Tome, Japan Travel Blogs

Girls night out
Feb 7, 2009 (6 photos)

The paperwork has been submitted, and the agony is over.  Although I am surprised that my decision wasn't questioned, maybe my procrastination gave kyoutou-sensei a clue. I am sure I made the right choice.  Next time I go abroad, it's gonna be ...

Golden Week Part 2
May 8, 2009 (10 photos)

... be a problem then.  Ironically, I felt like there was enough distance between me and them in Houston, but not in Japan.  I would move away from home if I didn't have the aforementioned problems that need to be dealt with.  I think ...

Yosakoi!
Aug 14, 2008 (9 photos)

... I can find a group that can teach me here.   On a completely irrelevant note that's only semi-related to Japan, I was watching Saiyuki: Requiem with the voice actor and director commentary.  Since the production company, ADV, is located in ...

Tome Orientation
Aug 19, 2008 (5 photos)

... I hadn't had the chance to do that at school.   Today, our senpai gave more advice on teaching and life in Japan.  I got to meet the other Michael (a.k.a. Michael E./ "Michael X"/ "American Michael") whom I've been hearing a lot about.  ...

Letter to my 3rd year students
Mar 7, 2009 (8 photos)

... so much that we lose sight of our own dream.             I came to Japan partly to figure out more of my future.  The same questions people have been asking you were asked of me but with ...

Japanese Culture and Comm 2: School Life
Sep 27, 2008 (6 photos)

I've definitely reached a low point in the culture shock cycle.  The sudden drop in temperature, rainy gray skies, and frustrations at school have gotten to me.  My savior has been Rookies, a Japanese drama about delinquent baseball players ...

Gripe time
Feb 27, 2009

... ; Not cool, man.   A couple days later, at a party with lots of booze (a given if you're in Japan ), a man was getting uncomfortably close.  It's like once Japanese people are drunk, any rules of propriety and respect for personal ...

my mean mother
Feb 21, 2009

... say, "Next question, please!" which is kind of a legitimate response.   Okay maybe not.  Another boy said, " Japan " when asked what country he wants to visit.  I also got to check their worksheets and was entertained by that.  ...

Japanese Culture and Comm 4: Honorifics
Nov 27, 2008 (9 photos)

A rather amusing thing happened in the staff room yesterday.  I know I shouldn't make fun of a student's blunder, but all the other teachers were laughing.  As I mentioned before, there's a specific protocol students must follow upon entering ...

I don't wanna go to school
Apr 9, 2009 (2 photos)

... site on visual kei concert etiquette and terminology.  It's very handy if you want to go to a concert in Japan and don't have a seasoned friend to accompany you.              ...

Christmas and my birthday
Dec 18, 2008 (19 photos)

... to do something with the cosplay party so far away.   Christmas is definitely in the air.  A few houses in Tome have impressive Christmas lights and decorations.  I'm sad to be missing the Starlight Pageant in Sendai .  The lessons ...

Hospital and shopping adventure
Oct 13, 2008 (9 photos)

Gomen ne for the lack of updates.  I caught a really bad cold, which was probably combined with a sinus infection.  Not much has been going on anyway.  Friday was the North Miyagi JET meeting.  I got some advice from my sempai and ...

The good, the bad, and the Wii
Nov 16, 2008 (2 photos)

... was a lot more lesson planning that I needed to do because I would only be there for half a day next week due to the Tome Block Meeting.  I have to give mad props to one of the 2nd grade teachers for already coming up with a lesson plan-- one that I ...

Eeeee, yuki?!
Nov 21, 2008 (4 photos)

... Tonight, I went to Anna's shamisen class.  I'm playing taiko to back her, Rachelle, and Michael X up at the Tome International Friendship Association's Christmas party.  It's hard for me to keep rhythm, but I'm going to practice really hard.  ...

Yay work (and cell phones)!
Aug 22, 2008 (2 photos)

I'm finally doing real work at school-that is, what I'm paid to do: help teach English.  Next month, there's a speech and recitation contest, and I've been helping the students out.  While checking the grammar of the speeches, I've come to ...

Weekend sports and recess fun
Oct 2, 2008 (15 photos)

... age.  It must be exhilarating.  At the same time, however, it's a ton of hard work, especially here in Japan . Losing is unacceptable.  The girls get yelled at by their coach even when they are winning.  The cheering is left to ...

Too much fun
Jan 26, 2009 (24 photos)

The recontracting deadline is creeping up on me, and I am more unsure than ever.  This whole week, I was almost ready to go home.  I am starting to realize that I am not cut out for teaching.  The people make me want to stay, and it's the ...

Showa Day update
Apr 29, 2009 (5 photos)

The week has been so weird.  Of course, it doesn't help that I've been in visual kei land.  I had Monday off in exchange for last week's PTA Day and today because it's Showa Day.  At the same time, I had to get up early Sunday morning for ...

Kodomo-tachi
Feb 28, 2009 (6 photos)

I feel bad for whining so I am following up with an unexpectedly good post.  I say unexpectedly since I am not the biggest fan of kids.  Lately, they've been making my day though.   It's going to be so sad when my 3rd years ...

Junior high self-introductions
Sep 3, 2008 (3 photos)

Japan really is the country of natural disasters.  A few days ago, there was a heavy thunderstorm and an earthquake.  It was the first I felt.  I woke up to shaking but was too sleepy to do anything.  My sense of self-preservation ...

Observations of gender dynamics in the 5th grade
May 15, 2009

But first, a correction on my alice nine. live report.  I got the trial version of Babylon, which is extremely useful in interpreting blog posts and live reports in Japanese.  The downside is that it's time consuming, and I maxed out on how many ...

Practicing taiko and making paper sakura
Sep 10, 2008 (3 photos)

This week, I started going to taiko practice and paper sakura making for the Toyoma Fall Festival.  Every night, I get mobbed by my elementary school girls; they're excited about having me as part of their group.  While we waited for our turn ...

Japanese Culture and Comm 6: Counting
Feb 10, 2009 (2 photos)

Japanese can be a really precise language, and I don't think anything exemplifies that more than the counting terminology.  The different terms used drives me insane when I am studying.  There's even more than one word for numbers (though I ...

Goodbyes and Hellos
Apr 1, 2009 (2 photos)

On Monday, the students came back to school to bid the departing teachers farewell.  So more speeches and tears.  The kids gave their favorite teachers presents, and I gave them photos I had collected.  Everyone liked the silly ones from ...

Cold feet - literally and figuratively
Jan 10, 2009 (3 photos)

... so sure that I would re-contract until about a week ago.  Maybe I got too comfortable at home, but being away from Japan has allowed me to look at things differently.  I could be going through a phase of cultural shock or the wintertime blues, ...

Japanese Culture and Comm 3: Describing People
Oct 26, 2008 (18 photos)

Last week, I taught my junior high school students how to describe people in slang terms.  They learned words like cute, sketchy, jerk, airhead, and (a favorite among the guys) kinky.  I had fun doing this so I thought y'all might enjoy learning ...

Self-intros, finished! Welcomes, maybe done.
Sep 6, 2008 (4 photos)

... I finished up my self-intro with the ginormous 3rd grade class and the 5th graders.  It appears that everybody in Japan knows Fullmetal Alchemist because the teachers recognize it too.  Of course they all know Hayao Miyazaki, and I get asked ...

Nothing but the rain, sir
Mar 22, 2009 (2 photos)

Guess what I did on my 3 day weekend?  Absolutely nothing (besides watch the amazing finale of Battlestar Galactica, the source of the title).  I even had an extra day off, but that was why I did nothing.  It sucks being sick when the ...

No 2nd year for me
Jan 31, 2009 (3 photos)

... world.  My counselor in college told me that I needed to work on self-confidence and assertiveness. Unfortunately, being in Japan hasn't led to improvements, and I may have slid backwards because of the non-confrontational, shy people I'm around. I ...

Tome Recitation and English Competition
Sep 12, 2008 (1 photos)

... me crazy; it's harder than Chinese characters because of the multiple ways you can read it.  For instance, the kanji for Tome is the exact same as the kanji for Toyoma.  Japanese is also extremely specific.  On the other hand, it's much ...