TFiJ33: Luke & Max’s 1st vegetable garden
For his summer English project, Luke uses English to tell the story of a vegetable garden he and his sister Max planted this past spring. Shinobu got the idea rolling, which was to create a small, manageable garden that the kids to help out with. This sort of “micro gardening” is currently VERY popular in Japan. Parents are using it as a way of teaching about and introducting nature into their kids’ lives, and since many people live on small plots of land, it also has taken off because it’s very easy and manageable.
As for this video project, I wanted a way to kill two birds with one stone- share a family experience and help Luke practice his English. Seemed like getting Luke more involved in our family podcast was the way to to.
I wrote the script, Luke worked hard to learn the lines, then we spent a couple of afternoons recording and filming. I also printed the script with a “schoolbook” font so that he would have some writing practice as well (by tracing over the letters). Overall it was a lot of good practice for Luke! He’s not totally smooth, but it’s so cool to hear him speak in only English for an extended period. This is a very rare thing, since he lives in a Japanese world most of the time. I’ve been finding it hard to motivate him to use English, so I’m hoping this project idea works out. If it does, I have some ideas for other projects. .
I hope you like this little story. If you have some words of encouragement for Luke, please leave comments. This will give Luke some good reading practice!
TFiJ32: Shredding Cow Mountain
Here’s a video clip that shows a family doing something they really love- carving tracks in pure powder snow! Known in snowboarding lingo as “shredding”, this clip features rock and roll highlights of Luke, Mama, and me tearing it up. I hope you can get a sense of the thrill this sport can provide!
We live only 25 minutes from Ushidake ski area. “Ushi” means cow, and “dake” means mountain in Japanese, hence the title of this video. I think it used to be an old cow pasture… Anyway, it’s a great place for snowboarding because of the very wide slopes. They leave lots of un-groomed snow on the sides, which makes it great for snowboarding.
This video is dedicated to an old colleague of mine at TCFL, Stephen Davies, who passed away recently. Stephen and I really bonded over snowboarding. He was the person who taught me how to ride on the soft powder. I really got hooked and have been crazy about it ever since. I’ll miss Steve, but I’ll always think and be grateful for meeting him when I’m on my board riding down a mountain.
TFiJ31: Moments of Gratitude 2009
Hey! Long time no video. Winter vacation has started, and I FINALLY feel free to make time for video editing. Since 2009 is about to end, it’s time to take a look back at all the fun stuff and memorable family moments. The clip is roughly chronological, starting back in January and progressing through the year, up until last week when we had our first big dump of snow. Some of the big highlights from 2009 include:
- Papa starting a new job at Toyo Gakuen University, in Chiba (east of Tokyo, nearish Tokyo Disney Land).
- Relatedly, beginning our “tanshin funin” lifestyle. This means that during the week I lived in a tiny apartment and commuted back to Toyama on Thursday nights, only to return on Sunday nights. Long story short, this was a big change for our family!
- Family “camping” trips to our Chiba apartment (March, May, September, December). We all packed into our little shoebox and enjoyed the sites of Tokyo and surrounding area.
- Luke’s continued swimming success. He competed in several meets and earned his 2nd medal (a bronze in the 25m backstroke). Since he was often the youngest swimmer in the pool, we were very happy about his results (although you’ll likely get a different story from Coach Mama!)
- Luke climbing Mt. Tateyama (in Toyama) this summer with me and grandpa Mase.
- Visiting the Noto Peninsula in September. The occasion was a swim meet for Luke and Mama, but our friend Kaoru came along to help take care of Max, so we were able to visit the beach and go hiking. Very nice place!
- Luke dancing on the big stage in Yatsuo during the Owara festival. This was shown live on local TV, so Max watched and danced along. Fun!
- The summer visit of Shinobu’s friend Yumi and her three awesome kids, Ikuma, Kazuma, and Nao. We had a total blast with them.
- Luke and Max going crazy about Michael Jackson- I’ve been listening to him practically every day since he passed away!
So besides all these “events”, there were numerous quiet and subtle joys, some of which you’ll see in the video. When I look at all the smiles and good times, I feel this glorious overwhelming gratitude for everything. I hope when you watch this clip you’ll think about all that is good in your life and feel likewise.
Take care, everyone, and have a great 2010!
TFiJ25: Playing in the snow (2006)
Last night we got this huge dump of snow, about 35 cm, and Toyama (finally!) feels like the “Winter Wonderland” I have come to know and love. I took Luke to Ushidake yesterday where he went skiing (me on a board, of course), and today we pulled him out of school so he could so snowboarding with his mama on her day off! Aren’t we the dream parents? “You can’t go to school today! The powder is fresh, so you have to go snowboarding!!” Luke is one lucky boy!
In other news, you may have heard (probably not!) that Apple had a big presentation at this year’s Macworld conference in San Francisco. They announced, among other things, that a new version of the iLife suite of digital lifestyle applications will be released at the end of this month. While most normal folks couldn’t care less, I was jumping up and down at this news like it was Christmas morning. Why? Because a new version of iLife means a new version of iMovie, my all-time favorite piece of software. It’s the program I use to make all of these family videos. They’ve added a whole bunch of wiz-bang features, and I can’t wait to start using it! Click here to take a video tour of what this amazing app can do. The new features I’m most looking forward to are the video stabilization and the precision editor. The new transitions and the return of themes and effects are also very very welcomed!
However, now that I know a new version of iMovie is coming, I don’t want to use the old one to make anything new! I have a bunch of footage in the can, but I will wait before putting it together. In the meantime, I’d like to dig into my vault of old clips and share one in particular with you. It’s called “Playing in the snow.” Filmed in December 2005, it features a four year old Luke playing with mom and dad in our front yard after a big dump of snow, like the one we had last night. You can see how beautiful it is around here at this time of year and why I love winter so much! I’ll get back to “new” content with our next podcast episode…
How do you spend your winters? Do you have fun, and if so, how? Or do you count the days until spring? Anyway, leave me a comment or three. I love getting them!
Happy new year 2009!
Happy new year, everyone! We hope you had a good time. We’re enjoying some relaxing family time this year. We don’t have any special plans, other than going over to Shinobu’s parents house to eat traditional foods. Maybe we’ll go to a Shinto shrine later in the day, or perhaps we’ll go shopping. Max has the sniffles, and the snow is not great, so we probably won’t go to a ski area.
Anyway, here is our “nengajo” for the year, our new year’s card. This is the tradition here- everyone sends them to their circles of family and friends. Special volunteers deliver them. Later today we’ll get a huge stack. It’s a nice way to stay in touch with people you don’t often see. Our card features some highlights from our past year- our family trip to USJ, Luke doing sports, Max growing up, and other various cute stuff.
Speaking of new years… What are your resolutions, if any? I’ll blog about this topic in the coming days. I have some ideas!
Oh! And you may have noticed I’ve updated this site’s design. I hope you like it! I’ve tried to make things better organized and easier to find. For example, I’ve redone the categories so that you can find posts that feature any one of us, or give you a list of posts with videos or slideshows. Let me know what you think!
TFiJ24-Moments of gratitude 2008
Merry Christmas, everyone!
It’s late at night, and I want to get this latest podcast up before I go to bed so that you all back in the States can watch it on Christmas morning. Take it from me, you’re in for a great day!
We had fun opening presents in the morning, then we spent time cleaning up. In the late afternoon we went to a big shopping mall and had a lot of fun with the kids. They turned the Toys R Us into a playground. Max was very very active, running this way and that. Luke, too.
I hope you like this little video clip. Like last year, I just want to show some of the really sweet moments we had this past year. Life is hard sometimes, and it’s easy to get down and lose sight of all the blessings we have in our lives. There is so much love and joy all around, even in the grayest of days. By sharing some of our good times, I hope you are reminded of the fun you had this past year, or of simple moments when there was calm and peace amidst the hustle and stress of the daily routine.
Take care, everyone! Have an awesome Christmas and a great new year.
A Talandis film festival
Wow, its been over two months since my last blog post! Suffice it to say I’ve been busy! I hope to make up for it over the winter break, however. To get things started, I’d like to share three videos with you, episodes 21, 22, and 23 of our family video podcast. Consider this my Christmas present to you!
TFiJ21-Family trip to Universal Studios Japan
Here are some highlights from our family trip to Universal Studios Japan this past summer.
This trip came about because we had to get Max’s US passport (and renew Luke’s), and the only place we could do that was at the USA consulate in Osaka. They have a new rule stating that the person applying for the passport must appear in person, so that meant we all had to go. So if we have to go to Osaka, why not make a family vacation of it? Thus the idea to visit USJ was born…
Long story short- we had a great time, but it was just too hot hot hot! Wow, was it hot! This made things difficult. Another problem was that I insisted we travel there by train. I thought it would be much easier than driving, but boy was I wrong! Max was noisy and figidy the entire way, and it was a total struggle on the cramped train. And it was hot hot hot! You can imagine.
Oh well. Check out the video for all the good parts of our journey.
TFiJ22-Luke’s 7th birthday photo shoot
It has become a family tradition to take our kids to a pro photographer on the day of their birthdays. Here are some scenes from Luke’s 7th photo shoot, again held at Studio Alice in downtown Toyama City. This place does a great job to make it fun for kids and families, as you can see from the clip.
TFiJ23-The Grape Adventure
Here’s a really mellow clip about a fun family outing we made back in September to a local Toyama winery. Wine growing is not big around here (brewing sake is), but they do make pretty good wine at this place. It was a national holiday (Fall Equinox Day), and the weather was great. We had a chance to catch some rays in the beautiful countryside. The grapes were a pain to eat, but it was still fun. The kids had a nice time. I enjoyed the wine tasting! The wine was pretty good- the grape varietals were unfamiliar to me, but the red and white versions had a nice taste. I can see us going back here someday!
So there you have it! Nothing for two months, then a deluge! I miss you all as usual, and I hope you all have a great Christmas and holiday season. I’ll aim to get at least one more video out before New Years.
Buying our first stock
Hey all, how’s it going? I have some fun news to share: in the depths of this economic crisis, Shinobu and I bought our first stock! After the big crash last week we borrowed $5,000 from her mom and bought 35 shares of Apple, Inc (AAPL). I am now a part owner in that great company! We found a securities company here in Toyama (Nomura) through which we got the stock. It was very easy- set up an account, dump money into it, then give them a call. Once we get our security code mailed to us (any day now), we’ll be able to trade from home via the Internets.
Apple has been growing by leaps and bounds the past few years, as many of you know from my frequent propaganda mailings (which worked for some, but not for others- you know who you are!!!!). They are a leading tech company that makes great stuff, and they’ve been doing very well even though other tech companies haven’t. Earlier this year their stock was trading at over $200 per share. Recently, thanks to the multiple crashes, the price went down to under $100. Time to buy! Shinobu really snatched on this opportunity, and thanks to her mom, we were able to create some cash. Naturally we are very grateful to her and will repay with interest!
The only down side of this purchase was that the moment we bought it, the stock was at its highest point in the past few weeks (116). Apple came out with new notebook computers last Tuesday, and I thought that that announcement would send the stock up, but instead it went down! Complicated story… Anyway, we’re now checking our “portfolio” (he he) each day, and it’s kind of exciting. Lest you think I’m crazy to invest in such hard times, I’ll have you know that I basically have followed the advice of Warren Buffet:
“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”
This is a fantastic article, and I highly recommend you read it if you’re interested in a hopeful take on our current economic disaster.
Anyway, that’s about it. We’re now excitedly checking all the financial news with renewed interest. We’ll see how it goes. Like Buffet, I’m extremely confident that things will turn around, especially with O in the White House. It’s nice to know we’ll be able to benefit from that.
Oh, and don’t forget- for your next computer, buy Apple! The new MacBooks are amazing! Don’t believe me? Just check out this fascinating mini-documentary on how they made the new machines:
TFiJ18: Tokyo Disneyland 2006
Summer is here in Toyama, and it’s time to go into reruns! I’m really busy these days, so I thought I’d post an old video of a trip we made to Tokyo Disneyland in March 2006, before Max was born and only a few months after Shinobu was released from the hospital following her heart operation. I hope to get back with some more current video clips soon, but until I can manage that, I hope you enjoy watching some of our old stuff. This trip was the result of a promise Shinobu and I made to each other as she recovered in the hospital after her heart attack in the summer of 2005. We thought then, “boy, won’t it be great if we can take Luke to Tokyo Disneyland?” It was a happy thought that helped get us through a tough time. So, when the trip finally came to pass, it was extra special. Just seeing the excitement on Luke’s face brings back great memories!
OH! One error to correct: Shinobu’s birthday is March 12th, not the 11th. 
Opps!
TFiJ17: Tree planting day
For our next family video clip, this time we focus on our house, especially with our recent landscaping efforts. This spring Shinobu’s dad (a champion bonsai grower), has been helping us plant new shrubbery. We’ve been working hard each weekend on various little things, and the place is really beginning to shape up!
During the beginning of May we were browsing around a local garden store and happened on a great deal- a huge (4m) Japanese Maple tree for only about $400. We took one look and just knew, “that tree belongs in our front yard!” We hurried up and bought it before we could change our minds, and a few days later, on May 9th, the tree was delivered to our home and planted. I didn’t have to work that morning and captured the entire event on video. I hope you enjoy this little clip. It’s kind of cool to watch the guy plant the tree.
If you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip, just click here. If you right click on this link and choose “Save As”, you can download the file and watch it on your computer. Finally, all of our videos can be seen on the newly updated Videos page.
Don’t forget to leave a comment! Thanks.
Hey! What happened to April?
Wow, its been a long time since I posted anything in this blog! Perhaps you’ve been wondering what we’ve been up to this past month or so. Well, of course we’ve all been busy. Here’s a quick update on what happened with us during April 2008, from young to old:
Max
Max had a tough month health-wise, and by extension, so did we all. She seemed to always be in cold-mode, with a cough, runny nose, and sneezing that came and went like a rising and falling wave. At one point it got so bad that she had to be hospitalized for two nights! Turns out she caught a stomach virus thing that prevented her from being able to eat. She couldn’t even drink milk, so she was on an IV for a while. This helped her recover quickly, and we were so relieved when she came home. Of course Shinobu and I were exhausted (we took turns staying over night with her in her room). This led eventually to us catching colds as well! Bad Max!
Luke
Luke was the only one who didn’t really get sick. His big news was starting elementary school (school begins in the spring in Japan). I’m currently working on a video of that opening ceremony, so look for that soon. His (and our) schedule changed- he has to wake up at 6:30am and leave the house at 7:15am sharp. He walks the mile to school with other neighborhood kids (they don’t do school buses here). That means mama and papa have to wake up earlier, too. No more late-night TV. We all try to hit the sack around 10pm now. This has actually been a very good thing.
Oh, and some other cool Luke news: He participated in another swim meet, and won 1st prize in three events! Of course, he was the only kid in his age group to swim, but hey! A win is a win is a win. He got to stand on the podium, hear the music play, and receive a certificate. Basically, Shinobu is training him on a pace ahead of other kids. He’s doing stuff now (like the 100 meter individual medley) that boys usually don’t attempt for at least another year or two. We’re hoping he gets ahead of the game and can flourish in the coming years due to all the extra experience he’s gaining. I think he really loves these competitions because we always buy him a new Wii game afterwards! After that last meet, we went and got him the new Lego Star Wars game, and we’ve enjoyed playing it a lot together.
Shinobu
Besides dealing with Max and suffering through a cold, Shinobu’s life has really gone according to her basic routine. She is totally family centered, so she has stayed real busy getting Luke adjusted to elementary school. In addition, she has reorganized our private lesson schedules. We now have all of our young students come to our house. This saves us a drive to the community center, where we were renting a room a few nights each week. I REALLY like this new system. It has saved us time and energy, and we can offer our students a better service since we have computers, the Internet, and a lot of extra materials at our home. Shinobu has really taken to teaching English, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she does more of this in the future. She’s a natural teacher and does a great job. It’s really interesting to see her work- she teaches English like she taught aerobics, if that makes any sense! No, the kids are not doing jumping jacks and counting off! He he he… I mean she breaks things down into manageable, easy-to-understand bits, like she used to do when teaching a combination of dance moves. She really is awesome, and she knows it, too!
Papa
Me? Ha! I am so so so busy these days, as usual. April is a killer month, as I have to deal with getting a new school year underway. I set things up at work so that I don’t need to spend a lot of time and energy on lesson prep, but at the beginning, there is always extra stuff you need to do to get the big balls rolling. On top of that we had the Max situation at home, and a job opportunity suddenly appeared that really took over what little creative energy I had left. Yes, I have applied for a new job, for an associate professor position at Okayama University. They need an English teacher with e-learning experience, and since that is right up my street, I decided to go for it even though I don’t have a lot of publications. We shall see if it works out or not! By the end of the month everything came to a head, and that’s when I got really sick. I had a strep-throat kind of thing for a while, and I’m just now getting over it. Fortunately the weather has been great lately, and I have been riding my bike to work a lot. I’m feeling better, and hope to put more creative energy into this blog very soon.
Oh! One cool thing that happened in April was my participation in a Web 2.0 conference in the States via Skype. A professor at Penn State University gave a talk at an event about the changing nature of education in the 21st century, and during his presentation he chatted with me via Skype. I was able to talk about how I use Web 2.0 in my teaching. It was all very cool, and I ended up with a good experience. I really enjoy presenting and hope to do more of it this year.
So, that’s about it for now. I’ll be posting some video clips soon, so stay tuned for those. Take care, everyone!
New Zealand update
Hey all! I’m about half-way through my New Zealand trip, and I think it’s about time for an update on my adventures here. Overall, so far so good. The summer weather here has been quite spectacular, with almost no rain and temps in the low to mid 20s (C). That’s mid 70s for all you non-metric folk. The city is about the same size as Toyama City, with about 370,000 people. There is a HUGE park in the center of town- I heard it’s the third largest central-city park in the world. I’ve throughly enjoyed running and walking around there. I’m staying in a nice one-bedroom apartment very near to the school where our students are studying at. Besides a few design flaws, I’m very happy with it. Best thing of all is the washer and drier! I can clean all my clothes in a jiffy, which is quite a change from my life in Toyama, where we hang-dry everything, and it sometimes takes days before I can wear certain items.
My daily routine is to wake up at 7:20am, take a shower, and have breakfast while checking out the morning news and weather (it’s so nice to be able to understand what’s on the TV!). I meet my colleague Mr. Kawahata (who’s staying in an apartment above me) at 8:20, then we walk together through a small park to King’s Education. It’s only a five minute stroll, so I really appreciate the location of our hotel apartments. Once there, we sit in the entrance lobby and greet our students as they come in. All of them are staying with host families around town and bus to school. Once we’re sure everyone has arrived, we hang out in the teacher’s lounge for the rest of the morning. This is my free Internet access time, so I keep busy with email, catching up on the news, and getting some research done (I’ve been working on an article for publication). Free wireless Internet is very rare here; Fortunately the local public library has it, so after lunch with Mr. Kawahata (we alway eat out at one of the many many excellent restaurants nearby), I head off to continue whatever project I’m on. At six Mr. Kawahata and I go jogging along the Avon River near our hotel. After that, it’s dinner time, so we either go out or stay in, depending on our mood.
That’s basically it, but you know, each day is unique, so there is always something new to see and do. A few things I’ve been able to do have been to visit the local museums, go running in the super gorgeous botanical garden park, attend choral services at the Christchurch Cathedral (which is Anglican), and go to a Catholic Cathedral for Sunday mass. Last weekend, in fact, I went to my first ever (?) mass held in Latin. That was very interesting, but I realized I like the “new” style better! [Mom or dad- did you ever take me to a Latin mass when I was a child?] I’ve realized that my thing to give up for lent is not to “give up” anything at all, but to attend church more! That feels more positive to me, and I’ve greatly enjoyed this opportunity to attend services with amazing location, music, and ENGLISH!
During the week days I’ve also accompanied our students on pre-planned field trips. The first of these was a city tour around Christchurch. I whipped up the following video clip, which I posted on a new website I created for our trip. Check it out- you won’t see me until the very very end, but you can get an idea of what the city is like and an idea of what I’m doing down here. I’m currently working on more videos, so I’ll post those when their done.
So, that’s it for now. I’ll be here until March 9th.
UPDATE: (4/5/08) I’ve reposted the video clip below to a bigger and clearer version. Check it out!
TFiJ13: 2nd time skiing 2008
Well, here’s another skiing & snowboarding video for you! A few days after our first time out, the weather became simply fantastic, so we had to go out to Cow Mountain (Ushidake) again. Shinobu’s father was able to come with us this time, and Luke was really good. I also had a chance to cruise in some powder snow, which was quite nice up at the top of the mountain. There was not enough snow at the bottom, however, so I wasn’t able to take out my new swallow-tail powder board (next time!). Anyway, here you go- more Toyama winter family fun!
Here is a higher quality QuickTime version of this video that I hope you will watch.
TFiJ11: Max takes a bath
Winter break is winding down, and since both Luke and Max have colds, we’re just basically hanging out at home these days. This gives me a chance to catch up on some video editing. Here’s a short one, of Max taking a bath. Here in Japan, people usually take baths in the evenings, before going to bed. We have a nice system down pat: Shinobu gives Max a bath (in a cute little plastic tub), then when she’s finished, pushes a special buzzer button on a control panel that sends a loud beep-beep-beep signal sounding. I come running with towel in hand, take Max, and then dry her off and get her dressed into her pajamas. Luke then usually takes his turn (in a larger tub). Anyway, Max is cute, so check her out!
As always, if you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this video clip, please click here.
Happy new year!
Here is our annual new year’s greeting card. Sending these out to everyone you know is a tradition here, as this article describes. The small photos on the card tell the story of our year, starting with Max’s birth in March. Hope you all have a great 2008!
TFiJ#10: Moments of gratitude 2007
Hey family and friends,
It’s Christmas day. From our family to yours, we wish you a very merry holiday season and a happy and healthy 2008. Christmas is a good time to look back with gratitude for all the blessings in our lives during the past year. Here are a few such moments from this year. As you watch this clip, I hope it helps you think about all the good things in your life. What do you have to be thankful for? I’d love it if you left a comment below and let me know.
If you’d like a higher quality QuickTime version of this video, please click here.
Getting caught up in a busy time
Hey! Long time no post! How’s it going, dear reader? Busy? Well, join the club. This blogging thing is quite interesting. It can be challenging at times to put something up here. I have a lot of ideas, but life keeps getting in the way. So, instead of waiting around till I have time and energy for big or long entries, I’m going to try to write smaller posts with more frequency. Here goes…
First of all, thanks for the feedback on my previous post (Vi!). The message was, “too much information.” Yes, I agree. Sorry about that. If I have new features to announce, I’ll endeavor from now on to mention them one at a time and keep the focus on the family life.
Like I said, life is busy now. We just had our school festival at work (on a Saturday, no less), and then the next morning I had to help judge a big local speech contest. It went fine, but I haven’t had a day off in a week and a half! Fortunately tomorrow (Thursday, November 1st) I don’t have to go in. I’m planning on spending the entire day studying and preparing for my JALT Conference presentations. I’m doing some very interesting reading these days, mostly about the nature of the Internet and the development of learning theory in this digital age. Quite fascinating stuff! I will need to start pulling together a narrative of what I want to say soon, and then begin putting together some slides. My aim is to create a video podcast and post it up somewhere. This process will help me get my act together. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Luke and Max have been struggling with colds recently, but they are okay today. Shinobu has been studying very hard for yet another test, this one to get this special work-related licence (I’m not really sure what it’s all about!!). She did very well, and afterwards she was so happy. She went on this big shopping binge and had a great time buying clothes for her little dolls! Me? I used the money I got from my judging gig and got myself a very very very cool and slight portable digital voice recorder!! It’s the Zoom H2, and I’m really going to enjoy using this puppy. I’ll now be able to do some good audio podcasts- sounds from our lives, sound-seeing tours, interviews, etc. Can’t wait!
So, that’s about it for now. I won’t have much (if any) time for posting new video podcasts, but I will try to put up some past projects.
Take care, everyone!
Sox win!!! Woooo hooooo!
A fall 2007 family news update
Hey everyone. It’s October 11th as I type this, and the weather outside in Toyama has FINALLY cooled down. The evenings, in fact, are downright cool. The other day I actually had to put on a long sleeve shirt at home in the evening- I hadn’t done that in a long while. Shinobu, of course, has been wearing winter-like clothes for weeks. She and I are really funny that way- our body sensitivities to heat and cold are TOTALLY different. In short, she’s way more sensitive to cold than I am, and while I can’t deal with heat at all, it’s no problem for her. Interesting!
Anyway, enough about the weather. I’ve been putting out some video clips and stuff recently, but for this post I just wanted to update you all on some family news. Nothing earth-shattering, mind-you- just some regular everyday kind of things that are filling our lives at the moment.
My Work
Work’s been going well overall. I just got through an insanely busy stretch, but I only have myself to blame for it. Here at TCFL I’ve been put in charge of making and maintaining our school’s promotional video (Click here to see a short version of it). This video is shown at events such as open houses and such. We had such an event recently, where a few dozen prospective students came by to check out our school and take some demonstration classes. I had all summer long to get the promo video updated with new footage, but of course I waited until the last minute to get it together. My bad! It was a weekend of work, then two consecutive “all-nighters” to get it done. Doh! It all went off well, but I won’t ever do that again!
In other work matters, we have just begun our second term at TCFL. Students are busy getting ready for our annual school festival at the end of the month. I’m helping out with the food committee this time. Classes are going smoothly, and I looking forward to a good 2nd half of the school year.
Other Career Stuff
In late November I’ll be traveling to Tokyo to attend the annual JALT 
Conference. JALT (Japan Association of Language Teachers) is the largest organization of English teachers in this country, and this event is a big one- anyone who’s anyone in the field of language teacher goes there. I’ve been going for years, often at my own expense, because it is really professionally stimulating and fun to be around other teachers who are serious about their craft and profession. This year, for the first time, I’ll be giving not one, but TWO presentations. The first will be on a topic near and dear to my heart- “Web 2.0 in the classroom: An introduction”. Here is the abstract:
Blogging, podcasting, social networking, YouTube, and Second Life: examples of new “Web 2.0” resources that language teachers are currently exploring. However, many teachers remain on the outside looking in- wanting to know more, but overwhelmed at the often confusing rapid pace of change. This workshop challenges assumptions that only those already in-the-know can keep up with educational technology, and seeks to provide clarity and direction for instructors new to the Web 2.0 revolution.
As you can gather, my goal here is to help make all these recent advances in Internet communications technology more accessible to fellow teachers, many of whom lack computer-skills confidence in this information age we’re in. In reality, however, I’m just trying to gain confidence in this area myself! I figure a great way to learn something is to teach it, so that’s what I’m planning to do.
My other presentation will be conducted with some fellow alumni from Aston University, the school where I got my MSc in TESOL via distance learning. A group of four of us will be giving short 25 minute talks on our Masters dissertations. This will give me a chance to revisit that project and help me gear up for its continuation at the PhD level. In case anyone’s interested, you can download a pdf version of that paper here. The topic involves an examination of a website created to archive academically-oriented discussions that took place on our program’s email discussion list.
All in all, I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next six weeks. I’m excitedly nervous, but in a good way. I’m convinced that many good things will come from attending this conference, and I’m looking forward to advancing my skills, knowledge, and career options.
Shinobu’s Work
Shinobu has really settled in nicely at her new job at the Yatsuo-machi B&G Pool. She still works for the same company (Yatsuo Service), one that acts as a sub-contractor for the town government, but once she finished her maternity leave in September, she was transferred to this pool. In a way, due to Shinobu’s heart condition (more on this in a bit), working at a pool could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. She is not allowed to go in the water at all. This must be rough for a former western Japan freestyle champion and former coach. Basically she sits in the main office doing this and that, mostly dealing with accounting tasks. Still, she often talks about how much better this job is to her previous post at the Yatsuo Sports Arena, where she had the chance to do training and teach aerobics. The big difference is business- Shinobu LOVES to be busy! She is a very extroverted person, so long stretched of down-time are killer for her. She needs to be around people, and at the B&G pool she certainly gets that. All sorts of folks are constantly coming and going, so there is always someone to talk with or help. In addition, due to her vast experience, Shinobu has been quickly given a lot of responsibility around the office. Her boss seems to like her, and that is a good sign.
Career-wise, Shinobu is aiming to get another credential soon. Next month she’ll be taking a test to get certified as a swim coach. She won’t be able to enter the water, but she’ll be allowed to do what she loves most- coaching kids (especially Luke and in a few years, Max). Before when she coached, she didn’t have a license to do so, but now she will. She’s currently studying hard for this exam, which won’t be an easy thing. She has to know all about the history of swimming and all that… It’s been pretty interesting to hear her talk about all the stuff she’s learned recently, such as the history of swimming, and why Japanese people were considered great swimmers at the turn of the 20th century.
Shinobu’s Health
As I mentioned, Shinobu is not allowed in the water at the pool where she works. Still, news from a recent heart check-up tells a brighter story: According to the data pulled from her implanted ICD device (that thing is so wicked cool), her condition seems to be stabilizing because very few instances of arrhythmia’s were recorded (irregular heart beats). Her doctor gave her the go-ahead to go swimming, but only at a slow pace, and only if she is supervised. This was good news. As a result, Shinobu’s been working out lightly these days at another pool at the Toyama Prefectural Health Park. This has allowed her to really ramp up her coaching sessions with Luke, whom she is determined to sculpt into a champion swimmer. So, while she still has to take meds each day and can’t work out unfettered, her progress since hear heart attacks has been very encouraging. We really hope it continues!
The Kids
What’s up with the little ones? Well, Luke is now six and is really growing fast. He’s in his last year at kindergarten. From next April he will move across the street and begin attending elementary school. Last weekend he participated in the annual Sports Day festival. This is a traditional event held at each school around the country, sort of an “on-campus Olympics.” Sports Days, and all the the work that goes into preparing for them, are really a part of the educational landscape of this country. I’ll have to edit together all the footage I took that day and do a podcast about it- it’s quite a spectacle.
Max is also attending day-care at the school. As I’ve mentioned before, she is the youngest in her class, and the youngest child ever this school has ever admitted. She’s doing great. Her calm, friendly manner is really winning over her teachers and classmates, and I only hear good things from them. This fills us with joy and pride. Oh, Max also participated in the recent Sports Day festivities… I’ll get some photos posted soon!
Some recent Luke news is that he has officially joined the Yatsuo Swimming Club. Twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday evenings, he swims with the “C” team at the B&G pool. This team is made up of elementary school kids, so Luke is the youngest. He just started last week, and so far he’s been really enjoying it. Shinobu and I wondered if he would be able to swim for an hour straight, but so far he’s been enjoying himself. He seems to really like doing things on his own, of demonstrating his capability. It’s very inspiring to see! With mama giving him extra coaching on the side, we hope it won’t be long before he really gets good. I filmed his first practice, so stay tuned for that podcast.
Well, I’ve gone on enough, I think. Thanks for reading this far. I’ll try to put out these longer-style updates each season. The photos and videos I post tell our story in pictures, but it’s nice to get all the latest news in one go as well.
Take care! Don’t forget to leave a comment below! I LOVE reading them.
TFiJ01: Our first video podcast!
Hey, everyone! For our first podcast episode, I thought I’d share a simple video clip of all of us hanging around the house during July 2007. This clip features our daughter Max at 18 weeks old, and her doting older brother Luke, who’s about to turn six. It’s nothing spectacular, just a little slice of life thing that hopefully gives you an idea of the deep joy we feel these days. I hope you like it!
Let me know what you think by posting a comment below.
To watch the video, just click on the photo. You can also watch it full screen if you click on the “full screen toggle” button (just mouse over the buttons at the bottom of the clip and you’ll see it). If you would like to share this clip with others, click on the share button. If you would like to subscribe to our video blog, click on the subscribe button and choose your favorite method.
If you would like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip, click here. Finally, let me know if you have any trouble viewing the clip!. Thanks.
Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.