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Asahikawa American English Conversation School

Snowman Japan Web Log

for December 2007

NOTE: The OBJECTIVE of this BLOG is to help my students with their study of English.

AND

For all of you, out there, around the world to;

SEE HOKKAIDO

2007 December 31 Monday.

Countdown to the new year of 2008.

Happy New Year Everybody!!!

2007 December 26 Wednesday thru December 30 Sunday.

A whole lot of stuff to write about these days, but no time to write about it. 　そうSORRY

2007 December 25 Tuesday.

Merry Christmas Everybody! Today is not a National Holiday in Japan, but it is a holiday for me, because my classroom is closed until January 7, for winter vacation. One of the things that I do every year during this time, is to get out my big writing brush and some black India Ink, and sit down at this table to write about 100 copies of the Chinese Ideograph for the Japanese word, KOKORO. See the photo above/left for details. This word means "HEART" in the spiritual sense of the word. Even though I write this same Kanji, over and over about 100 times each year, not all of them come out well. The ones that do come out well, I put my name stamp on, and laminate them. I then give them away to my students and other people that I know, as a gift. This process of writing KOKORO 100 times, takes place over several days, and is an ongoing meditation for me. I am by no means a trained calligrapher, this is the only Kanji which I practice writing. It is solely for the purpose of meditation and gift giving, giving a peaceful feeling to all who gaze upon it. PEACE is never achieved through WAR. It is achieved by being peaceful.

2007 December 24 Monday.

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my hand, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly, That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night." Poem by Clement Clarke Moore

Reading Voice by Norman Delaney Piano Music by Liz Story CLICK HERE to LISTEN Reading Voice recorded on 2006 December 24

2007 December 23 Sunday.

Today is a National Holiday in Japan. It is the Emperor's Birthday 天皇誕生日 to be exact. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko came to Asahikawa on July 4, 2003 for the first time in more than 30 years. The Royal Couple were on a tour of Hokkaido that year, and they traveled around this beautiful island by motorcade. One of the events on their schedule was to have a Luncheon Banquet at the Taisetsu Crystal Hall which is right across the street from my classroom. Because I knew the schedule of events on that day, I waited outside on the street along the route of the motorcade as it left the Luncheon Banquet at about 15:00. I was in a big crowd of people, but lucky for me, I am taller than most of the other people, so I could raise up my one-shot-at-a-time digital camera over my head in an attempt to take a photo of the Emperor as he and the Empress passed by on their way to their next event. Even though I couldn't use the viewfinder so as to be sure that I got a good photo, I got lucky none the less. As you can see from the photo on the left, this was a very lucky photo indeed, because I only had one chance. The one and only chance in my lifetime perhaps. As a result, I nailed it. Later that same day, during the evening, there was another large gathering of people, this time in front of the Asahikawa City Hall to wave up at the Royal Couple as they waved back down to the crowd below from a 15th floor window in the Asahikawa Grand Hotel. I was able to take some very interesting photos of the occasion and you can see the photo gallery for that day by clicking here. You can also read the very short essay I wrote about it by clicking here. As I said at the start of today's blog, today is a National Holiday so I had no classes to teach. With about 2 weeks of winter vacation in front of me, I began to think of all of the things that I must do, and most of the other things that I want to do. It is a rather long list.

2007 December 22 Saturday.

Today is the Winter Solstice 冬至. If you are not quite sure what that means, please consult the graphic I made on the left. In a word, the sun comes up late and goes down early. At high noon, it is the lowest in the sky that gets on any other day of the year. That's what it means, in a nutshell. In other words, the sun seems to stop its decent towards the horizon at high noon. If it continued any more, it would disappear below the horizon and the world would go dark. Forever. At least this is what many people in the ancient world believed. Those people among them who were somewhat more enlightened, knew that this exact same phenomena, happened every year at this exact same time, and these more informed people made up fantastic stories of how GOD was angry and would swallow the sun thus plunging the world into eternal darkness. UNLESS,....... The people would all gather at a certain location and perform a certain ritual, with the enlightened TEACHER at the head of the group, who told everyone that he or she had a direct pipeline to GOD. So, they all gathered together and they prayed and pleaded for three days and three nights, and low and behold, at high noon on the third day, the sun was noticeably higher in the sky than it had been before, and the world had been SAVED from eternal darkness. Coincidentally, the third day after the Winter Solstice is December 25. Also known as Christmas Day in many parts of the world. This day is proclaimed as the day that the SON of GOD was born in a manger in Bethlehem. The LIGHT of the world. Yes, indeed. The SUN is the light of the world. Always has been. Does everyone now understand why Xmas is celebrated on December 25, exactly three days after the Winter Solstice? There is a very CERTAIN REASON behind this very old custom. Always has been.

2007 December 21 Friday.

Here is another beautiful photograph from the excellent website, Rambling on My Hokkaido. This photo really captures the feeling of mid-winter in Hokkaido. Tomorrow is the start of my two week winter vacation. During this entire last week, leading up to tomorrow, I had a small Xmas Party during each and every class for all of my students. I provided lots of good stuff for them to eat and drink, and we all enjoyed a less formal environment than usual. This is one way that I use to express my heartfelt thanks and deep gratitude to each and every one of the students who come to my classroom, every week, for many years. If it wasn't for them, I couldn't be doing what I do for a living. I am a professional English teacher, and I love my life's work. However, if I didn't have any students, I couldn't live my life the way I want to. I would be forced to do something else. Like I had to do in the past when I lived in the USA. During that time, my major goal in life was to teach the Japanese Language at a college or university, become a tenured professor, and then retire on a modest pension and spend my remaining days traveling between Japan and the USA. The only problem with that, was my parents refusal to help me in any way financially, so that I could move on through the Masters Degree Program and the PhD program at the University of Washington, in Seattle. A university education can be very expensive, and I refused to take out a student loan in order to pay for it all. I don't do loans, for reasons which I wrote about in my blog of 2007 October 21 Sunday. Therefore, I worked at various jobs of many different kinds, in an attempt to save up enough money to go back to school and get the qualifications I needed to become a tenured professor of Japanese Language and Culture. I lived this way for about 6 years, all the while continuing to study the Japanese Language on my own, and talking with native speakers of the language at every chance I could get. Finally, in March of 1990, I was able to get an English teaching job at an American University in Japan. This, at last, opened the door to the world I had been waiting for, for such a long time. I made my decision to come to Asahikawa for that job, in about one nanosecond. After only two and one half years, the Japanese branch of this American university went bankrupt, and I lost my job. I had to come back to the USA for about 4 months to take care of some ugly business, but when that was all cleaned up, I came back to Asahikawa in February of 1993. I had no place to live in Asahikawa, until the very last minute before my departure from the USA. I had no job in Asahikawa, until the very last minute in April of 1993. My previous work visa was due to expire in May of 1993, so if I had not gotten that job at Asahikawa Eikaiwa when I did, I would have had no other choice but to leave Japan for Korea, and get another 3 month tourist visa. After working at Asahikawa Eikaiwa for three years, until March of 1996, I quit my job and started my own classroom. The classroom which is the love of my life nowadays. That is why I feel so much love and gratitude towards my students, and my wife Ikuko, who make it all possible. Even though I risked my very life in February of 1993 and came back to this frozen city on a LEAP OF FAITH, I know now, without any doubt, that I made the right decision. I am living my dream, and it just keeps on getting better and better every moment of every new day. Thank you so much everyone. Have a wonderful winter vacation.

2007 December 15 Saturday thru December 20 Thursday.

A whole lot of stuff to write about these days, but no time to write about it. 　そうSORRY

2007 December 14 Friday.

My teaching day started off at 9:00 at the Hokkaido Nursing Academy of Asahikawa 北海道立旭川高等看護学院. Today Ikeda Sensei and I each had two classes instead of just one, for a total of 3 hours in a row. As I do every year at this time of the season, I showed each of the classes, two 30 minute video animations. One is called Father Christmas and the other is called The Snowman. Both of these stories were written by the Englishman, Raymond Briggs. I first saw these two animations way back in 1993 on one of the NHK Broadcast Satellite channels. I was quick witted enough at the time to put a new video cassette tape into my VCR and record them. One of the unique things about The Snowman animation is that there is absolutely no spoken dialogue in it, except at the very beginning of the movie when the narrator says; I remember that winter, because it brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen. The snow had fallen steadily all night long. And in the morning I awoke in a room filled with light and silence. The whole world seemed to be held in a dreamlike stillness. It was a magical day. And it was on that day, I made The Snowman. The rest of the 30 minute movie is composed of colors, images and background music only. Despite the lack of spoken words, the meaning of the story comes through loud and clear. This is an animation that can be enjoyed by both young and old alike. Regardless of native language or ethnic origin. It is a universal story theme and will most likely endure for a long, long time to come. The soft pastel style of the artwork in the animation is very calm and soothing as is the musical score that serves as the BGM. At the very end of the movie there is an extremely thought provoking moment. The young boy, who built the snowman, is given a blue and white muffler by Santa Claus as a Christmas present, while the little boy and The Snowman are attending a Snowmen Only Xmas Party in a distant snow covered forest, far from the little boy's home. After the party, he and The Snowman, fly back to the little boy's home. The young boy hugs The Snowman, and then goes back inside his house to go to bed. The next morning when the little boy wakes up, he goes back outside to see The Snowman again, but The Snowman has already completely melted. He is very sad and teary eyed. Then, he reaches into the left pocket of his night robe, and pulls out the blue and white muffler that Santa Claus had given him the night before at the snowmen only, winter party. The obvious question is; Was it all just a dream, or was it reality? And by the way, how do you know that you are not dreaming right here and now? Think about that for a moment. After the two short animated movies were finished, I asked the students the following question; "Is this English class that we are all participating in today, a REALITY,.... OR,..... is it a DREAM. One student raised her hand and said; "It is a REALITY!" My next question was; "How do you know?" She replied; "Because I am here. I can see everyone. I can touch and feel my desk. I feel hungry right now. I can taste this bottle of tea that I am drinking, and I feel a bit cold, in this room." I replied; "OK,.... Have you ever experienced these exact same sensations during your sleeping time, only to awaken suddenly in your bed, and realize that it was only something that you experienced while you were dreaming?" She replied; "Yes." And most of the other students agreed with her. How about you? Have you ever gone to bed at night, and at sometime during your "sleep", been in a situation that was so real, that you felt disappointed when you "awoke", and remembered that it was only a "dream"? I have experienced this sensation, a countless number of times. I'll bet that, you have also. Welcome to Dreamland. 24/7.

2007 December 10 Monday thru December 13 Thursday.

A whole lot of stuff to write about these days, but no time to write about it. 　そうSORRY

2007 December 9 Sunday.

Yes, it is that time of year again. Getting close to the Winter Solstice, the Longest Dark Night and the Shortest Bright Day of the Earth's one year Solar Cycle. This is not rocket science folks, this is the CERTAIN and easily predictable tipping point for the Earth, in its never ending cycles for the change of seasons. It comes and goes. You can bet the farm on it. One of my lingering social customs, during this time of year, is to put up a big bright Xmas tree, every year. The slide show you can see above/left is the photographic evidence of this year's 4 step process for making another version of that old European favorite, the TANNENBAUM.

2007 December 5 Wednesday thru December 8 Saturday.

A whole lot of stuff to write about these days, but no time to write about it. 　そうSORRY

2007 December 4 Tuesday.

Another beautiful photograph from the website Rambling On My Hokkaido. This is a photograph of Mt. Yotei, also known as Ezo Fuji, that was taken on November 4 of this year, at 17:24. I am currently using this photo as the wallpaper 壁紙 for my personal computer. If you also would like to use this photo as a wall paper on your PC, it is OK with the photographer, if you do so. He even says so at the top of every page on his very extensive website. Click here to go to the original high resolution version of this photograph, above/left. You too can copy and paste it into your PC, and enjoy it just like I do, everyday. If you can read Japanese, you also get the benefit of reading his detailed descriptions of each and every photo. Obviously, this guy knows a whole lot about, all aspects of Hokkaido. In fact, I am using his website as another study guide, for next year's 北海道観光マスター検定 in November of 2008. On a different subject,.... Yesterday my classroom received a phone call, from the mother of one of my former students. Her son first came to my classroom in 2001, when he was 8 years old. Shortly before he came to my classroom for the first time, he and his family had lived in Houston Texas, for about 6 months. Without knowing any English at all, he was enrolled in a regular Houston elementary school. In other words, he had massive exposure to spoken American English, from a very early age. As a result, his EARS were naturally tuned into the music. The music which is spoken language. Any spoken language. In this case, American English. Anyway, his mother called my classroom again today, and asked for a consultation session with her son, and his father, TODAY. We were able to schedule them in for one hour, starting at 18:00. When the now almost 15 years old N君 walked into my classroom, I was taken aback, by the fact that he is now, as tall as I am, and very handsome, and able to engage in English Conversation with ease, and fluency. What a pleasant surprise. He told me for the first time today, that he has been playing golf, since the age of 9 years old. A good looking guy like this, who can speak perfect English, and play golf very well, has a lot of opportunities in this BIG WORLD we all "live" in. Thank you for coming back to my classroom again, after all of these years. You and I, will get yourself very well prepared, for your soon to come, 3 years of living in Australia and going to a senior high school there, all at the same time. What a trip. Is it any wonder that I love my life's WORK? A Work and a Wonder.

2007 December 3 Monday.

It's time to sing some Xmas Songs. I think I'll bring my guitar along. This morning at Chestnut Tree Kindergarten くりの木幼稚園, I sang 5 Xmas songs, SLOWLY, in English in front of all 220 some children. They already knew two of them, but they sing them in Japanese. So, we had a bilingual sing along. Last night, I spent some 3 or 4 hours making the 6 laminated flash cards that you can see in the photo above/left. When I did this same gig last year, I though to myself, that it would be nice to have a big colorful picture that I could use to explain the song before I start singing it. Suddenly, last night I remembered that tomorrow is that gig again!!! RUSH JOB. But, I got it done, and it worked well today. Each flash card represents one song. Starting in the upper left corner is the one for Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer. Below that is the one for Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. Top center, Jingle Bells. Below that, Frosty The Snow Man. Upper right corner, Winter Wonderland which I did not sing today, and lower right corner, you guessed it,.....Silent Night. I'll be doing this again at the Young Buds Kindergarten, next Monday morning. I also wrote a short essay entitled; The Century of Self * Edward Bernays and the Art of Public Relations. You can read it too by clicking here. If you have time, you can also watch a very interesting BBC documentary about it on You Tube by clicking here. Things aren't always what they seem to be. Thoughts are things. Action ALWAYS follows Thought. The Thought always comes First. The action always follows the thought. Think about it.