March 2006

March 24
Erotic vs Kinky
In a recent discussion about the subtleties of certain English words, a fellow teacher defined erotic as "using a feather" and kinky as using the "whole damn chicken".
Naturally, this job has made me think about words and phrases more than I ever have before. It would seem, therefore, that my articulation skills should have improved. I believe the opposite to be true. I find that my vocabulary has decreased substantially and I catch myself saying things like, "Let`s go to there," and "Maybe yes".
In reflection, I shouldn`t be overly surprised. Talking to people with moderate to non-existent English skills for eight hours a day must lend itself to some `cross-teaching`.

As I have pointed out to some friends already, I believe that the skill that I have most improved upon is my ability to act. I paint a smile on my face for eight hours while people prattle on about nothing or...even worse...sit and stare at me through the entire `conversation` class.
That is not to say that every moment is boring. There are many funny instances that equally require the restraint of a teacher. The three best examples are as follows:

1) Last year, when a student was asked what year it was in the year of the Chinese Zodiac, he responded by saying, "It`s the year of my cock."

2) In another instant, a student was asked what he usually does on the weekends and he said that he likes "...to go to dinner. Yes, I like to eat out my wife."

3) Lastly, in a conversation between two students that were discussing theft, one turned to the other and asked, "Have you ever had a snatch?" The response was, "No...but my friend had a snatch purse."

While not necessarily priming me to be a great teacher, this job has certainly qualified me to act...just as long as no big words are required. ;)



March 03
Happy March

I apologize for being so slow at updating this site...I haven`t really had much to report since I last wrote.

Alex and I continue to adore our new apartment. We are thoroughly enjoying its convenient location, library and English TV stations (even if they are Fox and CNN). As well, our balcony overlooks the city and mountains in the distance...what luck!

Our Japanese lessons are still taking place...hard to see progress but we`re having fun.

An interesting note:
It has recently been brought to my attention by a nosey intellectual from Cambridge that the swastika of which I spoke in a previous entry is, in fact, the mirror image of that used in WWII. Banners decorated with the symbol are commonplace within temples here.　　

Apparently, varying forms of the swastika have been used within societies all over the world for centuries. They are sacred symbols found in Hinduism and Buddhism, and in many cases represent wellness and luck.
Unfortunately, Hitler and his `occult` cronies turned it into something that most of the Western world now associates with hate.
Neato - If you`re interested in learning more, the wikipedia.com site gives a great overview.

One more thing to note:
I have included a link to a Japan travel site. It has pretty good maps (and pictures) available.