Plates of delicious curry rice eaten: 1 Tailless stray kitties seen: 7 Breaks at work enjoyed: 1 Hangovers suffered: 1 beers drank up: 3 bottles of warm sake enjoyed: 1/2 drunken rants: 2 3 year-old nose pickers: 2 7 year-old toenail biters: 2 5 year-old toe suckers: 2 Children put in the corner: 1 Kanji […]
Month: July 2007
Obviously On Top of Things
… another thing I really enjoyed about my trip to Korea was the chance to see Pepper in action. She and her manager graciously allowed me to sit in on a few of her classes and I was treated to some adorable and cheeky Korean kid antics, as well as a front-row seat to Pepper’s […]
The Hunt for Poo Socks
I’m back from Korea. In case you were wondering, I’m also front from Korea. Wakka wakka! 6 months of listening to broken English hasn’t robbed me of my love for a ridiculous pun … 6 months here in Japan – I quietly celebrated my 6 month anniversary of moving to Japan about 2 weeks ago. […]
“Heck, no!”
Last week, I threw my unruly 12 year olds a bone of cool aunt mercy when I used the phrase “Heck, no!” during my Fourth of July lesson. That simple act might have unwittingly set off a chain of events because I found myself saying, “Heck, no!” a couple of times more this week – […]
Simply Irresistible
Since I am “at that age,” I often look at my wee students and want to hug them or squeeze their little potato feet. Imagine my surprise to discover that the sentiment might go both ways – this week, I have been felt up by not one, but two of my own young students. Now, […]
I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
Any ex-patriot will tell you how strange it is to live abroad during one of your country’s big holidays. “Strange” is, of course, a shallow and overreaching term – in some cases, there is a sense of guilt (“Woah. Was last week Thanksgiving? I didn’t hear anything about it …”) or a sense of loss […]
Suffer the Children to Sing “La La La” Unto Me
Each week, I bring new things to my children’s classes. Right from the start I enjoyed being silly and using strange voices to maintain interest when I drilled them with flashcards but, as anything, my teaching “shtick” evolves. I now enjoy teaching letters and their corresponding phonic sounds through musical scales (this exercise borne out […]