Morning Jog

I jog every early morning in the aim of losing my additional fat.
During the summer time, it was too hot to do exercise and I got additional belly fat.
Since it is the autumn season in Japan, jogging outside is very comfortable; it is not that hot and cold.
It may take more time to see the decrease of my belly fat, but I will continue this habit to start a day actively.
There are merely pedestrians in the early morning.
My mind is very clear while jogging so I am thinking over many things about my future plans.

Talking With Students

Since I started working for the current school on April 11th, I've learned how to talk with students naturally.
Getting to know each student's personalities has paved the way to winning their trust in me and strengthen our relationship better through our daily conversation in class and outside the classroom.
Generally, they prefer to talk about their side of the story rather than listen to my side.
Some like to have a one on one talk with me while others like to talk in a group.
I also believe that each student has a topic to share and they do so at the appropriate time for them when they feel free to open up with me.
As I now understand each of them, their individual characters, talking to them became more comfortable for me. 
I hope that I can continue having a good relationship with them all.

Championship

I joined a doubles tennis tournament yesterday and won the championship!
My partner and I were very happy after winning the long-lasting final.
Although I got a good result, there were a lot of things to do to be a better player.
As for my forehand and backhand, I need to practice more to hit the ball at the spot where I intend to.
Another tournament is supposed to be held next month.
I will practice for the matches as well in order to get a good result.
By the way, there aren’t any special events on my work this week.
Conducting lessons without any mistakes is my goal for the week.

TV

I don’t have a TV set at home.
The latest dramas and other popular programs are out of my life.
There are TVs at restaurants and a gym near my house and I sometimes watch programs.
To be honest, I don’t get excited at all while watching TV programs.
Unlike American TV programs, Japanese ones are very redundant.
It seems that programs are forcibly made longer to fill the time allocated for the programs.
I also feel that as you watch Japanese TV programs, you will stop to think by themselves and will lose interest for anything around us.
It is common to watch TV programs to kill time, but we should use time for other things which we are required to think.

On-the-Job Training

Some students of our school are going to have on-the-job training in the middle of November.
The second year students go to a workplace as a group or individually.
The workplace includes, nursery schools, hospitals, and companies.
Those students will go to one workplace and learn about the job.
We, teachers, made phone calls to those places beforehand to ask if they can accept the students for two days.
After getting permissions from those jobs, the students had to pick up a place from the list.
Our school is located in the country side so there aren’t any big companies, only small workplaces.
I hope that the students will gain new experiences and learn something from the training.

Tennis Tournament

I am going to join a tennis tournament this Sunday.
It’s been a few months since I joined a tournament.
My doubles partner was one of the members of our tennis team in college.
Going to work and playing tennis on the same day can take a toll on my body and makes me feel weary the next day.
I played tennis on Monday and Thursday, so today’s work might be a tough one.
I will push through today's work so that I can relax on Saturday and get ready for the tennis competition on Sunday.

Haircut

I had a haircut yesterday after work.
I go to the barber shop once a month.
Kasutoshi Sakurai, who is a male singer in a Japanese rock band, is my favorite icon.
“Would you cut my hair the same as his hairstyle?” 
This is the first topic with the owner every time.
The singer’s picture on my smartphone’s screen helps me to tell the owner my ideal hairstyle.
I can feel as if I could be like him after completing the haircut because my hairstyle looks the same as his.
The owner has developed skills of haircutting so he can cut exactly as I order.
I will do my job singing his songs and imagining that I am Kazutoshi Sakurai.

Dental Clinic

I went to a dentist after work yesterday.
I go there once a month to have them clean my teeth.
They kindly showed me a better way to brush my teeth and gave me a new brush specialized for cleaning between the teeth.
On my previous visit to the clinic, the dental hygienist told me that drinking coffee could stain my teeth.
That’s why I didn’t drink coffee at all for one month.
Instead of drinking coffee, I drank tea at a café.
This time, the dental hygienist asked me if I drank tea many times.
Tea can also give me brown stain on my teeth.
I will keep in mind that these two beverages can make my teeth stained.

Comic Books

I found a good service at a rental shop of DVDs and comic books.
For 1,000 yen ($8.87) per month, we can rent unlimited comic books.
There are wide variety of comic books - from the old ones to the latest ones.
I signed up for the service and rented four comic books at the same time.
Furthermore, the first month is free.
Reading comic books is a good way of relaxing and it doesn't take long to finish reading one volume.
I will read as many books as I can to enjoy different stories.

Seminar about English Education

I attended a seminar for English teachers. 
The seminar was about English education in elementary school. 
A professor from a university held a lecture about how to conduct classes and how to evaluate students. 
In 2020, 3rd and 4th graders are going to be introduced to Basic English, in the same year, 5th and 6th graders will have English subjects. 
The number of English teachers who are Japanese and foreigners are increasing. 
The English subject has never been taught in elementary school.
Qualified English teachers are required to provide meaningful classes for students.
I want to be an English teacher in the next school year.

Imagination

I am now employed at a junior high school as an assistant English teacher.
For three years, I was a graduate student until March 2018.
There are many tasks to do at school and my exhausting jobs make me drowsy after work.
This is why there is not so much room to think besides my job.
Many future plans were piled up during my graduate student period, no exciting dream catch my attention recently.
I don’t want to ruin my life because of my job.
It is important to earn money, but I hope to have more free time in a day after work.
In order to make it come true, studying English is required to get or to create a high paying job.

Tennis After Work

I played tennis with my high school classmate after work.
Our school was in Ehime Prefecture, but we are in Kagawa Prefecture now, which is about 150 km away from Ehime.
We continued to play tennis for one hour without any rest so I was very tired after the practice.
After that, we had a chat about our recent situations.
Unlike talking with my colleagues at the school I'm working in, I was able to talk with my friend in a relaxed mood.
I am an ordinary employee so I always need to care about my behavior while working.
It is stressful and it makes me feel exhausted.
I want to play tennis and talk to him more to forget about my job for a while.

Silence

I was drinking a cup of tea at Starbucks after work yesterday considering about my future goal.
A seminar for teachers was held yesterday at a public elementary school.
A lot of teachers in this area attended the seminar.
We were divided into three groups, watched a demonstration class in each group, and talked about the lesson afterwards.
I gave a question to the teacher, but the other teachers didn’t ask any questions and didn’t say any opinions.
They looked hesitated to state some comments.
I hate this kind of atmosphere which people don’t say anything while meeting.
But this is a common scene in Japanese society.
I want to live in an environment where people say positive and even negative points honestly.
Based on this experience, my future goal at this moment is to live in a foreign country where people tend to state their opinions frankly.

Job Orientation

Our city government held a job orientation session for our second year students.
There were about 20 local companies at the session and the students listened to each company’s presentation.
The students were divided into some groups and each group talked with three companies to know about their jobs.
In a large public hall, each company had a booth and the students were sitting down in front of the booth while each representative did their presentation.
It was a good occasion for the students to know about local companies and about what they do.
The city mayor and some reporters from newspaper companies were also at the hall.
I hope the students will have more opportunities to know what they want for their future.

Jogging in the Morning

I resolved to jog in the early morning in order to lose recently gained belly fat.  
Exercising before going to work is a good primer to start the day right.  
It's still dark when I start jogging.  
The morning breeze is soothingly cool and refreshing.  
There are not too many pedestrians, which allows me to concentrate on my jog.  
It may take some time before my belly fat dissipates, but I am determined to continue until I get the desired result.  
Autumn has just set in, and winter is not far behind.  
Hence, the temperature is getting colder by the day making it more difficult to get out of bed.  
However, my resolve to keep myself in good shape is the driving force behind especially when waking up feels dull.

Dinner on Sunday Night

I dined out with a girl whom I met at a party last week.
She is older than me and our professions are totally different.
What amazed me the most was that she walked very fast.
She slowed down to my pace but she usually walks twice faster than I do.
She got the menu right away so that we can order quickly and not waste time waiting.
I thought of myself as impatient, but her behavior made me think that I was not.
It turned out that we both liked singing in karaoke places, so we may end up going next weekend.

Exam for Tour Guide

I am going to take a tour guide exam starting at 11 a.m. today.
If I pass the 10-minute oral exam, my name will be on the list of tour guides in this prefecture.
The examinee has to pick up three cards out of thirty cards.
The name of a famous sightseeing spot is written on each card and we have to talk about the place in English for two minutes.
The spots are already shown to us beforehand.
We can choose one topic from the three cards.
After talking about the famous spots, examiners will ask us some questions about them.
We don’t know the details of the questions.
I hope I can pick up cards which are familiar to me.

Half A Year

Six months have passed since I started to work for current junior high school.
I cannot say this half a year passes quickly, but I have new experiences every day.
All school events are first things for me so I can keep to have a feeling of tension.
If I get used to do anything at school, I would feel bored to work.
This second term is going to last until the end of December, but the busiest period was over last month.
We can spend regular days during the rest of term.
I need to look for a job for the next school year more seriously.
I am going to attend a job seminar this afternoon.

Morning Jog

I started to jog in the early morning.
At around 4:30 a.m., there are no pedestrians except me.
I saw some trucks on the road.
The fact that exercising before you eat carbohydrate will help you lose fat, motivate me to run before going to work.
Autumn is the best season to exercise because it is neither too hot nor too cold.
I like the beginning of the autumn season the best in a year because it is very comfortable to live our lives.
I am hoping to lose my excess fat by exercising before dawn.

Future Plan

I work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday.
Compared to my previous job, I do like my current job better.
I wish I had more free time to read books and to do exercise.
It is about time to think about my next school year’s plan.
If I have sufficient salary for my morning job, I can spend the entire afternoon time totally for myself: this is my ideal lifestyle.
Therefore, working as a part-time teacher and doing some online jobs in the morning are my future plans for next year.
I am not sure if these plans will become a reality, though.

Live Performance

I went to Hiroshima to see a rock concert performed by my favorite band.
It had been seven years since I went to see their last concert.
My reserved seat was very close to the stage so I could see them closely.
Compared to listening to their songs in the CDs, their live performance was overwhelming with their playing instruments and singing style.
The three hours passed very quickly.
In the past concerts I attended to, there were instances that audiences could not go outside the hall after the concert because of the huge crowd.
But this time, the concert crew were able to efficiently assist us on our way out. 
I hope to see their performance again.

Pilgrimage

There are four major islands in Japan which are called Honsyu, Hokkaido, Kyusyu, and Shikoku.

Honshu is the biggest one with the cities, for example, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Hokkaido is in the North, and Kyusyu is in the South.

Shikoku is the smallest island among the four islands.

The Shikoku Pilgrimage is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai on the island of Shikoku, Japan.

Not only Japanese but also foreigners come to this island to do pilgrimage.

I am going to take an oral exam this Sunday to get enrolled as a tour guide.

I have to memorize a lot of general information related with this area such as the pilgrimage.

The remaining five days will be spent for the preparation.

Bonsai

Today was the last day of the seminar to learn about the skills of a tour guide.

We visited a famous historical museum and a temple.

Also we went to a small town which is famous for bonsai, tray-planed pine trees.

Its popularity is getting bigger in foreign countries.

The owner of a bonsai cultivation place said many foreigners come to see his bonsai works.

It takes a couple of decades or more than 100 hundred years to make significant bonsai works.

Therefore the industry is inherited by their families after and after.

I want to seek unique industries in our prefecture more.

Bus Tour

I joined a seminar so that I get enrolled as a tour guide.

Our group visited several famous sightseeing spots in this prefecture such as temples, a brewery, a castle, and a museum.

As I learned about those sites, my interest for the places increased.

There are many interesting places to visit inside this prefecture.

I need to study more to get information and to tell them in English.

Those who can tell about these places in English are only a few, I guess.

I will visit the places again by myself and research the histories and characteristics by asking local people and volunteer guides.

Café at Mall

There is a large shopping mall in our city.
We can buy anything at a grocery store, clothes shops, a book store, appliance stores, and so on.
I used to go to a café in the mall to read books with their drink.
The café, however, seemed to go out of business when I went to the mall last night.
The location of the café was better than the others because it was near one of the entrances and many customers passed by the café.
Although it was a weekday, there were less customers in the mall than I expected.
I wondered how the people in our city spent Friday nights.
Also I felt that it is difficult to keep their business among a lot of competitors.

Health and Sports Day

Our school has four consecutive days off starting from today until Monday.
Every Saturday, our school is usually closed, but last Saturday, our school held the choral recital.
That is why today is a day-off.
Next Monday is a public holiday, the Health and Sports Day.
In 1964, the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics were held on October 10.
To encourage people to do more exercise, the government made every second Monday in October a holiday.
Tomorrow, I am going to Hiroshima to see a live concert of a Japanese rock band.
Sunday and Monday, I am going to join a seminar so I can get registered as a tour guide.
This morning, I am going to write a report for the seminar and will be applying for the TOEFL exam.
I want to do something fun outside home by visiting a place I have never been to.

Phone Call

A few months ago, I happened to come across a beautiful woman at Starbucks.
I talked to her and gave my impromptu letter with my phone number.
That night, on the same day, she kindly gave me a call.
We went to see beautiful sceneries from a mountain.
But since then, she doesn’t answer my phone calls anymore.
The reason is likely that the date was not fun for her.
I know it is annoying for her to get a phone call many times, so I just do it once a week.
She doesn’t seem to be interested in me, but I want to talk with her again to get back together.
I am considering ways to catch her interest.

Janitor

I read a book written by a famous janitor who works in Narita Airport. 
As we all know, Narita Airport is known as one of the, if not, the cleanest airport in the world. 
The author is the leader of the pack of 500 janitors at the airport.
She was born in China with a Japanese father and a Chinese mother. 
Growing up, she was bullied both in Japan and China owing to the hostilities between these two countries some couple of decades ago.
When her family moved to Japan, her knowledge of the Japanese language is nil. 
And she needed to earn money. 
Thus, being a janitor was the best job she could get as it did not require knowledge of the Japanese language. 
She worked hard day and night, and she became the champion among all janitors all over Japan. 
Her story moved me and taught me that passion indeed brings good results.

New Album

There is a rock band named Mr. Children in Japan and I am a big fan of it.
A new album will be released today, so I will go to a CD shop to get it after work.
Furthermore, their live performance will be held this Saturday in Hiroshima and I fortunately got a ticket for it.
I can’t wait to see it, but before going to see their performance, I will prepare by listening to the latest album.
It has been more than three years since they released the last album.
When I feel annoyed at work, I will sing their songs to myself for relaxing.

Two Boys at Starbucks

A huge typhoon passed by Shikoku Region and we had heavy rain and strong wind yesterday.
I personally didn’t have any damages, but a latest news might tell us some damages in our region.
By the way, I was at Starbucks last night.
There were two likely high school students near my seat.
I spent two hours at the café.
Surprisingly, the boys were continuously studying while I was reading books.
When I looked at one of the books on their table, the title was “English Workbook for Entrance Exam of Tokyo University.”
I was amazed by their attitude for studying.
I will also study English more in order to be more fluent.