Losing Weight

I have been losing weight for a couple of months by caring about my diet.
The goal is to get my six-pack and to show off my body at a beach in summer.
I used to eat too much especially when I was in a bad temper.
What I am caring about are the amount of total calorie and fat.
Udon noodle was my main menu for the diet, but I control myself not to eat it.
Besides having carbohydrate, I take protein by eating chicken breast.
Beef and pork are more expensive in Japan and chicken breast is the most reasonable among parts of chicken.
By continuing these regimen, I want to get my ideal body within a few months.

Comfortable Wind

It’s very comfortable these days to go outside in the evening before sunset.
Although the daytime is hot, cool pleasant air blows at around 6 p.m.
I went to the city center to buy clothes for a business banquet which will be held this Friday.
No dress code is set up, but I want to join the party with a new outfit.
While walking the downtown, I saw a lot of business people.
I usually see only kids at an elementary school, so seeing adults except teachers on weekdays was refreshing to me.
To be honest, I don’t think I am fitting the elementary school.
Working at school as a fulltime teacher is so stressful for me.
I will study more after work to get a more reasonable job for the next school year.

Birthday

I became thirty one year old yesterday.

Nothing changed in my life.

Two months have passed since I started to work for the current school.

Honestly, I wish time would pass more quickly, and this school year would be over as soon as possible.

Based on my work experiences at a junior high school and an elementary school, it turned out that working as a regular teacher is not my dream job.

I may try the role for one year in the next year, but it will never be my life-long job.

I want to focus only on English education.

I am not interested in class management, club activities, and school events at all.

As I experience different things every day, I believe I can find my dream job.

License for Teaching

You need to have a teaching license to conduct lessons at elementary school.

Although I don’t have the license, I am employed as an assistant teacher at an elementary school thanks to the licenses for junior and senior high school.

Based on the law, I am not allowed to conduct lessons, but they make me do because of one regular teacher don’t come to school for her private matter.

The principal didn’t say anything about conducting lessons without having the license.

I will prepare enough to provide meaningful time for the children, but I won’t take any responsibility if someone outside school accuse me of doing lessons without having the license.

Conversation at Dinner

I joined a tennis tournament yesterday.
After that, I went to a restaurant to eat dinner with my American friend.
We enjoyed talking a lot while eating ramen.
She was curious about Japanese vegetables such as salted plum and menma.
She ordered them as toppings and she said that they tasted good.
We talked about our preferences for our opposite gender.
She said she likes a person who likes her.
I said I like a person who is independent.
Also we talked about her religion, her life in Japan, and her life plan after leaving Japan.
I am looking forward to talking with her again.

Tennis Tournament

I am going to join a tennis tournament today.
Yesterday, I practiced tennis for two hours with my friend to prepare for the tournament.
The temperature is getting higher these days, above 30 degrees Celsius, so we took a rest several times to prevent us from the heat stroke.
Every time I practice tennis, I aim to get better at it.
If I am jobless, I would play tennis every day.
Tennis gave me a chance to meet new friends and develop good friendships in life.
I hope to meet more acquaintances, develop friendship, good connection and a good game today.

Thirty One

I will be turning into thirty one years old in a few days.
When I look back my short life, I cannot say I am enjoying my life except the five years including four years in college and one year before college.
Although I don’t have any memories of the first few years of my life, the rest of the twenty six years were not satisfying.
How can I spend my life without any regrets?
To get such a good life, I need to have some skill to earn money by myself.
As long as I have to work for school, I cannot use my time as what I hope.
I will think more seriously about how I will spend my life with satisfaction.

Sinking Land in the Philippines

I read an article on a newspaper yesterday about land sinking in the Philippines.

One woman said, “I used to go to a grocery store on foot, but now, we have to use a boat.”

Because of the rise of the water level, she is required to redecorate the floors of her house up in order not to be below the water level.

I didn’t know that the Philippines has this kind of problem.

Not only the Philippines, but also Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Beijing have also this land sinking issue.

I learned that skillful technicians for water resources are required.

Muscle Shake

I made a shake called “chicken shake” with a blender last night.
The ingredients are 600 grams of chicken breast, strawberry jam to make it taste better, and water.
A famous Japanese bodybuilder used to make it to concoct a one time mixture of protein drink easily.
All I had to do is just put them in the blender and mix them.
The taste was not bad thanks to the jam, but it was difficult to swallow.
I left half of them and took the other half this morning.
I will try next time to add different ingredients besides the strawberry jam to enhance the taste.

Observing Lessons

I am working as an assistant teacher at an elementary school.
Fortunately, I can join lessons held by different teachers.
While observing their lessons, I can learn their techniques of talking and explaining.
First and foremost, teachers need to tell why the students have to study each subject.
Unless the students think that they want to learn, the class can be meaningless.
I’m in charge of teaching English at a certain class in sixth grade.
I feel scared whenever I enter the classroom because of the fear of making mistakes.
I really don’t like to see students’ unpleasant facial expressions during my lesson.
I will prepare enough for the next lesson to conduct it without any mistakes.

Rain

It has been raining since last night.
We didn't have any rain for the last few weeks and I feel soothed whenever I hear the sound of rain.
Our prefecture is known as having the least amount of rainfall in Japan, so there are a lot of ponds to keep water in.
But that is not enough because once in a few years, people in this prefecture face water shortages in summer.
We even get water from a dam in a neighboring prefecture throughout the year.
By the way, June is usually the rainy season in Japan. Unfortunately, if we don’t have much rain during that season, then when summer comes, there can be much less water supply.
Although it’s dark and humid during the rainy season, I feel relaxed thanks to the soothing sound of the rain.

Day-Off

Two days ago, Sports Day in our school ended.
Yesterday, I felt lethargic because of the tiredness from the athletic event.
I didn’t feel like doing anything.
I just stayed home, watched American dramas, and filled up some documents for an exam to become a regular teacher.
Today, a weekday, is a day-off as well because Sports Day was held on Saturday,
which is a regular day-off.
There are some tasks I need to do today such as buying business clothes for summer, going to a bank to cancel a contract, and heading to a post office to send the documents.
I hope to find something fun while touring the city.

Dinner After Athletic Event

Sports Day was held in our school yesterday.

There were a lot of parents and even people who live in near the school.

I mainly worked as staff for athletic events such as a rally race and a dance performance.

All of the events were over without any accidents and time of the day passed more quickly than I imagined.

After work, fourteen teachers went to a buffet style restaurant to honor the effort of the main teacher for the day and to enjoy delicious meals after working hard.

For the last couple of weeks, the teachers and students were busy to prepare for the event, but regular days will come back to our school next week.

I am satisfied with working as a member of the teachers for the big event.

Sports Day at School

Today is Sports Day in our elementary school.

We set up tents and flags of nations yesterday.

It’s my first time to join Sports Day as a teacher, so I still don’t figure out what is going to be.

I have some roles in several athletic events such as scaffolding the students and organizing relay races.

Also, some of the teachers have to dance with some parents.

The song with demonstration dance has already decided, so I practiced it watching the video.

The dance performance is only for two minutes.

I pray no students get hurt and we can enjoy today’s big event.

Tattoo

I am always surprised with the number of people who have tattoos when I visit foreign countries.
In Bangkok, there was a tattoo parlor near a grocery store and I saw some customers having a tattoo service from the tattooist in the outdoor.
I think Japanese people have a different outlook at foreigners with tattoos.
If you have a tattoo in Japan, you usually cannot take public baths and people might give you a strange look or avoid looking at you.
However, non-Japanese people, of course not everyone, wear tattoos as one of their fashion.
I still cannot understand why people want to have tattoos despite the harm it can bring, like infection, HIV, other bacteria that a customer can get.

Working as a Teacher

I have been working for my current elementary school for one and a half month.
I think that as long as you work for a school as a fulltime teacher, it might be difficult to live your life happily.
Most of the teachers look exhausted and I don’t think they are enjoying their lives.
There are many paper works aside from having classes.
Some of them come to school on weekends to do their work that hasn't been finished.
Once you are hired as a teacher, you won’t be fired as long as you do not do something bad.
It is a precious experience to be able to share time with students, but beyond the merit, you need to do many tasks despite an average salary.
This year would be a good period to observe how elementary school teachers work at school throughout a year.

Speaking in English

I am more comfortable in talking to foreigners than Japanese people.
There is an ALT in our school came from America.
I like to talk with her very much.
She comes to school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, so I am looking forward to meeting and talking with her on these days.
When I talk with Japanese, I always need to be serious at school.
But with her, I can talk frankly without worrying about my each comment.
In the future, I want to live in a foreign country because I want to live with foreigners without talking Japanese.
By the way, I am going to take an exam in July to become a permanent teacher.
I am planning to work as a teacher at a school for Japanese people in a foreign country.
In order to achieve my goal, I will study a lot before the examination.

Sports Day

Sports Day is going to be held this Saturday in our school.
The students will perform a dance and join a relay race.
Their parents will also come the school to see their performances.
The students have been 
preparing hard for that day.
Homeroom teachers look very busy because they have to conduct regular lessons and instruct the students how to do the performances on the ground under the heat of the sun.
Since I am an assistant teacher, I am not handling any homeroom activity.
When I went to a classroom to teach a lesson, the lesson was canceled suddenly to take time for the said preparation.
I'm still not used to this irregular changes at the elementary school.

Tennis Tournament

I joined a tennis tournament yesterday.
There were about forty participants and we were divided into four groups.
Our group was the third place.
I am going to join another tournament in two weeks.
I need to practice my backhand more in order to win in rallies.
Yesterday’s tournament was held for fun, but the next one is important for me because the prizes are good and the participation fee is not cheap.
By the way, I am going to take an exam in July.
I didn’t study at all yesterday.
After work, I will use my time to review the previous exams.

Study in the Library

I was reviewing previous exams to prepare for the exam which will be held in July.
If you pass the exam, you can work as a regular teacher at school.
I used to study at a café, but I couldn’t concentrate because of the noise around me.
Yesterday, I went to a public library which has spaces to study with desks and chairs and which is quiet inside.
I saw a lot of high school students doing their homework.
In Japan, typically, we study hard in high school and as you get older you don’t study.
I want to keep on studying just like what high school students do.

Seminar

Today, I am going to join a seminar targeted for teachers who have started to work at school within five years.
To be honest, I don’t feel like joining it, but fresh teachers need to join at least once out of seven seminars in a year.
If I find someone who go together well, I will exchange our contact and meet with them again to hang out or to study together.
After the seminar, I will go to a library in a university to return and borrow books.
And then, I will do exercise at a gym which I have never been to.
I am looking forward to seeing what kind of equipment for workout is installed in the gym.

Working at School

About one month has passed since I started to work for the current junior high school.
The job is more easygoing than the previous job in a junior high school because I am not belong to a certain homeroom.
If you belong to a certain homeroom, you need to be in the classroom all the time and to do a lot of tasks about the students.
However, unlike previous year, I don’t need to do that job, so I can focus on preparing lessons.
Also, there is an atmosphere in current school that we leave school right after the work hours.
I will leave the school at 4:30 p.m. right on time today.

Preparation for Exams

I am preparing for exams to become a permanent junior high school teacher.
I am going to take the exams in six prefectures.
The questions and durations of exams vary for each prefecture.
This makes them interesting and challenging.
The good thing is that, as long as the exams dates do not overlap, you can take the exam in any prefecture.
Also, you don’t have to pay to take the exams.
But I need to pay a lot for public transportation and hotel.
I am going to take the next exam in Nagoya.
It is very far from here, so I need to get there the day before the exam.
I will study hard to pass the exams.

New Routine

Golden Week was over and I started to work for the school again.
Yesterday, I tried a new way of using my time after work.
After finishing my work, I went to the gym straight and did workout for thirty minutes.
After taking a shower, I went to Starbucks to prepare for the coming exams in July.
I went back home at around 8 p.m., ate dinner, did my laundry, and went to bed at 10 p.m.
I think this is the most reasonable way of using my time because I can take time to do workout and study.
I will keep this routine during weekdays until the exams are over.

New Blog

I have written on my blog for more than a year already about my daily experiences.
My purpose in writing on my blog is to improve my English writing skills and to memorize words.
During this Golden week, I made my second blog entitled The Corner of Classic Japanese Books.
I write book reviews about classic Japanese books.
I believe there are many good old books but they are not lined up at the bookstore for easy viewing but instead kept in archives in libraries.
After reading books, I summarized the contents and wrote comments about the books in Japanese.
And then, I use Google Translate and finally edit minor corrections on my own.
I wish many people will read my blog and will have interest on old books.

Cebu

I watched a Netflix program titled “Street Food.”

Episode 9 was about street foods in Cebu.

It was my first time to see so many native Filipinos as well as to see their respective villages.

Reef eel soup, roasted pig, and Chinese spring rolls were introduced in the program.

We Japanese don’t put eel into our soup, so I was surprised to see how a cook used the fish in that manner.

Unlike in Japan, eating out is common in the Philippines.

It is one of the biggest difference between us.

There is a Filipino food restaurant in my city and you can enjoy the food without having to travel to the Philippines.

But, I still want to talk to native Filipinos and feel the air of the island.

Sunset

In the evening, I was eating my boxed meal by the seashore yesterday.
The temperature was getting lower as the sun went down, but it was very comfortable to be outside thanks to the mild wind and the warm temperature during day time.
I took a picture of the sunset and the picture reminds me that you don’t need to go to somewhere far from this city.
The sunset colored the water surface orange.
All I hear at the place were just the sound of splashing of fish and the sound of the train.
I will visit the place again to relax and refill energy for tomorrow.

Seminar for Teachers

I joined a seminar for teachers yesterday.

There were ten participants in the room including me.

The main speaker was an elementary school teacher in Osaka.

I noticed why he is known as a skillful teacher.

In my opinion, he is attentive to people all the time and he can give appropriate comments to them such as “Good idea”, “You did well”, and “Thank you.”

The main purpose of attendance for the seminar was to know the atmosphere of seminars for teachers.

I have started to work for an elementary school since April and it was my first time to join such a seminar.

I really look up to him, but to be honest, I don’t want to get along with the other participants because I felt uncomfortable for being there.

The participants looked like followers of religion.

But anyway, it was a good occasion to get to know what a seminar like is for teachers.

Osaka

After watching a program on Netflix titled “Street Food,” I booked a round trip bus ticket and I went there yesterday.
The purpose of the one-day travel was to visit three restaurants which were taken up in the program. 
The three restaurants were a takoyaki restaurant, an okonomiyaki restaurant, and an izakaya Japanese style restaurant.
The izakaya was unfortunately closed but the rest two were open and I enjoyed their dishes.
I felt the owners make dishes carefully and with great care.
The takoyaki was special.
It had very simple ingredients with a piece of octopus and a slice of ginger.
The takoyaki reminds me of the phrase “Simple is the best.”
I was tired with the long bus rip and long walk, but I was satisfied with being able to visit those places actually.

Pachinko Parlor

I got a text from my senior in the evening yesterday.

He said “won’t you come to slot machine in a pachinko parlor?”

I hadn’t played at such a place but I went there right after receiving the text.

My senior was in lack and got a lot of medals.

The flow would still continue but he had to leave the place.

It was wasteful to miss the chance so he kindly texted me to allow me to get more medals.

He explained me how to use the machine and I pushed the buttons as he said.

At the end, I got 5,000 yen just by pushing buttons.

I really appreciate him to let me experience new things and have allowance.

Trip to Osaka

I watched a program on Netflix titled “Street Food.”

The first episode featured several street foods in Bangkok, Thailand.

One woman who runs her own stall and who has won Michelin was introduced.

The second episode featured an izakaya restaurant and some other restaurants in Osaka.

I was really impressed with their emotions for business.

After watching the program, I booked a round-trip bus ticket valid this Thursday.

I am sure that I can learn something from them by visiting and eating their dishes.

I am planning to visit three restaurants within a day.

I can’t wait to see them and to taste their dishes.