Misleading headline of the day: Edge of Space Found
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090409/sc_space/edgeofspacefound
Friday, April 10, 2009
Watarai
Today I went to my once-a-week school, in a tiny town in the topograhically diverse Watarai. The road from the bus stop to the school is lined with cherry blossom trees, which are holding onto their pink display as of today.
After a quick meeting I have learned that my class size at that school has been cut in half. Good news, that is.
On the way out, I stopped for a phone picture:
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Fire!
In the middle of a time-kill workday, it was easy to get excited when sirens came whaling upon the school grounds. Nobody -- from the principal on down -- seemed to know why firetrucks and ambulances were zipping around building number 2 heading toward the the far side of campus. Had a student been injured? Did a student's errant smoke light the nearby brush?
The vice principal got on the PA and asked any nearby teachers to check out what was going on. Then he and and few others rushed toward the scene themselves.
Eventually Nick and I decided to venture out as well. We joined a growing group of students watching a light plume of smoke rise above the bamboo trees just off campus. A fire! It didn't look to big, and with almost no wind it didn't appear to threaten school.
I joked with some students about whether they started it, as bamboo trees exploded with occasional muted pops and bangs. The firefighters scrambled to get into position. As the smoke thickened, teachers sent the students back to their classrooms as we all continued to watch.
It was impossible to tell what caused the fire, or what was burning, at least from our vantage point. After a few minutes the smoke cleared and the fire appeared to be under control.
Now, I'm back at my desk, killing time, waiting out the next mini-adventure.
The vice principal got on the PA and asked any nearby teachers to check out what was going on. Then he and and few others rushed toward the scene themselves.
Eventually Nick and I decided to venture out as well. We joined a growing group of students watching a light plume of smoke rise above the bamboo trees just off campus. A fire! It didn't look to big, and with almost no wind it didn't appear to threaten school.
I joked with some students about whether they started it, as bamboo trees exploded with occasional muted pops and bangs. The firefighters scrambled to get into position. As the smoke thickened, teachers sent the students back to their classrooms as we all continued to watch.
It was impossible to tell what caused the fire, or what was burning, at least from our vantage point. After a few minutes the smoke cleared and the fire appeared to be under control.
Now, I'm back at my desk, killing time, waiting out the next mini-adventure.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
In Brief
SUNDAY was the Nanaimo Hanami BBQ party at the Isuzugawa Park area. This is always an entertaining afternoon involving meat, beer and playing catch with a football. A nice crowd turned up after a slow start ... the first hour was just the owner, another bartender and myself. As noted before, this kicks off the barbecue season. Photos to come.
TODAY we had school-year opening ceremony in the morning. As usual, plenty of standing and bowing and boilerplate specchifying. More interesting was the entrance ceremony for new students in the afternoon. Since high school is not complusory in Japan, it's considered an acheivement to be accepted into one. So parents (mostly moms) show up for this formal ceremony of standing and bowing and boilerplate speechifying. All day long we ALTs dispense with a normal casual wear for suits. I'm sporting a brand new red tie.
JUNE is fast approaching, meaning I'll spend a week in Oregon for the wedding of Andrew and Ellyn. While I'd like to have a chance to see everyone, I'm afraid I'll be stuck mostly on the west side, much of that spent down the valley. My next trip to Oregon might not be for a while, since I'd really like to put some travel dollars toward new places. No friends or family have made it to Japan so far, and my second year is almost over. Anyone?
...
TODAY we had school-year opening ceremony in the morning. As usual, plenty of standing and bowing and boilerplate specchifying. More interesting was the entrance ceremony for new students in the afternoon. Since high school is not complusory in Japan, it's considered an acheivement to be accepted into one. So parents (mostly moms) show up for this formal ceremony of standing and bowing and boilerplate speechifying. All day long we ALTs dispense with a normal casual wear for suits. I'm sporting a brand new red tie.
...
JUNE is fast approaching, meaning I'll spend a week in Oregon for the wedding of Andrew and Ellyn. While I'd like to have a chance to see everyone, I'm afraid I'll be stuck mostly on the west side, much of that spent down the valley. My next trip to Oregon might not be for a while, since I'd really like to put some travel dollars toward new places. No friends or family have made it to Japan so far, and my second year is almost over. Anyone?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
