Blogs from Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Asia - page 5

The parentals have arrived! I got to the airport and waited for them with butterflies in my stomach. I guess I was a little nervous because it had been exactly 4 months since I had last seen them (a record for me) and I really was anticipating their arrival. We reunited, we hugged, we got on the train. Since I have a great sense of direction (not!) , I managed to get us lost on the way from the airport to my apartment. I ended up getting us on a Rapid Express train heading north instead of southwest. Oops, my bad. I am used to being lost and not knowing where the hell I am, but my mom looked super worried--which is completely understandable. I mean, imagine setting foot in a foreign country you've never visited, ... read more

Well I can honestly say that Nagoya is probably going to be the highlight of my entire trip. Yoriko-san and I traveled to the Inuyama area, about 1.5 hours by train. After arriving there we grabbed lunch and checked out the Shinto Shrine there, Atsusa Jinja. It's a very important Shinto Shrine, dating back to the 3rd century I think. Back in ancient times this would be a destination for people on a spiritual journey. After that had some traditional Japanese sweets at a nice little traditionally styled area, then headed back. That evening went to an aussie bar, nice quiet little place. Ran into a guy that is doing a documentary for the Discovery Channel for a really cool production of Romeo and Juliet.. this production has been years in the making as Romeo is ... read more

So really this event took place a month ago now it seems. Everytime I get on the computer I get distracted and do something else and never end up updating this wonderful blog. I am sorry to all my ex loyal readers who have moved on to Greener more updated pastures. Any way I have about 3 or so major updates. I will put them out this week. This one is the first and it is about my quest. The title of this entry comes from the poem that Stephen King's Dark Tower series was based off of. I picked it because I went to Tokyo over Obon week to find my Dark Tower. So if you are a fan of the Iron Chef show you will know who the best Iron Chef was. Iron Chef ... read more

All the good bits about Japan so far 1) Students Yes, really. Contrary to popular belief not all Japanese pupils are passive, obedient angels but they are far far easier to deal with than pupils in the UK. Why is this I wonder? Well, from experience, I can tell you that when I was teaching in British schools, especially as a supply teacher, the first thing that always struck me was the level of pupil hostility. Ian can confirm that this is even more true in British secondary schools. Hostility not only to the teachers but, more worryingly to each other. Fights, bullying and disputes were daily occurrences. Verbal assaults towards staff were common place. Physical assaults were rare but they did happen. This behavior simply does not exist in Japan. Walk in to any school ... read more

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I have been lazy and have put off publishing more of my AMAZING adventures that thrill everyone soo much. First let me start by saying this past weekend I had some AWESOME mexican food this weekend compliments of a new friend who works at a different site. She has a house and invited me over to help cook. Man it was delicious. Any way so in my down time I have made it to a beach, back to Nara and went to see fishing. First off the beach I went to was in Obama, it was Wada beach in Wakusa. Wada beach was VERY nice. There were a small chain of little rocks you could row out to and swim. There were little waves and the water went from shallow to deep gradually. So I ... read more