Snow’s the Theme

It’s been snowing for the past week in northern Japan.  Mostly the snow has been these soft little pebbles, brought on by very cold temperatures and high winds.  Everything was covered for the most part, but because of all the blowing, nothing really collected in my town, though the major inland towns and cities got [...]

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Engrish of the Day! (19 December)

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Ikebana: Week 2

Yesterday’s ikebana arrangement was Christmas themed, with white roses, red carnations, gold painted branches, Mimosa Akashia clusters – the green leafy plants with the tiny bits of yellow at the tips – and Silver Brunia – downy grey orbs on sea creature-like furry stalks.  Enjoy!

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Slipping through the cracks

I discovered today that one of my 3rd year students in Junior High will not be going to High School next year.  Not necessarily because he doesn’t want to (though his effort in school probably indicates otherwise) but largely because his grades are so bad that he is unable to gain admittance into even the [...]

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Straight trippin solo

In a couple weeks, I will embark on my first solo international adventure – aside from actually living independently abroad.  I’ve booked tickets and planned two weeks of gallivanting around Thailand, a country I’ve long wanted to explore.  I am going alone because the pals with whom I would have liked to travel can’t go [...]

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Most recent Mantra

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.  It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Said by none other than Mr. Charles Darwin. He would know.

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Ikebana: Week 1

About a month ago, an opportunity presented itself.  I have long been fascinated with ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arrangement, and prior to coming here, had thought how cool it would be if I could learn it in Japan.  Unfortunately, unlike schools in bigger cities where club activities run the gamut from baseball to [...]

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Aoni Onsen

November was a busy month for many reasons, but probably the best one was that there was a surge in the amount of cool people in Aomori-ken by 3.  I had to rent them from America, but they took on the responsibility with courage and style. Sophy and Cliff, on their maiden voyage to the [...]

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Let’s Party Rice and Soybean Style!!

One of the cool things we got to do while Justin was here in November was partake in an Omochi Making Party at one of my Elementary schools.  Omochi, pounded down sweet rice cakes, can be eaten in a variety of ways, and in one day, I probably consumed enough gluten to last me a [...]

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