TraveLLs

The literal translation for the meaning of the days of the week in Japanese: Monday- Moon day Tuesday- Fire day Wednesday- Water day Thursday- Tree (Wood) day Friday- Gold day Saturday- Soil or earth day Sunday- Sun Day **Side note** I asked Miho about these meanings before I posted this entry to be sure I wasn't mistaken. She said "Oh,yes, I guess so!  I guess that is why I like Friday so much!  It is gold day!" 

The Education Network has three branches: KEC, the conversational English school, KIS, the international preschool, and Kids Station, the Japanese English teachers go to origination.  In addition to these three branches there is a non profit organization connected to the Education NEtwork called Feel the World.  Directly translated from their page by "google translate" this is the explanation of the organization. "We have been involved in, such as teacher training and leadership training in the field of English language education primarily. I met many people with a desire to become available in English and English longing for it. As a result he has been seriously considered, would not be a force such people has led us to "Feel the World" this.  Why do we keep so much possession consciousness chronically weak Japanese to English. Japanese I should have learned English at least six years. I would have felt "Why not speak" "and" weak ...

Chestnuts are very popular in Japan, especially this time of year.  One of the children in my class, Chiaharu, went chestnut picking last weekend.  The result was an abundance of chestnuts, some of which she brought to school for Miho and I to share.  Her mother told Miho how to boil the chestnuts and Miho, being from Japan, knew the rest of the steps to enjoy the seasonal nut. On Wednesday, Miho brought in the delicious boiled chestnuts for lunch.  She cut them in half and we scooped them out of the shell.  They were sweet and nutty; the perfect snack!  After consuming about six or seven halves I found a little, white caterpillar nuzzled in one of the halves I was about to dig into.  Thankfully I saw a full caterpillar and not a half.  The poor bug had been soaking in the boiling water for the whole hour that Miho had cooked the chestnuts.  It was beyond dead and thankfully I saw it, as it blended in with the chestnut meat!  No har...

This Tuesday the staff of KIS as well as a few of the KEC staff attended a conference in the city.  Carolyn Graham and Ken Wilson, sponsored by Oxford University Press, spoke at a two hour conference at Nanzan University.  The conference opened with a lecture by Ken Wilson.  Ken Wilson is a teacher trainer from London with extensive knowledge of the performing arts.  He has written and recorded about 150 language teaching songs, worked as a performer, sketch-writer and eventually director with the English Teaching Theatre, and has written at least five published English course materials, including Drama and Improvisation in 2008 by Oxford University Press.  Ken Wilson's lecture in Nagoya was titled  "Can improvisation work in the Japanese classroom?"  In his lecture he introduced me to the idea that Japanese people are not quite as outspoken as us 'merikans.  He had us do several controlled and uncontrolled improvisation exercises.  ...

Last Sunday, the lovely Sachiko brought Phil, Dominique and myself to the Mei prefecture to hike to see the beautiful Akame Shijuhachitaki Falls.  Akame Shijuhachitaki Falls is a series of crystal blue waterfalls that covers around 4 kilometers.  Overall there is said to be 48 waterfalls.  We didn't see all of them, but there is no way to tell how many we did see.  There were waterfalls of all sizes and who am I to judge whether a waterfall is big enough to be considered one of the 48 waterfalls of Akame? We headed to Nagoya station at 8:30 a.m. and took three separate trains and a taxi from there to get to the entrance.  Admissions to the falls also admitted us to the Japanese salamander museum.  There we saw some of the largest salamanders of our lives.  We renamed the display "This kids, is why you shouldn't swim in the river!"  
The given name "Akame (Red Eye)" is based on the legend in which Fudo-Myoo , commander of the Wisdom Kings i...

Here in Japan we have been blessed with another three day weekend!  This time it was to celebrate sports day.  When I heard this was the reason, I was very curious as to what "sports day" entailed.  After trying to find an answer to this question, the best I could come up with was "Japan wanted a holiday, so they came up with sports day." Since I cannot verify nor deny this statement, I will just accept it and enjoy my time off. I was lucky enough to be invited by my boss to head back to the beautiful prefecture of Nagano.  I was hesitant to head off on another pricy trip before I got my first paycheck.  After thinking it over, I actually verbalized the phrase "you only live once," and opted to join Mitani-san, Ellen, Dominique, Phil, Claire, and Mitani-san's family on a lovely weekend getaway. The trip started early Saturday morning when we piled into Mitani-san's rented vehicle and drove straight to Nagano.  Our first stop was a delicious ...

I have now had several experiences where I have stripped down in front of strangers and friends and taken a shower.  After I shower with strangers and friends, I step into a bath and relax, in the nude, with these strangers and friends.   Technically, an Onsen , in Japan, is defined by the temperature of the water, usually with a temperature over 25 °C and should contain 19 essential minerals designated by the Japanese Environmental Agency. Also the water must have its origins from a volcanic spring. However, the term has now been expanded to define the general process of bathing in Japan.   One first strips down and places their clothing and belongings into a basket in the changing room.  Then, covered by a hand towel, one migrates to the shower room.  The shower room is a room lined with shower heads, very similar to a shower room in a high school-the ones that are no longe...