Rain, rain go away. It started raining sometime last night and it was raining so hard that it woke me up. The sky is slowly lightening but I have a feeling that it will rain for most of the day.

In other news, the school music teacher Tomoko Miamoto Sensei cornered me in the tea room and we had a small conversation about my cooking habits or lack ( Read more... )

I had a small victory today with my use of broken Japanese and simple English.

Kimura Sensei came over to my desk to collect the lunch money for the month and while she was there, I asked her about my health check. In simple English I asked for the paperwork that I needed to fill out and then in Japanese I managed to ask “Where is it at”, “What ( Read more... )

Ahh, I am glad to be at school. This is the first time I have been able to sit and relax since Friday. I had a weekend full of activities.

Friday night was of course, Grey’s Anatomy night. If you have not seen the last episode, don’t click on the link.

I watched the episode twice and I liked it better the second time I watched it. I thought that ( Read more... )

アメリカのクリスマス
アメリカの一番(いちばん)大切(たいせつ)な 休(やす)みはクリスマスです。クリスマスはみんな家族(かぞく)とすごします。
クリスマスクッキーを作(つく)ったり、クリスマスの映画を見たりします。クリスマスの伝統(でんとう)行事(ぎょうじ)の一(ひと)つは、クリスマスツリーを飾(かざ)ることです。毎年(まいとし)集(あつ)めてきたオーナメントやライトをクリスマスツリーに飾(かざ)ります。また、とてもきれいなクリスマスの飾(かざ)りがついた家(いえ)を見に行く人(ひと)もいます。そして、たくさんの人(ひと)がクリスマスの気持(きも)ちになります。
アメリカではクリスマスの前(まえ)に子どもたちはサンタクロースに手紙(てがみ)を書きます。クリスマスに何が欲(ほ)しいか手紙(てがみ) ( Read more... )

It is one of the dreary days where it would be wonderful to curl up in a comfortable chair, with a hot chocolate, and a good book. Unfortunately, that cannot happen because I am at work today.

I walked into the teacher's room, Maemura Sensei asked me to help her teach four classes, and then she informed me that while I was busy this week next week ( Read more... )

This Sunday, for Japanese class, I am giving a speech about Christmas in America. Of course the speech is in Japanese. Today, I decided to read through the speech for the first time, I decided to do this in the teacher's room. Maemura Sensei heard me muttering it under my breath and asked me to speak up. She then started correcting my pronunciation ( Read more... )

On Friday night, Brooke, Katie, Andrea, and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Andrea and I saw the movie in theaters and it was just as good as we remember it being. Katie and Brooke had not seen it before and I think that they enjoyed it.

Jana and I went to Joyful Honda on Saturday. I needed to pick up a green tea pot for my two weeks back in ( Read more... )

The weekend was awesome! On Friday night, the ALT gang met at Tsukuba U. This is the entertainment building in Tsukuba; it has a bowling alley, a rock-climbing wall, an arcade, and a movie theater. It was the first of the month (thus tickets were only $10) and the new James Bond movie Casino Royale opened so we all decided to go and see it.

I will ( Read more... )

Yesterday the most amazing thing happened! I understood an entire conversation in Japanese! The conversation was between the Principle and Maemura Sensei.

Principle: Are the classrooms cold?

Maemura Sensei:  They are a little cold but it was not too cold today.

Principle: Is there any room that is too cold?

Maemura Sensei: The bathroom is very cold ( Read more... )

After the exhausting week, I enjoyed relaxing during the weekend. On Friday night, the girls came over and we watched Grey’s Anatomy. What an episode!

I know that some people are placing blame on Christina for Burke doing surgeries even though his hand is not recovered. In my mind, Christina is doing what she can to protect Burke and while she ( Read more... )