Another incredible Greek meal with new local friends 

Enjoying Greek wine and heavenly Greek food with my buddy Nikos 

Steps For a Perfect Holiday

In this article, I especially agree with numbers 7, 9, and 10.

I agree with #7: Leave time for serendipity because I have learned from my travel experience that the best experiences are usually spontaneous and unplanned. When I was younger, I would read guidebooks very excitedly, and then be disappointed when different places didn't live up to my expectations. Although planning can also be an essential part of travel, you also need to leave enough time for unplanned encounters. If you follow a tight schedule and just do what the guidebook says, you might have a good trip, but you probably won't have a magical trip. Leave some days unplanned and expect the unexpected!

I also love #9: When you've got a lemon, make lemonade, and not just because it's a cool expression. (By the way, in English a "lemon" has a negative nuance, as we call a car that has all kinds of mechanical problems a "lemon." But "lemonade" is something nice and tasty, so this expreession means to make good things out of bad experiences.) Again, it's up to you to make the most of your travel experiences. When I was in Greece this March, I wanted to go hiking to a famous gorge, but there was more snow than usual and the path was unreachable. Instead of sitting inside and moping, I just set off up a mountain and walked through snow for 5 or 6 hours. I caught a terrible cold, but I saw some amazing scenery and had a magical experience walking through the snow alone like a little kid.

Finally, of course I agree with #10: Go local. Since I took part in the Ship for World Youth, I am very fortunate to have great contacts around the world. Also during my trip to Greece, having a great friend there made my trip so much better. I was disappointed with some of the touristy sites in Greece, but when I visited my friend in his hometown it was by far the highlight of my trip. I met real Greek people, had mouth-watering local food, and drank a lot of ouzo, the national drink of Greece. If it weren't for my friend, my trip wouldn't have been as half as good. Make friends and go local!

Who is this woman? She is one of my American heroes. The first student to tell me who she is or why she is famous will get the next prize... 

Chinryu-an: The Coolest Guesthouse in Japan

Hey, everyone, I thought I would also write a free blog about a recent trip I took. Before I finally someday leave Japan, I would like to see as much of this great country as possible. For some reason, I am especially attracted to unusual or hard-to-get-to places. That is why I finally took a trip to Yakushima this past summer. Of course Yakushima is not unusual, as it gets hordes of tourists, but almost none of my Japanese friends have been there.

I was also attracted to Yakushima because I'm an outdoorsy person. Two of my biggest passions these days are hiking and mountain biking. This might sound boring to younger people, as I also wasn't into activities like these at all when I was a student. But these days one of the most important factors in my travel plans is finding places with big, beautiful mountains and breath-taking scenery. Of course Yakushima has both!

I was incredibly lucky during my stay in Yakushima. Yakushima is known as the rainiest part of Japan, and the locals even joke that it rains 35 days a month! When I was there, however, I was blessed with three days of gorgeous, non-stop sunshine. I had the perfect lifestyle on Yakushima. I woke up by 7 AM, had a nice breakfast at my inn, and then I was riding my bike or climbing a mountain by 8 or 9. Then, after a hard day working my body and taking in awesome views, I could kick back with a big cold beer and then a filling dinner.

What I probably liked most of all about my stay in Yakushima, however, was the lodging! My travel book highly recommended a little place called the Chinryu-an Guesthouse. I don't always like to listen to guidebooks, but it seemed like a cool place. Well, the guidebook definitely hit the nail on the head this time. When I stay somewhere, I am most concerned with comfort and atmosphere. Chinryu-an absolutely had both. It looks like a tiny log cabin from the outside, but it manages to somehow be both spacious and cozy on the inside. Plus, I could sleep on a cool bunk bed that was like 10 or 15 feet high above the ground. I felt like a kid again, even though it was such a pain climbing up and down the ladder whenever I forget something.

One of the cool things about this guesthouse was the host, Chinryu. He used to be a Tokyoite, but has now settled for the more peaceful pace of Yakushima. He definitely made me and everyone feel right at home. He gave me tons of useful information about the local mountains and other interesting spots. What I liked most about him was he wasn't afraid to give his honest opinion. After he warned me not to go to a certain place because there would be too many tourists, I had a lot of respect for him. He definitely knows the island like the back of his hand, as he told me, "if you go hiking in this place, you'll only see about 5 people all day." And I ended up seeing exactly 5 people. It was a little creepy but very very cool!

Another good thing about the guesthouse is that it's an interesting mix of Japanese and foreign guests. So, I got to chat with an Italian who was traveling around Japan, meet a nice British couple who were working on organic farms in Japan, and also meet nice and interesting Japanese people from all over the country. I even talked to one girl who had stayed in the same guesthouse more than 1o times.

Anyway, I have a lot of places left to see in Japan, but hopefully I'll find time for Yakushima again. My goal next time is to cycle all the way around the island, which will take around 8-10 hours. That will be quite a feat, but with cold beer, great food, and Chinryu's big, crazy smile waiting for me, I'm sure I can do it!

The Friendly Staff at Chinryu-an 

Chinryu-an Guesthouse: Home Away From Home... 

Yakushima: the rainiest place in Japan? 

Blog #4: free blog

Blog #4 is a free blog. Write about anything you wish, but not just about your day. It doesn't have to be about travel. Any interesting topic is OK!

*Post your blog by Wednesday, November 2nd.
*Don't forget to comment on at least 2 of your classmates' blog entries for blog #3: Steps to a Perfect Holiday

Blog #3: Steps to a Perfect Holiday

Today I gave you a handout which titled "Steps to a Perfect Holiday." Skim the 10 suggestions given in the reading and choose 3 that you agree with the most and write about why. Don't just choose the first ones, but skim them all and make your decisions. Remember to explain your decision fully:

i.e. I agree with #3, that you should "read up before you go" because...

* Post your blog entry by next Wednesday, October 26th.
*Don't forget to comment on at least 2 of your classmates' blog entries for blog #2: free topic.

Contest #2 finished!

Hey all...sorry, but someone got the correct answer to why the sentence I wrote is unique. I will tell you the answer in the next class. But...the photo contest has not been solved yet, so go ahead and take a guess!

New Contest

Here's a new contest about the English language. Look at the sentence below:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

What is unique or special about this sentence? The first person to reply correctly will get the small but delicious prize. Good luck!

Photo Contest Hint!

As I told you in class, no one has guessed the answer to the photo contest yet, but I gave you this hint:
It's in Japan, but it's not on Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, or Kyushu. Just tell me the name of the island and you will win. Good luck!

Blog Assignment #2: Free topic

Your next blog is a free topic. However, please try to pick a challenging or interesting theme and discuss it thoroughly. Don't just write a diary about your day. Here are the guidelines:

* Write at least 150 words on your topic by next Wednesday, October 19th

* Comment on at least 2 of your classmates' entries for Blog #1: Essential Items

Happy blogging! So far so good!

Blog Warning: Please read!!!

Just like with e-mail, blogs now get junk mail or spam. If you see a comment from a name that you don't know, just IGNORE IT. DON'T TRY TO REPLY TO IT! I'll tell you more in class.

My Essential Items

To help give you an example, I will also do this week's blog assignment. The assignment is to list and explain a few essential items you would take with you on a long trip. My items are 1) a camera 2) a notebook/journal 3) my lucky necklace and 4) a special proverb (I will explain later...)

Of course most people would choose a camera, so this is an obvious choice. But it's still an essential item. I have been to about 20 countries and I want to travel to as many places as possible, so having a good photo collection is important in my life. I want to have these photos to show my children and their children, etc. It's like my personal history. I think showing personal pictures of travel are a good way to teach my (future) children about the world and all the interesting places out there, so that's why I'll always carry a camera and try to capture special moments.

Another thing I always travel with is a notebook or journal. I don't write in it as much as I should, but I still travel with one every time I go somewhere. It gives me a good memory of my travels, but it can also help me with important lessons. For example, if I make a stupid mistake when I travel, I always write it down so that in the future I don't repeat the same mistake.

A somewhat unique item is my "lucky necklace." When I lived in New Zealand, my friends gave me a greenstone necklace. These types of necklaces are part of the Maori--indigenous people of New Zealand--culture. It's like a good luck charm. The shape of my necklace is a fish hook, which gives me good luck when I go on journeys abroad, etc. I am not a very superstitious person, but I never travel without my precious lucky necklace.

Finally, another strange item I mentioned is a proverb. There is a proverb "Wherever you go, you are there." It's very simple and some people think it's stupid, but I really like it. It's just a reminder to focus on the place you are in and what you are doing. For example, when I was doing my internship in Morocco, I was having a very hard time because I had broken up with my girlfriend recently. So, it was difficult to focus on Morocco and my students. But I could only stay for a short time in Morocco, so it was important to forget about my girlfriend and think about that great place and my great students. So, I would think to myself "wherever you go, you are there." I even wrote it on the wood above my bunkbed, so maybe the words are still there!

Well, this is my list of essential items. I am looking forward to your lists! Please think about each item carefully and why it is essential for you...Good luck!

Blog Assignment #1: Essential Items

For your first blog assignment, please choose the 3-5 items you would absolutely take with you on a long trip. Again, don't include items like clothes, tickets, and money, but just personal items that are essential for you and your travel style. For each item, explain in detail why it is so important to you.

* Write 150 words (or much more!) on this topic before next Wednesday, October 12th.

* Comment on 2 of your classmates' blog introductions. Just a short comment is OK the first time. Maybe you can find someone who has something in common with you and comment on that; i.e. "Cool, you went to Canada too? I went there last year, blah blah blah..."

Happy blogging!

Mysterious Picture Contest

Look at the picture below. Do you know where it is? Let's have a class contest. I will give a small prize (it's not a handshake!) to the first person who can identify this place. You can tell me in person, by e-mail, etc. I need the specific name of the place and not just the country. This is a difficult one, so if no one gets it I'll will start giving hints...Good luck!

Where in the world is this??? 

What can you not live without?

If we have time after making our blog, we will do the following activity:

We often say in English that it is best to "travel light." This means to travel with as little as possible so that travel is easier. Imagine that you are taking a long trip--i.e. at least several months. In addition to obvious things like your tickets, money, and clothes (I hope!), brainstorm 3-5 items that you would definitely bring with you on your trip and think about why they are so important. Here are some expressions you can use:

There's no way I could live without my _____...
I would never leave home without my _____...
There's no way in the world I could travel without my _____...
I wouldn't even think about going on a long trip without my _____...


If you disagree with someone's decision, be honest and let them know! You can use the expressions below:

Are you kidding me? What in the world do you need that for you?
What??? Do you really think something like that is important?
You gotta be kidding me! Don't you think there are more important things than that?
You can't be serious! I can think of a hundred things more important than that!

What about ______?
Have you forgotten _____?
Don't you think you'll need ______?
Do you think you can travel without _____?

Have fun and, again, don't be afraid to disagree with your classmates and poke fun at each other!!!

Welcome to Pre-Advanced Class!

Welcome to pre-advanced class! Even though we have only met once, I have a good feeling about this class. It seems like there are a lot of interesting characters in this class, which is a good sign. And it seems like everyone is already good at communicating in English, so I look forward to helping you get better and better.

Many students wonder what pre-advanced class is all about. Actually, it is not SO different from IM class, but I think the main difference is that students need to be more independent and autonomous. For example, we will not be using a textbook for this class, so students need to be confident and learn to communicate without relying on a book. As I told you, however, we will take a thematic approach to class, so there will be a definite structure.

So, what kind of activities will we do in class? The answer is a little of everything! Although the focus will be on speaking and listening, there will also be chances to improve your reading and writing skills. We will practice speaking and listening by doing different kinds of communicative activities with your classmates. We will sometimes practice casual conversation skills and sometimes have serious discussions. I would like you to improve your knowledge of both casual things like idioms and slang AND also your academic vocabulary. For listening, about twice a month we will use DVDs which feature actual native English speakers from the US talking about a variety of topics. These exercises will be challenging, but will help you to become more confident listening to REAL English. In addition, these listening exerises will also be cultural lessons about the US. Although we will focus on speaking and listening, you will sometimes have to read ariticles or other materials to prepare for class. Finally, your blog will be a good way to practice writing in English.

I know that pre-advanced students often have to miss class for internships, jobhunting, etc. Please let me know in advance when you are going to miss class. We will have a lot of group work and have several projects or presentations, so I need to know when you can't make it to class. Thanks for your cooperation!