These are the vocabulary words I had to practice with the class the other day. I would say them and a class of 40 students repeats after me:
help, run, touch, tell, someone, ear, assistance dog, deaf.
It made me think 2 things. 1- those first 5 words sound like someone is reporting abuse. 2- why on earth are we teaching 13 year- olds the phrase "assistance dog"?
2008年11月17日月曜日
Happy Movember!
Living in Japan has been internationalizing in more than the strictly Japan-Canada way. I've learned more than I thought about other (English speaking) countries, and in particular this Australian originated mustache loving event. Check out www.movember.com for more information.
Breast cancer seems to get a lot of publicity (and deservedly) so it only seems fair for men's health to get some publicity of it's own. On that note, I highly reccomend www.thebreastcancersite.com and the links on the top (for literacy, children's health, rainforest, hunger, and animal rescue). Each click helps. I spend a lot of time on the internet, so a minute of clicking for a good cause makes my internet time seem slightly less ridiculous.
2008年11月13日木曜日
Memory Lane
These are the 4th graders practicing for their culture festival at Awaga. It brings back memories of leaning the recorder and Christmas concerts. I think they look cuter than I ever did. Chances are they've learned more recorder than I did too.
(Apologies for the shaking camera work and fuzziness.)
2008年11月10日月曜日
Weekend options
I'll admit it, living in Japan has it's perks. I was thinking of weekend plans, and thought to myself "I miss Kobe." and then made plans to go there this weekend. While train times might seem lengthy to you remember the following: I'm Canadian and not afraid of travel time, that there is nothing/no one to see in my own town, and that trains are fast and reliable (most of the time). Here are my 3 most visited cities in Japan.
1. Himeji. It's the closest to me (40 minutes by train) and has a population of 500,000. There are a handful of foreign restaurants, a Starbucks that never looks at you strangely for staying for hours on end, an English section in the library, 100Yen stores (equivalent to a dollar store, but better), foreign food sections in the grocery stores, a Muji (like a Japanese Ikea, with clothes) and a Uniqlo. It's a great meeting place. JET is great in that you make friends easily, however you usually don't live near them. As far as local attractions, THE CASTLE. Himeji castle is the last (?) remaining original castle in Japan. or one of the last. It wasn't destroyed in any of the wars, and it is a pretty sight if I do say so myself.
2. Kobe. The next closest (does that even make grammatical sense? My English skills are slipping. 80 minutes by train) and with a population of 1.5 million. Foreign restaurants a-plenty. Starbucks plural. a GAP, United Colours of Benetton and Zara (3 stores I rarely shopped from in Canada, but fully enjoy in Japan). A Tokyu Hands (a Japanese store with nearly everything you might want, aside from clothes), Don Kihote (erm, that's Japanese for Quixote, and it is a store of immense fun opportunities), and there are various liquor stores that sell foreign alcohols at nice prices. Kobe also has an Ikea (!) which newly opened its smartly designed, DIY Swedish doors this past spring. On the list of things to see/do in Kobe are: Kitano-- the north part of the city which has old-school foreign houses-turned tourist attractions, Mt. Rokko (although I've never climbed it), a lovely harbour, with a memorial to the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that rocked Kobe, and shopping mall with miscellaneous stores and a floor dedicated to foreign restaurants. Kobe is an organized, friendly city, nice for small-ish adventures and walking about.
and last but not least,
3. Osaka. The farthest away (at 1hr and 40 minutes by train) with a daytime population of 3.7 million and a night-time population that drops to 2.6 million (commuter much?) it is a city worthy of note. Osaka has all of the aforementioned stores, plus Yodoyobashi electronics store, a Loft (like Tokyu Hands, but somehow different), designer stores (a la Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Armani, Vivenne Westwood etc etc) plus a foreigner friendly nightlife scene. As a tourist, one can go to any of the multiple Ferris wheels (including one on top of a department store), view the aquarium (complete with whale shark) or the Umeda Sky building, bathe for hours with fellow naked folk in various baths at Spa World, see Sumo (along with the other major sports) and more. When my penpal came to visit, we stopped in Osaka on the way home from the airport and he said "Now it feels like I'm in Japan." It's the hustle and bustle and grit that you expect from a Japanese city.
So, while I sit here at my desk waiting for the day to finish, quietly resenting that I have no work to do and still am expected to sit here, I try to take stock of the perks of living near 3 different and excellent cities.
1. Himeji. It's the closest to me (40 minutes by train) and has a population of 500,000. There are a handful of foreign restaurants, a Starbucks that never looks at you strangely for staying for hours on end, an English section in the library, 100Yen stores (equivalent to a dollar store, but better), foreign food sections in the grocery stores, a Muji (like a Japanese Ikea, with clothes) and a Uniqlo. It's a great meeting place. JET is great in that you make friends easily, however you usually don't live near them. As far as local attractions, THE CASTLE. Himeji castle is the last (?) remaining original castle in Japan. or one of the last. It wasn't destroyed in any of the wars, and it is a pretty sight if I do say so myself.
2. Kobe. The next closest (does that even make grammatical sense? My English skills are slipping. 80 minutes by train) and with a population of 1.5 million. Foreign restaurants a-plenty. Starbucks plural. a GAP, United Colours of Benetton and Zara (3 stores I rarely shopped from in Canada, but fully enjoy in Japan). A Tokyu Hands (a Japanese store with nearly everything you might want, aside from clothes), Don Kihote (erm, that's Japanese for Quixote, and it is a store of immense fun opportunities), and there are various liquor stores that sell foreign alcohols at nice prices. Kobe also has an Ikea (!) which newly opened its smartly designed, DIY Swedish doors this past spring. On the list of things to see/do in Kobe are: Kitano-- the north part of the city which has old-school foreign houses-turned tourist attractions, Mt. Rokko (although I've never climbed it), a lovely harbour, with a memorial to the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that rocked Kobe, and shopping mall with miscellaneous stores and a floor dedicated to foreign restaurants. Kobe is an organized, friendly city, nice for small-ish adventures and walking about.
and last but not least,
3. Osaka. The farthest away (at 1hr and 40 minutes by train) with a daytime population of 3.7 million and a night-time population that drops to 2.6 million (commuter much?) it is a city worthy of note. Osaka has all of the aforementioned stores, plus Yodoyobashi electronics store, a Loft (like Tokyu Hands, but somehow different), designer stores (a la Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Armani, Vivenne Westwood etc etc) plus a foreigner friendly nightlife scene. As a tourist, one can go to any of the multiple Ferris wheels (including one on top of a department store), view the aquarium (complete with whale shark) or the Umeda Sky building, bathe for hours with fellow naked folk in various baths at Spa World, see Sumo (along with the other major sports) and more. When my penpal came to visit, we stopped in Osaka on the way home from the airport and he said "Now it feels like I'm in Japan." It's the hustle and bustle and grit that you expect from a Japanese city.
So, while I sit here at my desk waiting for the day to finish, quietly resenting that I have no work to do and still am expected to sit here, I try to take stock of the perks of living near 3 different and excellent cities.
2008年11月4日火曜日
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