Adam's IES-B Cafe

Bali

2006-02-15T11:31:00.000+09:00

Katty and I just returned from 10 days in beautiful Bali, where we had an amazing time. Katty is doing very well, the baby is fine, and we are both happy to be back in Japan.

So what did we do in Bali? It was a relaxing vacation for us, full of eating, sleeping, walking, reading, swimming, and shopping. The Balinese people are very friendly, especially the wonderful family who owned the hotel where we stayed in Ubud, and we enjoyed meeting people and viewing different aspects of Balinese culture. We especially enjoyed two local dances that were performed in Ubud temples - Lagong and Kecak. We also took beautiful walks through rice paddies and lush, green valleys.

And the food! We dug in and devoured a variety of delicious foods, including a lot of fish, fresh fruit, and crisp vegetables. We tried to go to a different restaurant each night, but some places were so good that we returned once or twice. Also, at our hotel, the owner's family prepared a huge Balinese feast with 15 different dishes! We ate very well, which made pregnant Katty very happy.

If any of my students are still checking this blog, please write and tell me how your breaks are going. I'll also put more pictures on My Picture Page if you want to see more of Bali.

Our Fiction Page

2006-01-21T12:59:00.000+09:00

All of the IES-B short stories can be found here. Students, make at least three comments on stories before Tuesday's class. I will give you my comments to the stories this weekend, and we will share and revise the stories on Tuesday in class. Think now about any changes that you will make.

The Eight Kamis

2006-01-12T14:01:00.000+09:00

In class we are writing short stories... here is the one I wrote, called The Eight Kamis. It is a horror story, so try not to be afraid. I did not take any time to edit or revise it, so if it has mistakes or is not very good, I apologize.

. Nick Casey slicked his hair back one final time, took a deep but nervous breath, and entered the room to face the horror – twenty-four Japanese students. Nick had spent the last nine years of his life as an accountant in Cleveland, Ohio, but one divorce, one mid-life crisis, one education certificate, and one long flight later, he was now a sensei, ready to teach English to a room full of students at Osaka Language College. The Japanese whispering stopped dead, and Nick pushed forward to the oversized teacher’s desk in front of the room, too petrified to look up at the silent students, too shy to do anything but flash a thin smile.
. “Good morning,” he muttered, finally looking up to see… twenty-four smiling, eager faces. Forty-eight alert, patient eyes. “Good morning,” he repeated with confidence. “I’m Mr. Casey, your new teacher. Welcome to Reading and Writing 219.”

. A week later, Nick had memorized all of the students’ names, aided by one helpful coincidence – eight of the girls were named Kami! He had three other classes and not a single Kami, but R&W 219 had eight of them, a fact that the girls themselves found highly amusing.
. “Mr. Casey,” asked the boldest of the Kamis, “you are going to remember our last names?”
. “I don’t think I can,” Nick answered. “You can be Kami Number One.”
. The rest of the students broke into laughter, and the other Kamis demanded names of their own.
. “Well, let’s see,” Nick said thoughtfully, resting his chin in his hand and tapping his cheek for extra effect. “You can be Tall Kami, and you over there can be Kami With Glasses.” More laughter. “Then we have Kami Coffee-Drinker, Late Kami, Kami With Braces… hmmm. Two more. Sleepy Kami, and… Cell Phone in Class Kami.”
. The students howled their approval. The Kami class had quickly become Nick’s favorite because of their good sense of humor and patience – he was a new teacher, and he made a lot of mistakes (like forgetting the books on the second day of class!), but they always treated his with respect and understanding.

. Nick had taken over the classes of a Mr. Benjamin, who had quit the university suddenly and returned to England, where he was from. Because of that, just when Nick was beginning to feel at ease and the classes were becoming more interesting, the semester was at an end. On the last day of class, Kami Number One raised her hand and said, “Mr. Casey, today we have party for last day of class. We will go to a traditional Japanese bar, called izakaya. Can you go?”
. Nick agreed immediately – he hadn’t yet made many friends among the staff, and he thought that an evening out with his students would be a great introduction to Japanese culture. . “You are very good teacher,” added Kami With Glasses. “This class was too short.”

. Nick arrived at Murasaki Izakaya at 8:00 sharp, knowing that the Japanese were usually on time for most events. He nodded his way through an awkward greeting with the doorman, and was led up two sets of rickety wooden stairs. On the top floor of the izakaya was a private room, rented out for large parties – such as twenty-four students and their teacher. As he climbed, the smell of grilled meat and spilled beer faded away, replaced by a sweet smell he couldn’t identify. . Nick took off his shoes, slipped on a pair of too-small izakaya slippers, and slid open the paper door that the doorman had indicated. Surprisingly, only a few students were waiting inside – the eight Kamis.
. “Welcome,” they cried out.
. “Thanks,” Nick said, looking around. “But where are the others?”
. “They had to cancel,” said Late Kami, who wasn’t late for a change.
. “All of them?” Nick asked.
. The eight Kamis nodded silently.
. The room itself was beautiful. The far wall was really just one big window, revealing the cloudy but bright June night beyond it.
. The girls fell unusually silent, and Nick struggled to think of a topic. “I had a wonderful semester,” he said. “I was very lucky to get your class.”
. “Not lucky,” said Sleepy Kami, who wasn’t sleepy for a change. “You are here because Mr. Benjamin is gone. But that isn’t lucky.”
. “Sure it is,” Nick disagreed. “If Mr. Benjamin hadn’t returned to London, I wouldn’t even have been hired.”
. “But Mr. Benjamin no return to London,” said Kami Number One, standing up from her kneeling position. “We get new teacher every month. Mr. Benjamin May teacher. You June teacher.”
. “Every month?” Nick asked. “I don’t understand?”
. The rest of the Kamis also stood up, and Nick didn’t know what to think. He stood up, too, and began to inch towards the door.
. “Do you know what Okami means in Japanese?” asked Tall Kami, who was almost as tall as he was.
. “I haven’t really learned much Japanese yet,” Nick mumbled, afraid now because of the girls’ serious expressions. These were the expressions he had been afraid of seeing back on the first day, and now, four weeks later, here they were.
. “Okami means wolf,” said Kami With Braces, running her tongue across her teeth. “Isn’t it funny that we are all named Kami? That we are all named wolf?”
. Nick took a step back, ready to run, but two of the Kamis had blocked the door. He skirted the edge of the table, and soon was pressed up against the window. The Kamis were coming closer, their eyes vacant. And that sweet smell again. He recognized it. Blood.
. “Look,” whispered Kami Number One, nodding to the window.
. Nick didn’t want to look, but couldn’t help himself. Behind him, the full moon had come out from behind the clouds. He closed his eyes when he heard the first terrible snarl, and waited in the darkness for the Okamis to attack.

Fun Movies

2006-01-10T15:31:00.000+09:00

One thing I did over the break was see a lot of movies, and I thought I would give you my thoughts on a couple of them.

1) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: I have read all of the books in the Harry Potter series, and was very excited for this movie because I thought The Goblet of Fire was the best of all the books so far. The movie did not disappoint in the action scenes, but I wasn't sure that the director included enough from the book. There were several moments when I thought that if I had not read the book, I would not understand the movie completely.

One thing I like about the 4th book and movie was that it began to get much darker and serious. In this movie, a major character dies at the end, which is of course very painful for the young witches and wizards. I sometimes wonder if perhaps the movies are now too scary for very young students. Have you seen the movie or read the book?

2) King Kong: Of course the story of King Kong is very famous, and I was eager to see what the director of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, would do with the story. Again, this movie had a lot of great action sequences, but I particularly like the relationship between the main character (played by Naomi Watts) and the big monkey. It felt very realistic to me, and I could sense that they had a special bond at the end of the film. Of course, everyone knows how the movie will end, so the ending was fine, but I was a little disappointed that the director left many holes in the story. I don't want to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, but I think that everyone already knows that King Kong is captured and taken to New York. But... how did they get him on the boat? How did they keep him alseep and calm for such a long journey? I wish they would have explained these and other mysteries.

The action sequences were amazing and creative, but they were so fast and long that sometimes I was a little confused as to what was happening. Overall, I definitely recommend seeing it. Have you?

3) The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: This is the first book in the Narnia series, which is a popular set of children's books written by C.S. Lewis. I read these books when I was a kid, and strongly recommend them for my students... they are not too easy, not too hard (certainly easier that Slaughterhouse-Five!). The movie stars four brothers and sisters, and I was impressed with the young actors they chose. Often young actors bother me in movies, but these were very convincing and not annoying at all. The movie was very loyal to the book, for the most part. I was only distressed seeing the children suddenly become leaders of a huge army... of course it is a children's book and not very realistic, but they went from little kids to killing warriors very quickly and with no training. Hmmm.

My only big complaint was the voice of Azlan, the Lion. The Lion is the king of Narnia, and more of a god than an animal. Then why did they give him such a loser, old man voice? Have you seen this or any other good movies this winter?

Hello From Cleveland

2005-12-29T06:30:00.000+09:00

I just wanted to say hello to any students or anyone else who might be checking my blog over the holiday break. I am in Cleveland with my family in my dad's new house, and my wife Katty arrived today from Peru, where she attended her sister's wedding and spent Christmas with her family.

I have attached an old picture of my dad and brother and me in Japan, since I don't have any new pictures to share. I also chose this one because I printed a nice copy and put it in a frame and gave it to my dad for Christmas.

It's great being home! My dad and brother and I went to a Cleveland Browns football game, which was fun even though the Browns are terrible and lost 41-0 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh well. I have also seen a lot of my friends, and will see more of them tonight. New Years Eve will be tranquil, since Katty and I have to catch a 6:00am flight on January 1st! It's not our fault... they canceled the flight we had, and gave us this one.

OK... I hope everyone is safe and happy. See you soon.

The Real Santa?

2005-12-17T12:18:00.000+09:00

Who is the Santa in the picture? That's right, it's me on Friday night. The teachers and their families had a little Christmas party, and I was asked and reluctantly agreed to be Santa.

It was more complicated than I thought it would be! Obviously you have the pants and shirt and hat, but I also needed boots, cotton balls for the eye brows, double-sided tape, blush (make-up) for my cheeks, and my wife's glasses.

At the party, most kids cried when they sat on my lap, but I didn't take it personally. Some of the older kids didn't really think I was Santa, but they were too shy to say anything about it. There were a couple of kids at the perfect age, who really did think I was Santa and told me how they drew my picture in school and wrote me letters. It was cute.

After giving out the gifts and crying, "Ho Ho Ho," I made my exit. I enjoyed being Santa, but hope that next year someone else does it.

There is another photo on my English 1 blog, and I will also put more on my picture page if I get them.

Slaughterhouse-5, Chapters 9 and 10

2005-12-12T17:40:00.000+09:00

On p. 83, Billy's wife Valencia dies of carbon monoxide poisoning. She is in a traffic accident, and the carbon monoxide that is produced by her car begins to fill the inside. She keeps driving, because she wants to get to the hospital to see Billy. During the trip she becomes poisoned by the gas, and dies.

Harry Truman was the American president who decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On pp. 185-186 we get an abbreviated version of his announcement. See the whole thing here.

Vonnegut refers to The Destruction of Dresden by David Irving. Rumfoord, Billy's neighbor in the hospital, wants to read this book because he is writing a book about WWII, and wants to show that Dresden was a huge military success. Rumfoord is portrayed as a military man whom we aren't supposed to like very much -- someone who doesn't see the human side of war.

The students doing the summary this week do not need to mention the quoted text from pp. 187-188. You should all read it, but there will not be test questions about it.

On p. 91, Rumfoord shows his dislike for "bleeding hearts." A bleeding heart (see definition #2) is someone who is politically liberal and is sympathetic to everyone. That sounds like a good thing, but it is often used with a negative connotation to describe someone who is viewed as weak or too soft. An example: "All of those bleeding-heart liberals would be happy if illegal immigrants filled the U.S.A. from top to bottom."

Just to be clear, on p. 194 Billy and other Americans are returning to Dresden two days after it was bombed, to collect things from the slaughterhouse.

A saber (p. 195) is a sword. Like a "light saber" in Star Wars!

Lucretia A. Mott was a famous suffragette -- a woman who fought to give women the right to vote in the 1800's (p. 198).

In Kilgore Trout's book The Big Board, a pair of humans are kidnapped and kept on a zoo on a planet call Zircon-212. Sound familiar?!?! These humans are tricked into thinking that they are playing the stock market on Earth and winning money for when they return -- this is done so that the humans will be exciting and fun to watch. Here are photos of the Nasdaq "big board," so you can imagine what their zoo cell looked like.

On p. 202, a "rabble-rouser" is a trouble-maker.

The Kilgore Trout book on p. 203 describes a time traveler who goes back to see if Jesus' heart is beating after he is crucified. The time traveler does this because Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected (came back to life) several days after he was killed.

There is some irony on p. 204 because the owners think that Billy is a pervert for looking at the "window dressing." A pervert, in this case, is someone who has unnatural sexual interest. Billy is in a pornography store where Kilgore Trout novels are used as "window dressing" -- items kept in the window just as decoration. The irony is that the owners think Billy is a pervert for being more interested in the science fiction books than in the pornography.

A blue movie is a movie that shows a naked woman. It does not show people having sex. Billy watches part of a Montana Wildhack blue movie from early in her acting career.

The radio show that Billy appears on is for discussing the role of the novel in modern society. You do not have to summarize the arguments, and it won't be on the test (bottom of 205 to 206).

Both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated in 1968 (p. 210).

Slaughterhouse-Five, 7-8

2005-12-05T22:14:00.000+09:00

Hopefully these notes will help for chps. 7-8 of S-5.

The first song sung by the barbershop quartet on p. 155 is rather disgusting and sexual. That this is Billy's father-in-law's favorite song tells us something about his personality. A barbershop quartet is a group (of usually men) who sing without musical instruments.

Billy thinks that the skiiers who rescue him look like golliwogs. Golliwogs are characters meant to resemble African Americans that were popular many decades ago. Golliwogs are widely considered to be racist symbols today.

On p. 162, Campbell comes to the slaughterhouse to recruit Americans to fight for the Germans, but only against the Russians. In this map, you can see how the Germans were fighting the Russians to the east and England, the U.S., and other countries to the west.

You can probably figure it out for yourselves, but the meat locker under the slaughterhouse where Billy and the Americans are kept when the air raid siren goes off is a big cold room where meat is kept. Like I said, you probably knew that.

When Billy first meets Kilgore Trout (166), Trout is the boss of a group of paperboys -- boys (and a girl) who deliver the newspaper to people's homes. Billy soon refers to a Trout novel in which a robot drops jellied gasoline on people from bombers. This jellied gasoline is a reference to napalm, which is a jelly made by Harvard scientists that was used to make terrible bombs and flame throwers in war.

Billy keeps the denture he found in the war in his cufflinks drawer. Cufflinks are small pieces of jewelry that men use to hold together the cuffs of their shirts (175). They go through the button holes.

Nobody ever leaves any comments, but if you have any questions that you think might benefit the class, ask them here.

Help for Chps. 5-6

2005-11-29T11:35:00.000+09:00

Chapters 5-6 make up the longest reading section in Slaughterhouse-5, so here are a few notes that might help.

p. 89 - The Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns are two natural sites in the Western part of the U.S. It is common for families to take vacations to these places.

p. 91 - When the German guard says, "Vy you?", it is his pronunciation of, "Why you?".

p. 91 - A dogtag is a necklace given to soldiers as identification. The Germans give Billy and the other soldiers an additional set of dogtags, so they have two sets.

p. 93 - The Pirates of Penzance is a British musical comedy by Gilbert and Sullivan, who wrote many of these musicals. These musicals are very British, and an American would probably be unfamiliar with them.

p. 95 - Jerry is a term that was used to refer to Germans during WWII. It isn't a nice term, and it isn't often used now. You shouldn't use it when referring to Germans.

p. 96 - This is disgusting, so read with caution -- during WWII, the Germans often used the fat from dead bodies to make candles. Most of these dead bodies were killed in concentration camps.

p. 98 - The British perform Cinderella. Later, we meet the man who played the Fairy Godmother.

p. 99 - The hospital where Billy is staying in 1948 is a psychiatric hospital for soldiers who were affected by the war. Billy went there voluntarily because he knew he was having difficulties adjusting to life after the war. His roommate, Eliot Rosewater, appears in other Vonnegut books. Both of them read a science fiction author named Kilgore Trout. Trout is not a real author, but also appears in many Vonnegut books. The only thing you really need to understand about Trout is that he writes absurb but creative science fiction books, just as absurd and creative as Billy's own story of life on Tralfamadore. Hmmm...

p. 111 - A silver pattern is a set of expensive dishes that many couple order when they get married. The funny names on p. 111 are different patterns.

p. 111 - To get an idea of what Billy's geodesic dome home on Tralfamadore looks like, click here.

p. 112 - Sears Roebuck is a department store in the U.S., like Hankyu. That's where the Tralfamadorians got most of the equipment for Billy's zoo dome.

p. 114 - Because the Tralfamadorians can see in more dimensions than humans, they tell Billy that there are actually more than just two sexes - male and female - but that humans can't see the differences because they can't see in these dimensions.

p. 124 - Because he is stuck on the fence, Billy looks like a dancing scarecrow.

p. 125 - A latrine is a bathroom. All of the Americans are in it because the British welcome dinner made them sick.

p. 128-130 - You should read all of this stuff about Americans, but it won't be on the test and it doesn't need to be in your summary.

p. 137 - This page is a little confusing. Billy senses that there are two small items inside the lining of his coat. He feels that they are sending him a message -- that he shouldn't take them out and find out what they are, but that they will help him later.

p. 142 - Billy claims that in 1976 the U.S. will be divided into 20 little countries.

p. 143 - The author refers to this painting, The Spirit of '76.

p. 149 - Billy and the other Americans are brought to Dresden to work.

p. 150 - Billy finally takes the two objects out of the lining of his coat -- they are a big diamond and a partial denture. A denture is a set of false teeth.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the chapters.

Mamushi?

2005-11-20T18:56:00.000+09:00

I went hiking last weekend in a very nice area about 40 minutes away from Hirakata (I'm not sure where because my friend drove and I didn't pay attention). We had a great day, hiking for about 5 hours. We saw a waterfall, a lot of changing fall colors, and ended up in a small village with a cool shrine. It was great.

There were a lot of signs warning of snakes, but they were in Japanese so I couldn't understand much (sorry I didn't take a picture). I wasn't worried about it, though, until that unfriendly fellow above crossed my path! My friend didn't see it so I just started mumbling "ay, bu, ee, eh" until he looked. He said it was a poisonous snake, but didn't remember what it was called. I found a website describing poisonous snakes, but I don't know if the one I saw was a mamushi. Does anyone have any information for me?

Either way, I was nervous the whole way back. When you're scared, roots look a lot like snakes.

Help with Slaughterhouse-Five

2005-11-17T15:19:00.000+09:00

Here are a few ideas that I really want you to understand about the book. Email me if you have any questions.

1) Slaughterhouse-Five and Animal Farm have very different styles. Animal Farm is like the still life painting above (the second painting)... it is pretty easy to look at it and understand how everything works and what everything is. The symbolism about Stalin and Marx and Communism is all pretty obvious, and after you read it you have the feeling like you understand Orwell's main point. This is not to say that Animal Farm isn't a brilliant book, because it is, but it's pretty straightforward.

Slaughterhouse-Five is more like the Picasso painting of a guitar and violin above (the top one). You need to look at that painting for a long time to understand what it is about, and even if you do look at it for a long time, you might see something that I don't see, or vice-versa. You might look at it again tomorrow, and see something different. Slaughterhouse-Five is like that... it's not easy to say what a particular part is about, or why it is in the book. Everything fits together like the shapes in Picasso's painting, and you need to read all of it in hopes of understanding it. Personally, I need to read a book like this 2 or 3 times to really feel like I "get it."

2) I will not ask you any test questions from p. 15 (the middle) to p. 18 (the middle). This section is a description of the real life Children's Crusade, which is interesting but not essential to understand, and also about the history of Dresden and how it was destroyed in 1760, which, again, is interesting, but not key.

3) There is an important moment on p. 43. This is when Billy first comes "unstuck in time." One minute he is in the forest, leaning against a tree, and the next minute he is jumping around to different moments in his life. He returns to the past, for example, and re-lives a moment when he is about the swim with his father at the YMCA, and also jumps to the future, such as to 1958, when he gets drunk and cheats on his wife. He goes to several of these moments... you should understand that much of this book will be written like this, with Billy living moments not in the order they occurred. It is different than memory -- he is not remembering things, but rather is living them in random order. I won't ask you for a lot of detail about the different times that Billy visits in Chp. 2, but you should be able to list a few places that he goes (such as the two I mentioned above).

4) Billy has an important conversation with his daughter on pp. 29-30. She is angry with him for writing letters about being unstuck in time and kidnapped by aliens, and basically thinks that he is crazy. He insists that he isn't crazy. Then she asks him, "Why is it you never mentioned any of this before the airplane crash?" She is implying that he suffered brain damage in the plane accident, and that he is imagining that he jumps around in time and imagining that aliens kidnap him. He replies, "I didn't think the time was ripe," which basically means, "I wasn't ready."

This conversation makes us ask a simple question -- Is Billy really unstuck in time and kidnapped by aliens, or did his horrible experiences in the war and his airplane crash make him crazy? Obviously we know what his daughter thinks... as you read, you should consider this question for yourself.

OK... my fingers hurt! If you have any more questions, please email me, or comment on this posting.

Indirectness in Japanese Culture

2005-11-17T11:06:00.000+09:00

The following excerpt is from a book called the Japan Career Guide which gives advice to Westerners who are living or working in Japan. Read it and tell me if you agree or disagree with his opinion. Does this excerpt give a fair and complete view of Japanese culture? Would you give the same advice to a Westerner? Include at least one example, detail, or fact that supports your opinion. Your comments on this posting should be at least 50 words, but more would be nice.

. Master the techniques of using and interpreting indirect speech. Since harmony is so important in the culture of Japan, it can be very difficult for the Japanese to say or do anything that is disagreeable, negative, or confrontational. You will rarely hear someone living in Japan say "no" or directly confront, deny, challenge, or disrespect anything you say. This does not mean they don't disagree; it means they are indicating disagreement softly and indirectly. Phrases like "this needs further study," "these things can be difficult," and "perhaps we can look at this in a different way" all indicate a definite problem. If things really are difficult, you might simply get silence. Don't press. Remain silent. Change the subject. Lighten up around another issue. If you press too hard, the Japanese might indicate this by sucking air deeply through their teeth and remaining silent.

2005-11-16T23:47:00.000+09:00

I am worth $2,154,630 on HumanForSale.com

I guess that's pretty good?!?! Maybe. If you want to know how much money you're worth, you could try this website. The questions have a strong U.S. bias, but you could give it a shot.

Intelligence

2005-11-15T19:12:00.000+09:00

IES-B, I just finished going through your answers from the Intelligence Inventory, and I have to say that I was really, truly, deeply impressed. As a group, this was the best sample of critical thinking, complex writing, and self-expression that we have had all year. If you have not yet read your classmates' postings and made some comments, I urge you to do so. I feel like you opened my mind to a lot of interesting ideas.

Festival

2005-11-04T18:51:00.000+09:00

Here are a couple of pictures from the KG festival. If you haven't seen Yoshiko's mandolin club in 2107, or eaten Yuichi and Akihiro's yummy tempura ice cream (I recommend strawberry), then don't wait too long.

Animal Farm, the Book and the Movie

2005-11-02T11:40:00.000+09:00

You have now read the full version of Animal Farm and seen the 1999 movie. The movie made a lot of changes to the story, as movies adapted from books always do. But were these changes good? Did the film-makers lose the essence of the book while they were figuring out how to make animals talk?

You can probably guess my opinion -- I didn't care very much for the movie, and couldn't understand why they changed elements of the plot. For example, the movie focuses much more on the human characters than the book did... the character of Mr. Jones is developed much more, including his financial troubles, his romantic encounters, and his relationship with the other farmers. It is even Mr. Jones who blows up the windmill! I guess the film-makers felt that they had to include more human characters, but I thought this detracted from the story. The key to the story is the transformation of the farm after the revolution, not what happens to the humans. I think that the humans should have merely been minor characters in the film.

What did you think of the changes? Please comment on this blog by 11/9 using at least 80 words, describing one or more changes and how you thought they worked, either positively or negatively. I'd also like your general comments on the movie -- did you enjoy it?

Blocking Junk

2005-10-27T16:18:00.000+09:00

My friend Scott gave me another tip for stopping junk comments. You add word verification so that people who leave comments must type some letters. It helps because a lot of junk comments are left by computer programs that automatically send it out.

Changing is easy. Go to Settings, then Comments. Go down and find: Show word verification for comments? Change to Yes. It's just that easy... hopefully it'll help eliminate some junk.

MLA and Scott's Blog

2005-10-27T11:49:00.002+09:00

To find a good resource site for MLA citations, click here.

To link to Scott Partridge's IES class, click here or find the link on the side.

Japanese Inventions

2005-10-26T17:12:00.000+09:00

I don't know if any of these inventions are actually used by Japanese people, but I am very impressed (I think) that they were even invented. Can you think of any funny names for these products? Would you use any of them? What's the strangest invention you've ever seen?

You can find different inventions on my English 1 blog.

To Shrine or Not to Shrine?

2005-10-17T16:33:00.000+09:00

This article appeared on the Internet today, and I was curious what you think about it. Do you think that Koizumi should visit Yasukuni shrine? If you were the Prime Minister, would you visit it? Do Korea and China have a right to be angry? Let me know what you think.

Japanese PM visits controversial WWII shrine
China, South Korea loudly condemn Koizumi’s trip to memorial

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi prayed at a Tokyo shrine honoring the country’s war dead Monday, defying critics who say the visits glorify militarism and risking a further deterioration in relations with China and South Korea.

The visit was Koizumi’s fifth to the Yasukuni Shrine since becoming prime minister in April 2001, and came despite a recent court decision that found the visits violate Japan’s constitutional division of religion and the state. Koizumi suggests the visits are personal, but as in past occasions, he arrived in an official car, accompanied by his aides.

The international implications of the visit were immediately apparent. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon summoned Japanese Ambassador Shotaro Oshima to protest shortly after the visit. Kyodo News agency reported that the Japanese Embassy in Beijing had issued a warning urging Japanese citizens to be cautious.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Prime Minister Koizumi’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine has been the biggest stumbling block that has strained South Korea-Japan relations,” Ban told Oshima. “Our government has repeatedly requested that he not visit the shrine, which enshrines war criminals who inflicted indescribable suffering and pain in the past.”

Public opinion, however, is split over the visits. Nippon Television conducted a poll over the weekend showing that 47.6 percent of respondents supported the visits, while 45.5 percent were opposed. NTV surveyed 479 people from Friday to Sunday, and provided no margin of error.

This is only part of the article. You can read the whole thing at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9722241/

Should Politicians be Wealthy?

2005-10-16T15:41:00.000+09:00

I enjoyed our class discussion on Friday about leaders' salaries and if they are fair. For me, the interesting part of the discussion was the recognition that a leader earning an average salary and living modestly would be seen as fair and respectable BUT ALSO would be seen as unusual and possibly embarrassing. This was in part because the leader has both a domestic image and an international one, and a leader earing an average wage and living in a modest home might symbolize that the country is poor.

I found this salary information on-line about U.S. congress members (http://usgovinfo.about.com). Note that the average household income (that means for the whole family) in the U.S. is about $44,389 (source: www.census.gov).

My question is: Is it fair? Why do government employees make so much money? Shouldn't they make an average salary to show that political power and money are not necessarily connected?

Congress: Rank-and-File Members' SalaryThe current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $158,100 per year.

• Members are free to turn down pay increase and some choose to do so.

• During the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin considered proposing that elected government officials not be paid for their service. Other Founding Fathers, however, decided otherwise.

• From 1789 to 1815, members of Congress received only a per diem (daily payment) of $6.00 while in session. Members began receiving an annual salary in 1815, when they were paid $1,500 per year.

• Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.

Senate Leadership: Majority Leader - $175,600, Minority Leader - $175,600

House Leadership Speaker of the House - $203,000, Majority Leader - $175,600, Minority Leader - $175,600

• A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.

How high are salaries for politicians in Japan? Again, what would you think if politicians decided to give themselves the average salary for the nation?

As a final note, who do you think decides how much money U.S. congress members make? That's right - they do!!!

God Told Me To...

2005-10-07T17:08:00.000+09:00

This is from a news article on yahoo.com (October 7, 2005):

Bush claimed God told him to invade Iraq, Afghanistan: BBC

LONDON (AFP) - US
President George W. Bush allegedly said God told him to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, a new BBC documentary will reveal, according to details.

Bush made the claim when he met Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and then foreign minister Nabil Shaath in June 2003, the ministers told the documentary series to be broadcast in Britain later this month.

The US leader also told them he had been ordered by God to create a Palestinian state, the ministers said.

Shaath, now the Palestinian information minister, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God.

'God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan'.'

"And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq...' And I did.

"'And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East.' And by God I'm gonna do it'," said Shaath.

If this is true, it is one of the most appaling statements I have ever heard. The United States is a country found on the notion that there is a seperation between church and state. In other words, religion and politics don't mix.

What would you call a person who claims to go start wars because God told him to? I know what I'd call him: freaking crazy!!! Religion has been used in the past (and the present) as an excuse for many a war and many a murder. Bush seems to be assuming that God, the creator of all people and things, somehow wants him to go to other countries and kill. God wants that? God wants some of his people to go kill some other of his people? I can't imagine believing in a God who would think that. It's as ridiculous as saying that God is pulling for Brazil in the World Cup, or hoping that more people eat Burger King than McDonalds.

If it turns out that Bush really made these statements, then my level of disgust with my president will have reached an all-time high.

The 'L'

2005-09-28T19:13:00.000+09:00

My IES students need to describe a Japanese gesture or some aspect of body language and what it means. To provide an example, I will describe the 'L' for Loser. If anyone can think of any other gestures that aren't too disgusting, feel free to share.

One basic and common gesture in the U.S. is the 'L' for Loser. It is formed by making a capital 'L' out of the forefinger and thumb (the thumb, since it is shorter, is the bottom of the L). This gesture is usually made with the right hand, so that it will look like an L to others, but I'm sure people would understand if you made it with the left. Although the hand can be put anywhere, the most common and effective place is to put it on the forehead -- this way it is as if the 'L' were right there for everyone to see.

Obviously, the meaning of the 'L' is to show that someone is a loser. You could make it in a conversation with a friend to make fun of him or her. For example, your friend says, "I failed my chemistry test." You can put the 'L' on your forehead, stare him in the eye, and mouth (without making a sound), "L OOOOO ZER." Another use of the 'L' is to tell a friend across the room that the person you are talking to is a loser. But be careful! Don't let that person see. Imagine you are at a party, talking to a really boring guy or girl, and as soon as s/he looks away, you make the 'L' sign for your friends to see. It isn't very nice, but...

Finally, the 'L' can be used to save yourself on the dancefloor. If you are dancing with someone at a club or bar or party, and you decide that you want your friends to come over and dance because the guy or girl is a real LOSER, then as you are dancing make the 'L' and wave it in the air. The guy or girl will probably not recognize the cry for help, but your friends will see your 'L' and come over to rescue you.

IESB Comments about Katrina

2005-09-22T16:59:00.000+09:00

IESB-ers (and anyone else for that matter),

I probably won't comment on most of your Katrina comments individually, but I read most of them and was pleased at how much thought you put into your blogs. I'm glad Scott has you using your blogs for his classroom, and hope you will continue to discuss news issues.

Many of you commented on how surprised you were by the damage done in the U.S. For me, as an American, it was really hard to believe that the scenes I saw of New Orleans on the news in the days after the hurricane were really the U.S. I don't say that because the U.S. is supposed to be safe from disasters, but because I expected our government and agencies to be better prepared. On one hand, Katrina was a tremendous storm that was going to deliver a lot of damage, but honestly it was embarrassing how slowly people were removed from New Orleans. I also couldn't believe that the government hadn't better protected New Orleans by improving the levee system. I'm not from that part of the country, and really I had no idea that the city could flood after a strong hurricane. I didn't, but others did! And they should have done something about it.

My only other thought is that even though I feel awful for the people who lost their homes or loved ones, I think it's important to remember that this same suffering is happening everyday is less developed countries. I wish that the media would focus on those countries as much as it does on the U.S.

Too Slow

2005-09-13T12:42:00.000+09:00

Yuri must be a mindreader because she asked me about the CALL Labs right before I was about to make a posting about them.

I have never had a problem reserving CALL Labs before, so I didn't worry about reserving them until last week. Unfortunately, all of the labs are reserved Friday 1st period. No problem... we will now meet in CALL Lab 5201 every Thursday (3rd). Obviously our first class on Friday is in 2309, and at that time I will give you a schedule for the first 5 weeks of class.

Don't forget to make your postings! I am going to read and respond to everything Thursday night, so don't put it off.

See you soon! (I'm sure you can't wait!!!)

Happiness Questions

2005-09-05T18:49:00.000+09:00

My IES-B students have to answer three of the following questions about happiness over the summer. I thought I would give my own opinions and also list the questions so that anyone else who wanted to contribute could do so.

1. How important is $ to your happiness? What do you want to buy?

2. Why would you desire fame?

3. What do your friends mean to your happiness?

4. How does your family contribute to your happiness?

5. How can a long-term romantic relationship contribute to your happiness?

6. What do you want to do to maintain your health?

7. What is your vision of a satisfying job?

8. What would you be willing to do to make the world a better place?

9. Are some people relatively happier than others? Why or why not?

10. What would it take to make you happy now?

11. What else will it take to make you happy ten years from now?

Here are my answers to a couple of the questions:

#9: I think that some people are relatively happier than others because people respond in different ways to events in their lives. Some people I know seem to be at their happiest when they have something to complain about - in other words, they have trouble finding happiness in the daily events of their lives, and look instead for negativity. Do they know that they do this? I don't know, but it is sad to see. Other people, perhaps those who are more balanced or who have more varied experiences, manage to find happiness no matter what the circumstances are. I try to be one of those people, but sometimes it is easy to feel depressed and to let that depression define you.

#11: In ten years, I will be... 40!! Well, almost. I don't want to write that there are some things that I must have in order to be happy, but there are some things that I hope for. First, I will want to be entering the 13th year of my happy marriage. Could I be happy without my wife? Let's hope I never have to find out. Along those same lines, I hope that Katty and I will have healthy children, and that their role in my life will bring about tons of happiness. Finally, I will need to be in a satisfying job in order to be happy. I have dreams, which I will do my best to make happen (like getting a book published, or opening a language school), but even if I fall short of those dreams, I hope that I will have a job that fulfills me professionally and personally.

2005-09-01T15:28:00.000+09:00

Katty and I on the beach in Tulum, Mexico... click on my picture page for more pictures.

Back in Japan

2005-08-31T15:49:00.000+09:00

After what seemed like a week in airplanes (but was really about 16 hours), Katty and I finally returned to Japan last night. So far we have been hiding in our apartment and avoiding doing all of the things we need to do (e.g. grocery shopping, seeing friends, cleaning, washing all of the dirty clothes). Tomorrow I promise to start being a productive member of society, but today will be more laziness.

My first week of vacation was spent WORKING!!! I taught a 6-day class during the last week in July which required more work than I thought it would. I was teaching Japanese high school and middle school teachers of English, telling them about teaching strategies and giving them sample lessons. It was a positive experience and provided a lot of insight about English teaching in Japanese schools. I hope that the teachers learned something from me.

Then, finally, the real vacation started. I flew to Dallas where Katty had been for about a week, and together we spent a few days with her family there, including the new baby Alejandra. She is only 2 months old, so she doesn't do much except eat, poop, sleep, cry, and stare at the ceiling fan. What a life!!! I wish that was all I had to do. It also made me realize how much work it is going to be if and when Katty and I have children.

After Dallas, we spent about two weeks staying with my dad and stepmom in Cleveland, where I grew up. When I go to Cleveland I try to do as little as possible, but I did manage to be somewhat social. I caught up with some friends from high school, and none of us could believe that we had graduated more than 10 years ago. We are so old! Some of them have gotten married, had kids, and bought homes. It's weird to see everyone with real jobs and real lives. Of course everyone wanted to know about Japan, and I told them about my wonderful students (and the not-so-wonderful ones, too). In Cleveland I also ate many meals with my family (including Chinese food as much as possible). We also took a weekend trip to Niagara Falls in Canada, which was new for Katty, and had an amazing time.

After Cleveland it was finally time for MEXICO. We flew into Cancun but left there as quickly as possible... it is covered with these huge hotels and looks more like the U.S. than Mexico, and isn't really our style. Instead we spent 5 night on the island on Isla Mujeres, 5 nights in a small city called Playa del Carmen, and 3 nights on the beach in the tiny town of Tulum.

The best part of the Yucatan (that part of Mexico) is the water. The ocean is so blue and clear that you can stand up to your neck and see all of your little toes wiggling around. We spent as much time at the beach as possible. We also ate a lot of great Mexican food and drank our share of beer, margaritas, and pina coladas. It was very relaxing... I read 5 books!!! I loved having time to read for pleasure, since I often don't during the semester.

Now here we are! I would include more details, but this posting is already very long. I hope that all of you are well, and I would love to hear about how you are spending your summer breaks. Don't forget to make your mandatory postings, and even a few extra if you want. See you soon.

Relaxing

2005-08-08T03:18:00.000+09:00

I am in Cleveland, in my father's house, doing as little as possible and loving it! After spending a few days in Dallas, Texas with my wife's family, Katty and I came here and have been going out to eat, watching cable TV, reading, sleeping, and seeing friends and family.

Living in Japan, the most I get to see most people I know is once a year, so coming home is a good chance to catch up with old friends and do the "American" things that I miss when I am abroad. Unfortunately, a lot of my best friends are out of the country, but Katty and I are keeping busy. For example, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yesterday with my friend Jennet and her husband... this is a popular site in Cleveland, but I had never been there.

In about a week we will go to sunny Mexico, so until then we are just relaxing and having fun. I hope everyone is having a great summer. Let me (us) know what you are doing.

H.A.G.S.

2005-07-20T14:45:00.000+09:00

As Lingfang wrote, H.A.G.S. to all of you. I had a fun time at the party on Tuesday, but please don't tell my bosses what I had to spell or how I had to spell it.

I check all of your postings and comments, and most of you did well to do the required work. Some of you, however, are missing an opportunity for easy points by not blogging. Besides the points, blogging is a great way to find out interesting things about your classmates (and maybe even teacher).

I will check the blogs a little over the summer, and of course my email, so stay in touch. I would love to hear from you about your summer adventures.

Adam

Results of Vocab Test #2

2005-07-18T15:04:00.000+09:00

IES Class,
Many of you have commented on blogs that Friday's test was difficult. You're right, it was difficult, and there were a wide range of scores, from A to F. You were responsible for knowing a lot of definitions, word forms, and spellings, and I certainly didn't expect anyone to get 100%. The most challenging part for most people was the first page... choosing the right word for each sentence required knowing how the words differed from each other, which is hard. Some of the incorrect answers you gave were understandable, when words were similar, but other errors showed me that you did not understand how the words should be used. There was only one sentence where two words could be equally acceptable - in all other cases, there was one word that was definitely the better choice.

The reason we have many types of assessments is so that one bad test or paper will not sink your grade. You should expect tests and all other assignments in IES-B to be difficult... learn from your mistakes, and review the amount of time you spend studying, and how you spend that time.

Because the grades were low, I have decided to grade on a curve. That means that even though there were 110 points on the test, your final score will be out of 100. That means if you test says 82/110, it is really 82/100. If your test shows 100/110 (as it does for three people!), that means you really got 100/100, or 100%. Well done.

Before I changed the curve, your grades looked like this:
A (90%-100%) = 3 people
B (80%-89%) = 0 people
C (70%-79%) = 5 people
D (60%-69%) = 6 people
F (59% and lower) = 5 people

Now, after the change in curve, your grades are:
A (90%-100%) = 3 people
B (80%-89%) = 4 people
C (70%-79%) = 6 people
D (60%-69%) = 4 people
F (59% and lower) = 2 people

As you can see, the average grade is a C, which means that the tests were not disasterous. That said, I hope most of you will study more effectively in the future.

Finally, some students mentioned in blogs that I looked happy because the test was so difficult. I hope you don't think that your suffering makes me happy, because it certainly does not. I try to smile and be friendly during a test to help lower stress, and I enjoy challenging you with difficult work, but I hope you never think that I get happiness from your unhappiness. I apologize if anyone thinks that.

2005-07-14T12:04:00.000+09:00

Akihiro has made me immortal

2005-07-07T15:43:00.000+09:00

See, romance isn't dead!

Is This Romantic?

2005-07-07T15:31:00.000+09:00

Here is a story and picture about somebody who is much more romantic than I am:

"Todd Grannis, 38, stands in flames on a 10-foot platform in Grants Pass, Ore., Monday, July 4, 2005, before plunging into a pool. After emerging from the water unscathed, he dropped down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Malissa Kusiek. Grannis said he came up with the stunt through the help of his friend, professional stuntman Eric Barkey." (AP Photo/Malissa Kusiek)

Is this romantic? Would you want someone lighting themselves on fire for you?

I think the most romantic thing I have ever done was probably to go to Peru to live with Katty and her family after we had only been dating for a few months. At that point our relationship was very uncertain because we lived in different countries, so going to Peru to be with her was a big deal. What is the most romantic thing you have done?

Reminder

2005-07-06T16:32:00.000+09:00

This is just a reminder that all required posting and commenting must be finished by the last day of classes, July 19th. You may not make more than one posting per day. Any questions???

Hirakata - Osaka

2005-06-28T19:59:00.000+09:00

My wife and I went on a tiring but enjoyable bike ride last weekend. We biked from Hirakata to Osaka along the Yodo River, and the trip took us about 5 hours round-trip. If you enjoy biking, I recommend this trip because the land is very flat and there is a lot to see along the way.

For me, the bike ride provided a special look at Japan that I hadn't seen before. All along the river, all the way to Osaka, there are lots of fields and bridges where people gather. We saw dozens of baseball, soccer, and rugby games, a chipping and putt-putt golf course, kayaking, sailing, jet skiing, marching bands, kites, picnics, parks, people fishing, and hundreds of people, old and young. I couldn't believe there were so many people along the river doing so many different activities.

Once you get close to Osaka, the Yodo River divides and you need to stay left. If you do that, you will soon arrive in the Rose Park near Kitahama. From there it is easy to go north or south. My wife didn't make it that far, so by myself I decided to go to Shinsaibashi and get some food. Once again I was surprised at how busy Osaka was. There were lots of political marches or something... I didn't understand exactly what I was seeing, but it was crowded and loud.

The only mistake I made was wearing a tank top instead of a full T-shirt. My back is really burned, so please don't hit me. Other than that, the bike ride from Hirakata to Osaka was a great way to spend a beautiful (but hot!) Sunday afternoon.

2005-06-24T11:21:00.000+09:00

Here are some pics from the IES party held a few weeks ago

2005-06-24T11:19:00.000+09:00

Yoshiko has talent

2005-06-24T11:18:00.000+09:00

Shuhei impresses with his muscles

Why is Japan so hot?

2005-06-22T21:03:00.000+09:00

I'm from Cleveland, a cold weather city... this weather is too hot and sticky for me. Right now it is after 9:00pm and I am sitting in my apartment sweating like a monkey. Is it going to get much worse?

Of course, there is one student (I won't tell you who, but she has a ball in her hair) who makes a bird-like noise every time I try to turn on the air conditioning! Is she cold?

I remember that the heat was one of my first impressions of Japan. I arrived in August of last year after a long flight from the United States, and couldn't believe it when I left the cool, air-conditioned airport and entered the wall of heat waiting for me outside.

Prime Minister Koizumi gave some good advice a few weeks ago, that companies could save money on air conditioning if men stop wearing ties. What do you think? I'd like to take it a step further... is it OK if I come to class wearing shorts and a T-shirt? Let me know what you think.

That said, I will stop complaining about the heat, because if I complain now, then I can't complain in January when it is too cold.

Paintball

2005-06-13T11:23:00.000+09:00

Do you ever wonder what crazy things your teacher does over the weekend? Well, this weekend I went with some fellow teachers to Shiga to play PAINTBALL. What is paintball? Basically, a bunch of macho guys dress up like soldiers, go out in the forest, and try to shoot each other with balls of paint. And guess what... it hurts!

We went on Saturday, which was a wet, humid day. There were six of us, and we were the only people crazy enough to go out and play paintball on such a miserable day. The guy who runs it is a Polish guy named Art who is very good at paintball and more than a little scary dressed up in his green fatigues. He has an employee named Yuki, who is the cutest little Japanese woman you would ever meet, with a high squeaky voice and shy smile. When she puts her mask on, however, she becomes a cold-hearted killer. I still have nightmares about her.

I would recommend paintball, but with some warnings. First of all, you need to be in good shape. You spend a lot of time crouching behind trees or jumping into bushes. You are so anxious and full of energy that you don't really notice, but the next day your whole body is sore. The other advice is not to go on such a humid day. Your protective mask really fogs up, and it is hard to see the people who are trying to shoot you.

However, it is all worth it when you get to shoot the people you work with.

There are some pictures below, and different pictures on my English 1 site.

2005-06-13T11:22:00.000+09:00

Nobody can see me sneaking through the trees.

2005-06-13T11:21:00.000+09:00

Men of genius making great plans.

Okayama and Blogging

2005-06-07T15:34:00.000+09:00

Hey there students, friends, strangers...

This weekend my wife and I finally got out of Hirakata for a quick breath of clean, fresh country air (note: the word is country, not countryside!). With six of our friends we rented a car and an "apartment" in Okayama and enjoyed great food, great drink, and a lot of laughs. The place we rented is called an International Villa, so only foreigners and Japanese friends of foreigners can rent it. There was also an onsen (hot spring) on the grounds, so it was a very relaxing weekend. We stayed up late playing games like Taboo and Pictionary, which is a favorite activity among many Westerners. We even went to a yogurt museum... I find that Japan has the oddest museums. This yogurt museum also featured several fish tanks and ceramic dolls. What is the connection between yogurt, fish, and ceramic dolls?!?! None, I hope.

The other topic I want to talk about is student blogging. On June 3rd I checked your blogs to make sure you had the right number of postings, and that they were the right length. Those grades are recorded. I also checked your blurbs and recorded those grades. I noticed that because a lot of students blogged at the last minute, there are many unread or at least uncommented-upon postings. That must change!

Starting now (June 7th), IES-B students are required to make at least one comment on every classmate' blog. This is not a lot of work... a comment only takes a minute, and there is no word requirement. At the end of the semester (in August), I should see one or more comments by you on 20 different blogs, all dated June 7th or after. Got it? Some of you comment a lot, so for you this will be a piece of cake. Others rarely leave comments, so you need to develop the habit of doing it. If you have any questions, ask me in class or in my blog.

New Pics

2005-06-03T15:16:00.000+09:00

I added some pics to my picture page (see Links) if you'd like to check them out.

Book Blurb

2005-05-30T18:52:00.000+09:00

This week the members of our little class will be finishing their Oxford Readers. Congrats! Your blogging assignment this week is the following.

On the backs of books publishers include a "blurb" (short summary, way to get a potential reader's attention) about the story. For example, in the Level 4 reader Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the blurb reads:

'Suddenly, there was a high voice screaming in the darkness. "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" It was Long John Silver's parrot, Captain Flint! I turned to run...'

But young Jim Hawkins does not escape from the pirates this time. Will he and his friends find the treasure before the pirates do? Will they escape from the island, and sail back to England with a ship full of gold?

An effective blurb: a) mentions the key characters; b) mentions the setting; c) creates a mystery about the book; d) uses descriptive language and possibly quotations to hook the reader.

Your assignment has two parts and is due by 8:00pm on Sunday, June 5th. It does not count as one of your required postings.

Part #1: As a comment to this posting, in my blog, write a blurb about your Oxford Reader that is VERY DIFFERENT than the blurb it already has. Remember, you will return the book to me, so I will be able to see if you simply copied the existing blurb or wrote something very similar. Creativity counts, and you must include the four (a-d) criteria mentioned above. Blurbs should be between 70-120 words.

Part #2: In your blog, write a blurb about yourself! Follow the same guidelines, but instead of describing a book, you are describing your life. For this one, creativity REALLY counts. I will give you a sample, but your blurbs cannot look just like mine:

"What do you think?" Adam asked his gorgeous wife Katty as they looked over the offer. "Should I buy the tickets for Japan?"

Adam accepts the job teaching English in Japan, but has no idea the horrors that await him. Will he and Katty ever be able to find clothes that fit them? Will Adam ever be able to convince his students to speak only in English? If he is successful, then Japan may be the trip of his life. If he isn't, then it may mean the end...

Got it? Be funny, be cute, impress me with your vocabulary and personal style. This blurb should also be 70-120 words (mine was 89) and follow the criteria (a-d).

If anyone else (not in IES-B) would like to blurb themselves or their favorite book, we'd love to read it.

2005-05-23T16:41:00.000+09:00

Alejandra Sofia, born May 22, 2005

My New Niece

2005-05-23T16:32:00.000+09:00

I wanted to share some good news... my wife's sister, July, just had her second baby on May 22nd. Her name is Alejandra Sofia Barurto Koo (quite a name, huh!) and she is healthy and doing well, as is July.

July and her husband, Jose, live in Dallas, Texas, even though both of them are from Peru. Of course it is hard for them to live away from home, but fortunately Katty and July's mother, Lila, is also visiting them in Dallas, so she can help with the new baby.

July and Jose already have one daughter, Natalia, whose picture you can see on my picture page. Katty and I are going to be able to see all of them in August, before we go to Mexico.

Mexico

2005-05-16T13:49:00.000+09:00

My wife and I have been discussing where we would like to go this summer for vacation, and I think the answer is... Mexico!!! I can't wait to go, and not just because of the beautiful beaches. When I was 22 I spent three months in Mexico on a study abroad program to learn Spanish, and returned when I was 24 to visit my host family. It has now been 5 years since I've seen them, and I simply can't wait.

Of course I was nervous when I met my American roommate and Mexican host family, especially when I saw a mom, dad, and two sisters. I don't have any sisters, so I knew I was in for some new experiences. My family, the Caballeros, were expecting to have female students, so were very surprised by my male roommate and me. However, they still welcomed me with open arms.

My level of Spanish at the time was very low, much lower than my current students' level of English, but that didn't stop the Caballeros from talking to me all the time. My host father in particular talked and talked, and didn't seem to care that I couldn't understand much. My mom and sisters were more patient, but never spoke a single word of English to me.

As the months went on and I studied in school and at home, but level of Spanish slowly increased. I still didn't talk very much, but I understood more and more, and by the end of my stay, I could actually express my ideas to them. I am grateful to them for challenging my Spanish and treating me with love and respect even though there was a language barrier.

My Spanish is much better now than it was then, so I am looking forward to seeing them and communicating even more. Has anyone else had a similar study abroad experience? I'd love to hear about it.

Two Weddings?

2005-05-09T13:34:00.000+09:00

Several students have asked me why my wife and I have two sets of wedding pictures, so I will now explain.

My wife Katty is from Peru, but we met when we were both living in Washington DC in the U.S. When we met, Katty only had a six month visa, so she returned to Peru after we had been dating for about 4 months. I was in graduate school, studying to be a teacher, but when my summer vacation came I went to Peru to spend the summer with Katty and her family. We had a wonderful time together visiting beautiful cities and sites in Peru, but after two months I had to go back to the States to finish my Masters.

Unfortunately, with Katty working and me in school, we had to spend most of the next 9 months apart. I went to visit her over my Thanksgiving break (about one week), but other than that our relationship was basically over the phone and by email. Obviously it wasn't easy.

Around Christmas of that year we decided to get married! We talked about where to have the wedding, because it would be difficult for her family and friends to go to the U.S., or for my family and friends to go to Peru. We decided that the wisest (and most expensive...) option was to get married twice, first in Peru and then in the U.S. That way our family and friends would not have to cross half the world to attend the wedding, but they coud if they wanted to. Separately we began to plan the two weddings.

I graduated from my university at the end of April and was in Peru on May 1st. I hadn't seen Katty for a long time, even though we had decided to get married and made all the plans, so of course we were both a little nervous. When we saw each other, however, our fears disappeared and we felt confident with our decision. On May 11th we got married in Lima in a big Catholic church. About 300 people were there, and it was a very strange experience for me getting married in Spanish in a Catholic church (since I'm not Catholic and Spanish is my 2nd language). Fortunately my dad and stepmom were there to support me and everything went great.

Four weeks later, Katty and I were in Cleveland, Ohio, getting married again! This time the wedding was outside in a park near Lake Erie, and fewer people (about 90) attended. Katty's family came to this wedding as well, and once again we said, "I do." So we had two of everything... two cakes, two dresses, two tuxedos, two sets of photos, two bills. Both weddings were amazing in their own way, and I can't imagine having only gotten married once.

Tokyo, Pictures

2005-05-02T16:43:00.000+09:00

I'm back in Hirakata after a grueling but very satisfying vacation in Tokyo. Katty and I did as much as we possibly could in 3 days, except for sleep. To save a little money we took the night bus, meaning that we arrived at 7:30am this morning, giving me just enough time to shave, shower, and go to my 9:00am class. I hope the students didn't notice how close to death I was.

Day 1: We arrived in Tokyo EXTREMELY early and decided to go to the famous Tsujiki fish market, since it opened early and we could beat the crowds. Naturally, after walking all the way there, we discovered that the fish market was closed. Figures. So, undeterred, we decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge and go to Daima, based largely on the recommendations of my students. The students led us well, and we had a great time riding the ferris wheel, exploring the Toyota showroom, and eating and drinking along the water. After Daiba, Katty and I plunged into the shopping district of Ginza and window-shopped until we could check into our hotel, which was in Shinjuku. After a wonderful nap, we stepped out into the dazzling neon of Shinjuku and enjoyed delicious tonkatsu while viewing the urban madness.

Day 2: The fish market failed us once, but we went for it again. This time we got there too late (around 9:45am) to see any really impressive fish butchery, but we did have a delicious and fresh sushi brunch inside the market. I don't know the names of most of the things we ate, nor did I examine them too closely before scarfing them down, but they were all yummy. We then went to Ueno in northern Tokyo and, after a relaxing stroll through Ueno Park, ate lunch and went to Senso-ji Temple. Senso-ji might be my favorite temple in Japan... it's loud, active, full of incence smoke, flanked by tacky souvenir shops, and extremely "of the people." After another wonderful nap, we went out with some friends in the Shibuya area, meeting under the giant TV screen made famous in "Lost in Translation."

Day 3: What else was there to do? We slept in and went to the Harajuku area, where I felt very old among the hip and stylish teenagers. There were racous anti-war rallies going on, offset by the surprising number of goth teens hanging out to get their pictures taken by the tourists. Very surreal. We met a Japanese friend, Yoko, who took us to woodsy Meiji Shrine and then to a "Western" brunch (eggs, bacon, pancakes, biscuits and gravy... ohh how I miss it). Yoko then took us to Akihabara, the electronic mega-avenue, where we shopped around and finally bought an I-Pod. We're modern! We killed the rest of the day eating and drinking, then caught the bus back. I'll tell you that I may not be tall by American standards, but seats in Japanese buses were not designed with my height in mind.

So what do you think? Did we miss anything?

Finally... I have put up some class pictures on my picture page (below the student links on the side). Or you can click on http://adamspictures2005.blogspot.com/. They are a little fuzzy... sorry.

23 hours and 12 minutes

2005-04-27T23:48:00.000+09:00

We need your help! My wife and I leave for Tokyo tomorrow... it'll be our first time there, and we have no idea where to go or what to do. Any ideas?

What should we do in Tokyo?

Apologizing for the past

2005-04-24T14:50:00.000+09:00

A couple days ago Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi apologized to other Asian countries for its WWII "aggression." As part of a longer speech, he said, "Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility."

I really have mixed feelings about this apology. On one hand, in the spirit of building relations with a country, group, or person, a little apologizing goes a long way. We had a similar issue in the U.S. when President Clinton formally apologized for slavery. At the time I was deeply in favor of that apology, and still am, since the effects of slavery still influence social equality and race relations today. On the other hand, when is an apology not an apology? Who does Koizumi represent with his? If China weren't rioting, would he apologize? Probably not.

Most countries have events from their past (or present!) that they probably could apologize for, and in general I applaud those who do for facing their past errors. At the same time, when the apology has a clear politcal agenda, or risks opening old wounds, I think governments should be wary. Is it sometimes better to let things go? In the current case of Japan, I think that the apology is probably appropriate, but that it was given in a less than genuine way. It is unfortunate that it took a controversial textbook to bring this issue to the table, and even more unfortunate that people are resorting to violence because of the past choices of the government and the current choices of the textbook editors.

Conversational Ballgames

2005-04-19T10:43:00.000+09:00

In "Conversational Ballgames," Nancy Masterson Sakamoto describes what she sees as differing Western and Eastern conversational styles. She compares Western-style conversation to tennis, with players firing the conversational ball back and forth to each other quickly. Multiple players (like doubles tennis) don't need to ask permission or wait their turn to speak - they just jump in. She compares Eastern-style conversation to bowling, with players waiting in a predetermined order to speak. While one player is speaking, the rest listen carefully as a sign of respect, not interrupting until their turns come up.

My question is: do you agree? Which points in her essay make sense to you? Which points don't? What "critical thinking" ideas or questions did you have as you read the essay?

Everyone is welcome to comment. My IES-B students must comment before 7:00pm on Thursday, April 21st. The minimum word count is 100, but I am hoping that you will have more to say. Don't write this too quickly... think about what we discussed in class, your own experiences and observations, and cultural differences you have studied about or witnessed.

2005-03-24T19:22:00.000+09:00

Arashiyama Monkey Park

Welcome to IES-B!

2005-03-24T16:02:00.000+09:00

The purpose of this blog is to create an open discussion forum for my IES-B Reading and Writing class at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. From my site you'll be able to share the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of some of Japan's best and brightest English students. I encourage everyone to participate.

Classes are going to start in a few weeks... of course I am excited to meet my new students, but I have to admit I liked being on vacation. In February I spent a wonderful three weeks in Thailand, climbing mountains, visiting hillside villages, exploring Bangkok, and relaxing on the beach. Unfortunately, my wife Katty was unable to go with me. She is in Peru visiting her family, but is coming back to Japan in about two weeks, and I can't wait to see her.

My family (father, stepmother, and brother) recently came to Japan to visit, and it was great seeing them. We traveled as much as we could... they loved the peaceful and simple temples of Kyoto, the roaring neon nightlife of Osaka, the hundreds of stone lanterns winding into the parks of Nara, the emotional and thought-provoking Peace Park in Hiroshima, and the snowy mountain views of Takayama. We even went to a sumo match in Osaka!

I'd really appreciate any other advice on where to visit in Japan, and I'd love to hear how other people spent their break.

Now I'm in my office, getting ready for the new semester to begin. I need more time!