Happy Halloween!!!

Our Halloween parties were a BIG hit!! Below you can see photos from all our costumes, and some games that we played at both parties!

Riddle of the Day

Answer:

Halloween Pet Costumes!!

Check out these awesome pets dressed up in their Halloween Costumes!!

Ghosts and a Cat Skeleton.

The Headless Horseman.

Pooh and Piglet too!

Captain Jack Sparrow and a Hot Dog ;)

Princess Leia and Darth Vader!

Last but not least, a Rock and Roll Star and a Pumpkin!!

Soooo cute!! What's your pet going to be for Halloween?

North American Customs

Custom 10: Spontaneity
Today's awesome culture tidbit is about spontaneity, which means that you can act on impulse or without any notice. I've noticed in Japan that many people plan things way in advance. I've been invited out for dinner with friends over a month and a half before the day of the dinner. One time, a friend asked me to meet up for coffee three weeks in advance. It seems like everyone in Japan has a planner or agenda, filled with activities that they have planned days, weeks, or even months in advance. It's nearly impossible for people to just decide to meet up with a friend out of nowhere, because this day planner is usually all booked for days to come.


Back home in Canada, it's not uncommon for a friends to call me up just a few hours or less before they want to see me. And it's not uncommon for me to accept this invitation. See, in Canada, it seems more people are spontaneous and maybe this is because we have more free time than most Japanese people who have jobs. I'm not sure. Why do you think this is?

Funny Halloween Joke

Halloween Costumes

Many of my students have been asking me what kind of costumes I have worn in the past. A few of them are searching for ideas on what to wear next Saturday. Aside from being a pumpkin, a witch and a princess, I've also dressed up as the following things, which are EASY last-minute ideas if you need them:

1. Left-overs. Wrap yourself up in aluminum foil and go as last night's dinner! Saran wrap works too.

2. Hobo. Hold a cardboard sign asking for money or simply wear a garbage bag and go as a homeless person. Maybe a bit politically incorrect, and inaccurate as far as Japanese homeless people go. So go as a North American Hobo:

3. Halloween! Collect as many random halloween things you can find and stick them to various areas on your body to go as 'Halloween'!!

One Week Until Party Time!!

It's one week until HALLOWEEN!!! That means that it's also one week until our school HALLOWEEN PARTY!!! Next Saturday, October 31st from 11:00am to 12:30pm we will have our kids' Halloween party including a haunted house and trick-or-treating! From 6:00pm until the party ends we will have our adult students' Halloween party including some Halloween fun and games as well as a costume contest!! Hope to see you there!

Playschool Halloween Class!

We had a great time dressing up for our Halloween Class! In our class we had a mouse, a witch, a sorcerer, Alice in Wonder Land, a Pirate (not shown in the photo) and a pumpkin.


We played lots of fun Halloween games like what time is it old witch, Halloween bingo, Old witch ''trump'' game, and pin the wort on the witch's nose (being played in the photo).



Of course we also went trick-or-treating around the school for some candy!!

This Week's Theme Class:

Where is THE place to go in your town? What country would you like to visit on your next holiday? This week's theme class is Travelling Abroad; Sightseeing. The lesson will consist of discussions about travelling abroad and famous sightseeing places all over the world. We will also discuss various vocabulary and common phrases for shopping and buying souvenirs!!

Tongue Twister of the Week

Several spooky slimy spiders spun sulking by the sea.

Creepy crawler critters crawl through creepy crawly craters.

If black bats could blow bubbles, how big of bubbles would big black bats blow?

North American Customs

Custom #9: Strange Foods

Many students ask me about new foods that I've tried in Japan, and whether I think some of the dishes here are strange.

The most obvious one they ask me about is natto, and yes it is indeed strange but you can find natto in Canada too! Actually one of my friends in Canada likes having natto for breakfast as a special treat every once in a while.

Octopus was definitely something new and different for me when I first arrived here, but now I've had it so many times that I can hardly imagine a life without it. The most exotic food I've tried in Japan is blowfish (or fugu). It was definitely an exciting experience, and was pretty tasty too. It's nearly impossible to buy blowfish in Canada, as far as I know.

Lastly, another strange food I've had while in Japan is raw chicken (or chicken sashimi). I couldn't really tell the difference between it and other fish sashimi that I had in the same meal. It wasn't bad, I have to admit. I've definitely never heard of anyone eating raw chicken in Canada. It's also really rare to eat raw eggs in Canada due to salmonella and other bacteria, but raw eggs are very commonly eaten here. This to me was very surprising.

What strange, exciting or exotic foods have you tried while abroad?

Foot Onsens!

Another reason why I could spend the rest of my life in Japan:

Foot onsens!

Canada is definitely a lot colder in fall and winter than Japan, but it seems Japan has the best ways to stay warm as the Earth tilts away from the sun. After the kotatsu, the foot onsen is my favorite way to keep warm.

Over the weekend, I visited the town of Yuda, Yamaguchi, which is known for its steamy onsens and free foot spas along the sidewalks. An hour in one of these, and I felt like I was walking on warm clouds for the rest of the evening.

Litte fox and big fox staying warm by one of Yuda's foot onsens.

Halloween Fun!

Can you find the Halloween words in the puzzle below??

North American Customs

Custom #8: Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It is associated with the colors orange and black and symbols such as ghosts, witches, black cats and of course jack-o'-lanterns! Activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, and attending costume parties, ghost tours, and watching scarey movies.

Traditionally costumes have been monsters such as witches, skeletons, and devils. Characters from T.V. shows, movies, comic books and pop stars are also common costume choices. As you know our Halloween party is 10 days away!! I have my costume ready, do you??

Shiver Me Timbers!!!

In celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, that we missed by a month (September 19th), today was pirate day!! In playschool we dressed like pirates who sail the seven seas with our eye patch, pirate hat and dagger! We also learned some new pirate words such as: ''Ahoy'' and ''Aarrrr me maties''!!!

The best part of the day was finding the pirate treasure map and following the golden coins to the pirate treasure!!! Coins, rubies, and dimonds, ''Oh My''!! Below are photos of the pirates finding their treasure!!

This Week's Theme Class:

This week's theme class is Travelling Abroad; Getting Around and Finding Your Way. The lesson will consist of discussions about travelling in other countries, tipping and prices, asking for directions as well was using English maps. We will also discuss various vocabulary and common phrases for travelling. After all this there will be time to practice. Give us a call to reserve your spot today :)

Tongue Twister of the Week

If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?

Professional Pumpkin Pickers are prone to pick the plumpest pumpkins.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!!

In Canada, Thanksgiving is on the second Monday in October, which was last Monday, October 12!! It is traditionally a day to give thanks for the harvest (food crops) and express thankfulness in general. On this day families and friends gather together and have a big Thanksgiving dinner, most commonly of turkey. It is also a time for weekend getaways to observe the autumn leaves, spend one last weekend at the cottage, or participate in various outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking and hunting.

Riddle of the Day

1. What do you call a witch who lives at the beach?

2. Why is a ghost such a messy eater?

3. Which building does Dracula visit in New York?

Answers: 1. A sand-witch, 2. Because he is always a goblin, 3. Vampire State Building.

Cirque Du Soleil in Osaka!!!

Last weekend I went to see Corteo, Cirque Du Soleil's Japan tour in Osaka!!! It was such a great show!! There were amazing acrobatics, hilarious clowns, gorgeous costumes and beautiful music. The whole time I was thinking: ''How did they do that??'' I was completely blown away!!

Have you ever seen a Cirque Du Soleil show? What did you think?

Happy Birthday

Today we had a small party in playschool for one of our students. She was the lucky teacher's helper today too so she got to go home with two special sticker tags!

This Week's Theme Class:

This week's theme class is Conversation in a Bar or Club. The lesson will consist of discussions about different kinds of bars or clubs to go to as well as ordering and tipping. We will also discuss various vocabulary and common phrases used in a bar. In class the students will be introduced to some famous and hilariously funny pick up lines. After this there will be time to practice. Give us a call to reserve your spot today :)

Tongue Twister of the Week

The wicked witch wailed wildly as she wound her way through the willows.






The ghastly green ghost groaned loudly from the gray granite gravestone.

It's all Halloween-y in here!

Getting into the Halloween festive spirit here at RLE, we decided to have a new Halloween theme photo shoot for our teacher profile pictures! Check out the finished products below.