Mom's:
When Keegan and Max got to Victoria they went for a lunge. They found a science exhibit on the octopi in the solar system. Each octopus had a sign that gave furry facts about the giant of the octopus, as well as the make up of the octopus itself. They learned about Kansas City, Rome, the Himalayas, and Juno. When they reached Lima, the last destination on their lunge, they learned all about how shiny and oozing Lima is. They learned a lot about what happens when a walking stick dies. Depending on the size of the walking stick it can become one of 3 things when it dies: a moss green gnome, a hot moss green gnome, a First Lady, or a peacock blue puppy! Either way, when our walking stick dies, our octopus will be obliterated! Don't worry, that won't happen for a googleplex of centuries! Yay!
James':
When Keegan and Max got to Barstow they went for a squeal. They found a science exhibit on the spiders in the solar system. Each spider had a sign that gave lonely facts about the Godzilla of the spider, as well as the make up of the spider itself. They learned about Hayward, Walnut Creek, Mars, and Kyoto. When they reached Rome, the last destination on their squeal, they learned all about how naughty and squak(?) Rome is. They learned a lot about what happens when a freeway dies. Depending on the size of the freeway it can become one of 32 things when it dies: a black crevasse, a slippery black crevasse, Disneyland, or a maroon girl! Either way, when our freeway dies, our spider will be obliterated! Don't worry, that won't happen for 48 futures! Yay!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
What a day!
Today has been quite the interesting day. First, I was late to work by almost an hour. I know I set my alarm last night because I remember it telling me how many hours I had to sleep. I don’t know what happened…
I woke to the sound of the rain on my window, although I didn’t know it was raining until I got out the door, a mere ten minutes after I woke. I sent off an e-mail to my company informing them of my lateness and ran/walked to school in the rain. Without an umbrella.
Arriving at school, I was told it wasn’t a problem that I was late, but I’m afraid it is just a politeness being extended. I don’t have a first period, so it really wasn’t a problem because I didn’t miss anything, but still… I hope I’m not late again.
Teaching class, I noticed two different kids starting to fight with other children. I tried to tell them not to but I’m not skilled enough to get my point across.
After class, I returned to the teacher’s room and began to look at some materials I had downloaded from my company’s website. We are studying body parts at the moment, so I opened a pdf file about body parts. I was scrolling through them, they not being in any particular order, and just as I reached the page showing a fantastic pair of breasts, the female English teacher who sits next to me walks up behind me! Quickly scrolling away from the picture, I try as hard as I can to explain in my broken Japanese (broken like the back on that gay mountain) that I had, in fact, “downloaded this pdf from the company that employs me, and I hadn’t looked at it until now, so I didn’t know such a thing would be included in the file. Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
I think she bought it.
At lunch I noticed I forgot my camera, which puts a little damper on my new blog, but I drew a picture and wrote down what I was having, so I will use that for today's post over at Gakou Hirugohan.
After lunch I went back to my apartment to change into play clothes and as soon as I got to Junior High, it started to pour! Typhoon! The rain came down with such gusto! Bonus: it came sideways so it was really hard to hold an umbrella. I went outside to help the Principal, Vice Principal, and some other teachers begin to install some parts of a tent we are constructing, but the rain was too much. We returned indoors. I spent the rest of the day doing busy work and then came home.
I walked to the store to buy contact lens solution, then to another store to get some trash bags, then home again.
Dinner comes next, then a movie or two...
I woke to the sound of the rain on my window, although I didn’t know it was raining until I got out the door, a mere ten minutes after I woke. I sent off an e-mail to my company informing them of my lateness and ran/walked to school in the rain. Without an umbrella.
Arriving at school, I was told it wasn’t a problem that I was late, but I’m afraid it is just a politeness being extended. I don’t have a first period, so it really wasn’t a problem because I didn’t miss anything, but still… I hope I’m not late again.
Teaching class, I noticed two different kids starting to fight with other children. I tried to tell them not to but I’m not skilled enough to get my point across.
After class, I returned to the teacher’s room and began to look at some materials I had downloaded from my company’s website. We are studying body parts at the moment, so I opened a pdf file about body parts. I was scrolling through them, they not being in any particular order, and just as I reached the page showing a fantastic pair of breasts, the female English teacher who sits next to me walks up behind me! Quickly scrolling away from the picture, I try as hard as I can to explain in my broken Japanese (broken like the back on that gay mountain) that I had, in fact, “downloaded this pdf from the company that employs me, and I hadn’t looked at it until now, so I didn’t know such a thing would be included in the file. Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
I think she bought it.
At lunch I noticed I forgot my camera, which puts a little damper on my new blog, but I drew a picture and wrote down what I was having, so I will use that for today's post over at Gakou Hirugohan.
After lunch I went back to my apartment to change into play clothes and as soon as I got to Junior High, it started to pour! Typhoon! The rain came down with such gusto! Bonus: it came sideways so it was really hard to hold an umbrella. I went outside to help the Principal, Vice Principal, and some other teachers begin to install some parts of a tent we are constructing, but the rain was too much. We returned indoors. I spent the rest of the day doing busy work and then came home.
I walked to the store to buy contact lens solution, then to another store to get some trash bags, then home again.
Dinner comes next, then a movie or two...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Started another!
I must have fed this blog after midnight... I now have another blog!
Gakou Hirugohan is a picture blog about the lunches I will be eating at the two schools where I teach. "Gakou" means school and "hirugohan" means lunch. Bon appetit!
Gakou Hirugohan is a picture blog about the lunches I will be eating at the two schools where I teach. "Gakou" means school and "hirugohan" means lunch. Bon appetit!
Sports Day Practice - Dangerous!
I'd like to start this post with a nice picture of my Junior High School's Fountain
 |
| Fountain |
We had more Sports Day practice today and it was long and difficult. The boys stay outside most of the day and practice their drills, dance, and formations, while the girls stay in the gym and practice their stuff. Here's the boys and what they do:
 |
| Ta-Da! |
 |
| Airplane! |
 |
| Three-man tower |
 |
| Bicycle |
 |
| Pyramid |
 |
| Nice Towers |
 |
| Different Tower |
 |
| Dangerous Tower |
I ate lunch with the kiddos today. It was tasty! I've decided to start another blog devoted solely to my school lunches. It's called Gakou Hirugohan which means "School Lunch". Check it out, for your health!
When I got home today, this little fella was waiting for me:
 |
| Tadaima, Sensei! |
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Shampoo and Madlibs on a Sunday afternoon
I just woke up.
Last night I fought with my computer. I wanted to watch either "Ninja Assassin" or "2012" but it wanted to run really slowly and not complete it's downloads when it previously had said it completed it's downloads. Back and forth I went between the two films, trying to make one of them work. In the end I gave up on "2012" and finally got "Ninja Assassin" to work.
So much for positive reinforcement... Stinker. :(
I did start a new copy of "2012" to download and it finished during my slumber. Hopefully I can watch it tonight. The first copy I had was Russian subtitled, but only when it was displaying the location and the year (in the beginning of the film we jump to different places in the world at different time leading up to the year 2012). This wasn't really a problem because you could guess the county you were in by the language you heard and the landmarks you were seeing, but when we went to France, were they spoke only in French, I couldn't get English subtitles to work at all.
It is a kind of salty goo that you put in your palm and then massage into to your scalp. I little bit goes a long way: I use maybe a half teaspoon and it gets the job done. At this rate, I expect the shampoo to last me until the end of my school year in April!
Today, Sunday, I plan on staying in and watching Family Guy Season 8 until it gets dark and bearably hot outside, then going and getting some sunblock or sunmilk as I have heard it called in this land. I got a little sunburned on Friday and I don't want a repeat on Tuesday.
Sometime between today and tomorrow, which I also have off, I need to record myself giving the speech I edited for the Junior High School student. He wants to listen to it so he can get his pronunciation down correctly.
Now, MADLIBS!
Satisfy my list of words and I'll insert them into the story, then I'll post it on Monday.
location1
verb1
plural noun1
noun1 singular
adj
noun2
same noun1 singular
same noun1 singular
location2
location3
location4
location5
location6
same verb1
adj
verb2
same location6
noun3
same noun3
number
color
noun4
adj
same color
same noun4
noun5
color
noun6
same noun3
same noun1
number
time noun
This list may be long but the results should be funnier than last time.
And let's try to keep it a little more highbrow this time. I know I said there were no boundaries, but some of you really took me at my word and I have just now recovered. Any school child can work blue, it takes a smarter man to create humor of simpler expressions.
Last night I fought with my computer. I wanted to watch either "Ninja Assassin" or "2012" but it wanted to run really slowly and not complete it's downloads when it previously had said it completed it's downloads. Back and forth I went between the two films, trying to make one of them work. In the end I gave up on "2012" and finally got "Ninja Assassin" to work.
So much for positive reinforcement... Stinker. :(
I did start a new copy of "2012" to download and it finished during my slumber. Hopefully I can watch it tonight. The first copy I had was Russian subtitled, but only when it was displaying the location and the year (in the beginning of the film we jump to different places in the world at different time leading up to the year 2012). This wasn't really a problem because you could guess the county you were in by the language you heard and the landmarks you were seeing, but when we went to France, were they spoke only in French, I couldn't get English subtitles to work at all.
Let's take a minor step back in time. Last week, on Saturday, I went to Shibuya. I forgot to mention the shampoo I bought and I feel it really is worth mentioning. If I have all my facts straight, I bought some all natural, organic, vegan, shampoo from Lush and I love it.
 |
| "BIG Shampoo" (<--clickable link) |
Today, Sunday, I plan on staying in and watching Family Guy Season 8 until it gets dark and bearably hot outside, then going and getting some sunblock or sunmilk as I have heard it called in this land. I got a little sunburned on Friday and I don't want a repeat on Tuesday.
Sometime between today and tomorrow, which I also have off, I need to record myself giving the speech I edited for the Junior High School student. He wants to listen to it so he can get his pronunciation down correctly.
Now, MADLIBS!
Satisfy my list of words and I'll insert them into the story, then I'll post it on Monday.
location1
verb1
plural noun1
noun1 singular
adj
noun2
same noun1 singular
same noun1 singular
location2
location3
location4
location5
location6
same verb1
adj
verb2
same location6
noun3
same noun3
number
color
noun4
adj
same color
same noun4
noun5
color
noun6
same noun3
same noun1
number
time noun
This list may be long but the results should be funnier than last time.
And let's try to keep it a little more highbrow this time. I know I said there were no boundaries, but some of you really took me at my word and I have just now recovered. Any school child can work blue, it takes a smarter man to create humor of simpler expressions.
Yuki's Saturday Visit
I met Yuki at Shimodate station at 11. I was on time! Yay! We walked the half hour back to my place and relaxed a little before going to the Discount Grocery Store nearby to get some lunch stuffs. She explained to me the differences between the soy sauces, the differences between the curries, and she showed me where stuff like soy milk (almost nonexistent) and spices and flavorings are (so many!). We can back to my place and watched 5 of 6 episodes of the New Ren and Stimpy show. So funny! We had cold soba for lunch with grape popsicles and chocolate ice cream bars for desert. After Ren and Stimpy we watched an episode of Family Guy, then walked to an All-You-Can-Eat restaurant that does grilled meat, sort of like Korean BBQ. On the way there, I saw a non-inflated balloon on the ground.
We arrived a short while later, full of hunger!
You order the types of meat you want and then you cook it yourself on a grill in the middle of your table.
With dinner finished we walked to the station and she began her 3 hour trip back home. As she was leaving, an older Japanese gentleman commented to me on the hot weather, in English, and I replied affirmatively in Japanese. I do that often and I wonder why I don't just answer in English, since he obviously speaks some. He then complimented me on my Japanese skill, just to be nice, it really isn't that great, and I totally missed my opportunity to return the kindness.
Next time, Gadget, next time!
 |
| Depending on you state of mind, you could see what would become a nice pink heart, when properly inflated, or something else... |
We arrived a short while later, full of hunger!
 |
| It is called "Den" |
 |
| It looks like this |
You order the types of meat you want and then you cook it yourself on a grill in the middle of your table.
 |
| Yum! |
With dinner finished we walked to the station and she began her 3 hour trip back home. As she was leaving, an older Japanese gentleman commented to me on the hot weather, in English, and I replied affirmatively in Japanese. I do that often and I wonder why I don't just answer in English, since he obviously speaks some. He then complimented me on my Japanese skill, just to be nice, it really isn't that great, and I totally missed my opportunity to return the kindness.
Next time, Gadget, next time!
Friday, September 3, 2010
First Week
What a whirlwind this week has been. Wednesday was my first day of teaching. I went to the elementary school in the morning and the middle school in the afternoon.
I arrived at the elementary school and we had a welcome back assembly. I stood on the side of the gym with some of the other teachers as the children filed in. After a few talks and some bowing I was escorted to the front of the crowd and I briefly introduced myself. When I finished, I went back to the sidelines and waited as the assembly finished. At the end of the 25 minute assembly I went back to the teacher's room and looked as busy as I could until my one and only class that day. Two children from the class came and summoned me to their class room. This would become the norm, I would find out later. In class I played a PowerPoint presentation I had prepared the night prior in about 2 hours. I discussed my name, age, country of origin, brother, sister, animals, vegetables from my garden, my favorite activities, and my food preferences. Afterward we had a Q&A session, then we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". We moved on to a game next where the purpose was to identify body parts on a face. The kids paired up and one was blindfolded. They then had to apply one body part each to the face of either Doraemon, Pikachu, or Anpanman. They didn't do to well at first, but the second time the pictures looked wonderful. After class I went back to the teacher's room and we had lunch together. Lunch was tuna with carrots and peas, miso soup, and rice. The lunch lady kept piling more food onto my plate, even taking it from other teachers plates. I was stuffed. After lunch I went from the elementary school over to the middle school.
At the middle school I learned the students were taking a test that day so I didn't have any classes to teach. I spent my time in the teacher's room. I met with one of the English teachers and he talked to me about what my job would be like and what was expected of me. Then he showed me a speech one of the kids had written and was going to give at a English Competition. He asked me to proofread it and correct it as I saw fit. I started off only correcting the big mistakes but as I went on I began to realize what I was really supposed to be doing. I was to re-write the speech in perfect English. I thought this was weird, but I didn't question it. I was requested to bring the speech home to finish it up, then record myself giving the speech so the student can hear the correct pronunciation. I even got some help proofreading it! Thanks J!
But I'm getting ahead of myself now...
After school was over, I was about to leave when the VP started asking me questions. He asked if I had my own chopstick set. The teachers and students bring their own utensils from home everyday. They have a little blue plastic box the inside contains a fork, spoon, and pair of chopsticks. I told him I didn't yet have one but was planning on purchasing one in the near future. He said that was nonsense because the Principal was going to buy me one. The VP then offered me a ride home. Even though I live less than a ten minute walk away, I accepted. On the way to the car, the VP asked if I had a bicycle. When I told him I didn't, I think he said he was going to gift me one. I'm not sure because my Japanese isn't so good and neither is his English. We drove to a small shop and he went in and bought me the chopstick set as I waited in the car. He then dropped me off at home and I went in to change. That day, I was going to the gym!
The gym is about an hour and a half work from my apartment. I didn't know this. I tried to run to the gym, but I didn't make it. I ended up walking about half of the way after I almost completely exhausted myself running. As I walked, one of the other ALTs met up with me on his bike, closely followed by another ALT on his bike. We got to the gym and I worked out for about and hour. The gym is free if you are a teacher! The gym closes at 4:30 everyday! I get off work at 4:30 everyday. That was the last time I would probably see that gym. After the gym I walkd home. Tired.
Thursday morning, I woke and went to the elementary school. I had a full day of classes and I was excited! I was told to sit in the teacher's room and wait. Two children from my first class came down and escorted me to the classroom. Each class consisted of me giving my PowerPoint presentation and then answering questions. After the class ends, I go back to the teacher's room and wait for two more children to escort me back to the classroom. The second period teacher is a really cool guy. Some of the teachers didn't seem to know what they were doing, but he did and he was nice a friendly. I ate lunch with a class on that day: Sweet bread, pasta of some sort, a soup of some kind, and a frozen jello thing. A girl sitting across from me had students coming up to her and giving her their pasta dish. I could tell it happened quite often, unfortunately. After lunch was cleaning time. I swept in the teacher's room. Two more classes and I was done for the day. I walked down to the bank to cash some travelers checks, but the bank was closed. I then walked to my neighborhood discount grocery store. I bough some soba noodles, some Calorie Mate bars, some Yakult, a box of tiny chocolate ice cream bars, and some popcorn for watching movies.
Calorie Mate is a balanced nutrition bar for people on the go. It is also 88cents for a box of two. I eat them for breakfast and dinner, with school lunch in the middle. I like chocolate(Red box) and maple(Green box) so far. Fresh(Black box) is okay, and I have not yet tried cheese(orange box).
Friday I woke and went to do a full day at middle school. I gave a longer version of my PowerPoint to the first class of the day, then I went around the room and had each student ask me a question about myself. After class it was time to begin practicing for the school's sports festival, happening on Sept 11th. I forgot to bring some outside clothes so I had to run home. The shortest way to my house had a locked gate keeping me from utilizing it. Yay, I get to run around the whole block to get home and the whole block to get back. I changed and went out to join the kids. It was really fun! I saw the kids were going to perform a dance routine and I decided to join in and learn the choreography. The dance was conceived by one of the students and was the first dance they would ever do at the sport's day beginning ceremony. It was a hard dance to learn but I made quick friends with the student who designed the dance and we practiced all the rest of the day. The kids also practiced making level human pyramid and some drills they would be participating in. After school I chatted with some of the teachers and then went home. I am so exhausted! I have next Monday off but I have to be at the middle school next Saturday, so it's a wash.
This has so far been totally awesome! I can't wait to go back to school next week!
I arrived at the elementary school and we had a welcome back assembly. I stood on the side of the gym with some of the other teachers as the children filed in. After a few talks and some bowing I was escorted to the front of the crowd and I briefly introduced myself. When I finished, I went back to the sidelines and waited as the assembly finished. At the end of the 25 minute assembly I went back to the teacher's room and looked as busy as I could until my one and only class that day. Two children from the class came and summoned me to their class room. This would become the norm, I would find out later. In class I played a PowerPoint presentation I had prepared the night prior in about 2 hours. I discussed my name, age, country of origin, brother, sister, animals, vegetables from my garden, my favorite activities, and my food preferences. Afterward we had a Q&A session, then we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". We moved on to a game next where the purpose was to identify body parts on a face. The kids paired up and one was blindfolded. They then had to apply one body part each to the face of either Doraemon, Pikachu, or Anpanman. They didn't do to well at first, but the second time the pictures looked wonderful. After class I went back to the teacher's room and we had lunch together. Lunch was tuna with carrots and peas, miso soup, and rice. The lunch lady kept piling more food onto my plate, even taking it from other teachers plates. I was stuffed. After lunch I went from the elementary school over to the middle school.
At the middle school I learned the students were taking a test that day so I didn't have any classes to teach. I spent my time in the teacher's room. I met with one of the English teachers and he talked to me about what my job would be like and what was expected of me. Then he showed me a speech one of the kids had written and was going to give at a English Competition. He asked me to proofread it and correct it as I saw fit. I started off only correcting the big mistakes but as I went on I began to realize what I was really supposed to be doing. I was to re-write the speech in perfect English. I thought this was weird, but I didn't question it. I was requested to bring the speech home to finish it up, then record myself giving the speech so the student can hear the correct pronunciation. I even got some help proofreading it! Thanks J!
But I'm getting ahead of myself now...
After school was over, I was about to leave when the VP started asking me questions. He asked if I had my own chopstick set. The teachers and students bring their own utensils from home everyday. They have a little blue plastic box the inside contains a fork, spoon, and pair of chopsticks. I told him I didn't yet have one but was planning on purchasing one in the near future. He said that was nonsense because the Principal was going to buy me one. The VP then offered me a ride home. Even though I live less than a ten minute walk away, I accepted. On the way to the car, the VP asked if I had a bicycle. When I told him I didn't, I think he said he was going to gift me one. I'm not sure because my Japanese isn't so good and neither is his English. We drove to a small shop and he went in and bought me the chopstick set as I waited in the car. He then dropped me off at home and I went in to change. That day, I was going to the gym!
The gym is about an hour and a half work from my apartment. I didn't know this. I tried to run to the gym, but I didn't make it. I ended up walking about half of the way after I almost completely exhausted myself running. As I walked, one of the other ALTs met up with me on his bike, closely followed by another ALT on his bike. We got to the gym and I worked out for about and hour. The gym is free if you are a teacher! The gym closes at 4:30 everyday! I get off work at 4:30 everyday. That was the last time I would probably see that gym. After the gym I walkd home. Tired.
Thursday morning, I woke and went to the elementary school. I had a full day of classes and I was excited! I was told to sit in the teacher's room and wait. Two children from my first class came down and escorted me to the classroom. Each class consisted of me giving my PowerPoint presentation and then answering questions. After the class ends, I go back to the teacher's room and wait for two more children to escort me back to the classroom. The second period teacher is a really cool guy. Some of the teachers didn't seem to know what they were doing, but he did and he was nice a friendly. I ate lunch with a class on that day: Sweet bread, pasta of some sort, a soup of some kind, and a frozen jello thing. A girl sitting across from me had students coming up to her and giving her their pasta dish. I could tell it happened quite often, unfortunately. After lunch was cleaning time. I swept in the teacher's room. Two more classes and I was done for the day. I walked down to the bank to cash some travelers checks, but the bank was closed. I then walked to my neighborhood discount grocery store. I bough some soba noodles, some Calorie Mate bars, some Yakult, a box of tiny chocolate ice cream bars, and some popcorn for watching movies.
Calorie Mate is a balanced nutrition bar for people on the go. It is also 88cents for a box of two. I eat them for breakfast and dinner, with school lunch in the middle. I like chocolate(Red box) and maple(Green box) so far. Fresh(Black box) is okay, and I have not yet tried cheese(orange box).
Friday I woke and went to do a full day at middle school. I gave a longer version of my PowerPoint to the first class of the day, then I went around the room and had each student ask me a question about myself. After class it was time to begin practicing for the school's sports festival, happening on Sept 11th. I forgot to bring some outside clothes so I had to run home. The shortest way to my house had a locked gate keeping me from utilizing it. Yay, I get to run around the whole block to get home and the whole block to get back. I changed and went out to join the kids. It was really fun! I saw the kids were going to perform a dance routine and I decided to join in and learn the choreography. The dance was conceived by one of the students and was the first dance they would ever do at the sport's day beginning ceremony. It was a hard dance to learn but I made quick friends with the student who designed the dance and we practiced all the rest of the day. The kids also practiced making level human pyramid and some drills they would be participating in. After school I chatted with some of the teachers and then went home. I am so exhausted! I have next Monday off but I have to be at the middle school next Saturday, so it's a wash.
This has so far been totally awesome! I can't wait to go back to school next week!
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