hey all,
In a matter of hours, I'll be heading over to Narita to get through security so I get on a plane that will (hopefully) land in the state the would be its own country, Texas. Then I have a layover before meeting up with Bri at his current abode in Georgia.
After hanging out with him for a few days, it will be back through security again, then off to the arctic wastes of...Michigan. See the family, do some shopping, throw out some old stuff, pick some stuff to cart back to Japan. And then back through security again, to the Land of the Rising Sun, (insert your own L/R joke here).
My fellow teachers and I have spent the last two days typing, counting desks and chairs, planning classes and getting materials ready. It was a valiant effort, and the first few months should go pretty smoothly. After that, and we'll need to prep more material.
Cheers,
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Graduation
hey all,
Last week on Wednesday we had the graduation ceremony for my class. It was really touching, and emotional, and it went pretty well. The odd thing of course is that everyone came to school the next day and we tried to have regular class. The students were all afflicted with a severe case of "senioritis," which seems like it will continue until March 27th, the last day of class for the school year.
On Friday last week I asked my teachers to complete some worksheets from a curriculum design book to help them think about the big ideas, skills, goals and concepts we wanted our students to walk away from class with. The more books I read about curriculum design, classroom instruction, school management, and classroom discipline, the more books that get added to my "to read" shelf over at Good Reads.
My hope is to get some teacher development started, and maybe change the school for the better. We'll see. I stayed late at the school yesterday to have a conference with the boss and the father of one of our graduating students. He gave us some wonderful comments and some things that he thought we might want to focus our attention on in the future. And one of his best points was not whether or not we listened to him, or were thankful for his advice, but whether we actually did anything about it. Reading all those books will be interesting, I'm sure (as one of the proverbs in the "Kushiel" fantasy series goes, "All knowledge is worth having"), but what really matters is whether anything changes at the school.
I've got my trip to the US coming up, with all the attendant worries, concerns, plans, intentions, etc that go with an international trip. Also coming up is the second season of Game of Thrones on HBO, which I'm highly looking forward to catching. The new season of South Park has already started, with their first episode being a satirical take on the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), or Toilet Safety Administration in the episode. Speaking of which, it just occurred to me to check my visa status and I realized that my re-entry permit expired last year and I need to go to the immigration bureau and renew it. Luckily, this can be done in one day, and I have two days off before I leave for the US. I could probably even go to the bureau early on the morning that I leave and get it done in time, but there's no reason to push it so far.
Today was a national holiday, so Michi and I went to see Star Wars: Episode 1 in 3D. Not bad, but not great either. Michi can't stop saying "May the Force be with you" and talking about how cute the young Anikin was.
Cheers,
Last week on Wednesday we had the graduation ceremony for my class. It was really touching, and emotional, and it went pretty well. The odd thing of course is that everyone came to school the next day and we tried to have regular class. The students were all afflicted with a severe case of "senioritis," which seems like it will continue until March 27th, the last day of class for the school year.
On Friday last week I asked my teachers to complete some worksheets from a curriculum design book to help them think about the big ideas, skills, goals and concepts we wanted our students to walk away from class with. The more books I read about curriculum design, classroom instruction, school management, and classroom discipline, the more books that get added to my "to read" shelf over at Good Reads.
My hope is to get some teacher development started, and maybe change the school for the better. We'll see. I stayed late at the school yesterday to have a conference with the boss and the father of one of our graduating students. He gave us some wonderful comments and some things that he thought we might want to focus our attention on in the future. And one of his best points was not whether or not we listened to him, or were thankful for his advice, but whether we actually did anything about it. Reading all those books will be interesting, I'm sure (as one of the proverbs in the "Kushiel" fantasy series goes, "All knowledge is worth having"), but what really matters is whether anything changes at the school.
I've got my trip to the US coming up, with all the attendant worries, concerns, plans, intentions, etc that go with an international trip. Also coming up is the second season of Game of Thrones on HBO, which I'm highly looking forward to catching. The new season of South Park has already started, with their first episode being a satirical take on the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), or Toilet Safety Administration in the episode. Speaking of which, it just occurred to me to check my visa status and I realized that my re-entry permit expired last year and I need to go to the immigration bureau and renew it. Luckily, this can be done in one day, and I have two days off before I leave for the US. I could probably even go to the bureau early on the morning that I leave and get it done in time, but there's no reason to push it so far.
Today was a national holiday, so Michi and I went to see Star Wars: Episode 1 in 3D. Not bad, but not great either. Michi can't stop saying "May the Force be with you" and talking about how cute the young Anikin was.
Cheers,
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Fukushima, One Year Later
hey all,
As I'm sure you all know, remember, or have been reminded by one news source or another, it's been one year since the big earthquake that actually changed the rotational speed of the earth, and cost so many lives here in Japan.
Strange as it is to say, my life has improved a lot in that year. I've moved into a nice apartment with Michi. We've taken a good number of fun and interesting trips, including the Yarigadake trip. My teaching has gotten a bit better. My salary and working conditions have improved some, even though I'm still at the same company.
I don't really have anything too profound to say about it. Things have improved a lot since last summer, with all the worries about radiation, etc. The radiation is actually still a little scary, and energy and water costs so far this winter have been pretty outrageous. I hope that this coming year goes as well, all things considered, as last year.
Cheers,
As I'm sure you all know, remember, or have been reminded by one news source or another, it's been one year since the big earthquake that actually changed the rotational speed of the earth, and cost so many lives here in Japan.
Strange as it is to say, my life has improved a lot in that year. I've moved into a nice apartment with Michi. We've taken a good number of fun and interesting trips, including the Yarigadake trip. My teaching has gotten a bit better. My salary and working conditions have improved some, even though I'm still at the same company.
I don't really have anything too profound to say about it. Things have improved a lot since last summer, with all the worries about radiation, etc. The radiation is actually still a little scary, and energy and water costs so far this winter have been pretty outrageous. I hope that this coming year goes as well, all things considered, as last year.
Cheers,
Monday, March 05, 2012
Nara Story and Pics
hey all,
The story of Nara goes like this.
I had wanted to check out various places in Nara in 2010, when Brian came and visited me in Japan. However, he was pretty worn out from tramping around Kyoto, and really just wanted to head back to Yokohama and chill. So I didn't get to do any sightseeing that time.
Last year, Michi's parents visited Nara during March and went to see a festival called Omizutori. They gave us a few sprigs of semi-burnt pine branch as souvenirs. Her parents explained what would happen during the festival, most of which I didn't understand too well, but it sounded interesting and Michi was more or less determined to go.
So we booked a really nice ryokan, and started looking up places to see. The festival is held at night, so we got to spend a whole day and a half sightseeing, and of course got to see the festival as well.
Kofukuji's 5 storied pagoda was actually visible from the outdoor hot tub at the ryokan. We got to take in Todaiji, Horyuji, and one other temple whose name I can't remember right now.
You might want to view the video I took of part of the ceremony. It is not the most riveting but it does have its moments. I have to apologize for the really annoying Japanese people from Hiroshima that you can hear commenting on everything. I wanted to tell them to shut up, but...
The main "snag" is that I forgot my glove liners and winter hat in the bathroom at Nara as we were waiting for the train to Kyoto (and from thence, by shinkansen to Shinagawa). I don't know if I'll be able to get them back. If not, I'll just have to pick up a new pair of liners and a new winter hat.
Cheers,
The story of Nara goes like this.
I had wanted to check out various places in Nara in 2010, when Brian came and visited me in Japan. However, he was pretty worn out from tramping around Kyoto, and really just wanted to head back to Yokohama and chill. So I didn't get to do any sightseeing that time.
Last year, Michi's parents visited Nara during March and went to see a festival called Omizutori. They gave us a few sprigs of semi-burnt pine branch as souvenirs. Her parents explained what would happen during the festival, most of which I didn't understand too well, but it sounded interesting and Michi was more or less determined to go.
So we booked a really nice ryokan, and started looking up places to see. The festival is held at night, so we got to spend a whole day and a half sightseeing, and of course got to see the festival as well.
Kofukuji's 5 storied pagoda was actually visible from the outdoor hot tub at the ryokan. We got to take in Todaiji, Horyuji, and one other temple whose name I can't remember right now.
 |
| Nara is famous for these deer, among other things. They're viewed as messengers from the gods, and are quite tame. In my view, they are really boring creatures. They just stand there in the middle of the streets and sidewalks, waiting for people to give food to them. |
 |
| Todaiji, which houses the biggest bronze Buddha in Japan, is also the largest wooden building in the world. |
 |
| In Todaiji, there is this pillar with a hole in it. Those who are able to pass through it are supposed to achieve enlightenment in the next life. So it looks like I'm set. |
 |
| Some early cherry blossoms at Horyuji with a 5-story in the background. |
You might want to view the video I took of part of the ceremony. It is not the most riveting but it does have its moments. I have to apologize for the really annoying Japanese people from Hiroshima that you can hear commenting on everything. I wanted to tell them to shut up, but...
The main "snag" is that I forgot my glove liners and winter hat in the bathroom at Nara as we were waiting for the train to Kyoto (and from thence, by shinkansen to Shinagawa). I don't know if I'll be able to get them back. If not, I'll just have to pick up a new pair of liners and a new winter hat.
Cheers,
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Nara
hey all,
We've just returned from Nara! It was a great trip, just a couple snags here and there, but what trip doesn't have those?
I've got the pictures and video on my computer now, but the story, etc will have to wait until tomorrow, maybe Tuesday. In any case, we got there, saw some cool sights, and made it back safely.
Cheers,
We've just returned from Nara! It was a great trip, just a couple snags here and there, but what trip doesn't have those?
I've got the pictures and video on my computer now, but the story, etc will have to wait until tomorrow, maybe Tuesday. In any case, we got there, saw some cool sights, and made it back safely.
Cheers,
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