Before I went to my graduation in Malaysia, I spent a week in Thailand, mostly in Bangkok (thanks boss for letting me go!).
The main river in Bangkok is the Chao Praya River. My favourite restaurant in Bangkok is next to the river. It`s a great place to enjoy a cold beer, cool breeze (= wind), & delicious Thai food, while watching the sun set & various kinds of boat go past.
Another good thing about this restaurant is that it`s near a night flower market. It`s not a famous one - our taxi driver didn`t know it so he took us to the wrong place... - but it`s very colorful, active, & interesting.
Dinner at this restaurant, then a stroll (= casual walk) through the flower market always puts me in a good mood. Whenever I visit Thailand I usually do it.
![Music You Might Like - Chris ...]()
To celebrate my graduation, here`s a song called `Graduation Day` by one of my all-time favourite musicians, Chris Isaak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJBH8uu5qIM
This guy has written so many good songs. This is his most famous song, and my favourite, `Wicked Game`: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOxCqSxRD0
Those songs are a bit depressing, but this one, `Can`t Do a Thing` is nice & relaxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e8wjdugnNw
I also really like `Lie to Me`: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GkYXDw-dzY
Not only is Chris Isaak handsome, charming, & talented, he can also speak Japanese! Really! Check out this song, `So Lovely is the Night`, sung in Japanese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JxZaRb_XnQ
I haven`t been to many concerts in my life, but I saw Chris Isaak & his band play at Hard Rock Cafe in Bangkok about 15 years ago. I was standing by the bar just 10 metres from the stage. During their performance, suddenly the saxophone player came to the bar, climbed up on the counter & started walking along it, while playing the saxophone. Me & other drinkers had to quickly move our drinks! Then Chris Isaak followed him, playing his guitar! Actually, his guitar was electric, & he had to unplug it to go to the bar, so he wasn`t really playing it. But it was still a great performance! Afterwards he signed autographs & I got him to sign my entry ticket. I still have it somewhere.
What a great night. What a great guy!
At the end of last year I finished studying my Master of Education degree. On Saturday I attended my graduation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (there was also a ceremony in Australia, where my university is located, but I thought it would be fun to attend the one in KL).
There were about 250 graduates at the ceremony, & I think about 99% were Malaysian. I didn`t realise my university had so many Malaysian students! I talked to some of them & I was impressed by their high level of English. English is used much more in Malaysia than Japan. For example, on the radio I heard two DJs speaking English only, even though they were Malaysian.
Doing my degree was a good experience, & I`m sure it has made me a better teacher, but I`m glad I`ve finished it. It ate up a lot of my free time & was quite stressful.
When we were in Australia, my wife wanted to buy these stickers for our car in Japan. There are lots of different designs to choose from - you can see (& buy) them at this site, if you`re interested: http://www.thestickerfamily.com.au/search/%20
Actually, we had a little trouble finding shops which still sold them; these stickers were all the rage (= very popular) in Australia about 2 years ago, but they`re kind of out of fashion now.
But please don`t tell my wife - she still thinks they`re cool.
What do you think?
Here are some more photos from our school trip to Kyoto. As you can see, most of the girls wore shawls. James also wore one around his neck, like a scarf (muffler). I should have worn one too - it was pretty cold outside.
I think women`s kimonos are warmer than men`s, because women also have to wear a lot of special underwear [shitagi]. Unfortunately I didn`t wear enough warm underwear under my kimono. I`ll remember that next time.
Have you ever rented a kimono? Or do you have your own?
On Sunday, my son Owen & I joined Teragoya teachers & a bunch of (= group of) Teragoya students on a trip to Kyoto. We all rented kimonos then visited the Arashiyama area of Kyoto. First we had lunch together, then we walked around & looked at the souvenir shops. Of course we also took a lot of photos!
This is a photo of Owen standing in front of Togetsukyo Bridge. I think his kimono really suits him, doesn`t it? I thought my kimono made me look a little old & skinny (= thin). Maybe that`s because I`m actually old & skinny...
The girls all looked really great wearing kimonos - so colourful & beautiful! I`ll post some more photos when I get permission from the people in them.
Friday`s naked festival was a lot of fun. Of course it was cold, but not too bad. When I met my team members at 7.30am it was snowing, but by the time we dressed - or rather, undressed - & started running at 10am, it had stopped & the sun was out.
As usual, we visited a local old people`s home & a couple of local kindergartens. The kids were really excited to see us. The old people were happy too, but one old lady kept trying to grab the carton of sake that I was holding & the staff had to hold her back. It was a little embarrassing, but I could imagine how how she felt.
Finally we arrived at Kounomiya Shrine at about 4pm. After that my group went to a public bath. We didn`t wait at the shrine for the climax, when the `shin-otoko` arrives & everyone tries to touch him. That was about 6pm this year - a little late. Maybe next year!
I`ve had my Japanese Driver`s License for 5 years. I haven`t received any tickets or fines from police, so this week I was able to replace my old one with a `gold` version. I`m happy about that, because a gold license is useful. For example, now I can say to people, "Do you have a gold license? No? Haha - Loser! I do!"
Maybe I can say this to a lot of people in Aichi Prefecture. You see, before I was given my new license, I had to watch a video & listen to a speech by a police officer. He said Aichi had the highest number of road deaths in Japan last year. Wow! I was surprised! My wife wasn`t. She said, "Yes - Aichi is highest every year."
Please drive safely!
There are a couple of interesting events coming up (= coming soon).
The first is the annual Konomiya Naked Festival this Friday (Feb. 22nd). Konomiya Shrine is right beside Meitetsu Konomiya Station, so it`s easy to get to by train. Or maybe, like me, you want to get there by running 7km from Kiyosu Town wearing a loincloth [fundoshi]. It`s up to you. Here is a link to some information (in Japanese): http://www.konomiya.or.jp/main/hadakamatsuri (thanks, Mr. Kuma!)
The other event is Teragoya`s Kimono Kyoto tour on Sunday Feb. 24. Teachers & students will go to Kyoto by tour bus, rent kimonos, dress up, then walk around Kyoto, have lunch etc. It`s going to be a lot of fun! I`d like to invite you to join us, but I`m afraid it`s already full. I`ll post photos next week.
Two more reasons to like my hometown of Brisbane - Asahi AND Kirin now available on tap! (on tap = なま)
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