ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

I really like koi fish. They’re beautiful and so serene to look at. These were awesome because they were white and gold!   

The weather in Kagawa was crazy recently!! It even snowed the other week. This was during my recent visit to Kotohira and look at that snow!  

Last month in America we celebrated Thanksgiving! While we were unable to have the same things we normally eat at Thanksgiving, a lot of local foreigners gathered for a lovely Thanksgiving meal at a friend's house. It was so much fun and all of the food was so amazing!

  

At all GEM School locations in both Kagawa and Ehime, there are local Japanese staff members who do all the daily administrative tasks to keep the schools in regular working shape. They work with the students, parents, teachers, as well as perform a variety of regular tasks that need to be done. Their work seems endless to me.

I recently noticed at all the schools I teach at (about 4-5) that the seasonal decorations for holidays and events (such as Halloween and Christmas) are very creative, as well as nice and pleasant to look at for all who get to see them. I know that the staff members use their creative talents to do all the work to make their respective schools look nice. They create and display the seasonal holiday items for all to enjoy.

I was looking at the Christmas decorations recently and saw how creative the GEM staff members are in their preparation and creation of the displays. The minute details are quite good – in my humble opinion. I know that the Japanese GEM staff at all locations put in a lot of time and effort to make their respective schools look good as well as operate on a high level. I would just like to thank them for their efforts and offer my gratitude for all that they do. I hope that others will notice what they do, and thank them if they so desire.

Happy holidays to all, but especially to the hardworking GEM staff members!
  

Have you heard of the Elf on the Shelf? It's become very popular in America the past several years. Around Christmas time, stores sell books called "The Elf on the Shelf" that comes with a small elf doll. The book tells about how you're supposed to put the elf on a shelf for all of December, and then it watches the children and reports about their behavior to Santa Claus. The children aren't allowed to touch it, or else it loses its "magic." Honestly, the whole idea is a little creepy.

However, parents in America have come up with a new use for the elf doll. Instead of having it sit on a shelf, they put the elf in all kinds of different scenes at night for the children to find in the morning. Every morning the children find the elf in a new scene. Sometimes they're fishing in the sink, or pooping chocolate chips, or making a snow angel in some flour. These elves are sledding down a towel hill!



Someone gave us an elf, so we use it in December too. But our elf is lazy and just plays hide-and-seek. Every day the children have to find where it is hiding.



Here's one place it was hiding this month. It took a while for the children to find it! What do you think the elf should do next year?

  

The Well-tempered Clavier is a series of short
keyboard pieces by Bach, catalogued as BWV
846 to 893. "Well-tempered" refers to a tuning
method based on the even-tempered tuning
that had become popular in Bach's day. My favorite performance is by Pierre Hantai, played on the harpsichord. Another popular performance is by Glenn
Gould, played on the piano.  

I went to a Christmas market in Kochi. There were only about 10 stalls and a stage, but it was decorated SO well! The lights were spectacular. The food was really tasty. I liked the stew a lot. I was surprised to see sausages and pretzels.  

In some HOokkaido ski resorts there is a large amount of development going on. This is new hotel that recently opened. They put alot of work into the landscape. It has been interesting watching them prepare the trees for winter. The hotel is very nice and has a ramen shop on the first floor. The ramen shop does not accept cash payments.   

While relaxing during the holiday break, I took a hike up Mt. Kaneko. It is located in Takinomiya Park. It is a very easy hike, which allows for the hiker to enjoy the fresh air and clear the mind. At the top is an observation deck which has a beautiful, panoramic view of the city with its seaport to the north and the mountains to the south.

It is an excellent way to spend an afternoon.

  

It is extremely important to practice anything that you are passionate about. If you want to get better at a language, sport, subject, anything, you must practice. It can be tough if you don't feel like you are making progress as fast as you'd like, but, that is because often times we only focus on the end goal of mastering the skill we are practicing. It is very important to instead set many small manageable goals to reach. This will help you organize your path to mastering your skill and keep you motivated as you keep reaching your small goals.  

It is the end of 2022, how was your year? what was you favorite part of the year? Are you excited for 2023? Big things are happening this next year with me. I am excited to share with you at a later date!


  

As many of my students know, my favorite food is curry. I like it in all of its many decadent iterations. This curry udon was delightful as well!  

I got this box of treats from Yamanashi during my visit to Mt. Fuji and they were delicious! Who doesn’t love collaboration treats? :D  

Last month, I travelled to Hiroshima for a couple days! On the first day I visited the island of Miyajima, which is really famous for it's giant tori gate and the deer that roam around. On the second day, I got to check out Hiroshima castle and the Peace Park! It was a really wonderful trip and I'm looking forward to the next time I can take a trip!
  

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum is in the city of Nagasaki in Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan. The museum is a memorial for the victims of the atomic bombing of the city by U.S. military forces on 9 August 1945. The bombing effectively ended WWII and ultimately destroyed the Urakami section of the city, as well as the surrounding areas. The bomb exploded at 11:02AM local time on that day and killed and injured approximately 150,000 people.

The museum opened in April 1996, which was over 50 years after the actual bombing. The adjacent Nagasaki Peace Park, in contrast, opened in 1955. The museum displays show the history of the attack and the events that led up to it. There are many photographs, documents, relics, and items from that day related to the city and the bombing. There are also exhibits of the history of nuclear weapons from the end of WWII up to the present time.

A trip to this museum is a very eye-opening and solemn experience. The artifacts from that time are clearly on display for all to view, along with stark photographs of what happened on that day and in the immediate aftermath. The horrors of war are never pleasant to look at, and the local populations where wars are fought are typically the ones who suffer the most. Nagasaki is a constant and clear reminder that war is never the answer!
  

It's almost time for Christmas! In America, most people put up their Christmas tree at the end of November or the beginning of December. Then you can enjoy looking at your beautiful tree for the whole month. Some people buy a live Christmas tree, but it's a little wasteful and hard to take care of. Other people buy a fake Christmas tree, which you have to store, but then you can use it every year. Some people have two or three Christmas trees in their house, or even more! Our tree in America was a fake tree. It came with the Christmas lights already on it! We put lots of ornaments on our tree. Some of them came from a store, and some were hand made by us or by family and friends. Here's a picture of how it looked last year.



What ornaments would you put on a Christmas tree?  

I've been missing candy canes lately! The original candy cane is peppermint flavored, but I like other kinds too. I liked strawberry kiwi or chocolate mint. I've seen cherry ones or sour ones too! While shopping online, I found THESE! They have really scary flavors like pickle or wasabi! I'll admit, the coffee flavor is probably one I would enjoy.   

The snow can add up quite quickly in Hokkaido. It is not uncommon for it to snow 20 to 40 cm overnight. It only takes a few days of not moving your vehicle for it to become buried. Snow removal takes up a fair amount of time for many people in the winter, especially if you have to clear a space for your vehicle. Apartment buildings usually have a machine that comes in and clears the snow, but if you live in a house you must hire a machine or do it yourself.
  

My favorite composition by Bach is the Prelude
and Fugue in A minor (BWV 543). There is an excellent video of the Fugue portion on YouTube, played by Christoph Bull. The video includes graphics by
Stephen Malinowski. It is a very moving performance.  

Over the Christmas break, I have been pondering on whether to bicycle the Shimanami Kaido or to wait for the warmer weather of springtime. The recent cold spell, along with stronger winds, has me leaning towards postponing it for a better time, such as during Golden Week.

The wind, especially a cold wind, can make biking miserable and exhausting. With so much to see and experience on the Shimanami Kaido, why rush through it just to get out of bad weather conditions? On the other hand, of course, there is no time like the present. To bike it now, regardless of the weather, has its own attraction and would free me to do other interesting things in the spring.

Nonetheless, all things considered. it is looking like something not to do.