Monthly Archives: July 2004
Lightning Crashes
The skies have been constantly illuminated with flashes of lightning, accompanied by rolling thunder, for the past four days. I rather enjoy the experience of seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling lightning. On Saturday, we were on top of Mt. Aso, looking into the steam that was obscuring the view of the liquid hot magma when … Continue reading
Attack Of The Venemous Caterpillars
Merin was holding the ladder for me, when she brushed up against these caterpillars and noticed that the little bastards had envenomated her. So I did what any responsible older brother would do. I cut off the three leaves that held 50 of the evil creatures, put them on top of a pile of kerosene-soaked … Continue reading
The Souring Of A Bittersweet Goodbye
I am frustruated with my Board of Education and with a principal with whom I work with, as they are putting me in the worst sort of position. I feel an obligation to help prepare my successor for her new life in Ubuyama-mura and to prepare the village for her. Everyone is very concerned about … Continue reading
The Shogakkos of Ubuyama-mura
I translated this from Japanese last year, and just found it as I was looking through old documents. These are the elementary schools where I have worked for these past two years. Our Village Yamaga Elementary School is located in the northern region of Ubuyama-mura, at an altitude of 640 meters. The school was constructed … Continue reading
Words About Teaching
During my two years serving as the ALT for Ubuyama-mura, I have written some essays on teaching and compiled other resources. I took an extra interest in learning more about educational theory and how it could be applied to our work, constantly thinking about how English classes could be improved. Below are some of the … Continue reading
Last Lesson Finished
It is 9:30 and I just finished teaching in Ubuyama for the last time. All of my classes are done, and although I still have until the 26th of this month on my contract, my real work here is finished. I spent my last lesson with my 3 nensei chugakkusei students providing guidance on how … Continue reading
Kumamoto Hash House Harriers Tribute
For the past three years, many people came out on a free day, no matter what the weather was like, in order to run the hash in Kumamoto Prefecture. It became a ritual and was something that many of us looked forward to doing each month. Running through all sorts of dangerous environments, stalking the … Continue reading
Aso Restaraunt Review (along with other restaraunt recommendations outside of Aso)
I know that this is really late to start, but I am going to start posting about places where I enjoy eating in my corner of Aso, near the Aso/Oita border, and maybe some other joints in Kumamoto that I like. Tashiroya- for the bombass Okonomiyaki Let’s start off with a place that my friend … Continue reading