Straw house adventures

Last weekend Kristen and I went on a great adventure to Fukui prefecture to stay in a traditional Japanese style straw house (hut). It was a great journey through sun and rain, around, through and up mountains, and twisty turvey roads to reach our desination. Once we arrived the clouds had cleared (for a while) and we could enjoy the beautiful nature around us. I have never seen SO much green nature and bright blue skies!! It was very quiet and relaxing.

Inside the house there were two very large rooms for sleeping, a very large kitchen with an old fire pit in the middle of the room for cooking (and maybe keeping warm in the winter) and surprisingly there was a FULL bath with shower, Japanese style Washlet AND a washer and dryer!! I think we were all pleasantly surprised.

ヾ(〃^∇^)ﾉわぁい♪

How is everyone doing this summer? I hope everyone is staying cool and escaping the heat. It has been raining a lot mostly during the weekends. I hope everyone was able to stay dry during those days. Well, we have a few updates for all of ya! On August 11th and 12th, we are doing a special Half-Off campaign! So if you know of anyone interested in learning some English, let them know!Also, we are having our first party here at RLE!!! It's gonna be on September 12th! So if you haven't heard about it yet, make sure you come and ask about it. And if you already have plans, cancel it! Haha, nah I'm just kidding. You have until September 5th to let us know, so if you decide to come let us know by then. Well I hope everyone has an exciting summer!

Fireworks!

'Tis the season of fireworks in Japan! Can you believe this is my second summer in Japan and I have yet to see fireworks here?!?! Looks like I have many opportunities to see some here in Osaka. I look forward to seeing people dressed up in yukatas, enjoying the many festivals and 'hanabi'.

Another one of my favorite things about summer is watermelon! I have eaten way too much watermelon so far, but that hasn't stopped me from buying more and enjoying it while it's in season and very affordable.

So what's your favorite thing about summer in Japan?

Zoom a little zoom

Today in playschool we explored the universe. We built rocket ships and flew with our astronauts. We sang zoom a little zoom in our rocket ships as we flew past the sun and some clouds on the playschool carpet and found some aliens along the way!! You can see a photo from our imaginary trip below!

Nice pet!

A little surprise was waiting for me on my desk this morning. Here's my new friend. I have to say it's probably the most interesting gift I have ever received.
Here he is in all his cute beetle glory:
I haven't named him yet, but I was thinking of naming him Yoshi because we already have so many Yoshi's around the office and it would be funny to have just one more. Yoshi the Beetle.

Do you have these little critters growing at home? I hear it's pretty common, and I've seen many kids with them. We sure don't keep beetles as pets in Canada, but I'm thinking they would be a big hit.

Happy Birthday

先週の土曜日、デイケアで初めて、バースデイパーティーしました！！

小さい、バースデイーパーティーでしたが、キッズと先生とスタッフで楽しい時間がすごせました。

デイケアのクラスも、徐々にお友達も増えてきて、毎回、楽しいレッスンで子供たちも喜んでくれてます。

なかには、英語を初めて、聞くお友達もいてるのですが、家に帰ってＡＢＣソングなどを口づさんでますよって、お母さんにご報告をうけることもあります。

Last week we had a birthday party in our daycare class. It was our first one!
The party was small but we had a good time.
We are gradually getting more and more kids in our daycare class.
The kids have a lot of fun every lesson.
For some of them, it was their first time to hear native English but they all learned to sing the ABC song.
It was awesome!!

What gets on your nerves?

So they're renovating the train station and that means our office now has a soundtrack of jackhammers and whistles. I don't really mind it that much, but Yoshi can't stand it! It brings back memories of a time when he lived in an apartment on a street that was under construction the whole time he lived there. The sound of jackhammers gets on his nerves!!What gets on your nerves? One of the things that really bothers me is when someone turns a corner while walking without looking where they are walking. They face the opposite way so they end up bumping into all the people. Why do some people not look ahead when they turn a corner?!

Some of my students say they can't stand the summer heat, and that many things get on their nerves when the weather is hot. I actually find myself more relaxed in this weather. What about you?

Happy Birthday, Canada and USA (from the kids at RLE playschoo)

Today was a really fun day once again for our play school group. We made lots of Canada Day-themed crafts, sang lots of patriotic songs and played bingo and memory games. While both our teachers are from Canada, we were sure to include some American activities as well because today is Independence Day in the US!

Happy Canada Day!!

Today is Canada Day! On this day, July 1st, 1867, Canada was united as a single country with four proviences. It is often refered to as Canada`s birthday, marking the joining together of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Provience of Canada (which was later divied into Ontario and Quebec). On this day communities all across Canada celebrate with outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbeques, air and martime shows, fireworks and free musical concerts!! Parliament Hill in Canada`s Capital city of Owatta, Ontario, holds the largest free outdoor celebration concert in Canada. Here is a photo of this memorable occation at Parliament Hill below. Please have an enjoyable Canada Day!!