Chris' English School

TOEIC 900 (Again) ;)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:08:00 +0000

The 6th outta 10 triers got their TOEIC 900. She got it on her 2nd try.
Congrats Keiko.

I got a new TOEIC plan that starts em' from the 6th grade. More on that in the future :)

Someone went shopping ;)

Motivating students

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 04:11:00 +0000

Treat em' like adults.

You work hard...you get stuff (money). You don't.....you won't.
Questions? ;)

English game in Japan with a new twist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:11:00 +0000

Hey, you missed the question! Wrong answer...BANG!! Is the sound of 5 kids bustin' rubber caps on you!!!
Teacher got some rubber chrome to his own dome last week ;)

I love my laminator and I hate it...ya get it?

Top 10 members are auto-pardoned from executions summary or otherwise. Relax...breath ;)

She has $700.00. She can initiate a hostile takeover of my School store if she likes. 51% ownership anyone...Yes Minami...You are my new boss....yes mam..no mam....yes mam

The influenza is running rampant in the local Elementary Schools in Japan right about now.

TOEIC SW (first unofficial practice book)..?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:20:00 +0000

The TOEIC SW is going to be THE standard test in Japan eventually just like I wrote in a previous post. This is maybe the first unofficial test book on the market. There will be many more.

Hey Chris teacher...In your FACE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Today a student (she is 10? 5th grade Elementary School)forgot her homework which is her English diary. I told her she had to do it right then in-front of me while I taught her classmates the planned lesson. (You WILL do what I say or you'll do it later but you will do it.) They know the rules.

**Click on the pics to enlarge**

This was a chance for me to see if this 10 year old was really writing this excellent off the top of her head without a dictionary or phrase book. Some of the expressions and phrases she has used in the past are WAY more advanced and structurally developed than a lot of adults. I teach all my kids this stuff but it typically isn't this well formed at this age. She has no other experience other than my class which is an hour a week. It turns out she is a full on badass with skills that could pay the bills. She maybe knew I was checkin her out so she threw in the money thing with some art.

I have taught her from ABC's and now she's writing like this and talking a lot too. I am blessed and feel happy to have my ass handed to me :)

After I said, "Dayum" (about the $650.00 she got AND her diary) she looked at me knowingly with an expression that screamed..."Oooooh, you thought? You want another one?"

Nah, I'm cool..go spend some of that loot ;)

Speakin' of "loot"..
One student used some School cash to go shopping and she bought herself a nice pencil case.
$150.00 was a STEAL!! ( A top notch student can earn that in about 10 weeks)

***********
I decided to edit this post because I realize it coincidentally shows two of my original ideas which have been copied by the local Eikaiwas including E.C.C. which is a big chain.
The money system is very structured and they even have bank books. The School store is NOT filled with 100yen goods because that would suck and look as half ass is it would be. I don't give stickers to High School kids like some ALT's. It's almost insulting or at least my students need a little more effort than that. You gotta spend money to make money but ALT's get paid whether they sit on their hands on teach there asses off so it don't mean shit to them and that's why the system sucks. Lotsa shitty teachers in Japan because of the ALT system.

I also started diaries with kids as young as 6 years old which some other Schools never considered until I required it. My kids were just so far ahead of theirs grammar wise they had to do it. (It's homework so they don't lose speaking time)
They used to start in J.H. but by that time my kids are writing freakin novels in English so even a couple of local cram Schools have followed suit.

I have a Top 10 list which is displayed at the entrance to the public which clearly points out who's the best based on clear criteria that allows any kid a chance. ALL the parents check at the beginning of the month. A mother once asked why her son wasn't on the list. I said he's not one of the 10 best he does what is asked but never more and he lacks guts. She was annoyed and I was too busy to give a F__.

2 years later and he's now on the list because a little bird told him to get his shit together and he did and now Mom gets to see her Princes name. He earned that and it has been a huge success which has also been adopted by other Schools which were terrified to possibly insult a sensitive parent but now...they do it because we are teachers and we are supposed to teach, motivate and evaluate the students who pay us and we need to not care about hurt feelings. I don't teach _______. I teach English.

To all the Schools who copy me (almost all ya'll...this is the countryside and parents chatting about my system or students or parties was always the best advertisement and finding out when you followed my lead always lit a fire under me do do more) After the show is over and I leave the stage please keep it up. I'd hate to think that after my leave you will return to your "grab the money at every chance" ways. Put down the beer, cancel the trip and spend real time coming up with your own ideas and have some pride in what you do. Mr F__ up himself just told you to get your shit together and you know I'm right. How bad do you feel? I hope a lot.

I will note that in 7 years I finally heard something good. Last year an ALT was using a "passport" and putting a stamp in it everytime a student initiated a conversation with her. THATS cool. That's original and if I still taught at a public School I'd copy it and send her a thank you note.

Favorite pics of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:07:00 +0000

"T" is for timeout dawg!!
(She's really throwing up pre-school gang signs....kinda scary...you'd never think)

(An original creation spawned by the site that taught me how to make a real laser pen using an old DVD laser and a MAGLITE.) I used this at the Summer beach BBQ.

IKURA suddenly made a comeback...again! I know I know...
"Don't call it a comeback..I been here for years"
**LL Cool J - Mama said Knock you out**

For the Lady...a sip of Redbull ( Don't know that kid behind me??)

"Luke I am your father!!" was kinda tempting but he's not my student so he can't speak English. You get it? The other School's are no good so.. ya...nevermind.

I drinks the Coke Zero myself. (I got tired of being confined to my School and went totally "Rogue Zombie" for the day. One of the funnest Halloweens in Japan ever!

It's difficult to convey how odd some people felt at the sight of me. I was as they say...somewhat distracting....**Cough** ;)

I saw her at the Christmas party. The baby looked different from the Halloween party? I really think she ate this one? Absolutely crazy sh__ right there!!

This girl said she wasn't too scared in the Haunted house? Um... The screaming and this pic would seem to indicate... ah nevermind.

6 person buzzer set 6000yen
Turning a hard lesson into a fun game...PRICELESS!!

This is perfection at the interview stage of the Eiken. I asked for it and got it. I no longer support the Eiken system after the Eiken 2. It is a waste of time and well..click the "Eiken" tag in my sidebar for more of why I fell outta love for this test

Goal was 920. Get was 950. Getting certain jobs requires a 900+ (Next)

This is the future of English language evaluation in Japan. The TOEIC SW, Speaking and Writing test.

She is among only 6,000 people who have taken this in Japan since 2006. She got a lvl 6 without any prep and she is definitely a 7 outta 8 next time around. I got no qualms with the test system because it's pretty damned outstanding for evaluating a speakers level which is why companies rely on it. By the way she said this test was very fun.....very fun...I have NEVER heard that said about an English evaluation test before. Good job TOEIC!! I highly recommend it and have other students preparing for it.

I'm famous...AGAIN!!/Merry Christmas!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:50:00 +0000

My School's Christmas display was filmed and is being run 4x a day as a seasonal intermission commercial thingy. I don't watch cable but a student of mine does and they recorded it for me :) I remember when they came to film and NOW I get what the woman was trying to say. This cable station could be nationwide and it could be running off a small antenna which is viewed by 50 old people..I dunno??

I wish they did the Halloween display/Haunted House which is MUCH rarer around here :(

UPDATE: Apparently a lot of people still have cable because there is a traffic issue in front of my School and people are coming in inquiring about the School. That woulda been great a few years ago. Anywayz..

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!!!

日本の柳井市、クリス英会話スクールのクリスマスライト

The 2010 Christmas party in Japan.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:54:00 +0000

.

The Turkey and Ham were by far the juiciest ever! I just pulled the bones out of the meat while all the meat slid off. Cool as hell!

The Turkey looks like pulled pork or Kalua pig. It was awesome and I'm quite proud of myself :)

The students bring sweets every year and they brought a ton this year and it was great!! Thank you everyone. Hana's grandmothers apple pie was my personal favorite :)

Saki and Wakana are a teachers dream when it comes to being "Party people". They love to team up like a comedy duo and they always make the party funner! Thank's goes to both of them!

Santa rocked the hizzouse too (Sorry I can't post every pic)

The 2010 "Christmas in Japan" post

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:45:00 +0000

I will make a post Christmas party post soon. Meanwhile here's a vid of the juciest Turkey i have ever smoked

This is Santa's chair! I will post several updates in this one post starting now but kicking off for real early in the morning when I start smoking the meats :)

This is the girls bracket. There are a lot of girls and I'm sure these ones will play the others are maybe too young or too old? I can put them on supplementary brackets if need be. The Men's brackets are on the right side (out of pic)

The "Party" The Games

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:40:00 +0000

"Name that Tune" is coming back and better than ever with more songs Western and Japanese. The buzzer system (pictured below ) will be used to much greater effect. Each 2 person team (1 Japanese 1 Foreigner) will have 10 chances against there opponents to guess the song and Buzz in to answer. This game can get really fun if the song mix is right. If your coming, and wanna be sure your musical tastes are reresented equally please contact and name that/those artists :)

The firefox plugin Youtube video2mp3 has SAVED me!! I don't need torrents or trackers. If it's on Youtube then I can rip a HQ mp3 outta it. LOVE THIS THING!! Wprks great for the Japanese stuff too BTW.

The Wii Sports tournament is a king of the hill winner stays and plays on while the opponents take turns trying to knock off the king and change the game or keep kicking ass. The room is being specialy carpeted for this event which should be a smash!!

**If you have a Wii controler bring it!! I have 2 but up to 4 people can play some games and of course only you will ever touch your own controller :) **

I am NOT fuc_ing around yo!! Bring your "A" game!

Ikura lookin' nice and chunky for Winter! I love this cat!!

Christmas Update from Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:21:00 +0000

Got more people coming than last year but the R.S.V.P thing can drive a Mo'Fo cRAZY!!

I will serve Turkey,Ham and all the fixings and I ask the attendees to bring something sweet so we always have lottsa sweets too. But... I gotta keep track and ask for alternatives in-case there's a boom in something particular. The 1st party had A LOT of Jello/Jelly's..?... So since then I ask exactly what is being brought and if theres already enough of that I request another thing. I got 6 varietys of Chiffon cake this year for example so if anyone says there bringing that I gotta shut em' down politely and suggest or accept happily an alternative.

I'm doing a really fun "Name that Tune" game and I need lotsa Japanese songs to make sure my students can enjoy it. I foolishly deleted most of the ones Saki helped me download...a definite WTF moment :(

There will also be a wicked Wii sports tournament too. I think that will absolutely pwn.

Rain..tha f__k? (Messin with the Christmas display!!)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:57:00 +0000

I started decorating my School for Christmas the 2nd year (2005) and it hardly ever rained. According to the internet and my own un-scientific study (how much water is in the mizu) December and January were the driest months of the year in Yanai. Since 2007 though December has been getting wetter and wetter. Natural Earth cycle accelerated by man? or ________? I believe the first one so won't mention anything else. Itis, in Japan, very real I'm pissed to say! I gotta break down and take in the goods like a 1 man Christmas commando more than I like and can do it fast. Like today.....__ck!!

My student got me 2 BUCKETS of candy canes from Costco in Fukuoka. They look small in the pic but these are BIG.
Thank you Yumie!!

Christmas in Japan (The lights..part 2 of 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:35:00 +0000

I got the newest prop up today :)

Yeah, it's early...but I gotta party to prep for and I need to be ahead of schedule so I'll enjoy it a few days earlier which means more time before I have to take it all down. it's a "win win" situation (I had to hack saw the top 1ft off this tree for it to fit and the Angel is still squished :( ) I bought this tree in Hawaii at Ala Moana Sears 5 years ago cuz the ones at Nafco Suuuucked! They are alot better now I think. The box was over the JAL limit big time so they taxed my a** HARD! This is an expensive tree and a testament to my stubborn stupidity. I thought they wouldn't call me out if I looked scary but a dainty Japanese JAL counter woman CRUSHED me with her little tape measure and that was that. Leave it behind and buy a crap Nafco tree or pay up...I paid...I'm happy! It's a gorgeous tree and after it gets the mini candy cane treatment it'll be ready for "Christmas tree monthly's" centerfold :)

I used to hang the Snoopy animated ornaments on the tree but some of them are really heavy and they throw the tree off balance visually so I came up with this "Martha Stuart'ish" idea. (is she still around..alive?) She used to pwn this season till I took it from her!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving BTW! I used to celebrate it before the Christmas prep got too big and I realized that the menu was almost the same.

TOEIC - トーイックスピーキングテストは、近い日本の将来で、英語の実用的な力を試すテストになるでしょう

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:29:00 +0000

This IS the future of English evaluation in Japan.

Period!

I have been teaching the Eiken for several years but I am through with that. Grades 5-2 are practical but the pre-1 and 1 are no longer going to be taught by me. I have had several students pass the Eiken 1 since my School opened. It is an incredible achievement but the time invested and the accuracy of the test are questionable at best.

No thanks

The Eiken? The vocabulary for the Eiken 1

Supercilious, Alacrity, Mellifluous, Mendacious.

In what event might a person you teach use those words? This is simply not practical as it does little to improve their overall level. This is a memory challenge. Nothing more.
The essay portion accounts for 28 points and is related to their composition skills but they will never get that essay returned and if it is why they failed then they will never know exactly what their weakness was. I as a teacher cannot support them because I can't see what caused them to stumble and it doesn't even address the question of WHO exactly is correcting these many many essays? Are they exclusively native English speakers or fellow Eiken 1 lvl students who were lucky enough to pass.

28pts right there!

The pass score is not determined until after the test is administered because they cannot gauge the difficulty level until after they total all the scores. Again...wtf? If the test is stuffed with people who tried but failed before they will be of a higher level which will make the overall score higher. THAT is not an effective score nor is it an accurate evaluation of some one's English level.

Now the TOEIC

Begin, Began, Begun, Beginner

Looks easy as hell but a lot of Eiken 1's may not be able to place the appropriate word in a sentence. If it were a business letter to a client a mistake could have huge ramifications if it were regarding a project's designated start date. You get it?

Eiken Speaking portion: 4-7 minutes.
TOEIC Speaking portion: 20 minutes.

If you make a mistype it is not deducted because as we all know..there is a "spell check" and most companies require it be used before forwarding business mail. Nice :) Practical :)

If during the speaking portion, you misspeak it is not necessarily going to hurt you if you are able to stay composed and deliver the message effectively. I sometimes misspeak. It happens. The TOEIC is more concerned with a real world (business-centric) style of communicating with realistic expectations and a clear numerical scoring system that gives as accurate, scaled measurement of a students development.

I know Eiken 1's who still have trouble with proper Noun,Verb,Subject placement and make past/present/future tense mistakes. You will not get 900points or more on the TOEIC without getting the basics down solid. I like that. I also like the fact that the Speaking test testers are themselves,frequently evaluated which should maintain a form of quality control over the whole damn thing. Again, Yeah! You as a student are anonymous to the tester. Where you are from is of no consequence on the iBT. There are many reasons why that is a good idea.

Tadashi Yanai (the richest man in Japan, President of Uniqlo) has implemented the TOEIC standard. He is not richer than Sony's or Toyota's presidents because he is a revolutionary. It is because he is an evolutionary, if you will. He is anticipating and creating change with forethought towards the English standard in a way that Steve Jobs did with compact portable digital devices. It will benefit his company in the future. He's no fool. I anticipate many if not virtually all major companies to fall in line if for no other reason than to stay competitive. A kind of "Keepin' up with the Jones's" ;)

The (speaking) part of the TOEIC was challenged by less than 300 people across Japan last time but it IS the future. I have 2 students getting ready for it as we speak :)

**Thank you for letting me take a picture of your book Keiko!!**

トーイックスピーキングテストは、近い日本の将来で、英語の実用的な力を試すテストになるでしょう

Ikura the Japanese Cat V3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:31:00 +0000

Ikura is looking great just before Winter!! He has full control of the local harem for the 3rd time. He is my pride and joy and I thought he wasn't gonna make it through last Winter. After hearing the battle last night I awoke to see the King back on his throne! Time for some dried fish and some cheese for my boy, ladies and gentleman, back again, I give you the legend....

IKURA!!!

I already used LL's "Mama said knock you Out" in praise of my favorite warrior cat so I'll go with the BOOM! This time since he definitely jack boomed another cat last night.

***P.O.D. "Here comes the Boom"***

Well?
is that all you got?
Ha ha
I'll take your best shot.
Is that ALL you got?

C'mon!!I'll take your best shot!!

****I was painting giant candy canes last night F.Y.I.****

Halloween the "Cultural exchange"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Some people choose not to celebrate their culture and the traditions. Others choose to do so but under mutually acceptable conditions. For example, a party where people can choose to attend or not. I already do that. I need more!!

I had to employ "Guerrilla tactics" :)

I once sat out in-front of my local supermarket wearing this mask and getting blitzed on beer and chu-hi.....in July. (I quit drinking about 2 years ago though so...no more of that ;) )

This is the Halloween version of "If you can't bring Mohammed to the Mountain than bring the Mountain to Mohammed". Though to be honest this I'm afraid....is not true. I enjoyed today because I wanted to have fun and I used a holiday as an excuse ;)

Besides that phrase is inaccurate and in fact backwards. The implied power was infact meant to be expressed in the opposite way:

"he was never a whit abashed, but said, If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill."

I studied religion at my University which was fascinating but I'm not all that religious. I just mentioned this because I realized via "Google" that this phrase is almost always misspoken,misconstrued and misinterpreted F.Y.I ;)

Nobody was hurt by my "cultural expressiveness". I got a lot of laughs and made some people turn around and run the other way. I was an American Zombie.

I came.
I saw.
I scared ass!! ;)

*****Last Halloween post...I promise!!!*****

Halloween in Japan (2010)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:19:00 +0000

You can't see a thing but it's all about the screams. :)

The girl in the top pic likes to think of herself as pretty damn cool and she is for her age but if she ever says "I wasn't scared"...I got a pic ;)

The child at the bottom of the first set of pics was eaten by the woman holding him soon after this picture was taken. I know what your thinking.."yeah,right"!! I got one question for YOU. Have you seen that baby today? O.K. then. You put a baby near a monster and some stuff might "happen".

Morgan liked his spider...A LOT!! Don't....touch his spider.

O.K., here we go...
(Q)
"Hey Chris, I thought that baby got eaten? Whats it doin in the last pic?"

(A)
Observe the difference in clothing geniuses. That baby in the last pic is ANOTHER baby that wondered into the arms of a gentle looking monster and is probably about as "alive" as the one that got eaten earlier.

Monsters+Babies= Tragedy.

Halloween in Japan (scaring kids is fun)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:27:00 +0000

In the end...the wouldn't go in. I had to turn most everything off before they would go. I will post this and NOT the boys vid because they would not even get near the school. I don't wanna crush their little boy pride so I'll just save it until one of then gets famous and then I'll use it for extortion purposes ;)

All focused on carving a Jack O' lantern and ignoring the horror which hovers over them. I think all kids have A.D.H.D as a kind of protection mechanism. I still have mine :)

A surprise gift of candy from Yu's mom. Thank you!!!

I'll add it to the existing "loot" ;)

Just a peak :)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 06:50:00 +0000

I just got my latest toy :)
He's gonna freak some kids out so it's worth every penny! I got so much Halloween stuff I am gonna make someone really happy when I leave Japan and donate it to them cuz i can't take it with me.

I LOVE sharing my culture. This IS Halloween baby!!!

Wooooo Hoooo!!

This entrance area will have tables and food so this is just a testing/staging area for the next week or so.

Halloween (It's gettin' kinda scary Chris)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 03:30:00 +0000

The smoke machine absolutely rules! It adds a dimension along with the scary graveyard wind with wolves and owls track running on a loop. The kids are terrified but having fun at the same time. Like a roller coaster :)

Halloween (4 weeks 2 party)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:57:00 +0000

You can almost feel the tension during this time of year. The younger generation is O.K. and interested but the over 70 crowd have no idea what I'm doing. They seem to think I just want to make them uncomfortable on purpose (which is true but it's not the main reason of course :) )

I have a lot to do but enough time by my estimations. I had to make the entrance a little less scary and save it for the party/Haunted house because some kids really didn't want to walk through that nightmare just to get into the classroom. The younger parents LOVE it and they usually recommend friends to check it out and check out my school too.

Good fun looottta work still to do. i have finished about 15% of the props and other plans.

A "trick or treating" memory of a 10 year old

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:19:00 +0000

When I was 10 I had 2 "I'm gonna remember THAT forever!!" moments.

1. (the blue arrow) marks the spot where I was trick or treating really late. I walked up to that house and the young couple was getting ready to rush out to a costume party and were surprised to see a kid out so late..apparently? The guy had no shirt on and walked out of view and the beautiful 20ish woman walked out from behind the counter and commented on my Darth vader costume.

"Oh it's soooo scary!!" she said as I suddenly realized she had on sheer nylons with nothing under or over them!! I was in love, excited, surprised and a buncha things started running throught my mind. i walked away in an excited daze in the wrong direction thinking I was the luckiest kid in the world.

2. (the red arrow) Because I was so dazed and confused I ended up walking up Fairview rd to go home instead of the easier down hill route. I came up on a house and I could see that someone had left a tray of candy outside and left for a party maybe. My pillowcase was full and I could barely drag it but easy candy was calling....

As i step up the 1st step a scary ghost sound starts and I ran out to the street light but I had left my huge pillowcase behind...SHIT!
I walked back absolutely petrified and when i grabbed my pillowcase of candy i heard the ghost again but noticed a clicking sound too?

I looked under the bush and the guy had setup a motion activated sensor to start and stop the cassette...yeah cassette player (old days) as i was stuffing all the candy on the platter into my pocket because my pillowcase was full (hey it was late) I thought that guy must be cool as hell. I decided to never toilet paper our otherwise harass this super cool guy.

I spend every Halloween thinking of how much he scared me and I try to do the same for some other kid. (Minus the free platter of candy cuz I ain't dumb) How the F___ did he make a motion sensor way back when? I can do it now using sensor lights jimmy rigged but not with a CD because of the start stop mech is harder than a cassette. I got tricks up my sleave and I'll post a video of my fright fest but I thought I'd pay homage to the stranger who inspired me and the 1st love of my life :)

The woman? She must be 60 now and she can't possibly remember a 10 year old in a Darth Vader suit that caught her 1/2 naked....or does she? Nah!

The Decorating has begun and most every post from now until Halloween will be about..
Halloween in Japan. My neighbors are already twisted up tight about my display. I think some fuses are going to pop because I'm goin nuts this year. The Haunted house will be messed with intermittently between the outside display and the cleaning of the party room

Japan 2 Harvard & gimmie tha plastic one!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 09:15:00 +0000

I have a student who is taking a crack at Harvard. He needs info on taking the S.A.T's in English of course and the TOEFL test. He ain't fuckin' around. I got some girls looking at the A-level colleges in Japan but this is the 1st one trying to go "Ivy League" directly from my school.

His conversation class is basically about how to get from here to there.

When I went to Hawaii I always thought... "Shit, I'm gonna struggle wherever I start livin' by myself so it might as well be someplace that in the end is worth the struggle". No offense to people back in "beantown" or others strugglin' in places you couldn't PAY ME to live (anyplace without a beach). You can't beat Hawaii!! I am proud as fuck to call the 808 my home. (after my Japanese long stay is over).

I guess he thinks that way about studying in America. If he's gonna jump through fucking hoops it might as well be to get someplace worth goin'.
I feel ya bro!
I'll be helpin with that one.

Pretty sad when I wish I was eating the plastic version of the burger I ordered. It's not a Japanese thing though. They never look like the add unless it's from "Jack in the Box" ( I would throw 7 people off a building for one bite of a grilled sourdough burger)

POWER LUNCH!!
I'm on a diet. I take the top breads off :)
I don't ever eat in the McDonald's in Japan. An American eating American fast food.
Ooooo!!
I feel like I'm being watched like a Panda at the Zoo. If I eat outside they get the picture. Don't bother the Panda while he's eating. ;)

September...not cool yet..but the teachin' is fine :)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:07:00 +0000

One of my favorite classes! One of them has saved $600.00 in "School money". She KNOWS I don't have anything that expensive for her. I realized today her goal is to be the richest. She doesn't WANT anything.....except money. I think she's gonna do quite well in the game of "life"

She still has a couple of years till Junior High and she writes better than I ever did.

She (of the wickedly awesome diary) also shared a souvenir (omiyagi) with her classmates.

An uncomfortable lunch for one of my students.

Back in the groove..almost + "Keyword chaos"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Starting to almost get back into things here. The Japanese school summer vacation is almost over and I can start teaching heavy again. As a teacher I really hate August.

The Elementary girls were reading a "Tommy tales" printout which happens to be about an adventure in Hawaii. I got a little homesick to be honest but it's all good and they were reading at a most excellent level. They are a few years ahead of their peers for sure.

I have used a "Pay for performance" system and it works great. I used the term "Money laundering in Japan" and today...as many times before it was the search term that got me a hit. I'm sure they weren't expecting to see me :) Even the little google blurb shows I was just messin' with keywords. Oooops! Page 1 baby!!

Here's another google snack.... The best English conversation School in Japan.
I'll be seeing those hits in a week or so. (Welcome you people...whoever you are)

If you can use xhtml or html codes then you can tinker any site into getting way up on the Google pages.

Got a gift from one of my adult students :) Grapes from her hometown!!

Thank you!!!