Where's the Typhoon?

Last Tuesday there was a big announcement in the teachers room just before quitting time. The Vice Principal yelled out that there was a big typhoon coming and we might not have classes the following day. While he was saying this, I was looking at the weather on my phone and it said "Sunny". I figured that it was just another over reaction from the weather folk in Japan. It happens a lot actually. Needless to say, it was warm and sunny on Wednesday. :0)

Two Thursdays ago was my birthday and I became 28 years old. Wow, I'm really getting old! I still feel like I haven't really accomplished anything in my life. It's a weird feeling to be honest with you. I went to dinner with the misses and ate some delicious Korean style food. It made me remember how much I miss Korea. The food there was just amazing. Anyway, besides getting about 80 happy birthday messages on Facebook, it was just an ordinary day. One of my students gave me a cute little present with cookies and a Super Mario Lolly. I was really happy and surprised.

My Small Present

Yesterday, (9/12, Sunday), I went to watch my school's girl's basketball team play in the Osaka City Round of 16 high school basketball game. It was really interesting to see how it they play these games. They had girls playing on one court and the boys playing on a court directly across from them. Meanwhile fans and other teams waiting to play are in the middle of both courts. It's a really strange setup compared to an American style but I guess it's efficient. If my school would have won, they would have went to the final 8 of the city. Unfortunately they didn't win but they sure played hard. The other team just shot lots of three point shots and made about 60% of them. That pretty much ended the game there. I was so surprised to see how good my school was in terms of ball skills. They handled the ball really well and were good in the paint! Girls got some skills, even though they are so short. After the game I headed back to my apartment. It took me about 1 hour to get home, so it was a bit of a journey to see the game.

The team huddling up before the game.

During the game.

Warming up at halftime.

On Saturday was the 9th anniversary of 9-11. That was a horrible day for America and myself. It's sad to see that many people have already forgotten about that day. It's not really mentioned much in the news from what I saw. I don't think I saw anything about it here in Japan either. Well, It's not like Japan has to care or anything, it didn't happen to them, so I can understand that. I spent my evening watching the web stream of the memorial in New York city. It doesn't matter how many times I see that, I always cry. You can see people holding up 9 year old photos of their family members that no longer exist. One lady made a small speech at the podium and something like, she hopes that 9-11 never becomes a national holiday in America because it's not something to celebrate and have a day off of work, it should be a day of remembrance and mourning. Another woman added that her husband was never found in the rubble so she will continue to come back every year because it is where her husband is buried. Imagine not having a body to lay to rest? That would be just horrible. I'm sure his body was incinerated instantly in the fire unfortunately. One day he's alive the next day he's gone completely. Well, sorry to go on about this saddening topic but I just had to say something about it.

One more week until I head to Mt. Fuji to climb to the top. I should probably start buying some gear right? haha OK, well enough of my rant for today. Have a wonderful day, night, whatever.

peace

vince

Untitled (actually isn't that a title...)

Hello and good Monday to you! For a change it is a wonderful sunny day here in Osaka today. I am loving the weather, after the deadful rain last week.

Well, this weekend was quite interesting. I really don't know what to say about this weekend. It was an emotional rollercoaster if you will. I won't get into details here actually. To top everything off, my modem just stopped working the other day. So I called customer service, and that was completely useless. They didn't know any English, and I was even trying to speak Japanese to them and they wouldn't help me. But they would sure damn take my money though right! ahhh so lame... Anyway this morning my co-worker (actually I could probably call her my guardian here, because she helps me with EVERYTHING!!! she is so important to me, and I can call her if I ever have a problem) called yahoo bb for me and she sorted it out quite fast. They will send me a new modem tomorrow morning, which is awesome because I don't have to go to school tomorrow. The students are going on a school field trip. Or what the Japanese like to called it, an "EXCURSION". Oh man...

My basketball kids are getting ready for a big game next weekend on the 27th. I told them that I will be going to the game and they were so damn happy! I guess they just thought that I was just playing around with them. But I actually do care about them. ;) So on that day expect some pictures from a real Japanese high school basketball game! :)

I had two classes today and I had about 20 returning students along with 16 new students. They were so happy to see me and so was I. Sometimes living in Japan by yourself can be quite depressing and sad. But when I come to school, my students usually bring a smile to my face. I know that may sound damn corny or whatever, but it's entirely true!

There is a holiday weekend coming up pretty soon called "Golden Week". I am trying to think of some kind of small trip to go on during this time. I want to see something cool in Japan. If you have any suggestions, send them this way. I will take lots of pictures and put them up on the site. Also any of my friends in Japan reading this, let's get something organized! :)

Well, I have to get back to the grind right now. I just thought I would give a little update to the infamous vince in osaka blog. You know blogging is somewhat strange. Sometimes I feel bad because I don't update much. It's like always on the back of my mind!! haha I do enjoy it though. Sometimes it's just hard to think of something to say. Well take care all...

peace

vince

The start of a new school year!

Well it's been a while since I have posted something for a while. Actually I have been quite busy at work lately. It's been raining as hell the past few days too. It always seems to rain in the morning while I ride my bike to school and about 5:30pm when I get ready ride my bike back home! lol Oh well!

So, as for school. Three English teachers were transferred to another school. So we have three new English teachers. I have met them all and they are all very nice. One of them sits right behind me. She is a very nice lady and we have chatted a few times. As for my schedule, I will officially start my first class of the new school year on Monday. I will work with a new teacher in addition to the others that I currently work with. I am very excited to work with her this year! This year is already looking to be a great start. I have also met most my of my 1st year (freshman) students. They all seem quite "genki" (excited,happy) to be in English class. It looks to be that most of my 1st year students from last semester are coming back for another round of English classes with me!!! I really enjoyed those kids, so that will be a lot of fun. Overall it's going to be great this year!

Tuesday I started to assist the basketball club in coaching. We did some shooting drills and passing drills. Afterwards we played some half court games. I played with them for about 5 games. I am focusing on helping the "center" player get stronger. I figure if he can score on me then he can score on a Japanese high school kid in a game. Today we played full court games. Since we practice with the girls team, we played a 10 min game then the girls played a 10 min game and so on. We played 3 games, and I can tell you I was dead tired afterwards. Those kids are quick! I told them to give me a month to get back into good shape and we will run all over the place! haha It was really fun, and I don't mind staying till about 6pm. I am supposed to leave at four, but I would rather just hang out with the students and help them with their skills! After a few minutes of chatting up with the volleyball players I grabbed my stuff from the teachers room and went home in the rain. haha It's quite funny sometimes, because occasionally I will glance at the door to the gym and there are usually a few teachers gathered just staring at us play basketball. I guess they were all surprised to see that I can play. I have no idea what they were gawking at, but I don't mind. There is always a random "binsu, do a dunk shot!" And I will throw down a dunk once and a while for them. :) Anyway, this is something that completely enriches my experience here. I think sports is a great way to communicate with students even if our cultures are so different. I will keep you posted on what happens. Tomorrow we have a short practice at about 2pm. I'm already looking forward to it!

Tomorrow is also the return of the infamous "happy time" party. Honestly, I can't wait to get my eating and drinking on. I haven't done much of that lately, due to sheer volume of activities I am involved in. So I will get down with that tomorrow and have a blast with my co-workers. I might take a few photos of the party so look for that coming in the next few days.

So did you like my amateur video slide show? It has been viewed close to 90 times as of now and I have no idea who has watched it. Well, except for my cousin. Let me know what ya think. If you like it, then I will try to make some more movies in the future. What else would you like to see? Give me some ideas. Sometimes I think that writing about my life could be boring to you. ahh I'm blabbing again sorry... :(
I added a crap load of new songs to my music play list. Check it out, you are bound to like a song or two there. And most likely you haven't heard any of those songs before. ;)

Oh by the way, I have been reading this excellent anthology of science fiction short stories (thanks dad). If you are even remotely interested in science fiction stories about first contact, technology and reflections then give these books a shot. The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume 1 and 2. I would recommend them! Ok, long post today! Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon! maybe... :)

peace

vince