Who doesn't like a Barbecue?!

As the rain rolls in over Osaka for rainy season, we're all trying to enjoy the warm sunny days while they last. While some may hide under an umbrella while the sun is out, the RLE team headed over to a friend's house and had a delicious BBQ in their backyard. The Aotanis were great hosts and had so many delicious treats to throw on the grill. Here's just a small sample of what they had ready for us:Everyone was in a great mood, and lots of fun was had.The rain inevitably made its appearance as soon as we finished eating, so we took the party inside and finished the day off with some Nintendo Wii, good conversation and delicious watermelon!

Would you look at this?!

Let me tell you about a lovely person named Moriyama-san. Mrs. Moriyama works with us at RLE, and she is probably the friendliest person you will ever meet. She always greets us teachers with a big smile and a warm Ohayoo Gozaimasu when we arrive in the morning. She has endless patience and is always ready to lend a helping hand when we need it. And while we thought she couldn't get any better, we found out she BAKES!!!

check this out:
Mrs. Moriyama returned to the office just before closing time with her adorable son, and gave us some custard-filled home-made buns, made with love.

So what's the sweetest thing someone has ever done for you in your workplace? What makes a good work environment? Do you have someone like Mrs. Moriyama in your office? I hope you do!

Hello, RLE Friends!

The lovely people at シティライフ have featured an advertisement for RLE in their new issue. Check it out:So there's the result of our photo shoot from last week! I hope you're all keeping safe and healthy. Remember that washing your hands is just as important as (if not MORE important than) wearing a mask when you go outside. Don't rub your eyes, nose or mouth if you've been in public without washing your hands first :)

Also, drop by and check out my 'artwork' in the café and learn some new idioms at the same time. Do you know what it means when someone says they are a night owl? Come find out!

(ﾉﾟοﾟ)ﾉ ｵｵｵｵｫｫｫｫｫｫ-

As most of you already know, there has been an outbreak of the H1N1 virus. It seems to be concentrated in the Osaka and Kobe areas. Over half of the people outside are wearing masks and drug stores selling these masks are sold out! Even some of the alcohol disinfectants are sold out! Well for those of you in need of masks, I might recommend something like this:
Nah, just joke! I hope none of you are wearing something like this. Although it will protect you better, it will definitely get you a lot of awkward stares. So just stick to the normal masks and gargle and wash your hands constantly. Have fun, but be safe!

city life掲載の写真！！

今日は、シティライフ掲載のための写真を色々、撮影してみました！！
この写真なにを意味するか！？わかりますか！？ そうです。ＲＬＥです。
色々とったんですけど、またシティーライフに掲載される写真楽しみにしといてくださいね♪♪

Happy Mother's Day

Today we had a lot of happy moms after our pre-school class. We made lots of special Mother's Day crafts using our handprints! It was fun to get our hands dirty in the colorful paints too. Below is a photo of all the crafts we made for Mom.
Tomorrow is real Mother's Day and I am going to send my Mom in Canada a surprise in the mail so she knows how special she is to me! What special things are you going to do for your mother on Mother's Day?

I know my mom likes to read this blog so I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to my Mommy!! xox
Thanks for reading,
~Rachel

Getting Back into the Swing of Things...

It's time to get back to work! I hope you all enjoyed your Golden Week vacations! Catching up with my students on what they did on their time off has been really interesting. It's great to hear that many of you had some exciting adventures, despite the fact that it was raining cats and dogs for most of the week.
I finally got to see Himeji Castle, and I'm sorry I didn't make it inside. That place closes early! I did see some very sad polar bears at the Himeji Zoo, and ate some delicious sesame ice cream on my way out.
It's still raining cats and dogs, but don't let that make you a couch potato. A typhoon is coming in, and while many of you may have been running for cover, my boss Yuji grabbed his surf board and hit the waves. What do you do to pass the time when it's rainy?

Happy Health Day!!

Today RLE went to get x-rays and blood tests!! It was very interesting for us North Americans because the x-ray machine was inside a van; a VAN!!! We had never heard of or seen something like this before. Below is a photo of us waiting for our turn to go into the x-ray van! Check it out.

Everyone was very brave for the blood test, except for me. Yes, I admit I cried like a child...Below you can see Yuji being very calm and relaxed. What a cool guy.