Heavy Rain

It rained heavily yesterday and a heavy raining warning was issued in our city.

If the warning is announced, the teachers have to take some effort to keep the students safe.

The principal in our school decided to suspend all the activities in the school and make the students go home early.

It was not raining heavily when the students left the school, so his decision was right to keep the students safe.

We, teachers, were also able to leave school earlier.

I left school at 4:30 p.m. and went to a gym to workout.

Since I have two consecutive day-offs on Saturday and Sunday, I went to a different gym from the one which I always go to.

It is going to be rainy this weekend as well, so I will relax at home and read some books.

Talking in English

I talk to the students in English recently.

When we eat school lunch, there are some leftovers after serving for all the students.

We share the extra food with the students who want to eat them.

At the time, I say “Who wants to eat this salad?” for example.

The students haven’t learned the expression "to + verb", but they guess the meaning depending on the situation.

I think the students superior to adults in the ability to think about the meaning of unfamiliar English expressions.

Also, when I talk to them in English, they respond me in English.

I assume adults don’t do that; they use Japanese because of hesitation.

I will keep using English at school in order for the students to get used to speaking English.

Protein Powder

I bought a pack of protein powder from the U.S.

It took about one month to be delivered after ordering it online.

There are countless kinds of protein powder products to build muscles.

It is proved by a third party organization that no harmful chemicals are included in the product.

Although it was costly than the average protein powders, my interest to drink the powder outweighed the cost.

I am going to drink it for the first time when I hit the gym.

Protein powders are not magical drugs, so we might not be able to see the effect right away.

However, drinking protein powder is a treat for me after working out.

I am looking forward to taste it and see the effect for my muscles.

English Classes

It is in the middle of exam week in our school.

The English exam was over yesterday and we, teachers, checked their answers.

I had thought most of the students got a better score compared to the previous exam, but they didn’t do well.

I got shocked because they didn’t understand even the basic grammar.

I am wondering what I can do to support them.

The students are pretty busy because of their homework and club activities, hence it is difficult to take time to study after school.

All I can do is to study with them early in the morning before the classes start.

I am planning to have such sessions from 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. every weekday.

I will ask the head English teacher if I can do that.

Free Time

The students have to take exams at the end of the first semester.

Three subjects are carried out every day and each one is 50-minute long.

Therefore the students leave school just after eating school lunch.

Since no students remain in the campus, the teachers can leave school earlier.

I usually leave at around 4:30 p.m., but I left at 2:30 p.m. yesterday.

I went to a public library to borrow books and went to the gym for workout.

The people who were in the gym before 4 p.m. were mostly elderly people, because business people are usually working at that time.

I felt how happy being able to use time as I want during weekdays.

Aroma

I got influenced from a friend of mine who likes making perfumes by herself.

I had no idea that we could make perfumes as we wanted.

She took me to a shop which specialized aroma products.

It was my first time to go to such a fancy place.

There were many kinds of essential oils such as herbs and roses.

She explained to me the trends in fragrances by showing the popular products available.

I bought some of them and made an original oil mixed with two different ones.

It is fun to be able to make original products.

I am planning to make a perfume which includes osmanthus oil.

Shopping District

There is a local shopping district in our city, but most of the shops are out of business now.

I feel lonely while walking through the district because the shutters are always closed even on daytime.

People go to the shopping malls located at the outskirt of the city which have large parking lots.

Also the younger generation is decreasing.

Elderly people rarely go to the shopping district because they have to walk a long distance to get to the shops.

We can buy anything at grocery stores, but we need to visit different shops in the district to buy certain things.

However, the location of the district is very convenient because there is a train station near by.

I assume such abandoned places would increase in the near future because of the decreasing population.

Volleyball Matches

Our PTA (Parents-Teachers Association) held a volleyball matches at the gym in our school last night.

There are four classes in the first year, and there are three classes in the second and third year.

Each class had one team, hence there were 10 teams of the classes.

The members were the parent of the students.

Additionally, there were three teams which consists of only teachers.

13 teams in total were divided into four groups and we competed to get the championship.

Our team lost in the second match, but we enjoyed playing the sports.

I also enjoyed seeing other aspects of the teachers which I cannot see in regular days.

Rice Balls

I make one rice ball every morning to eat it on the way to school.

It is very convenient for me because it is easy to carry and it prevents me from getting hungry.

It is said that when small children don’t eat a bowlful of rice during dishes, their parents should make a rice ball from the rice.

This is because children tend to eat rice in a ball form unlike when being served in a cup.

The difference in what style rice is served can change the children’s appetite for eating.

I learned from this fact that it is important to get people motivated on how things are displayed.

PTA Event

I am going to play volleyball at school tonight.

The teachers and the children’s parents gather at the gym and play volleyball together.

This kind of sports event is sometimes held to make a better relationship between the teachers and parents.

I have started to work for the school since April.

It is my first time to join the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) event.

Teachers usually don’t have occasions to communicate with their parents casually.

The students and parents mostly have a meeting with their teacher to talk about the result of the exam.

I want to enjoy the even with both teachers and students.

Body Shape

When I was a high school student, I was very thin and I had an inferiority complex for my body shape.

After graduating the high school, I started weight training.

At first I just did push-ups and abs trainings in my room.

And then one of my tennis teammates suggested me to go to the gym for workout.

I had not have such an idea but going to the gym sounded exciting for me.

Since then, I have done workout in the gym.

There is a guy who has big muscles in the gym where I go now.

He lifts much more heavy weight that I can handle.
It will take time to become like him but I will continue to train my body to overcome the inferiority.

Stickers

As part of my job, I check students’ notebook every day.

They have to study at least one page from their textbook every day aside from their homework.

I write comments in English and put a stamp on it.

Recently, I put a sticker instead of using the stamp to change the routine and make it colorful.

One of the girls said she liked the dog sticker I put a few days ago.

Therefore, I bought the same one and I am putting it today.

To be honest, it costs to buy a set of sticker every day, so I am thinking of an alternative way which can reduce expenses.

It takes time to draw a small picture by myself for more than 20 students.

Please let me know if you have a good idea to make the students feel excited when they open their notebook.

LGBT-friendly Uniforms

More and more schools introduce new kinds of school uniform as a support for LGBT students.

Typically, boys have to wear a trouser and girls have to wear a skirt.

Some of the schools in Chiba and Fukuoka allow the students to choose a uniform to wear regardless of their gender.

What surprised me was the result of a survey.

A school tried to abolish introducing school uniforms supportive to the LGBT students.

Being able to choose any clothes can relieve the stress and anxiety of those students.

But 90 percent of the parents and the prospective students hoped to keep the traditional school uniform.

For now, these students have to deal with the idea of wearing the traditional school uniforms until the society could accept their gender preferences and for them to live their own lives without shame and prejudices.

https://japantoday.com/category/national/feature-japanese-schools-introduce-lgbt-friendly-uniforms

Match-making Party

I joined a match-making event last evening.

There were seven males and six females.

We talked in person one by one for about a few minutes each.

After that we wrote down the numbers allocated for each participant to let the staff know the person whom I want to talk with again.

If both the man and woman picked each other, we will be partnered.

Fortunately, a lady and I had the same feeling that we wanted to talk again, we hanged out after the event.

She has expertise in aroma, we went to a perfume shop and enjoyed checking many stuff.

I bought some extra oils to make a bottle of perfume.

I want to learn about aroma again from her.

Party

I am joining a match-making event this evening.

I’ve just turned 30 so I’m kind of interested and excited that I can now join this event.

This event happens every week.

Participants are in their 30s and 40s.

There is an entrance fee of $50.

The event will be in Tokyo Rei Hotel.

We can share our contacts after that party if both are agree with it.

That means I cannot get a contact if a woman is not interested to talking with me.

I am excited to see how many and what kind people will be there.

I hope I can make good friends.

Frogs

There is a paddy field in front of my balcony of the room.

Frogs croak loudly there at night, but I don’t really dislike the sounds.

That is because the sound can be heard only from a rainy season to the end of summer.

Water is filled in the paddy field now, so the frogs can live there comfortably.

However the water is removed before the rice plants are reaped.

The frogs will move to somewhere at around the reaping season.

Their voices reminds me of the hot and humid season in the year.

We can hear it only at a rural area of Japan.

I want to enjoy the present from the nature and animal.

Tennis School

I have been playing tennis for about 20 years.

Tennis brought me many unforgettable memories and also brought me many friends.

When I go to foreign countries, I put my tennis racket in my suitcase.

I can communicate with the local people without using language through playing tennis.

By the way, there is a tennis school in our city.

I went there yesterday and joined a lesson as a trial.

There was a coach and 10 players.

I can more or less learn about the player’s personality by watching his play.

I didn’t talk with the players that much, but I found out who they really are.

I am thinking about whether I will join the school or not.

Perfume

When I went to a retail store last Saturday, I saw many kinds of perfumes on display.

I usually don’t wear perfume, but I compared the fragrance on the shelves.

One of them intrigued my interest and I bought a small bottle of the perfume.

The perfume which I bought was for women, but I liked the sweet scent.

I work at school so it is not good to wear it because it can disturb the students’ concentration.

I use it when I go to the gym after work.

The nice smell relaxes me during workout.

I have already used half bottle of the perfume.

I want to try a new one after using all of it.

Rainy Season

Our area is in the middle of a rainy season.

Although we cannot enjoy outdoor sports, I like this humid and gloomy weather.

I am not sure why, but the weather gives me a peace of mind.

After this rainy season, summer is waiting for us.

Each classroom has two air conditioners in our school.

We can use them when the temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius.

If the temperature rises just like in the previous years, the air conditioners will be working all day long starting from July.

Every time it rains, a cool breeze flows into our classroom.

I will enjoy this fleeting rainy season while I still can.

New Mixer

I relaxed at home yesterday.

Two days ago, on June 9th, my friend and I went to the gym and we workout so hard to the point of muscle pain.

In the evening, I went to an appliance shop to buy a food mixer.

The reason why I bought this is because I prefer eating some of the vegetables in paste.

I’ve changed my food intake to eating more vegetables each day but it is difficult for me to eat certain amount of them continuously.

Therefore I decided to eat them in paste by using the mixer.

I used the mixer last night for the first time.

I put a bundle of spinach and a cup of water.

However I was disappointed with the result.

What I had in mind was that paste spinach would be made, but a lot of fibers remained in the mixer.

The fibers and water were completely separated in the mixer.

I learned to look for better using ways of the mixer.

Workout with Friend

I went to Hiroshima to meet a friend of mine. He and I were students in the same same university until this March. It has been three months since we saw each other. Weight training is our common interest and went to a gym. I learned new ways of training that I have never tried. After two hours of training, we went to an eat-all-you-can yakiniku restaurant. We had a lot of meat that is rich in protein for lunch. I can feel comfortable with him and I can tell anything to him, although at work I need to refrain telling the truth to maintain our relationship. He inspires me to be fit and build muscles, as we will meet again in August.