where is the rain? Isn't it supposed to be rainy season? It's so hot outside. I really wish the cool rain would come.
I like to read and watch movies when it's raining. I like to open the windows and listen to the rain. I even enjoy when there is thunder and lightning. The rainy season should be here by now.   

Now that the summer has almost arrived, more people are participating in water sports. This is someone enjoying kayaking in Shiribetsu river. It is mid June and the weather in Hokkaido is quite nice. It gets up to about 20 degrees in the day and cools down to around 10 or 15 degrees at night.  

I left my previous blog post with a cliff-hanger and now I will remedy that. I have been using a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) through the University of Helsinki to quickly learn as much Java as I can before my program begins on June 27th. Sure, the videos themselves are in Finnish, but the actual relevant learning material is written all in English. There are two parts to this Java programming course, and each part then consists of 7 units. According to the authors of the course, it should take about 5-10 hours per part depending on factors like how much time you are dedicating and how quickly you learn. Based on my own progress through the material, I am just shy of the 5 hour minimum - which means I am going rather quickly. Lets hope the rest of this course goes well!


  

As anyone in the Shikoku region who is reading this can attest, the hot, mugginess of summer has begun. Over the past few weeks, I have had to use my AC more and more during the day and night, and am no longer able to sleep without the help of either a fan or the air conditioner. This temperature change hit us later in the year than I expected; I thought that it would already be here by the time I arrived in Japan in April. But luckily, I did get about a month-long grace period of beautiful, temperate weather, before the "mushiatsui" madness that is summer began.

I think what inspired me to write this blog is a meme that I saw going around on Twitter, where a woman says something along the lines of "Summer, the season itself, is terrible. We have just been conditioned to like it since it was the only time off that we had for 12 years when we were kids." And now that I saw her tweet, I couldn't agree more. I could never truly put into words the reason why I, as a kid, used to think that Summer was my favorite season, and that now, as an adult, why I want to do nothing but escape the heat. It is because I used to associate summer break with a fun time, and now that I don't have a summer break anymore, I have no reason to romanticize the season anymore either.

I am still going to look for ways to have fun this summer, don't get me wrong. It is just so often that I forget about the obstacle that is the sweltering heat getting in the way of doing fun outdoor activities. In practice, spring and fall are much better for going hiking, camping, going to the beach, etc. since the sun is not beating down on me 24/7 like it is in summer.

Therefore, this summer, I will not go in search of spending more time than I usually do outside, but will instead seek out fun ways to keep cool, such as bathing in the cold-water pools at Busshozan Onsen, or getting a nice, heaping plate of Kakigori.   

Prince is one of my favorite music artist of all time and I think he's most talented artist ever. Prince was great at making music in every style from classical, hip-hop, pop, funk, r&b, and more. He could sing and play instruments. Prince played over 27 different instruments. Sadly, Prince died in 2016 but his music will live forever.  

Imabari station to Onomichi station by bicycle.
75km
20 kph
6 hours in total, 3:30 of it was riding.

If someone like me who isn't fit at all can do it, you could do it too. I got them thick thighs though. I'm dummy thick in the hamstrings.

Bike bags suck.
Train tickets are expensive.
The sun hurts my head.
I had a lot of fun, haha.   

Have you tried Asari clams before? They're a small clam with a delightful flavor. If you haven't, you're missing out!  

I have always been curious about the history of the Japanese flag. It is a very simple design – a red circle in the middle of an all-white background. It is known as the Hinomaru in Japan, which means the circle of the sun.

The red circle is meant to represent the sun, which fits in nicely with Japan’s nickname of The Land of the Rising Sun. Also in the Japanese Shinto Religion, the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, is the most important deity in the religion. So this presents a strong cultural and spiritual connection.

There have been many variations on the national flag throughout the centuries, but it was not until the late 19th century, when Japan was opening up its borders to Europeans and the west, that it became the official flag of Japan in 1870. This time as the official national flag only lasted about 15 years until 1885 due to the government’s lack of ratification or formal agreement. The flag continued to be used as the unofficial or de facto flag of the country until the latter part of the 20th century. Japan made it the country’s official flag by law in 1999.

Throughout the years there have been a few variations on the flag. During the early part of the 20th century and through WWII the Japanese military used a Rising Sun flag which had the red sun in the middle with 16 red rays that extended to the borders of the flag.

Today the Japanese flag is recognized worldwide, and its powerful yet simple meaning projects an image that resonates both inside and outside the Japanese nation!
  

My current favorite album by Eno is Another Green World, released in 1975..Although it can be
classified as a "rock" album, it shows hints of
Eno moving toward the "ambient" music he would
later be well-known for. One notable track is The
Big Ship, used recently in the movie "Me and
Earl and the Dying Girl" The album received high
critical praise on its release.  

On my birthday, my friend told me to call her on Zoom. I did, and she suddenly played a video. On it, were many small videos from my friends and family! They wished me a happy birthday and told me they loved me. My two best friends made the project happen as a surprise! It was a wonderful birthday present.   

It is still spring time in Hokkaido even during June. There is still some snow in the mountains and flowers down below. During the night the temperature goes down below 10 degrees celsius.