Osaka Jo Castle Park

I took a stroll around Osaka Jo Castle today. If you want to know about the Osaka jo castle check it out here. Meanwhile, enjoy some photos!

peace

vince

Rain + Bike = epic fail

Hello everybody! Sorry it's been about a week since my last post. A lot of things have happened this past week!

First off, today is raining like crazy. I normally love rain, but when I have to ride my bike in the rain it really sucks. I get to work all in shambles. My jeans are soaked with water and my bag is a bit damp. Ah well! Last weekend I had a small gathering for my co-workers at my apartment. I made it a Tex-Mex party. So I cooked up authentic Chicken Fajitas (if you don't know what these are click here for English or here for 日本語。） I also made some Guacamole, Nachos, and warmed many flour tortillas. My co-workers really loved the food! One of them told me that it was the best "Mexican food she had ever tasted!" Of course fajitas aren't exactly Mexican food, but I love them. I had quite a bit of chicken left over, so I ended up eating fajita chicken for 2 days.

Last Friday was my last class for this school year. The school year ends in March here in Japan and the new school year starts in the beginning of April. In my class we conducted an interview test. It was fairly simple, because I just asked for the students opinions about various subjects. My goal this term was to get the students to be able to tell me their opinions, even if they were in the simplest form. I would ask them "What do you think about _____?", and they had to respond to that by saying "I think that ______ because ______." Then they would have to ask me a question the same way. I was quite pleased with the results. Almost every student was able to have a small conversation with me. I was happy to talk to them about things. Honestly, I wasn't even marking them while we were talking. If they tried I gave them the points they deserved. Everybody is different, therefore I have to mark them differently. After they finished the small test they had to write a a message or comment on the class. I received a lot of funny, cute and sweet messages about the class. Most of my students have excellent English writing ability. So the messages were great. They were happy to talk, and they looked forward to the next year, so do I! ;)

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I didn't have to go to my school. They were only testing and interviewing the new junior high students that were entering my school in April. I mainly just hung out at home and relaxed. Tonight (Friday) I have to attend a dinner for my PTA English class. The students in the class (mainly parents and the lot) want to go eat sushi with me, so I have to go. I plan on eating absurd amounts of sushi. That's another good thing about Japan, sushi is quite cheap! Especially at the supermarket, where you can usually grab a decent sized sushi for about $3!

I will try to take a photo or two tonight! I'll be back real soon with an update! Cheers!

peace

vince

Walking around

I was walking around today, and I thought you might like this picture. You can't see this in El Paso! :)

peace

vince

Dotombori area or Osaka

Happy Sunday

Well, this weekend was quite interesting to say the least. This morning was bloody amazing. The sun was just shining so nice. I washed my clothes and hung them outside. I then began to take a walk down to the electric town to buy a game. There were loads of people out and about this afternoon. I guess that sun just brings everyone out. I went out and took a few more pictures today. I'm going to try and do this more often, so look forward to that.

For Valentine's Day, I made Tex-Mex chicken fajitas, guacamole and soup, with tortillas. It was really good. Everyone seemed to like it. I think there is nothing that compares to the fresh taste of fajitas with guacamole, oh delicious. I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day. I got 2 candies for Valentine's day!!! From my students! woohoo!!!... Be back soon, until then, enjoy some photos.

peace

vince

my fajitas, guacamole, soup and tortillas in a towel :)

a typical street in my neighborhood

7-11

actually, i don't know what this is.

a giant fish (fish market)

old men playing mahjong, they are there every sunday.

it's the big sale.

aftermath of delicious ramen, at a place called "al pachino ramen".

Hey everybody! I just wanted to share some of the pictures I shot with my cell phone the past few days. I hope you enjoy. Comment if you wish!

peace

vince

A Valentine's Chocolate my student made me

Dotombori Area in Osaka, about 10 mins from my apartment.

View from my apartment balcony

View from the balcony of my room

View from the balcony of my room

View from the balcony of my room

Elevator at my apartment, 8th floor :)

My door :)

Leave your shoes here!

My room

My favorite Tako-Yaki shop by my apartment, one guy cooking, another buying. Tako-yaki is fried squid in batter. An Osaka traditional food!

Intersection next to my apartment building.

In front of my apartment.

Bike parking at my apartment.

Mail boxes

Would you like to buy a subway ticket? :) Subway ticket machine

Subway station gates, close to my apartment.

Waiting for the train. This train station is close to the school I work.

The lonely train station

The train has arrived

Valentine's Day

Well it's the time of the year for love and all that. Valentine's day is coming and all of the marketing magic that comes along with it. I have to admit, I have enjoyed Valentine's Day in the past. I know it's a special day for people all over the world, and I suppose a miserable day for others. Anyway, I thought you might be interested in how Valentine's day is viewed over here in Japan. In Japan, Valentine's day is reverse, that is, girls are supposed to give boys something. I believe that most girls will make chocolate at home for their boyfriends or their good friends. I remember last year, some students brought me some home made chocolate. Lately I have seen advertisements for watches and cologne, etc, so I think that more luxurious items are now being marketed over here as Valentine's day gifts. Now apparently the quality of gift is supposed to show if a girl is interested in you or not. (this is what a co-worker told me, so it may not be true) That does make sense though. I wouldn't give an extravagant give to just anyone either.

So you are probably wondering what the guys have to do on Valentine's day. Well that is what "White Day" is for. What is "White Day"? It is March 14th, and it is a day that the guy is supposed to return the favor he received from his female friends. All the men's gifts adverts come down and all the women adverts go up. hmmm... So white day is a day for giving back for the guys. So this all leaves me in a predicament... I'm American, so should I celebrate Valentine's Day like I would in America? What about this "White Day"? 2 gifts? Too many questions over here. haha

Well I'm still going to celebrate Valentine's day the American way and Japanese. I'm going to make a hybrid holiday! Do you have a good name for my new hybrid American and Japanese Valentine's day? Let me know! I'm going to take a few photos of the Valentine's day displays this week, I'll post them up later on.

I'm interested to see how this week turns out. Be back soon!

peace

vince

p.s. become a follower!! look to the right side and click on "follower"

Let's Wipe!

Here is another lovely gem I found in our bathroom today. This is my tissue box. Make sure you wipe that! Let's all wipe together everybody!! You wipe me and I will wipe you!!! We can throw it away too!!! :)

Comments

I fixed the bug with my comment box. It was supposed to be showing underneath each post. Now it will open in a new window. Anyway, comment away people! haha

peace

vince

Life Saving Sandwich

I went to the local Circle K this morning. I picked up this interesting sandwich. It's always good to know a sandwich could save your life. Oh Japan...

Today in my class, we got off on a politics topic. I asked the students if they ever had such a gathering for a president in Japan, like Obama did in America. Most students told me that they truly disliked the current prime minister of Japan, Aso. Well, honestly I have no idea about the president or politics in Japan. I asked them about the local Mayor of Osaka-Fu, Mr. Hashimoto. Apparently they don't like him either. I asked them why, and the reply was... "I don't like him because he won't let us bring our cell phones to high school!" From what I gather, he is trying to implement a big change in the lagging Osaka School system. After years and years of neglect, it's good to see at least something being done in the schools here.

Thanks for the suggestions for the party that I want to make. I'm still thinking about it, but I will let you know what my party theme will be. Today I only have 1 class this morning. Afterwards I will go home. Usually on Fridays I have 4 classes to teach. However, the Senior students have finished school already (even though graduation isn't for another month???). So that leaves me with one class on Fridays until at least April. Until next time folks...

peace

vince

Just life...

Well it's Wednesday, and you know what that means! Well actually I don't really know what that means... Anyway time for a new post!

Ok, well things have been going well the past few weeks. Last Friday we had a party for my room mates birthday. We invited about 15 people I suppose. I think a few people didn't show up though. We had a great time. All we did was buy cups, plates and forks. People brought, food and drinks. The party was definitely in Japan, because the food was sushi and Japanese bread. There was a cake for my friend and we ate that cake quite fast. Everybody was chatting, and at midnight we started to dance to salsa music. My room mate is a salsa dancer so he was showing us some moves. We probably danced for about 1 hour or so. By that time the alcohol had set in, and we were all pretty smashed. The last person left at about 2am and I just fell asleep. I had to wake up early in the morning because I had a private lesson at 10am. Unfortunately I woke up with a pounding headache, but a bit of coffee took care of that problem.

At my private lesson there were 10 people from the community. I showed them pictures of my trip back to America. They had many questions and seemed generally interested in it. It was an easy $50 dollars. Plus they gave me some coffee and sweets. Sunday was relaxing and ridiculously cold. I went walking around in the shopping district here. I ate a chicken kabob too! This week at school is going good as well. My students are starting to understand how to give their opinion about things. When I asked one of my students today if she believed in aliens, she said "I hope that we can meet them one day", I was really happy that she told me how she felt. Sometimes it's quite difficult for a Japanese student to tell you an opinion about something. I really don't know why though.

I have been able to drop about 6 pounds since coming back to Japan. I think I gained 15 pounds when I went back home. It was not good!! I ate everything you could possibly imagine, except McDonald's...:) My friends here told me that I had gained weight too! All I really have been doing is just eating what I normally do here in Japan and I lose weight. I think I lose weight because of all the walking and bike riding I do everyday. I probably walk at least 30 minutes a day. I ride my bike about 4 miles a day, so that is probably the reason for my rapid weight loss.

Last night I went shopping for some jeans and a couple of pillows for my bed. I went to GAP because I know that I can wear those jeans. For some crazy reason, the jeans at GAP are about $125 each. I don't remember exactly how they are back in America, but I know for sure they aren't that much. So basically I just left that place. If they aren't on sale, I won't buy them! haha I went over to French Connection and there was a big sale! I saw some really nice jeans that were priced at $145, but they were %70 off! So I tried them on and they fit great! I was quite happy about that. When I left, the girl asked me if I was from the United Kingdom, I said... of course! haha :) I then ventured to buy a couple of pillows. I hadn't changed my pillows since I arrived here in Japan. I bought some nice fluffy ones along with pillow covers. Everything came out to $35 dollars! Good times! Last night I slept on those pillow like a dream.

I am thinking about throwing a party soon at my apartment. I was thinking a clothing themed party, for example a "white party". But that is kinda played out. Maybe a "black party"? Give me some suggestions OK! I want to do this soon!

Ok, well enough about my life. I wanted to share with you some musical suggestions for this evening. I hope you will give them a whirl in your mp3 player or what not.

The first band is called The Apples in Stereo. They are really good. A bit of an indie rock type of sound, but amazing stuff.





The next band is called Playradioplay. They are from Texas and the new album is so originally titled "Texas". I can't really describe the sound. Maybe a mix of "the postal service" and pop punk. Good stuff.






Ok that's enough for today. My blog is being renovated right now, so I hope you will like the new look. Cheers

peace

vince

Change

Well as you all know the American Presidential Inauguration was today. Actually in Japan it was early this morning. I stayed up all night watching and gazing at the pictures I witnessed live and on the Internet via MSNBC.com. I have never seen such a beautiful scene in my life. I have traveled many places in the world, but I realized that I have taken for granted the beauty of my own country. I have never been to Washington D.C. but I know I am definitely going to try and make in next time I go back. I just kept thinking about the history of that place. All the people that worked in throughout the years for equality, if only they could have lived to see it. I envy the people that were able to see it in person. I am looking forward to this next president. He seems to be a great man with a following like no other. Should be interesting time ahead for America!

Today in my class, we got off on the topic of Obama. I don't know why, but the Japanese are in love with him. My students had so many questions about America and Obama. I taught them a little about the slaves in south, segregation, human rights, MLK, World War 2 and the Iraq war. They really don't know much about history. I showed them how minorities were separated by using the water fountain example. They were really shocked about this. One student told me that he disliked what the Americans did to the "black mans" as he said. I told him that I agreed with him. However I continued to tell him about how the Japanese in World War 2 took Korean people as slaves to build their military installations. They had no idea! I was glad to teach them a little about the world. It was truly fun, and that is the way education should be. Heck, they even learned a bit of English too!! I really had thank my teaching partner though! She helped me translate so much, and it was soooo helpful to me. I'm really starting to think that my plan about teaching English by using current affairs is a good and feasible idea! I just hope the next presentation will go just as well! :) Be back soon!

peace

vince

From the desk of binsu...

Well I just finished two classes right now! They went pretty good. I gave a small presentation on the drug war in Juarez Mexico(the city across from El Paso). They were blown away by how many murders there were last year... about 1800. Perhaps I scared them about Mexico though! Oops... At least they learned about something, and they learned in English! Life is going good lately. I'm really trying hard on my new years resolutions. I think this year will be a great one! I was thinking about how my blog has somewhat become a small diary of sorts. At first I wanted to dish out all this info about Japan. But I realised, it's really hard to explain or for people to imagine your lifestyle here. I put pictures up and stuff like that but they don't do the story justice. I hope some people can come over here so I can share with them a bit of my lifestyle. As for my blog, well we'll just see what happens. Gotta go with the flow. Take care all, and I'll talk to you soon!

peace

vince

p.s. here is a pic i just took with my cell phone! search for things some of you have given me :)

Reflect

Well I am in the Denver Airport right now. It's a nice airport. If you ever come by here, you should definitely go eat at Heidi's Brooklyn Deli. The best sandwiches I have ate for a long time. Anyway, I was really happy to go home. I have gained a new appreciation for my family. They are the best. That's mainly who I saw when I went home. I saw a few good and friends, but it was mostly family time. I truly enjoyed it. I really like Japan, but I love America. As much as people love to complain about this country, you really don't appreciate it until you leave. Anyway, I just wanted to say... Don't take for granted what you have.

During this trip I ate a lot of food! I surely gained at least 5lbs! I could not stop eating!! haha And if you have ever been to El Paso Texas, then you definitely know how wonderful the food is there! I went snowboarding in Ruidoso New Mexico. It was fun, and my body took a beating! At night we went to look at the beautiful sky with my telescope. They sky was absolutely stunning. I was able to see the Milky Way in the middle of the sky. I spent a lot of time with my dogs too!

Anyway, soon I will be back in Japan. I'm not sure when I will be back in America yet, but I am glad that I was able to refresh myself and enjoy home. Thanks to everybody that made my holiday the best one in a long time. I appreciate it!

I'm going to finish this giant sandwich from Heidi's now...

peace

vince

El Paso

El Paso

El Paso

After the Lincoln Trail...

Snowboarding

Ski Apache

At White Sands National Monument

Give me more Santitas!!!

Good fun

El Paso Sunset