I have decided not to renew my contract with Aeon. I have lots of reasons not to continue with Aeon but I have enjoyed working for them and found the experience invaluable. I recommend Aeon to anyone looking to get a foot on the ladder in the ESL world. You will need to strong and flexible with Aeon but a I think it is worth it.
Now I need a new challenge so I will head offshore from Japan and head to Korea. I am looking to work for a public school this time. I feel it will give me a good chance to work with children in a government school and broaden my teaching range. Previously Aeon focused mainly on conversation with adults.
It will also give me better hours to spend time with my wife. Aeon finishes at 9:30pm so by the time I sleep its 1am and Yuuri needs to be up at 7am so she wants to sleep. Public schools are 8-5 with weekends off so I can enjoy life more.
The lessons are fewer so I can spend more time planning my lessons. Aeons lessons just require practice, once you know the lesson its just about getting to know the students and finding out what they are thinking about and what they want to say. It takes time but its a lot of fun working with the students and getting to know them.
I chose Korea because its not far from Japan and it will give Yuuri and I chance to live abroad without going to far from home. For Yuuri it will be tough because she cant work, shes still looking for ways to fill up her time but she thinks she will try and complete her university course. She is considering English literature.
For me the difficult part is coming back to Japan. Since I wont be working in Japan I cant get a working visa and since Yuuri isn't working I cant get a marriage visa. But I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Right now I have applied for Korea and I am currently waiting for a school to accept me. I will be starting on the EPIK program. I was recruited by Teach Away, a Canadian company who I recommend to anyone who wants to work abroad.
Sunday 4 July 2010
My family
So now that I am married Im lucky enough to have two families. Golden week was a great chance for both families to get to know each other better.
Yuuris family always welcomed my parents into their home and cooked for them. Sometimes without me because id be working. They always tried to cook food that was friendly to my parents. I think its tough to change onto Japanese food straight away, they have some strange tastes. Also style is very different and food is plentiful but often served on many small dishes. Drinks are usually poured for you by the host which can leave any guest feeling a little more than tipsy by the end of the night.
Yuuris parents also made time to take my parents out. We travelled to the northern island of Hokkaido with my parents, Yuuri, her sister Arisa and her parents. We rented a car and hit the road.
It was a good time to bond and Yuuris family took care of everything. The trip was well planned and all the sights and times were all sorted out well in advance. They always thought about my parents and what the think they would like.
We visited the tower and drank beer at the beer hall. Ate local crab at the hotel on traditional tatami, whilst wearing Yukatas. We started the next day with a refreshing dip in the Japanese hot spring or Onsen. We then set out for the sumo museum and finally the park which had an old samurai castle within.
As a result my parents had an amazing time in Japan and why I tell them I always have an amazing time in Japan.
Currently I am suffering with pneumonia and Yuuris parents have taken care of me at their home. Sometimes its nice not being alone when your ill.
Married life in Japan has been very good to me.
Saturday 3 July 2010
The Story so far
Well during Golden Week my parents came to Aomori. They had a great time, I think they were amazed by how friendly everyone is even though my parents speak very little Japanese.
Japan is a very welcoming place and I think Japanese are very kind, considerate and caring to new people.
The main reason they came to Japan was to see my wedding which was held on 1st May 2010.
We had a traditional chapel wedding with the white dress but after we changed into kimonos and hakama for me. This gave it a more japanese style. I think everyone was surprised to see a foreigner in such traditional Japanese clothes.
We had speeches from Yuuris boss which is usual in Japanese weddings. My dad made a toast and my best man Kenju made a second toast. I had everything translated by an interpreter, a good friend of mine Yuko. My best men gave his speech both in Japanese and English!
Later Yuuri changed back into her white dress for the cake cutting. We also had entertainment in the form of a magician who turned water into wine! After him we had a shamisen performed on a metal snow shovel by 5 girls. Finally we had a traditional Japanese dancer using fans and umbrella and wearing a kimono.
Yuuri left to change into her blue dress which was made for her by her gran. This was made for our first dance. We had been practicing for about 4 weeks. It was a kind of cuban rumba to the music of Van Morrison's Crazy Love.
After Yuuri sat down I began my speech in English and as much Japanese as I could. In Japan families sit at the back of weddings while bosses and co-workers sit at the front. I couldn't let my parents come all that way and sit at the back, not with my mums eyesight! Yuuris parents were happy to sit at the back with the rest of the family.
After my speech i started to sing acapella to Yuuri san. I sang "say a little prayer" from the movie "My best friends wedding". I got the audience to join in with the chorus too. It was a nice surprise for Yuuri.
Yuuri went away again to change and I served the guests drinks and thanked them for coming. When Yuuri came back she was wearing her beautiful red dress and carrying her bad her mum made.
We came in together and I held a sword with a flame on the end. The room was dark with a spotlight on us. We went round to each table and lit the candles using the sword. Finally we lit the one on our table and it glowed red.
After the wedding we went to a French restaurant and had drinks and a buffet. Yuuri changed once again into the black dress I bought her for Xmas.
Finally we ended the night at a club with some friends wearing eye masks.
Sunday 14 February 2010
Hirosaki Lantern Festival
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
Back in Aomori now and the snow is just as heavy. But good news because I visited the Hirosaki snow lantern festival.
You may remember Hirosaki park from some other posts but if not I'll refresh your memory.
 |
| From Hirosaki 2009 |
^in the spring
 |
| From Birthday |
^ in the autumn
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
^ Now in Feburary
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
The highlight was to see these lanterns made out of snow.
It also seems many schools, companies and volunteers had made a lot of things out of snow.
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
But the highlight was the 9meter snow bank.
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
Sadly the pictures are a bit poor due to the lack of lighting and tripod but there were some lovely displays of light around the park.
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
 |
| From Lantern festival 2010 |
Further good news, I've paid for more space on Picasa so you can see all my pictures back on there.
Enjoy...
 |
| Lantern festival 2010 |
Sunday 7 February 2010
Silver Pavilon Temple
This is our last place, the silver pavilion temple. Unlike the golden temple, this one is not actually silver as construction of it never got completed. However, it is still a beautiful place. This photograph was taken using the HDR format too.
This cone that stands next to the temple is made from piled up sand.
Just like the golden temple, this one is surrounded in natural beauty.
This last picture is my favourite, you can see the nature and the old temple in the foreground and the modern city in the background.
And once again for even more pictures -> http://www.photoshop.com/user/colinjapan/?galleryid=f61d9bf61b37446ba23a819a6e57bdce&trackingid=BTAGC&wf=share
Kinkakuji
The next day we visited Kinkauji temple (golden temple). This is another very famous land mark of Kyoto, known, as you can see, from its gold!
It looks truly amazing!
The grounds also feature beautiful waterfalls and natural scenery.
I think this would have been so much better without the rain but still it was a lovely place to see.
More pictures here (I've filled up my Picasa so no im using Adobe)
http://www.photoshop.com/user/colinjapan/?galleryid=d0838c8006794e5d88f5ee68a1ed65a8&trackingid=BTAGC&wf=share
Gion
To finish off the first day we with a performance of traditional Japanese customs. The show was only about an hour long but we got many different shows. Sometimes shows would be performed at the same time as others e.g. music and tea ceremony
First up was the tea ceremony.
This is the act of making and serving Japanese green tea and sweets. It's still a common hobby for women to practice today. It's taken very seriously and is a very formal activity. I took part when Yuuri performed one at her old High school. I recommend anyone who is interested in Japan to take part in this and try the tea.
During the tea ceremony we could hear the ancient 13 stringed instrument called a koto. The music was brought from China when they first settled in Japan and now has long been abandoned by other Asian countries but Japan kept this tradition. It sounds like a folk guitar with disjointed rhythms and twangy sounds. It's a gentle sound that can be enjoyed as you look on Japan's past.
Flower arrangement is also a performance which is still popular with women in Japan. It can be a serious art of mixing colours and species and also a hobby to keep alive.
This is another thing the Japanese have preserved, its gagku, a sort of imperial court music. It dates back to the 9th Century. A band plays music to the left of the stage on various instruments while a man in a red costume dances holding one chopstick. I found the performance strange but thoroughly enjoyed it.
We saw a short Japanese play which again was based on a traditional concept of theatre. The story of this performance goes: A farmer wants to go into town but he doesn't trust his servants so he ties them up.
However the servants find a way to steal the farmers sake (rice wine).
When the farmer comes back the two servants are drunk and the farmer is angry. This story is a comedy and the performance was very entertaining.
Finally we saw a maiko show where two maiko dance on stage. Maiko is a female dancer who were the apprentice to a geisha. They wore kimono and full white make-up in a very traditional way. This is what so many come to Kyoto for, maiko and geisha have become widely famous here.
I have put together a video of the whole event here:
As always you can see pictures here.
First up was the tea ceremony.
 |
| From Gion |
This is the act of making and serving Japanese green tea and sweets. It's still a common hobby for women to practice today. It's taken very seriously and is a very formal activity. I took part when Yuuri performed one at her old High school. I recommend anyone who is interested in Japan to take part in this and try the tea.
 |
| From Gion |
During the tea ceremony we could hear the ancient 13 stringed instrument called a koto. The music was brought from China when they first settled in Japan and now has long been abandoned by other Asian countries but Japan kept this tradition. It sounds like a folk guitar with disjointed rhythms and twangy sounds. It's a gentle sound that can be enjoyed as you look on Japan's past.
 |
| From Gion |
 |
| From Gion |
Flower arrangement is also a performance which is still popular with women in Japan. It can be a serious art of mixing colours and species and also a hobby to keep alive.
 |
| From Gion |
This is another thing the Japanese have preserved, its gagku, a sort of imperial court music. It dates back to the 9th Century. A band plays music to the left of the stage on various instruments while a man in a red costume dances holding one chopstick. I found the performance strange but thoroughly enjoyed it.
 |
| From Gion |
We saw a short Japanese play which again was based on a traditional concept of theatre. The story of this performance goes: A farmer wants to go into town but he doesn't trust his servants so he ties them up.
 |
| From Gion |
However the servants find a way to steal the farmers sake (rice wine).
 |
| From Gion |
When the farmer comes back the two servants are drunk and the farmer is angry. This story is a comedy and the performance was very entertaining.
 |
| From Gion |
Finally we saw a maiko show where two maiko dance on stage. Maiko is a female dancer who were the apprentice to a geisha. They wore kimono and full white make-up in a very traditional way. This is what so many come to Kyoto for, maiko and geisha have become widely famous here.
I have put together a video of the whole event here:
As always you can see pictures here.
 |
| Gion |
Heian Shrine
 |
| From haian temple |
A shrine is easily identified by its red gateway, there are a vast amount of these all over Japan. They are usually very beautiful, this one is special because as you can see from the gate it's the biggest in Japan!
Shrines always have this red sort of design and usually host weddings and ceremonies as oppose to temples which usually host funerals.
 |
| From haian temple |
In Kyoto I tried making HDR photos of some of the scenery, it's a little different but I hope it helps you enjoy the pictures. The one above is one of these HDR pictures, basically my camera takes 3 pictures, 1 letting light in and the next two less and less light. The result is over exposed and under exposed pictures which I put together to have grater control of contrast and brightness without losing colour.
Here is a video of a 360 degree view of the shrine. I took this video on my phone so the quality isn't great.
For more pictures ->
 |
| haian temple |
Kiyomizu Temple
 |
| From Kiyomizu |
Recently I have been using Yuuri's credit card to send money home and as a result of it being a JAL (Japan Airlines) card we had racked up some air miles. Enough in fact for a cheap trip to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan.
For those who don't know Kyoto it is a major tourist attraction as an example of 'old' Japan. It was spared in WWII and has been preserved well. I don't think anyone could escape the modern architecture of Japan and even Kyoto is a bask of skyscrapers and modern buildings but that is Japan.Yuuri's sister, Arisa, joined Yuuri and myself on the trip and we set out to find some of Kyoto's beauty.
The first place we visited was Kiyomizu temple. A fantastic piece of craftsmanship, a huge temple made of wood. It has been preserved well and they say it has been made without the use of nails.
 |
| From Kiyomizu |
A definite one to visit!
For more pictures ->
 |
| Kiyomizu |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
