Wednesday, October 31, 2007
PS - New link for Videos
On the right you can see my link for Pictures and now for videos. I am using the website Godtube.com for my videos because they are very protective about what gets on the website and every video is watched before entering the site. This way I feel a lot better about recommending you to watch my videos without the possibility of coming across inappropriate material.
Happy Halloween or Hallow's Eve
I teach English class on Tuesday nights in downtown Utsunomiya to around 20 adults. I thought I would make this week a bit more fun since Halloween was the next day and dress up for class. I mentioned it to the students and a couple of them said they would dress up also. Well, sadly, they didn't but I still did. I found a wonderful Santa costume which was way to small for me but I was able to make it work. Below is a picture of Tomo and I.
One thing I enjoy is making people laugh and have a good time. It was very funny to see the smiles and compliments I received from the office workers in the building and from the students in the class because a Japanese person would probably never have done what I did. One of the students requests was for me to teach them about the origin of Halloween and what Halloween is like in America. After researching I learned some fascinating things about Halloween and the Jack O'Lantern and had a wonderful time trying to explain it in English. As part of the class we decided we would have a Halloween party afterwards and go to Karaoke. So during class I taught them the Monster Mash. We listened to the song and then read the lyrics and I explained what they meant. I thought if they had any Halloween songs in Karaoke, they would probably have this one. Sadly, they didn't but we had a wonderful time with the Santa costume and eating candy while we sang.
One thing I enjoy is making people laugh and have a good time. It was very funny to see the smiles and compliments I received from the office workers in the building and from the students in the class because a Japanese person would probably never have done what I did. One of the students requests was for me to teach them about the origin of Halloween and what Halloween is like in America. After researching I learned some fascinating things about Halloween and the Jack O'Lantern and had a wonderful time trying to explain it in English. As part of the class we decided we would have a Halloween party afterwards and go to Karaoke. So during class I taught them the Monster Mash. We listened to the song and then read the lyrics and I explained what they meant. I thought if they had any Halloween songs in Karaoke, they would probably have this one. Sadly, they didn't but we had a wonderful time with the Santa costume and eating candy while we sang.
Winter in Japan?
Since coming back from the States on our trip, I have learned a lot about Japan and ministry. One thing that I have learned about Japan is....it actually gets cold here! My previous times in coming to Japan have been the months of June and July. I arrived this time in the middle of May and returned to America for our trip in September. Since coming back in October we had a couple weeks that were rather cool but the last few days have warmed back up.
Let me set the scene for you. I live in a house that has one air conditioner in one room which broke during August. Well, turns out houses don't only have central air but they don't have central heating. I never thought about this until I started waking up in the mornings cold and would have to wear slippers and a sweatshirt to stay warm. My room is also a corner room of the house. Two walls face the outside and the one wall is single pane glass on two sliding doors to go outside. The third wall is the entry way which doesn't stay warm because the door is always opened and their is no insulation on the door as their are many little gaps where you can see outside. My fourth wall is the staircase. I soon started thinking, what do they use for heat in the winter. My first thought was electric heaters but I soon found out they use kerosene gas heaters. Using electric heaters is too expensive. Since I have asked, I have heard some horror stories about safety in using a kerosene heater. A slight adjustment from central heating.
Then my mode of transportation is bicycle. Most people I know stop riding their bikes in the winter and start driving. Well, that doesn't happen here so much. Everyone still uses their bikes throughout the winter for transportation. So I need to learn how to stay warm on a bicycle as it becomes colder and one of the keys is layers. Japanese dress in layers. Even during summer they always have at least two shirts on at one time. Now in the winter they start to wear more. My first reaction was, why don't they just wear one big sweater? I soon found the reason. Depending on where you go depends on the temperature inside. So, nice restuarants and shopping places have central heating but if you go to houses some can be warm and others freezing cold. If you took my advice, you where one big sweater on your bicycle to stay warm but you end up in a building with heat which you then end up sweating in because it is so hot. It is a nice system wearing the layers, because if you get hot take one shirt off, if cold, put one shirt on.
One special treat is that they always wear scarfs. Thanks to a couple nice friends of mine I have a wonderful bright orange scarf to wear on the cold days.
If you come to Japan in the winter, here is some advice. Wear layers, bring a scarf, bring warm slippers, and be ready to haul a kerosene heater with you from room to room in the house.
Let me set the scene for you. I live in a house that has one air conditioner in one room which broke during August. Well, turns out houses don't only have central air but they don't have central heating. I never thought about this until I started waking up in the mornings cold and would have to wear slippers and a sweatshirt to stay warm. My room is also a corner room of the house. Two walls face the outside and the one wall is single pane glass on two sliding doors to go outside. The third wall is the entry way which doesn't stay warm because the door is always opened and their is no insulation on the door as their are many little gaps where you can see outside. My fourth wall is the staircase. I soon started thinking, what do they use for heat in the winter. My first thought was electric heaters but I soon found out they use kerosene gas heaters. Using electric heaters is too expensive. Since I have asked, I have heard some horror stories about safety in using a kerosene heater. A slight adjustment from central heating.
Then my mode of transportation is bicycle. Most people I know stop riding their bikes in the winter and start driving. Well, that doesn't happen here so much. Everyone still uses their bikes throughout the winter for transportation. So I need to learn how to stay warm on a bicycle as it becomes colder and one of the keys is layers. Japanese dress in layers. Even during summer they always have at least two shirts on at one time. Now in the winter they start to wear more. My first reaction was, why don't they just wear one big sweater? I soon found the reason. Depending on where you go depends on the temperature inside. So, nice restuarants and shopping places have central heating but if you go to houses some can be warm and others freezing cold. If you took my advice, you where one big sweater on your bicycle to stay warm but you end up in a building with heat which you then end up sweating in because it is so hot. It is a nice system wearing the layers, because if you get hot take one shirt off, if cold, put one shirt on.
One special treat is that they always wear scarfs. Thanks to a couple nice friends of mine I have a wonderful bright orange scarf to wear on the cold days.
If you come to Japan in the winter, here is some advice. Wear layers, bring a scarf, bring warm slippers, and be ready to haul a kerosene heater with you from room to room in the house.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
America Trip Pictures
I am still alive for those of you wondering. I have updated my pictures with some from the America trip. I thought you didn't want to see all 5,800 pictures taken by students so I posted about 150 to help summarize our trip. I hope to have an email update sent out in the next couple days as a lot has happened and there has been a lot of praising since we have returned.
Quick summary of the biggest highlight: Mori has accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord and it is encouraging to see Christ become his Lord more and more each day in his life. Look forward to the email update to find out more about his story and if you don't get my email updates let me know and I can add you to my list. Thank you all for your support and encouragement.
Quick summary of the biggest highlight: Mori has accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord and it is encouraging to see Christ become his Lord more and more each day in his life. Look forward to the email update to find out more about his story and if you don't get my email updates let me know and I can add you to my list. Thank you all for your support and encouragement.
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