ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

I went to Osaka Aquarium! Check out this roaring sea lion. It was awesome, but I can’t help think that I like Ahikoku Aquarium better!  

I recently discovered a newfound love for Korean food! A fellow teacher introduced me to the world of Korean food and it’s been amazing getting to try all the new types of food.


  

Hello, It's Bear Sensei!

Bringing another blog just for you! In this blog, I found myself stepping into a world of mystery. Where I encountered statues, shrines, and a "Red Pagoda". Just look at the majestic beauty of this red pagoda isn't it beautiful? Well, that's all for this week have a wonderful read.








  

This was the best thing I ate in Tokyo. These were very simple west coast style tacos with a corn tortilla. The meat was carnitas, which is pork that is slow cooked and shredded with onions and cilantro. I dream of these every night.
  

Hello peeps!

Nik and I went on vacation to the Kansai region. It was supposed to rain every day but it didn’t!

While we were there we saw Miami’s (my hometown) soccer team, Intermiami. Represent!!!

What’s your hometown’s soccer team?  

I recently discovered a sports drink that is good for people who have dehydration issues due to exercise and age. I run a lot, and sweat quite a bit. The drink is called OS-1 (Otsuka-1) and is available at most drug stores and pharmacies in Japan.

The drink contains water and electrolytes help to maintain a healthy balance of hydration in a person who does not drink enough liquids during the day. I tried it after a running race, and it worked very well for me.

OS-1 has been very helpful to me in maintaining a healthy hydration level before, during, and after exercise. If you are thirsty and feeling a bit tired (either due to the heat or from exercise), I recommend this drink.
  

This week's show, Dragon Tales, is a little different. It's not really popular or important to American culture. It's a cute kids' TV show that my younger sister used to like to watch when she was a kid. The main characters are children who are able to visit a magical land. They make friends with talking dragons. Every episode, they help one of the characters solve a problem they're having.



I think this is a good TV show to know about. Many children's TV shows have characters who talk very quickly, so they can be difficult to understand. But I think the characters in this TV show talk more slowly. So this might be a fun TV show to watch to practice listening to English.  

Tokyo is delicious! I ate well in the city. I had a fantastic cheeseburger, some pancakes and some good pizza. Elizabeth and I went to an American restaurant called Bubba Gump Shrimp. The name is from the movie Forest Gump. They serve a lot of seafood dishes. It was so hard to choose what to eat! We shared an appetizer plate and macaroni. My favorite thing was the artichoke dip. I missed that food so much! It was hard to go home and be away from the restaurants.   

Hello again! It’s Erin, back with some more instant photography as promised.

As I discussed in my last post, instant photography is one of my all-time favorite art forms. From America, I brought my mini instant camera, a model which is very popular here in Japan, called the Instax Mini. The small rectangular film which is about the size of a business card is very fun to use and a lot cheaper than Polaroid film, making it great both for casual shooting and artistic captures.

I took this image last winter in South Carolina. This is my Dad! Isn’t he cool? He is a fan of Harley Davidson motorcycles. He named this motorcycle “Bruce” after his father, my grandfather. I love the colors and reflections in this photo.

Here he is again with me in a quick selfie. I miss my Dad! Thankfully I talk to him every day. Hopefully, I can convince him to visit me in Japan one day.

From selfies to fine portraiture, it's the artistry and science behind instant photography will never fail to inspire me.
  

One of my favorite cuisines beside Japanese, Chinese, and Italian is Mexican cuisine. I'm a girl who came from Arizona who would frequently get Mexican food and you can tell my stomach. I was happy that one of my friends from my Japanese language school started working for a taco truck that beep beeps around Tokyo offering their services of tacos and friendship. Also, it helps that my friend is Mexican so he vouched for the legitimacy of the tacos. Yamata is the owner of the taco truck Tacos 3 Hermanos who lived in Mexico for a while before coming back to Japan to share his love for the Mexican culture and its food. These are the best tacos I've had since coming to Japan. A must try when your in Tokyo. Yamata also recently opened up a shop in the Omotesando/Harajuku are so stop on in when you have a chance and let them know Josie sent you.












  

Hello everyone, Benson here. Did you know June 21st is World Music Day? It's a global celebration of the power and joy of music!

Music transcends language and culture, bringing people together in a beautiful way, usually anyway. It’s also a great topic of discussion and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our similarities and differences.

There’s an opportunity here to explore different genres. You could try listening to music from different parts of the world. Exposing yourself to new sounds and broadening your musical horizons can potentially be rewarding.

Or you can retrace your steps to your favorite songs and genres. Put on your favorite tunes and let loose, have fun together, and experience the pure joy of movement and music. I know there are many music festivals happening back home for me and I miss attending them! There are some in Japan as well, so perhaps try to attend a local music festival! Many cities hold outdoor music festivals in June. It's a fantastic opportunity to discover new artists and enjoy live music. Anyway, more on music in a future entry. See you all next month, take care.


  

Hello, It's Bear Sensei here with another blog just for you!


This week we found ourselves traversing through the vast roads of Shikoku Island. Where we landed on a beautiful temple called "Motoyamaji". It is one of the 88th Shikoku pilgrimage temples and I said to myself "I got to get the signature from this beautiful temple". Just take a look at this majestic temple! It feels and looks like it is about to come to life. There you have it Bear Sensei signing off until the next adventure.





  

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to go to Tokyo to celebrate my friend Katie's birthday! We had a great time, every single time I go to Tokyo I get to see or do something different! We went to an amazing K-pop concert, had some delicious food, and went to TeamLabs Planets! I also found a Cookie Monster statue I HAD to take a picture with, he's my favorite! It was so much fun, I can't wait to go again!


  

Fresh herbs add a flavor explosion to any dish. Growing your own herbs indoors is surprisingly easy! Repurpose old mugs or mason jars as planters. Choose herbs like basil, parsley, and mint that thrive with indirect sunlight. I started my own mini mint farm in my apartment. It smells great and taste even better inside of food and drinks.  

I just took another trip to Takinomiya Park. It's just such a relaxing place that I don't think will ever get old to me. While there I saw some pigeons, pigeons are just so silly to me. I don't know why but I chuckle a little bit when I see some. They're very chill birds and I like how they were hanging out with these smaller birds too.  

It's summer! My friends and I wanted to celebrate the changing of the seasons with a beach barbeque, complete with skewers, burgers, and sausages. I even threw some chocolate chip cookies on the grill, just to see how they would taste. After we were done with the grill, we pulled out a watermelon and smashed it with a bat, just like they do in anime shows! It was not the most effective way to eat watermelon, but it was certainly fun!  

I went to Osaka castle! It was just as awesome as the first time I visited here. I can’t wait to see more Japanese castles!  

Even though I definitely prefer the countryside, my trip to Tokyo was a lot of fun! I hadn’t been to Tokyo since the trip I took in high school. It was every bit as busy and interesting as I remembered!




  

Easily one of my favorite things about travelling somewhere is getting to eat food that I do not normally get to eat and so I decided to take advantage of that in Tokyo and eat some American food I cannot get here, which is Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. This pizza is super thick and is usually eaten with a fork and knife. It was so delicious!
  

Hello!!
I went to the BEST RESTAURANT EVER in Osaka. The best gyoza and mappo tofu I have EVER had. And I’m picky, so that’s saying something.