I know fish aren`t trash, but ones like Medaka (`killifish` in English) are free to collect if you want to. I keep some in plastic plant boxes and fish tanks (suiso) at home and in a fish tank in my classroom too. I caught them in a creek near my house.
Usually wild medaka are brown, but occasionally they are white, and last week I caught a rare orange one for the first time. Cool!
Maybe I have an invisible one too, but I`m not sure.
I hope the orange one will have orange babies. Then, when I have lots of orange medaka, I`ll sell them and become rich and buy a 1969 Ford Mustang.
This weekend Australia will have an election to see who will be our prime minister (souri daijin). Probably it will be one of these two. Hehe.
Rose & I have already sent our votes to the Australian Consulate (ryoujikan) in Osaka.
Everybody is saying it will be close - nobody is sure who will win. Interesting!
Unfortunately the weather during our Obon holiday was pretty bad, so I didn`t do any of the adventurous things I had hoped to - camping, hiking, cycling, bare-back deer riding, etc.
But I went to `Water Eco Park` (kasen-kankyo-rakuen) a couple of times. Do you know it? It`s near Ichinomiya tower. There`s a wide, shallow stream there which is popular with small children. Owen loves sitting in the cool water, picking up pebbles and throwing them (sometimes on my foot - ouch!). Afterwards we eat shaved ice (kakigori) before coming home. Yum!
If you haven`t been there, I recommend you check it out, especially if you have small kids.
This is a toy I made from recycled beach wood. Owen enjoys playing with it, but he doesn`t pay attention to the colours. He just likes putting the round pieces in it. When I`m not looking he also tries to eat them. Maybe they taste like sun-baked sea-salt.
Mmmm.
That sounds kind of yummy actually.
Every month, a teacher at Ichinomiya Teragoya chooses a `Student of the Month`. This month it`s my turn, so I chose Kohshi Shibata, who I teach on Saturday mornings. He was so shy when he started about 1 year ago, and his mum or dad had to stay with him for the whole class. He cried if they left.
But! Now he can study without them for the whole lesson - he is confident & independent! Cool!
He is only 3 years old, but he knows so many English words now. He listens carefully when I talk to him because he knows he can understand English. His favourite activity is cooking time (with plastic food etc.).
He has good manners too - he often says please. Also, one time when we finished cooking time, he asked me to please play the "Let`s Clean Up!" song on the CD, while he washed up. So cute!
Well done Kohshi - We`re proud of you!
Our bench at Ichinomiya Teragoya wasn`t actually trash yet, but it was showing some definite signs of age, as you can see.
Time for a make-over!
Our staff Yumi got wood from her kind husband, and I repaired the bench at home. It was pretty easy, but painting the wood (clear color) was a bit of a hassle.
Next time you visit our school, please try it - it`s free!
Do you remember your first kiss?
How about your first KISS LIVE CONCERT???
I do, & in both cases I was excited, embarrassed, and confused...
But I knew I wanted more!
So! Last Saturday I joined a crowd of rock romantics at Gifu Teragoya for another performance by our favorite Kiss tribute band, `God of Thunder`. Of course they didn`t disappoint, putting on a performance I don`t think anyone will ever forget. Even if they try hard to.
New additions since last time included a smoke machine, a cool laser display, & a new drummer. I had a nice chat to him & his lovely girlfriend afterwards. It was a strange experience talking to a guy wearing more make-up & sexier clothes than the girl beside him. He apologised for not singing `Bess` & I apologised for staring at his sequins.
Did you go to the concert? If not, you missed an awesome time!
Oh - & thanks Kiyotaka (Ichinomiya Teragoya student - Yay!) for your opening performance, including 2 songs in English - good job!
Bamboo is fantastic. I think it`s proof there is a God (or Devil, if you`ve ever tried to get rid of it from your garden).
It can be as strong as steel, sharp as a knife, or so soft you can eat it! It`s useful for making all sorts of things, from boats to vases.
As you can see, my skill level is not high enough for the boat option yet, but this vase I made from bamboo looks pretty nice, don`t you think? I made it from bamboo I found on the beach at Mihama.
I stole the flowers from my mother-in-law`s garden.
On Friday, Ichinomiya Teragoya held a Tanabata Party at an izakaya called Wataminchi (why do staff always laugh when I say it?), which is in front of Ichinomiya Station. The interesting thing for me about this izakaya is that it used to be a Nova school before, and I used to work there! So the place we drank beer & ate food on Friday used to be a classroom where I taught English to students - pretty funny!
Anyway, everyone had a good time, and I realised I`m not a heavy drinker at all after sitting next to Mr. Kesao...
Thanks everybody for coming, & thanks to those who wore yukatas - you all looked so cool!
If you`ve been to Ichinomiya Teragoya this week, you`ll know it`s our Yukata Week (Gifu & Ginan are later). It`s good to see so many kids in yukatas - everyone looks great!
Girls often complain that yukatas (& kimonos) are uncomfortable & difficult to put on, but for men it`s not so bad. I have a few yukatas, and I quite like wearing them. It feels like I`m wearing a dress in public, which I don`t get many chances to do in Brisbane (Sydney is a bit different).
When I first came to Japan about 10 years ago, not many men wore yukatas to festivals. Recently though, I see that they are coming back into fashion for guys. That`s good, because I think they look pretty cool. Do you agree?
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田仲なお美 
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