So Long, ULA!

I spent 12 of my 14 months in Sapporo working at ULA, a little English language school a few blocks from downtown. I had many great memories there, and really enjoyed the atmosphere. The boss was very kind to me, and the students were especially fun to teach. Thanks for the great memories, and I hope to stop by and visit someday! At the very least, I'll send postcards or pictures from Kobe when I get there!

札幌市に引っ越しして２ヶ月後には、ULAに勤めるようになりました。とても雰囲気の良い英会話スクールです。生徒さんもボスもとても優しくて、行くのがいつも楽しかったです。たくさんの良い思い出をありがとうございました。機会がありましたら、また遊びに行きます！せめて神戸からハガキか写真を送ります。

Farewell, River Language School!

In the days ahead, I am sure to be saying "goodbye" to many people. The second group of people (after this one) include my students and boss at River Language School, located in Ebetsu. I was fortunate to be given the chance to teach here after having lost a few hours of precious work at a different workplace. So it is with great thanksgiving towards Mr. Hashimoto (above), and with a tinge of sadness, that River is flowing like water under the bridge and I move on.

The Kuno Family - always cheerful and a great way to start the night

Mr. Iwata - one of the funniest doctors I have ever met

Mr. Tsuchiya - a software designer and ramen aficionado

ちょうど勤務時間が減った時に、リバー語学学校の橋本さんから電話がありました。あれから８ヶ月後、皆さんとの別れになりました。生徒さんもボスもすごく優しくて、月曜日がいつも楽しみにしていました。皆さんの顔が見れなくなるのは寂しいけれど、これからも英語を楽しく学んでほしいです。そしていつか将来にまた会う機会がありましたら英語で話しましょう！

New Job in Sapporo?

Actually, one of the reasons that I stopped working at Kumon was because of the position I got at an English conversation school downtown, near Sapporo Station. The name of the school is DLS - Downtown Language School. There are actually lessons in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Chinese, and maybe some other obscure languages I have forgotten about! As you may have guessed, I teach English. I also have one French student, and occasionally am asked to teach other lessons in French, too. But 90% of my workload is English. The students are all very motivated and energetic and fun. It's a great place to work, and it's too bad I only have 2 more weeks there. Why, you may ask? My next post, whenever that might be, will reveal that to you...

公文のアルバイトをやめた理由の一つは、新しいアルバイトが与えられたからです。そのバイトは、札幌駅に近くある語学スクールで英語を教えるバイトです。まぁ、一人のフランス語の生徒もいますが。DLS（ダウンタウンランゲージスクール）は、英語を中心に、色んな言語のレッスンを提供しているカラフルなスクールです。英語以外には、フランス語、ドイツ語、スペイン語、イタリア語、韓国語、中国語などが楽しく教えられています。色んな楽しい先生方もいるし、月に一回くらいは、特別なイベントなどがあります。すごく心地の良い職場ですから、あそこで残り２週間しかないのは残念に思っています。「なぜやめるのですか」と聞きたい方々は、次の投稿を読んでください。いつ更新するかはわからないけど、そのうちには、大きなニュースを公表します。

Farewell Party

I started working at Kumon about 2 weeks after my arrival in Sapporo, last May. It was such a blessing to have employment, no matter what the form, as soon as I arrived here! God is good! Well, at the end of April, I resigned from my position, in anticipation of other things God was going to do in my life. As it turned out, my May and June have been fairly lax, and the busy rush of April was a one-month deal. But anyways, yesterday, Mrs. Yahashi (my boss, sitting on my right in the picture) decided to throw me a farewell party, 2 months after my final work day there! It was a blessed time of food, fellowship, and sending me off.


札幌に来て２週間後から、公文教室で勤めることになりました。神様は本当に忠実なお方だから、すぐに仕事が与えられました。春になって、いろいろと忙しくなるだろうと思って公文のアルバイトをやめました。結局は、４月だけが忙しくて、その後はわりとのんびりしています。昨日は、矢橋先生が私のために送別会を計画してくれました。おいしい食事の後、甘いケーキをごちそうしてもらいました。皆さんと楽しい時間が持たれて、感謝しています。公文教室の仕事も、矢橋先生との出会いも、子どもたちに触れる機会も、すべて感謝しています。

Raw men eat ra-men!

毎週月曜日に江別市野幌のほうに行って英会話を教えています。ほとんどマンツーマンのレッスンですので、生徒達ととても仲良く授業を行っています。３番目の授業はTさんとのレッスンです。Tさんは僕と同年齢ですが、彼は携帯電話のソフトを作る仕事でとても忙しい日々を送っています。でも、日本人の男性らしく、ラーメン屋にとても詳しい人です。いつか食べに行きましょう！と私が言ったら、ようやくその日がやってきた。英会話スクールを経営してるHさんと一緒に「虎鉄」に食べに行きました。とっても美味しかったです！やっぱり北海道と言えばラーメンですね！（味噌ラーメンがおすすめです。）


Every Monday evening, I head out to Nopporo which is in Ebetsu City, and teach English conversation there. The classes are pretty much one-on-one lessons, so I've been able to get to know my students fairly well. First, a married couple who both teach at universities (different ones, some 3 hours apart), and their 6-year old (soon 7?) daughter. Then, a cardiologist who seems to know everyone in town. Lastly, "Mr. T" - a software engineer for a cell phone company. He's the same age as me but he works LONG hours. Perhaps as a result of that, he knows all the good ramen shops in the area. So during class one day, I said, "Let's go eat ramen together someday!" Well, finally that day came this past Monday. He took us to a place called Kotetsu. It was really good! I recommend the Miso Ramen (it's the only one I tried, but it was tasty). We brought along the man who runs the English school, Mr. K. He's a trivia master, so we got to hear all about the mafia and crazy stuff like that. Good times with a few real Hokkaido men!

Fun at Kumon? 公文のお楽しみ会

昨日は初めて公文に行って採点をしなかった日だった。と言いたいけどお楽しみ会の後、採点の作業がありました。けどその前に子どもたちと４時間ぐらい遊べました。色んなゲームやパズルを出して一緒に楽しみました。ほとんどの時間は豆運び競争のコーナーを担当しましたけど、空いている時に練習していました。生徒には負けましたが、２０粒の小豆を４８秒以内に運ぶ事ができました。いつも一生懸命勉強してる子どもたちがゲームなどで盛り上がるのを見て、やっぱり子どもたちに触れる仕事が与えられて感謝だなぁと思いました。これからも公文宮の森教室で頑張ります！


Yesterday I went to Kumon as usual, but instead of grading homework the entire shift, I only had to do so for the final hour! The reason: we had a fun day for the kids! It was the first Kumon day of the year, so the kids got to play games and do puzzles and stuff. Most of that time, I spent watching the kids play a game in which they have to move 20 little beans from one bowl to another using chopsticks. My boss asked me if there is any kind of game like this in the west. All I could think of was the egg-on-a-spoon relay. I was thinking about the use of utensils and how these "games" kind of train kids to use utensils skillfully. Anyways, it was fun - I didn't beat the kids too badly when I played... but I certainly learned how to use my chopsticks better! Having a day like this, where the kids I usually see studying hard, actually playing and having fun, made me realize that I am blessed to have a job at which I can be around kids. They're the best! Here's to another year at the Miyanomori Kumon!