TFiJ30: Luke goes on a field trip
Summer vacation has finally arrived, and I’m back in Toyama for a nice long two-month break. I can hardly believe this- I’ve never had such a long break before in my working life. One of my plans is to get caught up on my video editing. I’ve got lots of great footage from family events during the past 4 months. To get things started, here is a nice little documentary-style clip about Luke going on a biology field trip the other day.
Luke is in the midst of 2nd grade, and for his science class, everyone split into groups and walked (with the help of parent volunteer chaperones) to various nature spots around the school to search for bugs. The day of the event (July 21st) wa/tmp/TFiJ30poster.jpgs very warm and humid, but the sky was filled with heavy clouds. Rainy season is not quite finished, so instead of the set plan, they decided to walk Luke’s group to the park in front of our house! This meant that I had to basically walk home, then walk back again in order to get the car to return home again. Since I had my video camera, however, I took it as a chance to capture some scenes of our neighborhood, to show you what Toyama looks like in the heart of summer. You can also see the route Luke walks each day to school (no school buses here!).
In the end, the weather held out just long enough. On the walk back the heavens opened up and it was dogs and cats everywhere! The only person without an umbrella or rain coat was me- ha! I got totally soaked, but it was no problem- my camera is waterproof, and the water felt very refreshing.
I hope you like this clip. If you have any comments, feel free to leave one below! I’ll also be posting this on my Facebook page, so you can see and comment on it there.
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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.
Rimgaudas
Su Linutes (anukes) pagalba viska perskaiteme ir mums labai patiko.Labai laukeme daugiau klipu.:)
Jul 26, 2009 @ 1:17 am
VT
Very nice. Is Luke the tallest in his class? They have school all summer or does he have a break?
Jul 26, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
Papa
@Rimgaudas: Aciu labai!
@Vi: He might be… he and Max are pretty tall for their age around here. No summer school- classes ended this past Friday and resume at the beginning of September (2nd term). They do pile the kids with tons of homework, however, and each neiborhood has a “morning exercise” routine that starts at 6:30am. I’ll be helping Luke get through the former quickly and won’t push him to do the latter. For me, a summer vacation is just that!
Jul 27, 2009 @ 8:24 am
Kika Bisogno
Ahh! He is such a handsome little boy!
Sep 12, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
Papa
Thanks, Kika! I’m glad you could watch this clip. It introduces several things about our lives at once- My son, a bit of his school life, our neighborhood, and what it looks like in the summer here in Toyama.
Sep 12, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
Andrea
Your neighborhood has changed so much!! I remember when your house was the only one….sort of out in the boonies! Looks really neat right now! Hey, I just read that Yatsuo was incorporated into Toyama City a few years back. What was behind that?
Love the website!
Sep 22, 2009 @ 5:58 am
Papa
Thanks for the comment, Andrea. Yes, things have changed a bit, but not a lot in other ways. But then again, things have gradually changed for me, so I’ve gotten used to everything. For you, not having seen the place for years, I can imagine that things look really different. Kind of like meeting a child when they’re young and then again when they’ve grown…
Yes, Yatsuo was incorporated into Toyama City. The entire prefecture has been redrawn for the most part. The idea is for small towns to have better access to federal money.
Thanks again for visiting. Hope to see you back here!
Sep 26, 2009 @ 11:20 pm