Have a Fun & Safe New Year's

 We'd like to thank all the students and parents this year!  We are  personally grateful to each one of you for your tremendous efforts, and we wish everyone a rewarding, joyous new year.  Please have a fun & safe new year and we look forward to serving you in the new year!

Modern Family

I  have been watching a TV  show I am totally crazy about! It is  called Modern Family. It is hilarious and I am just addicted to it. Modern Family is about the lives of all the members of a very colorful and energetic family. If you are ever depressed or just want to have a good time and laugh until your stomach hurts, you just found the perfect TV show! The episodes are really sort (about 20 min) so make sure you have the whole season before you start watching it or you"ll very probably get frustrated!!!

The rain

“There are a hundred things she has tried to chase away the things she won't remember and that she can't even let herself think about because that's when the birds scream and the worms crawl and somewhere in her mind it's always raining a slow and endless drizzle.

You will hear that she has left the country, that there was a gift she wanted you to have, but it is lost before it reaches you. Late one night the telephone will sign, and a voice that might be hers will say something that you cannot interpret before the connection crackles and is broken.

Several years later, from a taxi, you will see someone in a doorway who looks like her, but she will be gone by the time you persuade the driver to stop. You will never see her again.

Whenever it rains you will think of her. ”

  -Neil Gaiman

47 Ronin

I saw one of the worst movies I have seen in my whole

 life last weekend. It was fantastic. I was laughing so 

much the woman next to me told me to shut up. 

It was hilarious. If you want a good laugh, and want to 

see Hollywood destroy one of Japan's most beloved 

traditional tales, I recommend the new 47 Ronin film. 

But remember you must be prepared to watch a 

very bad movie, that way you will enjoy it.

Hang on

Hang on

v.

 

1. To hold on to something.

 "Bill almost fell off the cliff, 

but managed to hang on until help came."

2. To continue; persist and not give up.

 "Hang on a bit longer and things will improve"

*Similar to the expression "hang in there"

3. To keep something.

"Hang onto that number, 

you might need it in the future."

 4. To wait.

"Could you hang on a moment I forgot my coat."

Special*

Often used as an exclamation to show 

disbelief at another's statement and request clarification.

"Hang on, your telling me you wrestled a bear and won?"

The weekend...

We first up, we had the awesome R.L.E adult's 

Christmas party on Saturday night. I won an 

awesome rubber chicken! This was followed by 

some Kareoke, which I had to leave early but I 

hear it went rather late and was lots of fun. 

(More on that to come soon)

Sunday I went Christmas shopping for gifts for my 

family as I will be visiting home for Christmas 

this year. We got lots of stuff, but the one I'm 

looking forward to stealing from my nephew is the 

BATTLEROBORGS they look awesome.

 (And were my girlfriends idea) 

On Monday we went to see the last of the Autumn 

leaves around Kyoto, and in the evening stayed in 

with a DVD. We watched "Cronicle" and it was quite 

good. The story is about three high school boys who 

have strange powers, and how power can be dangerous. 

I would recommend it if you like action movies, 

superheroes or even just dramas.  

:Phil

Awesome animals

No reason for this post, 

I just discovered these and think they are super cool. 

#1 The Philippine flying lemur

He can't really fly, 

he just sort of glides a bit, 

like a momonga. 

And he is not a real lemur, 

they only live in Madagascar. 

But I think he is funky!

#2 The Tufted deer

He's got a wicked haircut and cute little vampire teeth. 

I'm gonna call him the Twilight deer.

#3 The Pink Fairy Armadillo

Cute and creepy at the same time. 

Also I think it's funny 'cause it kinda looks like a wang.

She'll be right

She'll be right

Everything will be all right.

Don't worry about it.

The use of the pronoun 'she' is common in 

Australian speech in phrases where the 

pronoun 'it' is standard in other varieties

 of English. Other phrases such as 

"She's apples" and "She's sweet" 

indicate the same sense of all is going well.

Stupid hat day

Yesterday I went to Osaka History museum to 

see an exhibition on kabuto and katana. 

I love everything samurai so I didn't want to miss this. 

They had original full sets of armor from some very well know

 samurai, such as Date Masamune, 

Ii Naomasa and Honda Tadakatsu. 

There were also some very unusual helmets in some crazys 

styles, one looked like the face of an old man, 

complete with grey hair and a long white beard. 

 

At 1000円 for such a small display it felt a little expensive, 

but I still really enjoyed it. 

If you want to have a look you had better hurry up 

as it only lasts until next Sunday.

Click the first picture for a link to the museum website.

Kyomizudera by night

Last night I went to Kyomizudera for the very first time. I had never been there yet and I was looking forward to it. All I can say is I was absolutely not disappointed! It was phenomenal! I have never been there in the day time but kyomizudera at night with the lights up and the red lights is just magic!Plus, it wasn`t that cold and since I went on an Monday it wasn`t that crowded! Awesome time!

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).

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.)

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.

Christmas Party

Remember the RLE Christmas party is on 

Dec 7th this year so keep the date free.  

It's only 3300円 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円)

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.

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!!!

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.

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?

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!

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.)

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!"

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??

Hit the road

v. phr., slang

To leave.

"It's getting late, guess we better hit the road."

(It is late, we should leave)

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!!

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!!!