It’s definitely summer in Japan again!

２０１１年７月２９日

It’s supposed to be the “rainy season” in Japan right now, 梅雨 (つゆ) if you can read Japanese, but for the last week, coming up to two weeks now it’s just been Mr. Sunshine. I think I should be happy about this, but actually, it’s so hot and humid right now that I’m sweating more than a fat, chocolate cake loving kid stuck in an Egyptian desert!!! The weather forecast predicts a thunder storm everyday… but it just never comes!

  This is a very sexy tan of one of my fellow teachers.

Even though I find myself using my air con everyday these days, I hope it stays sunny. I want to work on my own tan, but not only that, I love the fact that I can hang out a load of washing and it’s dry within the hour! No Chinese laundries at my place at the moment! Score.

Just 3 weeks until Summer holidays start, and then 1 week after that and I’ll be in Korea for a holiday!! Come on holidays… can’t you come any faster?!

Smiling Children

２０１１年３月５日

Today I went and visited an orphanage actually not too far from where I’m living.
Sometimes it’s hard to fathom that some people bring these wonderful children into the world, but are not fit to raise them. Hearing stories that some children have burn scars on their arms or something similar from their parents is quiet heartbreaking. I wish I could adopt some of them because they are sooooo cute! Playing with them for a few hours, I feel like i’m doing a good deed!

Something else I was shocked about is that a lot of these kids that are at orphanages, actually still have parents, but their parents are unfit to raise them, so these little kiddies might see their parents for a couple of days a week or something like that. And then not only that, but there’s apparently a LOT of orphanages around.

But even seeing them once a month is not much to give but so worth it when you see their smiling faces and hear them laughing.

It reminds me of my foster child in Korea. I wish I had a lot of money so that I could donate it to those places and people that really need it. Those kids are starting off with a handicap, but I’m sure they can finish with a decent ending!!

Merry Christmas

２０１０年１２月２５日

Well, Merry Christmas everyone!

I can’t believe how fast this second half of the year has gone!! Since arriving to Japan, life has been going on hyper-speed with the occasional bump in the road, but hey, here I am, Christmas morning in Japan. My 2nd Christmas away from home and family.
It’s currently 8:45am and I’m sitting in Kansai International Airport, waiting for my flight to go to Taiwan to spend a few days catching up with friends.

Actually, it’s a really lucky time for me because the weather is going to turn crap here in Osaka, high speed winds that remind me when Cyclone Chaba was passing by, and it’s going to rain almost constantly for the next 5 days or so.. where as Taiwan is going to be sunny, warm, maybe it will be my reminder of Australia.
Well, anyway, because of the winds last night, my doors kept banging which didn’t help me get to sleep. I eventually got to sleep at about 11:30pm or so, woke up this morning just before my alarm, so maybe 3:45 am. I just had a coffee and a bite to eat at Starbucks. I might catch a few Zzzz on the plane over there, as I want to get the most out of my Taiwan trip.

I’m not sure if I’ll be internet-less over there or not, but I probably won’t have time to update anything anyway because like I just said, I want to get the most out of this trip as it’s only a few days, so it’s going to be go, go, go!

Signing off for now~

Taking things easy~

２０１０年１０月２０日

So, since the Hiroshima trip, things have been fairly quiet for me! Partly due to the fact that my knee is still healing and so I don’t want to injure myself any further. I need to help myself, not the opposite!

So this week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday has been my school’s 中間試験 (Mid-year exams) so I’ve been quite free, except for monday morning from approx. 9am – 10am in which I had to rush around to 6 different classes and verbally do the listening section in front of the students. I have been marking some of the exams and I’m glad that most students got all my section right, but the teachers sometimes have trouble with my accent, even though it’s not terribly a strong Australian accent.. But anyway, things are ok because I’ve managed to get half days these last few days.. but back to the crunch of things tomorrow!!

Today after travelling to Cosmo Square to get my re-entry permit (So I can leave Japan and am able to re-enter it again), I went to have a little look around Shinsaibashi and Namba. I went to the Louis Vitton store, but nothing particular caught my eye.. so I walked around a bit more and there was a random dude dressed up as Vegita from Dragon Ball Z
Everyone was taking pictures with him! I thought it was quite brave on his part, wearing that out in public.. But I guess Halloween is just around the corner! Also whilst walking around with my head phones in my ears.. I don’t know how, but this guy did the “pull out your head phones” sign to me, so I did, and then he started talking away in Japanese.. I didn’t want to listen, so I put them back in and then started to walk, but then he started to follow me and did the “please” sign (two hands put together), so I took them out and he’s like, please come to me store and just have a look.

I should have stopped here! But I went with him and had a look.. and he’s asking me if I’m looking for anything in particular , and I say nothing really.. but then there’s these cargo pants, but it’s like a marbled green colour.. so without realising, I walk over and have a look.. blah blah blah, I try them on and I want to buy them.. Damn it! Well, I was looking for a new pair of pants or something.. but I did think I would be doing it today! So yeah, I bought them. Then I thought I might go to H & M and look for the jacket that I lost when I was at Club Pure.. but they only had it in size XSmall.. which is way too small T_T

I love being tall and skinny.. but in Japan, I wish I was a bit smaller and a bit skinnier.. and I’m also not sure when people look at me what they are thinking.. good things? bad things? Does it really matter? Kinda..

But going to Yoghurtland in Namba makes everything better!
I went here for the first time.. I’ve wanted to go here ever since I saw it open, and David, another JET loves this place.. so I finally decided to stop and give it a whirl.. and yes.. it’s damn good! I’m so coming back here again! I’ve had similar things to this, but yoghurtland is so cheap for the amount that you get.. I feel like i’m ripping them off.. a similar feeling I get when I go to 飲み放題 (drink-buffet).. but I think it’s just part of the package that comes with living in Japan (from a foreigners eyes).

So I can’t really say much at the moment, but I’m not going to the Osaka Halloween party anymore… I’m going to go to Nagoya instead. I’ve yet to experience a real Halloween party, and I guess that’s going to be delayed 1 more year. But on the up side, I will get to visit my friends in Nagoya that I haven’t seen for like 2 or 3 years! Gosh.. I can’t believe it’s been that long already!! I still have to buy my shinkansen ticket, and I’m still not sure if I’m going to stay at my friend’s place.. or if I should just go ahead and book my own accommodation… hmmm..

Anyway, definitely looking forward to this Friday night, when some of the other JETs will come over to my place and have a movie night.. Raz is going to bring her HD full of movies, Ali is going to bring her computer speakers just incase there’s no sound cable and we have to play the sound from my computer and Jon is going to bring the necessary cables to connect the TV and Macbook Pro together~ We’re going to go to あけぼの (Akebono) for dinner.. just because I love that place, and I think the food is pretty good and I want others to experience it! and then movie time!! Which reminds me, I have to tidy up my place.. probably tonight, because tomorrow I want to go to Basketball club and Volleyball club and then go to the gym after that..

Oh.. and 1 last thing before I sign off.. my learn Japanese books came today (The ones we get from CLAIR).. I’m so happy that I can now really try and get stuck into studying! I think my Korean is going to get progressively worse, even though I can still help Ali with the basics.. but time to レベル アップ (level up) my Japanese I think!