Fuji Festival is being held this Sunday at Central Park. Are you going? Are you taking part? I'm looking forward to it. There are always so many people there so I like the atmosphere. The fireworks last year were spectacular. I know some students are taking part in dancing and the like. Good luck.
Most of our students have started their summer holidays. Some have come to Pioneer for extra summer classes during the day. Make sure you also find time to have fun and play outside, please! I asked one student yesterday what he was going to do after class. He told me he was going to go catch a cicada in his neighbourhood. I hate cicadas so I can't understand why this is fun. So does my wife. However, she used to enjoy catching cicadas when she was young. Maybe, if I grew up in Japan I would have gone catching cicadas as a child, too!? It's funny how your interests and personality change as you get older. I used to be a very fussy eater. Now, I'll eat almost anything (except oden). I used to think the Star Wars movies were the best ever. Now, I think they are badly written and acted. I used to think I would never get married. I got married two years ago. I was talking to some of my high school students about their future plans. They said the didn't expect to get married ever and had no interest in it. Maybe their opinion will change in ten year's time? How much have you changed since you were a child? Thanks for reading,
My family back in Ireland told me that they are currently experiencing a heat wave in the country. That means they have had a maximum temperature of 30 degrees during the week. That kind of weather is very unusual in Ireland, even now at the height of summer. Normally they would get 20 – 25 degrees during July. So everyone in Ireland is talking about the best summer they have had in many years, it even made it on to the news! I told them that temperature is nothing special over here, and we have to endure it for most days throughout the summer. It`s nice for the most part, but I find it tough going sometimes, especially with the high humidity we get here. Just try playing tennis for two hours in 32 degrees like I did last weekend! I was feeling dizzy after that.
Last Monday was a national holiday, Marine Day, so we had a 3 day weekend. It was also really hot weather too! I hope you're coping in this heat. It was nice to have a longer break from work. On Sunday evening, my wife and I went to a fireworks display in Taganoura Port Park. It was really nice and atmospheric to see the fireworks with the sea behind. On Monday, we had a nice day in Numazu and I swam in the sea at Senbonhama Park. Did you have fun over the three day weekend? I hope you were able to relax at least a little.
Since Tuesday we've been handing out the speech homework to our students. It's good to see the finished product of many months work. I hope you enjoy learning your speeches, all individually made. It's been a busy with the speech homework and the parents day classes but hopefully the next few weeks will be more relaxed. Unfortunately, I see the cicadas have come out. I can hear them in the mornings and walking past trees. They are my least favourite insect.
Well done to our students who passed the Eiken speaking tests. Thanks for reading. Have a great week.
Like most people in Japan, I had last Monday off work. I made the most of my day off by visiting Yokohama for the day. It`s about two hours driving from Fuji and we visited my sister-in-law, who lives there. We decided to walk around Yokohama bay for a few minutes, where you can find a fairground and an old style sailing ship on the way to Yokohama train station. I couldn`t believe how hot it was, (well over thirty degrees!), and after a few minutes of walking I couldn`t take any more and had to go indoors to the safety of air conditioned coolness. We got some shopping done in an enormous shopping mall that I can`t remember the name of. It seems like the rest of Yokohama had the same idea as the shopping mall and surrounding areas were jam packed with people. I don`t think I have ever seen so many people together in one place. It looks like everyone was making the most of their day off to get some shopping done. It was great to see Yokohama, it`s a very lively and busy area and I look froward to my next visit.