Friday, November 29, 2013

ARVO



Afternoon, as in "See you Saturday arvo." 
It is often used in the phrase 'this arvo', 
which is sometimes shortened to 'sarvo' - 
"meet you after the game, sarvo." 
Arvo is an example of a special feature of Australian English, 
the habit of adding -o to an abbreviated word. 
Other such words are 'bizzo' (business) and 'journo' (journalist).

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The creeps

the creeps
n., informal

1 An uncomfortable tightening of the skin caused by fear or shock.
Reading the story of a ghost gave Joe the creeps.
(Joe felt uncomfortable while reading the story.)

2 A strong feeling of fear or disgust.
The cold damp lonely swamp gave John the creeps.
(The swamp filled John with horror and fear.)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Tokyo

Last weekend I went to Tokyo and I`m always glad to go back there since I used to live in the capital for some time. I appreciate to spend time with my friends mainly and we always have a fantastic time so I am back to Osaka very happy after 3 busy days!
One thing I never did though in Tokyo was enjoying the illuminations and the red leaves. But I made it happen this time! I went to Rikugien 六義園, in the north of Tokyo on the Yamanote line. It is beautiful and very green. The reflection of the red leaves and the trees on the lake is just stunning. Had I known this place before, believe me I would have gone! Was worth it!


Hokkaido

I went to Hokkaido last weekend.
It was cold of course, but not a bad as we expected.
The first night we stayed in Otaru.
It's a very cute little town, 
with lots of old European style buildings.

They also brew local beer.

The next day we drove to Hakodate.
It is also a very cute little town,
with a lot of influence from Europe.

It is also most famous for its lovely night view
of the city from the top of the mountain.

Before we drove back to Sapporo we stopped at
the Hakodate museum of northern peoples.
I found it rather interesting as there are very
few places where you can get information on
Ainu culture. Have a look if you get the chance.
LINK
We had a lovely time and will definitely go back
to Hakkaido to see more of the beautiful countryside.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Christmas Party


Remember the RLE Christmas party is on 
Dec 7th this year so keep the date free.  
It's only 3300 at Doma-Doma in Ibaraki MAP 
with unlimited drinks from 6:15 to 8:15. 
Oh and don't forget to bring a gift (under 1000)
for the 'Secret Santa' game. Let us know if 
you can come. We would love to see all of you, 
and please bring your friends too if you like.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Christmas Illuminations

I went to Namba last Monday and they started the Christmas illuminations at Namba Parks. It was really pretty and enjoyable since there was almost no one there! I know it is a bit early for Christmas but I love illuminations and I want to see many of them. The only thing is, between the red leaves and all the illuminations my days off are limited so my marathon has already started!!!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Pronunciation

If you can read this without making a mistake, 
well hats off to you sir.
GOOD LUCK!

Autumn

On Sunday we went to Nijo castle to see a 
demonstration of hawk and falcon hunting. 
They were very beautiful birds and very well trained.


Later we went to Ginkaku-ji and walked
 down the path of philosophy. In the evening 
we went to see Eikan-do with its autumn lights.


 It was a wonderful day and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

20 Things Nobody Told You While You Were Growing Up

There are many things you learn in school that you don't use now.  But, there are also many things you didn't learn in school that you had to learn while growing up.  If someone had just told you some of these things or if you had only remembered these things as child, maybe growing up wouldn't have been so difficult. 

1.  You're going to spend a LOT of time figuring things out
2.  Don't expect smooth seas (you will run into some "storms")
3.  Learn about personal finance NOW
4.  Assume change will come
5.  Keep your plans loose
6.  Time is a limited resource
7.  Life is hard
8.  You're only young once
9.  Make your health a priority, not an option
10.  Attitude determines your altitude
11.  How you treat people matters
12.  Relationships don't come easy
13.  Be prepared to deal with changes in relationships
14.  Take every chance you get
15.  Let go of expectations
16.  Life is complex.  Try not to worry
17.  You get what you put in
18.  You will face rejection
19.  You will not have everything figured out anytime soon
20.  Love more and keep your heart open

Now if this was taught to you in school, wouldn't life be a little easier?  Maybe?  Well what do you think?

Friday, November 15, 2013

A note on homework


We know that everyone is busy, life can be crazy sometimes, 
but if you want your English ability to improve you need to study. 
Coming to your lesson each week is a great start 
but it's not enough by itself. 

You need to be reading, writing, listening and speaking 
as much as you can. Read a book, write a journal, 
watch a TV show, sing along to your favorite English song. 
Do whatever you can, it doesn't really matter how long, 
10 minutes a day is better than nothing, 
having fun is what really matters. 

You should do most of your learning before class, 
because class is your chance to practice what you 
know with the teacher. Speak, speak ,speak as much as 
you can in class and read, read, read, 
as much as you can at home. 

Good luck!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

BOOSTER LESSONS

Have you heard about our new booster lessons?
Just 50 min of English study a week is not so much. 
Wish you could have more time to talk to the teacher? 
Well now you can, try our BOOSTER LESSONS!



For just ¥1000 you can add an extra 50 min 
to your weekly English study time. 

We currently have BOOSTER LESSONS on
Tuesdays at 19:00
and
Thursdays at 20:00

If your class is before or after these times 
why not hang out a little longer?

BOOSTER LESSONS focus on conversation
there are no books and no levels, 
please come ready to TALK!

So if you would like to give it a try 
just give us a call and let us know.

(*You must be taking another weekly lesson at R.L.E to take a BOOSTER LESSON.)

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

HA!

Dwarf 
(noun)
A human or animal suffering from the condition dwarfism 
which stops bone growth making them much shorter than normal.
 
Medium 
(noun
A psychic who can speak to spirits.


"at large"
(phrase) 
To have escaped from jail or prison.


Yesterday a psychic dwarf escaped 
from the local jail, the newspapers reported 
"A small medium at large!"



Friday, November 8, 2013

Birthday in preschool

When I was a kid I loved to celebrate my birthday at school. My mom used to make a cake and I would bring it to school. After a veeeery hard day of preschool classes, I would blow out the candles with a birthday crown on top of my head. It was great even though I had to share MY cake with the other kids.... I was wondering if you do the same thing in Japan, I have never heard about it...Could it be that...you don`t??

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Hit the road

v. phr., slang
To leave.
"It's getting late, guess we better hit the road."
(It is late, we should leave)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The crimson pig!

So as you can see in the photos below 
I was pig man butcher for the school Halloween party. 
Well for the other Halloween parties I went to 
my girlfriend and I wanted to do costumes that would 
work as a pair, and she wanted to do something cute. 
So we added a moustache, a hat and some sunnies 
and made it into a Porco Rosso (紅の豚) mask instead.
And my lovely girlfriend was the lovely Fio.

 

What do you think? 
We won 3rd prize (a bottle of wine) in a contest!!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Happy Halloween

Thanks for attending the Halloween parties we had at 
school last Saturday! I think we all had lots of fun 
and I already look forward to next year`s party!

 
Not sure  I `m going to ask him for a slice...

 
Phil and his favourite Lanister!

 
Thank God that Alice didn`t have her arms around me! 
Don`t know how the kids did it!

 
RLE`s awsome teachers!!!

 
Congratulations for all your prizes!

 
Super cute Devil and funny clown

 
Hinako the pumpkin and Daisy Sara 

 
Time to eat!! Paella, sushis, salad, wraps,....yummy yummy!

 
Ryota the witch and his beautiful smile 
won`t lose to freaky Alice!!!