ブログ北海道　旭川市　英会話　スクール WEB LOG Snowman Japan Hokkaido Asahikawa BLOG　

www.snowmanjapan.net

for November 2006

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

2006 November 30 Thursday.

The last day in November 2006. How appropriate. The white stuff, coming down big time. This same veranda, with the same illumination, becomes a BBQ party place during the summer months. Today, it looks a whole lot different. No cooking outside, but it does make a great cooler for my beer supply. Keeps champange nice and cold for Xmas and New Year's Eve as well. It is a multi purpose balcony. I wonder if I will get enough snow this year to make an igloo カマクラ just outside my window. That would be cool. More than cool. Something to chill in. Drink some hot sake and write a poem or two. Why not? All I need is more snow. I already have the shovel and other tools I will need to carve out the snow dwelling. This project is still a few weeks off, so I'll think about that later. Right now I need to,.....

2006 November 29 Wednesday.

The photo on the left was taken on Sunday, November 19. It shows my view from the window of the Snow Radio recording and broadcasting studio. Sunday was a sunny day. For details, read my blog of that day.

2006 November 28 Tuesday.

The photo on the left shows the present condition of my attempt 3 years ago to make a snowflake-shaped illumination. What does it look like to you? This is the thing that I was talking about in yesterday's blog. The multi-hour, wire bending exercise in semi-frustration turned into pleasure as a new design took form. It has two strings of blue tube lights that can be set to blink in about 8 or 10 different patterns, so watching this thing on a warm summer's night with a cold mug of beer, has its own unique benefits. That's why I still leave it up on my balcony, even though it doesn't look much like a snowflake.

2006 November 27 Monday.

After spending 3 days, doing many different things, but not doing any writing, I am back into the blog-o-sphere again. One of the many things that Ikuko and I did on Saturday and Sunday, was to drive around town and look for a suitable Xmas tree for our classroom. I have been looking around for several years now, and have never been able to find one that looks good enough for a reasonable price. My main complaint in the past was that the lower priced trees all looked so scrawny, and without many green pine needles. Finally, this year, we found a suitable artificial tree-looking creation at one of the many HOMAC stores, in Asahikawa. It is 180 cm tall and fits perfectly into the corner of our little classroom. I have many types and colors of lights that I have purchased throughout the years, so I used most of them to decorate our new tree. I spent most all of last night getting the tree display into its basic starting position, as you can see from the photo on the left. As for the big snowflake-shaped illumination, hanging from the window next to the tree, I bought it just yesterday for less than 4,000 yen at おもちゃのヨシダ. They have a very wide selection of Xmas decorations and accessories, so Ikuko and I go there every year in November, to take a look at what they have in stock. The snowflake pattern light that I bought yesterday, is the best one of it's kind that I have ever seen in this city, so far. About 3 years ago, I tried to make one just like it by myself. However, after twisting around for several hours on the wire in an attempt to make the frame, I ended up with something that looked more like the 3D model of a simple atom, and less like a single 2D snowflake. I simply don't have the tools I need, to bend wire like that. I had the will and the desire to make it by myself. I even had the crystal clear visualization in my head of what I wanted it to look like. The problem is, I didn't have the right tools to make it manifest into "hard" reality so, all of my efforts ended up becoming something completely different than what I had envisioned, in the firt place. Something that did not look at all, like a snowflake. I needed some expert advice, and it came to me in the form of a ready-made solution for my desire, made by somebody else, and at a very reasonable price. SOLD. You have made what I wanted to make, and at a very affordable price. It really is quite amazing. The shapes and designs that have become recently by using only wire frames and tube lighting. If I had the tools that these companies do, I too could easily imagine myself creating and making a huge variety of decorative illumination displays. I think it would be a lot of fun. But as for this RIDE AROUND, I am but an ENGLISH teacher, living in Hokkaido. The Alaska (but much nicer) of Japan. If I had to make a choice to live here, or live anywhere else, I would choose to live here, every time. Assuming that I have 100% total freedom of choice, in making my decision. Anyway, my first gig of today started off at about 10:45 at the 朝日小学校. I am not a regular guest teacher here, and today was only my 3rd time to make a presentation to the staff and students. Today, it was a class of 6th graders. The teacher and the students had prepared their own presentation, about using less toilet paper, and conserving the trees in the forest. Before the class started, I saw the many sheets of paper that the teacher and the students had prepared for today's lesson. It was obvious to me that they had spent a lot of time on this. However, the presentations of the 4 student groups within that one class, were very mechanical. Almost robot-like. All of the students were very tense and overly concerned about making mistakes. That soon changed after their presentation had ended, and mine had begun. Being a native speaker of American English, it is easy for me to rattle off a stream of words using gestures and intonations to convey meaning, even when the student's English vocabulary may be lacking in some areas. However, it is not just because I have been speaking English since the day I was born. It is also an accumulation of more that 16 years of experience, being in front of students everyday, and learning "language instruction techniques" in real time. Beyond a doubt, that makes the biggest difference. Also, I use the guitar and my singing voice, which I have been developing over and even longer period of time, almost 50 years. In essence, I have learned how to capture the student's attention from the very first nano-second when I start EACH and EVERY class, and hold their attention, until the end. Basic Theater 101. The students are having such a good time during the "LESSON" that when the class time is finished, they cry out for more. Hey guys, sorry. I have a lot more to give, but that will have to wait for another day. See you again, next time. Teaching languages has always been my favorite subject, because there is sooooooooooo much you can talk about. I mean,... think about it for a moment. Language is used to teach every other subject at school, from Social Studies to Science and everything else in between. Even at a college or a university, no matter what special area of study or research you are involved in, a language, any language, is everybody's tool of communication, together with, and all among, each other. Complex language systems and the ability of humans to see outside of themselves and talk about bigger concepts, and to make tools, is what makes us, homo sapiens, so special and unique here on this planet Earth. Wouldn't it be nice if people could stop talking nonsense most of the time, and get down to a discussion of REAL UNIVERSAL CONCEPTS? We need less distractions, and more mutual attractions. This could put an end to WAR as we know it. We all have so much more in common than we have as differences. Let's shut down the outside noise, and look at the voice within. Therein lies the answer to WORLD PEACE. Love yourself and love everybody else as well. If you love yourself, loving other people will come naturally, automatically, without any detailed analysis of each and every person and/or situation. Go with the flow. Be true to yourself first. Everything else will follow naturally. It is just like the flow of WATER, isn't it. It is so simple, it's beautiful. It's H2O. It's 1, 2, 3, It's A, B, C,.... It's A thru Z. It's the Alpha and the Omega. It's endless. It's you and me. Forever. An unbroken CIRCLE. The circle of LIFE. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 26 Sunday.

Lots more to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY. What is writing anyway?

2006 November 25 Saturday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. That' right! SORRY. Oh no, more Belgium Beer! Is this stuff habit forming? Could be.

2006 November 24 Friday.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it. SORRY. Try this Belgium Beer sometime. It's 8.5% alcohol. Malty.

2006 November 23 Thursday.

Today is a National Holiday in Japan known as 勤労感謝の日. I call it Labor Thanksgiving Day. Also, today is a National Holiday in the USA called simply, Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day in the USA falls on the fourth Thursday in November, every year. This year it just happens to fall on November 23, so the two national holidays in Japan and the USA, coincide. However, it is not this way every year because the Japanese holiday is always on the 23rd of November, regardless of the day of the week upon which it falls. As a result, my classroom was closed today, so I used my extra free time to write some more pages for one of my many textbooks. I have written numerous textbooks, but none of them are finished yet. In fact, none of them will ever be finished, because when a student or a group of students have learned the newest page of any of my textbooks, I will write a new page or pages for them. Although about 90% of my textbooks are conversation dialogues, the other 10% deal with vocabulary and word associations. Today, I wrote three new pages for a textbook entitled Word Associations Fill in the 4th Word. For example page one starts out with; "red, yellow, green, _____." Any word that a student wants to write into the space for the 4th word is OK. There are no "correct or incorrect" answers. Some answers make more sense than others, but it is totally up to the student, to decide which word best fits the "pattern" of the first three words. What would be your answer for the forth word in the above example? I my case, I say; "blue". Other students have said "traffic lights", "the rainbow", "colors", etc. This is only the first example on the first page, of this endless conversation reference book. The vocabulary items, and associative concepts get more and more complex as the page numbers advance. While I was making these 3 new pages today, I had my own ideas as to how the thinking process, using these vocabulary items should proceed, but those are only my ideas. Some students have the same ideas as mine, but many don't. It is interesting to see what the students come up with for their 4th word. Sometimes their answers surprise and delight me. Many times, their answers introduce me to a new thought process. One that I have never noticed before. Is it any wonder that I love my classroom? My very own classroom, which started with just a thought. A thought that has become a physical reality since more than 10 years ago. A reality that is in fact, MY LIFE and my life's WORK. I AM, what I THINK, and,..... what I DO. At all times. The COSMOS is my canvas and my playground. It is also yours, as well, because we are all connected. Everything is connected. Everything blends into ONENESS. LIKE WATER H2O CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 22 Wednesday.

What a difference one day can make. Yesterday it was warm and rainy, today it was cold and snowy with high winds blowing all the white stuff around in big swirling clouds. We have a saying up here in Hokkaido; "If you don't like the weather right now, wait a few minutes and it will change." It really is the truth. All of my classes for today, were held at my school so I didn't have to go anywhere, if I didn't want to. In fact the only time I set foot outside today, was to walk over to the Seikyo Supermarket at about 20:10 to get some food and drink. That short 3 minute walk, was about enough for today's weather conditions. Not because of the snow, but because of the freezing cold wind that came along with it. If there is no wind at all, a night time walk in the snowy winter wonderland is an amazing experience. Especially if the sky is clear, and you can see the stars and planets. There will be plenty of those evenings coming soon. I am looking forward to it again this year. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 21 Tuesday.

It is not snowing today, it is raining. It's not raining that hard, and the rain is not that cold. Neither is the air temperature. In fact, it's a rather warm day for November in Hokkaido. A very good day to get in my van and drive over to Asahikawa University for my first class of the day which starts at 10:40. I arrived on the campus at about 10:25, a bit earlier than usual. I didn't need to have any copies made in the university office today, because I still had some left over from my lesson of last year, at about this same time. So, I went straight up to Prof. Sugawa's Office. Today we discussed about how we should conduct the final exam for these 30 some students which we both teach on alternate days. During the brief 10 minutes that we had before my class started, we reached a preliminary agreement about how we should test, and then evaluate our group of students. We used common sense, and a respect for the feelings and individuality of each and every student under our gentle guidance. The students' ability to survive in THE REAL WORLD, after graduation from the university, is the starting point of our thinking process. This trait, we both have in common. I firmly believe that attending a college or a university, or any other higher level of training after high school is very important. Not because of the good or bad marks that you might receive on your "REPORT CARD", but mostly important because of the people you will meet, and be influenced by, and the people that you will influence, just by meeting them face to face on a regular basis. HUMAN INTERACTION　is another common term to describe this fact of the electro-magnetic universe. It is very important to put out good vibes that the students can ride upon, and have both and enjoyable and informative time while in the classroom. By the way, the photo in today's blog is of a new, limited edition 限定 of Yebisu Kohaku All Malt Beer. How does it taste? Click yellow link to hear my reading of today's blog, along with my real time comments about this beer, as I take my first taste. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 20 Monday.

Today is the big day for, guess who. See the photo on the left for details. It's my new neighbor. The Kagura Branch of the North Pacific Bank. I have this feeling that I may even know one of the new employees at this branch office. I don't yet know this for sure, but I have a hunch. I was scheduled to go to the Kuri no Ki Kindergarten at 10:00 this morning, but I have had a rather sore throat since Friday night, so I sent them a FAX last night, asking to be given a day off, because my poor old tired voice couldn't speak above the chatter of a big hall filled with about 200 kids and several teachers. I don't want to blow out my vocal cords. I need them to make a living. That being the case, my first real class of the day started at 13:00 at the 神楽公民館英会話を楽しむ会. Today, I didn't arrive at the classroom until almost 13:15. I explained that I had been held hostage by a hot tub of water, and it took me some time to escape from it. Even though it sounded like a joke, it was in fact true. I was moving a bit slower this morning than usual. I had to clean up my classroom after a weekend of using it as a radio recording studio. That tidy-up project took about an hour to pull off. Anyway, almost everyone was in attendance today, including one new face. A Mrs. N, who was born and raised in Hokkaido and has a 13 year old son, who plays golf! Plays golf? It's wonderful to hear some rare news like that. I think Tiger Woods started playing around with a golf club and ball, when he was about 3 years old. The younger they start, the better they can become in later life. As for me, I can't play golf at all. About 5 or 6 years ago, I inherited a full set of golf clubs from my brother-in-law, because he had bought a new set for himself. I used to go to the GoDo Sports Practice Range several times a week to try and learn how to hit the ball, starting with a 7 iron. After a few months of banging away with mostly the 7 iron, I decided to try my hand at a driver one night. I set the ball on the tee, and stood up to assume the position for making a drive from the starting tee. I pulled back on the club and let her rip. To my amazement, and everyone else's amusement, the golf ball went straight up, hitting the overhead steel bar and then bouncing up and down in a yo-yo like manner about 5 or 6 more times. What a loser! I think I'll go back to the 7 iron for the time being. That is an old story because I haven't been back there in about 4 or 5 years. It's too cold to go now. Besides, I have a lot of other things that I want to do. Mostly on the World Wide Web. Let's get wired and plug in. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 19 Sunday.

Sunday was a sunny day. Can you say that three times in a row, very rapidly? All of the students who come to my classroom can say it like that. It's a part of their lesson for learning how to say the days-of-the-week, words. Anyway, it truly is a beautiful, warm and sunny day today. It's warm because there is no wind. I woke up at about 6:00 this morning and took the photo you can see in yesterday's blog. While I was sitting here in my classroom, updating this blog, suddenly all of the electricity in this building, Taiyo no Sato, went out. "What happened?" I said to myself, out loud. I looked at the clock on my laptop computer screen and it said 8:00. Then I looked out of the window and noticed that all of the traffic lights were working just fine, so I knew right away, that it was not a neighborhood-wide BLACK OUT 停電. After confirming that, I got up and checked the breakers on the electrical junction box in my classroom. They were OK too. Then, I opened the door to the hallway and looked outside. All of the lights in the hallway were out as well. "What's going on here?" I asked myself again. I walked down to the first floor, to see if the watchman was at his post, and I found that he was. I asked him if the entire building has lost its electricity and he replied; "Yes". I waited a few seconds for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. So I popped the big question, "WHY?" He said that there was an inspection of the building's electrical system being conducted right now. Again I had to enquire further so I said, "Until what time will the inspection last?" He said; "8:50". Say what? My wife just woke up and needs to go to work at the Kagura HOMAC by 9:00. She always takes a shower before she goes, but without electricity, the water heater doesn't work, so she won't be able to wash up before she leaves for work today, will she. I didn't say this to the watchman, but I thought it to myself as I turned around and walked back up the stairs to my classroom. When I got to the top of the steps on the 2nd floor, I noticed a small piece of paper, one half the size of a sheet of A4 sized copy paper, taped to the wall next to the elevator entrance. It looked similar to the NOTICE I had received from North Pacific Bank about their parking lot situation, but when I got up close and took a good look at it, I could read the message loud and clear. It said; There will be a power outage in this building on Sunday November 19, from 8:00 until 8:50, therefore the ELEVATOR won't be working during that time. Oh! So now I get the message. I ripped the notice off of the wall and took it with me back to my room. I showed it to my wife and said; "Did you get this notice in our mailbox?" She said; "No, I've never seen it before." My reply was; "Neither have I." Ya see, I don't use the elevator very often because I live on the second floor. I usually take the stairs. The good news is that the electricity came back on at about 8:15. I didn't lose any data from my PC because, being a laptop, the battery kicked in immediately when the power went off in the building. However I did lose my internet connection during that time because my Local Area Network equipment shut down, when the juice in the building was cut. Maybe next time, the building's management team, could put a printed notice in everybody's mail box so that there won't be any nasty surprises. I mean, what if I or someone else was taking a shower, and suddenly the lights went out and the hot water became veeeeeery cold. That would suck big time, wouldn't it. Paying customers don't like nasty surprises. Anyway, because my train of thought while writing this blog was already broken, and I had turned off my PC to save the battery, I decided to go take a long walk in the morning calm. I'm glad I did because it was absolutely beautiful. I walked down to the bank of the Biei River, and then through the 見本林 and over towards the southeast. I was even able to take some very nice photos, one of which you can see on the left. The power-down in this building, 太陽の郷 turned out to be a very good thing after all, because I usually go for a walk after sunset. A sunrise walking expedition is something that I really should do more often. And so should you. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 18 Saturday.

There's a new kid in town. New to Kagura that is. It's my new neighbor NORTH PACIFIC BANK 北洋銀行. Nice to meet ya. How's it goin', eh? The official opening ceremony will be on Monday, November 20. The new bank was even nice enough to put a one page, three color NOTICE in my door's mail slot, asking me to please move my van out of the parking lot for their big opening day ceremony which will start at 08:30 and end at about 10:00. OK guys, I'll move my HOTEL NOAH over to another parking area, in front of the big building. But I'll be back, shortly thereafter. Wait a minute! Now that the bank is here, they have taken a good portion of the parking area for their very own customer parking which means, there is less parking for us folks who live right next door. Damn! Unless,...... I go and open a brand new bank account there, about 1000 yen should get me in the door, then I too will be a customer of North Pacific Bank. If I too am a customer, then I can park in the customers only parking area of this parking lot. Right? Makes sense to me. If I ever get a notice on my windshield that says, "This area is for customer parking only", I can take the notice into the bank with me, show it to the manager along with my bank account book, and see what happens next. After all, we must play THE GAME by THE RULES. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 17 Friday.

I didn't have any classes until 13:30, so I sat around reading various materials. I sit around a lot these days. I need more exercise. I don't really have time today, to take a walk. Well, that's not quite true. I do have the time. I'm up and awake. I could change my clothes, dress up real warm, and set foot outside my door. I do in fact have the time. Maybe I should,....... Naaaaaaaaah! Maybe tomorrow. Today, I'm a blogger in a foxhole. I need to keep my head down, and my spirits up. I need to write. Write whatever, for whomever, for whatever reason in order to, THINK. But seriously folks, it is getting coooooooooold outside these days. Ya need to think twice, before you take a hike. Dress appropriately, or feel the harsh air of late autumn in Hokkaido. Mother nature doesn't screw around. She dishes it out, and you take it. The best way that you can. Fortunately, I live in a very civilized society here in Asahikawa, and there are very very few truly homeless people in this city. There are about 2 or 3 people I have observed from time to time, who live under the Chubetsu Bridge, not far from my classroom. This type of thing was much more common in 1945, not just in Asahikawa, but all over Japan as it was trying to figure out how to make sense of the world, from the nuclear fallout and firebombed neighborhoods, laying in ashes for miles and miles. Homeless. In 1945, you would be lucky to find a bridge to sleep under. The Asahikawa of 2006 is a much more comfortable place to live than it was just 60 some years ago. Hmmmmm,..... let's see, that was about 10 years before I was born in a small city in Washington State. How did I end up here? Simple, I made the choice. I have long wanted to live in Hokkaido, and now I do. Since about 16 years ago. How do I like it? I LOVE IT!!!!! Thanx for asking. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 16 Thursday.

A very cold day with light and fluffy snow falling softly from the sky. I didn't have to go anywhere today. The students will be coming to my classroom, starting at 15:00 with the 3 young ladies who attend Kagura Elementary School. Again today, they kept telling me how much they wanted to have a small Xmas Party during their last class before winter vacation, which will happen on December 21. So, I rewarded their persistence with the promise that we would have a special little Xmas Party, just for them, on that day from 15:00 until 15:50. We decided to have a small gift exchange, along with some drinks and snacks. Also a small Xmas Tree and some extra illumination in the room were deemed to be in good order. I too am looking forward to this little event, but I know that the next group of students who come at 16:00, will see what is going on, and will want to do the same thing too. I must think about how to handle this situation in the best possible manner, so that nobody feels like they have been left out. Maybe I should have a small Xmas Party for almost every children's class during the final week before winter vacation starts. Hey, that might be a very good idea. Everything starts with an idea, but what will happen next, is anybody's guess. One thing I know for sure, I won't be giving the children any Coca Cola to drink during the party. It's not good for them. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 15 Wednesday.

I had no classes until 16:00 today, so I had plenty of time to sit down and read the Hokkaido Newspaper for the first time, in a long time. Maybe I spend too much time on the internet, both reading content, and producing my own content for the web. Then again, their is so much more that I can do with this website now and into the future, that I really need to spend more time working on it. Anyway, time is all I have so, making to most of it, in whatever way, is my first priority. Again today, as with every week on Wednesday at 19:00, I had a class with the two ladies who speak English very well, and the nice gentleman who just started taking lessons here at my classroom only about 3 weeks ago. I have an interesting story to tell you about this nice gentleman. About 4 or 5 weeks ago, he called my classroom and asked to come over for a free trial lesson. When he came to my classroom for the first time, he walked in the door and said; "Norman, do you remember me?" I looked at him for a few seconds, but I couldn't figure out where we had meet before, so I said; "Were you in my English class at Asahikawa University some years ago?" He said; "No, I used to work at 常口アトム, the apartment finding company, and you and your wife did the paperwork with me, when you rented your previous apartment near 新橋." Finally, everything fell into place. But that meeting was more than 14 years ago. Why did he remember me? He said that he remembered me because of my unusual name chop はんこ which reads 北男 a direct translation of my first name, Norman which really means NORTH MAN. I have to admit that my name chop is very different from any other, and may be the only one of its kind in Japan. This name chop itself also has a very interesting history. It was given to me as a gift, by a young Japanese girl who stayed at my home in Seattle, during a 2 month home stay program in about 1986 or 1987. I had sent her a letter written in Japanese and I wrote my name as 北男 at the end of the letter. She saw this unusual name and went to a name chop maker, and had a special name chop made just for me using the same kanji. I was very surprised and happy to receive this gift, and little did I know at that time, but I would be using it in Japan, in just a few short years. I even went to the Asahikawa City Hall and had my name chop registered. Nowadays, I have a different official name chop that I use for important documents, but I still use my old 北男　name chop for my teacher's work attendance sheets when I teach a class at the university or the nursing schools. Everything starts with an idea. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 14 Tuesday.

There was no snow or ice on the roads today, so it made my drive over to Asahikawa University this morning a pleasure. When I arrived on campus at about 10:30, I had some copies made in the office, and then I went up to Professor Sugawa's office on the 5th floor. However, again today, just like last week, the lights were out and nobody was home. Hmmmm, I wonder if everything is alright with the good professor. Last week, I went back up to his office after my class was finished at about 12:10, and the lights were still out and still, nobody was at home. However, today when my class was finished at the same time of about 12:10, Professor Sugawa was waiting for me outside of my classroom on the 3rd floor. He told me, that there was a 4th year student in his office who wanted to talk to me about taking English Conversation Lessons at my classroom, Snowman Bei Kaiwa. When I got to the professor's office, I recognized the face of the student. He had been in my English class about 3 years ago when he was a freshman at Asahikawa University. The student told me about the fact of, his going to Vancouver Canada in a few months, for a working/holiday visit of about 2 months or so. He will be working as a licensed ski instructor during that time. He told me that professor Sugawa had recommend me and my classroom to him, and that he had enjoyed my English class, when he was a freshman at this university, so he has decided to attend my classroom, and brush up on his English conversation skills, before his departure to Canada. I was very glad to hear this because I pride myself on being able to help the Japanese people, whom I meet and talk to everyday, MOSTLY in THEIR native tongue, to improve their level of spoken English in an interesting and enjoyable manner. The student said that he would drop by my classroom today at about 17:00 to decide upon which days and which times he would be able to start his lessons. I told him that I would be looking forward to meeting him again today at my classroom, but that I would be teaching a lesson at that time, so he should make the necessary arrangements with my office manager, Ikuko. Sure enough, at exactly 17:00, he came to my classroom and decided to take lessons twice a week. Once on Mondays and then again on Wednesdays. He expressed his desire to take a private lesson every time, but when he saw the price, he thought about it twice. Fortunately for him, I have the policy at my classroom where a student can take a private lesson during the group lessons time-frame, 15:00 - 20:00, for the price of a group lesson, but only if that student is the only student in that lesson time slot. Many students throughout the years have benefited from this generous policy of my classroom. My pricing system is very simple. I sell lesson tickets. If a student wants to take a group lesson, all they have to do is make an appointment, and give me one lesson ticket at the start of their lesson. If they want to take a private lesson, they can do so at almost anytime that I am available, and they must pay cash each time they take a private lesson. This simple-minded system, makes the accounting work for my office manager, Ikuko, very simple and straight forward. It also makes my teaching life very relaxed, as well. Don't have a lesson ticket? Buy more. You don't need to pay a whopping 350,000 yen to get started at my school. About 15,000 yen will get you in the door, and started on your new adventure. How you want to proceed from there is your decision. Continue the lessons, or not. Nobody ever needs to take out a loan to get started at my school. The very big and well known Eikaiwa Chain Schools in Japan, have a very different system. They also do a hell of a lot of advertising on radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. They have even gone so far as to paint, entire city buses with their company logos, and use the buses as traveling signboards. Think about this for a minute. If these big chain schools are so damn good, then why do they need to spend huge sums of money on this constant advertising? Wait a minute! Coca Cola does the same thing! Is there anybody out there who has never heard of Coca Cola? Nobody? I thought so! But, what is Coca Cola really selling? They are selling a beverage that is made from; sugar, carbonated water 炭酸飲料 and a brown syrup that was made according to a secret recipe. Is this beverage 飲み物 good for you? Is it healthy? Do you get any REAL BENEFIT from it? Only if you BELIEVE that you do. And what you believed about Coca Cola depends a lot upon what you have heard about the beverage. And most of the stuff you have heard about Coca Cola is what the company itself, the company which makes the beverage has told you about it, THROUGH THEIR ADVERTISING. It's so simple, it's beautiful, isn't it. Can't decide what to buy while standing in front of a vending machine 自動販売機 for beverages? Buy COKE! It's the real thing! The real thing of your imagination. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 13 Monday.

Snow on the van. Time to get out the long arm of the law. The snow removal operations season has officially opened. It also helps to have a remote control engine starter, used about 10 to 20 minutes before planned departure time. It makes ice removal from the windows so much easier. But wait! I'm getting ahead of myself. It wasn't that cold today. My first gig of the day started at about 10:50 at the Asahi Elementary School 朝日小学校. This was my second time to visit this school, and both times for the same purpose. Give a 60 minute presentation, 99% in English, to either the 3rd graders or the 6th graders. Today it was the 3rd graders. The student's teacher, S先生, started off the class with the song YANKEE DOODLE which the students sang along to while she played the keyboards. By the way S先生 is a very accomplished piano player, and in fact plays semi-professionally with a swing jazz orchestra called A FLAT. I have seen her perform many times. I know all of this, because she also attended my classroom for a while, about 7 or 8 years ago. Anyway, after the kids where finished singing, I gave them a big round of applause, and asked S先生 to play the song one more time on the keyboards, and let me sing it once. So she did. Instead of singing in a serious voice, I sang in the voice of PORKY PIG. I don't think anyone caught on to my poor imitation of the cartoon character's voice. After that, I got out my bag of tricks and started with the COLOR flash cards followed by the NUMBER flash cards. Then I used the WEATHER flash cards, followed by the FOOD flash cards. Into the second half, I went with the ALPHABET FONIX flash cards and that led into my first song of the day. I got out my folk guitar and we sang the ABC song a few times using different rhythms and timings. Next song, Old MacDonald's Farm. An all time favorite with young kids. Then for the big finale, BINGO THE DOG with student clap along, and the whole nine yards. That was the end of my presentation. The class ended with the children singing a very nice song for me in Japanese while S先生 was on the keyboards. I said, "See you again!" and left the classroom. After a few formalities in the school office, I was on the road, headed back to my classroom. Next gig starts at 13:00. No time to eat lunch either. I'm on the busy body diet today. To busy to eat. Maybe I can eat between 14:40 and 15:00. I'll try to squeeze it in. By the way, the photo in today's blog was taken by me on February 19 of this year at Takasu Melody Hall. The woman standing on stage directing the orchestra is S先生 the kids on stage with her, playing swing jazz, are all students at the Asahi Elementary School. Their band is called the Sunrise Cherry Orchestra. I have seen them perform two or three times before, and I must say that they are very good. CLICK here TO LISTEN

2006 November 12 Sunday.

What is that white stuff, falling out of the sky? Does GOD have dandruff? If I reach out my hand to touch it, it is very cold, and turns into water as soon as it touches my skin. If it's water, why doesn't it look like rain? Why is snow WHITE??? Can you answer that question in 25 words or less? You can if you click here and visit the very fascinating website, Snow Crystals . com Everything you've always wanted to know about SNOW, but were too lazy to ask, is explained here with beautiful snow crystal photos, and graphical representations of the different varieties of the basic HEXAGON shape, that is the basis of all snow flakes. How many snowflakes can we see in the sky? Zillions and zillions and zillions and zillions and********** CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 11 Saturday.

Another cold and rainy day. A good day to stay inside and become more computer literate. Oh, by the way, speaking of GRAND OPENINGs as I mentioned briefly in yesterday's blog, a childhood friend of my wife, together with her husband, just opened a brand new restaurant today. It is called the Mongol ShokuDo モンゴル食堂. See the photo on the left for details. Because it was raining, and I will be drinking beer at their new restaurant tonight, Ikuko and I called a taxi and rode over to the new place, arriving just before 18:00. It was already full so we had to wait about 10 minutes or so. Ikuko first met the owner's wife, whose name is also Ikuko, when they were both in the 2nd grade of elementary school. I met the husband of my wife's childhood friend only about 2 or 3 years ago. Last summer, on August 7, we played together in a band with 3 other people. I played the bass guitar, and he played a percussion instrument known as the KaHo. You can see a photo gallery of that day's events, by clicking here. This new restaurant also has a stage area, for live music. I have this funny feeling that the owner and I will be getting together again in a few months or so, and making some music. I'm ready any time. My wife Ikuko and I ate and drank our fill, and bid congratulations and farewell to the owner and his wife at about 20:00. When we stepped outside of the restaurant, the rain had mostly stopped, so we decided to see how far we could walk on our way back home. About half way there,　it started raining again, so I hailed a taxi passing by on the street, and we rode the rest of the way in comfort. Another new family business has just started in Asahikawa. I will do my best to support it in anyway I can. Maybe by playing music for free on certain occasions, and drawing a bigger crowd from time to time. It is something that the owner and I both like to do. Play live music. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 10 Friday.

My first gig of the day was at the DoKan Nursing School, starting at 9:00. Most of the students were in attendance today. Some were very sleepy. Starting next week they have about 3 weeks of practical training 実習. Have a nice time guys. See you again in December. When that lesson was finished at about 10:30, I came back to my classroom, to eat brunch, and do a complete overhaul of the tall narrow bookshelf that holds my class folders, and copies of textbooks pages. It was a job well done, because the contents is much easier to see and use now. It only took me about 2 hours to do it all before my next class started at 15:00. The three elementary school girls who came every week at this time asked me today, if I was going to have a big Xmas Party for Snowman Bei Kaiwa. I told them that unfortunately, this classroom is too small to get more than about 10 or 12 people in here at one time, so I have never held any "EVENTS" here at my classroom since the GRAND OPENING PARTY on June 9, 1996. The good news is that the city is currently remodeling the very large building right next door to me, that used to be the rather over-bloated Forestry Management Agency 営林局. They will make the building into a library, a citizens hall, and have some other large all purpose rooms, that folks like me can rent, and use for some really big and fun events. Like a Xmas Party for example. We will do it at about this time next year, girls! CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 9 Thursday.

No classes in the morning today, so I had plenty of time to do some more research into developing easier to read, more user-friendly websites. One thing that I have noticed about most websites, is that the printed letters on the pages, are so small, I have to sit real close to the screen, and strain to read the messages. Most of the time, I just click off the page, and try another website. If I am really interested in the content of the writing, I will copy and paste the text into a WORD document, and then increase the FONT SIZE in WORD so that I can sit back, relax and read the message in comfort. Because of these less than satisfying internet experiences, I have made a conscious effort to make the words on this website BIG AND EASY TO READ. I know that it makes the web page longer, but so what? A web page is low in cost and endless in length. Most likely, your PC mouse even has an auto scroll button on the top, to make reading long pages with big letters, a very relaxing experience. In fact, you are doing so right now. After all of my classes were finished at 19:00, I was back on the internet reading various news stories. Suddenly, I had a bright idea. Use the Google and Yahoo Japan Search Engines to see where a link to this website, sits in their ranking using the keywords; 旭川市　英会話スクール. To my delight, I appeared right at the top of the first page of links, on both search engines. Jee, I wonder how that happened? Maybe there really is a tooth fairy, after all. If you are really bored right now, try the same thing using the key words SNOW RADIO. Guess what happens next. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 8 Wednesday.

No classes until 16:00 today, so I used my extra time to fine tune my new creation, Snow Radio. It is not a difficult project to execute, but it does take time. As I make more audio files of these blogs, and put them into a special user interface page, I am beginning to develop a more efficient way of producing these results. Learning by doing. Hands on. It's the best method, and the least expensive to pursue. DIY. Do it yourself. At 16:00, the two sisters who live in Tomisawa came for their English lesson. The older sister will be starting junior high school in April of next year, and she will quit my classroom so that she can begin attending a JUKU 塾 also known as a CRAM SCHOOL. These crams schools are something that many kids in Japan attend, in hopes of improving their test scores, and increasing their chances of getting into the high school and/or the university of their choice. In other words, these cram schools are basically in the business of teaching these kids how to take high school and university entrance exams. A very important function in this vertical society. My classroom has a completely different purpose. My classroom trains kids, and adults as well, how to communicate with a wide variety of people, using spoken English as a tool for communication. That's all. Of course the kids also get lessons in reading and writing as well, but I never give long-winded explanations of grammar rules. I teach them grammar intuitively by having them memorize pattern sentences, and then substituting vocabulary items in and out of the sentence patterns, so that they will begin to THINK IN ENGLISH while they are speaking it. My method works well. I have many successful graduates from this classroom. The lesson that started at 19:00 today, had the two young ladies that attend every week, and also a young gentleman who just started taking lesson at my classroom only about 2 weeks ago. One of the two ladies has lived in London England for two and one half years, and the other young lady majored in English Literature during her two years at a junior college in Sapporo. As a result, the two ladies have a very good grasp on spoken English and can use it freely. The gentleman on the other hand, has far less experience with the English language, and was struggling during the entire class, trying to understand our conversations, and reading the lines from the textbook we have been using. He did his best, but like he said himself 変な汗 "I feel a strange sweat." He was under a lot of stress during our 50 minute lesson. I understand how you feel, but please Don't give up! Maybe a different group or even a private lesson is just the ticket for you. I can train you in how to speak useful English, but we need to work at your current level, and move ahead, step by step. Let's keep on trying, together. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 7 Tuesday.

A very nasty windy and rainy day, with thunder and lighting. My first gig of the day was at Asahikawa University starting at 10:40. When I arrived on campus at about 10:25, the weather was still not that bad. But during my class, it started to get really nasty. By the time I was finished at about 12:10, the rain was coming down so hard, that I had to drive extra slowly back to my classroom, through big puddles of water on the main roads. In the mountains, it was probably snowing. After eating lunch, I got ready for straight classes from 15:00 until 20:00. During today's 15:00 lesson, Mr. T. asked me many questions about the mid-term elections taking place in the USA. I had to stop and remember a lot of things that I have recently forgotten about the structure and procedures of the American political system. I used to be able to recite this information with the greatest of ease, but nowadays, the closest I ever get to politics, is watching the news on SkyPerfect TV, or reading about it on the internet. I am much more interested in various other things these days. Let the politicians and their supporters and their cheerleaders, play their political games. It's a lifestyle choice. How do you want to spend your time on this planet. Keeping a detailed accounting of favors given and favors owed, or just doing the right thing every day, and letting the chips fall where they may. I live my life, according to the latter option. It is a very rewarding and low stress lifestyle that I would recommend to most people. Most REAL PEOPLE, that is. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 6 Monday.

Another warm day with daytime temperatures at about 10 to 12 degrees Celsius. My first gig of the day started at 13:00 at the 神楽公民館英会話を楽しむ会。 Again today, various people talked about various things, including the following. One lady talked about a new vacuum cleaner that she had just purchased. She said that her previous vacuum cleaner had lasted about 10 years, but that it was getting more and more broken down, so she bought a new one. She even brought the very colorful user's manual with her so that everyone could see the details of her new home appliance. When she mentioned that she had paid almost 60,000 yen for the machine, my jaw hit the floor in surprise. That is almost $600 dollars in U.S. money! For a vacuum cleaner??? Let's see, what is a vacuum cleaner. It's a motor, an airtight can, a filter and a hose. I could make one myself. Even the very best wet/dry heavy duty shop vacuum cleaner, should never cost more than 20,000 yen. The one I have for my classroom is a very good wet/dry heavy duty shop vacuum cleaner made by TOSHIBA, and it cost me just under 10,000 yen. The user's manual that the lady showed all of us had a big color photo of her new vacuum cleaner on the front. It sort of looked like the robot R2D2 of the Star Wars movies. Do we always get what we pay for? You be the judge. Another lady, who has just recently joined this class, brought some edible souvenirs from her recent trip to Tokyo and Tokyo Disneyland. She explained how she and her family spent their 4 days in the big city. When I heard how much she had to pay for various things while there, I felt once again the attractiveness of living in Hokkaido. やっぱり北海道は１４７！　By the way, the photo on the left was taken yesterday, along the banks of the Chubetsu River. It was almost a full moon. Very beautiful. Much more beautiful that this photo can capture. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 5 Sunday.

Another nice day. Nice enough to go for a drive, but I didn't. I stayed inside most of the day, putting together the templates for Snow Radio, which will be making its debut on this website very soon. The photo on the left, is one that I took last night at about 17:30 in Tokiwa Park. The autumn leaves look rather nice in the light of the trail lamp post, don't you think? It was a few minutes after taking this photo and others like it, that I took the photos sequence of the wandering light in the sky, that you can see below in yesterday's blog. As I said, I stayed at home most of the day today. However, in the evening at about 18:00, I discovered my microphone was not working properly, so I drove over to 百万ボルト on Route 237, to buy a new one. Even this microphone is somehow inadequate, because it produces a low humming sound when used with my PC. Most likely, it is an electronic impedance mismatch. I adjusted the settings in both my Windows XP and Sonic Mastering Studio software, and got the hum down to a very low level, but I am sure there is a better microphone/headset product, somewhere out there on the market. I will look again in the near future. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 4 Saturday.

A rather nice day. Sunny in the afternoon and not very cold. About 10 or 12 degrees Celsius according to the temperature sign board on the outside of the Asahikawa JR train station. I spent the entire morning, working on my new development for this website, Snow Radio. Right now, the main purpose of Snow Radio will be to add narration to this blog, so that it will become even more useful for those of you who are using my blog as a textbook for studying English. I am planning to make it as easy to use as possible, and it's FREE! At about 16:00, I left my classroom and walked over to the Exe Building to have my G-Shock wristwatch implanted with a new battery and also strapped with a new wristband, at the Matsui Jewelry store on the second floor of that building. Today I brought my camera with me because there was a beautiful, almost full moon, hanging over the rivers and city, low in the eastern sky. I took some nice photos along the Chubetsu River bank as I walked towards the Chubetsu Bridge to cross into the heart of the city. I got to the jewelry store at about 16:00, and the friendly owner got to work right away, replacing the dead battery, and putting on a new wristband. Within about seven minutes, the job was done and at a very reasonable price. Thanks Kuni! Flush with pride at the look of my "new" G-Shock, I went up to the Shimamura Musical Instuments store, to have a look around for about 30 minutes, before getting back outside and walking down Kaimono Koen towards Tokiwa Park. The only stop I made along the way was at イズミハラ商店 to buy a bottle of Otokoyama SasaOri. This is a seasonal product, summers only, and I was lucky to be able to snag another swig before it is all gone for the rest of the year. Until next summer. I arrived at Tokiwa Park just as it was beginning to get very dark. I walked slowly through the park, not seeing many other people. As I got close to the swimming pool, I noticed the beautiful golden color of the autumn leaves being illuminated by a trail lamp post. I took a shortcut across the grass, took out my camera and snapped about 10 or 12 photos of the glowing leaves, from several angles. After that shoot, I put my camera away and was walking slowly towards the steps that lead up to the riverside cycling road. Just as I was reaching for my bottle of 男山笹おり, I looked up into the night sky, as I often do, and noticed a very bright white light, about the size of a pencil-tip eraser held at one arm's length, slowing moving across the sky, from the west to the east, towards the AsahiBashi 旭橋. 　 I immediately grabbed my camera, and took the 10 photos you can see above left. To the naked eye, the light did not look like the photos. It was merely a bright white illuminated ball, moving mostly at a constant speed, and mostly in a straight line towards the Asahi Bridge. The reason the photos look like lines and curves is because of the movement of my hands, while taking the photos. I didn't have a tripod with me. This is by no means the first time I have see this phenomena. If I go out for a walk at night, about 10% of the time or more, I will see a moving light, or lights, in the night sky. They are very beautiful and can't be adequately photographed nor described in words. However, they are very common. After the light slowly disappeared into the distant haze of the eastern sky, I put my camera away again, and started walking along the banks of the Ishikawa River, heading west. I enjoyed sipping on my 500ml jug pure rice brew, while walking along the cycling road in the cool darkness. I kept stargazing along the way not seeing much except the nearly full moon. It reminded me of my night time jogging expeditions on the island of Iwo Jima in 1976. In those days, I was slim and trim and I could run and swim freely, and at will. Nowadays, walking is my biggest workout. I crossed back onto the city streets at the base of the KyokuSei Bridge 旭西橋. As I was walking down the slope of the bridge towards the southeast, I passed by a store that had dozens and dozens of custom Harley Motorcycles lined up both outside and also inside the store itself. Having plenty of time and even more curiosity, I went inside the shop to take a look around. I met the owner and we talked for a few minutes. This place has a huge selection of motorcycles and motorcycle parts and accessories. You can visit their website at www.ster-motor-cycle.com . The only thing I can ride that has two wheels, is a bicycle. If I go touring around Hokkaido, I do it in my NOAH van. However, I can appreciate the enjoyment of touring by bike. Hokkaido is a great place to do it.　　CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 3 Friday.

CULTURE DAY. 文化の日. A National Holiday in Japan. How many years of culture are we observing here. Thousands and thousands of years. How many stars can we see in the sky? Billions, and billions, and billions,...... Culture. The accumulation of mutual experience. Very valuable information, and very important to preserve. The mutual experiences of society as a whole, are recorded in the local LANGUAGE of that society. In English, the word LANGUAGE comes from the French, and literally means TONGUE. Spoken languages were the first to arrive among animal species on the EARTH. Written "language" was developed along the way. The most interesting of which still survives today as the CHINESE IDEOGRAPH writing system. Well known to Japanese and Korean as 漢字. These many thousands of written representations of every day objects, ideas, and even up to and beyond esoteric concepts, were developed here in EARTH? Maybe so. Or, maybe this knowledge was imported from somewhere else. You be the judge. Even though the Korean and Japanese SPOKEN LANGUAGES are completely different from the Chinese spoken language, they both adopted the 漢字 about 4,000 years ago. Over the next several hundred years, both Korean and Japanese, each developed a very different, and much more simplified PHONETIC writing system, in order to make it easier for the majority of the population, to participate in meaningful communication transactions. It was a great boost to the integration and procession of society, and therefore, the culture itself. Or is it the other way around? Or, is it BOTH ways working interactively, to produce each other. Reproduce each other and achieve synergy. The weather today was not ideal for a long drive, or even a long walk for that matter. There was freezing rain and some amount of wind to go along with it. In a word, NASTY. And cold. I made a brave decision to stay inside and work on some internet related projects. Today, my main focus was to lay the web page and graphics framework for a long thought about, but not yet come to fruition idea, of having my very own radio station on the World Wide Web. Today, I took advantage of the lousy weather to learn more about Freehand MX and make some CG that is intended to represent a visualization of a universal transceiver. Receiving and sending messages at the same time. Unfortunately, my CG visualization can ONLY SEND sound and images at this time. I will keep working to try and improve my capibilities in this area. You can see the SNOW RADIO COMING SOON trailer by clicking here. CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 2 Thursday.

A very nice and sunny, but rather cold day. I drove my van up to my friendly Toyota dealer, arriving at about 10:50. I needed them to do a one year inspection of the van, plus change the summer tires to winter tires. I was in no hurry so, I told them I won't be needing my van again until about 14:00. I used the 3 hours to take a long walk along the Ishikari Riverline between the 北旭川大橋 and the 秋月橋 which are in the same area. The sunshine was very warm, but the breeze was very cool. You can see from the photo, that the snow is beginning to pile up on the mountains of the Taisetsu Mountain Range. It will gradually work its way down from the highlands, into the lowlands were I and about 36 thousands other people live. It will become a white and frozen world very soon. Tomorrow is a National Holiday in Japan called "Culture Day" or 文化の日. My classroom will be closed along with most other schools and government offices. Let's see, I wonder what I should do tomorrow,...... CLICK HERE to LISTEN

2006 November 1 Wednesday.

I'm back in the saddle again. After a full day of sleeping yesterday, because of a slight fever, I made a nearly full recovery and got back to teaching classes at my classroom. It was an easy day because I started my first class at 17:00 and finished the last class at 20:00. The last class of the day which started at 19:00, had only one student in attendance today. She has just started coming to my classroom about one month ago, after having spent about 2 and one half years living in London England. As such, her level of spoken English is very good indeed. Since she was the only one in the class today, I took advantage of the situation, and asked her to tell me much more about her experiences while living in London. She had some very interesting stories to tell. The 50 minute class lasted about 60 minutes, and even then, there was still more I wanted to hear about her experiences. I hope that I can do so in the months and years ahead. Oh by the way, I didn't write about it in yesterday's blog, but there was another thunder and lightning storm last night, at about 20:30 which dropped lots and lots of freezing rain onto the ground. It won't be long now before the rain turns into sleet and snow. I called my Toyota Dealer this afternoon and made an appointment for tomorrow morning, to have my van's one year general inspection, and also to have them change my summer tires to winter tires. It may be a bit early for that inside the city itself, but not if you are planning to drive across any of the mountain passes. Better safe than sorry. CLICK HERE to LISTEN