These Days

How are you doing these days? I know you're very busy with reports, homework etc (I am too), but what else have you been doing/ thinking about etc?

As usual, my little girl has been taking up a lot of my time. She eats a lot (maybe more than my wife), but is always active. She loves to be outside, either walking or being pushed in the stroller. She's really interested in dogs and bicycles. She often stops during walks and tries to touch other people's bicycles. Maybe she will be able to ride one from an early age.

She still doesn't use a lot of words (but of course Japanese will be her main language when she starts speaking properly. Now her favourite words are "maaa", which means "Give me some food!" in her language, and "kuku" (shoes), which means "I want to go outside".

On recent weekends we've had barbecues on the terrace at the front of our house, overlooking the pond. I enjoy starting the fire, and cooking the meat, sausages etc which taste wonderful (even though they're bad for our health), and "having a cold one" or two.

On Saturday I sprayed chemicals in our yard to protect against the hungry little caterpillars that hatch from butterfly eggs and try to eat all our shrubs and trees. After that we rode our bicyles to Takatsuki city (Sophie was on my back) to have lunch at our favourite Indian restaurant. No curry, no life!

Next Essay

You are in groups for the planning stage. Just to be sure you understand what to do, here is the "plan" again:

1. Group members should agree on their opinion about their topic, and what you what to say (this will become the thesis statement). After you've decided a thesis statement, work together to think of good ideas for the hook, the 3 main ideas for paragraphs (including topic sentences), and an idea for the counter argument and refutation. In other words, you make an essay outline together.

2. After making the outline, students have to write the rest of the essay themselves. No essays should be exactly the same!!

3. You need to find material on the Internet that supports your ideas. Group members can share useful information, websites etc with each other as they find them.

Pace of Life

In your OC class you have recently seen (or will soon see) a lecture about the pace of life. Japan is classed as a country which generally has a fast pace of life. Many people here often have to be in a hurry, and have many commitments (things they have to do). How do you feel about the pace of your life now? Do you feel too busy, or just about right?

Depending on the type of work, many people with jobs may feel their lives are busier than those of students. That may sound scary, but luckily humans are very adaptable (we can change ourselves to fit in with our situation). What kind of lifestyle do you think will suit you after you graduate from university?

No matter how adaptable we are, everyone feels stress sometimes. What do you do to relax if you feel stressed? Write about it, in detail, please.

Golden Week

Did you do anything over Golden Week? I know it was short, but I guess you did something. I went to "Takatsuki Jazz Street", even though I had a cold, because it's the only time during the year that anything remarkable happens in Takatsuki (where I live). It's two days & nights (May 3 & 4) of fine music (not only jazz) in 40 or more venues, indoors and outdoors in a small, central area of town. There was a party atmosphere in the streets, which were full of people walking around drinking and laughing.

I met some friends from Kyoto, and we visited many bars and clubs and listened to various bands. Often we just stood outside, because one friend uses a wheelchair. That wasn't a problem though, because it was often very crowded inside, and we could hear the music from outside anyway.

Death penalty

Although I can understand the feelings of a family who, for example, have suffered the murder of a child, I'm not in favour of the death penalty. First of all, there have been many cases of innocent people being executed by mistake. Many years after the execution, the real criminal was found. There is a moral issue as well. If we are in favour of killing people, even if they are criminals, doesn't that make us killers too? Also, the legal system allows many appeals for re-trial by the criminal, so the death penalty is more expensive for tax payers than life imprisonment (in the U.S., at least).

What I like about Japan

Students sometimes ask me what I like about Japan. The photo partly answers this question. I'm fond of old temples and Japanese gardens. My wife and I enjoy going to quiet, traditional inns in hot spring areas, and enjoying good meals there. Of course the restaurants in major cities are terrific too, even the cheaper ones. I like the convenience of Japan, especially the ease with which we can get around here. Although I can drive, I don't feel the need to have a car here because the train and subway system is so good. I rent a car a few times a year maybe, for travelling during holiday periods.

How about you? What do you like about Japan? What are your favorite things, places, characteristics of the Japanese etc?

New Year

It's the end of 2010 already! As I get older, the years seem to pass more quickly. Maybe I'm just getting busier. Anyway, I've enjoyed my first year at S.I.S. very much. There are so many nice students here that it sometimes seems more like fun than work.

I don't have any special plans for the new year yet (although I'll go to Thailand to do a presentation with a couple of other teachers at the end of January). There are always parties somewhere on New Year's Eve, so I'll probably go somewhere in Kyoto (I lived there for 9 years, and most of my friends are still there). I'll be spending Christmas day in Guam with my family. I'm looking forward to some warm weather, and playing a round of golf. In Australia we say that Santa brings presents on his surfboard, but I don't know what to expect in Guam. Actually I don't make a big deal about Christmas now, but when Sophie gets a little older I will.

Do I have any new year's resolutions? Hmmm...I should decide to lose a little weight, of course. Okay, I'll only eat tofu every day for 2011!! Well, seriously, I'm thinking about joining a sports club in Takatsuki. It's a little far from my house, but I should make an effort, right? I hope you enjoy(ed) the winter break.