Happy Halloween!

I didn't get to do anything for Halloween this year and I am a little bit bummed. However, the kids at Nukanai Elementary did make a jack-o'-lantern out of an expensive pumpkin that I gave them. We all got together the day before and made pumpkin pie and paper-craft turkeys for Thanksgiving. Here's a picture of their jack-o'-lantern on the left. Up until this year, and a few years at university, I have dressed up as a monster of some sort or another every year for Halloween. I never get very elaborate with my costume. The last couple of years I have been a vampire. I have tried to make myself look like Count Dracula the vampire.

Welcome to Wyoming!

We made it to Wyoming at last!
After changing planes several times and staying the night in Billings Montana, we finally made it to my home sate Wyoming!

Where are you going?

Where are you going?

To meet my friend!

Tomorrow, Saturday September 17th at the Satsunai Centennial Hall, I'll be having Story Time again. This time I have two books to read. One of the books is really special and I'm really excited to be reading it with the volunteer group Babaar. The book is written by Eric Carle and Japan's Iwamura Kazuo. It starts in English on one side of the book going left to right and in Japanese on the other side going right to left and the two stories meet in the middle. Illustrations are done for the English side by Carle and for the Japanese side by Iwamura. When the two sides meet in the middle the illustrations get all mixed together and it is just a lovely effect. I hope you'll come to listen to this simple yet truly wonderful story book.

While we usually read the books in both Japanese and English, the other book will be read only in English. I am planning on reading more books only in English. Don't worry, you'll surely be able to understand it. I hope this will help further English education in Makubetsu if just a little bit.

Story Time

This is a very cute poster made for my Story Time by the wonderful folks at the library. But, it lacks something. What does it need? Ah, yes, it needs accompanying text for when the graphic can't be loaded! Yes! So, here it is:

Story Time

A time for children and adults alike to get together and enjoy children's story books in English. The books will be read in English by Clinton Lane and in Japanese by volunteers.

Makubetsu-cho Main Library

Story Time wil be held at the main library in Makubetsu on the following dates:

• August 20
• October 15
• December 17
• February 18.

Reading will begin at 2pm.

Centennial Hall in Satsunai

Story Time will be held at the Satsunai Hyakunen Kinen Hall on the following dates:

• September 17
• November 19
• January 21
• March 18

Reading will begin at 2pm.

Adopt-a-Highway

It was a real shocker to me when I came to Japan and saw all of the trash strewn on the sides of the highways. The cities are kept pristine but not the areas in between. I think Japan really needs to get an Adopt-a-Highway program started.

Rain, rain, go away

Rain, rain, go away,
come again some other day!

This is a chant that I know from my childhood. We say this when it is raining and we want the rain to stop so we can go outside and play. Well, who's to say that you can't play in the rain? Anyway, with the Typhoon recently it has been raining just too much here in Hokkaido. My zuchinnis are starting to get soft and so am I! I just wish we would have sun for summer break! This is not like summer at all! Yuck! But then again, nothing here is like I expect it to be. We all have our expectations based on our experiences or desires. My experiences growing up in Wyoming has lead me to expect a 3 month summer vacation with NO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. Yes, that's NO school activities and 3 months of fun in the sun. It is summer break now here in Japan but I still see kids wearing their school jerseries or school uniforms doing club activities or going to school. I aslo saw their teachers hand out homework to be done during the summer break! That just doesn't seem like a summer break to me. I mean "break" means to "stop doing". So a summer break from school means to stop going to school. Yes, I realize that there are no normal classes so it is a break. I wonder what the students would do with three months of no school and no school activities? I guess the closest thing we had to a summer break similiar to the summer break here was the winter vacation. It was just about a month long but I can remember having homework and still going to limited wrestling practices.

Word of the Day: Odd man out

odd man out n.1 《硬貨を投げたりして》 グループの中から一人を選ぶ方法[ゲーム]; そうして選ばれた[はずされた]人, 残り鬼.2 孤立者, のけもの, つむじまがり, 変わり者.

In action:

Everyone was invited to the BBQ but me and when I asked Jim about it he encouraged me to come along. But you know, when I got there, I really just felt like the odd man out.