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.

Discoveries

Another topic of Chapter 9(OC) is discoveries; either personal ones (about yourself, a friend, an intersting place, something you'd never noticed before about something familiar), or the more general type (exploration to foreign places, useful inventions etc).

This year, I've discovered how much fun blogging in class can be. I hope you agree with me. It's been my first time to do it, and I've enjoyed getting to know each of you better through your writing, and even your choice of photos and blog design. Computers are an ongoing discovery for me. I was already about 31 or 32 years old when the Internet became well known and people started exchanging email, whereas you have grown up with it.

Of course there are many other discoveries that I'm grateful for, not least fire, and the wheel (ha ha). Seriously though, when I ride my bicycle I usually think what a wonderful invention it is (to allow us to move quickly without causing any pollution, and giving us some exercise as well). Without the airplane I would probably never have come to Japan, so I appreciate the Wright brothers efforts too. I doubt the usefulness of space exploration though. I think we should spend money on saving the Earth, not trying to go to Mars!

I hate zoos

In Chapter 9 of the OC book we look at the future. Our future is full of uncertainty and problems. For one thing, the global population is growing fast, and a larger percentage of people have money to spend on manufactured products. Therefore, the habitat of wild animals is being destroyed to help boost all kinds of production and economic growth.

It's clear that many animal species will become extinct before long. Even the tiger, such a beautiful creature, is likely to disappear from the wild very soon. What can we do? As much as possible, I guess we have to create protected areas and enforce them more strictly, and have breeding programs in those protected areas to raise young endangered animals that naturally live around there. That will not always be 100% successful, but it seems to be the only answer.

I hate zoos though. Pandas don't belong in Japan, giraffes don't belong in Australia, and so on. I don't believe that owners of zoos who claim they are helping animals are sincere. They are just making innocent creatures prisoners, often in very small cages, and making a profit from visitors. My wife wanted to go to Asahiyama Zoo this summer, so I reluctantly agreed to go. Seeing magnificent creatures, such as wolves, moving up and down, up and down, again and again in the same small space (slowly going crazy) just made me feel depressed.