Asahikawa American English Conversation School
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Summer Vacation 2004
俀侽侽係擭偺壞媥傒
I closed my classroom from July 24 to August 22 and took a one-month summer vacation. Except for 5 private lessons and some translation work, I didn乫t teach any classes during that time. It乫s nice to have the time to do all the things I can乫t do during the rest of the year, when I usually work from 9:00 until 20:00 almost every weekday.
On July 26, 27 and 28, my wife and I stayed 3 nights in Otaru. We haven乫t been to Otaru for about 3 years so it was nice to see that city again. We left Asahikawa by car at about 13:00 on July 26 and took the long route by driving first to Rumoi and then driving down the coast highway 231 until we arrived at Otaru. The weather was nice. Partly cloudy, a light wind, and temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. Along the way we stopped at a small roadside diner near Hamamasu and ate Uni-Don. It was sooooooooooo good. When we finally got to Otaru at about 18:30, we checked into the 僆乕僙儞僩儂僥儖 which is close to the Canal Plaza and is very convenient for sightseeing in and around Otaru.
After taking a shower and resting for about an hour at the hotel, we went down to the canal area and had dinner at the Otaru Micro Brewery in Warehouse Number 1. At 20:00 there was a live performance by a group called Palosiks 乮僷儘僔僋僗丂www.pirkamusic.com乯. It was a truly enchanting performance by 8 musicians and 1 dancer. In fact, it was the best show I had ever seen at a beer hall. The show was called 乬fada.乭 (惞側傞怷偺墱怺偔丄巹偨偪偼梮傞丒丒丒)
The next day on July 27, we went for a drive to see Mt. Yohtei (Ezo Fuji). Again we were lucky because the weather was very nice. We drove completely around the base of the mountain and I took photos and video of it from every angle.丂丂Along the way, there is a place where you can get the natural spring water of the mountain for free (梤掻嶳偺桸偒悈). Indeed, many people go there with big plastic bottles and take the water home with them. I did too. The water is truly delicious and refreshing. It乫s nice to live in Hokkaido.
On July 28, we spent the whole day in Otaru city looking around the town and we also went to the aquarium to see the dolphin show. It was really hot and humid on that day, especially inside the aquarium. I took video of the dolphin show. After that, we went to the main tourist area of downtown Otaru which was very crowded with tourists from many different Asian countries. I heard Chinese, Cantonese and Korean being spoken as well as Russian. It was a very interesting day.
On the morning of July 29, we checked out of the hotel and started the long drive back to Asahikawa. Instead of taking the coast road again, I took the inland route so I could get back home faster. The main reason is because at 19:45 was to be the start of the Hokkaido Newspaper乫s Big Fireworks Display. We go to it every year and I didn乫t want to be late. As it turned out, we arrived back home at 19:15. So, we called a taxi and went to the riverside near Tokiwa Park. We got there just in time for the start of the show. The whole area of Riverline Park was packed with people from the Asahibashi Bridge to the Shinbashi Bridge. We sat close to the Shinbashi Bridge and enjoyed the fantastic display of light and sound. After that, we walked to KinKaRo on 1 Jodori and ate Korean Style BBQ. It was really good.
On the remaining days of my summer vacation I did such things as go on 50 kilometer mountain bike rides, BBQ on my balcony, stay up until 4:00 and watch the night sky or Sky Perfect TV. I also made some new textbooks and flash cards that I will use at my classroom as well as other schools around the city. I even played the guitar a few times!
Speaking of BBQs, on the evening of August 17 at about 19:00, I was preparing to BBQ again on my balcony. I put the fire-starter and the charcoal into the BBQ and lit the fire. It was burning well, so I went back inside my classroom to get an ice cold Sapporo Classic Beer. After about 5 minutes, I went back out onto the balcony again. But this time the fire had gone out and there was a lot of smoke coming from the BBQ. Some old man, down below in front of 偦偽張丂挿屲榊 panicked and thought that my room was on fire so, he called the fire department. I yelled 乬No, no! It乫s a BBQ!!!乭 But it was too late. About 5 fire trucks and 25 firemen came to my classroom to check it out. I am grateful for their quick response but it was very embarrassing.
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