Through the Eyes of a Vagrant

Ever have one of those days?
Last night when I went to bed, I saw on the forecast (on the internet) and it said that there would a be chance of rain (80%).  So I thought to myself, “Ok.  Well I’ll just remember to bring an umbrella with me tomorrow morning.”  I woke up and got [...]

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Living in Japan as a foreigner (for the time being) means you get special treatment. When this works in your favour this is called a “gaijin smash.” This term was not coined by me but has been around for a while now. I hadn’t explained this term until now so I figured [...]

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Today was an interesting day at Seibu.  The new school year starts here in April and a lot of things change.  Teachers get moved to new schools and new students come in.  They shift teachers around because they believe it maintains the balance of power and keeps things fresh.  I’ve been told it has its [...]

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One of the English teachers came over to my apartment and we had some fun watching some DVDs.  After she left, I left like having a snack.  I had some leftover baggette that I hadn’t eaten yet and I decided to warm it up.  It was still in it’s paper wrapping so I decided to [...]

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I must warn everyone, if you intend to tell your students that you have studied karate, be prepared to defend yourself. In this foreign land, one must be aware that this is a land of ninja and karate masters. And so…
After I finished one of my English classes I stepped outside [...]

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Today I made a mistake in class.  I was thirsty after teaching the class before so I reached into my bag and whipped out my bottle of coke and took a swig.  Then I suddenly heard the students go “awwwww” with this big frown on their faces.  The intern that was in the same class [...]

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At the beginning of every English class this one teacher, like many others, greets her students with aisetsu – fixed expressions, in English. This is the way it normally goes (in near robot-like fashion):
Teacher: “Good morning class”
Class: “Good morning Kawamoto sensei!”
Teacher: “How are you today?”
Class: “I’m fine, thank you!”
Teacher: “How is the weather today?”
Class: “It’s [...]

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