Otto's blog

Cake for Teacher

1月

15日

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One of the perks of being a teacher at a school like Teragoya is that students sometimes bring us gifts, and this week we received cake from two students, Chie & Taigen.

Thanks guys! It was delicious.

But you still have to do your homework.

Seeing in the new year

1月

3日

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At midnight on December 31 we went, as usual, to the local temple to ring the big bell (this picture), then had some hot sake (rice wine) soup inside. I don`t like sake. Next year I won`t go inside.

After that, we went to the local shrine. I didn`t pray, but I took some photos & bought two omomori (good luck charms) as gifts for friends.

By that time, it was snowing quite heavily - brrr! I had a nice hot cup of tea when I got home.

Thanks everyone who looked at my blog in 2010. Please keep checking it in 2011 - I`ll try to make it interesting, attractive & educational - like my school, Teragoya! Haha!

Students` Santa Requests

12月

20日

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Our School Lobby is currently decorated with about 150 of these `Letters to Santa`. A lot of the kids requested hand-held video games (especially D.S.I. or D.S Lite), but there were also more traditional requests such as `bicycle` & `doll`.

Only 4 days till Christmas! Will you go to church on Christmas day? Don`t forget it`s Jesus` birthday!

BeachLand

11月

30日

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`Beachland` sounds like the name of a bad Hollywood movie, but it`s actually a theme park on Chita Penninsula, near Chubu Airport. I went there on Sunday for the first time with my son, wife, & her friends.

My son Owen really enjoyed himself, especially at a big indoor play area for small children, which is full of various toys. He also got excited about some of the sea animals on display, especially the turtles & colorful fish. However, he didn`t seem so interested in the dolphins or seals, which surprised me a little. Maybe he was slightly scared by them.

It takes about one and a half hours by highway from Ichinomiya, which is a little far (especially if you have a hangover after drinking too much wine...) but I recommend it - kids can get really close to a variety of unusual animals, and can even touch some of them.

There are also lots of open, grassy areas, so I think it would be a nice place to go in summer, & have a picnic lunch.

As usual, clicking on the above picture will make it bigger.

Gifu Beaujolais Nouveau Party Practice

11月

27日

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Tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov.27) is Gifu Teragoya school`s Beaujoulais Nouveau (pronounced "Boo Noo") wine party. There will be a wine-tasting challenge, so I thought I should practice a little tonight...

This is a bottle of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon (pronounced "Koo Soo") I got at Seiyu supermarket for 380 yen (A$4). Wow - even cheaper than Saizeria!

There will also be live music by our gifted Ichinomiya student Kiyotaka. It`s from 6-8pm if you want to go - please join us if you`re free!

Halloween Kids Colouring Contest

11月

4日

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Thanks to all the kids at Ichinomiya school who coloured a picture for our halloween coloring contest - it was so difficult to pick winners. There were so many good - and funny, and creative - pictures.

We awarded prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Cutest, and Scariest picture.

Congratulations winners, and well done everybody!

Is your child a student at our school? Can you see his/her picture here?

My costume

11月

4日

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These 2 pictures are for anyone who has no idea what my halloween costume was supposed to be.

I hope this helps!

Last Year`s Halloween Costume

10月

28日

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For those of you who didn`t see my halloween costume last year, here are some pictures. I was a (Japanese-style) grave-stone.

It was useful for hiding when my boss was looking for me. But it was difficult to pick things up from the ground if I dropped them...

My costume this year is a secret. If you come to our Teragoya Halloween Party on Sunday you can see it, and afterwards I`ll post photos here on my blog. I haven`t quite finished making it, but I think it`ll be pretty good, and pretty funny, like last year.

Kakamigahara Airshow

10月

26日

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Thanks Naoaki for reminding me about the Kakamigahara airshow on Sunday.

I went there with my son, Owen. We arrived just in time for the Blackhawk helicopter display, but Owen seemed more impressed by the big cargo planes. He also got excited about the `Blue Impulse` formation flying display and wasn`t scared by the noise, which I thought he might be.

Afterwards we looked at the stalls (yatai) and I bought him a set of small Blue Impulse jet-shaped magnets. I wanted to buy more geeky (otaku-poi) stuff to make my wife roll her eyes and sigh (tameiki o tsuku) but it started to rain, so we headed home.

It`s an annual (every year) event, so next year I recommend you go – it`s easy to get to by train and free to enter.

Halloween Bazaar

10月

26日

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At our Kids Halloween Party this Sunday there will be a bazaar with some cool stuff for sale, including this M&Ms dispenser which a student kindly donated.

By chance, when Suzette returned from Canada recently, she brought some M&Ms, so we put them in the dispenser, and when you move his left arm down, an M&M chocolate comes out – Amazing! What a useful toy!!!

By the way, the money we receive at the bazaar will go to The Teragoya Foundation, which helps orphans (real ones, not just M&M toys), so it`s a great, guilt-free way for you to spend a little money. Please come and have a look.

Oh, and if you have anything to donate, please give it to your nearest Teragoya school. Thanks!