Tonight I will eat dinner with several English teachers. We all do the same job. It is always nice to get together and talk about our job. We can help each other a lot.
I am looking forward to learning from my colleagues tonight.
Do you meet your co-workers outside of the office? What do you do? Do you talk about work, or something else?
My friends birthday is in two weeks, but I can’t see her that day. Today we spent the whole day celebrating her birthday. Some people think it is strange to celebrate so early, but I think it is a good idea.
We ate lunch at a restaurant near Matsusaka Castle. It is in an old Japanese home. The food was very tasty and it was only 950 yen per person.
I was happy because the weather was so sunny. We went for a nice walk after lunch.
Today I had a new experience: I made a rope from rice straw. After classes were finished today, several elderly volunteers came to our school. They taught the fifth graders how to make straw ropes. They taught the sixth graders how to make straw sandals.
Because it is difficult, it can be very frustrating; however, it was also very fun. My rope is about three meters long.
Have you ever made straw rope?
Last night there was a lot of rain. All day today it has been raining off and on. Because of the rain, all of the trains were delayed. Because the trains were late, I had to cancel plans. I was sad.
Tonight, I have a photo society meeting. I want to submit photos to a contest. At lunchtime today I walked to the photo store in the rain. I ordered three photos. After work I will pick them up.
On days like this I wear a rain jacket and rain pants. Also, I carry a backpack, so I have a pack cover to keep it dry.
The rain is very nice because it cleans the air and helps plants grow, but it is difficult for me to travel in the rain.
Two times each month, I teach an adult class at night. All of the students are young workers. They are very interesting people. They have many different jobs: librarian, Kindergarden teacher, web site designer, office worker, …
Whenever I teach this class, I get home very late at night. Also, I need to fill my time after work and before the class. Today, I hope to practice playing shakuhachi at a shrine. I am worried about the weather. It looks like rain.
If it rains, maybe I will go to a friend’s house.
Today was a holiday in Japan. I slept in very late. After I woke up, I went to a coffee shop nearby for breakfast. I also went for a long walk around Ise. Normally I am in a hurry, so it was nice to relax and look around.
I wanted to buy some bread from a great bakery but they were closed today. The bakery is called Boulangerie Tontin. They also sell French cheeses now. They call this business Fromagerie Tontin.
Recently it has been very sunny. The weather is also very warm. At school, the office is very hot. It feels very strange, almost like summer.
I started wearing short sleeve shirts again. I wear a second shirt over the short sleeve shirt. If the classrooms are too hot, I can take off one shirt.
I hope it isn’t too cold where you are.
Today I rode the train to Tsu in the morning. I am teaching at an elementary school. After I finish teaching at the school, I can’t go home because I teach a class in the evening.
I left home about 7AM and I won’t return until after 10PM. Today is a long day, but it is not a busy day. Between school and the evening class, I have no schedule.
Since the weather is very beautiful, I will probably go to a quiet shrine and practice playing shakuhachi. Do you know what a shakuhachi is? It is a bamboo flute. It is difficult to play, but very beautiful.
Yesterday I went hiking with friends. We saw beautiful trees, rivers, waterfalls, and rocks. I love the feeling of wandering around in the outdoors.
On the top of the mountain, I practiced playing my shakuhachi. It was fun, but it was very windy.
Unfortunately, there was a negative point. We found lots of garbage laying around. Many people threw away bottles, cans, bags, wrappers, etc. This made me very sad.
I have lived in Japan more than five years. In that time, I have never been to the top of Aoyama Highlands. It is possible to drive to the top.
Tomorrow I will hike to the top with two friends. We are hoping for good weather. I hope it will be easy.
At the top of the mountain I plan to practice playing shakuhachi.
君の為に 