Early Morning Missiles
What should have been a rather boring and uneventful Tuesday morning turned out to be rather eventful with my town’s emergency PA system blaring out a warnin...
japan
Some Quick Thoughts on Glossika
I’ve done plenty of language learning posts in the past. This time around I want to just give a quick shout out to a small company based out of Taiwan, calle...
The Curse of the Middle Name
One of my pet peeves on about living in Japan is just how hard it can be sometimes to get things done when you have a middle name.
Farewell JET!
Five years on the JET programme has now officially passed with my final JET contract coming to an end at the end of July this year. Whenever you come to the ...
Saying Goodbye
April is a time of year in Japanese schools that I’ve written about before, but despite that it still hasn’t gotten any easier every year to see teachers I’v...
Mad Max Graduates
Sometimes living in Japan does have it’s perks, as in this case when students at Tama Art University in Japan decided that the best way for them to make thei...
Tales of the JLPT
For all the times I’ve mentioned that I was studying for and planning to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), I’ve never actually gone through...
The Transfer Turntable
It’s been a long time since I’ve updated my blog much to my shame. There are many, many reasons why I haven’t had a chance to set aside some time to sit down...
Go Nuts for Donuts!
Coming from South Africa meant that I grew up sorely lacking in the field of donuts and coffee. We’ve got very few coffee chain stores on the scale of Starbu...
Sakura Time!
April is here (or half way done already by the time I’m writing this) and with that Japan has burst out into cherry blossom mania. The blooming of cherry blo...
Driving Trials and Tribulations
Driving in Japan is an exercise in patience. First you need to go through what seems like a million miles of red tape just to get your license. Afterwards co...
Friday Ramblings
It just struck me today that in a few months I’ll be entering my fifth year as a JET ALT this coming July.
Closing Out the School Year
Last week saw me finish off my last two classes for the academic year with the students getting ready to take their final tests and then have a short break b...
The Narrow Roads of Japan
To paraphrase Forest Gump, driving in Japan is like a box of chocolates. There’s a lot of awesomeness awaiting you as you first head out onto the road in our...
Seeing Japan Anew
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for me recently, with my parents and two friends coming through to Japan. I’ve had to try and organize hotels, itineraries an...
Full Throttle
After a long and hard 3 years of trying, I can finally join the ranks of the driving elite here in Japan after successfully having passed my driver’s license...
Giant Robots & Japan
One of the first things that students learn when I introduce myself to them is that I’m a fan of the Japanese animation series, Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Golden Week Adventures
The end of April and the start of May in Japan is always the best no matter what your job or where you are. It’s a glorious period know as Golden Week, which...
Spring in Japan
Spring in Japan is one of the most beautiful seasons anywhere in the world. Every street and park is filled with cherry blossom trees in full bloom and famil...
Of Parties and Fish
So after all the movement of teachers and students during the end of March and the start of April it’s finally gotten a bit more settled at school with only ...
The Annual Teacher Swap
Every year at the end of March there’s a lot of important events in schools around Japan. Not only are the students finally coming to the end of the academic...
Japan is Cold!
One of the biggest shocks to my system when I first moved to Japan as just how cold the winters here can be. Now those of you who come from the US or Canada ...
Graduation Day
This week was the graduation ceremony for the third years at my main high school. It’s the main event of the school year and all the staff and students try t...