About

Posts by :

May 30 2014

A Disney Song Broke My Foot

So everyone loves that song from Frozen, Let it Go.  Lemme tell ya, it’s just as hot in Japan as anywhere else.  As a result, kids all over the country are working it into their English studies.  There’s a Japanese version (whose lyrics are quite different), but the preference seems to be on the original; this gets no objection from me, as I support the original language almost all the time.  I’m not even sick of it yet, which surprises me, since I hear it every time I go to the preschool, every time I go to the junior high school, and every time a certain pair of students come to my house for their English lessons.  More

By • Japan •

May 24 2014

When Someone Asks for an Ambulance, Call the Ambulance (Part 3)

The third and most frustrating example of the ambulance non-call involved a coworker named Kumiko. More

By • Japan, Life Lessons •

May 23 2014

Again: Call the Friggin’ Ambulance

(Continued from this post.)
This happened twice more in Japan. The first time in Japan (second overall in my life) was more life-threatening, but the second time was more frustrating. Ready to again be amazed at human stupidity?
More

By • Japan, Life Lessons •

May 22 2014

When Someone Says “Call an Ambulance”

…The following actions are not acceptable, or should only be taken after the requested ambulance is summoned: More

By • Life Lessons •

May 11 2014

A Rewarding Moment for a Teacher

Background: My English students keep diaries.  They write example uses of the things we do in class, details from their daily lives, and whatever interests them.  Then I check them at the beginning of class and give them specific pointers; we learn from our mistakes and it helps keep them sharp.

More background: We also More

By • Japan, Teaching •

Apr 28 2014

Your Actions: They Have Consequences

“Aw man,” Chris lamented, “They don’t let you take ketchup packets anymore.”  More

By • Life Lessons •

Apr 26 2014

“I’ll take a rain check”

No you won’t, because I don’t sell redeemable fucking tickets to my house.

By • Not Taking Crap •

Apr 25 2014

Some People Won’t Listen – Pt. 2

Fate is funny. I feel like someone read my previous post and set out on a mission to reinact the situation. Listen to how similar these two stories are.

Mrs. Tamura isn’t the half-crazy xenophobe that Michio is, but she does, like anyone, have some pre-conceived notions about other cultures. Hey, we’re all human, we all have our mistaken assumptions and we all believe a few things that aren’t quite true. But even she couldn’t let go of something in the face of contradictory evidence. More

By • Life Lessons •

Apr 23 2014

Hospitalized

Of the days I’ve been missing, 5 of them have been spent checked into a Japanese hospital.  I’m back and will be posting stuff again shortly.

By • Writing •

Apr 10 2014

Some People Will Not Listen to You. Ever.

“Do you like sakura?” a man named Michio asked me.

“Yes,” I replied, “I think they’re gorgeous.”  I had no idea this conversation was going to become very interesting, and then downright perplexing. More

By • Japan, Life Lessons •

«< 8 9 10 11 12 >