Open class

So, this week has been a bit busier at work than usual. A little thing known as Open Class came into my week and added a bit of extra ‘flavour’. Open Class is an opportunity for parents of our younger students to come and see exactly what their kids are doing in English lessons. Considering that parents are paying good money to have their kids learn English, I was expecting some nit-picking to go on. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of my week.

I went into the week with the intention of involving the parents as much as possible in the lessons and having them focus of the positive points of their children’s English ability. I started off each class by telling the parents (through the school manager who acted as a translator) that their job during the class was to think of two things that their child did well in the class. Why two? because it’s better than one. Then I had the parents join in for one of the games in the middle of the class. I was thrilled to see some of the parents getting really into the games and competing with their kids. Most times the kids won, but in one class I had some intensely competitive parents who almost bested their kids.

I managed to get the parents to give some really good comments on their kids’ abilities (which is strangely difficult to do in Japan as I’ve found). And I think all the parents commented on their children’s enjoyment of the class, which is really the most important part of keeping kids studying English in an extra-curricular setting.

Although there was some extra stress and preparation that went into this week, I’m so glad with how everything turned out and I’m looking forward to an awesome weekend!

Open class… outta here!

Sweet success!

Shortly after arriving in Akashi I decided that I would take up running once more. While living in London I tried, and consequently failed to continue with the running schedule I had started with my mom in Victoria.

At first I found it difficult in Akashi to run in the hot weather. However, tonight I figured I’d take my chances and headed out. I decided early in my time here in Akashi that my goal for running was to make it to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. When I started out tonight, I didn’t really have an idea of where I was aiming for, but thought I would get halfway to the bridge or so, and turn back. But when I started running along the waterfront and got into a good rhythm and found that I was actually feeling pretty good considering this was only my second run in Japan, I started pondering the idea of going a little further. To make a long story short, roughly 35 minutes later I was standing nearly 5km from my apartment, underneath the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge! I actually laughed out loud when I arrived at the bridge. I would like to chalk this success up to my “excellent physical condition” and a lot of hard work and training, but honestly I’m just bloody stubborn! Once I got it in my head that I was going for the bridge, there was no turning back. And actually, compared to my first run in Akashi (which was painful and gruelling), I was feeling pretty good this time. I also managed to make the return journey and knock about 5 minutes off my original time to make it an even hour for the trip of close to 10km.

I’m still coming down off a runner’s high and feeling pretty great! But I suppose the real test will be whether I can walk tomorrow!

Now that I’ve accomplished my goal, I suppose I will have to find something more to strive for… but I suppose there are worse problems to have :)

Surprise!

Amongst the many reasons to love Akashi are the wonderful people I work with here. After a long week of work, which began with my birthday on Tuesday, I received a very pleasant surprise this evening.

As we were all getting packed up and ready to leave work today, the head teacher at my school came into the staff room with a plausible and urgent reason for me to go quickly to the office. But as I entered the office, there stood the rest of my co-workers with a candle-adorned cake to wish me a happy birthday! This was quite possibly the most stealthily executed surprise manoeuvre I have been the recipient of. Normally, I’m not a big fan of being surprised, but in this case I was glad to be.

Thanks to everyone who reached out in different ways this week to make my birthday a little brighter!

Heat wave!

Apparently summer has officially arrived in Akashi. Funny enough, I was under the impression we were already there. Up until mid-week last week, the temperature was actually fairly pleasant and warm. But suddenly I woke up in the middle of the night due to the ridiculously high temperature and humidity. I think the last time I really had a hard time sleeping due to the heat was probably in Bolivia, so it’s been a while.

Basically, from that point forward the weather has been really humid, with temperatures hanging around in the low to mid 30s for the last week or so. In Victoria, or even London, this would be considered a short lived heat wave. But according to my students, this kind of weather will continue until September! I think this may be the true test of life in Japan!

Thankfully, there was a short reprieve in the heat on Sunday when I played outdoor futsal with some of my students and co-workers. In fact, the bit of rain we had on Sunday really helped to dull the heat while we played. Futsal was followed by a barbeque outside by the water, with a great view of the Akashi Bridge.

Here’s to hoping for some global cooling over here in Akashi for the summer…

Village of Happiness!

This has been the weekend that Kobe made! Starting yesterday with a multi-birthday picnic in Kobe’s Village of Happiness, which is just as awesome as it sounds! It’s basically a huge park with fields, sporting areas, and the coolest playground I’ve ever seen! Seriously the best! To get to this playground, you have to first go down a sweet slide that defies description (thus, a picture will follow). Once in the playground, there is an wide variety of equipment to enjoy; from a raft-pull on a manmade lake to a huge castle-shaped jungle gym set into the trees. Unfortunately, we arrived at the playground close to the closing time and were asked to leave by a rather perturbed security guard as the park was closing. We then headed back into the city and enjoyed a delicious dinner at a yakiniku restaurant. It was a great day with a super group of friends!

Today I made another impromptu trip to Kobe for a bit of exploration and to shop for some much needed items, like another full size towel, which are incredibly hard to find around here. And along the way, I found a rather delicious bakery with some equally delicious treats. Overall, another great weekend all around!

Some pics of the Village of Happiness. Enjoy!

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Japanese Fountain of Youth

In my time at work so far I’ve been getting to know my students and the many other students at my school. During our “lobby talk” time, I try to talk to as many students as I can and get to know something about them. Usually I ask why they’re studying English, what their hobbies are, and try to find out something about their professional life. However, this last one has proven to be a bit of a tricky subject as I’ve found. Basically, I’ve discovered that Japanese people look considerably younger than they are.

When meeting students for the first time, I find it really difficult to tell how old a student is, and whether to ask about school, university or work. So often, I’ve asked students if they are in university, only to find out that they are 10+ years into a high level engineering career. Now I tend to ask a more general question, like “So, what do you do?”. This seems to work out better.

I have to say, I would like to know the secret behind this age-altering appearance. I’ve heard it’s genetics or diet, but whatever it is I’d like to have the same “problem” of being mistaken for a high school student every once in a while. Perhaps in my time here in Japan, I will learn the secret to the Fountain of Youth…

Adventures at a Cat Cafe

So, this weekend was all about Kobe. And despite the rain, my friends and I managed to have a ball checking out the sights of Kobe. After stops at an awesome gyoza restaurant and a spectacular jazz/coffee bar, we went to one of the most unusual places I think I’ve ever been to: A Cat Cafe.

You know you’re in Japan when you come across a thing like a cat cafe. Just as it sounds, this is a place where people can hang out with cats, and enjoy a refreshing drink (in a cat free area, of course). I would imagine that this phenomenon developed from the general love for cute, furry creatures here and the lack of apartments that allow pets. This way, for a small fee, anyone can enjoy the best parts of having a pet without the full-time responsibility.

The cats were very cute and definitely amusing, and we had lots of fun playing with them and teasing them with a wide variety of cat toys. But I think we all departed with an air of disbelief; “Did we really just pay to hang out with cats?”

Anyhow, when in Rome…

Here are some pictures of our adventures at the cat cafe of Kobe. Enjoy!

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